This is a paper I wrote and submitted for my sociology class, I have not made any changes except adding the verses to scriptures I referenced and the challenge I added at the end of my paper. O and also this intro was not part of my assignment that would be odd.
I want to preference my paper with the fact that I am a devout Christian, with strong belief in Jesus Christ as both my savior and Lord. I say that to clarify that the knowledge of the power of observation has not weakened my faith, rather it enlightened me to a phenomenon of a growing and dividing subculture to the one Christ put into institution over two thousand years ago. It is written in the Christian doctrine the bible “build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s son” [Ephesians 4:13]. Paul, the writer of Ephesians, where I got this verse, makes clear that we who claim Christ must build each other up to complete the goal we have of being united as one body in faith and knowledge of God. Now this goal was set out to the body of believers who took on the name “Christians” over sixty generations ago, and it seems as if there are more subcultures within the body of Christ than ever. There is the subcultural of Baptist, Catholic, Protestant, those who believe in predestination and those who believe in freewill. There is also the subculture of those who believe you can’t drink and others that think you must drink in remembrance of the Lord, other subgroups can’t go to the movies, still other sets think it doesn’t matter what you do. The list goes on and on of different subcultures within the revolutionary cultural that Jesus set up based on love, love for the God and for your neighbors [Mathew: 36-39]. I feel as if it is necessary to make another clarification at this time: I do not find these subcultures, in and of themselves, the problem. Subcultures can be a thriving drive behind the culture growing as a whole. Take for example the college subculture in America, in many ways it is unique and different from the American cultural as a whole. This college subculture is formed closer by factors unique to college students, like interests, but mainly because they are all in the same place in life. In this way subcultures are great to form community and fellowship. God does not work in generic formulas, so I believe there should be many different kinds of churches to reach God’s many different kinds of beloved children. On the other hand, subcultures can also be counterproductive to the culture in which it is a subversion of, by being detrimental to that culture’s goals. This can be especially devastating when the subculture causes division among what used to be one, to form two or three new but smaller separate cultures. As I have stated earlier the main objective and goal of the culture of following Christ is to Love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor, and it is also written that “everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" [Philippians 3:8]. Both of these ideas came from the truth that Christians claim to believe in. All this knowledge that I have just laid out leads me to make the assumption that a good many Christians let the society, and different subcultures they belong to, dictate their relationship with the one true God. Christianity is not an elitist club, it is a needed handout given freely and undeservingly.
Challenge to think about.
Where are your deepest convictions? Are they in proving you’re right about how you think about Christ, or how your denomination is the best, or is it in the endless pursuit of perfectly loving and living as Christ did. Or is it in something that isn’t your faith, like a game, school, friends or family?
I mentioned in my paper how the college subculture is different and unique from the rest of the cultural it is a part of. Are we, as Christians, different from this world we are a part of as Christ calls us to be? [John 17:14-19]I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
3 is No Longer a Crowd "The Big Picture" Grand Finale
Back to the life of Paul, the reason he had to escape out the window is because he was boldly proclaiming the Lord’s name (Acts 9:22-23). The fact that he had to sneak out of a city for his confident and powerful speaking as an ambassador of Christ is an illustration of Great faith. However, the character and power of Jesus shines bright when we take a look at who Saul was just before this event took place. Chapter 9 of Acts starts off with Saul’s eagerness to kill the Lord’s followers (verse 1). He planned to go to Damascus and bring Christians back in chains (verse 2). O’ how the Lord changes the plans and hearts of His people. He turned Saul's life upside down by coming to him the way he was, not waiting untill he was living a perfect life(Acts 9:3-5). Jesus wastes no time guiding Saul's steps right away (9:6). Although He loves us no matter where we are, He desires far better for all of us, He desires for us to prosper in His will (Jeremiah 29:11-12). The Lord also sent someone to follow up with his will for Saul, work on both his physical wants and more importantly his spiritual needs while he was busy praying. Prayer is an important part of one's pursuit towards the purist only true God. He used Ananias a man that had good reason to be scared of Saul for the task of healing and verifying (Acts 9:11-17). You never know how your actions are going to affect someone else's faith, so always try to live in God's will and don't let fear be a reason to shy away from God's commands.
