Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight." "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord – Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here – has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
Questions:
- As you read this what are the first things that come to your mind?
- What in this text strikes you as remarkable?
- What is the main point of this story?
- Can you imagine sights and sounds that Saul saw and heard?
- How difficult would it be for Saul to accept the meaning of this encounter?
- Try to imagine being in the place of Ananias.
What else is on your mind this week?
47 comments:
good morning to all. I have not been to sleep yet and I'm walking around the apartment with one shoe on and one shoe off. What I find remarkable about this scripture. How God had to do something drastic in Saul life in order to get him to change and when he did change, he changed into a whole new person. even though it is not scriptured, Im sure God had Saul attention before and Saul didnt see it or chose not to see it. If anything, my question to Saul would be this. What made you so bitter toward God that you went around doing the things you did to God's people. I'm sure he didnt wake up one morning and said, hey, I guess today is a wonderful day to go lock up some of God's people. Saul had to have a reason for doing what he was doing.
A couple of years ago, I was sitting at home watching television and flipping through the stations. Nothing good was on so I decided I was going to count to twenty and whatever station I landed on when the count was up, was the station I was going to watch. When I got to twenty, I had stopped on a movie station. Don’t remember what station is was on but I know that it was a movie station. Previews of coming features was running so I went into the kitchen grabbed me a snack and headed off to the little boys room to take care of a little business before the movie started. I had everything in order. Bathroom run, check. Snack, check. Remote control beside me just in case the movie stunk, check. Glasses clean and on my face, check. Chair comfortable, so so but check. When the movie started, I didn’t think I was going to like it because it started off with a group of white guys going around beating the hell out of black guys in South Africa. Another racism movie. I’m thinking, if they ever want to end racism, one way to stop racism is to discontinue making racism movies. The guy who started all of this mess, his girlfriend got tired of him doing what he was doing so she invited him to come to church with her one Sunday. What he doesn’t know, his girlfriend goes to a ninety percent black church. Well they get out there to the church and he sees nothing but black folks. He doesn’t say anything but you can tell by his expression on his face that he must have felt like he was in enemy territory. This little African boy runs up to him and grab him by the hand and when he looked down and saw that it was a little black kid, he flinched and the pastor of the church saw it. When the little boy let go and ran off to play the pastor had asked him what was wrong. The guy had asked the pastor, “what right do you have to preach”, and the pastor asked him, “what do you mean by this”? The guy told the pastor, “black folks don’t have no soul, so they can’t make it to heaven”. The pastor had asked him, “where did you get that from”, and the guy told him that it was scripture. The pastor reached out and handed him the bible and asked him to show it to him. After flipping the page a few time he told the pastor that it was in there but he didn’t know where to find it. So the pastor told him, “take this bible with you, and when you find it, come back and show it to me because I have never heard of that before”. The guy went home, read the whole bible, not once, not twice, but a few times. He went and confronted the guy that told him that black men had no soul and asked him to show him where it was. The guy got really upset with him for questioning him and told him, that it was in the bible. Well the guy winded up leaving the clan and became a evangelist for God. Well the point to the story is this. God gave you that bible for a reason and the reason he gave you the word, is for you to read it for yourself. Not to put it in your night stand or your bookshelf when you come home from church, but for you to read it, learn from it, understand it and to apply it to yourself. When I was a student at the Los Angeles Mission, church was a seven day thing for me. Six of those days was going to the services in the mission. Sunday was spent in a church I felt God guided me too. Five of the days I was there were spent in morning classes studying and doing daily homework. Six days of the week, I spent my nights in the auditorium learning from different chaplains or visiting pastors that came from different churches. I ate, slept and crap church seven days a week for a year and a half. In that year and a half, about eighty percent of the teaching was about reading the word for yourself and if you couldn’t understand something, you had enough chaplains there to teach you and if the chaplains weren’t the source you needed, they would pray with you asking God to show you or bring someone into your life to help you with the situation. You want to know the truth about God, read the word for yourself. If you are wanting a change, trust in his word and if you do not understand something, pray about it, wait on him, be still and he will answer your prayer. It may not be tomorrow, it may not be next week but be still and it will be answered. The bible guarantees that, but you have to be patience and believe.
be careful when you hear the word being read by leaders of the church because one word can throw the whole scripture off and take a turn in a different directions. It happens, sometimes on purpose or by mistake but still one word added or subtracted can make a big difference in the teaching.
