Thursday, October 30, 2008
A Quick Side Note.....
Just a quick pause. Tonight I realized how important a proper understanding of sin is. Specifically Romans 5:12. Any thoughts on the verse? Are we sinners because Adam sinned? Or would you say that we are sinners because you sin? Kind of a chicken or the egg type question. Are you a sinner because you sin? Or do you sin because you are a sinner? Read the passage and share any thoughts.... See how it is relevant to our last verses in Col. 1:19-23?
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Colossians 1:19-23
Same as last time. I'll make a few comments in blue. Focus on God's Word more than my comments though.
Col 1:19 For it was the {Father's} good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
Col 1:20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, {I say,} whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Col 1:21 ¶ And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, {engaged} in evil deeds,
Col 1:22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach--
Col 1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
Col 1:19 For it was the {Father's} good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
Col 1:20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, {I say,} whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Col 1:21 ¶ And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, {engaged} in evil deeds,
Col 1:22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach--
Col 1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Colossians Chapter 1:19-23
I am not quite ready to post the next section of text yet. I am still praying about it before I post it. I hope you will read ahead and study it early. The content of these 5 verses is like spiritual dynamite. We see Apostle Paul speak of being "Reconciled to God by Christ" As you read it, just study the 5 verses. Read it several times. What does it say? Try to be true to the text and watch out for our presuppositions and religious grid we filter things through.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Colossians Chapter 1 - కలోస్సిఅంస్ చాప్టర్ 1
OK here's chapter 1.... I'll make red marks and bold and underline things I think are important. I will make some comments in blue (parenthasis) Then feel free to comment.
Col 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
(are you a follower of Christ? If so, by your own will or by the will of God?)
Col 1:2 ¶ To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ {who are} at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
(Paul is referring to the believers as saints. If you are a one of the faithful brethren in Christ, does that make you a saint?)
Col 1:3 ¶ We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
Col 1:4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;
(Faith and love was obviously not a quiet internal but one that takes action!)
Col 1:5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel (Paul gives thanks BECAUSE they heard, belived, now have hope and act on that faith)
Col 1:6 which has come to you (the gospel), just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as {it has been doing} in you also since the day you heard {of it} and understood the grace of God in truth; (Interesting what he says here. They heard the Gospel and it is constantly bearing fruit since the day you heard and understood the Grace of God. Grace is defined as receiving something you don't deserve. To see what it means to bear fruit read Galatians chapter 5)
Col 1:7 just as you learned {it} from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,
Col 1:8 and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
Col 1:9 ¶ For this reason also, since the day we heard {of it,} we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, (If you want spiritual wisdom and understanding you must pray because it comes from God's Holy Spirit)
Col 1:10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please {Him} in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; (1. To please Him 2. to bear good fruit 3. to increase in the knowledge of God)
Col 1:11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously
Col 1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. (Who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints? God the Father. How has he qualified us? In His grace and mercy offered up His Son for us. What is the inheritance? God Himself in eternity in heaven. What does qualified us mean? The word is "hikanoo" it means to make sufficient, render fit. God has rendered us fit for heaven. Past tense. How? His Son died for us. Does scripture add anything to that here?)
Col 1:13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
Col 1:14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Before the Gospel came to them, these people, including the "Super Jew" Paul were in the domain of darkness.)
Col 1:15 ¶ He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Col 1:16 For by Him (Jesus) all things were created, {both} in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. (Woaa now...thrones, dominions, rulers and authorities. All government and world leaders are placed by Christ for His own purposes. We should obey them unless they ask us to sin against God.)
Col 1:17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (You have to see this laminin video)
That enough for today? I'll wait a few days for you to read and comment before going into the rest of Chapter 1. We are being VERY shallow here and just barely skimming the surface, but that's about all I'm capable of without using too much time and brain power. This is just kind of an obervation exercise I make while I am reading. 1) What does that say and mean. 2) What's the implication of what to my life before God's eyes.
Col 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
(are you a follower of Christ? If so, by your own will or by the will of God?)
Col 1:2 ¶ To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ {who are} at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
(Paul is referring to the believers as saints. If you are a one of the faithful brethren in Christ, does that make you a saint?)
Col 1:3 ¶ We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
Col 1:4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;
(Faith and love was obviously not a quiet internal but one that takes action!)
Col 1:5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel (Paul gives thanks BECAUSE they heard, belived, now have hope and act on that faith)
Col 1:6 which has come to you (the gospel), just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as {it has been doing} in you also since the day you heard {of it} and understood the grace of God in truth; (Interesting what he says here. They heard the Gospel and it is constantly bearing fruit since the day you heard and understood the Grace of God. Grace is defined as receiving something you don't deserve. To see what it means to bear fruit read Galatians chapter 5)
Col 1:7 just as you learned {it} from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,
Col 1:8 and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
Col 1:9 ¶ For this reason also, since the day we heard {of it,} we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, (If you want spiritual wisdom and understanding you must pray because it comes from God's Holy Spirit)
Col 1:10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please {Him} in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; (1. To please Him 2. to bear good fruit 3. to increase in the knowledge of God)
Col 1:11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously
Col 1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. (Who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints? God the Father. How has he qualified us? In His grace and mercy offered up His Son for us. What is the inheritance? God Himself in eternity in heaven. What does qualified us mean? The word is "hikanoo" it means to make sufficient, render fit. God has rendered us fit for heaven. Past tense. How? His Son died for us. Does scripture add anything to that here?)
