“We now live in a time when consumer Christianity has become the accepted norm, and all-out engagement with and in Jesus’ kingdom among us is regarded as just one option people may take if it suits them — but probably ‘overdoing it.’”
– Dallas Willard
“A disciple is a person who has decided that the most important thing in their life is to learn how to do what Jesus said to do.”
- Dallas Willard
I am 12 chapters in now in my study of Jeremiah. So much good stuff, but it’s hard to blog because there is so much detail. However, lately I have been able to relate with Jeremiah’s call from God. Through current circumstances in my life I’ve often found myself praying, “No God, not me…” Yet God has always guided and directed my path, even in directions I didn’t want to go. My only responsibility is to humbly and obediently follow. It’s not so easy though. At times it seems impossible. I am sure this is how Jeremiah or Moses felt.
In the verses above God calls Jeremiah to a massive task – to be God’s ambassador to His people and to the nations. Jeremiah’s response? “Not me God! I am too young! I don’t speak well!” Have you been there? I sure have – many times. There is hope when I read these callings because I can see that even the heroes of the Bible struggled with confidence and faith. In Exodus 3, Moses is a flat out whinny wimp. I love that! Then you see the journey that God took him through. It’s amazing! I can only have faith that the journey God has me on, no matter how treacherous it seems, will be well worthy it.
I think that many times the only obstacle in following God’s call is ourselves. Both Moses and Jeremiah wanted to make it about themselves, choosing to focus on their shortcomings. God’s emphatic response was that it wasn’t about them – it was about Him working through them. How many times has God told me, “Don’t be afraid. I am with you!”? Probably too many.
One of my professors in college used to always say a quote that I have kept near to me and used as a constant reminder:
“God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.”
AMEN!
It’s almost been a month since I posted. I know, I’ve been a slacker. The month of April was definitely a hectic one. Nevertheless, I am glad it is May. As I reflect back over the last few months I have realized just how fast time flies. It seems like just yesterday that it was January and it was a new year. Now 2009 is almost half over. Is it just me or is that crazy!?! It’s awesome to think about the future, but it is also scary to think that the days we live will never be lived again. It will never ever be May 5, 2009 ever again, except for today. Time is definitely a precious thing.
The reality of time has been fresh in my mind lately, mainly because one of my friends past away last week. It was a rough week and hard to deal with. It reminded me just how precious life is and why it’s so important to live life to the full. Lately I feel like I’ve just been going through the motions and approaching each day as a task to accomplish. Yet each day is a gift from God that we must choose to cherish. I feel that too often I miss out on this gift, and instead focus on things that are not important. Oh that we would live life to the full!
At the first of the year I posted some of my goals and have personally themed this year EXCEL. So far, there are areas where I’ve done well in, while others not so much. I have a tendency to beat myself up at times if I don’t feel like I’m meeting expectations, but with these goals I have been way more optimistic than I usually am. But my desire is not to accomplish a lot and be successful. My ultimate desire is to live life to the full and seek to excel in everything that I do. When I say excel, I simply mean to give everything I got in everything that I do. I want to look back on the day and say that I gave it 100%, from the smallest of things to the biggest. I fail at this and make mistakes constantly, but there is comfort in knowing that, on this journey called life, I am trying my hardest to be the person God has created me to be.
So tomorrow is a new day and honestly I am excited about the month of May. On Thursday I get to join with others to celebrate the life an incredible guy who experience the amazing redemption of Jesus Christ. Though there will be some painful moments, I know that it will be a time of joy [he is in a better place!]. Also, later this month on the 17th I will compete in my very first triathlon…FINALLY! I’m registering tomorrow and I’m so excited! A week after that I will be heading to Indianapolis to experience the Indy 500 for the first time. I can’t even tell you how thrilled I am about that! On top of that, I get to live and work and spend time with incredible people everyday. I am so thankful for the family and friends that God has blessed me with. I definitely have nothing to complain about. God is good and he is worthy to be praised in everything. What an awesome gift we’ve been given – this gift called life. May we live it to the full and spend every single day loving God and loving others.
John 10:9-10
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
If you read my previous post you are aware that I have been thinking a lot about the Bible lately. I have realized that it’s been too long since I have really dug into the Bible and studied it in depth. Furthermore, through recent discussions I have also came to the conclusion that I need to touch up on my knowledge of Jesus and the gospels. So that is what I’m going to do. I started studying the book of Matthew, verse by verse, a couple of days ago. It has already proven to be a huge refreshment for my soul. If any of you are feeling the same way I am then I invite you to join me as I look in depth at the “record of Jesus the Messiah.” I will be posting my thoughts on the gospel weekly and I welcome any comments or insights that I may have missed. Below is my reading plan.
I wanted to get some some context for Matthew so I did a little bit of research first. One of my favorite commentary series for personal Bible reading is “The New Daily Bible Series” by William Barclay. His commentary is both pastoral and scholarly, yet he writes in a way that anyone can understand. If you are interested in any of these just search his name at www.amazon.com and you can find his commentary for every book of the New Testament.
The book of Matthew along with Mark and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels, which simply means “seen together.” They get this title because they are very similar in their content and structure
while each of them have some unique additions and omissions. Even though they are similar they each have a different audience. For Matthew, his audience is the Jewish community. Barclay says, “It is Matthew’s primary and deliberate purpose to show how the Old Testament prophecies received their fulfillment in Jesus; how every detail of Jesus’ life was foreshadowed in the prophets; and thus to compel the Jews to admit that Jesus was the Messiah.”
Throughout Matthew’s gospel the Old Testament Law is held in high esteem. This would be huge for a Jew because the Law was everything to them. Jesus says that he did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it (Mat. 5:17-20).
Matthew is also very interested in the Church. It is the only Synoptic gospel that even uses the word Church at all! Only Matthew says that disputes are to be settled by the Church (18:17). By the time Matthew was written, the Church would have been a very important part of the life of a Christian.
Barclay says that Matthew’s dominating idea is that Jesus is King. We see that from the very beginning of the gospel that he demonstrates the royalty of Jesus. In fact the genealogy is simply to prove that Jesus is the Son of David. You have probably heard that title of Jesus before and Matthew uses that name for Jesus more than any other gospel. Matthew’s picture of Jesus is of the man born to be King!