The Likeness of Jesus

My TheologyI class assigned a prayer project to pray about our vocation and Phil 3:17. He asked, "What have you learned from observing those who embody the likeness of Jesus?"

     Praying about my vocation always seems to reinforce what I believe God has called me to. Becoming a pastor as a job in ministry is not the call. God has called me to preach and proclaim the Gospel, disciple His people in His Word, love Him with all that I am, and share His love with others. Now it’s a matter of being faithful to His call, and being, conscious of His daily will for me.
      I reflected on people who embodied the likeness of Jesus and observed those that follow Christ. Their life is explosive in love. I sense an overwhelming joy in their life, and it is absolutely contagious. They can’t help but smile and laugh all the time. They are extremely encouraging, especially when I’m discouraged. They do not hesitate to pray, they go directly to our Abba, Father. These people can have their down times, but are usually very solid. They inspire me to grow closer into the likeness of Christ, and to be in tune with the Holy Spirit. They take convictions seriously and are always willing to share what they have learned from God. These people encounter God, nay have fellowship with God everyday and what seems like every hour. These people don’t just worship God, they fall flat on their faces in submission. You can easily tell who reigns as their King. You can see how thankful they are for life and how much they cherish each moment of every blessing. These people see what most of us miss. They know how to stop and receive from God. I also observe that the people who imitate Christ have a huge heart for the lost and will put whatever they are doing aside to serve others.
      From observing these passionate followers of Jesus, I too inspire to live a fruitful life. I learned to glorify and magnify Him even in the smallest of things. I learned how important it is to receive His love and grace. I see that they are satisfied in God and hunger Him more than anything. I learned to be desperate for Him, to long and desire His Spirit. I learned to take delight in fellowship with Him and others. I learned to rejoice and praise God in all circumstances. I learned how crucial purity is, and how important it is to follow God’s will. I learned that every moment we have the opportunity to experience the intimate love of the Father. I learned to wait on God and be attentive to the many forms of His Word. I learned to apply the truth of scripture and to write it on my heart. These people have the fragrance and aroma of Christ. Their lives are their testimony. I pray that my life would also reflect the likeness of Christ.

 “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.” –Phil. 3:17

 ¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? ¹⁷ Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.  ¹ Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? ² You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. ³ You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Cor 2:14-3:3

"¹Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, ² make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. ³ Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; ⁴ do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. ⁵ Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus" -Phil 2:1-5

Extra Notes
God's Word =
1) Creation (God's word enacted)
2) Voice (God's word spoken)
3) Jesus (God's word embodied)
4) Scripture (God's word written)

"Sin only looks appetizing to the the starving soul." -Dallas Willard 
If we have a feast for the main course that is full and satisfying, you won't crave desert.
Being satisfied in Christ protects our heart against sinful idols, and directs us to worship

Revelation

I believe that everyday we are in dire need of a fresh newness of God's love. A revelation, that God's love caused Him to die for us. A love so deep and rich, that he would sacrifice Himself on the cross. So that the lost might be redeemed. Sinners made righteous. Orphans adopted as His own children. A King laying down his life for you. His love will not only change your life, but save your life.

We have become numb, ignorant. We miss the out pouring of His love. We forget, we become distracted. We lose sight of His mind, His will, and His heart. Yet His grace is endless. We've all rejected God, and yet His holiness overcomes all our sins. He freely accepts unconditionally, calling us to trust Him and live out our faith. What have i been worshiping lately? God? or myself and idols? How have i used my time, resources and life? Where has my heart been? What have been my desires and motives?

I had dinner with some college church folks. It was refreshing to have fellowship and the chance to get to know people better. 1 John 4:7-21 talks about God's love for us, and how we are to love others. God reminded me that the 1st and 2nd greatest commandments, are really one. Christ responds by giving 2 because they can't really be separated. To love God, one must love thy neighbor. To truly love thy neighbor, one must really love God.

After dinner, my roommate and I were bored, so we went to the gym. Playin ball and lifting weights was also refreshing, because i'm so outta shape. I was super pooped after 3v3 and didnt wanna workout after, but after we were done it felt great to get something accomplished. Sometimes it's rejuvenating to push yourself in a good discipline... Now if i could only stop eating so much fast food! mmm french fries, oreo cookie shakes, bacon.. mm!

Anyways after the gym, came home showered, then ran off to dennys at midnight cuz we were super hungry. And my roommate brought some things up that i completely forgot about. Crazy extreme things we need to do before work or family stuff gets in the way. Life not lived to the fullest is meaningless. We wanted to take advantage of some opportunities. So we began throwing out ideas and created a to-do list. Yes it would take time to plan all of this out, but talkin this over allowed me to rekindle the adventure in life.

1)  3weeks -month retreat of solitude somewhere peaceful 

2)  Bike around America  (i was never sold on this one, lol)

3)  Bible Lands (Our school offers a trip to Turkey, Greece, Rome Israel)

4)  Become homeless for at least a month (i've been sold on this for a long time, but jus never found the right time or someone to be committed to it) We take so much for granted. Food, water, shelter, entertainment, technology, clothes, a blanket, shoes, air conditioner, cars, phones, etc. If you were homeless a quarter becomes valuable. We'd be able to direct our attention to God, because we would really have nothing else to rely on. We would become extremely thankful for what God has provided us with. I'm sure i would learn so much from being in extreme poverty. I jus hope i'd be able to survive. 

5)  Mission trip to  Guatemala, or somewhere else

6)  I go to Arizona to visit, he comes to Hawaii

7)  Snowboarding!