Col 1:13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
Col 1:14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Before the Gospel came to them, these people, including the "Super Jew" Paul were in the domain of darkness.)
Col 1:15 ¶ He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Col 1:16 For by Him (Jesus) all things were created, {both} in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. (Woaa now...thrones, dominions, rulers and authorities. All government and world leaders are placed by Christ for His own purposes. We should obey them unless they ask us to sin against God.)
Col 1:17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (You have to see this laminin video)
That enough for today? I'll wait a few days for you to read and comment before going into the rest of Chapter 1. We are being VERY shallow here and just barely skimming the surface, but that's about all I'm capable of without using too much time and brain power. This is just kind of an obervation exercise I make while I am reading. 1) What does that say and mean. 2) What's the implication of what to my life before God's eyes.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Latest Letter I need your feedback
Letters in Grace
October 6, 2008
I know I have been very quiet lately. It's been a long time since I have written a letter. Samuel asked me about it the other day. I have been very withdrawn lately in this sense. My life's focus has been on my own personal spiritual life before God. I have been figuring out my life. How to balance rest, health, work, family and fun. How much should be spent on self-pleasures and how much in self-sacrifice. I am growing and learning. I have also been in my systematic theology class. Now I am taking a Seminary level Theology 1 class. So I have been busy. Always remember though that head knowledge of God's Word without living it from the heart is useless.
Cole (my oldest son) is studying Colossians right now. So I thought I would study it too.
I will be very honest and up front about this. I don't want to “teach” you anything.
Let me just offer you God's Word and let you simply read it and study it and ask yourself, “What does this say?” and understand the impact of what you have read.
Colossians is just 4 short chapters. You can read it at one sitting.
Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Church from prison.
Several important keys are found in Colossians. Look for the deity of Christ (1:15-20 and 2:2-10) reconciliation (1:20-23), redemption (1:13,14 and 2:13-14), election (3:12), forgiveness (3:13), nature of the Church (1:18,24-25, 2:19, 3:11,15)
Now please go read it and then come back to this discussion forum. I am asking you to just make some observations about the text. What do you see? What has caught your eye? Let's just read and discuss. If we stick to the text there is no reason anyone should feel like they can't be a part of the discussion.
I know no one cares what I think and they are tired of hearing from me.... So I offer up to you God's Word and this page to freely discuss as a family and friends.
Again I am not looking for questions about the text, but rather I am wanting you to post observations you make about the text. Any discussion not directly related to the text is not appropriate in this specific post.
Love you and I hope you enjoy what you read in Colossians!
October 6, 2008
I know I have been very quiet lately. It's been a long time since I have written a letter. Samuel asked me about it the other day. I have been very withdrawn lately in this sense. My life's focus has been on my own personal spiritual life before God. I have been figuring out my life. How to balance rest, health, work, family and fun. How much should be spent on self-pleasures and how much in self-sacrifice. I am growing and learning. I have also been in my systematic theology class. Now I am taking a Seminary level Theology 1 class. So I have been busy. Always remember though that head knowledge of God's Word without living it from the heart is useless.
Cole (my oldest son) is studying Colossians right now. So I thought I would study it too.
I will be very honest and up front about this. I don't want to “teach” you anything.
Let me just offer you God's Word and let you simply read it and study it and ask yourself, “What does this say?” and understand the impact of what you have read.
Colossians is just 4 short chapters. You can read it at one sitting.
Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Church from prison.
Several important keys are found in Colossians. Look for the deity of Christ (1:15-20 and 2:2-10) reconciliation (1:20-23), redemption (1:13,14 and 2:13-14), election (3:12), forgiveness (3:13), nature of the Church (1:18,24-25, 2:19, 3:11,15)
Now please go read it and then come back to this discussion forum. I am asking you to just make some observations about the text. What do you see? What has caught your eye? Let's just read and discuss. If we stick to the text there is no reason anyone should feel like they can't be a part of the discussion.
I know no one cares what I think and they are tired of hearing from me.... So I offer up to you God's Word and this page to freely discuss as a family and friends.
Again I am not looking for questions about the text, but rather I am wanting you to post observations you make about the text. Any discussion not directly related to the text is not appropriate in this specific post.
Love you and I hope you enjoy what you read in Colossians!
Friday, October 3, 2008
One Leg At A Time
Well, not in this case....
But I get dressed just like anyone else in the morning...
(I apologize in advance...put your sunglasses on first)
But I get dressed just like anyone else in the morning...
(I apologize in advance...put your sunglasses on first)
My First Attempt at Animation on Video
I got tired and cheated a little bit so it's not smooth, but it was my first experiment at seeing if I could do it....
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