"Taming the Tongue
1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt[a] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Two Kinds of Wisdom
13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." ~ James 3
What a nice passage! Rid me of my selfish ambitions Lord! And teach me to control my tongue...
Saturday, November 28, 2009
I remember what you wore on the first day
You came into my life and I thought
"Hey, you know, this could be something"
'Cause everything you do and words you say
You know that it all takes my breath away
And now I'm left with nothing
'Cause maybe it's true
That I can't live without you
Maybe two is better than one
There's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
And you thought that it got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one
I remember every look upon your face
The way you roll your eyes
The way you taste
You make it hard for breathing
'Cause when I close my eyes and drift away
I think of you and everything's okay
I'm finally now believing
That maybe it's true
That I can't live without you
Maybe two is better than one
[ Boys Like Girls Lyrics are found on www.songlyrics.com ]
There's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
And you thought that it got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one
Yeah, yeah
I remember what you wore on the first day
You came into my life and I thought, "Hey,"
Maybe it's true
That I can't live without you
Maybe two is better than one
There's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
And you thought that it got me coming undone
And I'm thinking
I can't live without you
'Cause, baby, two is better than one
There's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
But I'll figure it out
When it's all said and done
Two is better than one
Two is better than one
You came into my life and I thought
"Hey, you know, this could be something"
'Cause everything you do and words you say
You know that it all takes my breath away
And now I'm left with nothing
'Cause maybe it's true
That I can't live without you
Maybe two is better than one
There's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
And you thought that it got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one
I remember every look upon your face
The way you roll your eyes
The way you taste
You make it hard for breathing
'Cause when I close my eyes and drift away
I think of you and everything's okay
I'm finally now believing
That maybe it's true
That I can't live without you
Maybe two is better than one
[ Boys Like Girls Lyrics are found on www.songlyrics.com ]
There's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
And you thought that it got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one
Yeah, yeah
I remember what you wore on the first day
You came into my life and I thought, "Hey,"
Maybe it's true
That I can't live without you
Maybe two is better than one
There's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
And you thought that it got me coming undone
And I'm thinking
I can't live without you
'Cause, baby, two is better than one
There's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
But I'll figure it out
When it's all said and done
Two is better than one
Two is better than one
Monday, November 23, 2009
Beholding is a way of becoming
2 Corinthians 3:18 " We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another."
"The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of his love" ~ Henry Scougal
"Beholding as a way of becoming" ~John Piper
The more we focus, behold the glory of God and his pleasures and love, the more we can be transformed to his likeness.
The beauty of an invisible heart is not assessed by what it thinks, as thought is beautiful in light of its affections, and not by what it wills, as there is half-hearted or whole hearted willing.
"You don't judge a soul by what it wills to do with lukewarm interest, or with mere teeth-gritting determination"
"the soul is measure by its flights,
some low and others high,
The heart is know by its delights,
And pleasures never lie"
I guess my love hasn't been well placed. Oh Lord, help me place my love and pleasures in you! Matthew 22:37 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart"
"The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of his love" ~ Henry Scougal
"Beholding as a way of becoming" ~John Piper
The more we focus, behold the glory of God and his pleasures and love, the more we can be transformed to his likeness.
The beauty of an invisible heart is not assessed by what it thinks, as thought is beautiful in light of its affections, and not by what it wills, as there is half-hearted or whole hearted willing.
"You don't judge a soul by what it wills to do with lukewarm interest, or with mere teeth-gritting determination"
"the soul is measure by its flights,
some low and others high,
The heart is know by its delights,
And pleasures never lie"
I guess my love hasn't been well placed. Oh Lord, help me place my love and pleasures in you! Matthew 22:37 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart"
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Marriage
Okay... it's time to blog about... Marriage...
Nope... it's not that I am getting married soon, but I just went for a sermon regarding Marriage, and it broke some misconceptions I had of it. I am writing this to share some of my thoughts...
The pastor approached in from a myth busting angle... much like the Mythbusters show you see on discovery. He went through 3 myths, and debunked each one of them. I shall try to elaborate on all three...
Myth1: Marriage(Or relationships) is because of lust
God's Mythbuster: Sex is for Marriage
1 Cor 7:1-2 "1Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry.[a] 2But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband."
