So, I was uploading different people's lessons from the year and from the dorm, and I realized that I had not uploaded my own.
The greatest thing that I have learned this year is the fact that God desires fellowship with us. When we read in I John, we read about living in the light. John uses the word "walking," a Greek idiom meaning the manner one conducts their life. The goal of walking in the light is not found in being holy, or even being like God. The goal of walking in the light is to be with God. We are told that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all, and that we can walk in the light and have fellowship with other Christians in the light. But, why is that possible? Because, as John tells us, our fellowship is with Him, Jesus Christ.
As these words rang in my mind, the Lord began to teach me that this was the reason for chastening. Why should we grateful for the chastening of the Lord? Because it is God's method of rmoving the darkness from our hearts and filling us with His light. All this, in a effort to draw us closer to Himself.
I love the Lord because He desires fellowship with us and will mold us to bring us unto Himself to eternally walk in the light, as He is in the light.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Joel Burdine
Jesus described the good news of the Gospel in terms of a new birth. In our old nature with our wicked hearts, man is incapable of keeping God’s law. The things of God and the precepts of God hold no delight for him. Because of man’s depraved and debased desires, man is content to simply squander away his life in meaningless, sinful desires. Even if a man desires to do good to some extent, he will always do it with the wrong motive or his desire for evil will be far greater. The problem with man has always been what he desired. That is why even when we look at Israel, we see a people who apart from regeneration unable to keep his law. We here Moses, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all making appeals to Israel to be born again, or “circumcise their heart” and not just their flesh (Deuteronomy 10:6, Jeremiah 4:4, Ezekiel 18:31).
This is the good news of the Gospel and the promise of the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36) that God would give His people a new heart and the Holy Spirit to enable them to keep His law and to obey Him. This was one of the reasons that Jesus came to die, to purchase for His people the benefits of the New Covenant.
This having been said, the new birth in the believer is followed by a change in action. When God saves us and gives us a new heart, we start the process of sanctification whereby we are sanctified without the goal in sight of being conformed to the image of Christ. As the Holy Spirit works through us, He produces fruit, such as the fruit described in Galatians 5. Some people mistake this passage to be things that we are to work at producing in our life when really they are things that the Holy Spirit produces in us. The only thing we need to do to produce is to make sure we are attached to the True Vine.
One of the fruits described in this holy vineyard is love. Christ told His disciples that people would know them by their love for each other. Jesus Christ is our common love and bond, and by our love for Him, despite cultural, ethnic, positional, or dispositional differences we are bound together in a miraculous work of grace. This is what made the most profound impression on my heart by living in Dorm 14 in 08-09. It was something that I knew in my head, but I know that the Lord taught me in my heart. I learned that by God’s grace His love could pass even my proud, preferential or secondary beliefs and give me love for my brothers. Our joy in God and all that He had done through Christ and purchased for us on the cross for His glory is to pour over in love for other people. Even as Paul told the Corinthian church, to whom He gave scathing rebukes, that He thanked God upon every remembrance of them! He was even thankful for the grace of God that gave them spiritual gifts that they were now abusing. From this we can also see that one can disagree and offer reproof for doctrinal error or disagreement and yet still love and rejoice with them in the grace of God. It was a remarkable truth made clear to my heart that God’s people can dwell together by grace, and God showed me much about His grace and the fruit that the Gospel produces in our lives.
This is the good news of the Gospel and the promise of the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36) that God would give His people a new heart and the Holy Spirit to enable them to keep His law and to obey Him. This was one of the reasons that Jesus came to die, to purchase for His people the benefits of the New Covenant.
This having been said, the new birth in the believer is followed by a change in action. When God saves us and gives us a new heart, we start the process of sanctification whereby we are sanctified without the goal in sight of being conformed to the image of Christ. As the Holy Spirit works through us, He produces fruit, such as the fruit described in Galatians 5. Some people mistake this passage to be things that we are to work at producing in our life when really they are things that the Holy Spirit produces in us. The only thing we need to do to produce is to make sure we are attached to the True Vine.
One of the fruits described in this holy vineyard is love. Christ told His disciples that people would know them by their love for each other. Jesus Christ is our common love and bond, and by our love for Him, despite cultural, ethnic, positional, or dispositional differences we are bound together in a miraculous work of grace. This is what made the most profound impression on my heart by living in Dorm 14 in 08-09. It was something that I knew in my head, but I know that the Lord taught me in my heart. I learned that by God’s grace His love could pass even my proud, preferential or secondary beliefs and give me love for my brothers. Our joy in God and all that He had done through Christ and purchased for us on the cross for His glory is to pour over in love for other people. Even as Paul told the Corinthian church, to whom He gave scathing rebukes, that He thanked God upon every remembrance of them! He was even thankful for the grace of God that gave them spiritual gifts that they were now abusing. From this we can also see that one can disagree and offer reproof for doctrinal error or disagreement and yet still love and rejoice with them in the grace of God. It was a remarkable truth made clear to my heart that God’s people can dwell together by grace, and God showed me much about His grace and the fruit that the Gospel produces in our lives.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Daniel Hill
This semester has been an amazing semester in my life. I have learned so many different things but most of all I have learned to spend time with the Lord in daily devotions. Hudson Taylor has been quoted as having said, "Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instruments afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him." I have found that those days where I have morning or evening devotions I have a closer walk with God. I go through the day with more joy and more contentment.
