Some thoughts from my devotions in Ephesians:
~~~
Passage:
Ephesians 1:17
"...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him..."
Thoughts:
Put simply, Paul prays that God would grant his readers wisdom.
To be fair to the context, the reason Paul prays for a "spirit of wisdom" is so that they would understand the things he talks about in verses 18-19 (hope, inheritance, and power).
Application:
Even though Paul wasn't praying for generic wisdom here in Ephesians - he does do so in Colossians 1:9-10 which says,
"...we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him..."
Make no mistake, it is a GOOD thing to ask God for wisdom (see James 1:5).
Hang with me as I take this application one step further - we should pray for wisdom when we're angry.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but I can get really upset about some really dumb things. If something major happens, I can usually keep a cool head - but it's the little things that drive me nuts. One thing I've started trying when I get angry, is praying and asking God for wisdom.
This usually cools me down for two reasons,
1) It breaks the cycle of negative thoughts, and gives me a second to process.
2) God gives me wisdom which seems to say, "Jason, stop and think for a second. Is it really wise to be upset about this? Is it the mature thing to do? Is this something of eternal importance? " The answer to all of these questions comes back no, and it helps calm me down.
So the next time you seem to be getting upset about the smallest things - try saying a simple, genuine prayer for a "spirit of wisdom" from God.
~Jason
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Thanks for You
Some thoughts from my devotions in Ephesians,
~~~
Passage: Ephesians 1:15-16
"For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,"
Thoughts:
Notice the simplicity of what is going on in these two verses -
Paul responds in TWO ways, because of TWO things he sees in the believers.
Because Paul heard of their 1) faith in Christ, and 2) love for the saints; Paul responds with 1) thankfulness for them, and 2) prayers for them.
Application:
There are so many ways to go with this, but for the sake of brevity, let me just leave you with a couple of things to consider.
Isn't it sometimes difficult for us to do what Paul did? Sometimes, when I think of people who have faith in Christ and love for the saints, I'll focus on some minor issue and think to myself, "They're not doing their music right." or "They only use a certain Bible version." or "I can't believe they're SO Calvinistic." or "That would never happen at my church." or "They aren't the same denomination"
Obviously, a complete and healthy Christian experience goes beyond these two things Paul lists here. But, when I see someone who genuinely has 1) faith in Christ, and 2) love for the saints - why can't my initial response be, "God, thank you for this fellow believer, I pray that you would strengthen them in their walk with You."?
Sadly, my first response is sometimes,
"Dear God,
Why do I have to put up with these idiots. Why can't everyone just be perfect like me.
- Amen."
~Jason
~~~
Passage: Ephesians 1:15-16
"For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,"
Thoughts:
Notice the simplicity of what is going on in these two verses -
Paul responds in TWO ways, because of TWO things he sees in the believers.
Because Paul heard of their 1) faith in Christ, and 2) love for the saints; Paul responds with 1) thankfulness for them, and 2) prayers for them.
Application:
There are so many ways to go with this, but for the sake of brevity, let me just leave you with a couple of things to consider.
Isn't it sometimes difficult for us to do what Paul did? Sometimes, when I think of people who have faith in Christ and love for the saints, I'll focus on some minor issue and think to myself, "They're not doing their music right." or "They only use a certain Bible version." or "I can't believe they're SO Calvinistic." or "That would never happen at my church." or "They aren't the same denomination"
Obviously, a complete and healthy Christian experience goes beyond these two things Paul lists here. But, when I see someone who genuinely has 1) faith in Christ, and 2) love for the saints - why can't my initial response be, "God, thank you for this fellow believer, I pray that you would strengthen them in their walk with You."?
Sadly, my first response is sometimes,
"Dear God,
Why do I have to put up with these idiots. Why can't everyone just be perfect like me.
- Amen."
~Jason
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Music for Thought - Part 2 of 4
Have you ever met someone that doesn't like music?
I've met some people who don't like football, ice-cream, or theDenver Broncos (shocker) - but it seems that everybody likes at least one genre of music.
In a Philippians 4:8ish style of critical thinking, I am presenting four songs for your musement. This week's song is "Winter White Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes. Click to watch on full screen, and watch closely!
The Relentless Nature of Time and Hair:
What is so intriguing to me about this video, and where we can learn the most, is the subject of time (I'll just assume you watched the video closely enough to catch what happened). When I watch this music video, I see a highly contemplative, not to mention long-bearded, man who decides to take a trip through time with all of his other contemplative buddies via the Magic Steering Wheel - and hey, it works!
