I'm Back!! My feet were again stepped on by God's Word!!

25 So you must stop telling lies. Tell each other the truth because we all belong to each other in the same body.[a] 26 When you are angry, do not sin. And do not go on being angry all day. 27 Do not give the devil a way to defeat you. 28 If a person is stealing, he must stop stealing and start working. He must use his hands for doing something good. Then he will have something to share with those who are poor.

29 When you talk, do not say harmful things. But say what people need—words that will help others become stronger. Then what you say will help those who listen to you. 30 And do not make the Holy Spirit sad. The Spirit is God’s proof that you belong to him. God gave you the Spirit to show that God will make you free when the time comes. 31 Do not be bitter or angry or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil. 32 Be kind and loving to each other. Forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ. 

                                                                         Ephesians 4:25-32 International Children’s Bible

Yes, I am back!  Still not doing much wandering, that will have to change but that is another blogg for another time!!   The above passage was a devotion from the other day.  As I read it I thought of my own reactions to things that happen in my day and week, well OK life!!  I thought about how we tell each other the truth as we see it (aka lie to one another).   How we let anger eat us up by which we give the devil, Satan, a foothold with which he can defeat us.  How we steal, not from each other as much as as we steal from the poor by not giving to them as we see a need.    How when we talk we tend to say harmful things more than we say things that will make other stronger.  I thought about how we are bitter or angry or mad and how we shout and say things that hurt people, sometimes with intent and other times when it just happen but would not have if we would have just thought or just kept our mouths shut.    These last few are hard to miss in the passage!!  I also thought about how this makes the Holy Spirit, and God, sad.  The above is not just in the world but it is as much, if not more, within the Body of Christ!

There are two other things I noticed and they are at the end of the passage; things which we do but do less that the other things this old man has seen within us as Christians.  The first we need to do anytime we are thinking about doing that which we do so well that I have spoken of above.   Instead of all the evil we do so easily we need to: "Be kind and loving to each other". We need to think before we act.  We need to engage our spiritual life and be kind and loving; showing grace to those we interact with in the church building and those we interact with outside the church building.  Yes, I know!  MUCH EASIER SAID THAN DONE!!   Then again the passage also says "Forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ!  If I remember that would be anytime and every time!!  In the Lord's Prayer we ask God to forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.  By which would you like to be forgiven by God.  As God forgave you or how you forgive others?  If you forgive like God does then you are in the clear; aren't you!?!

More wondering by this Old Man

Publish [G*d's] glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things [G*d] does.  ~ 1 Chronicles 16:24, NLT

This was today's K-Love radio verse of the day.  It made me wonder if we are good at "publishing the glorious deeds of G*d" in our own community, let alone among the nations!   I have to ask myself, as well as you good readers, what we are doing to get out to the people we know what G*d is doing in our life?  How much as we talking (publishing) what amazing things G*d is doing in our day to day life?

Let us make an effort to publish (talk about) G*d's deed in our life and tell about the amazing things G*d does for us.

Love for one another by loving God

Jesus told us this in John 13:35; "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (NLT)  I wonder if "all [humanity] know we are Jesus disciples?  Do we love one another?  Within the local and/or national denominational group; I have spent time in both the Southern Baptist family and I am currently part of the American Baptist family.  If one attends a Region or National (Bi-annual) gathering, at least a few years back, does it show our love of one another?

Jesus also said in Matthew 22:37,  "You must love the Lord your God will all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." (NLT)  I  wonder if this is not the way to do John 13:35?  If we truly love God, would we not develop a love one another?  Maybe not immediately but soon after we, by God's grace, developed a love for God.   Which I wonder if would not develop into a love for the not-yet-christians in our lives.   

Jesus on giving and prayer

Matthew 6:1-18 “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.  ^2-4 “When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out. ⁵ “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?  ⁶ “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.   ^7-13 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

 ^14-15 “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part. 
^16-18 “When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don’t make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won’t make you a saint. If you ‘go into training’ inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn’t require attention-getting devices. He won’t overlook what you are doing; he’ll reward you well.
(The Message)

Just got to love how this Bible puts this passage!  I wonder if Jesus did not say it in a like way?  I wonder; and in this case wandering not required.

More Wandering of an Old Man

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.  Colossians 2:7 (NLT)

 

When this verse came to my inbox the other day I thought; "Well here may be the Body of Christ's problem!"  Do we let our roots grow deep into Christ?     Are we doing what it takes to get rooted in Christ?  Are we seeking that deep water source which is in Christ?   I know in the real world that when the heat hits plants, even mature trees that are not rooted into a DEEP SOURCE of water will die. I wonder about us as the Body of Christ?  Do we let our lives be built on him?  Do we look for that good foundation that is Christ?   Again, as we are have temperatures in the mid low thirties I have heard of our local community college's contractor continuing to pour the foundation for a new building on campus; I am not sure this is good planning but I am not in the concrete business nor the building business.  I am in the building the Family of God business and I wonder about our foundations? 