Song of Songs 8:4-7
" Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.
Friends
5 Who is this coming up from the desert
leaning on her lover?
Beloved
Under the apple tree I roused you;
there your mother conceived you,
there she who was in labor gave you birth.
6 Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy [a] unyielding as the grave. [b]
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame. [c]
7 Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot wash it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of his house for love,
it [d] would be utterly scorned."
Love if very powerful... and we should not awaken love before the time... God's creation of sex and everything is beautiful... (Note: Sex includes the whole package... kissing, caressing, and everything else associated) but if we do it out of the context of marriage, then we are distorting His plans. He gave two quotes:
"Casual dating, where sexual exploration thrives, is God-angering"
"Serious courtship that strives for purity is God-glorifying"
Some may ask..."Is God a kill joy?" "Why postpone sex to marriage?" I guess the fact is that sex is meant to be enjoyed within a relationship of complete commitment to each other. For the power of the union of sex contradicts the notion of casualness and shortage of commitment in pre-marital sex. It's difficult to explain the fundamental notion of why was it created this way... but I guess this is something unique and special that God wants set aside for the gift of marriage...
Conclusion: Lust will not be satisfied if you pursue it outside of marriage, and marriage is not a cure for it. It should be dealt with even before marriage... seeking the help from God to overcome temptations and being strong in it...
Myth 2: Because of Loneliness
God's Mythbuster 2: Marriage is for God's Kingdom
A very HUGE erroneous thinking is the interpretation that Marriage is to cure loneliness because Genesis says so... the famous quote:
"The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Genesis 2:18
Many interpret this as Man and Woman marrying because God thinks it's not good for man to be lonely. However, the context is in Genesis 1: 26-28 "26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
The context for the creation of a helper is this: So that Man can rule over all the earth, and the method to do this is being fruitful and increasing in number....
Note in Malachi 2:15 " Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. [a] So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth."
He was seeking godly offspring... not PHYSICAL CHILDREN... but SPIRITUAL children... as such... for singles or married couples... the mission and the focus is the same... to grow the kingdom of God... This is John Piper's stand as well... in his book on Marriage...
Conclusion: Marriage is for Man and woman working together for the kingdom of God... to make disciples of all nations... to come together for that purpose... for the need of His kingdom's purposes... and not for our own loneliness...
He mentioned something that struck me deep and hard... LONELINESS is not solved through marriage... it is solved through a personal relationship with God... and relationship with Christian Community...
If you enter marriage with the hope of alleviating your loneliness... the relationship will be very INWARD LOOKING... because you only rely on each other for support... it leads to idolizing even... It is important to remember that the relationship is meant to be outward looking... not just how you can satisfy each other's needs alone....
Of cos, this doesn't mean that if your relationship cures some aspect of your loneliness then you've sinned. But this motivation should not be the fundamental of a marriage.
Lastly...
Myth 3: Because of LOVE
God's Mythbuster: Marriage is for Gospel Proclamation
As most of us are familiar... Marriage is the representation of the relationship between Christ and the Church...
Ephesians 5:31-32 "31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."[a] 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Marriage is but a pointer of things to come... Of the relationship between Christ and the Church. For we know that in Heaven... there is no longer marriage... Matthew 22:29-30 "Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven"
It is important to understand the relationship between Christ and the Church... because that is exactly what your marriage should reflect... Marriage is an opportunity for the gospel to be preached...
When people see the sacrificial love of the husband for his wife, they see and understand the sacrificial love that Christ had for the church. When people see the complete submission of the wife to the husband, they see the complete submission of the church to Christ...
Hope that this sharing on marriage has helped you in one way or another...
In today's culture, it is too easy to want to pursue marriage recklessly, carelessly, and fully based on emotions. Emotions change, and marriage has its unique purpose in God's kingdom. If we don't understand all this, then we shouldn't be entering into a relationship... that could tarnish both parties if not handled wisely...
Let's pursue courtship (dating with an intent of marriage) with godly discernment and godly love...
Nope... it's not that I am getting married soon, but I just went for a sermon regarding Marriage, and it broke some misconceptions I had of it. I am writing this to share some of my thoughts...
The pastor approached in from a myth busting angle... much like the Mythbusters show you see on discovery. He went through 3 myths, and debunked each one of them. I shall try to elaborate on all three...
