July 20, 2008 8:22 AM
Sam wrote:
So, we come to the end of an era...well, a chapter, anyway. We see the death of Jacob (Israel) AND Joseph in this chapter. Fitting way to end such a fabulous rendition of our earliest history. We all pass away --- there is no one mortal. You might say that a couple of men mentioned in this chapter 'went with God' and did not 'die...but I don't believe that...I believe they died, and then 'went (or walked) with God'. We can start our 'walk with God' earlier than our death. It is the manner in which we live our lives here on this earth FOR God. He will be with us, if we remain in Him. I know each of you have your own way to walk with your Father, and I know He is proud to call each of you His son. Keep up the great work for Him, and I'll see tomorrow in another great historical rendition as our history continues in the book of Exodus.
Great participation this month...I am encouraged. Reply to this
July 20, 2008 8:35 PM
Rich wrote:
I went AWOL again and I apologize. I really enjoy being part of this. I find that my QT's are much deeper when I blog. I also like learning from you guys. God gives us all wisdom from our life's experiences. Our goal is to learn from the experiences and share with others. So, my apology is for not sharing with you (as well as from not showing enough interest to learn from you). Also, I made a commitment to all of you that I would blog everyday and I have failed on my commitment. For that I also apologize.
I heard a great message in church today. Topic was Romans 12 - verse 1 and 2. The main focus of today's lesson was that when God looks at us he sees Jesus. We are taught the we were washed of our sins, past, present and future in baptism. So, God sees us as sinless - that is, as Jesus. The questions are: (1) How do I see myself (do I see myself as God sees me or do I see myself as a wretched sinner without hope of ever changing) and (2) what should my response be to God for doing this for me. He has forgiven me of ALL sins. I sin each and every day. I sin all the time!!! I deserve the worst. I do not in any way deserve God's mercy. But that is what he gave to me. His MERCY!!!
So, as Paul says in Romans, "in view of God's mercy" offer myself as a living sacrifice to God = be grateful. Also, if I see myself as being forgiven and as being loved by God as Jesus was loved by God, I should be like Jesus. We all read the Jesus book some time ago. I have to admit, I do not see myself like that. That book made me admire Jesus more, but I never thought of myself as being like that. I am going to read the book again with this idea in mind and see how it affects me.
As all of this relates to Genesis, I started thinking how we have all been talking about how sinful these guys were. Multiple wives, greed, jealousy, lies, deception, and on and on. The other side of all of this is that God loved the characters in Genesis. He chose to accept them as they were. And this before Jesus! The fact is that God is amazingly loving and caring. And when he accepts someone he sticks with them. He only asks for 2 things from us (as noted in I John 1:5-10: (1) that we realize and admit that we are sinners (I think this means that we stay grateful to God) and (2) that we confess our sins (being open with God and with others about who we really are). I think that openness is what allows us to grow to be more like Jesus. Also, it makes us want to read the Bible and learn about God and about forgiveness. Whether it be Genesis, Proverbs, Kings, Mark, Romans, or Amos, we can learn from God's word.
I am grateful for today's message because it has reopened my eyes for why I need to read the Bible. Not to blog so you all think I am spiritual. But to read and learn to understand God more and to grow to be more like him and more like the way he sees me - as Jesus.
So, we come to the end of an era...well, a chapter, anyway. We see the death of Jacob (Israel) AND Joseph in this chapter. Fitting way to end such a fabulous rendition of our earliest history. We all pass away --- there is no one mortal. You might say that a couple of men mentioned in this chapter 'went with God' and did not 'die...but I don't believe that...I believe they died, and then 'went (or walked) with God'. We can start our 'walk with God' earlier than our death. It is the manner in which we live our lives here on this earth FOR God. He will be with us, if we remain in Him. I know each of you have your own way to walk with your Father, and I know He is proud to call each of you His son. Keep up the great work for Him, and I'll see tomorrow in another great historical rendition as our history continues in the book of Exodus.
Great participation this month...I am encouraged.
Reply to this
I went AWOL again and I apologize. I really enjoy being part of this. I find that my QT's are much deeper when I blog. I also like learning from you guys. God gives us all wisdom from our life's experiences. Our goal is to learn from the experiences and share with others. So, my apology is for not sharing with you (as well as from not showing enough interest to learn from you). Also, I made a commitment to all of you that I would blog everyday and I have failed on my commitment. For that I also apologize.
I heard a great message in church today. Topic was Romans 12 - verse 1 and 2. The main focus of today's lesson was that when God looks at us he sees Jesus. We are taught the we were washed of our sins, past, present and future in baptism. So, God sees us as sinless - that is, as Jesus. The questions are: (1) How do I see myself (do I see myself as God sees me or do I see myself as a wretched sinner without hope of ever changing) and (2) what should my response be to God for doing this for me. He has forgiven me of ALL sins. I sin each and every day. I sin all the time!!! I deserve the worst. I do not in any way deserve God's mercy. But that is what he gave to me. His MERCY!!!
So, as Paul says in Romans, "in view of God's mercy" offer myself as a living sacrifice to God = be grateful. Also, if I see myself as being forgiven and as being loved by God as Jesus was loved by God, I should be like Jesus. We all read the Jesus book some time ago. I have to admit, I do not see myself like that. That book made me admire Jesus more, but I never thought of myself as being like that. I am going to read the book again with this idea in mind and see how it affects me.
As all of this relates to Genesis, I started thinking how we have all been talking about how sinful these guys were. Multiple wives, greed, jealousy, lies, deception, and on and on. The other side of all of this is that God loved the characters in Genesis. He chose to accept them as they were. And this before Jesus! The fact is that God is amazingly loving and caring. And when he accepts someone he sticks with them. He only asks for 2 things from us (as noted in I John 1:5-10: (1) that we realize and admit that we are sinners (I think this means that we stay grateful to God) and (2) that we confess our sins (being open with God and with others about who we really are). I think that openness is what allows us to grow to be more like Jesus. Also, it makes us want to read the Bible and learn about God and about forgiveness. Whether it be Genesis, Proverbs, Kings, Mark, Romans, or Amos, we can learn from God's word.
I am grateful for today's message because it has reopened my eyes for why I need to read the Bible. Not to blog so you all think I am spiritual. But to read and learn to understand God more and to grow to be more like him and more like the way he sees me - as Jesus.
"See" you tomorrow!
Reply to this