Sermon, sharing, life

What to do with what we have been given. (as a side note, unlike the past two entries this one, wasn't written down, I've just known the subject I was going to be writting about. The rest is off the top of my head, so it probably won't be as good as the other two). We as Christians have been given the keys to heaven. Some keep it to themselves while others share it. What should we do with it? We should certainly share it!

Matthew 25:14-30

from: biblegateway http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A14-30&version=NIV

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
"
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’"

What does this mean? The servent who didn't bring back anything extra was punished! while the servants who gained more were rewarded! God wants us to take what he gives us, and bring back more! He wants us not to bury ourselves, but risk ourselves and bring in more. He wants us to share it!

In light of this let's visit another one. using the above conclusion

Matthew 14:13-21

(13) When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. (14) When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
(15) As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food"
(16) Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."
(17) "We have only five loaves if bread and two fish," they answered.
(18) "Bring them here to me," he said.
(19) And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. (20) They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. (21) The number of those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

A little goes a long way. It's kinda of like our faith, we don't think we can make a differance, but by sharing it to others, who then in turn share it to someone else we can end up "feeding" a lot more people then we could have ever done alone. Only by God can this happen. All this could result from sharing instead of telling them to go find their own way, but if we share you could change their lives, and in turn you could be affecting more then you imagine. Amazing, absolutely amazing.

also Rich Nathan did a great sermon on "Women can't serve as senior pastors, can they?" which the answer is a resounding yes they can serve as senior pastors. The background to the verse in question, really clears it up (1 Timothy 2:9-15). It's refering to the woman of the time, who where challenging the teachers, while they were teaching. Paul's merely telling them that they shouldn't be doing this, instead they should be respectful. 2 Timothy 2:14 is telling the women to not be like Eve and decieve people by spreading falsehood. 2 Timothy 2:15 is telling the women not to abort but rather to stick with their pregnancies. (gee sounds like a problem today!)... I can see how some people misinterpreted this, but yet I can't. It seems ridiculous once you learn about it's background.

Phoenix still lives for now. Ideal, and Munch molted, which makes them both Level 2 mantids. I don't see anything wrong with them either. Today I also got 6 neon tetras, 2 albino bronze corys, 2 Argentine Swords (plant), and one water wysteria (plant). All of which are now in the 55 gallon tank. I love neon tetras, they look so neat.

Meaning of love, Phoenix

I love you... a three letter phrase, with more then one meaning in our society.

Sadly in our society it commonly refers to what I want. People tell someone they love them quite commonly. In our society this is what it means for some people: "I want to use you for my own personal gain. I'll only be using you as long as you suit my wants/needs, and when someone else can do it better, well tough luck, it doesn't bother me, since I get what I want"
This is Shallow! That's not what love means. It's on the other side of the universe from this "meaning". That's not love it's called being self-centered!

What is love supposed to mean then? Love should mean: "I care for you, I place what you want ahead of what I want. I want what's in your best interest, and I'm willing to sacrifice what I want for you. I place your well being above my own." This doesn't just apply to a romantic relationship. Love applies in any family (at least it should). Like siblings for example, they mess around but in the end they're loyal. Any kind of phrase with this meaning shouldn't be cast around lightly in any way! It's no wonder why so many dating relationships (I've never been in one myself, so I don't know what it's like for it to end badly) end badly, when there's these two definitions of love floating around. The love that one of the parties means, isn't what the other believes it to be! And for the one who holds the Deep meaning, it always ends badly!

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son..."

Now what does this verse become when using the two different definitions of love...

First, the shallow version which translates: God loved himself so much, and wanted what was in his best interest so he gave his only son who was perfect, to save us from all of our countless sins. That makes no sense! This can't be the definition of love!

Now the deeper version (which is the true meaning of love): "God, who cared for our well being more then we can imagine, gave his one and only Son, to save us from our sins."
That makes much more Sense!

Jesus loved everyone! He associated with people some Christians won't even look at. He associated with the people some Christians condemn, but never try and help. Not only did he associate with them, but he Loved them, and if he loved them so should all people who profess Christ. Jesus was so far above us, yet he associated with us. Yet some of us won't associate with certain people, who are in the same position we are. For we all have sinned, and need Christ to get into heaven. Yet, some of us ignore them, and all they do is tell them God hates what they're doing. Instead we should be showing them love. God sees them as worthy of his kingdom. Yet some tell them they aren't. Who are we to say whether they're worthy or not. It that's the case those people might as well say they know better then God. Some are even getting those people farther away from God. How horrible of a sin is that! What's worse then to lead someone away from Christ, and eternal life!

Those of us judge them excessively. We judge them by Christian standards, which these people have never agreed to be bound to. This makes us appear as a judgemental group. We are making Christianity unappealing to some people, and some resent us! We're supposed to spread love to the world, not hate. The only thing we should hate is our selves, and the evil one. These people need to be freed, The way to do this isn't by condemnation. It's by showing them love, and exemplify Christ to them by our own actions. How can they see God's love when all we show them what we don't like in them? We can't.

There's no greater tragedy then the Spiritual condemnation of a person. Do you want to go to God with the burden of creating more distance between another person and God? I sure wouldn't.

Love is powerful. Love is what has been shown to us through Christ.

P.S. Phoenix is a stage two mantid. It means he molted. But, it wasn't a success, or a failure. He's suffered a Major injury. Alive, but severely handicapped. I had to help him out of his skin. It took 10 minutes, 9 trying to get him to get himself out. I lost my patience and grapped as close to the skin I could get, and thankfully I got his two back legs out. I could've easily ripped his legs apart, but thankfully unlike all the other times I tried this, it didn't happen. His legs are mangled beyond the knee joint though. Right now I would say Phoenix is the least likely mantid to make it to adulthood. He went from the most likely, to the least likely. He needs to eat, if he doesn't by tomorrow, then there isn't anything I can do. It's all up to him now. If he was adult, or a few molts away from it, then I would be able to hand feed him, but he's way too small at this stage in the game. I really hope Phoenix lives up to his name, and like the Phoenix in mythology rise up out of the ashes. This picture shows it quite clearly.


yeah it's pretty bad...