Time begins to move backwards through the four seasons, and we see our characters gradually shed the classic signs of aging (no, it's not a Maybelline ad). And, is it just me, or do they seem a little bit happier as they traverse back in time? People are smelling flowers, clapping their hands, bobbing their heads, tapping a beat - meanwhile, back at the Wheel of Fortune - our determined no-longer-gray-bearded man keeps turning and turning and turning.
Things seem to be going good when, from 1:40 - 1:55, all the characters glance to the side as if saying, "Oh no, here it comes." (one guy even covers the eyes of a wrong-place-wrong-time bunny) Suddenly, the faithful turner lets go of the time machine, and in a matter of seconds, everything goes "back" to present day, and it's the same as when it started.
It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time :
Have you ever done something, and tried to "go back in time" to undo the mess you made? Me too. It, like the video, works for a while (though I've never had anyone start clapping), but soon the cold fact of the permanence of time comes back with a vengeance. Sadly, there isn't a wheel in the world magical enough to erase our stupid mistakes.
We get to the end of a chapter in our life, and echoing the lyrics, think to ourselves "I was following the pack." I was just going with the flow, and now, it's over. I will never get that time back. I'll never get to live yesterday over again. Ever.
Social Security, Golf, Taco Bell and Other Retirement Perks:
I love this song because it's such a sober reminder about the nature of time, the things we try to undo, and the things that will always stay with us.
It reminds me of those things we strain after our whole life, only to realize in the end that it really wasn't all that important.
It reminds me of how painful regret is, and how permanent consequences are.
It reminds me of the story Christ told in Luke 12 about a guy who was really good at life. In fact, he got to the point where he stopped one day and said to himself,
"Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry."
Things were going pretty well for this dude. His social security hadn't been used to bail out the banks, his golf clubs were primed and ready to hit the links, and he was within fifteen minutes of the nearest Taco Bell. He had done what he thought was important his whole life - he was a success.
Then he died.
Right before he died, God had a few words for him,
"Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?"
But it was too late, time had written his story in stone.
~Jason
I've met some people who don't like football, ice-cream, or the
In a Philippians 4:8ish style of critical thinking, I am presenting four songs for your musement. This week's song is "Winter White Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes. Click to watch on full screen, and watch closely!
The Relentless Nature of Time and Hair:
What is so intriguing to me about this video, and where we can learn the most, is the subject of time (I'll just assume you watched the video closely enough to catch what happened). When I watch this music video, I see a highly contemplative, not to mention long-bearded, man who decides to take a trip through time with all of his other contemplative buddies via the Magic Steering Wheel - and hey, it works!
Time begins to move backwards through the four seasons, and we see our characters gradually shed the classic signs of aging (no, it's not a Maybelline ad). And, is it just me, or do they seem a little bit happier as they traverse back in time? People are smelling flowers, clapping their hands, bobbing their heads, tapping a beat - meanwhile, back at the Wheel of Fortune - our determined no-longer-gray-bearded man keeps turning and turning and turning.
Things seem to be going good when, from 1:40 - 1:55, all the characters glance to the side as if saying, "Oh no, here it comes." (one guy even covers the eyes of a wrong-place-wrong-time bunny) Suddenly, the faithful turner lets go of the time machine, and in a matter of seconds, everything goes "back" to present day, and it's the same as when it started.
Have you ever done something, and tried to "go back in time" to undo the mess you made? Me too. It, like the video, works for a while (though I've never had anyone start clapping), but soon the cold fact of the permanence of time comes back with a vengeance. Sadly, there isn't a wheel in the world magical enough to erase our stupid mistakes.
We get to the end of a chapter in our life, and echoing the lyrics, think to ourselves "I was following the pack." I was just going with the flow, and now, it's over. I will never get that time back. I'll never get to live yesterday over again. Ever.
Social Security, Golf, Taco Bell and Other Retirement Perks:
I love this song because it's such a sober reminder about the nature of time, the things we try to undo, and the things that will always stay with us.
It reminds me of those things we strain after our whole life, only to realize in the end that it really wasn't all that important.
It reminds me of how painful regret is, and how permanent consequences are.
It reminds me of the story Christ told in Luke 12 about a guy who was really good at life. In fact, he got to the point where he stopped one day and said to himself,
"Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry."