To read the article about David Fields click HERE.
I love the part where Ananias thinks he's informing Jesus of something, "But, Lord, isn't Paul the guy who...?"
Donna
I don’t think anything happened to Paul that made him bitter and angry. I just think he is just being a really good man of God, in his mind. He is defending the faith. He was likely the new young super-hero among the leaders of the Jews. Paul was going to make sure this stupid movement of following a MAN named Jesus was put to an end. Paul was credentialed and gifted; he had it all evidently (see Philippians 3).
The thing that REALLY hit me yesterday was just how wrong Paul was, even though he was so confident in his faith. Could that be me? Could that be us? How do we know?
Is the key to “being right” a true encounter with Jesus? Yes. I believe so. But what does that mean and how does it happen? Talk to me about this... I really want to hear your thoughts.
And Donna, don’t we all do the same thing all the time?
Like Donna, I think it is funny when Ananias decides to point out to God who it is he is talking about. However, after I laughed i thought about how we all do that. think about the last time you felt God telling you to do something. I would bet 90% of us argued back..."but God..." just like Ananias.
One thing that strikes me is that Saul was out here persuciuting Christians and then as soon as he is struck down on the way, he ask if it the Lord talking to him. I find that kind of interesting and again probably a good tie into our lifes today. How many know people who are so anti-church and God yet as soon as something happens they are the first to turn to the church or God.
I guess people havent changed that much in all that time.
RR
Secondhand obesity?
It is interesting to me that Saul had to be incapacitated, helpless and blind, to bring the truth of Jesus home to him. I think that happens to us too. The things that bring us to our knees draw us closer to God. We need Him, we are at His mercy. Once we have experienced God's mercy, help and comfort, we cannot help but tell about our experience. Sadly, too many put it in the back of their minds after a while and go on their ways slowly forgetting what He has done for them. Numbed by everyday life and taking for granted the blessings He sends to us daily, I think we all fall into the same situation from time to time. We really have to pay attention to those around us who need Jesus in their lives and do what we can to be a positive influence. I'm sure after Paul began his ministry, those who knew of him were afraid and sceptical. His excitement and sincerity must have shown through and made his story very believable, enough to establish churches almost everywhere he went. To suffer as he did for the Gospel and to be so determined not to give up the message is inspiring to us all. He began as someone who truly loved God and was zealous but misguided. He listened to those Jews in authority and did what he knew to be right. Meeting Jesus face to face made all the difference. This tells me to stay in the word and meet Him face to face every day and seek His wisdom and guidance for my life. Have a blessed day everyone. Sherron
Ryan, the villagers will be after me with torches and pitchforks, but I'm going to say this, anyway: Anytime we think God is leading us or "telling us" something, we should argue back. Or, at least question. Most of the time, I think when people believe they're being led, they're leading themselves in the direction they want to go, anyway. God communicated directly with the apostles, but since we have a closed canon of scripture, I believe that is adequate, and anything more might well amount to a secondary revelation. I may be wrong, but I don't think so.
Donna
the bible tells us to test the spirit not to argue with the spirit. Too argue with God, is to say, God I understand what you are saying but I have todisagree with you on that note example, Homesexual argue with God because they feel that they have the right to sleep with a person of the same sex. Women would argue with God about divorce because God doesnt give a woman any right to divorce.
Jonah diagree with God and wind up in a belly of a fish.
When I say "argue back," what I really mean is: if you sense a "leading" of some kind, you should immediately doubt that it came from God, and suspect that it originated with you, which is much more likely. Like speaking in tongues, and miraculous take-up-your-pallet-and-walk kinds of healings, I don't believe God gives most of us a sixth sense in order to discern His will. He revealed His will perfectly in the Bible.
