Matthew 7:21 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
This seems to contradict what I was taught as a child, and another verse somewhere (James maybe?) that said that good deeds are like filthy rags.
I was always taught that you had to “confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead” in order to be saved (Romans…something). But here, it seems Jesus wants his followers to lead lives that follow God’s will.
But how can we know what God’s will is?
I hear my parents always saying (to an extent) that I’m leading a life against God’s will. I’m not following his plan. I shouldn’t be homosexual.
I work with teens, some are troubled, some are not. I have a committed relationship with one person whom I love dearly. I feel that I am a very spiritual person, and that I try to do what’s “good” and “right” – and, personally, the best I can to do what’s right in the eyes of God.
How then am I living against His will?
I was also taught that if you confess – even just once – you’re saved forever…no matter what you do afterwards. I think this troubles my parents now. I became “saved” when I was young, so according to their rules, I’m saved now.
I don’t know. This verse seems to be very much like an instruction: lead a good life in the eyes of God. Do His will.
I need to pay attention to what others say throughout the Bible.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
No One Mourns the Wicked: Matthew 2
What a fantastic villain Herod is in this chapter – killer of babies and newborns. This is some fierce business that’s paired up with the birth/childhood of Jesus. Alas, I’ll get there in a moment.
We begin with the Wise Men (not Kings, as states the song “We Three Kings”…heck, not even three, really) who are eager to find the King of the Jews because they saw his star. They stop by Herod’s place to ask him where they could find him…and perhaps it’s only me, but I always imagined this to be a private meeting. Kind of like they strolled/rode up and knocked on the palace door and asked, which really seems illogical now that I think about it.
Instead, I think it was more of a public question; as if they asked it in front of numerous people because “[Herod] was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” I can’t imagine that some dudes from a foreign land show up, ask where the new king is, and the king tells his whole people, “Hey, some guys are looking for a king besides me. Your thoughts?”
Maybe he was giving a speech, and they politely raised their hands: “Excuse me, we’re looking for the King of the Jews. Can you point us in the right direction?” And maybe there were gasps and chuckles.
So Herod reasonably asks his top men for help: where could he find this “king”? They pull out the big intelligent guns and tell him, “Bethlehem, in the land of Juda.”
Fantastic. So Herod returns to the wise men: “Soooo…how long ago did the star appear?”
Sneaky bastard.
Bless the wise men for telling him. Bless their hearts. I bet they were the type of people who saw innate good in everyone. Naïve. Gentle. Lovely people. And easily manipulated by the king.
The wise men are off to find Jesus, and Herod starts plotting -- at least, that's what I was taught as a kid. But it doesn't actually say that. It isn't until the wise men sneak back to their country without stopping by to dish about the Jesus family that he decides to kill children.
So why does he kill the children? Is it to protect his throne or does he have severe anger management problems to being ditched? I'll get there in a minute.
And, of course, how do the wise men know not to go back to Herod? A dream. And it seems they ALL had a visit from God this time in their dream, not just one of them.
"And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way."
Then our man Joseph has another dream (see Chapter 1) and is told by an angel that he should flee to Egypt. Again, I wonder, why not tell Mary, too? Why does Joseph get all of the messages? And does he explain to Mary why they have to go? I wish there was more dialogue.
Their job was to wait in Egypt until Herod was dead. Now, looking at the Old Testament God, couldn't he just strike Herod down? Send fire from the sky? A series of plagues?
Oh wait. That reminds me...
Remember when Moses was in Egypt trying to save his people, and God told him that he would be killing all of the firstborn of Egypt if they didn't follow his instructions?
What's with killing children? I don't understand the necessity for it. Are we supposed to fear God even more because he can striketh his people down? And why is it so much worse that Herod does it than God? It's still the death of many innocent, young lives.
And I know that the verses say "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."
So should we blame Jeremiah? If Jeremiah hadn't said it, could the outcome have changed? Was this "simply" to fulfill prophecy?
There are two more dreams at the end of the chapter: the first to Joseph (of course) to tell him that Herod was dead and they could return, and the second to tell him to avoid a certain area because of Archelaus (Herod's son). They end up in Nazareth, and that ends our chapter.
My thoughts:
1. I wonder how many people are taught at a young age about the killing of the two year olds. I was, I remember even watching a cartoon (seriously), which included it. But it's such a terrible event to pair up with Christmastime...
