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Post by michelle on Feb 8, 2007 20:52:54 GMT -8
12/05:
I love this example of Jesus using reasoning to make a point: 25Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
34bFor out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.
This is a really tough pill for me to swallow. It is so hard to be constantly cautious of the words that come out of my mouth. But I think what is even more challenging for me is knowing that when bad things come out of my mouth, it means it is in my heart.
This brings up a question that comes up in my mind sometimes. Does anyone else get tired of striving for a "goal" (becoming like Christ) that is unattainable (because we can never be sinless)? Sometimes it feels to me like being a mouse in a wheel.
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Post by sarah on Feb 9, 2007 17:49:17 GMT -8
12/05:
I love that vs! It is funny how two people can have such different reactions to the same area of scripture. I used to have this vs scrolling across my screen saver when I worked full time for the city. I guess what I like about it the most, is that what I speak indicates the condition of my heart. I like having clues to my inner self, because sometimes I feel rather dense. I think the condition of our hearts is often more obvious to others than to ourselves. I know that my words betray me, even when I speak in humor. They reveal hurt, judgment, discontent....and hopefully good stuff as well. My hope is that when I recognize my words as coming from a less than sanctified place, it gives me opportunity to embrace change and healing in this area. I feel gratefully rather than defeated.
I also would say that I believe it is possible to become more and more like Christ, although it is certainly a life long process. I did some thinking about this and with sincerity and humility I can honestly say I believe I am closer than I once was, and yet I am not satisfied with where I am now either. There is a deeper place in Christ waiting for me, and I desire to walk in the fullness of what he has created for me!
What I battle with the most though is inconsistency in my desire to truly walk with God. I run hot and cold. I have discovered that when my desire is engaged, I don't struggle with it feeling like work to do the things I need to do to stay spiritually viable. It is more challenging in times like now, when I am frustrated or sad. To stay connected is my challenge, to be honest before the Lord about how I feel and choosing to remain in truth, versus letting my emotions be my truth.
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Post by Josh on Feb 9, 2007 17:50:45 GMT -8
12/05:
I know that my words betray me, even when I speak in humor.
Wow, so true.
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Post by Josh on Feb 9, 2007 17:51:20 GMT -8
12/05:
Get tired striving? Of course. It's funny how one minute being Christlike can seem the easiest thing in the world and the next minute it can seem harder than ANYTHING (often unreasonably so). But one thing I think that helps is the way we look our sin.
In this case (words that come out of our mouths), if we look at our little verbal slips as mere foibles then that makes God look indeed like a scientist throwing us rats "on the wheel" when he says we'll be held accountable for all our words.
But when we realize (and I mean REALLY realize) how wounding our words can be to others, then we begin to understand why the whole thing is so serious. And when we have this realization, we know why it doesn't ultimately matter how hard it is to be Christ-like: we simply must find the way to be or the world will eventually shrivel up and die if this sort of behavior continues. It is behavior that seems so trifling at first glance, but it is the words of our tongue that have proven to bring the most evil into this world.
This post was certainly not to deny the strain that striving after something unattainable brings. I guess in thinking about it, it became clear to me that sin in all forms must be dealt with and our goal can never be less than perfection because of it. Basically, we must keep fighting regardless. But when those metaphors come to mind (like, this is so pointless, I"m a mouse in a wheel), then we must replace them with other metaphors like (I have betrayed my friends. I must make amends and strike back at the enemy)
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Post by Josh on Feb 9, 2007 17:51:55 GMT -8
12/05:
"I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
I think the scenes where Jesus is 'breaking the rules' for the sake of love were some of the most compelling images from the Gospels to me in my early days as a believer. It's so cool how the Father sets the priorities straight through Jesus!
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Post by Josh on Feb 9, 2007 17:52:25 GMT -8
12/05:
43 “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
The phrase 'this generation' comes up several times in the Gospels and clearly refers here to the generation currently alive when Jesus was speaking (as, I would argue, it always does, even in Matthew 24).
Though Jesus was performing mighty works among the Jews in the 20's, it would only be like a man sweeping a house clean of demons that would eventually be filled with even worse demons shortly after. And this certainly was the case with Israel shortly before Jerusalem's destruction. That generation did see all of this prediction.
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Post by michelle on May 21, 2007 20:21:43 GMT -8
12/05: But one thing I think that helps is the way we look our sin. Another thing that changes my way of thinking is where I am in my relationship with the Lord. I don't remember exactly where I was in my walk at that time, but I do remember at times thinking that sin was this mouse on a wheel thing I would never be able to conquer. Sometimes that was daunting to me and made me want to just give up on trying to not sin. But when I think about sin now, I think about it in terms of how it hurts God. No, I will never be perfect, but I can try to not hurt the One who loves me the most and the One who hurts the most by my sin. While some of my sin may hurt other people, which I really try to avoid doing, ALL of my sin hurts God. He suffered so much already for my sins and I want to not continue to do that to Him. Do I fail? ALL THE TIME. But just like I strive to not hurt people I care about, which doesn't feel like a mouse on a wheel thing to me, I should also strive to not hurt God.
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Post by michelle on May 21, 2007 20:25:10 GMT -8
12/05: I love this example of Jesus using reasoning to make a point: 25Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. I read this chapter again last night and I had the same reaction to Jesus' logical deduction. I think it shows that God values and uses different modes to drive home a point.
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Post by Josh on May 21, 2007 20:42:03 GMT -8
It's crazy how our way of visualizing spiritual realities (mouse on a wheel vs. a wounded lover) makes all the difference sometimes. Sometimes only a long process can change those metaphors.
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