Donna
Hi Donna You are my friend and I hate to dispute you {I told you the blog makes me feel nervous} but God does speak thru the Holy Spirit and there are times when I know he is speaking to me about things. It may concern my walk, needing to talk to someone, to pray for someone when I don't know exactly why, discerning of evil, lots of things. Experiencing the holy spirit talking to me is very hard to describe but I know when he is. There are times when I am not sure and I do have to ask God to make it more clear. This is so differant than just knowing the bible and the way we are to be. Acts is a perfect example how the holy spirit talked to people then and still does. Many times when God speaks to me it is not the way I want to go. The shy side of me wants to deny what he is asking of me. God amazes me all the time. I am grieved when sometimes I don't listen because I am too chicken. I am so glad he loves me and extends his grace when I don't deserve it. I have totally fell in love with God- learning to listen and trust him but for me that means to keep that relationship alive and well thru reading his word and spending time talking to him and listening. When I don't do that my thoughts can get cloudy and I might not hear him clearly. I might forget his voice when he speaks. For example i woke up an hour ago and knew I needed to pray for one of my children. I knew it. Just now I got a text from them exclaiming how good God is. I don't know what God did but he allowed me to be a part of it. He is AMAZING!!! It is 3 am right now.
I forgot to put my name---Jamie Young
I Corinthians 14:34-35 34. Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
35. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
Colossians 4:6
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone
The idea that the Spirit of God speaks/leads us is a fascinating one indeed. I think our present conversation is getting a little confused on a semantic level; in other words, just what do we mean by God “speaking” to us?
I think Donna’s words of caution are just that, but I think Jamie’s experience and the experiences of many others, including myself, are valid and are not contrary to Scripture. The Spirit of God is certainly not contained in the pages of a book, but at the same time I don’t think he would ever lead someone to do something that is different than what is in the book he authored. I believe I am often “spoken to” by God. Thoughts and ideas come literally “out of the blue” (heaven) and they are consistent with the Story of God.
I think God still speaks today, but it will always be consistent with His Word. The discernment that is required to know what is from God (and what is not) requires we know the written word. Thus, we emphasize study of the Bible. And I think it needs to be studied in community to keep us from coming to weird conclusions about what God is saying.
Donna
i dont think we probably disagree as much as you thought. i have to agree that when we think God is leading or speaking to us, we do have to some how have it pass the litmus test; is it God or is it our being pretending to be God. I do think a lot of times we pass it off as God leading us in a direction but it truly is just our own being going the direction or doing what we want. In those cases I think we see nothing but failure. My opinion, I think one way of determining if it is God's direction is study and prayer. At the same time there are situaitions such as Jamie noted that are really instantaneous, but if you really think about it, pretty clear cut God driven. Good discussion though. I am always amazed how a comment or two can really take on life of its own on here. Pretty neat.
Ok, since no one else is going to do it, i will ( i know Allen is dying for someone to say something)
Very catchy title this week Allen. "Saul Saw" Ha ha. You are so clever!! :)
RR
Speaking of words, did you see where Tony Stewart was fined $25,000 for cussing during a TV interview, following his NASCAR victory on Sunday? I don’t really care to turn this blog into a NASCAR discussion, but I find the fine interesting.
Society, at least certain segments of it, still finds that speech needs to be regulated and controlled. Why?
While this is going on in the culture I observe a move among some Christians (as mentioned by Gino a couple of weeks ago) to say that cussing is kinda cool and edgy and “no big deal.” In fact some “emergent” church folks are known for “cussing.” What do you think about that?
Yes, I am the clever one.
I think Ryan is right about “testing” the leading that we feel through prayer and study. I think consulting others (community) is equally important.
