ThinkOutLoud http://thinkoutloud.org/ en-us Nucleus CMS v3.22 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://thinkoutloud.org//nucleus/nucleus2.gif ThinkOutLoud http://thinkoutloud.org/ God's Anger and Christians http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=25 How You Can Be Led by the Spirit of God):
Does the Holy Spirit condemn you if you do wrong as a Christian? No. It is your spirit that condemns you. You need to learn that. It is a hard lesson to learn, however, because we have been taught incorrectly. The Holy Spirit will not condemn you. Why? Because God won't. Study what the Holy Spirit through Paul wrote in the Epistle to the Romans. He asked: Who is it that condemns? Does God condemn? No, it is God that justifies.

Jesus said that the only sin the Holy Spirit will convict the world of is the sin of rejecting Jesus (John 16:7-9). It is your own conscience - the voice of your own spirit - that knows when you have done wrong. I have found that even when I do wrong, though my spirit condemns me, the Holy Spirit is there to comfort me, to help me, to show me the way back. You will never read in the Bible where the holy Spirit is a condemner. Jesus called Him the Comforter. The seven-fold meaning of that word from the Greek is brought out in the Amplified Bible:

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby) that He may remain with you forever.
John 14:16 Amplified

It is your own spirit that knows the moment you have done wrong. I am glad I learned that early. It paid off richly for me in life...

I think I subscribe more to the thought that each member of the Trinity has a slightly different role and personality.

God - In the Old Testament was a "jealous" God, a "vengeful" God, and a "holy" God. Yet at times he also showed instances of mercy and grace. In Exodus chapter 33, when Moses wanted to see God face to face, God had to cover Moses so that he would not die from being exposed to something so pure and holy.

Jesus - In the New Testament preached forgiveness, love, and acceptance. He died so that we might live in communion with a holy
God.

Holy Spirit - I think Conor's comments are pretty dead on with the Holy Spirit.

So my thoughts are pretty much Conor's thoughts. I think the Holy Spirit does serve as a comforter and not a condemner. I also think that God (in the sense of all three members of the Trinity) is not a condemner, but I believe that God the Father is a just God who must carry out justice. I also believe that when we feel "condemned" because of a sin, it is either an evil spirit or something inside us that is causing us to feel that way.

However, I also believe that it is possible for God's anger to burn against an individual or a group of individuals (as evidenced in the Old Testament). Whether or not it is possible for His anger to burn against a Christian, I am not sure. I think that all it would require to "burn in anger" against a Christian would be for Him to reveal a part of his presence. When confronted with something so holy and pure, any true Christian would immediately feel inadequate and terrified (take the example of Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 6).

I think that God is loving God, but can also be a terrifying God. In addition to my thoughts above, my belief in this also stems from the numerous references in the Bible to "fear" the Lord your God.]]> Christian Thought http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=25 Fri, 5 Oct 2007 10:43:33 -0500 Weblog Migration http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=24 Announcements http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=24 Sun, 10 Jun 2007 22:17:30 -0500 The Four-Step Plan http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=23
The first step is to receive a temptation that is personally new. Perhaps you've never stolen anything before, and suddenly you're tempted to steal again -- even though you have a long history of avoiding this particular pitfall. The line in your head goes something like, "It's just one time. You won't get caught. The circumstances and situation you are in right now make it reasonable and understandable if not completely justifiable. It won't happen again. It's just this one time." After thinking all of those things and much more you make your choice. You turn away. Or you embrace the thoughts as truth and choose to sin.

The next step is to receive the temptation again. You only arrive at this step if you've completed the first step embracing the temptation and choosing to sin. At this point you have felt some level of guilt about the first time, but there has been a significant passage of time between then and now. A new line enters your mind and it goes something like this, "You've already done it once. You weren't caught the first time. It's not like this is something new for you. Think of how it will help you right now. The situation you are in right now almost necessitates that you go ahead and do it one more time. C'mon, you've already done this before." After thinking all of those things and much more you make your choice. You turn away. Or you embrace the thoughts as truth and choose to sin.

The third step is to receive a new temptation related to the temptations in steps one and two. Now that you've stolen something (in this example) you've realized how easy it is and seen that the consequences weren't all that bad. In fact, choosing your sin may seem to be consequence free -- except for the guilt that you bear. That guilt is the new temptation. At this point you have chosen to embrace the temptation a number of times and a new line has entered your head. You're thinking, "I guess now I am a thief. It's not like I just took one or two things. I do this a few times a month now. I feel unacceptable. How did God allow me to do this? How will God take me back? Perhaps if I feel a strong sense of guilt and remorse and really beat myself up God and everyone else who knows about this will feel like I am no longer a thief and that I am generally worthwhile again." After thinking all of this you have another choice. You turn away from your sin. Or you take on the label of your sin, adopt it as part of who you are, and decide that God can not love you anymore."

