"poverty is so hard to see
when it’s only on your tv
and twenty miles across town
where we’re all living so good
that we moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood
where he’s hungry and not feeling so good
from going through our trash
he says, more than just your cash and coin
i want your time, i want your voice
i want the things you just can’t give me
so what must we do
here in the west we want to follow you
we speak the language and we keep all the rules
even a few we made up
come on and follow me
but sell your house, sell your suv
sell your stocks, sell your security
and give it to the poor
what is this, hey what’s the deal
i don’t sleep around and i don’t steal
i want the things you just can’t give me
because what you do to the least of these
my brother’s, you have done it to me
because i want the things you just can’t give me"
-derek webb, rich young ruler
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
we three... "kings"?
so...after the sermon today, one of my favorite christmas songs will certainly be thought of in a different way....
in talking about the wise men (matthew 2:1-12) our pastor brought up a few interesting points...
-the wise men weren't kings. they were academicians who studied astronomy. pagans back then believed the stars could fortell the future, so anyone who could read the stars was regarded as highly intelligent and was well respected.
-we don't know if there were 3 of them. the bible never says anything about 3 people, only that they brought gold, incense, and myrhh. 3 gifts don't necessarily equal 3 people.
-the wise men did not show up when Jesus was in the manger. Vs. 11 says they came to a house. So we are unsure how old Jesus was when the wise men actually got there. (So technically....they don't really belong in the manger scene....)
- Vs. 4-6 talk about how all the priests and teachers of the law knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (which was not far from Jerusalem), yet they did not go there! The gentile/pagan wise men were more concerned with worshipping the king than the people who knew the truth.
....perhaps instead the priests and teachers stayed home and "studied the scriptures" instead of doing what they said.
convicting? definitely. interesting? always.
in talking about the wise men (matthew 2:1-12) our pastor brought up a few interesting points...
-the wise men weren't kings. they were academicians who studied astronomy. pagans back then believed the stars could fortell the future, so anyone who could read the stars was regarded as highly intelligent and was well respected.
-we don't know if there were 3 of them. the bible never says anything about 3 people, only that they brought gold, incense, and myrhh. 3 gifts don't necessarily equal 3 people.
-the wise men did not show up when Jesus was in the manger. Vs. 11 says they came to a house. So we are unsure how old Jesus was when the wise men actually got there. (So technically....they don't really belong in the manger scene....)
- Vs. 4-6 talk about how all the priests and teachers of the law knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (which was not far from Jerusalem), yet they did not go there! The gentile/pagan wise men were more concerned with worshipping the king than the people who knew the truth.
....perhaps instead the priests and teachers stayed home and "studied the scriptures" instead of doing what they said.
convicting? definitely. interesting? always.
Monday, December 08, 2008
making a way in the desert
"Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland"
Isaiah 43:19
it is hard to see how the Lord is providing for you in the desert when you are still stuck processing the past. just when i think God has had it 'up to here' with me...he reminds me of his present (and incomprehensible) grace.
what oswald says:
"Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.
Security for Tomorrow.
". . . the Lord will go before you . . . ." This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our "rear guard." And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.
Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him."
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland"
Isaiah 43:19
it is hard to see how the Lord is providing for you in the desert when you are still stuck processing the past. just when i think God has had it 'up to here' with me...he reminds me of his present (and incomprehensible) grace.
what oswald says:
"Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.
Security for Tomorrow.
". . . the Lord will go before you . . . ." This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our "rear guard." And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.
Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him."
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