Another great week at class. We learned about Baptism, What Does It Mean to commit Blasphemy, and Gifts. To be honest it blew me away.
I don't before tonight I thought about all the different kinds of Baptisms there are, What does the Bible say about it, etc. I just knew I was baptised as a child and then again in August 2010. Of course I knew I needed to be baptised after giving my life to God but I don't think it was important to me until God convicted me of it. I didn't ever want to be one of those people who are just "going through the motions" of being a child of Christ. I wanted to know it was right to do it in my heart. Besides what good is it if it's not coming from your heart. God knows the truth and that's what mattered to me.
Blasphemy. That is a word that I thought I understood. What I really didn't understand is, is it really unforgivable. What if a person who committed blasphemy but then later in life became a Christian, would they be accepted into the Kingdom of Heaven. What if I committed blasphemy in my youth and never realized it. My pastor posed a great statement though. If you are thinking about what if I did that before I was saved you didn't do it. Blasphemy is a reference to people with hardened hearts who keep refusing to see God's goodness, God's miracles, His Son.
The Pastor also talked about receiving the fullness of the spirit. What Gifts do you have and how to receive empowerment for them. I think you can read things in the Bible about Fruit of the Spirit or reaping the rewards of fruit. For me I didn't really understand what that all meant. My Pastor really clarified it all through a simple drawing. Imagine a lush fruit tree. There are 3 elements which are needed for that tree to bare fruit. Sun, rain, and good soil. The tree by itself can't force fruit to grow from it's branches without help. With the help of these elements it has beautiful fruit. Similarly to our faith. Without God's word and the Holy Spirit we can't bare fruit. We can't experience empowerment with our spiritual gifts if we don't ask God to help us desire out gifts. We don't choose our own gifts.
That lead into a beautiful closing of the class. Another class next door to us at the church is on Prayer and Healing. If we wanted we could get prayer for empowerment of our gifts. My flesh wasn't really wanting to but I felt my heart said yes. So I went and 2 wonderful ladies layed their healing hands on me in prayer. It was awesome. I left with an intense warming feeling that I couldn't quite comprehend. On the drive home God really solidified my gift for helping other women.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Theology Class: Week 2
Where do I begin. It was another great class. I just wish it was longer. Tonight the class was on Repentance, What is Faith, and Who is Christ. It was a really abbreviated amount of info. This is just what was on my mind about these things.
I've realized I've never gone further than looking up the definition of repentance. Tonight's class really made me look at things I need to repent on. I use to think because I wasn't committing a major sin that I was a "good person". With some things I felt guilty or I just understood what I was doing was wrong. When really that is just the beginning of repentance. I really need to have an emotional connection (crying out to God) and finally a personal decision to renounce the sin. The main question I really need to keep asking myself is How is my sin offending God.
In retrospect I face a lot of temptations but to fight temptation, that's the true test of character. Even Jesus was tempted. I think you can get a better grasp on this idea by watching the beginning scene of the movie "The Passion of the Christ". Jesus is praying and being tempted by Satan. I think too often we think that Jesus didn't experience the same emotions as we do. So often we can miss temptation in our own lives because we give into feelings of resistance. For example I LOVE food. Especially at night I get this sweet craving and become tempted to eat or over eat. So many times I don't think of the temptation part...just the part of how "good" it will taste.
What is Faith?? To me it's more of a feeling, sometimes an action word. Since I was young I've always known God was near me. It wasn't until I was 24 did I really experience His love but I've always known God created me for a special purpose. So faith to me was knowing what is in my heart. I've always felt my heart was connected to God. Faith to me is also an action word. It's a confidence in knowing that God is in control.
Who is Christ?? What a loaded question. I'm sure I'll always be trying to wrap my little brain around who Christ is. Like I mentioned earlier Christ faced the same temptations we do everyday. One question that I'll be praying about is did Christ have a super strength when it came it temptation. Of course he was Jesus and as John 5:58 says, "before Abraham was, I am". He is the foundational belief of being fully man and fully God. How awesome is that!!
He had human weakness and limitation. When I think of this I think of all the rejection Jesus faced as a man. Yet He had enough strength to know He was the ultimate sacrifice. He didn't resist the temptation to flee from harm. He was the example of a perfectly obedient life.
I could probably write so much more but I'm emotionally and physically tired from everything going on.
Until next week...