2. Joseph certainly has a lot of dreams. What about Mary? I know she's visited by an angel before Jesus is born, but no dreams that I can recall. I wonder how many people in the New Testament have dreams in which they are spoken to by God / an angel of God. It's pretty common in the Old Testament, but the New Testament is a whole other kettle of fish.
3. Why don't we know what happens in Egypt, or how long they are there? There had to be something significant about Jesus' raising that would benefit future Christians...
We begin with the Wise Men (not Kings, as states the song “We Three Kings”…heck, not even three, really) who are eager to find the King of the Jews because they saw his star. They stop by Herod’s place to ask him where they could find him…and perhaps it’s only me, but I always imagined this to be a private meeting. Kind of like they strolled/rode up and knocked on the palace door and asked, which really seems illogical now that I think about it.
Instead, I think it was more of a public question; as if they asked it in front of numerous people because “[Herod] was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” I can’t imagine that some dudes from a foreign land show up, ask where the new king is, and the king tells his whole people, “Hey, some guys are looking for a king besides me. Your thoughts?”
Maybe he was giving a speech, and they politely raised their hands: “Excuse me, we’re looking for the King of the Jews. Can you point us in the right direction?” And maybe there were gasps and chuckles.
So Herod reasonably asks his top men for help: where could he find this “king”? They pull out the big intelligent guns and tell him, “Bethlehem, in the land of Juda.”
Fantastic. So Herod returns to the wise men: “Soooo…how long ago did the star appear?”
Sneaky bastard.
Bless the wise men for telling him. Bless their hearts. I bet they were the type of people who saw innate good in everyone. Naïve. Gentle. Lovely people. And easily manipulated by the king.
The wise men are off to find Jesus, and Herod starts plotting -- at least, that's what I was taught as a kid. But it doesn't actually say that. It isn't until the wise men sneak back to their country without stopping by to dish about the Jesus family that he decides to kill children.
So why does he kill the children? Is it to protect his throne or does he have severe anger management problems to being ditched? I'll get there in a minute.
And, of course, how do the wise men know not to go back to Herod? A dream. And it seems they ALL had a visit from God this time in their dream, not just one of them.
"And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way."
Then our man Joseph has another dream (see Chapter 1) and is told by an angel that he should flee to Egypt. Again, I wonder, why not tell Mary, too? Why does Joseph get all of the messages? And does he explain to Mary why they have to go? I wish there was more dialogue.
Their job was to wait in Egypt until Herod was dead. Now, looking at the Old Testament God, couldn't he just strike Herod down? Send fire from the sky? A series of plagues?
Oh wait. That reminds me...
Remember when Moses was in Egypt trying to save his people, and God told him that he would be killing all of the firstborn of Egypt if they didn't follow his instructions?
What's with killing children? I don't understand the necessity for it. Are we supposed to fear God even more because he can striketh his people down? And why is it so much worse that Herod does it than God? It's still the death of many innocent, young lives.
And I know that the verses say "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."
So should we blame Jeremiah? If Jeremiah hadn't said it, could the outcome have changed? Was this "simply" to fulfill prophecy?
There are two more dreams at the end of the chapter: the first to Joseph (of course) to tell him that Herod was dead and they could return, and the second to tell him to avoid a certain area because of Archelaus (Herod's son). They end up in Nazareth, and that ends our chapter.
My thoughts:
1. I wonder how many people are taught at a young age about the killing of the two year olds. I was, I remember even watching a cartoon (seriously), which included it. But it's such a terrible event to pair up with Christmastime...
2. Joseph certainly has a lot of dreams. What about Mary? I know she's visited by an angel before Jesus is born, but no dreams that I can recall. I wonder how many people in the New Testament have dreams in which they are spoken to by God / an angel of God. It's pretty common in the Old Testament, but the New Testament is a whole other kettle of fish.
3. Why don't we know what happens in Egypt, or how long they are there? There had to be something significant about Jesus' raising that would benefit future Christians...
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
The First Noel: Matthew 1
Hello, everyone. I've finally arrived. It's been a crazy few weeks (many weeks) but I made it. Here are my initial thoughts about Matthew:
We begin with the genealogy of Jesus, which as a child, I certainly glanced over to get to the "good stuff"; here's the finale:
Matthew 1:17 "So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations."
I never thought of "fourteen" as being a very biblically symbolic number -- I guess I was expecting twelve or seven or forty...fourteen. I guess it's a multiple of seven...
And now we get into the birth of Jesus (which we will see over and over again, of course)...here are a few lines
"18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily."
