June 17, 2006
Ecclesiastes 5:8
I stumbled upon this passage the other day. It's actually just part of a verse, but I think it helped me with what I saw in Asia and what I see here. That's not to say I should ignore the things I see - on the contrary, I think I have a responsibility to serve the oppressed. But this helps me deal with what I see.
"If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight..."
-Ecclesiastes 5:8
philiplikens | 06:31 AM | Word of God | Link | Comments (0)
May 13, 2006
Freedom
"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery."
-Galations 5:1
philiplikens | 10:55 PM | Word of God | Link | Comments (0)
October 29, 2005
Romans 14:23
"But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin."
philiplikens | 12:27 PM | Word of God | Link | Comments (0)
August 03, 2005
Matthew 16:23
But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."
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Jesus's words "Get behind me, Satan" are the title of the latest White Stripes album. I was listening to a sermon and this verse was quoted - then I put two and two together and the answer was yes, there is a connection.
philiplikens | 07:26 AM | Word of God | Link | Comments (0)
July 27, 2005
James 4:17
"Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."
philiplikens | 12:02 PM | Word of God | Link | Comments (1)
April 22, 2005
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil.
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever. (NKJV)
philiplikens | 07:24 AM | Word of God | Link | Comments (4)
March 30, 2005
Taking the I out of God
In John 3:30, John the Baptist says "He must increase, but I [must] decrease."
I love that verse, but my love for it is young. I have only truly realized the implications for a very short while.
If I should increase, the world, the people around me, even I, stand to gain nothing. In fact, I stand to do irrepairable damage if it is I who is to increase because I am evil.
However, if it is the Lord who is to increase, there is only love to gain. Only good can come from God because God is only good.
And sure I will loose part of "me", but not a part I don't mind losing or don't need to lose. And I stand to gain everything that means anything. It is my prayer, just as John said, that He will increase and I will decrease.
philiplikens | 07:26 AM | Word of God | Link | Comments (0)
March 09, 2005
Paul's Bad News (Romans 1-3)
In small group this week we discussed the first chapters in Romans, what I like to call the "Bad News" part of Romans. I enjoyed the chapters and have a greater respect for Paul's writing after studying this last week. Sometimes it's so hard for me to see how God could be full of wrath and judgement, but he is and Paul is reminding me of that. Below are some main points/thoughts we covered:
I believe part of the reason Paul wrote Romans the way he did was for contrast.
"without the dark, the light wouldn't appear as bright."
Think of a time when you got up in the middle of the night, walked into the bathroom and turned on the light. Has the light ever been overwhelming so that you have to squint – wishing you had sunglasses or something so it wouldn't be so bright? Think about that same light when it's turned on during the day – it appears normal, it isn't overly bright looking. "Without the dark the light wouldn't appear so bright." It's the contrast that makes us realize the true nature of the situation.
Much like the night and the light, Paul is using the first part of romans to show us just how dark things are – how much we're hurting. In the next parts of romans he's going to flip that light on and hopefully we'll be able to recognize salvation for what it truly is – an overwhelmingly bright light in a very dark situation.
Three main points I got from the first part of Romans:
1. Show that we are all guilty of sin.
Romans 3:10-18
'As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know." "There is no fear of God before their eyes."'
Or we can change it to read (which is a little harder to take):
'As the Scriptures say, "No one is good -- not even one. No one has real understanding; no one is seeking God. All have turned away from God; all have gone wrong. No one does good, not even one." "Our talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Our speech is filled with lies." "The poison of a deadly snake drips from our lips." "Our mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." "We are quick to commit murder. Wherever we go, destruction and misery follow us. We do not know what true peace is." "We have no fear of God to restrain us."'
2.Show that we are all deserving of god's wrath and judgement.
3. Show there's no amount of rationalizing or disputing of our sins that will save us – we are powerless to save ourselves from death.
Romans 3:20: "For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it."
philiplikens | 07:39 AM | Word of God | Link | Comments (0)
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
"Dear brothers and sisters, when I first came to you I didn't use lofty words and brilliant ideas to tell you God's message. For I decided to concentrate only on Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. I came to you in weakness-timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. I did not use wise and persuasive speeches, but the Holy Spirit was powerful among you. I did this so that you might trust the power of God rather than human wisdom."
I opened my bible to 1 Corinthians 2 and began reading. The first verses (above) stuck out to me in relation to leadership and witnessing. This verse brings be comfort because I realize I don't have to speak richly for people to understand God. Plain speech can be just as good of a witness as complex arguments. I suppose one could argue “the right tool for the job” - use complexities when complexities are needed and simplicity when simplicity is needed. But I find comfort in the aforementioned verses and the fact that God himself will speak personally to the people I am witnessing to – that it is not only on my shoulders that the weight of a person's salvation rests.
philiplikens | 06:39 AM | Word of God | Link | Comments (0)
February 23, 2005
Exodus 20:7
"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain."
Notice that God is exercising the original brand managament with this verse, one of the ten commandments.
philiplikens | 02:18 PM | Word of God | Link | Comments (0)
December 20, 2004
Do Not Worry
Matthew 6
25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[?
28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
philiplikens | 01:23 PM | Word of God | Link | Comments (0)