God is active in your life he does not play a passive role, he is continuously reaching out to improve yours and His relationship, which in turns improves your whole life. This is not the only time God unambiguously changes Paul, I am confident in the statement that God had to intervene many times in Paul's life, as He must in all of our life. what makes Paul such a godly man is he listened. If we look back at 2 Corinthians Paul openly admits that he and Timothy were overwhelmed, much like Mark was in Acts chapter 13. Also like Mark they were relying on themselves rather than God (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). This is why I find it no coincidence that in verse 4 of the very same chapter he talks about how God comforts us so that we can comfort others. A message so strong that Paul felt compelled to write to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:15-16) with the same message of forgiving because we are forgiven an estimated five years later. It is my belief that Paul wanted to warn his pupil against making the same mistake he made.
The overwhelming experience Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians could and almost certainly is a factor in Paul and Mark’s reconciliation. He could have better understood what Mark might have gone through and felt the comfort of the Lord and was ready to provide comfort to Mark. As I said earlier having faith in Christ Is not a life time pass to bliss-ville, suffering will come in our life. In fact sometimes we will be faced with afflictions because of our faith. God does not orchestrate evil or hardships, but he will make good come out of any situation when you give your life to Him. This good can happen situationally but even more often, He corrects our outlook and/or our priorities. In Paul and Timothy’s example their suffering leads to knowledge of how to rely on God, a life lesson of forgiveness and in this case God even rescued them from their dangerous situation. This improvement through trials takes a trust in God to guide you (Isaiah 58:11).
This reunion in faith is made apparent when Paul writes 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 11 “…Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me in my ministry.” This one verse might not seem like much more than a simple invitation by itself or even in context of the whole book of Timothy. However as I hope to have proven, when looked at as part of a big picture this kind gesture of friendship is turned into a potent representation of magnificent reconciliation through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God is active in your life he does not play a passive role, he is continuously reaching out to improve yours and His relationship, which in turns improves your whole life. This is not the only time God unambiguously changes Paul, I am confident in the statement that God had to intervene many times in Paul's life, as He must in all of our life. what makes Paul such a godly man is he listened. If we look back at 2 Corinthians Paul openly admits that he and Timothy were overwhelmed, much like Mark was in Acts chapter 13. Also like Mark they were relying on themselves rather than God (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). This is why I find it no coincidence that in verse 4 of the very same chapter he talks about how God comforts us so that we can comfort others. A message so strong that Paul felt compelled to write to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:15-16) with the same message of forgiving because we are forgiven an estimated five years later. It is my belief that Paul wanted to warn his pupil against making the same mistake he made.
The overwhelming experience Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians could and almost certainly is a factor in Paul and Mark’s reconciliation. He could have better understood what Mark might have gone through and felt the comfort of the Lord and was ready to provide comfort to Mark. As I said earlier having faith in Christ Is not a life time pass to bliss-ville, suffering will come in our life. In fact sometimes we will be faced with afflictions because of our faith. God does not orchestrate evil or hardships, but he will make good come out of any situation when you give your life to Him. This good can happen situationally but even more often, He corrects our outlook and/or our priorities. In Paul and Timothy’s example their suffering leads to knowledge of how to rely on God, a life lesson of forgiveness and in this case God even rescued them from their dangerous situation. This improvement through trials takes a trust in God to guide you (Isaiah 58:11).
