Friday, February 24, 2006

Good Morning

 

Look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday.

 

One bit of commentary on the news, particularly the issue about the cartoons of Mohammad that Muslims around the world are rioting about.  The Vatican put out what I thought was a terrific thought in response -- that people and countries in the West should be respectful of the Muslim faith and concerns in this area, but they also said that Muslim countries need to do far better in their treatment and respect of Christians and others who live in their country in the practice of their religion.  Christians can be arrested for practicing their faith in Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, and there are also all kinds of restrictive laws about Christians in most Muslim countries. 

 

I thought that this was a very good response to this issue, one that the West needs to say more about -- we need to point out that respect for different faiths cuts both ways.

 

Today's Reading:  Revelation 4:2-3; read pages 164 - 166 in Barclay; stop at "The Twenty Four Elders"

 

-- this is the second of four times in Revelation that John says that he was "in the Spirit", which is John's term apparently for being someplace else -- for how he felt when he was seeing his vision.

 

-- as Barclay notes, John doesn't describe God in human terms,  although oddly enough, he doesn't say that it was God on the throne -- it is just assumed that it is God because of the majesty of the presence sitting on the throne.

 

-- While John's description of the colors is specific to him, the idea that being in the presence of God is to look upon bright, vibrant light is consistent with other descriptions throughout the Bible, and is one of those things that everyone just somehow knows -- whenever in a movie or TV show, someone is said to be in the presence of God, or God talking to them, that idea is usually always communicated with the presence of a bright light (The Oh God! movies, where God is George Burns, is one of the exceptions)

 

-- John clearly describes that God is sitting on a throne.  The idea of a throne is one that you would think would start fading from our shared experience, since we really don't have many monarchy's remaining, but it is still, after 2,000 years, a powerful symbol of authority.

 

Today's Scripture

 

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in uapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.  To him be honor and might forever, Amen.

 

1 Timothy 6:15-16

 

Today's prayer requests:   Corey, Megan's student

 

Corey has been on our prayer list due to brain tumor that he was going to have tests on on March 21.  On Wednesday, he as to be rushed to the hospital with a seizure related to the brain tumor.  His doctors at Children's Hospital are not willing to move his tests up, so it is a waiting game for everyone.  Need to keep Corey, his mother, his classmates and Megan's classroom staff in our prayers will Corey is treated.

Today's class member prayer:

April Walker

Have a great day.

Jay

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Good Morning

 

 

Today's Reading:  Revelation 4:1; read pages 162 - 164 in Barclay; stop at "The Throne of God"

 

-- we now move beyond the seven churches to the second part of the revelation.

 

-- in our day and time, because of all of the movies we've seen, it is much easier for us to form an image of what John is seeing here.  A door leading to heaven?  An unseen voice?  We can imagine this because we have seen this kind of thing before, in some movie or TV show.

 

-- to revisit John's situation which we had set up prior to the seven letters, it is likely he has this vision while in his cave on Patmos overlooking the ocean.  If I were doing the movie, it would be a scene where he is in the somewhat dark cave, and then he turns around, and in the wall of the cave is now a door, partially open, with light streaming from it, and a cloudy fog on the other side.

 

-- Barclay doesn't comment on this, but the voice John hears -- presumably Christ's -- says to "come see the events which must follow these things".  To me, that is referencing back to the letters about the churches -- that this revelation will happen after all that is discussed in the letters happens.  If that is the case, then it makes the letters seem less like generic instruction for the church and more about specific instruction for those specific churches in that day and time.  

 

-- In my NIV translation, John is told -- "I will show you what must take place after this" -- which, to me, disconnects the rest of the revelation from the letters to the churches, and simply puts the events John is about to see in the future.

 

Today's Scripture

 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

 

Romans 8:1-2

 

Today's prayer requests:   Dr. Page

Dr. Page is Ron and Brads' finance teacher at Auburn, who has lymphoma, and is not doing well.  We need to remember him as he struggles with the disease and the treatment.

Today's class member prayer:

Brigitte Severance

Have a great day.

Jay

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Good Morning

 

Ordered our books this morning for Volume 2 of our series.  I think we have about two more weeks of reading, so we should be good.  I opted for the free shipping from Amazon, which is 5 - 9 business days.

 

Today's Reading:  Revelation 3:14-22; read pages 155-159 in Barclay; stop at "The Opening Heaven and the Opening Door"

 

-- the last pages on the church at Laodicea, and the conclusion of the letters to the seven churches.

