September 23, 2007 7:10 AM
Sam wrote:
Prov 23. Verse 12. "Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge." It is one thing to be taught something, another to do it. We read and read the Bible and are 'proud' of ourselves for doing so. And we learn. We learn about sin. We learn about avoiding sin. We learn of great battles in history pitting good against evil. We learn about salvation. We learn a lot of things by reading/hearing the Word of God. But it all comes to naught, if we don't apply this knowledge to our heart. In Acts 8, Peter tells Simon the Sorcerer (remember that story on the 8th of September?) that his heart is not right with God. It was not that the Sorcerer didn't understand his teachings, it was that it had not been applied to his heart. We need to develop a relationship so close to God that all the good we learn goes straight to the heart, that is, we know and DO the right things out of love for Him. Any ideas on what you can do in this area today????
Acts 23. Wow....Paul was pretty intelligent. Bringing up something (resurrection of the dead) that was a sticking point between the two main factions there, the Sadducees and Pharisees, he diverted their attention from him. He even got the Pharisees to find him innocent, simply because he said he believed in something important that they did (and, of course, he DID believe it). The story goes on about the plot to kill him, and then his night trip to Claudius Lysias. But I want to talk about this diversion which Paul used. Remember when Paul told the church in Corinth that he became all things to men? Here he is doing the same; showing that he has something in common, even with people he was denouncing. A cameleon is like that. He blends in. I think we have trouble properly blending in today with the world. We are supposed to be of it, not in it (see John 15:19). We have to blend in, yet at the same time, shine apart. Blending is not conforming, but simply being there. Shining for God is not always appearing to be fanatical and preaching on every street corner, but rather simply demonstrating to others the great joy of being a Christian. Avoid the pitfalls of sin, yet don't alienate the people in it. Win their confidence like Paul did the Pharisees. Try that sometime today. Reply to this
September 23, 2007 7:12 AM
Sam wrote:
I mentioned Sep 8th and the story about Simon the Sorcerer and asked if you remembered it. I looked back to that day and saw no one's blog---guess you didn't remember the story. Reply to this
Prov 23. Verse 12. "Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge." It is one thing to be taught something, another to do it. We read and read the Bible and are 'proud' of ourselves for doing so. And we learn. We learn about sin. We learn about avoiding sin. We learn of great battles in history pitting good against evil. We learn about salvation. We learn a lot of things by reading/hearing the Word of God. But it all comes to naught, if we don't apply this knowledge to our heart. In Acts 8, Peter tells Simon the Sorcerer (remember that story on the 8th of September?) that his heart is not right with God. It was not that the Sorcerer didn't understand his teachings, it was that it had not been applied to his heart. We need to develop a relationship so close to God that all the good we learn goes straight to the heart, that is, we know and DO the right things out of love for Him. Any ideas on what you can do in this area today????
Acts 23. Wow....Paul was pretty intelligent. Bringing up something (resurrection of the dead) that was a sticking point between the two main factions there, the Sadducees and Pharisees, he diverted their attention from him. He even got the Pharisees to find him innocent, simply because he said he believed in something important that they did (and, of course, he DID believe it). The story goes on about the plot to kill him, and then his night trip to Claudius Lysias. But I want to talk about this diversion which Paul used. Remember when Paul told the church in Corinth that he became all things to men? Here he is doing the same; showing that he has something in common, even with people he was denouncing. A cameleon is like that. He blends in. I think we have trouble properly blending in today with the world. We are supposed to be of it, not in it (see John 15:19). We have to blend in, yet at the same time, shine apart. Blending is not conforming, but simply being there. Shining for God is not always appearing to be fanatical and preaching on every street corner, but rather simply demonstrating to others the great joy of being a Christian. Avoid the pitfalls of sin, yet don't alienate the people in it. Win their confidence like Paul did the Pharisees. Try that sometime today.
Reply to this
I mentioned Sep 8th and the story about Simon the Sorcerer and asked if you remembered it. I looked back to that day and saw no one's blog---guess you didn't remember the story.
Reply to this