This reunion in faith is made apparent when Paul writes 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 11 “…Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me in my ministry.” This one verse might not seem like much more than a simple invitation by itself or even in context of the whole book of Timothy. However as I hope to have proven, when looked at as part of a big picture this kind gesture of friendship is turned into a potent representation of magnificent reconciliation through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Back 2 "The Big Picture"
Barnabas’s grace doesn’t stop with just Paul either he not only forgave John Mark for leaving, but trusted him enough so that he could redeem himself. In chapter 15 verse 36 of Acts Paul suggests that he and Barnabas go back and visit each city they had preached at, to check up on the believers. Barnabas agreed full heartily with Paul’s suggestion to revisit the churches. Which is no surprise it is a great idea because God desires more from His servants, His friends [John 15:15], than to simply tell people who He and His son Jesus are then never come back, never try to form a relationship with them. It is good to help others grow in their faith. However, Barnabas differed with Paul on who to invite (verses 37&38). Barnabas was ready to forgive John Mark and allow him to work on God’s mission with them again, but Paul was not. Paul was still hurt that John Mark abandoned them in Pamphylia, Barnabas and Paul's disagreement got so sharp that they split Barnabas took John Mark also known as Mark with him, and Paul took Silas (verses 39&40). This is a low point post salvation for Paul, even though he once prosecuted and killed Christians; he could not forgive Mark for leaving the missionary trip early. To clarify this would be an equally low point for any of the other apostles as well regardless their history, nobody's perfect except for God Himself. As the Lord says in his example of how to pray forgive and you will be forgiven (Matthew 6:12)
Praise the Lord He doesn’t leave us when we fall into judgment of others, condemning them for the same things God forgives and pours out grace on us for. God asks nothing of us that He Himself didn’t do thorough His son Jesus Christ. In fact I am really glad I found this in the bible because it goes to show you all will fall short of Gods glory (Romans 3:23). Including apostles of Christ and even the author of multiple letters in the bible. It can be easy to put the humans written about in the bible on a pedestal thinking of them as more than human, looking at their works as impossible to do anything near as great never the less surpass. When in reality through Jesus we are actually capable of so much more then even Jesus did on this earth when we stay in His will and have faith (John 14:11-13). The biblical heroes were just humans with flaws, but God still desired to use them. He had to teach them, encourage them, and constantly guided them. They were not immune to the disease of flesh like pride (Luke 9:46-48) and doubt (Judges 6:14-15).
Then if these people in the bible are not perfect why are they blessed enough to make it to the holy book? Why do they deserve the honor of being substance in the living water? In short they don’t through their weakness God is made strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). That was going to be it for the humanity of the apostles, but while making sure I did not take 2 Corinthians 12:9 and 10 out of context , the Lord open another door of His amazement. I zoomed out a little and first made sure I knew who was writing these words. 2 Corinthians was written by Paul and Timothy but these particularly verses (12:9-10) were written by Paul. I can say this confidently because starting just 10 verses back in chapter 11 verse 33 the writer writes that he “I” had to be lowered in a basket through the window, which happen to Paul (Acts 9:24-25).
Side note: if you ever are thinking how hard your life is and how God is treating you unfair you might want to read 2 Corinthians 11:23-33, it is a short summary of what Paul went through for God. Which by the way did not come as a shock to God that he would suffer for His name(Acts 9:16). Being a Christian doesn’t promise a life of rainbows made up of kittens and sunshine that gently kisses your check, don’t let anyone tell you different. Even Jesus was persecuted and warns us that truly following Him will naturally result in persecution (John 15:20). But, this is not a hopeless faith, it is one of peace joy and love. This is because we do not put our worth in things that will fade and have no eternal value instead we put it in Christ (Ephesians 5:1-2, John 16:33 John 15:9-13 *Luke 23:34 get context* John 3:16 Matthew 6:19-21) these verses are just a start of the the message of the love God has for us, presented in the bible. It is impossible to sum this message up completely and certainly deserve full devotion, not a branch off another train of thought. I suggest reading the gospel of John to try and grasp what Jesus is all about do it with pray and don’t be afraid to ask clarifying questions.
Back to the life of Paul, the reason he had to escape out the window is because he was boldly proclaiming the Lords name (Acts 9:22-23).
Praise the Lord He doesn’t leave us when we fall into judgment of others, condemning them for the same things God forgives and pours out grace on us for. God asks nothing of us that He Himself didn’t do thorough His son Jesus Christ. In fact I am really glad I found this in the bible because it goes to show you all will fall short of Gods glory (Romans 3:23). Including apostles of Christ and even the author of multiple letters in the bible. It can be easy to put the humans written about in the bible on a pedestal thinking of them as more than human, looking at their works as impossible to do anything near as great never the less surpass. When in reality through Jesus we are actually capable of so much more then even Jesus did on this earth when we stay in His will and have faith (John 14:11-13). The biblical heroes were just humans with flaws, but God still desired to use them. He had to teach them, encourage them, and constantly guided them. They were not immune to the disease of flesh like pride (Luke 9:46-48) and doubt (Judges 6:14-15).
Then if these people in the bible are not perfect why are they blessed enough to make it to the holy book? Why do they deserve the honor of being substance in the living water? In short they don’t through their weakness God is made strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). That was going to be it for the humanity of the apostles, but while making sure I did not take 2 Corinthians 12:9 and 10 out of context , the Lord open another door of His amazement. I zoomed out a little and first made sure I knew who was writing these words. 2 Corinthians was written by Paul and Timothy but these particularly verses (12:9-10) were written by Paul. I can say this confidently because starting just 10 verses back in chapter 11 verse 33 the writer writes that he “I” had to be lowered in a basket through the window, which happen to Paul (Acts 9:24-25).
