Day 24: Transformed by Truth

What a difference a day makes. I feel like a completely different person, and I only went to bed at 10:30 (which is adequate. . . I think my days of 9 PM bedtime are finally over). I think a few things played into that. First, there was One Lord, One Faith rehearsal last night, and you can't sing that music and not get energized from it, no matter what kind of mood you are in. Second, I had a short phone call with one of my favorite people in the world yesterday afternoon (one of my hometown theater friends) and I think I'm going to be able to have lunch with the OTP gang when I go up in March for my brother's wedding (which is really exciting, since I didn't have the opportunity to see any of them over Christmas break). Finally, and most importantly, I spent more than just a couple minutes in prayer last night before I went to bed. I think I've mentioned this before, but it's amazing what spending time with God does for insomnia and quality of sleep.

I feel empowered today (and not nearly as tired as I have been this past week). I am planning out my trips to the elementary schools (I can get to McGinnis on an early release day, so no sub required! Unfortunately Pierson Elementary isn't as conveniently timed, but it's also across the street). I've got to meet with my mentor teacher for my observation later this week, but now I'm not so. . . concerned about it. I still don't know what to do with my HS guys, but I've got some ideas that are more interesting than the methods book because AHHH I JUST HAD AN EPIPHANY!!

I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to makes us like the Son of God." It's true; it's here in the Bible. This chapter is all about how God's Word can and should affect our daily life. For a long time in our world history, only priests were able to read the Bible. Now it is available to all (even online: I use Biblegateway.com because it has many translations and some neat features), and how wonderful that is! The list of what the Bible does is awesome: it "generates life, creates faith, produces change, frightens the Devil, causes miracles, heals hurts, builds character, transforms circumstances, imparts joy, overcomes adversity, defeats temptation, infuses hope, releases power, cleanses our minds, brings things into being, and guarantees our future forever." Some day I'll link all the verses to that list. Some people anticipate every Sunday because it is their only feeding time from God. I love Sunday's, and getting those learning experiences, but I can't wait six more days before I want to hear from God again!

Guess how many "activities" help us to abide in God's Word? . . . . if you guessed three, congrats; four is a close second.

First, we have to accept the Bible's authority. The Bible and its teachings should be our standard by which we base our lives. After all, if we are trying to live a life that pleases God, why wouldn't we listen to what He tells us? The book lists four (hah) authorities we sometimes use that get us into trouble: culture, tradition, reason, and emotion. Just because "everyone" is doing or thinking something does not make it right. Besides, there are truly few things that "everyone" has agreement on (parfaits are one of those things, however). Don't tell me to "step into the 21st Century thinking" and be open-minded about things that I believe are wrong. I used to be an advocate of this kind of thinking, but that has changed. I do not have to accept as valid the ways that other people choose to live, BUT that also does not give me the authority to persecute or hate them for their beliefs. Get ready, because I'm going to step on some toes here. But I get passionately frustrated with groups that manipulate God's Word and teachings and yet proclaim to be Christian. For example, God does NOT "hate fags" (Westboro Baptist Church; be warned, there's some scary stuff on this website, but the fact that they claim God hates any human via the name of their website alone discredits most of what they have to say. GOD DOES NOT HATE HUMAN BEINGS; He hates sin) but He also does NOT approve of homosexuality as a lifestyle (Gay Christian Network is the one I have heard the most about, although I'm sure there are plenty, just as there are other extremists like WBC; if you go check out the video section, there's a lot of interesting things in there, but here's my deal: if someone can explain how Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6 say that homosexuality is not a sin, or tell me where it says "it is OK to act on homosexual desires" in the Bible, I would love to chat. I don't want to touch Leviticus because, unfortunately both sides of the debate look at it wrong ("religous" Christians take it out of context, as the one video notes, and gay Christians use the "freedom from the Law of the Old Testament" argument, but two things wrong with that: homosexuality IS mentioned specifically as a sin in the New Testament (that mystery word "arsenokoitai" that also gets abused? It literally means "man" (arseno) and "bed"(koitai) and is likely Paul's way of translating into Greek the Hebrew from those Leviticus verses about men not lying with men (check here for more) and second, because we are free from the law does not mean that the law still does not serve as a way to determine what is sin and what isn't (look here). Ultimately, the laws from Levicitus were used to set apart the Israelites from all the other cultures and peoples around them; while the "rules" have changed, the idea that Christians are supposed to be different from the surrounding cultures has not). And please don't talk to me about homosexuality in the animal kingdom, because we are not animals. And lastly, paraphrased from my life application Bible: just because you have a desire/attraction within you does not mean that it is OK to act on it. Can you be saved as a gay person? Yes. But if you continue to live that lifestyle, are you really following God? I don't think so, because we are supposed to be dead to sin, and if the Holy Spirit is within us and we are following God's will, then He should be working in us to change all sinful behavior. We will never be perfect, but that is not an excuse! Look at Romans 6.) (don't misinterpret all that; I could have put a slew of verses and websites proclaiming God's love for every person, but I think that's a little unnecessary, because most people in our society agree that WBC is out of line. Most people in our society, however, do not agree with the issue of sexuality. But I feel just as passionately about how wrong both of them are. Does that mean I hate those people, condemn them? No. I hope that God will truly work in them, help them to see His will and change their ways, as we are called to do. Faith alone gets us to Heaven, but is faith without deeds true faith? Look at James 2. My LASB offers better insight than my limited mind could come up with: When someone claims to have faith, what he or she may have is intellectual assent- agreement with a set of Christian teachings- and as such it would be incomplete faith. True faith transforms our conduct as well as our thoughts. If our lives remain unchanged, we don't truly believe the truths we claim to believe. We cannot earn our salvation by serving and obeying God. But such actions show that our commitment to God is real. Deeds of loving service are not a substitute for, but rather a verification of, our faith in Christ. At first glance, James 2:18 seems to contradict Romans 3:28, "man is justified by faith apart from observing the law." Deeper investigation, however, shows that the teachings of James and Paul are not at odds. While it is true that our good deeds can never earn salvation, true faith always results in a changed life and good deeds. Paul speaks against those who try and be saved by deeds instead of truth faith; James speaks against those who confuse mere intellecual assent with true faith. After all, even demons know who Jesus is, but they don't obey him. True faith involves a commitment of your whole self to God.