What does that mean, "make a public example"? Is that a nice way to say she'd be the town whore? Would she be killed for a child out of wedlock? Would she be a public mockery? And what stopped her from being a perceived one anyway? Did they go around and say, "No, no it's okay. She's giving birth to God's son. Duh." I mean, I guess when he marries her, everyone assumes the baby is his, but still. Don't they have a sense of timing? But, then again, whose to say that God didn't allow Jesus to be in the womb for ten months instead of nine so that people wouldn't talk. Who knows?
"20But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
As a grown adult, and as someone whose father has said that "dreams are our way of putting our mind's garbage out," I wonder about this. How does he know it's DEFINITELY an angel of the Lord? Aren't we taught as little Christian children that Satan is often in disguise? How could he be sure of this?
Last week, I had a dream about Jesus -- that I was talking to him. These things just don't happen anymore, right? So why should I believe it was ACTUALLY Jesus when it could have just been my psyche telling me to get back to work on this blog, or something of that nature?
I wish this conversation with the angel was more of a dialogue. I would like to hear Joseph talking to the angel, wondering, "What the heck did I get into?" It would make him more human, I think, to be scared of the repercussions of this. Here it just looks like he's blindly following a dream vision, which nowadays is unheard of. I guess I just can't relate.
"24Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
25And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS."
Notice, people! Firstborn son! So many people think that Jesus is her ONLY son. He's not. Jesus had brothers from Mary and Joseph. Can you imagine having Jesus as your older brother? It's bad enough for younger siblings needing to live up to their older sibling's legacy...I can't even fathom what it would be like to have the Saviour as my older brother.
"Why can't you be more like Jesus? HE doesn't complain about taking out the garbage."
----
I have read more than this, but I don't have time to write the thoughts yet -- will update later with more chapters.
We begin with the genealogy of Jesus, which as a child, I certainly glanced over to get to the "good stuff"; here's the finale:
Matthew 1:17 "So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations."
I never thought of "fourteen" as being a very biblically symbolic number -- I guess I was expecting twelve or seven or forty...fourteen. I guess it's a multiple of seven...
And now we get into the birth of Jesus (which we will see over and over again, of course)...here are a few lines
"18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily."
What does that mean, "make a public example"? Is that a nice way to say she'd be the town whore? Would she be killed for a child out of wedlock? Would she be a public mockery? And what stopped her from being a perceived one anyway? Did they go around and say, "No, no it's okay. She's giving birth to God's son. Duh." I mean, I guess when he marries her, everyone assumes the baby is his, but still. Don't they have a sense of timing? But, then again, whose to say that God didn't allow Jesus to be in the womb for ten months instead of nine so that people wouldn't talk. Who knows?
"20But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
As a grown adult, and as someone whose father has said that "dreams are our way of putting our mind's garbage out," I wonder about this. How does he know it's DEFINITELY an angel of the Lord? Aren't we taught as little Christian children that Satan is often in disguise? How could he be sure of this?
Last week, I had a dream about Jesus -- that I was talking to him. These things just don't happen anymore, right? So why should I believe it was ACTUALLY Jesus when it could have just been my psyche telling me to get back to work on this blog, or something of that nature?
I wish this conversation with the angel was more of a dialogue. I would like to hear Joseph talking to the angel, wondering, "What the heck did I get into?" It would make him more human, I think, to be scared of the repercussions of this. Here it just looks like he's blindly following a dream vision, which nowadays is unheard of. I guess I just can't relate.
"24Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
25And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS."
Notice, people! Firstborn son! So many people think that Jesus is her ONLY son. He's not. Jesus had brothers from Mary and Joseph. Can you imagine having Jesus as your older brother? It's bad enough for younger siblings needing to live up to their older sibling's legacy...I can't even fathom what it would be like to have the Saviour as my older brother.
"Why can't you be more like Jesus? HE doesn't complain about taking out the garbage."