Side note: if you ever are thinking how hard your life is and how God is treating you unfair you might want to read 2 Corinthians 11:23-33, it is a short summary of what Paul went through for God. Which by the way did not come as a shock to God that he would suffer for His name(Acts 9:16). Being a Christian doesn’t promise a life of rainbows made up of kittens and sunshine that gently kisses your check, don’t let anyone tell you different. Even Jesus was persecuted and warns us that truly following Him will naturally result in persecution (John 15:20). But, this is not a hopeless faith, it is one of peace joy and love. This is because we do not put our worth in things that will fade and have no eternal value instead we put it in Christ (Ephesians 5:1-2, John 16:33 John 15:9-13 *Luke 23:34 get context* John 3:16 Matthew 6:19-21) these verses are just a start of the the message of the love God has for us, presented in the bible. It is impossible to sum this message up completely and certainly deserve full devotion, not a branch off another train of thought. I suggest reading the gospel of John to try and grasp what Jesus is all about do it with pray and don’t be afraid to ask clarifying questions.
Back to the life of Paul, the reason he had to escape out the window is because he was boldly proclaiming the Lords name (Acts 9:22-23).
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Part one of "The Big Picture"
Here is the first part of something I have resorted to referring to as “The Big Picture”, this is some of what God has been teaching me as I dig into His word to try to have a mind that will be glorifying to Him who has authority over all. I have believed for awhile that Gods word is truly living water that can never dry up. I have study a single verse for over an hour and later discovered things that my friends and I missed, that have been revealed later at the right time, and I know there is much more still undiscovered. I also know it is important to keep verses in context by looking at a chapter or even a book as a whole which I also have enjoyed doing in times past. However this is a study, which I personal never conducted before, I have only heard sermons on it. It is looking at the bible and how it is all interconnected. I urge anyone trying to grow in the Lord with their knowledge to try this, it is by far the most challenging for me but it turns individual parts of the bible into a more whole message greater than even the sum of each part that goes into the whole. At Rock Bridge, a Christian camp I went to with my InterVarsity chapter, I walked through how to do a study like this with Peter’s life. It was here we turned seven different stories Peter was in from five different books in the bible into one look at Peter’s life, salvation, shortcomings and maturity into faith. All of which were great stories like how he dropped his net to follow Jesus, but when combined the message Jesus taught me through Peter broke me down an built me up stronger. When I started documenting what God was teaching me through His perfect word this summer, I was not planning on doing the kind of study I just descried. I just kept taking the doors the Lord was opening, fueled by the Spirit inside me ambitions to better understand the bible, and chronicling them so I would not forget what I was taught. Resulted in..
The start: I took a look at some commentary for Judges to better understand Judges as a whole, it is here I read how the tribe of Judah military collaboration (Judges 1:1-4) are compared to the joining of John Mark to Paul and Barnabas missionary trip (Acts 13:1-3). While investigating the similarities to these seemingly unrelated incidences, I saw that in both a set number was sent and blessed by God but more than that set number participated in said calling, not trusting that the amount God sent was sufficient. In Judges Judah was called to go against the Canaanites for they were given victory but they feared they would not be a large enough army so they invited the tribe of Simeon to join them in battle. In Acts John Mark doesn’t have any recorded praying for discernment if he should go on this mission trip like Saul and Barnabas did. Also according to scripture he was not sent out by the Holy Spirit as the other two were (Acts 13:4). He ends up accompanying the two anyways, nine short verses later we find out the direct effects of his rogue actions as he abandoned his two brothers in Christ to return to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). Rogue in the fact that John Mark went without God’s blessing, as far as I can tell. This is a strong case that even doing good things can and will burn you out really quickly if you are trying to use your own strength to accomplish your goal and not letting God work though you. This is not the extent of the consequences that arise from John Mark’s premature exit.
