Good Morning - Friday, September 23, 2005

Good Morning! 

 

Sorry I missed sending an email yesterday.  I had terrible travel issues getting back from Arkansas, which resulted in me having to rent a car and drive from the Atlanta airport early Thursday morning, getting in about 130A.

 

Just fyi, most likely, I won't be able to be at class on Sunday.

 

The new unit for this week is  Unit 21, Opposition Along the Way   

 

Focus Scriptures for the Week:  

 

Matthew 5:10   

 

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

Ephesians 6:10-11

 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.  Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil

 

Today's Scriptures:  1 Corinthians 4:1-13, Matthew 10:16-33, Romans 12:14-21

 

Today's Discussion: 

 

-- these are the scriptures from yesterday and for the rest of the week.  The Matthew reference was actually broken into two parts for our study, but I'm listing it as a single reading here.

 

-- there three passages are all different perspectives on the idea of hostility towards Christians.

 

-- the Corinthians passage was one I hadn't read before, but there were two main things I got out of it and the associated commentary in my Bible -- one was that this was dealing with the idea of divisions within the church in Corinth, and Paul was offering up some suggestions on how to mitigate those divisions.   The second is Paul's discussion, almost in despair, about how badly he and others had been treated for their faith.  He does this as a warning to the Corinthian church just to let know what was to come.

 

-- the passage from Matthew is a much darker passage, probably the darkest that we have read this week.  Jesus is painting a picture to his disciples about how difficult the road ahead is going to be for them.  And he offers some encouragment, but even it is bleak -- in verse 29 he tells them not to be afraid of men who can kill their body -- they need to be afraid of the one -- God -- who can destroy their soul and body.  I would say that the main idea in this passage is that being faithful is going to be extremely tough and dangerous, but that God is going to be there for you.

 

-- the third passage is, emotionally to me, 180 degrees different from the Matthew and Corinthian passages.  The passages from Romans are some of my favorite in all the Bible, and are verses that you can use everyday.  These verses give us simple direction and hope on how to deal with opposition and evil.  Verse 21 -- "do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" is a verse you can put to work every day of your life.  Of course that is easy to say, and the actual application is much easier said than done, but I find a great encouragment in these verses.

 

Question for Sunday:  

 

the passages from Romans bring to mind a quote, many times attributed to Martin Luther King, Jr., but I think it is much older than that.  "The best way for evil to succeed in this world is for good men to do nothing."  How does that quotation/thought work with this idea from Romans -- "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone"?  It seems to me that the idea of "living in peace" is at odds with the idea that good people should be more active in their opposition to evil. What do you think?

 

Today's prayer request:   Hurricane Rita evacuees

 

This has the potential to be just as bad as Katrina was on the Mississippi Gulf Coast -- we need to pray that everyone gets out of the way in time to be safe.

 

Today's class member prayer: 

 

Susanne Russell

 

Have a great day.

 

Jay

Good Morning - Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Good Morning! 

 

Good morning from scenic Rogers, Arkansas!

 

The new unit for this week is  Unit 21, Opposition Along the Way   

 

Focus Scriptures for the Week:  

 

Matthew 5:10   

 

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

Ephesians 6:10-11

 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.  Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil

 

Today's Scriptures:  John 15:18-27

 

Today's Discussion: 

 

-- this scripture is very straightforward - Jesus is talking to his disciples about the opposition that they are going to encounter for his sake.  To me, the most powerful verse in today's scripture is the first verse --"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first".  I have a hard time thinking in terms that the world hates Jesus, but I think that is because we somehow turn a blind eye to the evidence around us.

 

-- the other side of the story, which is something I worry about, is the idea that people who have very misquided ideas about what it means to be a Christian -- such as the Brand Davidians (Waco), or other extreme sects -- use passages like this to shut off debate or discussion about their beliefs.  When they encounter opposition to their beliefs, they can point to this scripture and similar passages and chalk it up to the "world's opposition" to their faith.  I don't know how you overcome that particular quandry.

 

-- and before we nod in agreement in understanding that we know who we think the people on the fringe of the faith are and what they look like, we need to remember that John Wesley was one of those people on the fringe during his times -- his beliefs and approach to Christianity were subject to ridicule and even violence. How could the church of his day get it so wrong? 

 

-- I think it goes back to knowing what you know.  Navigating through these kinds of questions is one of the reasons why we are encouraged to read our Bibles and to be in thoughtful study about what we read -- so we will be less likely to be led astray by the world, in whatever guise it takes.

 

Question for Sunday:  

 

-- when you read about these fringe groups and their beliefs in the news media or from your personal experience -- how have you evaluated their set of beliefs?