Allen:
I have to agree that I am a bit puzzled by fining Smoke for what he said or actually the "word" he used. Do they think that certain words are going to degrigate society? Pretty funny if you think of this company from an organization that has major sponsors such as JD, Bud, Miller and Viagra. Ha
On the cursing and its creep into Christianity, that is very interesting to me that you bring that up. I have noticed that a lot in the last couple of years. Both here at work an in my social circles; individuals (both male and female) whom I would consider to be very spiritual, I have heard use several words in daily talk that I have always felt society held as cursing. Oddly, on very few occasions were they said in anger. Mostly just in normal converstation. Now, please no one take this wrong, but previously, I had noticed a lot of my Catholic friends doing this but not my protestant friends but now it seems to be equal.
RR
Cussing is never cooooooooooool
in Matthew 12:34-37 34. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Ephesians 4-29
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 1st Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Colossians 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
I have a question to ask. When I read the bible I know that God is talking directly at me. When I first started reading the bible I never once thought of God talking to anyone else because of the things I use to do. If it didnt relate to me, I just took the unrelated and put it in the back of my mind just in case something unrelated popped up in the future then I would have something to fall back on and hopefully would remember when it happened. for example, I am not a cusser, never have been one so this is an unrelated thought I could put in the back of my mind just in case I needed to pull it up one day. Well one day at work, I had repeated something someone said and during the repeating, I cussed. I quickly responded with a Lord please forgive me and the guy who was there with me told me not to worry about it because he knew that I didn't cuss but was just repeating what someone else said. I have failed at majority of the things I have read out of the bible because of lack of knowledge or what some would call ignorant of the word in which I was. Three years after I was saved, I laid everything on the table and ask God to start working on me. Lucky I did not get baptized here because to have a shot gun pointed at me as soon as I came out of the water would not have been a good thing (morning humor). After I was baptized for the second time (since I did not understand what baptism was the first time). There are a lot of things that I read today and can say with a smile, I use to be that way and God has helped me with losing the taste of a lot of things I was doing wrong. I don't have to put these thoughts in the back of my mind. I can read it and discard it because the taste of it is like blackeye peas to me and I hate blackeye peas (gross). Ok here is where my question comes in at. How come people take the bible and see it as a tool to beat people up with instead of taking it and seeing that it was meant for them to get their life right first and then help those who are struggling to know and come to understand the word? I believe this is one of the reason people outside of the church do not like dealing with people who are in the church. I was one of those lucky unbelievers because I never had that happen to me. I'm sure if it would have happened, I probably wouldn't be where I am today. Now I have to admit, when I got saved, I would attack the church when it came to scripture because the church have no right throwing scripture up in unbelievers face when they are doing the same thing the unbelievers are doing. not to say that it hasnt changed because I know that I can be a royal pain in the butt with Christians today. With Allen and his little verses (hints) that he throws at me, I am getting better with what I say. Depend on the person. Laughing. I know the church means well when speaking to unbelievers but I know that the unbelievers are great at finding that tick off button and even though the church mean well, it doesnt take long for the button to be pushed and than that is where the talk becomes a personal issue and then ugly. Great example. I was watching on HBO a special that Rosie O Donnel did (I may have spelled her name wrong) and their was a group of gay people having a march. There was about twenty different churches out there talking about hate, calling them faggots and sissies. Not one talk was positive but all negative and they were judging these people by their standard and not by God's standard. Church folks like that, I do not like at all because it is people like that who run people away from the church instead of too the church. See churches like that, I would love to go too and stand up and tell them how embarrassing they were to the church and to God because nothing was spoken out of love but all hate. lack of knowledge and no wisdom at all. Allen you know I love you and take my word, you have helped me out a lot and even though there are times when I may not seem humble, that is far from the truth, God has use you on many of occasion to talk to me and I have heard what you had said. God is showing it to me through people so I am listening. Don't think I'm not because I am. I just want to do what God is telling me to do. You and I are from two different world and we have talked about this before. I've been down to many narrow paths and had gotten my butt whipped for it. This body can't take it anymore and I believe the older you get, the stronger your spirit gets because of the knowledge and the wisdom that is there. I can't keep tumbling backwards over the same stuff because I know with every backward step I take. I have to play catchup and that is not my life anymore. Every morning when I wake up, I say God this is your day not mine, tell me what I need to do and I will do it. I have runned ahead of God too many times and found myself flat on my buttock from it. Working in the mission, I have seen what happens when a person falls away from God and I don't want that to happened to me. I have nothing but compassion for those who are living in the world cause I was one of them. I dont know if you ever heard the saying, never forget where you come from when you make it big. God has made me big and I will never forget where I come from. The streets, the park bench, the alleys, the cardboard boxes, the ghetto, the slums, hell here on earth. This is where I come from and it is my job to bring the ghetto into the house of God. Amen.