----
I have read more than this, but I don't have time to write the thoughts yet -- will update later with more chapters.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
jacob was the founder of a whole new nation, thanks to the number of children he had
it's funny because the most i knew about jacob before today came from joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat and one line in bullet the blue sky by U2. but his story is pretty intriguing. also interesting when comparing the story to East Of Eden which in some ways is a reinterpretation of the story of Cain and Abel, but which reminds me slightly more of Jacob and Esau.
there are always questions in my mind when i read these stories where one brother is blessed above the other. and that always seems to be the case. God favors Abel's offering over Cain's, calamity ensues. God favors Iaasac over Ishmael, calamity ensues. God favors Jacob over Esau, calamity ensues. It just seems like one brother is always getting the short end of the stick. (or in joseph's case, 12 brothers were getting the short end of the stick)
so does God play favorites? eh, maybe that is too harsh. it's not as if he completely cursed the other brothers. but he always made it clear that he had great plans for one over the other. in Jacob and Isaac's case he came right out and informed their mothers that their sons were to do great things. that kind of stuff surely didn't stay secret. and rebekah was conniving and crazy trying to ensure "God's will" came true.
i think we've all seen this too. where life seems to be so hard for one sibling and come so easily to another. i even see this between my brother and i. i'm social and outgoing, and he's very quiet and reserved and has never kept a large social circle. but the reality is, he's the better friend between the two of us. he's loyal and honest, and has clarity of vision. he loves people fiercely and honestly. but yet friendships have always been difficult for him to maintain, and i've usually had them in spades. why is it that he, who has so many superior qualities as a friend, hasn't encountered the same group of loving individuals i've been fortunate enough to meet? is God favoring me and not him? if the thought has crossed my mind, surely its crossed his?
don't get me wrong, my brother is blessed in many ways. he just got engaged yesterday! but he has still had to struggle in ways i can't even imagine. why is that, i wonder?
but perhaps he has a greater capacity for the struggle, and i'm weak comparatively. perhaps that's why i've been so insulated.
anyway, back to jacob. the old testament still weirds me out with all the wives, and all the sleeping with the servants. seriously? what's that about. then at one point leah "hires" jacob for the night. are you for serious? polygamy is so foreign to us i guess that it's hard for me to imagine this situation.
there were a lot of good lessons to be learned out of the story, though. most of all about patience and what happens when you act out of impatience. rebekah's impatience ended up causing her son to move away for two decades and caused a bitter divide in her family. jacob's patience eventually persisted in getting him the wife he desired (rebekah). and jacob's patience and finally relenting to god's will eventually allowed him to return home and reconcile with his brother. upon which his daughter was raped and his sons massacred an entire village. wah, wah.
so i guess it's true what they say...you can never go home again. because your daughter will get raped and your sons will massacre an entire village.
there are always questions in my mind when i read these stories where one brother is blessed above the other. and that always seems to be the case. God favors Abel's offering over Cain's, calamity ensues. God favors Iaasac over Ishmael, calamity ensues. God favors Jacob over Esau, calamity ensues. It just seems like one brother is always getting the short end of the stick. (or in joseph's case, 12 brothers were getting the short end of the stick)
so does God play favorites? eh, maybe that is too harsh. it's not as if he completely cursed the other brothers. but he always made it clear that he had great plans for one over the other. in Jacob and Isaac's case he came right out and informed their mothers that their sons were to do great things. that kind of stuff surely didn't stay secret. and rebekah was conniving and crazy trying to ensure "God's will" came true.
i think we've all seen this too. where life seems to be so hard for one sibling and come so easily to another. i even see this between my brother and i. i'm social and outgoing, and he's very quiet and reserved and has never kept a large social circle. but the reality is, he's the better friend between the two of us. he's loyal and honest, and has clarity of vision. he loves people fiercely and honestly. but yet friendships have always been difficult for him to maintain, and i've usually had them in spades. why is it that he, who has so many superior qualities as a friend, hasn't encountered the same group of loving individuals i've been fortunate enough to meet? is God favoring me and not him? if the thought has crossed my mind, surely its crossed his?
don't get me wrong, my brother is blessed in many ways. he just got engaged yesterday! but he has still had to struggle in ways i can't even imagine. why is that, i wonder?
but perhaps he has a greater capacity for the struggle, and i'm weak comparatively. perhaps that's why i've been so insulated.
anyway, back to jacob. the old testament still weirds me out with all the wives, and all the sleeping with the servants. seriously? what's that about. then at one point leah "hires" jacob for the night. are you for serious? polygamy is so foreign to us i guess that it's hard for me to imagine this situation.
there were a lot of good lessons to be learned out of the story, though. most of all about patience and what happens when you act out of impatience. rebekah's impatience ended up causing her son to move away for two decades and caused a bitter divide in her family. jacob's patience eventually persisted in getting him the wife he desired (rebekah). and jacob's patience and finally relenting to god's will eventually allowed him to return home and reconcile with his brother. upon which his daughter was raped and his sons massacred an entire village. wah, wah.
so i guess it's true what they say...you can never go home again. because your daughter will get raped and your sons will massacre an entire village.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)