This is my last post for the semester. That realization is both joyful and sad. I am glad that I will no longer have the pressure of completing these assignments, but sad because I know that they have helped me to really ponder what I have learned. The act of writing these posts helps me to sort through the readings and land on something that I need to spend a little more time on.
This week we spent a great deal of time with John. 1 John is thought to have been written around AD 96. Christ had been crucified a short 96 years earlier and already people were distorting the teachings. They began teaching that there was no way God would lower himself and live amongst them so these things must have all been symbolic. In an effort to help the people to discern between the true gospel and the false teachings, John wrote these epistles.
In 1 John 1 John shares his testimony of Christ. He tells us that He most surely lived. Not only did He live, but that he saw Him and he heard Him. He reminds us that God is light, there is no evil and no darkness related to God and if we follow Him then we need to walk in the light and avoid the dark.
I know this is a simple statement, but the gospel really is simple, it only gets complicated when we try to justify our actions and muddy the water. The simple truth is that if we are followers of Christ, we will avoid evil. As we navigate life we need to stop and ponder our choices and our heart. If we are full of envy, jealousy or other negative feelings then we need to make a course correction because we are not following Christ fully. The things of Christ will only bring us joy and happiness.
Monday, March 27, 2017
Monday, March 13, 2017
Why does Faith come first?
Hebrews 11: 1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I started this post a couple of days ago and then in an ironic twist, I kind of lost faith in myself so it's been difficult to come here and finish this up. It has been a particularly hard semester for me and I have had to pull myself together a few times in order to get through it. I have been feeling pretty beaten down by an art class. It doesn't seem to matter how hard I try, it isn't good enough. I have diverted all my time and attention to that class, to a point that I'm completing this assignment late for another class, but it still isn't enough.
Today I feel like I hit rock bottom and I had to consider my options. I could just stop turning in assignments and fail the class and then take it over again, or I could dig deep again and try to refine my projects to get a better grade.
Somewhere, deep inside me, I felt this small quivering of hope and perspective. As I focused on it, I realized that this one class does not define me. This one teacher does not define me. I may not be able to please him, but I know that I am on the right path. I have pondered and prayed every step of the way as I have decided on my educational path and I need to have the faith necessary to move forward with my plans.
Perhaps that is why faith is one of the first principles of the gospel. When everything else is stripped away, we need faith to get us through. We need to have faith that Jesus Christ is who he says he is. We need to have faith that He is indeed the son of God and that he came here to prepare the way for us to return to our Heavenly Father.
In Hebrews 11:6 Paul writes:
But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
I know that He is. I know that He knows who I am. He knows my hearts desires and He knows my limits. When I don't have faith in myself, I still have faith in Him and can follow where He leads me.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I started this post a couple of days ago and then in an ironic twist, I kind of lost faith in myself so it's been difficult to come here and finish this up. It has been a particularly hard semester for me and I have had to pull myself together a few times in order to get through it. I have been feeling pretty beaten down by an art class. It doesn't seem to matter how hard I try, it isn't good enough. I have diverted all my time and attention to that class, to a point that I'm completing this assignment late for another class, but it still isn't enough.
Today I feel like I hit rock bottom and I had to consider my options. I could just stop turning in assignments and fail the class and then take it over again, or I could dig deep again and try to refine my projects to get a better grade.
Somewhere, deep inside me, I felt this small quivering of hope and perspective. As I focused on it, I realized that this one class does not define me. This one teacher does not define me. I may not be able to please him, but I know that I am on the right path. I have pondered and prayed every step of the way as I have decided on my educational path and I need to have the faith necessary to move forward with my plans.
Perhaps that is why faith is one of the first principles of the gospel. When everything else is stripped away, we need faith to get us through. We need to have faith that Jesus Christ is who he says he is. We need to have faith that He is indeed the son of God and that he came here to prepare the way for us to return to our Heavenly Father.
In Hebrews 11:6 Paul writes:
But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
I know that He is. I know that He knows who I am. He knows my hearts desires and He knows my limits. When I don't have faith in myself, I still have faith in Him and can follow where He leads me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)