Had a GRRREAT study tonight at PS's. I really benefit just from listening to the discussion. Tonight I learned a lot... from the insight that PS has of the Word and the resulting dialogue from it. I especially liked the part when PS asked what we can learn from Simon's mother-in-law (Mark 1: 29-31) and how can we apply this to our lives.
Gratitude that results in obedience and serving God and His people.
To paraphrase: "We've all experienced a form of healing. Mentally, physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually. And out of gratitude, we are to serve God just like Simon's mother-in-law served Jesus and the disciples as soon as she was healed. We're called to serve and love others and that is how we show how grateful we are to Him who has saved us and loved us first." Love it.
My thoughts on Mark chapter 1. As many of you know, I hardly talk in big discussion groups. I felt compelled to share once or twice tonight, but of course in the end, I kept it to myself. One of these days, I will overcome this hurdle of not being able to speak to a large audience. (Hey, maybe I SHOULD take that public speaking course NOW, which is also a pre-req for Pharm School.) Anyway, thoughts were brewing in my head during discussion. A couple of things:
i. the Temptation.
ii. Quiet time
Temptation. I actually had a question on this but the overthinking and hesitating to speak actually led to an answer. :D The verse says "At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert..." In other versions, the word sent is replaced with "driveth" or "compelled." This was the same Spirit that descended on Jesus "like a dove." At first read, I thought about it and I wondered, "so the Holy Spirit wants Jesus to be tempted?" Of course, Jesus will not sin so it's pretty futile for Satan to even try. But if the Holy Spirit sent Jesus to be tempted, then doesn't that mean that He also sends US to be tempted? Then I started wondering about why in the Lord's Prayer, this prayer is included: "and lead us not into temptation." Here's the thing that I realized though. The Holy Spirit... GOD... is NOT the one doing the tempting. It is Satan.. the evil one... who is responsible for it. God only ALLOWS us to be tempted. Maybe the path that He has for us includes thick, scary forests or deserts with wild beasts in which we are to be tempted, tested... but if we know Him and His Word (in which there is promise of victory), we can overcome this temptation and see the clearing at the end of the forest or come to a resting place in that desert where we can be attended to by our angels. Yes, we are tempted, but if we walk in God's light, sin should no longer have a hold on us. We are victorious over sin... through Christ.
Quiet time. One word: convicted. Jesus was a busy man. He healed people, performed various miracles, traveled from places to places to teach others, etc. And yet He found time to go to a "solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35" He took time out of His "schedule" to seek the Father and talk to Him. And He didn't want any distractions. He went to a quiet place where He can spend time with His Father... alone. How many times have I said that I'm going to spend quiet, alone time with God and end up multi-tasking with the TV on, with googletalk on, and my Bible open? How many times have I put other things first when I could be spending time with God? Far too many. And reading that verse this week... it's like a dagger through the heart. God reminded me not to forsake my relationship with Him. He wants alone time with me. Man! That's so awesome. Why would He want that? I mean, I have ADD and at times all I really do is cry and whine and complain. But He does, He wants time with me. And that's humbling. Who am I to refuse? Who am I to ignore the Almighty God? This verse was a very good reminder. Father God, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the privilege to talk to You. Thank You that You've never and You will never give up on me, even when I fail You. Thank You for second... oh, who am I kidding?... infinitieth chances. I love You.
So yeah, I'm done now.
Good night. Man, Arrrrr... that coffee is gonna keep me up all night. Oh well, there's the olympics. Go Phelps!
LYN
Gratitude that results in obedience and serving God and His people.
To paraphrase: "We've all experienced a form of healing. Mentally, physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually. And out of gratitude, we are to serve God just like Simon's mother-in-law served Jesus and the disciples as soon as she was healed. We're called to serve and love others and that is how we show how grateful we are to Him who has saved us and loved us first." Love it.
My thoughts on Mark chapter 1. As many of you know, I hardly talk in big discussion groups. I felt compelled to share once or twice tonight, but of course in the end, I kept it to myself. One of these days, I will overcome this hurdle of not being able to speak to a large audience. (Hey, maybe I SHOULD take that public speaking course NOW, which is also a pre-req for Pharm School.) Anyway, thoughts were brewing in my head during discussion. A couple of things:
i. the Temptation.
ii. Quiet time
Temptation. I actually had a question on this but the overthinking and hesitating to speak actually led to an answer. :D The verse says "At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert..." In other versions, the word sent is replaced with "driveth" or "compelled." This was the same Spirit that descended on Jesus "like a dove." At first read, I thought about it and I wondered, "so the Holy Spirit wants Jesus to be tempted?" Of course, Jesus will not sin so it's pretty futile for Satan to even try. But if the Holy Spirit sent Jesus to be tempted, then doesn't that mean that He also sends US to be tempted? Then I started wondering about why in the Lord's Prayer, this prayer is included: "and lead us not into temptation." Here's the thing that I realized though. The Holy Spirit... GOD... is NOT the one doing the tempting. It is Satan.. the evil one... who is responsible for it. God only ALLOWS us to be tempted. Maybe the path that He has for us includes thick, scary forests or deserts with wild beasts in which we are to be tempted, tested... but if we know Him and His Word (in which there is promise of victory), we can overcome this temptation and see the clearing at the end of the forest or come to a resting place in that desert where we can be attended to by our angels. Yes, we are tempted, but if we walk in God's light, sin should no longer have a hold on us. We are victorious over sin... through Christ.
Quiet time. One word: convicted. Jesus was a busy man. He healed people, performed various miracles, traveled from places to places to teach others, etc. And yet He found time to go to a "solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35" He took time out of His "schedule" to seek the Father and talk to Him. And He didn't want any distractions. He went to a quiet place where He can spend time with His Father... alone. How many times have I said that I'm going to spend quiet, alone time with God and end up multi-tasking with the TV on, with googletalk on, and my Bible open? How many times have I put other things first when I could be spending time with God? Far too many. And reading that verse this week... it's like a dagger through the heart. God reminded me not to forsake my relationship with Him. He wants alone time with me. Man! That's so awesome. Why would He want that? I mean, I have ADD and at times all I really do is cry and whine and complain. But He does, He wants time with me. And that's humbling. Who am I to refuse? Who am I to ignore the Almighty God? This verse was a very good reminder. Father God, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the privilege to talk to You. Thank You that You've never and You will never give up on me, even when I fail You. Thank You for second... oh, who am I kidding?... infinitieth chances. I love You.
So yeah, I'm done now.
Good night. Man, Arrrrr... that coffee is gonna keep me up all night. Oh well, there's the olympics. Go Phelps!
LYN
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