Expository Preaching

Some notes from my expository preaching class

-EP is an attitude or philosophy that is brought to preaching, not a methodology

-Do you subject the scriptures to your thought? or do you subject your thought to the Scriptures?

-Expository, is exposing what the original author intended to the original audience

-We are to preach the text and not our theology

-A text cannot mean what it never meant

-The job of the interpreter is to determine the single meaning intended by the author

-Preach the main point, meaning and purpose of the text, not secondary applications

-The points of your sermon must come directly from the text

- The purpose of an expository sermon must be the same as the biblical text

- A good communicator matches the right genre with the right meaning

-Adapt your communication style and mood with the genre of the text

- Balance the emphasis of the text, keep the tensions of the bible

- You are not the message, but the messenger

- Have confidence that you have the authority of Scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit

Conviction Leading to Repentance

Just a blog about how I haven't been doing well spiritually this summer. But even through a dry season, God has been teaching me a lot about how I approach spiritual disciplines.

______________
EDIT  AUGUST 29, 2011

I often struggle with meeting my own expectations and trying to do everything right. It's like there's a bar, a high bar for what a Good Christian should be like. If i'm doing bad spiritually, then i often just isolate myself, pretend i'm doing well and withdraw from running to God. It really isn't that hard front and pretend your doing good. I often just hide in the shame and guilt of my sin. But because we have been forgiven and declared righteous in Christ, we shouldn't toil in our unhealthy shame and guilt. As children who've committed a wrong, we should confess, repent and know that there is forgiveness from our heavenly Father. But sometimes Christianity just seems like it's only about the Do's and Don'ts. If Christianity were just that, it'd just be another religion based on performance, works, and not sinning too much. And religion based on ....

Worlds Apart - Mostar Diving Club

Some day you will find me
I haven't gone too far
I miss the way we were back then
How we laughed
I can feel you in my heart

There's a world in your eyes
I can see it getting brighter
All the hours that we turned into days
We were young seemed like life would go on last forever
All I had was you by my side

Some day you will answer
Remember how we were
When all our hopes and dreams
Floated in the air I feel it in my heart

I can feel you in my heart
That's the way that it was in the past you remember
When we ran through the wind and the rain
We were young seemed like life would go on last forever
Now everything has changed

Surrender

When we sin against someone, there are consequences to pay for our wrong doing. When we sin against the most high God we deserve death, wrath, and eternal separation from him. For sinning against a holy and infinite God, we owe God an infinite debt for our transgressions. As finite creations we are unable to reconcile and satisfy our eternal debt. It would take an eternal being, God himself, to pardon our sins. When we come to terms with the reality of our sins and fallen depravity, we recognize our desperate need for a Savior.

The good news is that God saves sinners. God's unconditional love and unmerited grace was manifested in the person of Jesus Christ... (read more)

Being with God and God's Family

We all go through problems. We face difficult circumstances and tough situations. It's not hard to become overwhelmed by the stresses of life. To cope with our anxieties we often turn to media, family members, friends, addictions, or we can hold it to ourselves in hopes that we can derive at an appropriate solution for our problem. When we overly focus on our problems, sins, fears and failures, we feel discouraged, defeated, hopeless, exhausted, frustrated, confused, empty, depressed and lonely.

\/ read move \/

Spring 2011

What I learned this semester at Talbot

This blog is mainly for myself. It helps me to record and reflect, because I don't want to forget
Btw I took 6 classes for a total of 9 credits!

I haven't been sleeping too well for the past month. These last few weeks have been pretty stressful. I only have one more week which is finals week.

\/ HEY READ MORE!  \/

Prince of Egypt - "When You Believe"

Shirat Hayam  "Song of the Sea"  Exodus 15:1-18
(Hebrew children singing at 2:30)

אָשִׁירָה לַיהוָה כִּי-גָאֹה גָּאָה (verse 1)
[ashira la'adonay ki ga'o ga'a] x2
"I will sing unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously"

מִי-כָמֹכָה בָּאֵלִם יְהוָה, מִי כָּמֹכָה נֶאְדָּר בַּקֹּדֶשׁ (verse 11)
[mi chamocha ba'elim adonay, mi kamocha ne'edar bakodesh]
"Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you majestic in holiness?"

נָחִיתָ בְחַסְדְּךָ, עַם-זוּ גָּאָלְתָּ (verse 13)
[nachita vechasdecha am zu ga'alta] x2
"You in your mercy have led forth the people which you have redeemed"

אָשִׁירָה ,אָשִׁירָה ,אָשִׁירָה
[ashira, ashira, ashira!]
[I will sing, I will sing, I will sing!]

A God Like No Other - 100th blog!

God is good. He is infinitely good. His perfect plans and purposes are for our good and for His glory. He is one of a kind, a God like no other. He is supreme above all. He is the sovereign Lord. He holds all things together. He pours out His Spirit within His people. He calls us friend, beloved, His chosen people. As fatherless orphans, He adopts us and gives us the right to become His children. We can be forgiven through the blood of the Lamb. The King Himself bore all the wrath of our sins for those who believe. He covers our sin and imputes His righteousness on us. He is a Redeemer, a just Judge, and a Sovereign God. He deserves the highest praise and all glory, for He is good.   READ MORE >>

Romans 3:21-26

21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Being with God

For school we had to spend 30 minutes listening to God. Later on I'll have to do a 24 hour retreat outside of home. That's hard to do when your usually pressed on time. But it's refreshing to hear from God especially when I've been absent for so long. Anyway, here's a short meditation..