 

Today's prayer request:   Hurricane Katrina evacuees

 

We need to continue to remember all of these people, as they are spread out over the country.  In particular, we need to remember those that are along the Texas Gulf Coast, since they are probably going to have to go through another hurricane or evacuation because of Rita.

 

Today's class member prayer: 

 

Kyle Findlay

 

Have a great day.

 

Jay

Good Morning - Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Good Morning! 

 

Here is a follow up to something we discussed in class on Sunday:

 

Difference between an atheist and an agnostic:

 

agnostic:

 

1. 1. One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God.
   2. One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.
2. One who is doubtful or noncommittal about something.

atheist:

 

One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.

 

The new unit for this week is  Unit 21, Opposition Along the Way   

 

Focus Scriptures for the Week:  

 

Matthew 5:10   

 

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

Ephesians 6:10-11

 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.  Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil

 

Today's Scriptures:  Matthew 13:54-58

 

Today's Discussion: 

 

-- this short passage from Matthew, which tells the story of Jesus' rejection by his hometown, details some of the obstacles that Jesus faced in his ministry.  The people who knew him best, the people who had watched him grow up, just couldn't get their arms around the idea that Jesus was something more than the carpenter's son.  Today's lesson is mostly about how doubt -- the doubts of others and your own doubts -- can serve as opposition to your path.

 

-- we may have a similar situation in our own lives, in that as we try to be more faithful, those people who have known us for a long time may have a hard time believing that we are trying a more faithful path.  And that gives rise, not to opposition exactly from our long-time friends and family, but opposition from ourselves.  When we are questioned about a change in the way we live, the temptation is to step back from a more faithful path because of the questions from others.  We begin to question whether we are authentic in our beliefs, and whether we are a different person.

 

-- Jesus didn't suffer any of those doubts, and he strongly moved on in his ministry.  Wesley, in his writings for this week, or least the first few that I've read so far, had tremendous doubts, some of which were self-inflicted.

 

-- in both cases, the thing that made Wesley overcome those doubts was getting back to what he knew.  These kinds of doubts don't question your opinion, they question what it is you know.  And confidence in knowing what it is you know -- about your salvation, about the way you should live your life -- is the way to overcome doubt.

 

Question for Sunday:  

 

-- what are your doubts, and how do they challenge you in your journey to "move towards perfection."

 

Today's prayer request:    Saundra Aaron

 

Saundra is Valerie's brother's mother-in-law, and she has just found out last week that she has breast cancer.  They have decided to do surgery either tomorrow or Thursday.

 

Today's class member prayer: 

 

Nicole McKinney

 

Have a great day.

 

Jay

Good Morning - Monday, September 19, 2005

Good Morning! 

 

Hope you all had a great weekend.

 

We had a little conversation on Sunday about our possible next study.  One suggestion is that we do a study using one of the Purpose Driven Life books, one that is designed as a daily study.  We also mentioned the possibility of doing a daily Bible study like the Romans study we did earlier this year.  Any feedback to either of those suggestions?  Any other suggestions?

 

The new unit for this week is  Unit 21, Opposition Along the Way   

 

Focus Scriptures for the Week:  

 

Matthew 5:10   

 

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

Ephesians 6:10-11

 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.  Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil

 

Today's Scriptures:  Acts 5:12-21

 

Today's Discussion: 

 

-- I had a perception of what this unit was going to be about -- encouragement for dealing with the opposition from the world to living a Christian life -- and was surprised to see the emphasis in the Reflections section about the possibility that opposition could come from within.  But of course, that makes perfect sense, since our own doubts about what we should be doing and whether we were doing it are a big part of our Christian journey, as we become comfortable with what we know and what we believe.

 

-- the scripture today speaks to external opposition, and how God helped the disciples overcome resistance from the religious authorities of the day. I think that we should notice that there is a subtle reference to another kind of resistance in the same passage -- the reference to those who the apostles had persuaded to convert, but who dare not join the disciples in the open.  While not exactly opposition, the reluctance of these people to come forward and join the disciples was doubtless frustrating and stressful.  If others are with you and for you but refuse to stand with you, then it can creates a sense of loneliness in your belief.  But the apostles pressed on, even without the public support of many who believed.

 

-- our good friend from our Romans study, William Barclay, is quoted in the Reflections section. However, his quote is nothing that we need to take issue with, so it isn't a problem.

 

Question for Sunday:  

 

-- right now, for you, what is the opposition to you living daily our your faith -- is it internal opposition or external opposition?

 

Today's prayer request:    Katrina relief workers

 

We need to remember those, not just in New Orleans and Biloxi and Gulfport, but those that are working in places like Houston and Little Rock and Memphis, where evacuees have gone to and need assistance.

 

Today's class member prayer: 

 

Matt Rocksvold

 

Have a great day.

 

Jay