To Be Without Regret

Acts 20: 26-27

26 "Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.

27 "For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.

Paul is speaking to the church of Ephesus as he leaves.  Paul isn't being self-righteous as he says: "I am innocent of the blood of all men."  He is stating the truth.  Paul basically gave his whole life to spreading the gospel and to proclaiming the kingdom of God.  What a humbling thought.  Because he gave his all to declaring the gospel, Paul was able to say with full confidence that he wasn't responsible for the blood of any man.  Will I be able to say that before I die?  Will I have lived my life without regret, giving my all to proclaiming the goodness of Christ?  I definitely don't want to leave this life with thoughts like: "I wish I had reached out more to my unbelieving friends," "I wish I had been more confident in declaring Christ's lordship to my dad," "I wish I had given more to the homeless, both materially and spiritually," etc.  I have to live my life without shrinking from proclaiming God's glory in any situation.  As I die, I want to be able to say what Paul said.

Grace Falls Down and Covers Me

Acts 16: 22-31

22 The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods.

23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely;

24 and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;

26 and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened.

27 When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!"

29 And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas,

30 and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

31 They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."

I was just reminded of a skit that my Uganda team practiced for our trip to Africa.  It was the Paul skit.  I think I played the role of the jailer.  This story is simply amazing in so many aspects.  First, there's the persecution of Paul and Silas.  They get thrown in jail for driving out a demon from a possessed slave girl.  The slave masters get super angry because the demon-possessed girl had been a source of income.  But despite their persecution, Paul and Silas sing praises to God.  They rejoice in their persecution as they share in Christ's suffering.  What faith and dedication to God!  If only I had even a small snippet of their faith.  Next comes the crazy earthquake, demonstrating God's awesome power.  But the best part of the story comes with the jailer's response.  At first, he wants to commit suicide because he had failed his duty.  Yet by the grace of God, he is stopped and saved by Paul.   The jailer is not only saved physically, but more importantly his soul is saved.  Paul shares with him the gospel, and the jailer believes.  Praise God.  His grace is amazing.  The jailer felt it that night.  I feel it everyday and am eternally grateful for it.

The Spirit of Truth

John 16: 13-16

13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.  He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

15 All that belongs to the Father is mine.  That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine an make it known to you.

16 "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me."

I feel like it's hard to fully understand who the Holy Spirit is and what He does.  Of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit gets preached about the least.  But reading John chapters 14-16 makes it clear what purpose the Spirit fulfills.  He is our Counselor, who has taken Jesus' stead in this world.  He guides us daily and keeps us aligned with the truth.  What is this "truth"?  It's the truth of God's Word and Jesus' teachings.  When we stray, He keeps us in check and convicts us to return to our Father.  He intercedes for us in prayer when we don't know what to say.  Thank God for such an awesome gift!  Without the Spirit, who knows where many of us would be right now.  

*Haha, side note - I think it's really cool how Jesus talks sometimes. "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me."  It's like all mysterious and.. cool.  Haha.

So that's that.  Finished the last of the four gospels today.  It was very interesting to read the four in consecutive order.  Each gospel had its own unique style of writing.  Yes, the stories and parables became repetitive at times, but I still enjoyed reading them over and over because I was really able to soak in Jesus' ministry here on earth, His heart for the lost and the least of us, and His ultimate faith in God.  The part of each book that is always sobering is the end, where Jesus takes on the sin of the world and sacrifices Himself.  But the reason why the gospel is so great is because it doesn't end on a sad note.  Jesus has risen.  For that reason we are able to rejoice, celebrate, and give all thanks to Him.

Time to study for biochem. >:)

The Source of Blessings

Luke 17: 11-17

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.

12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him.  They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"

14 When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him - and he was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed?  Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19 Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

I feel that many times, I am part of the other nine.  I receive so many blessings, daily.  But I many times I forget to thank and praise God for them.  It's the worst when I ask for something specific through prayer and God graciously provides for my request.  But as I celebrate, the thought of thanking God enters my mind wayyy too late.  Sometimes, that thought doesn't enter my mind at all.  That shows just how little faith I have.  I lift prayer requests up to Him, but sometimes I don't fully trust that He will provide for them.  It's like I don't fully believe in His power.  Thankfully, I have recently been able to trust Him more deeply and not rely so much on my own abilities.  This is being done through persistent prayer as I ask for true faith.  I can feel the Holy Spirit continuing to mold my attitude and mindset in a way that makes me realize that every blessing comes from God alone.  Consequently, I find myself giving thanks to the Lord much more often.

The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, The Prodigal Son

Luke 15: 1-7

1 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.

2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."

3 So He told them this parable, saying,

4 "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

5 "When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

6 "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'

7 "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Jesus goes on to tell the parables of the Lost Coin and of the Prodigal Son.  These parables show the genuine heart of God.  To Him, it is the utmost joy when a lost soul returns to Him.  As that is the heart of our Father, that should be our heart too.  Wherever we are, whether at school, at home, or in the Bahamas, we should constantly be looking for those lost sheep.  If we truly had the same heart as our Father, we would be out looking for the lost 24/7.  But sadly, that isn't the case.  To tell the truth, I tend to forget that heart very often.  I get caught up with the busy-ness of my life that I push those convictions aside.  But God's heart is SO APPARENT in these parables!  I'm so selfish.. I want to change.  I need to change.

Genealogy of Jesus

Luke 3: 23-38

23 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,

24 the son of Matthat [...]

31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David [...]

34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, [...]

36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, [...]

38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Sorry, I have no intention of devaluing the fullness of God's Word by including elipses.  But for the purposes of my blog, I refrained from typing all 15 verses of names.  I tried to catch all the prominent names.  Anyway, the reason why I wanted to share this passage was because every time I read this genealogy, I get the shivers.  It's so crazy!  It's truly a testament to the awesome sovereignty of God.  Is it just amazing to me, or does anyone else think it's incredible?  From the fall of man in Adam to the salvation of man in Jesus, God had a plan.  And as He had a plan for each one of the names in that genealogy, He has a plan for every one of us.  For me, it's a daily struggle to remind myself of that.  I tend to burden myself with worries and thoughts about my future.  But God is always in control.  Every success and every little obstacle of my life is placed by God.  I must ask for true faith.  Faith even the size of a mustard seed.

Alabaster Vial

Mark 14: 3-5

3 While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head.

4 But some were indignantly remarking to one another, "Why has this perfume been wasted?

5 "For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor."  And they were scolding her.

This woman truly understood the Lordship of Jesus.  As king, He deserves and owns all that we have.  Nothing that we have is ours.  It is through the sovereignty of God that we have what blessings we have.  Rather than complaining about what we don't have or what we want, we should instead constantly lift our blessings to God, giving Him all due glory.  

I just realized I have 3 midterms next week.  Ruh rohhhhh.