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Archive for the ‘Fifty days with Jesus’ Category

On Self-Control 2

Posted in Fifty days with Jesus, tagged , , , on October 29, 2008| 1 Comment »

Pastor Craig selected Titus 2:11-14 for our meditation today and I could barely get passed the first verse, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “no”…” I was caught by an idea, as we move toward doing good (the virtue piece of our plan in II Peter 1:3-11), I believe the opposite energy begins as well. Some people might call that Satan’s work, but no matter what you call the phenomenon, once you head out to do good, there is a force of darkness at work to send you back the other way.

I have always assumed that this was where “my role” in the process had to kick in. If I was a true Christian, then I should be able to overcome these temptations. I should be able to say “no,” especially after all that the Lord has done for me. And when I failed, I lost heart… I lost my forward momentum. Perhaps I wouldn’t go back, but I wouldn’t go forward either.

I have never thought about the power of “grace” to halt the negative flow or pressure. In essence, I am seeing grace as “having my back” now while I’m moving forward. Grace is the true power behind “self-control.” Grace is the fuel. Grace is applied without judgment. Grace is full of mercy and understanding. But never forget, Grace is is also full of power!

I can’t help but think of the Irish Blessing from St. Patrick (and with each mention of Christ, I think of Grace):

Christ be with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ on my right
Christ on my left
Christ where I lie
Christ where I sit
Christ where I arise
Christ in the heart of every man
who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of every man
who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me
Salvation is of the Lord.

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On Self-Control 1

Posted in Fifty days with Jesus, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 28, 2008| Leave a Comment »

It’s interesting to me that self-control is the 4th leg of this journey for sustaining our faith over the long haul. This bears some comment in my mind that you must have your faith, then your virtue or ability to “do good” and then knowledge to understand the why of it all and only then, is true self-control possible.

This is a key for me right now, today. You see, I suffer terribly from lack of self-control … that is, self-control of the right type. Over the years, I have confused self-control with “control” in general. In other words, I try to control my environment and the people in my environment as a substitute for controlling myself. This is not God’s best plan for me (or for the poor souls that are entangled with me – e.g. my family).

I think things are getting better. One way I have learned to enter this process is by taking a “holy inventory” each day. During my devotion time, right after praising God for “who He is,” I speak the scripture outloud, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” [Psalm 139:23-24] and as God reveals those moments in the past 24 hours that were displeasing to Him, that were sin, that were out of control, I ask for His forgiveness. This is a cleansing time allows me to move on.

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On Knowledge 4

Posted in Fifty days with Jesus, tagged , , on October 22, 2008| Leave a Comment »

How we acquire knowledge is a mystery in itself. So often, we think of knowledge as being in the realm of the brain, but Ephesians 1:15-23 gives us some hints that knowledge of the things of God is much deeper. Here, Paul refers to the heart saying, “…I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” and the implication is that the normal state of things may be closed eyes… closed heart. We cannot absorb knowledge with the eyes of our hearts closed.

As I sat here contemplating this idea, I saw a picture of an onion and how, when you cut into it, your eyes naturally tear… but only after going down into the deeper layers and the eyes must be open. Sometimes, we block out knowledge because we are afraid of being convicted or afraid of experiencing pain. But really, it may be just a new experience. Sometimes, when the eyes of the heart open, we see in a new way… we feel new feelings… we experience God in a way we have never experienced Him before. Can you see how this would help sustain our faith and virtue?

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On Knowledge 3

Posted in Fifty days with Jesus, tagged , , , on October 21, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Pastor uses Colossians 2:1-3 as his companion scripture for today’s meditation and I have to say, it’s quite powerful. I have it underlined in my Bible, but I haven’t revisited this in awhile.

The first phrase that jumped out at me was, “the mystery of God” and then, how that mystery (which is Christ and what it meant to be Christ – i.e. the work of the Christ for humankind) is available to us. It’s God’s desire that we “get it!” … that we understand it. God wants us to understand the mystery. God wants us to “know.” And, as we understand the depth of that work for us and in us, then wisdom and knowledge are discovered.

