For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Scriptural Musings
I invite my friends to encourage me and one another by sending me passages of scripture they are reading and including a sentence or two about what it means to them. These passages show up randomly on the main page, but they are all archived here.
Would you like to participate? Just email me (jnm@rubberpaw.com)!
God Loves us All
Monday, 22 Nov 2004 :-: ["Permalink"]
God loves all of us, not just the straight, the righteous, or the “good.” Only through his love and grace can any of us be saved.
Community in the Gospel
Thursday, 6 Jan 2005 :-: ["Permalink"]
What do we offer people? To be in Christ...
To be "in Christ" for a Westerner is an individual experience
To be "in Christ" for Paul is a shared experience with the Community in
communion & fellowship with the Trinity!
Which of these do you prefer? This is a false dilemma.
On a Soul Journey
Monday, 22 Nov 2004 :-: ["Permalink"]
Taken from a soul journey this morning… what an awesome reminder of God’s strength, power and majesty!
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
The Plans of God
Monday, 22 Nov 2004 :-: ["Permalink"]
God knows what we will encounter, but He will provide for each of us. Nate, this is one of my favorite passages…. It so clearly shows that God loves ME (and you!) and that he knows whats going to happen to me…. I want to seek Him more…
“I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you...
The God of the Living
Monday, 22 Nov 2004 :-: ["Permalink"]
Praise God that He is alive and not Dead! There is power in Him!
For he is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.
Searching For Wisdom
Monday, 20 Dec 2004 :-: ["Permalink"]
Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails -- given by one Shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter;
Fear God and keep his commandments.
for this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring every deed into judgment
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
Taking Joy in One's Work
Monday, 20 Dec 2004 :-: ["Permalink"]
...can be a good thing, but be careful. It is not the greatest thing. Sometimes, I think that an enjoyable workplace is the new (and equally empty) American Dream.
My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
Maturity
Thursday, 20 Oct 2005 :-: ["Permalink"]
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurreection of the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.