 

Doing these two things, rooting him Christ and Building on Christ,  will allow our faith to grow strong in the truth we were taught, this leads to another question, which is "What truths have we been taught."  Have we been taught G*D'S TRUTH or have we been taught some one's interpretation of G*d's Truth?   Personally, I think it is likely a 50/50 thing.  Half of what we were taught is G*D'S TRUTH and the other half is interpretation of G*d's Truth.  I know that from time to time as a pastor I will have to plead Guilty to the latter and be held accountable for not doing the former.  Again, I wonder.  I wonder if we need to do a better job of having a mindset like the people of Berea (Acts 17:11)?  

 

The last thing the verse says is "we will overflow with thanksgiving" if we are rooted and built.  So; I wonder are we overflowing with thanksgiving?  If not we need to work on our rooting and building site!

Another in a long line (whch will get longer) of old man's wondering.

9So why do you keep calling me 'Lord, Lord!' when you don't do what I say?
 Luke 6:46 NLT

Well?   What is your answer?

More Wondering By This Oldman

 ⁴ Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, ⁵ so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.   Romans 12:4-5 (NLT)

Again a verse of the day that will start one wondering; read yesterdays for my wonderings on church unity.  This one gets me to thinking about how we treat our physical body and if we would/do treat Christ's body likewise.  Just my wondering thoughts!!!

Building the House

Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.       Ephesians 2:20 NLT


This verse was the verse of the day from either Klove or Air1 today.  It got me to wondering "what are we apart?"  I guess I see Christendom as a house divided; not together.  I am not even meaning denominations.  I am think of the clans of the Christendom like the American Baptists or the United Methodists or the Presbyterians or the  Southern Baptists.     In fact it is more like individual congregations can not even be built together into a house on one foundation.  Another man in my church and I were talking when we were the only two to show for men's group Wednesday about the church (the local congregation we fellowship in) and what it will take to get the body to care about the not-yet-Christians in our community.  As I look back at the conversation in the light of this verse it just may be a need of "coming together" allowing the cornerstone Christ Jesus himself to build the house one the foundation of His choosing.

Just my wondering wandering mind at work!

Just A Thought!!

Do not remember where on the net I found this (did so long ago) but it is a thought!!!!!

More wondering

This post from Holy Soup; got me to wondering . . .

I wonder if there is a relationahip issue in the church as a whole; as in we do not have relationships with each other as well as Jesus. We come to church but are not church, are not a body dependant on one another. Especially in larger churches, but in even in the small church where I am a member there is a limited commitment to relationship without the estabished groups. The mens grp just talked about the lack of fellowship event — events for no other reason than simply building relationships. We have men’s/women’s mnistry on Wednesday (a time of study) Sunday School and Worship Sunday AM (study based) when do sit around andget to know each other? Also most churches I have been apart of in the last 20 years have done away with Sunday Evening time when the “Testimony time” was. Just wondering; would this have anything to do with a lack of people having a today vs historical Jesus?

Another Moment of Wondering

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.  2 Peter 1:3 NLT

Peter tells us that God had given us what we need to live a Godly life; therefore we have no reason or excuse for not living Godly!  Maybe the reason we have problems is that we do not "come to know Jesus"!  Just a thought!!!!!! (Thanks AJ3)

One more moment of wondering

This is a video of Ed Dobson. While his statements are about his life as a pastor; I wonder if it is not just as true of the body of Christ in general; ie the congregation.  We get so busy with the business of the work of the ministry that we forget to do the ministry in the community in which God has planted us.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/living/2012/02/11/eds-story-my-garden.cnn#/video/living/2012/02/11/eds-story-my-garden.cnn

Seeking GOD

Hebrews 11:6c (New Living Translation) [GOD] rewards those who sincerely [diligently] seek [God].

So, my  question is just how sincerely, diligently, do we seek God both as individuals and as a body?  The word sincerely, means "without wax".  It was used to tell the buyer that a carving had not had places repaired or cracks find with wax mixed with stone dust.  So are should be with a mindset of really seeking God not just paying lip service to the idea.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diligently?show=0&t=1326916591 defines this way : "characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort : painstaking".   I think of a Bloodhound on a scent.  I have heard of Bloodhounds running the pads of their paws raw refusing to give up on a scent.  Do we seek God in a way that would make us "bleed"?

Just wondering?   Again no wandering involved!