Things were going pretty well for this dude. His social security hadn't been used to bail out the banks, his golf clubs were primed and ready to hit the links, and he was within fifteen minutes of the nearest Taco Bell. He had done what he thought was important his whole life - he was a success.
Then he died.
Right before he died, God had a few words for him,
"Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?"
But it was too late, time had written his story in stone.
~Jason
Monday, April 19, 2010
To the Praise of His Glory
Some thoughts from my devotions in Ephesians...
~~~~
Passage:
Ephesians 1:3-14
Thoughts:
What is so interesting to me in this section (only one sentence in the Greek text) is Paul's careful mentioning of each member of the Trinity, and the repetitious use of the phrase, "to the praise".
In verses 3-6, Paul introduces the "God and Father" who has blessed us, and then closes the section by saying that what God has done for us is "to the praise of his glorious grace".
In verses 7-12, he goes on to discuss the redemption we have in "Jesus Christ", and ends the section by declaring that we are "to the praise of his glory".
In verses 13-14, Paul reminds us that we are sealed with the "Holy Spirit", who is the guarantee of our inheritance "to the praise of his glory".
Application:
I guess one application would be for us to be more creative in our praise to God. Rather than saying, "God, thank you for this day." (a good start) - be more thoughtful!
How can we praise the Father?
How can we praise Jesus Christ?
How can we praise the Holy Spirit?
~Jason
~~~~
Passage:
Ephesians 1:3-14
Thoughts:
What is so interesting to me in this section (only one sentence in the Greek text) is Paul's careful mentioning of each member of the Trinity, and the repetitious use of the phrase, "to the praise".
In verses 3-6, Paul introduces the "God and Father" who has blessed us, and then closes the section by saying that what God has done for us is "to the praise of his glorious grace".
In verses 7-12, he goes on to discuss the redemption we have in "Jesus Christ", and ends the section by declaring that we are "to the praise of his glory".
In verses 13-14, Paul reminds us that we are sealed with the "Holy Spirit", who is the guarantee of our inheritance "to the praise of his glory".
Application:
I guess one application would be for us to be more creative in our praise to God. Rather than saying, "God, thank you for this day." (a good start) - be more thoughtful!
How can we praise the Father?
How can we praise Jesus Christ?
How can we praise the Holy Spirit?
~Jason
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Music for Thought - Part 1 of 4
Good music you can just turn on and let play. We set a trap for ourselves however, when we stop listening to songs critically. When we allow a "feel-good" song to go in one ear and out the other, it loses it's constructive value. Even the most talented, terribly catchy, most requested song of all time isn't exempt from the Pauline command,
"...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
In the weeks to come, and in this spirit of critical thinking, I would like to present four songs for your pondering pleasure. This week's song is "The Scientist" byColdplay .
Check it out below, and then scroll down for discussion. The video won't make sense unless you watch it all the way to the end.
Right click HERE and select 'open link in new window' to view. (sorry folks, embedding was disabled)
Synopsis of Video:
The video starts with an up-close and creepy shot of a guy laying on what appears to be a blue mattress. After the seizure like way in which he stands up, it becomes obvious the video is actually a reverse narrative. Soon, we find our long-sleeved Under Armour friend walking backwards through the city, behind a random pickup game of basketball, and of course through the ever somber switch yard.
Suddenly, our guy is in the woods, and begins piecing together his best man-in-black outfit. After he gets in the car and shudders awake/asleep - it becomes obvious something is wrong. Your suspicions are confirmed when a woman begins floating above the hood of the car and goes right through a re-composing windshield. The car begins rolling up the hill, and eventually gets back onto a winding country road. We see the final moments of the happy couple just cruising along with the wind. Then, of course, we see the tragic moment when the girl, before putting on her jacket, unhooks her seat-belt.
Meaning of Lyrics:
There seems to be some unresolved tension between the boy and girl because he needs to tell her "I'm sorry" and makes a plea to "go back to the start". Also, later on in the song he begs her to "tell me you love me".
Presumably, these tensions were unable to be resolved due to the untimely death of the girl. Struggling to deal with the grief, the man mourns, "nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be so hard" and "it's such a shame for us to part".
Then he makes the fascinating statement, "Questions of science, science and progress, do not speak as loud as my heart". In other words, the problems that plague our scientific inquiries, and societal progress - are nothing compare to the questions that plague our hearts in times of deep loss.