However, before we get to that while reading another commentary I found out that it is suggested that an influence of why John Mark left could be his assumed Kinsman Barnabas went from leading to being lead. In Acts 11:22-25 it tells us that the Church sent Barnabas and he recruited Saul latter to be known as Paul to help him. It seems that his name change, first recorded in Acts 13:9, also marks the transfers of leadership. Immediately after the name change Paul is the one calling the shots. He is the one that blinds a sorcerer trying to harden the heart of the governor of Paphos by attempting to get him not listen to Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:10-11). Paul is the one speaking to the crowd in Chapter 13 verse 16. Although this is a suggested reason why John Mark may have left, it doesn’t seem to cause any tension between Barnabas and Paul; they continue to travel together doing God’s will. Before this day I have never thought that much of Barnabas, but his act of great discipleship and leading deserves to be explored. I believe him and Paul did not split over the trade of power because Barnabas prioritized God’s will above his own, and his selfless motives (Acts 4:36-37). God clearly willed Paul to be the vassal in which He uses to lead the Gentiles the Kings and the people of Israel alike to Himself (Acts 9:15). Barnabas wanting God’s will to be done cared not that Paul was making the speeches and becoming the figure head of their group. In fact it probably brought him great joy because he trusted in Saul when most people feared that his conversion was not genuine (Acts 9:26). Barnabas exemplified a true leader of Christ by allowing even encouraging a man better suited for the job to start leading over himself. Keep in mind Barnabas was the one that brought Paul in and groomed him, by letting Paul take the reins he is showing blatant disregard for his ego while simultaneously showing great respect for the Lord’s will.
Barnabas’s grace doesn’t stop with just Paul either he not only forgave John Mark for leaving but trusted him enough so that he could redeem himself.
The start: I took a look at some commentary for Judges to better understand Judges as a whole, it is here I read how the tribe of Judah military collaboration (Judges 1:1-4) are compared to the joining of John Mark to Paul and Barnabas missionary trip (Acts 13:1-3). While investigating the similarities to these seemingly unrelated incidences, I saw that in both a set number was sent and blessed by God but more than that set number participated in said calling, not trusting that the amount God sent was sufficient. In Judges Judah was called to go against the Canaanites for they were given victory but they feared they would not be a large enough army so they invited the tribe of Simeon to join them in battle. In Acts John Mark doesn’t have any recorded praying for discernment if he should go on this mission trip like Saul and Barnabas did. Also according to scripture he was not sent out by the Holy Spirit as the other two were (Acts 13:4). He ends up accompanying the two anyways, nine short verses later we find out the direct effects of his rogue actions as he abandoned his two brothers in Christ to return to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). Rogue in the fact that John Mark went without God’s blessing, as far as I can tell. This is a strong case that even doing good things can and will burn you out really quickly if you are trying to use your own strength to accomplish your goal and not letting God work though you. This is not the extent of the consequences that arise from John Mark’s premature exit.
However, before we get to that while reading another commentary I found out that it is suggested that an influence of why John Mark left could be his assumed Kinsman Barnabas went from leading to being lead. In Acts 11:22-25 it tells us that the Church sent Barnabas and he recruited Saul latter to be known as Paul to help him. It seems that his name change, first recorded in Acts 13:9, also marks the transfers of leadership. Immediately after the name change Paul is the one calling the shots. He is the one that blinds a sorcerer trying to harden the heart of the governor of Paphos by attempting to get him not listen to Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:10-11). Paul is the one speaking to the crowd in Chapter 13 verse 16. Although this is a suggested reason why John Mark may have left, it doesn’t seem to cause any tension between Barnabas and Paul; they continue to travel together doing God’s will. Before this day I have never thought that much of Barnabas, but his act of great discipleship and leading deserves to be explored. I believe him and Paul did not split over the trade of power because Barnabas prioritized God’s will above his own, and his selfless motives (Acts 4:36-37). God clearly willed Paul to be the vassal in which He uses to lead the Gentiles the Kings and the people of Israel alike to Himself (Acts 9:15). Barnabas wanting God’s will to be done cared not that Paul was making the speeches and becoming the figure head of their group. In fact it probably brought him great joy because he trusted in Saul when most people feared that his conversion was not genuine (Acts 9:26). Barnabas exemplified a true leader of Christ by allowing even encouraging a man better suited for the job to start leading over himself. Keep in mind Barnabas was the one that brought Paul in and groomed him, by letting Paul take the reins he is showing blatant disregard for his ego while simultaneously showing great respect for the Lord’s will.
Barnabas’s grace doesn’t stop with just Paul either he not only forgave John Mark for leaving but trusted him enough so that he could redeem himself.
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