One more thing that I forgot to add. when I was in school, I hated bullies so I would pick on the bullies who picked on the smaller guys. lost a few of those battles. I guess I am this way when it comes to the church and how they deal with the world. I may be a bully who are bullying bullies but maybe if the bullies stop bullying the weak, I wouldnt have to bully them. Hey I like that..lol..so if you are one who is bullying the weak, watch out because I'm coming to bully you.
Heh, Heh. I accidentally posted this the first time on last weeks blog. I'm a real mental giant sometimes. :]
I think if you watch much NASCAR, you'll find it has less to do with morals and more to do with business, sponserships, etc...
As far as cussing in general, I don't do it and it's not allowed in my house, but mostly because I think God expects me and my family to present ourselves in a manner that others will know who we belong to - God.
As far cussing being a sin, I'm not so sure sometimes. Jesus actually used some words every now and then that in anger, that if translated, had some direct coorelations with some of our current curse words.
I think the language that we're warned about has more to do with gossip, slander, lies, dirty jokes etc... These are much more destructive and anti-Christ-like than cursing.
I do believe cursing is used excessively and as an adjective for anything. There again, I think speaking like that shows how intelegent you really are.
The one curse that is not acceptable is using God's name in vain. I think God's name is used sometimes long before anybody would even utter some of the "biggies". Read about how the angels approach God and the fact that they won't even utter his name due to respect/fear. Makes you wonder how we throw his name around sometimes, don't it.
Yeah, I've heard some folks curse that I didn't expect it from. Is it my place to condemn them ,no. Is it my place to not conform to the way they're speaking and continue to be a good influence. Yes. I have many friends and family that used to curse around me that no longer do, because they know I don't. Did I ask them not to, no.
The thing that disturbs me the most right now is the flood of poor language that our kids are exposed to every day. Go stand in a school hallway and listen, the profanities are running rampant. Kids cuss, teachers cuss, parents cuss more freely, the list goes on. Go ask your kids what video games their playing. I guarantee you if it is rated T for Teen, there's cursing it either from the music playing or the characters that they are playing. Listen to the music. Look at some of their Myspace pages (that will really blow some of your minds PARENTS!) Can we guard them against it. I would like to say so, but we can't. They live out in the world. What we can do is make sure that they aren't exposed to it at home and understand what the standard code of conduct is for the home. They also need to undersatnd that they (and we)represent our church family with our speach. You're not going to influence them with words and rules, only your good example will make the difference.
Sometimes it's best to close our mouths to avoid showing our ignorance instead of opening them and removing all doubt.
My $0.02. Kinda long, Sorry
Brent
how about "gosh"? is that the lords name in vein?
Brent brought up an interesting point with Myspace. I know what he means. I was absolutely floored when I saw some of the addresses on there and what they said. Let me tell you these made a 40 year old man that works with a bunch of sailors blush. My daughter and I had a bid discussion about this and I told her about some articles I had read realitive to employeers looking at such and judging an individual. Her response was very disturbing but I also think very true. She said, you and your age feel that way and see that, but we see it as expression and really no meaning. It goes with what Brent says that cursing is so prevelent that we and our kids have become immune or sterile to it.
RR
I'm so scared for young people, today. Everything is presented as being completely relative. Scripture tells us to avoid even the appearance of evil. How're they to do that, when nothing is presented as being evil, except making judgments about the beliefs/behaviors of others?
Donna
How do we counter relativity? For me the answer, in part, is narrative theology. We need to understand the Story of God that includes Creation, Falleness, and Redemption. We can fit into the Story. God allows us to participate in his story, even makes the provision for us to do so. Wow!
