Eucharisteo
15 years ago
Monday, January 10, 2011
Heresies 1 (Introduction)
I've been recently inspired through various means and decided to do a short series of blogs. "What will be the topic?" I hear you asking. Heresy. In the ancient church there were frequent discussions, arguments, councils, writings, creeds, and confessions used to eliminate false and non-biblical beliefs because it was important to believers that they passed on truth to others. The society we live in now stresses, and insists that anything goes. Christians need to look at history and see where we have come from, so that we can recognize false teaching when it comes up. As it is often said "There is nothing new under the sun." We can learn from how the church has already dealt with these issues so that we don't keep repeating the errors. There are various sources that I will be using because I'm not an expert at heresy or theology, but am seeking to learn from those who are experienced in these areas. I hope this series will spark thoughts and discussions but most importantly, help us move forward instead of backward in our understanding of the Gospel. My goal is to post one blog per week so stay tuned!
Friday, November 19, 2010
What should I do today?
It seems like life just gets busier everyday, especially now that I'm married. It's been nearly a year since I've even written on here. Everyday I have a list in my mind of all the great things I will accomplish that day but I never get close to completing the list. My wife has helped me learn to shorten the list which has been a good thing but I still run into problems. So today my plan was to eat breakfast, run to the DMV, and study for my class yet here it is 10:15 and I haven't even cracked a book. Something has come to my attention and I felt like it should take priority over the list. So today my list is being put on hold so that I can take a stand for justice.
I remember hearing a sermon not long ago, I can't remember who it was, but during the sermon he made the point that darkness loves darkness and hates the light. Part of what he was saying was that you can't expect people living in darkness to expose others living in darkness. This concept is on my mind as I have searched high and low this morning and found very minimal news coverage of two people. Two people, in modern times who have been exposed to the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ but have been forced into the physical darkness of prison cells in countries that are covered by spiritual darkness. They are two Christians, Asia Bibi and Sayed Mossa, both Christians facing persecution in Islamic countries due to their beliefs. Don't bother looking to CNN, Fox, or MSNBC to tell you about them, they only have a few paragraphs about Asia.
Asia Bibi's story can be read here, and here.
Sayed Mossa is here, and here.
Read these stories! Here are two people who are experiencing first hand the psychological abuse, verbal abuse, physical abuse, and corrupt judicial systems supported by the "peaceful" religion of Islam. These two cases could be instrumental in bringing world-wide recognition to the crooked thinking and dark beliefs of Islam. For those who have said that Islam is not a violent religion and that terrorists and the like were extreme examples, these two people have experienced abuse on a national level (one in Pakistan and one in Afghanistan). This is not a result of a few extremists, it is the result of large groups of people, pressuring entire judicial systems to ignore the rights of human beings made in the image of God.
As Christians we are called to support Asia and Sayed. Pray for their release and pray that they will be strong as they face persecution. Pray that their testimony before their persecutors and before the world will bring glory to God and cause others to turn away from darkness to the light. Write to your friends, your senators, your presidents, and news organizations. We are more connected then ever before and there is no reason that these stories can not spread out across the globe so that light can be shinned into the darkness. People will ignore it because darkness loves darkness, but expose it anyway. If we allow darkness to remain unlit we will fail the highest calling God has given us and that is to take the gospel to the whole world.
I remember hearing a sermon not long ago, I can't remember who it was, but during the sermon he made the point that darkness loves darkness and hates the light. Part of what he was saying was that you can't expect people living in darkness to expose others living in darkness. This concept is on my mind as I have searched high and low this morning and found very minimal news coverage of two people. Two people, in modern times who have been exposed to the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ but have been forced into the physical darkness of prison cells in countries that are covered by spiritual darkness. They are two Christians, Asia Bibi and Sayed Mossa, both Christians facing persecution in Islamic countries due to their beliefs. Don't bother looking to CNN, Fox, or MSNBC to tell you about them, they only have a few paragraphs about Asia.
Asia Bibi's story can be read here, and here.
Sayed Mossa is here, and here.
Read these stories! Here are two people who are experiencing first hand the psychological abuse, verbal abuse, physical abuse, and corrupt judicial systems supported by the "peaceful" religion of Islam. These two cases could be instrumental in bringing world-wide recognition to the crooked thinking and dark beliefs of Islam. For those who have said that Islam is not a violent religion and that terrorists and the like were extreme examples, these two people have experienced abuse on a national level (one in Pakistan and one in Afghanistan). This is not a result of a few extremists, it is the result of large groups of people, pressuring entire judicial systems to ignore the rights of human beings made in the image of God.
As Christians we are called to support Asia and Sayed. Pray for their release and pray that they will be strong as they face persecution. Pray that their testimony before their persecutors and before the world will bring glory to God and cause others to turn away from darkness to the light. Write to your friends, your senators, your presidents, and news organizations. We are more connected then ever before and there is no reason that these stories can not spread out across the globe so that light can be shinned into the darkness. People will ignore it because darkness loves darkness, but expose it anyway. If we allow darkness to remain unlit we will fail the highest calling God has given us and that is to take the gospel to the whole world.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
"Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God to receive glory..."
Acts 12:20-25
I read this passage this morning and in light of recent events it stood out to me more than it has in the past. Basically these people come before Herod because they want him to continue feeding them. He gives a speech and the people proclaim that he is no ordinary man but that he is actually a god. Instead of pointing out that he is not god and then directing the people to God, he allowed them to continue chanting and evidently was enjoying his fame. What happens next? He is killed by God. "immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died." I, for one, am thankful that God has not killed me in times of my own pride. I wanted to take the opportunity to encourage you all, (the three people who read this) to give God all the glory. I have recently been reminded again that I am a weak, sinful man. I can not move, breathe, think, love, worship, serve, see, hear, or anything else apart from the power of God on my life. I see more and more that I am a sinner and if not for the grace of God I would be completely and desperately lost. I have come to see that it is only when we see our failures and stand before God naked, admitting and confessing our sinfulness, that we can truly grow. We need to stop acting like we are good, stop acting like we have everything together, and stop acting like God owes us something. In other words, we need to stop acting like we are gods. Herod learned this lesson the hard way, but we can learn from his mistake. We must give God the glory for the good in our lives, and humbly come before Him, thanking Him for his goodness to us. We should all be dead but He has allowed us to live. He continues to give us breath, the very least we can do is give it back in worship and honor.
Revelation 4:11
I read this passage this morning and in light of recent events it stood out to me more than it has in the past. Basically these people come before Herod because they want him to continue feeding them. He gives a speech and the people proclaim that he is no ordinary man but that he is actually a god. Instead of pointing out that he is not god and then directing the people to God, he allowed them to continue chanting and evidently was enjoying his fame. What happens next? He is killed by God. "immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died." I, for one, am thankful that God has not killed me in times of my own pride. I wanted to take the opportunity to encourage you all, (the three people who read this) to give God all the glory. I have recently been reminded again that I am a weak, sinful man. I can not move, breathe, think, love, worship, serve, see, hear, or anything else apart from the power of God on my life. I see more and more that I am a sinner and if not for the grace of God I would be completely and desperately lost. I have come to see that it is only when we see our failures and stand before God naked, admitting and confessing our sinfulness, that we can truly grow. We need to stop acting like we are good, stop acting like we have everything together, and stop acting like God owes us something. In other words, we need to stop acting like we are gods. Herod learned this lesson the hard way, but we can learn from his mistake. We must give God the glory for the good in our lives, and humbly come before Him, thanking Him for his goodness to us. We should all be dead but He has allowed us to live. He continues to give us breath, the very least we can do is give it back in worship and honor.
Revelation 4:11
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