. . . . I'm sorry I went on such a spree there. Again, I could have made just as many arguments against Westboro, but most people probably agree with my feelings on them already. And really the point was that both sides misinterpret and hold specific prejudices against the opposing viewpoint(s). So. . . back to the book. . .)

So, the Bible has to be our moral compass, not society, because in the end, we are judged by God, not by people on Earth. That is one reason I really like the journey through this book; it is FILLED with references from Scripture.

Second, we have to assimilate the Bible's truth. The Holy Spirit can only do so much if we are not taking in God's Word. There are five parts to this (wow, we've had three, four, and five now. . .): receive (listen to/accept teachings from others, like pastors and SS teachers; the biggest obstacle here is NOT the speaker but our ATTITUDE towards the speaker), read (duh! Remember that that's how God talks to us), research/study (we don't learn much by just reading information; we need to ask questions about what we are reading), remember(everyone CAN memorize; do you know your phone number? How about home address? We memorize what is important to us; what could be more important than God's Word?), and reflect (this idea has already come up as "meditation" from Day 11. For me, this blog has been a big part of my meditation, at least on the days where I wasn't completely scatterbrained).

Lastly, we have to apply its principles to daily life. When we don't, it is what Pastor Dan refers to as "spiritual obesity." We take in the Word of God constantly, but if we aren't doing anything with it, we are basically letting our spiritual lives waste away. We have to be doers of the Word. Is practical application easy? Not always. Sometimes we have to face the hardest things; I know I have been and am dealing with tough areas in my life, trying to either change them or repent from them so that I might truly worship. Does it always make sense? No. Often the things the Bible points out to us about our lives, though convicting, might not fit within our reason or our emotions. However: God's Word is flawless. I would argue that, when we take a step of faith into God's will, we eventually see why He had us do it. I like the idea of always creating something practical out of Bible study. Not to just think, but to do. As I told my SS class, my personality type is more doer than thinker (although generally everyone is capable of both, most people lean towards one side or the other). I've done a lot of thinking and some doing; I need to keep the thinking, and increase the doing.

Point to Ponder: The truth transforms me.
I have changed so much in the past five months, and you know why? Regular prayer, regularly attending church, and regular reading of the Bible. Actually, it started with the Bible, and then church, and then prayer. As I continue down this path, I find things have new meaning for me; even the songs I hear on Z Radio I have some different perspectives on how I interpret them (most people can understand lyrics, but what they make you feel when you listen or what you feel when you sing them is a step beyond basic understanding; I guess that's the musician in me).

Verse to Remember: John 8:31-2 "If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." King James Version
I also really like this verse. Actually, if you read the verse from John and use that as a continuing thought, it's kind of neat.

Questions to Consider: What has God already told me in his Word that I haven't started doing yet?
I feel like I am being led to have a more active role at Stetson Baptist. I still don't know what it is yet, but I've been reading in the New Testament about unity in the Body of Christ and using your spiritual gifts to do His work on Earth.

Two last things. First, this is probably the best definition of Christianity that I have found so far. Second, I apologize for the length of this entry, but hopefully it has made someone out there think. I am always open to conversation about anything.