I think this is what our story this week is about in some ways. Saul's rock solid foundation was shattered when he saw the Light. His reorientation to a life that made sense was found in the story of Jesus. Is it any different for us?
I know it is time for me to leave the blog alone. God to be argued with, God to be ignored and now Jesus may have used foul language. I heard it all and I do not want to be a part of this blogging any more. Opinion we all have but to sit there and write things that are no where close to scripture, that is just down right WRONG and yes I am TICKED OFF. Not everyone who read these blogs know the bible and I'm sure some of the things you people are saying they believe, so before you write something down, get your stories right.
Calm down, Gino. I THINK Brent was mixing up Jesus and Paul. Specifically, I think Brent was making reference to Paul's use of the word skubalon in Philippians 3:8. It is translated in the NIV as "rubbish." The KJV is closer with its "dung." And Tony Stewart MIGHT have been even closer. BUT we can not lose sight of what Paul is saying. In fact it is related to his new reorientation to the story of Jesus. The old way of personal acheivement and ambition is skubalon. Read that whole chapter. Good stuff.
Take it easy, Gino. When I said "argue with God" I didn't mean that literally. (I suspect you know that.) What I meant was, and I believe I made that clear, that when we believe God is speaking to us, we should question and make sure we're not deluding ourselves.It's easy to believe we're being led by God,when we may well be leading ourselves. Obviously, no one can literally argue with God--not and get away with it for long.
Donna
Never Fry Bacon when you're naked
Good advice, and here's some more:
You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim, da do da do...
My class last night focused somewhat on Ananias. Think about him for a little while. It took considerable courage for him to do what he did. He was willing to submit, willing to take a risk, once he was convicted of the call of Christ. Good point and lesson.
We also struggled with why Saul, so well-versed in (O.T.) Scripture could not see that Jesus was the Christ. Was he so bound up in his religion that he could not see? Saul was different than the Pharisees portrayed in the Gospels. Saul was sincere and really striving to please God from the heart. Interesting. It is also interesting to read Romans 9-11 in light of all this. To Saul’s credit, once he figured out who Christ was (Jesus), he totally submitted and made a complete and immediate change in his life. Amazing, really.
What does all this mean for you and me?
Gino buddy! Get a grip!
Part of participating and being involved in a community such as this blog is the freedom to have diverse opinions and ideas. The entire concept is to put ideas or issues out there and to talk through them. If we all had the same idea or understanding, what would be the point. Think how boring it would be to go to the ice cream shop if all they had was vanilla. Imagine Bakins Robbins 1 flavor! Doesnt sound to inviting does it? Should we be titling this blog; "Listening for God, 1 Opinion"? Probably not.
Is everybody right? Probably not totally. Is everyone else wrong? Probably not.
If you cant accept the fact that some individuals may interept the scriptures in a different manner than you and it upsets you, then you are being mature in walking away. Lashing out and being openly critical is not the correct manner to do this.
If you disagreed with Brent for example, post and ask for Brent to give you a scriptural reference to his point. Pretty simple and pretty adult like.
Accept the fact that we all are not always going to agree.
I truly feel this blog community is great and has some great diversity. Through this community I think we are growing in our walk.
I may be wrong on this but I dont recall any of the post that frustrated you this week starting out; "It is fact..." or "The only correct..." Most of these, use terms such as "I think", "in my opinion" etc. Outside of Allen I dont believe anyone on this blog can state they are a Bible scholar. All of us are attempting to improve and increase but I know personally I have a long way to go.
Use this blog for what its intent is, not for condeming your church family.
Hang in there man, and we will keep you in our prayers.
RR
On a completely different subject, has anyone read the book Discovering our Roots, The Ancestry of the Churches of Christ? You can find it here http://www.amazon.com/Discovering-Our-Roots-Ancestry-Churches/dp/0891120068/ref=sr_1_1/102-1735661-9648915?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186066851&sr=8-1. It’s a survey of the different influences and traditions that the authors say have shaped the Church of Christ. I just finished reading it and was wondering if anyone else has read it, or has thoughts about it.