The final step is to receive a last temptation. Now that you have chosen to sin, and do it repeatedly, you've also chosen to take on the sin as a part of who you are. Now you think of yourself as a thief or whatever pertains to your name. You still feel like you're a half decent person… you just steal some things. Now a new line of thinking enters your mind, "I am not so sure that there is a God. Even if there is, how can I believe that the Bible or any other book is true? It seems too much like a story to think that there was a Jesus and that He was God and came to redeem me. I can't accept that stuff anymore." After thinking all of this you have a fourth choice. You can turn away from this temptation and the pattern of sin that you've established for yourself. You can repent and never turn back to this… being ever vigilant against the many, many temptations that will come to you in the future regarding this sin. Or you can embrace the thoughts as truth and deny God.

1 Samuel 12:20&22
"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own."

At every one of these steps there is a reminder in the Bible about turning away from this four-step plan and turning back to God. No matter where you are in this path you can always get off the path and choose God.]]> Christian Life http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=23 Mon, 12 Dec 2005 15:21:00 -0600 Inside Out http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=21
Recently, I heard a sermon about when John the Baptist sent his followers to ask Jesus if he really was the One. The pastor put a different spin on it than the one I’m taking, but what I saw was a doubting John (no doubting Thomas here). In my devotions and Bible readings as of late, I’ve come across numerous instances where heroic figures in the Bible doubt God or otherwise completely fail him (Adam and Eve the Unruly, Cain the Killer, Noah the Drunk, Moses the Reluctant, Israel the Whiney, Elijah the Complainer, David the Adulterer/Murderer… John the Baptist/Doubter and Peer Pressure Peter). Despite all these people’s flaws, God still managed to work amazing things into and through their lives, and He loved them dearly. Some pastors would look at the positive aspects of these people’s lives and say that we need to be better, I look at the negative aspects and say there’s hope: they’re the same as us. This gives me immense hope in the midst of my inside out times. Also, Ephesians 3:20 has been popping up all over my devotions so I think I’ll end with it:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.]]> Christian Life http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=21 Tue, 16 Aug 2005 23:02:00 -0500 Northland: A Church Distributed http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=22
For me the most exciting thing about having all the sermons from a single year is that they essentially constitute a single, unified work in a sense. The pastor of Northland, decides at the beginning of each year to spend the entire year covering a single broad topic. Each of his sermons (AND the sermons of his guest speakers!) are tied into the main theme for the year and they build upon each other. Joel has written a series of 10 books just for his congregants that discuss the topic of Christian spiritual growth and maturity. The way the sermons build upon each other builds upon Joel's concept of maturity. When he preaches he has the church as he sees it in mind. He preaches to this church as if they had been there for every sermon for that year. At the same time he preaches to everyone as if they were new, and also as if they had never been to Northland before. It really is neat. His focus is on redeeming and strengthening old Christians as well as bringing new Christians to the truth.

Check out some of his sermons here -- http://www.northlandcc.net/subpages/worship.aspx?CategoryID=2]]> The Christian Church http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=22 Tue, 16 Aug 2005 01:01:00 -0500 My Lily http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=20 Matthew 6:25-34 and my wife.Last weekend I went interview shopping with Joy. Shopping with your girl gives a guy a lot of time to think. Sure, you spend a good deal of that time thinking about clothes, your girl, and ultimately separating the two, but even with all those thoughts there is still time aplenty to think of other things. In my extra time I thought about how I didn't really have to do this shopping thing all that often. That made me pretty happy. Then I started to wonder why many guys end up shopping with their girls much more than I have shopped with mine. I have maybe gone shopping for clothes with Joy once or maaaybe twice in any given year.

This is when thoughts started to pour into mind. Joy doesn't buy clothing all that often. Joy doesn't buy much clothing when she does go to buy clothes. Joy doesn't really worry about clothes all that much. But wait… Joy does have a fairly well stocked closet full of clothes, shoes, and undergarments. How did this happen to a girl who seems to put so little thought into clothing acquisition?

Then I started to remember how this worked out. Joy didn't shop for clothes. People gave her clothes! And people gave her lots of clothes… all the time. She gets clothes from church friends, "sisters," a sister-in-law, cousins, her mother-in-law, school friends, people who have gained weight, people who have lost weight… the list is pretty extensive actually. Joy's benefactors are numerous, but many of them also have really good taste and take great care of their clothes. So, when Joy gets clothes they are in great condition. However, on reflection I remember clothes that didn't fit right or were wrong for Joy in one way or another that Joy just made work. She'd remove a tag and wear a shirt backwards for instance. Then she'd have a stylish shirt that showed her back instead of something that was way too big.

All this reflection brought to mind a passage from the Bible. In Jesus' sermon on the mount he give the beatitudes and gives a number of directions for living life. In the course of saying all these things he also said some things that Joy seems to have applied masterfully (probably without having ever thought about it.)

Matthew 6:25-34
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

After thinking about this passage I was so impressed with how well it has worked in Joy's life. She didn't really have the resources to fuss about what she wore every day, but she is a well dressed and attractive young lady today. She often talks about how she was busy following her brothers around and not taking care to keep herself from bruising up or scarring her body. Amazingly, this complete lack of concern for all these things was rewarded.