I still maintain that wisdom is a discovery process. Sometimes, it takes time to understand how something works. Someone can give you a gift and you only understand some of its working parts. Think about something complex like a computer or software. There’s a process to learning how it works. The longer you work with it, the better you get… if you are persistent … if you are willing to learn… if you get help when you get stumped… if you read the manual! And then there’s the “aha!” moment.

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On Knowledge 2

Posted in Fifty days with Jesus, tagged , , , , , , , on October 20, 2008| Leave a Comment »

One of my favorite discussions of wisdom is actually on a website that has nothing to do at all with scripture, but is, instead, about knowledge management and systems thinking. The particular article is called Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom by Gene Belliner, Durval Castro, & Anthony Mills.

They divide the mind’s capabilities to handle “content” into five areas: Data, Information, Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom. They say the first four categories have to do with the “past,” that is, how the mind deals with what has been or what is known. Wisdom, on the other hand, deals with the future and interprets what has gone before in order to move ahead.

They actually chart out the five content areas:

  • Data: symbols
  • Information: data that are processed to be useful; provides answers to “who”, “what”, “where”, and “when” questions
  • Knowledge: application of data and information; answers “how” questions
  • Understanding: appreciation of “why”
  • Wisdom: evaluated understanding.

I find this a useful chart in thinking about II Peter 1:5-6. If these verses are talking about knowledge in this sense, it means working through the “how” of being or doing good… it’s the application of what it means to be a person of faith. However, if it is wisdom, then it’s more contemplative, comprehensive, and evaluative. It means we are taking the next step in choice. We have understanding to with the faith & virtue. It is a type of “revelation knowledge.”

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On Knowledge 1

Posted in Fifty days with Jesus, tagged , , , , , on October 19, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Well, after Saturday night’s service and Pastor Craig’s sermon, I was a bit surprised to hear him say the Greek word for “knowledge” used in II Peter 1:5-6 is gnosis (practical knowledge) vs. sophia (philosophical knowledge). I had always thought of the word sophia as meaning wisdom … and yet, as the message continued, Craig ended up wrapping wisdom into the ultimate meaning of the text. That was a little confusing.

I think we have a different view of wisdom in the all together anyway. When I first started doing bible studies in my home last year, I called the group “Wisdom Seekers” and blogged our meetings (a practice I have continued although the meetings have moved to the church). In any event, for some weeks we did a free-form study of wisdom as it is discussed in Proverbs, the early chapters.

In that study, I made some discoveries about the differences between the terms knowledge, understanding & wisdom. I don’t believe they are quite the same and I’d like to revisit some of these topics this week while pursuing knowledge. For a little preview, visit one of these earlier blog postings: Wisdom Promises and Wisdom Calling.

In essence, I believe wisdom is a gift, yes, but given in response to knowledge & understanding. Oh, there may be times when people are supernaturally gifted wisdom, but I don’t believe that’s the norm. There are other foundations that must be there … among them, knowledge & understanding, but also faith (which we have already discussed) and virtue (which we discussed last week but is also touched upon in Proverbs as prudence).

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On Virtue 6

Posted in Fifty days with Jesus, tagged , , , , , , on October 17, 2008| Leave a Comment »

I think we know all this stuff about “doing good.” I mean, I think we know we are supposed to “do good” … we know we are supposed to act virtuously. We know we are supposed to take the “high road.” But we often don’t. Why not?

If it’s true that doing good helps us to “… never fall…” and “… receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” (II Peter 1: 10-11), then the converse is true… not doing good or just not choosing to do good, will lead us down a different path. I think, particularly in our culture, that we have become complacent. Many of us go about our every day … not necessarily doing “bad things” but also, not choosing good things either. We are dull. We are lukewarm. We are a bit lazy.

There is some energy required to move toward moral excellence. It takes effort to choose the better way. It’s a conscious choice. John Sandford speaks often of the “slumbering spirit” and I think this condition applies here as well. We must be wakeful and alert to the Holy Spirit. We must be wakeful and alert to opportunities in our daily walk. Look! Today, I expect to be challenged. I expect you will too.

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