Something that I learned – Darrell Burnett
There is this one song that the Wilds put out a few years ago. The chorus goes “Your will cannot lead me where your grace will not keep me.” This has been true ever since I got here at Crown. I have always struggled to pay off my school bill. You know as well as I do that the rules here at Crown state that you have to have your school bill paid down to 250 dollars or less in order to take your finals. Roughly, one third of the school bill payment comes from working on work scholarship in the kitchen, and other third by working at Cracker Barrel (aka, The Crack House).
I have only been able to pay off about two thirds of my bill, and yet with this rule in effect, I have been able to take all my semesters on time. Truly, this is an amazing tale on how God paid off my school bill for me. What I could not do, He has done for me. The first two semesters God just worked in miraculous ways, including a $1000 tip one night. After this, I thought my luck was ended.
Then there was a third semester here at Crown. I had serious doubts that God can take care of my school bill again. After all, He already took care of two of them, and the average Crown student only gets about one. What are the odds that I will go for three in a row? About a few weeks later, I get a phone call from Mrs. Petterly. She said that the remaining balance of my school bill was taken care of. I still don’t know how it was, but I was able to take my finals on time.
Now I am in a fourth semester here. Again, I am in the same situation I have always been in. This time, God is currently supplying is in a different way. Some family that goes to Temple wanted to help a student out by making payments with them, and my name came up. I find it very interesting that God has not supplied my school bill in the same manner at all. Every time, it has been through some other means, but all with the same outcome, God did it! Just like how Jesus did his miracles. When He healed the blind, one time He touched their eyes, another time He spit in them, and a third time He spit on the ground and put that mud over the eyes and told the person to wash. Truly, God is good all the time, and as that song goes, “His will cannot lead [us] where His grace will not keep [us].”
I have only been able to pay off about two thirds of my bill, and yet with this rule in effect, I have been able to take all my semesters on time. Truly, this is an amazing tale on how God paid off my school bill for me. What I could not do, He has done for me. The first two semesters God just worked in miraculous ways, including a $1000 tip one night. After this, I thought my luck was ended.
Then there was a third semester here at Crown. I had serious doubts that God can take care of my school bill again. After all, He already took care of two of them, and the average Crown student only gets about one. What are the odds that I will go for three in a row? About a few weeks later, I get a phone call from Mrs. Petterly. She said that the remaining balance of my school bill was taken care of. I still don’t know how it was, but I was able to take my finals on time.
Now I am in a fourth semester here. Again, I am in the same situation I have always been in. This time, God is currently supplying is in a different way. Some family that goes to Temple wanted to help a student out by making payments with them, and my name came up. I find it very interesting that God has not supplied my school bill in the same manner at all. Every time, it has been through some other means, but all with the same outcome, God did it! Just like how Jesus did his miracles. When He healed the blind, one time He touched their eyes, another time He spit in them, and a third time He spit on the ground and put that mud over the eyes and told the person to wash. Truly, God is good all the time, and as that song goes, “His will cannot lead [us] where His grace will not keep [us].”
Andrew York
I have learned to not just go on what I hear others say I should research it out.
I have learned that it’s not all about me; I have to submit to leadership whether it is my R.A. or room leader etc….
I have learned that not to be narrow minded
I have learned how to make my walk with the Lord more exciting.
And profitable by my daily bible readings and devotions with the dorm
I have learned that there is no name like the name of Jesus
I have been walking down the road at times being in a bad mood then I hear a person walking and singing a song and that encourages ne in so many ways.
I have learned that there is a thing called a school bill that has to be paid and my bank account is about on “E” I have to trust and rely on the lord and he got me here he will provide.
I have learned that it’s not all about me; I have to submit to leadership whether it is my R.A. or room leader etc….
I have learned that not to be narrow minded
I have learned how to make my walk with the Lord more exciting.
And profitable by my daily bible readings and devotions with the dorm
I have learned that there is no name like the name of Jesus
I have been walking down the road at times being in a bad mood then I hear a person walking and singing a song and that encourages ne in so many ways.
I have learned that there is a thing called a school bill that has to be paid and my bank account is about on “E” I have to trust and rely on the lord and he got me here he will provide.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