Yep! I'll admit it, I was wrong on my reference.
Thanks Allen.
Gino, I'm sorry. I was trying to look it up and couldn't remember the actual word. "Raca" came to mind from Matthew 5, but Jesus was referring to how we need to work with our fellow man. He said the word, he just wasn't blasting someone with it.
I still stand by everything else I said though. I don't know if God has as much problem with the words we use as much as how we use them.
I've gotta get back to work now, sorry for lobbing the bomb before and walking away. I don't like to do that.
Brent
I started to blog about the cussing a while back and decided not to but since it is brought up again I will. I really do wonder why christians think it is fine. I would like to hear from some that cuss on a regular basis why you are okay with it. I have had to address this with my kids. I think it affects those around us more than we know. I wonder what the nonchristians around think when they hear christians cussing just like them. Even though they may do it I think they expect more of us. Those who do ask your coworkers, who you know are not christians, what they think when you cuss. I don't mean it sarcastic. I really wonder what they think. Would this go along with living for the sake of others? or do we settle for less than our best? Do we really think our words are no big deal? Jamie Young
Jamie, I love your last blog. You are so right , we are judged by our words. I've found that even people who "cuss" a lot are more careful when around those of us who don't.I think that shows that they respect us. My Mother was very strict about this and we were not even allowed to say "gosh" or "gee" or "golly". She said they were euphemisms for Jesus and God.
It just never became a habit for me. She encouraged us to have an extensive vocabulary. I can still hear her say, " Cursing just shows your ignorance. There are many other discriptive words in the English language , you need to learn to use those words."
I don't mean to be judgemental to those who use those slang words. Most of my friends do and it doesn't bother me. What really bothers me is that you can't even walk down the aisles of Walmart without hearing the "F" word. I feel like I should confront these people ( usually adults, at least chronologically ) But I'm a wimp. They are usually bigger than I am. I wonder if anyone has had any experience in this and have any ideas about what to do. Then I wonder if we can just point them out to our children and say," See, these are the kinds of people you are emulating if you use that kind of language. Do they look cool to you?" I hope I don't offend anyone,just some thoughts from another generation! Neva
Neva, my dad use to say the exact same thing about cursing. He used to always show ignorance because they didnt know any other words.
I too am shocked a hearing the "F word" in public. I have noticed this more too as I have gotten older. Maybe just me but it does hit me when I hear it. Dont any one take this the wrong way because I am not slamming Catholics at all, but this story ties and I have never forgot it. In college, I got to know a lot of Catholic guys from Southern Indiana and still stay in touch with them. I remember one night sitting around and getting into this deep discussion. One of the guys who happened to not be a Catholic or a church goer of any type had a disagreement with the others. The arguement got pretty heated and one of the Catholic guys blurts out very loudly; " I am going to take you to church and set your F****** morals straight!" To this day I cant forget this. He was so emotional about his belief but yet he totally blew his impact in my opinion by his choice of adjectives.