 

-- the thing that I took away from today's reading was the idea that Barclay discusses about the image of Christ at the door.  It is a very compelling vision, and it is the subject of a number of paintings.  The following is the link to the picture that Barclay references -- "The Light of the World" by Holman Hunt:

 

http://www.chestercathedral.freeserve.co.uk/art/lightwld.htm

 

The following is the picture that I'm most familar with describing this verse:

 

http://www.sandscript.com/catalog/promotions/gif/fan_s-803.jpg

 

-- I was really struck by the idea that Barclay mentions, that no other religion or faith on earth offers the idea or concept of God seeking out man.  It is astounding to think about -- that God would look for us, that he will knock at our door, and that we have the power to decide to let him in or not.  God is looking for all of his children, and it is our responsibility to hear and respond to his seeking.  And as Barclay notes, in this effort, we can see God's love towards us.

 

Today's Scripture

 

Be dressed and ready for service and keep your lights burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.

 

Luke 12:35-36

 

Today's prayer requests:   Cathy Nabkel, Valerie's aunt

 

We found out yesterday that Valerie's aunt in San Francisco has endometrial cancer, and is going to have surgery on Friday.  She needs our prayers that the surgery goes well and that they remove the cancer completely.

 

Today's class member prayer:

Christie Peebles

Have a great day.

Jay

Re: Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Hey everyone-

I have a prayer request. Please pray for Chris and Jennifer Anders. They are friends of mine from work and their house burned down this morning. It was a total loss. They are both safe, but lost everything. Please keep them in your prayers.

Thank you,

Megan

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Good Morning

 

Just a quick note today

 

Today's Reading:  Revelation 3:14-22; read pages 155-159 in Barclay; stop at "The Christ Who Knocks"

 

-- the first of today's two sections talks about irony of Laodicea's position -- known to the world for its wealth, for its wonderful clothes and its eye-salve, Christ tells them they are, when in comes to him, poor, naked and blind.

 

-- the second section is about the idea of discipline, or in this case, of God's discipline for us to help us walk in the way that he wants to walk.  We all gravitate to the idea of God as a loving father or parent, and we embrace the idea that God only wants good things for us, as would any parent.  But we forget that another side of that parental image is corrective discipline, which as Barclay lays out in his book, is one of the ways that parents show their love for their children.  The advantage that God has over human parents in this area is that he can see everything that his children does -- something that we can't do as human parents.

 

Today's Scripture

 

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

 

Galatians 6:9-10

 

Today's prayer requests:   Nelson Ferreiro, friend of Megan's family

He has just completed chemo after surgery to remove a tumor from his brain.  The tumor is gone as of now, they will recheck in about 45 days, but we need to pray for his continued improvement, and that the cancer stays gone.

Today's class member prayer:

Chris Wesson

Have a great day.

Jay

Monday, February 20, 2006

Good Morning

 

Just to follow up from our discussion yesterday, here is the definition of holy, from the online dictionary:

 

ho·ly  

ADJECTIVE:
ho·li·er , ho·li·est

1. Belonging to, derived from, or associated with a divine power; sacred.
2. Regarded with or worthy of worship or veneration; revered: a holy book.
3. Living according to a strict or highly moral religious or spiritual system; saintly: a holy person.
4. Specified or set apart for a religious purpose: a holy place.
5. Solemnly undertaken; sacrosanct: a holy pledge.
6. Regarded as deserving special respect or reverence: The pursuit of peace is our holiest quest.

In all of these, the idea of being different or separate than is present.  There is also the idea of the divine, of being worthy.

Today's Reading:  Revelation 3:14-22; read pages 152 - 155 in Barclay; stop at "The Wealth That is Poverty"

 

-- continuing on with the last of our churches, Laodicea

 

-- the thing for today that jumps out from Barclay is the idea of indifference.  Neither cold nor hot, the church at Laodicea drifts along, with no clear point of view or energy devoted to their faith.

 

-- I guess that the question or application to today's church could be this -- we have all talked and discussed the idea that we live in a culture that is hostile to Christianity, but in thinking about it, much of the attitude from the culture is that Christianity doesn't really matter. And many Christians react and adapt to the culture's attitude by accepting that sense of indifference to their faith -- that Christ and Christianity isn't vitally important.

 

-- There is also the danger of tolerance in feeding our indifference -- if all beliefs are just as good and worthy as your own, why be that invested in one belief system or another.  "They're all the same" is the cry of the indifferent.  I can imagine that the church in Laodicea as a very tolerant church that got along with the whole town just swimmingly.

 

Today's Scripture

 

For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:7a

Today's prayer requests:   Saundra Aaron

This is Valerie's brother's mother-in-law, who is being treated for breast cancer.  Need to continue to remember her as she continues her treatment and her family.

Today's class member prayer:

Krystle Hatton

Have a great day.

Jay