I've realized I've never gone further than looking up the definition of repentance. Tonight's class really made me look at things I need to repent on. I use to think because I wasn't committing a major sin that I was a "good person". With some things I felt guilty or I just understood what I was doing was wrong. When really that is just the beginning of repentance. I really need to have an emotional connection (crying out to God) and finally a personal decision to renounce the sin. The main question I really need to keep asking myself is How is my sin offending God.
In retrospect I face a lot of temptations but to fight temptation, that's the true test of character. Even Jesus was tempted. I think you can get a better grasp on this idea by watching the beginning scene of the movie "The Passion of the Christ". Jesus is praying and being tempted by Satan. I think too often we think that Jesus didn't experience the same emotions as we do. So often we can miss temptation in our own lives because we give into feelings of resistance. For example I LOVE food. Especially at night I get this sweet craving and become tempted to eat or over eat. So many times I don't think of the temptation part...just the part of how "good" it will taste.
What is Faith?? To me it's more of a feeling, sometimes an action word. Since I was young I've always known God was near me. It wasn't until I was 24 did I really experience His love but I've always known God created me for a special purpose. So faith to me was knowing what is in my heart. I've always felt my heart was connected to God. Faith to me is also an action word. It's a confidence in knowing that God is in control.
Who is Christ?? What a loaded question. I'm sure I'll always be trying to wrap my little brain around who Christ is. Like I mentioned earlier Christ faced the same temptations we do everyday. One question that I'll be praying about is did Christ have a super strength when it came it temptation. Of course he was Jesus and as John 5:58 says, "before Abraham was, I am". He is the foundational belief of being fully man and fully God. How awesome is that!!
He had human weakness and limitation. When I think of this I think of all the rejection Jesus faced as a man. Yet He had enough strength to know He was the ultimate sacrifice. He didn't resist the temptation to flee from harm. He was the example of a perfectly obedient life.
I could probably write so much more but I'm emotionally and physically tired from everything going on.
Until next week...
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
My new Theology Class
Just got back from my first ever Theology class. Lets just say it answered a lot of questions of mine but I feel like I really don't know much about God. For starters have you ever just sat and thought about God's everlasting, his eternal presence. Look to your left and just keep looking and looking and he is there and all the things you can's see, he is there. Now do the same thing but look to your right. We can't understand how vast, wide, or that His love is big. But how big is it?? It's not something you can contain.
My only emotion right now is WOW. It hurts my head to think how he loves us. As it says in the bible his love stretches from everlasting to everlasting. To try to understand this in the physical world we live in is mind boggling. IT doesn't make sense because His LOVE is so HUGE!!!!
I feel like I've been running a marathon and now God has given me this new strength, this new perspective of what he wants to reveal to me. How AWESOME IS THAT!!!!
A big question that has bothering me to try to understand is: THE TRINITY. And also what are the differences between Body, Soul, and Spirit. What do they mean and how do they relate to how God wants them to line up, to synch.
We all have bodies. But what is your soul, and your spirit?? Before we were saved christians we may have a body and a soul but have a spiritually dead "spirit". That made so much sense to me because I know what it's like to be spirtually dead. Maybe a more appropriate question is how to wake up our spirit. How can we learn how to connect with the body and soul.
We can be surrounded by the most perfect spiritual experience but have no feeling in that area. It takes God drawing you into Him to awaken that deadness. So you can cry and feel connected to God, possibly not knowing how you got there but nevertheless you are there and your "trinity" per se is in unison.
What an eye opening night filled with feeling like I'm surrounded by HIS love!!
My only emotion right now is WOW. It hurts my head to think how he loves us. As it says in the bible his love stretches from everlasting to everlasting. To try to understand this in the physical world we live in is mind boggling. IT doesn't make sense because His LOVE is so HUGE!!!!
I feel like I've been running a marathon and now God has given me this new strength, this new perspective of what he wants to reveal to me. How AWESOME IS THAT!!!!
A big question that has bothering me to try to understand is: THE TRINITY. And also what are the differences between Body, Soul, and Spirit. What do they mean and how do they relate to how God wants them to line up, to synch.
We all have bodies. But what is your soul, and your spirit?? Before we were saved christians we may have a body and a soul but have a spiritually dead "spirit". That made so much sense to me because I know what it's like to be spirtually dead. Maybe a more appropriate question is how to wake up our spirit. How can we learn how to connect with the body and soul.
We can be surrounded by the most perfect spiritual experience but have no feeling in that area. It takes God drawing you into Him to awaken that deadness. So you can cry and feel connected to God, possibly not knowing how you got there but nevertheless you are there and your "trinity" per se is in unison.
What an eye opening night filled with feeling like I'm surrounded by HIS love!!
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