My Online Faith Journal

"I am amazed tha that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel." Galatians 1:6     Several times in Paul's writings, we see the frustrations that the apostle was experiencing boil over into his writing.  One is in 1 Corinthians, for a wide variety of reasons, from lawsuits, immorality and divisions in the church among other things.  They truly tested Paul's patience.  The other is in the little letter to the churches in the region of Galatia.  The frustration was both with the people of this region and Paul also mentions his frustration with Peter, who got caught up in hypocrisy.    The problems in Galatia were similiar to those in Colossae, that some Jews, probably from Jerusalem, were coming into the area to try and tell the people that they needed to not only follow Jesus, but to obey the law of Moses.  This is the "different gospel" that Paul was alluding to.  They were trying to say that a person

"And a little while later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Surely you too are one of them; for the way you talk gives you away." Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!"  And immediately a cock crowed.  And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, "Before a cock crows, you will deny Me three times." and he went out and wept bitterly."  Matthew 26:73-75     Do you know what it is like to be betrayed by someone you thought you could trust?  No more than Jesus.  Jesus knew from the beginning who would betray him.  He knew that one of his most loyal followers, Peter, would deny that he even knew him.  He knew that Judas would betray him to the Pharisees.  Jesus is someone who can empathize with our feelings because he has been there.    Not only has he been there, but he did not give up on Peter even though he knew better than Peter did that he would deny him.  He gave Peter a definite sign, the cock crowing

    As I said in the last post, there are a variety of ways to study the Bible.  We could do a inductive study as I mentioned or we could focus on a verse, a bible character or a topical study.  I want to give you an example of a study of a particular verse and share with you how I would go about studying it.     As an example, I will pick Colossians 1:15 which says, "And He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation."  This has a number of interesting words in it that we could look at further.  For example, what does it mean to be in the image of the invisible God?  What does it mean to be the "first born"?  We could use several tools to help us identify these words, a concordance would help us look up how the words are used in other parts of the Bible.  Also, an interlinear study Bible will break the verse down into its original language, which in this case was Greek.  If we look this word up in an interlinear study bible it looks like thi

   There is a big difference between reading the Bible and studying.  In studying the Bible, we look at word choices, historical context and we draw conclusions about how the word practically affects our lives.  When I was sixteen, I started studying the Bible on my own.  I didn't want anyone else telling me what to believe about the Word, but I wanted to find out for myself.  For the longest time, all I had was the Bible and a Hailey's Bible Handbook.  Today, there is no real need for someone to go out and buy a bunch of commentaries or word book because so many are free and online.  I want to share with you how I studied and got the most out of the Bible.    There are several things you can look for without having any commentaries at all.  This is called an inductive bible study.  It allows the Word to speak for itself.  Things to look for include 1. Key Words- usually these are words that are repetitve.  If the Bible repeats itself it is usually important.  Ask yourself &

"Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him. For the help of His presence." Psalm 42:5     It is unclear to me when David wrote Psalm 42, if it was David that wrote it.  The psalmist mentioned panting after God and feeling despair.  He mentions the Jordan, the area east of Jersualem and the promise land.  But, the thing of it is is that there were a lot of times in David's life when he felt despair.  There was a lot of time when he was in exile from others.  Sometimes on the run for his life.  But, David is talking more than about a physical despair here, but a spiritual one.   Two times in Psalm 42:5-6 the word despair is used.  It is the transliterated word "Shachach" which means to "bow down, humbled, to be cast down".  The word "despair" is also used to describe his condition and that word is the word "Hamah" which means to mourn, to roar, to be in a stir.  The psalmist was in a state of turmoil and despair.  He was in a plac

  I went to church this Sunday at First Wesleyan Church in High Point.  Here is the web site if you want to check it out at http://www.firstwesleyan.org/   The sermon was about prayer this morning and particularly about God's provision in prayer.  The pastor's key verse was about Matthew 6:11 "Give us this day our daily bread".  He talked about how God is able to do so much more than we ask, but he wants us to pray about everything.  He wants us to come to him and ask for wisdom when we need it and for our daily needs.  Among some of the other verses he used are: Ephesians 3:20; James 1:5; Hebrews 11:6.   I began to think of my own prayer life and how sometimes I simply go to God with my concerns and really don't expand that to cover all of the needs I know about.  For example, I know of someone who ran away from home this week.  I know people who have drug problems.  I drive around each week in areas of Burlington where there are strong problems with unemploym

