Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Good Morning

 

Today's Reading:  Revelation 2:12-17; read pages 100-104 in Barclay; stop before "The Bread of Heaven"

 

-- continuing with the background for the church at Pergamum.

 

-- At first reading of this section of Barclay, it seems like he contradicts himself.

 

-- There is, in the first section, the discussion about the difficulties of being a Christian in Pergamum, given the variety of pagan worship going on in the city.  Barclay makes what I think is a wonderful point about the Christian life -- that is not about escape but conquest -- that it is not about escape from the world and difficult circumstances for living out our faith, but changing the world and the people around us through living out and sharing our faith.

 

-- However, in the next section, discussion about Christians being different than the world, and Barclay quotes Paul from 2 Corinthians, part of which is below.  On its face, these verses seem to contradict the point that Barclay makes earlier, in that the verses below seem to tell us as Christians to withdraw from association with unbelievers.

 

-- the truth is that it is a very fine line we walk as Christians  - we are the salt of the earth, that group that is supposed to influence things and people and lives beyond our numbers. We are not called to retreat away from the world, but to live in it -- to live in it, but not give in to it.

 

-- essentially, I think that what the church in Pergamum is being called out about, is that it was doing a good job in the circumstances, as far as keeping to the faith in a difficult, hostile environment (with us understanding that hostile meant up to and including death for their beliefs), but they were also slipping into serioius compromise of their beliefs in order to keep going.  Christ in the letter is saying to Christians in Pergamum that he knows it has been tough to keep the faith there, it is a very difficult and dangerous thing, but you can't compromise on the important things, even to get along, no matter how difficult it is.

 

-- it goes back to one of the familiar lines that you've heard all your life -- we are called to be in the world, but not of the world.

 

Today's Scripture

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.  For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with the darkness?

2 Corinthians 6:14

Today's prayer requests:     Saundra Aaron

Valerie's brother's mother-in-law, who has cancer is going through chemo and having a tough time.

 

Today's class member prayer:

 

Jerri Wesson

Have a great day.

Jay