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Minor changes, hashtags and Bible reading…

February 6, 2012 in Bible, church, God, hkbibletweet, Jesus with 4 Comments

Over the weekend – and by that I mean, late last night – I made some changes to the blog…..

The most obvious things are visual and you will have spotted them by now if you visit often. The new images are from our small group last week (more on that later) and fot those, a big thanks to Navyblur is required………BIG THANKS!

The other wee thing that needs a quick explanation is the link in the sidebar that goes to twitter and specifically to the search term #hkbibletweet

In a nutshell, after some Bible related tweets and discussions a few of us have been using this hashtag on twitter……..

I can’t say for sure how long this may or may not go on for……….I can’t say for sure whether anyone outside of our “Church tweeters” will care about the hashtag and the tweets tagged with it.

None of that matters……

However, some people are engaging with the Bible…………and are tweeting/re-tweeting each other to simply share the text or to discuss it………….and it’s really cool to see this happening!

I recently told our small group that I’d be a pain in the ass re: Bible reading……………perhaps I have and perhaps I will be………….the thing is, it fills me with joy to see enthusiasm for God’s word………..when I ask what you have read or if you have read something today, its not because I’m keeping score………..it’s because I want you to open up the book and hear God speak plainly to you today and tomorrow and the next day and the day after that………..

May more of us catch the vision!

James – Hearing and doing the word (v19-27)

February 2, 2012 in Bible, church, God, Jesus with 2 Comments

“quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (v19)

For many years I have suffered from lack of patience which leads to anger……very quickly……and, like David Banner, you would not like me when I am angry………….I don’t turn into a green monster but it’s not pleasant!

“the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (v20) 

But, what about God’s word? Verse 21 talks about the “implanted word” which is “able to save your souls.”

When God saves us, it is always as a result of hearing His word………………….that can happen in a huge variety of ways but, His word is planted in us…………………if we are truly saved.

Verse 22 asks us………………are we “doers of the word?” Or do we just hear it and deceive ourselves?

How often do we hear a challenge in God’s word and we say “yea I know that is true” and we just do nothing about it…………we hear but we do not do!! Are we changed by God’s word?

What comes out of our mouths is important! This often shows us up for who we really are………….in verse 26 we find the hard truth that “if anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this persons religion is worthless.”

Right now you will be tempted to think of people you know who are “just like this”……………they say they are Christians and they contradict themselves by the way they speak and the way they act!

Forget other people………………what about you? What about me?

If this is you or me, the passage doesn’t beat around the bush! It says our “religion is worthless”

So, James ends the chapter by highlighting two examples of tragic things in our world……………orphans and widows…………..look around you? What tragedies and sadnesses are right on your doorstep? Are we praying for people with terrible afflictions and burdens like these?

When we see the pain and suffering of people we work with, family members, church family or neighbours do we think to “visit them” in their affliction…………….with prayer, friendship, encouragement? Or an actual visit?

That is what it means to be “doers of the word.”

God as a personal coach……

January 31, 2012 in church, God, Jesus with 6 Comments

“We evangelicals are less interested in appealing not to everyone’s God-shaped vacuum but to our yearning for self-improvement. Their reason for existence is not to glorify God and enjoy him forever, but to fix the self. There’s lots of talk about being “transformed by God,” but there is a lot more interest in transformation than in God. The psychology of the appeal often works like this: “You don’t like the way you are? Come to God; he’s pretty good at making you into the person you always wanted to be.” God as personal coach.”

This [extract] article  originally appeared in the ["Choosing Grace" Jan./Feb. 2012 Vol. 21 No. 1 Page number(s): 46-49] edition of Modern Reformation and is reprinted with permission. For more information about Modern Reformation, visit www.modernreformation.org or call (800) 890-7556. All rights reserved.

Plan to read your Bible……

January 30, 2012 in Bible, church, God, Jesus with 6 Comments

“Joshua 1:8 calls us to meditate on God’s Word day and night. One way I do this is by setting a goal every January to read a little bit of the Bible every day in order to finish reading the whole Bible by December. I make time to read twice a day, no matter how busy I am. If you start reading while a teenager, throughout your lifetime you could read through the Bible over 60 times!”

5 Quick Tips for Reading Your Bible Plan

1. Pick a plan that interests you, but one that is also difficult enough to keep you engaged.

2. Have a friend or family member read along with you and keep you accountable.

3. When you read, think of how the truths can be applied to your life first, not others’ lives.

4. Have resources to help you understand difficult passages better: a pastor, parent, commentary, Bible dictionary, etc.

5. Make time to read by planning 10 to 30 minutes twice a day, every day, to make sure you are consistent.

Taken from a recent blog post by Ashley Driscoll [source]

James – Testing of your Faith (V1-18)

January 26, 2012 in Bible, God, Jesus with 2 Comments

‘…..for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind’ (James Ch1 v 6)

“Waves are what happens when wind and tide take hold of the waters that are there all the time and make them dance to their tune….……the waves seem to have character and energy of their own. But they don’t. They are the random products of other forces. The challenge of faith is the challenge not to be a wave.” (Early Christian Letters for Everyone – Tom Wright)

How often are you and I like waves? We allow circumstances around us to dictate how we act. We allow people and their actions to influence who we are and how we behave……….

James talks about ‘testing,’ ‘trials’ and ‘wisdom‘ right at the very start of this letter…….’testing‘ and ‘trials‘……….we all experience these right? Some worse than others of course but, how do we handle them?

‘If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God,  who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him ‘ (v5)

We aren’t talking about wisdom to make you a better businessman or, wisdom that will win arguments and make you look very clever ……this is not a selfish prideful wisdom………….instead, he is talking about the wisdom that only God can and will give!

Wisdom is one of the great themes of James’ letter……….

“Without that [wisdom], you’ll be double-minded, swept this way one minute and that way the next. You’ll just be another wave. With it, you will have a settled character. Wisdom. Patience. Faith.” (Early Christian Letters for Everyone – Tom Wright)

So, may we ask God for wisdom, knowing that He gives it generously and, may we remain steady and unchanging when trials and temptations come our way…….may we trust God and His word rather than the things in our world that distract and trap us………may we see that God and His word will last………………and that the ‘stuff’ in our world that threatens to distracts us is worthless and will ‘wither away‘ (v10-11)

Let’s ask God for wisdom…….

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