I am really impressed when things work out just like Jesus says that they will. His teachings are often quite counterintuitive, but in the end He's right. It's fun to see that through my wife and her life.]]> Christian Life http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=20 Sat, 30 Jul 2005 20:01:00 -0500 Evangelism http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=19
However, I've done a lot of random evangelism on campus since that semester way back when, and I've done other less random evangelism too. Take for instance, this summer. I've been living in a house with 8 other random people for the summer, one of whom is a Christian. That leaves 7 other people who have varying opinions about God. We've had a lot of discussion about God, which I have largely started purposely. My opinions of evangelism have changed a lot, and I think that this can also help make me more effective at sharing the Gospel.

As I said, I started out with the wrong reasons for wanting to do evangelism. Effectively, I thought that it was the Christian duty. However, that's not at all what evangelism is about. Evangelism should be done not from duty but from love. At the heart of Christianity lies God, who is all loving, but also is a God of Justice. For our sins, we deserve Hell, and only through Jesus' sacrifice can we be saved. If you truly believe that (which I do, and hope you do) then evangelism isn't about doing your Christian duty, it's about helping people. If there is only one way to eternal life (as Christianity teaches) then wouldn't you want to share that with everyone you know? Evangelism is an action that should be done entirely out of love. This last year I've really been learning that lesson, and it makes a big difference. Walking up to random people and talking to them about God doesn't bother me at all. With my friends (such as the ones here), I find myself looking for opportunities to talk to them, and thinking of things to say to them. I think it can make me more effective at evangelism as well. I'm not doing it because I should, I'm doing it because I want to.]]> Christian Responses http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=19 Thu, 28 Jul 2005 16:07:00 -0500 Unhelpful Christians http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=18
During introductions in this class everyone said a few things about themselves. A few people even used the time to ask for help with their problems. I did the same -- I said that I was having car problems and that I could use a ride home after class.

What surprises and disappoints me is the number of people in the class compared with the number of people who came forward to help me. There were some 30-45 people in that class, but only two people came to talk to me about helping me, and both of those people basically gave me reasons why they would help me, but weren't going to be able to today or right now or whatever.

I am sure that I am guilty of not always being helpful too. So, I am not standing on any moral high ground or being condemning in any way that suggests that I am above this issue. What I am saying is that I had an expectation that in a fairly large group of people who are all Christian I found no help. More suprising is that this group is all supposedly pretty committed to being Christian in some way.

So, I decided to just walk home. It's just a little over ten miles anyway, right? On my way out I was discouraged even more as I walked past the parking lot full of cars. When people drove past me as they were leaving the school I was also pretty discouraged and frustrated. I don't really know what else to say here. I just know that it is disheartening to know deep down in my heart that when it comes down to it I'd rely on a non-Christian before a Christian in any time of need.]]> Christian Responses http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=18 Mon, 25 Jul 2005 12:07:00 -0500 The Bronze Snake http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=17
The bronze snake gets one other mention in the Bible. In John 3, Jesus mentions the snake to make a point to Nicodemus. In verses 14-15 he says, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

This bronze snake is interesting to me. In two pictures you have the snake being connected with some form of salvation. In one picture though, the snake is part of a problem. I think that this makes for a great point, because the snake is being used as an idol in which the people were errantly placing their hopes for salvation. The problem though, is that the image of the snake does not and will not save. It is God who was saving. I think that we need to keep this in mind as Christians, because the image of Christ, the cross, or any other thing related to Him does not save us. It is God who saves us through either a bronze snake or his holy and perfect son.

I think that we rarely ever concern ourselves with idolizing Jesus. It is almost a foreign concept to Christians, because Christ is essentially the nominal center of our religion. Also, we preach that as the Son of God Jesus is also God. So, it seems foreign to think that we could idolize His image after considering that he is God and all.

On another note, I like that there is a parallel between the problem with snakes and a model snake that saves in one story. Then there is a problem with people and a model person who saves in another.]]> The Bible http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=17 Sat, 23 Jul 2005 08:49:00 -0500 The Best Part of Waking Up http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=16 Morning and Evening and Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost for His Highest. I absolutely love both of these devotional books and I have been using them for numerous years. It’s amazing to re-read a post in Morning and Evening and then remember reading that same post last year. In addition to this, I also try to read my Bible in the mornings (I’m doing a Bible in a year track – a similar track can be found here). However, I think one of the most awesome aspects of my morning devotions is prayer.

Yesterday, I didn’t have the time to read a full chapter out of the Bible, so instead I opted to lie down and pray. In recent years, I’ve discovered that I have some of my best prayers when I lie down on my stomach on the floor and let loose to God. In the mornings, this is especially amazing to me because it lets me release my anxieties right at the start of the day. Yesterday, it was wonderful to lay my body and my heart out before God before the day even began; to release all my apprehensions and fears to Him and then to end in thoughts of praise. Morning devotions rock (when I have the time to do them).]]> Christian Life http://thinkoutloud.org/index.php?itemid=16 Wed, 20 Jul 2005 17:10:00 -0500