Myth1: Marriage(Or relationships) is because of lust
God's Mythbuster: Sex is for Marriage
1 Cor 7:1-2 "1Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry.[a] 2But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband."
Song of Songs 8:4-7
" Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.
Friends
5 Who is this coming up from the desert
leaning on her lover?
Beloved
Under the apple tree I roused you;
there your mother conceived you,
there she who was in labor gave you birth.
6 Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy [a] unyielding as the grave. [b]
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame. [c]
7 Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot wash it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of his house for love,
it [d] would be utterly scorned."
Love if very powerful... and we should not awaken love before the time... God's creation of sex and everything is beautiful... (Note: Sex includes the whole package... kissing, caressing, and everything else associated) but if we do it out of the context of marriage, then we are distorting His plans. He gave two quotes:
"Casual dating, where sexual exploration thrives, is God-angering"
"Serious courtship that strives for purity is God-glorifying"
Some may ask..."Is God a kill joy?" "Why postpone sex to marriage?" I guess the fact is that sex is meant to be enjoyed within a relationship of complete commitment to each other. For the power of the union of sex contradicts the notion of casualness and shortage of commitment in pre-marital sex. It's difficult to explain the fundamental notion of why was it created this way... but I guess this is something unique and special that God wants set aside for the gift of marriage...
Conclusion: Lust will not be satisfied if you pursue it outside of marriage, and marriage is not a cure for it. It should be dealt with even before marriage... seeking the help from God to overcome temptations and being strong in it...
Myth 2: Because of Loneliness
God's Mythbuster 2: Marriage is for God's Kingdom
A very HUGE erroneous thinking is the interpretation that Marriage is to cure loneliness because Genesis says so... the famous quote:
"The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Genesis 2:18
Many interpret this as Man and Woman marrying because God thinks it's not good for man to be lonely. However, the context is in Genesis 1: 26-28 "26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
The context for the creation of a helper is this: So that Man can rule over all the earth, and the method to do this is being fruitful and increasing in number....
Note in Malachi 2:15 " Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. [a] So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth."
He was seeking godly offspring... not PHYSICAL CHILDREN... but SPIRITUAL children... as such... for singles or married couples... the mission and the focus is the same... to grow the kingdom of God... This is John Piper's stand as well... in his book on Marriage...
Conclusion: Marriage is for Man and woman working together for the kingdom of God... to make disciples of all nations... to come together for that purpose... for the need of His kingdom's purposes... and not for our own loneliness...
He mentioned something that struck me deep and hard... LONELINESS is not solved through marriage... it is solved through a personal relationship with God... and relationship with Christian Community...
If you enter marriage with the hope of alleviating your loneliness... the relationship will be very INWARD LOOKING... because you only rely on each other for support... it leads to idolizing even... It is important to remember that the relationship is meant to be outward looking... not just how you can satisfy each other's needs alone....
Of cos, this doesn't mean that if your relationship cures some aspect of your loneliness then you've sinned. But this motivation should not be the fundamental of a marriage.
Lastly...
Myth 3: Because of LOVE
God's Mythbuster: Marriage is for Gospel Proclamation
As most of us are familiar... Marriage is the representation of the relationship between Christ and the Church...
Ephesians 5:31-32 "31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."[a] 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Marriage is but a pointer of things to come... Of the relationship between Christ and the Church. For we know that in Heaven... there is no longer marriage... Matthew 22:29-30 "Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven"
It is important to understand the relationship between Christ and the Church... because that is exactly what your marriage should reflect... Marriage is an opportunity for the gospel to be preached...
When people see the sacrificial love of the husband for his wife, they see and understand the sacrificial love that Christ had for the church. When people see the complete submission of the wife to the husband, they see the complete submission of the church to Christ...
Hope that this sharing on marriage has helped you in one way or another...
In today's culture, it is too easy to want to pursue marriage recklessly, carelessly, and fully based on emotions. Emotions change, and marriage has its unique purpose in God's kingdom. If we don't understand all this, then we shouldn't be entering into a relationship... that could tarnish both parties if not handled wisely...
Let's pursue courtship (dating with an intent of marriage) with godly discernment and godly love...
Monday, November 2, 2009
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