RR
Neva & Ryan; I am like you the use of the "F-word"; seems to hit me every time I hear it; and I would hate to know the number of times I have heard in my life working in manufacturing. I once asked a person that I work with that is educated why they used the word; their comment sturck me odd; according to them it is the only word in the english language that can be a noun, verb, adjective, subject all of them. I have never looked it up; but I thought that is not a reason to use it. This past Monday we attended an Open Sheep show; and a person that shows at most the shows we show at was talking about the how the show was going and a couple of the farms that were present and he threw out the "F-word"; when I heard it the first think I did was look and see where Adam was at. That was all I did; I did not say anything, but I must have looked funny. Because later that day; his wife told me that he would not use that word around me anymore. So I guess what I am saying Neva is sometimes you don't have to say anything at all; some people get the hint. Robin
There is a saying I heard long ago, 'Cursing is the effort of a small mind trying to express itself forcibly'. I was raised around cursing from both my dad and mom. Mother changed in later years and no longer cursed but neither of them ever used the 'F' word and my dad wouldn't allow it in the home. (At least he did have a limit on his cursing). We were never allowed to curse in our home and fearing punishment, I was very careful to not do it at all, even though we heard it regularily. It really sickens me to hear the words we hear today in music, on TV, movies, walking down the street or in Wal-Mart. I think it is a thermometer on our society. We allow a little in then we allow alot in and then we don't notice it. Kind of like a frog in the pot that has been put on to boil. Non-Christians do expect more of us and so do our fellow Christians. I worked with Christians at one time who cursed and I can tell you that my level of respect for them dropped dramatically when I heard it. I am bad about saying gosh, gee etc even though I know I shouldn't. I try to watch it but it does come out because it has been a habit all my life to avoid using God's name in vain as I heard constantly as a child. I cannot remember a sermon on the euphanisms until I was in my 30's. It helps me to empathize with those raised by parents that have no regard for God's name and throw it around like an old rag. We are to be lights for God here on earth. He should shine from us in all our actions from thoughts, to speech, to how we treat our neighbor, to how we react to criticism, to how we react to mistreatment, to how we interpret what is said. He is our strength. His grace covers the things we do unintentionally, and his forgivness covers our sins. He is a merciful God. But our intentions should always be with Him and others in mind. We are not islands here. We can make a difference, like Robin did by his silent reaction. You cannot beat people over the head with our Bibles and expect them to follow what it right. That works for a while but it does not last. A loving approach is what we are called to do, using tact and wisdom from God. I worry for my grandchildren and pray for them to be strong in the surroundings they are in, in school and with their friends out in public. I would not want to be one of them today. Neither of our children use words I was raised around and I am grateful that my parents at least taught us right from wrong in that area even though they could not control it themselves at the time. I didn't grow up in a 'vanilla' setting but I was raised to know right from wrong and that made the difference in my life. The source of right and wrong is in the Bible and in Christ Jesus, my Savior. Love you all, Sherron PS: When I become senile, (I'm already old) and start randomly cursing, please be kind and stop me, it would be very embarassing to me and my family. Ha!!
"gee" and "golly" are euphemisms for God? I had no idea, and have been bandying these about fairly frequently my entire life. Hm. How can anything Andy Hardy said have been bad? Something one of my grade school teachers told us when I was little (when teachers were still allowed to discuss God and sin) was that "if something is rude, it's almost always a sin." Not sure if that's strictly true, but it would seem to apply to foul language.
And, not only language, but gestures as well. Turns out my precious son has been randomly flipping people off from the back seat of our van as I drive thru town! A few weeks ago, some guy made a rude gesture at me in traffic (entirely uncalled for, I might add!) to which I replied "Oh, nice. Thanks a lot, buddy!" and went on my way. Well, Tyler apparently took me literally, didn't realize it wasn't the thing to do till I caught him at it and set him straight! Oh, I could've croaked!
Donna
Hey Sherron, in light of what Donna posted,if we embarrass our kids they probably have it coming!
Neva
The majority of today's time-starved Christians spend little effort in seious bible study. Most Christians rely only on what we have been taught by our denomination. We know what we believe, but we can't always explain from scripture why we believe it. this leaves us in a precarious spiritual position. there are so many conflicting convitions within the Christians community. How do we know with certainty that what we believe is the truth? There's only one way. we must search the scriptures for ourselves. Jesus said if we continue in His word, we will know the truth and the truth shall set us free.
Gino- I can tell that you are on fire for God and have a sincere heart in what you are saying. What bothers me is that you talk like you are the only one that loves God. I just think that you are not as alone as you seem to think by the words that you say. I believe that many do love God with all their hearts, do read their bible daily and prayer. We all have a walk and our journeys are differant.I will be the first to admit that I too sometimes can get flustrated with others but I am not to judge. When I judge I am sinning. My challenge is to love people to God. I don't always do that well but that is my goal. Ryan thanks for you writing about the blog and what its for. That was good for me. I said wed nite I wasn't blogging anymore because it makes me feel like I am fighting with someone. Thats my problem I know. Jamie Young
Post a Comment