THIS WEEK AT IKON: FIGHTING
Here's just some of what Brian will be teaching from this Tuesday at IKON. Even the first churches fought - before electric guitars replaced organs and the color of the sanctuary had to be changed to either blue or cream. Before all the silliness we "Christians" fight over today. Because humans fight. And churches are full of them.1 CORINTHIANS 1:10-12 I have a serious concern to bring up with you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I'll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common. 11I bring this up because some from Chloe's family brought a most disturbing report to my attention--that you're fighting among yourselves! 12I'll tell you exactly what I was told: You're all picking sides, going around saying, "I'm on Paul's side," or "I'm for Apollos," or "Peter is my man," or "I'm in the Messiah group."
1 CORINTHIANS 1:22-35 While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, 23we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle--and Greeks pass it off as absurd. 24But to us who are personally called by God himself--both Jews and Greeks--Christ is God's ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. 25Human wisdom is so tiny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can't begin to compete with God's "weakness." 26Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. 27Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, 28chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? 29That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. 30Everything that we have--right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start--comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. 31That's why we have the saying, "If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God."
[From THE MESSAGE translation of the bible]
posted by Shaun Groves @ 1/16/2006
3 comments
3 Comments:
wow. . . i think the whole root of fighting is pride. i guess the root of almost everything wrong is pride? i believe that sanctification is what God wants for everyone. . but everyone doesn't want that. I remember the day I asked God to sanctify me and i meant it. I might as well have painted a humungous bullseye on myself. . i don't think i've ever been so conscious of being pursued by the enemy as i did when i went out on that limb. I've been so up and down since that time. But I do believe that if a person wants to live above those things in our nature that won't die. . the rotten things that make us fight for example, i believe that God in you, can power you up and above that kind of living. I think that if there are things in the way within a person's life, that they just can't be powered up, so they can't rid themselves of those behaviours. Sometimes i think its just all unattainable, but that's my humanity talking.
Can we be "sanctified" and not be in church community? The Orthodox church has the saying, "He who does not have the church as his mother does not have God as has father." Harsh, but is it true? Can we really discern and apply and communicate truth well and accurately on our own?
i'm not sure. God knows. . .when i was 'at church' i was so surrounded by apathy. My church was not a good environment to be in. The only thing that i find I miss is. . .strangely enough the hardships, the battles. The resultant desperation drove me to God. . . motivated me strongly to pray, fast, pray scripture. I took away that hardship, removed myself from it. . and before you know it i wasn't desperate for him anymore. I didn't have to rely so completely on him and i lost something valuable. Though for the most part I am relieved and much more calm and more sane.
the orthodox saying. . . not sure how i feel about it, or if i agree. Many people in this world don't go to church. . does this mean that God is not their God?
I've been going to a church the last 2 weeks. .they meet in a local high school gym. I'm going for my daughter's sake really. She likes it, doesn't love it. . i am not so sure. Within my first 5 minutes i was thinking 'Oh, get me outta here.' I feel nameless and anomymous, not part of anything. Its well organized and modeled after every other 'new' church i've ever sat in. . they call people 'the audience'. . the band plays play "quando, quando" during the collection, while they show big screen "ads" for the 'cafe' in the lobby. . its so slick. . almost greasy. i need to see a church shrink.
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