The Parable of the Good Samaritan
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, 'what must i do to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written in the law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
He answered: "'love the Lord your GOd with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he travled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
Then the expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise."
This is the passage that pastor Tim has preached on this sunday. I was reflecting on the last verse of what Jesus has said... "Go and do likewise..." I wonder what the world would be like if we all participated in this kind of loving action? Maybe we should be taking this passage a little more literally and understanding it a little more literally.
May your lives be full of His love and mercy and may our every act be a reflection of that!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Freedom reigns!
Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burden again by the yoke of slavery.
In recent reads, I have encountered a book by Francis Chan called The Forgotten God. And in the first chapter of book, he was reminding the readers of the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. I found that analogy to be very powerful in describing what it means to be freed. He shares that one day he was questioning his wife whether she had ever wondered what it would be like to be a catepillar? Stange question eh?... but he was then explaining that if you imagine yourself to be a catepillar that crawls around everywhere; up the tree, down the road, etc. However when one day you go to sleep inside this HUGE sleeping bag and the next morning you wake up to be a butterfly. Francis was questioning the idea of what life would be like if we kept thinking we were catepillars where in actuality we are actually butterflies. Would we be crawling around on our wings? Isn't this such a silly picture though?
Now if we acknowledge that Jesus has set up free and the Holy Spirit enables us to live freely. How are we living our lives as one who has freedom in Christ? Are we still stuck within the bondages of the things of our past?
May His freedom be with you each and everyday. May He be the one who sets you free.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burden again by the yoke of slavery.
In recent reads, I have encountered a book by Francis Chan called The Forgotten God. And in the first chapter of book, he was reminding the readers of the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. I found that analogy to be very powerful in describing what it means to be freed. He shares that one day he was questioning his wife whether she had ever wondered what it would be like to be a catepillar? Stange question eh?... but he was then explaining that if you imagine yourself to be a catepillar that crawls around everywhere; up the tree, down the road, etc. However when one day you go to sleep inside this HUGE sleeping bag and the next morning you wake up to be a butterfly. Francis was questioning the idea of what life would be like if we kept thinking we were catepillars where in actuality we are actually butterflies. Would we be crawling around on our wings? Isn't this such a silly picture though?
Now if we acknowledge that Jesus has set up free and the Holy Spirit enables us to live freely. How are we living our lives as one who has freedom in Christ? Are we still stuck within the bondages of the things of our past?
May His freedom be with you each and everyday. May He be the one who sets you free.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Peace be with you
There, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)
I was reflecting on this passage after the sermon on Sunday. I was wondering how our lives are really living through this faith. It was something that I was thinking about... how is our lives really a reflection of this kind of peace that God has lavish unto us? And how is our faith in Him has really brought this peace onto our lives.
Again I am reminded of an old song that I have sang growing up...
Peace is flowing like a river,
Flowing out through you and me,
Spreading out into the desert,
Setting all the captives free.
Why is this peace one that sets the captives free? And how is it that our lives become the instrument of peace that flows like a river into the most desert places?
May His peace be with you, evidently through your life, your words, your thoughts.
I was reflecting on this passage after the sermon on Sunday. I was wondering how our lives are really living through this faith. It was something that I was thinking about... how is our lives really a reflection of this kind of peace that God has lavish unto us? And how is our faith in Him has really brought this peace onto our lives.
Again I am reminded of an old song that I have sang growing up...
Peace is flowing like a river,
Flowing out through you and me,
Spreading out into the desert,
Setting all the captives free.
Why is this peace one that sets the captives free? And how is it that our lives become the instrument of peace that flows like a river into the most desert places?
May His peace be with you, evidently through your life, your words, your thoughts.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Man in the Mirror
Hi all, I just finished reading Bern's most recent reflections on the Beatles song so I was inspired to do a song study too! Turns out I'm not going to because the song I chose was a horrible song. This song is "Man in the Mirror" sung by Michael Jackson. At first, it seems like a pretty innocent song. I mean, it IS about helping others and it says that in order to make a change in the world, one must start with him/herself, hence "the man in the mirror".
But the more you hear into it, the ideas for helping people is very self-reliant. What's missed here is the recognition that God is in control. Any change that you want to do won't happen unless God allows it. Have a sense of humility when serving! One thing I noticed while collecting donations at school is that sometimes there's a sense of pride when donating. There shouldn't be this attitude of superiority. People should be donating out of love, not because it's going to make them "feel real good"! I'm sort of disappointed in this song. It's really catchy, but the lyrics and the way the song is presented is so that it'll make people feel good about making change. We should be starting with Jesus first and making change according to God's will! I don't think we should be "starting with the man in the mirror" (ourselves), unless of course, the man we're looking at is Jesus.
But the more you hear into it, the ideas for helping people is very self-reliant. What's missed here is the recognition that God is in control. Any change that you want to do won't happen unless God allows it. Have a sense of humility when serving! One thing I noticed while collecting donations at school is that sometimes there's a sense of pride when donating. There shouldn't be this attitude of superiority. People should be donating out of love, not because it's going to make them "feel real good"! I'm sort of disappointed in this song. It's really catchy, but the lyrics and the way the song is presented is so that it'll make people feel good about making change. We should be starting with Jesus first and making change according to God's will! I don't think we should be "starting with the man in the mirror" (ourselves), unless of course, the man we're looking at is Jesus.
All you need is love
Matthew 22:37-40
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
Was reflecting on the idea of love and most likely because I had just finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan and also listened to one of his sermons. I was contemplating what the world would be if everyone ACTUALLY live out these two commandments and followed it to the T; how would the world that we are living in be different?
The 70s band The Beetles wrote a song that says "All you need is love..." is that not true to an extend? that all we need is love. If we know of His love; a sacrifice, graceful, authoritative kind of love... if we responded in only with the perspective of love... if we acted upon only with the mindset of love... if love is all we need... if love is all we had... if love is only there... if love...
What would the world look like today?
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
Was reflecting on the idea of love and most likely because I had just finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan and also listened to one of his sermons. I was contemplating what the world would be if everyone ACTUALLY live out these two commandments and followed it to the T; how would the world that we are living in be different?
The 70s band The Beetles wrote a song that says "All you need is love..." is that not true to an extend? that all we need is love. If we know of His love; a sacrifice, graceful, authoritative kind of love... if we responded in only with the perspective of love... if we acted upon only with the mindset of love... if love is all we need... if love is all we had... if love is only there... if love...
What would the world look like today?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)