"I will not let you go unless you bless me." Genesis 32:26      The thing about Jacob is, that he is an unlikely hero in scripture.  Born with his hands on the ankle of his brother.  He was the ultimate momma's boy.  When his mother said to do something that would ultimately cheat his older brother out of his blessing, He did as he was told.  He also stole his brother birthright by deception.  Now, after years of working for his distant relative Laban, he is coming home to pay for his sins.     I think Jacob was worried about how Esau would greet him on return.  After all, last time he saw his brother Esau wanted to kill him.  He was not the soft and feely type.  He was a hard man who let bitterness stew overnight.  The evidence that Jacob knew this is how he goes back home, by sending presents on to his brother ahead of him.  But, this is a changed Jacob coming home.    In Genesis 32 we read of a story where it says a man wrestled with Jacob until daylight (Genesis

  Two posts ago, I commented about the scripture where it says that the Holy Spirit  hovered over the surface of the waters.  I was thinking about that passage today.  The picture in my mind came of a writer or artist posed over a blank sheet of paper or canvas preparing to create.  There is a pause, as the creator considers what will be made.  I think that is the same idea here-- one of anticipation.   The irony is that for much of the history of man, the sea was a place to be feared.  Man had to use the sea and oceans for transporting goods, lumber and animals and people.  But, people knew early on that storms could arise and that some people simply would not return from the voyage they undertook.  Yet, here God is hovering over the waters to create.  He is going to bring order out of chaos.   I was reading a web site about this where the author said, "Suffice it to say that the idea of water as a threat to the world, as a symbol of the destructive power of sin, as a way to

   I decided to try another church last night, Wednesday night prayer service, at a church I had not been to before.  I went to the first church I was thinking of checking out and there was two cars in the parking lot.  It didn't look like anyone was really doing anything, so I turned around to go to my second choice.  I arrived a few minutes late and slipped in the back.    The first thing I thought was, I wonder where the younger people are.  There was about 15 people present, all older than me.  Most I think it would be fair to say were senior adults.  The second thing I noticed was when the pastor made a point of singling me out after the prayer asking me if I had been there before.  They then had a man come to the back to give me an outline, which the pastor then ignored during his lesson.  The third thing I noticed, is that though I am required in my job to dot the i's and cross the t's, he didn't seem prepared at all.    Several thoughts went through my mind

   I was talking with some people on a forum that I have been involved in about Genesis and possible interpretations for it.  Particularly, referring to the story of creation and how long it took to create heaven and earth.  There are several different views on how to interpret this story and problems with each one.  Some people take the story literally, while others do not.   There are several problems with taking the story of creation literally.  One is that the earth does not appear to be as young as the story of creation would lead us to believe.  Most scholars who study the Bible would say that if it is to be taken literally the earth is approximately 5,000 years old.  Then if that is true then what do we make of the appearance that the earth is millions of years old?  Some scholars have tried to reconcile this with science by coming up with theories.  One of the theories is the young earth theory.   The young earth theory suggests that God created the world with age already b

  In Galatains 5:1 it says, "It is for freedom that Christ set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."     Did you know that in the ancient world where Paul lived there was probably as many as a third of the people living who were under slavery of some kind?  Paul knew a lot about slavery.  But, physical slavery was not what Paul was talking about in these verses, but a spiritual slavery to the law.  Paul was saving that Jesus set us free from the rules and regulations that appear religious, but do not help us to have peace with God.  I no longer have to worry about whether or not God is mad at me or try to win  his approval.  I simply need to have faith that Christ has paid that debt for me. "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1    Galatians was written for some of the same reasons that Colossians was written.  Some Jews had

   Like a lot of other people, I have been watching the news of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  I grew up in Texas near the Gulf coast.  We often went to the beach at Galveston during the summer to swim and play in the sand.  Though the beaches from what I understand in Texas are still clear, most of the Gulf coast has been effected and will be effected by this oil spill.  It is difficult to watch as we have access to watch the oil coming out of the broken pipe at the bottom of the ocean floor.  It is difficult to imagine that years of damage this is doing to the coast line and to animals in the water.  Not to mention the livelihood of those who depend on the ocean.     This explosion seems to be the exception rather than the rule thankfully.  I can remember looking out at the shoreline and seeing oil rigs for as long as I remember.  In fact, when I went to the Outer Banks of North Carolina last year the thing that struck me was that there are no oil rigs there-- at least not y