As for the title of the song, I'll simply quote one YouTube commenter who observed,
" 'The scientist' is referring to him trying to reason things out about a failed relationship and going in circles because logic can't really be applied to love and emotions."
My Thoughts:
So what, if anything, can we learn from this emotional ballad of boy-loses-girl? The most obvious nugget of truth is that no science textbook, or technological advance of man can comfort us in times of sorrow. Certainly, various situations have arisen in my life when I've echoed the sentiment "nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be so hard".
Can't we all empathize with finding ourselves "running in circles", wanting to go "back to the start", wishing our life had turned out different? So is that it? We throw up our hands and conclude, "Yep, life stinks sometimes."
Can we not recognize the validity of our sorrow, and yet find some solace?
Psalm 13 starts our pretty bleak,
"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I...have sorrow in my heart all the day?"
The Psalm doesn't end there, and I find that telling.
It goes on,
"But, I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me."
Notice this Psalm recognizes evil AND hope. The danger is when we only recognize one and not the other. If we only recognize evil, much like in "The Scientist", we lose sight of what God has done for us. If we only recognize the hope, we deny the severity of evil and it's consequences in the world.
God's love and salvation mean that we can have hope in the midst of evil. But without the hope of salvation, of God saving us from the evil in and around us - we mourn as those who have no hope.
~Jason
"...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
In the weeks to come, and in this spirit of critical thinking, I would like to present four songs for your pondering pleasure. This week's song is "The Scientist" by
Check it out below, and then scroll down for discussion. The video won't make sense unless you watch it all the way to the end.
Right click HERE and select 'open link in new window' to view. (sorry folks, embedding was disabled)
Synopsis of Video:
The video starts with an up-close and creepy shot of a guy laying on what appears to be a blue mattress. After the seizure like way in which he stands up, it becomes obvious the video is actually a reverse narrative. Soon, we find our long-sleeved Under Armour friend walking backwards through the city, behind a random pickup game of basketball, and of course through the ever somber switch yard.
Suddenly, our guy is in the woods, and begins piecing together his best man-in-black outfit. After he gets in the car and shudders awake/asleep - it becomes obvious something is wrong. Your suspicions are confirmed when a woman begins floating above the hood of the car and goes right through a re-composing windshield. The car begins rolling up the hill, and eventually gets back onto a winding country road. We see the final moments of the happy couple just cruising along with the wind. Then, of course, we see the tragic moment when the girl, before putting on her jacket, unhooks her seat-belt.
Meaning of Lyrics:
There seems to be some unresolved tension between the boy and girl because he needs to tell her "I'm sorry" and makes a plea to "go back to the start". Also, later on in the song he begs her to "tell me you love me".
Presumably, these tensions were unable to be resolved due to the untimely death of the girl. Struggling to deal with the grief, the man mourns, "nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be so hard" and "it's such a shame for us to part".
Then he makes the fascinating statement, "Questions of science, science and progress, do not speak as loud as my heart". In other words, the problems that plague our scientific inquiries, and societal progress - are nothing compare to the questions that plague our hearts in times of deep loss.
As for the title of the song, I'll simply quote one YouTube commenter who observed,
" 'The scientist' is referring to him trying to reason things out about a failed relationship and going in circles because logic can't really be applied to love and emotions."
My Thoughts:
So what, if anything, can we learn from this emotional ballad of boy-loses-girl? The most obvious nugget of truth is that no science textbook, or technological advance of man can comfort us in times of sorrow. Certainly, various situations have arisen in my life when I've echoed the sentiment "nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be so hard".
Can't we all empathize with finding ourselves "running in circles", wanting to go "back to the start", wishing our life had turned out different? So is that it? We throw up our hands and conclude, "Yep, life stinks sometimes."
Can we not recognize the validity of our sorrow, and yet find some solace?
Psalm 13 starts our pretty bleak,
"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I...have sorrow in my heart all the day?"
The Psalm doesn't end there, and I find that telling.
It goes on,
"But, I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me."
Notice this Psalm recognizes evil AND hope. The danger is when we only recognize one and not the other. If we only recognize evil, much like in "The Scientist", we lose sight of what God has done for us. If we only recognize the hope, we deny the severity of evil and it's consequences in the world.
God's love and salvation mean that we can have hope in the midst of evil. But without the hope of salvation, of God saving us from the evil in and around us - we mourn as those who have no hope.
~Jason
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