Take Up My Cross

Okay I know I haven't written anything in ages. It's been tough, busy. A hard time. However, I just have to write something about this. Maybe you've seen this article, heard about it, the accusation. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/22/pope-francis-good-atheists_n_3320757.html Pope Francis says Atheists who do good are redeemed, not just Catholics. Firstly it's important to note that the reporting site itself is not known for its' accuracy, but rather its' controversy. Nevertheless, this article has been circulating social media and many would have read and believed it. I'm not so sure on the exact things the pope has said, but nonetheless here's my answer to the things he supposedly claimed. It starts with a correct understanding of sin. Romans 3:10-12 says "as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one....

I had to say this was titled by the ESV Bible. It seems a rather secular looking concept, but Jesus makes the same stand here. John tells Jesus that he saw a person casting out demons in Jesus's name, and tried to stop him because he was not part of Jesus's direct disciples. However, Jesus tells John not to stop such people, because those who serve Jesus will not be able to speak ill of Him, and will not lose their reward in heaven. Apply this today. What does it mean to serve Jesus? A person who serves Jesus must know the full gospel of Christ - from Creation, Sin, Death, Redemption, Resurrection, and Judgement. He must be committed to serving Jesus as Lord of his life. So, the question is, how about people with different practices? Example 1: Catholics. Q: Are Catholics true servants of Jesus? My answer: No. The proclamation of Jesus's death is often tied too closely with the call to acts to earn salvation - failing to do justice to the completeness of payme...

It's been awhile, busy week and all, then with the preparation for various events (cell group, mission trip and the church kid's camp), I've kind of been put off track. Here's back to it. Jesus asks His disciples why they were arguing on the road. Seemingly childish, because they were arguing about who would be greatest, they kept quiet. Probably ashamed over such a childish argument? However, Jesus, being God, obviously knows what the argument was about, and tells them "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." He also took a little child and had him stand among them, telling them whoever welcomes the child in His name welcomes Him, and whoever welcomes Him welcomes God the Father. 3 lessons here. 1. Jesus is God. A very subtle lesson in His knowledge about the content of the argument, but nevertheless it is one of the things expressed in this passage (if the readers of Mark haven't already realised by thi...

The promised work of the Spirit. In the OT, The prophets spoke of the pouring out of God's Spirit. It would be shared by all who belonged to God's covenant people, and will be poured into our hearts and be moved to obey and follow His laws and words. The Spirit, essentially, does 2 things. Firstly, it calls us to follow God in the first place - the Spirit initiates regeneration. Following our response in faith and repentance, the Spirit continues to effect this regeneration by constantly calling us to God. This same Spirit "outpouring" is also the basis for the Baptist church's belief in the priesthood of all believers. Acts 2:14-41 describes this promised outpouring of the Spirit, and Peter's explanation for it. It declares the identity of Jesus in power. The Spirit convicts us of sin and righteousness and judgement. He gives us new birth, enabling us to turn back in faith. "No-one can come to the Son unless the Father draws him" ...

This one's for my cell group session for Saturday. The study begins describing a bridge built 2000 years ago, linking the gap between us and God. The question, it asks, however, is how do we, as 21st century Christians, follow Christ? Are we to wear sandals, speak Aramaic, and visit houses two by two, shaking the dust of our feet if we are rejected? Which parts of the Bible are objective, and which are subjective? The book takes 2 extreme stands. Objectivism is labelled as the extensive focus on factual knowledge of Christianity. Christianity becomes about "knowing". On an extreme view, it becomes almost unimportant that the heart of Christianity is the relationship between the Trinity, and the relationship to man. Subjectivism, on the opposite side, is based more on the "experience" with God, the relationship. On an extreme view, it becomes almost unimportant how Christ has died for this relationship to exist. Objectivism does happen to trend toward f...

Jesus and goes on with His disciples, teaching them that He will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after 3 days will rise. However, His disciples did not understand, and were afraid to ask Him. What do we see here? 1. We notice that although Jesus has sufficiently revealed to them that He is the Christ, and they have understood that, they fail to understand the second part of the Gospel, that He must die for our sin and be raised again to conquer it. Acknowledging Jesus as Christ is insufficient.  Christ (Messiah), was simply a term directly translated to be "anointed". Many of the people at that point in time believed the Christ would lead them out of Roman captivity, and would be a great king. However, they fail to see that their captivity was not to the Romans, but to sin; and that Christ's role in this world was beyond their expectations. We should not be placing our human expectations on God, but accepting His greater plan for everyt...

This is a account of the casting out of a demon by Jesus. There was a crowd arguing with the disciples, and Jesus came down to see what it was about. A father brought his son down to see Jesus, to ask Him to cast out the demon. However, the disciples were unable to do so. The man pleads with Jesus to have compassion on them and help them. He uses the phrase "If you can". Jesus replies him, saying "All things are possible for one who believes." Immediately, the father cries out declaring his belief, and asking Jesus to help his unbelief. Jesus then proceeds to cast out the demon, then pick the seemingly dead boy up to life again. Later on, the disciples ask Jesus why they could not cast out the demon, and Jesus tells them it could only be cast out by prayer. 1. All things are possible for one who believes. This man clearly doubted Jesus's full authority over the demon. However, when Jesus prompts him, he realises that he needs Jesus to help him first ...

This question was posed in my youth group today. Give an answer... And it's immediately wrong. Why so? The question in itself is wrong. What is a "better" Christian? What defines a Christian? The Bible is pretty straightforward with it - you are Christian, or you are not. There is only one way to achieve peace with God, and it has nothing to do with us. Our salvation, our identity as Christians - "little Christs" - depends fully on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. If there was anything that we could possibly do to strengthen this identity in God's eyes, or weaken it, for that matter, then Christ's death was insufficient payment for our debt . That aside, we do practice certain acts - coming to church, loving one another, praying, reading the Bible. These have no value to our salvation . They do not in any way cleanse us from sin. A person can read the Bible everyday, pray 23hours a day (exaggerated much), but ...

This passage tells of Peter, James and John following Jesus to a high mountain alone. Again, it is only the "inner circle" of the disciples who get to witness this event. As Jesus prayed, His appearance was changed to one radiant and intensely white - an allusion to His holiness. Moses and Elijah also appeared and talked to Jesus about His coming death. Why Moses and Elijah? (note: speculation here) Moses is the giver of Old Testamental law and is instrumental in Christ's fulfillment of the OT Law, and His replacing of it. Elijah is the symbol of faith of the OT - never going against God but suffering many things for His sake, and at the end being taken up to heaven without actually dying. They talk to Jesus, and Peter suggests that they make 3 dwellings for them to stay. However, that is clearly not God's intention, and God speaks clearly to them, telling them Jesus is His beloved Son, and to listen to Him. At this point, Moses and Elijah disappear. Jes...