In searching for the part of Scripture about weak and strong faiths and how they lead believers to either enjoy or abstain from foods I came across 1 Timothy 4, before finding the passage in Romans I was looking for. A couple things came across to me immediately.
1 Timothy 4:4-5 "For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer."
This quickly gives me hope that I can overcome the alcohol problem and after awhile be able to receive the gifts of God with thanksgiving through consecration by prayer. Prayer is not a strong suit for me, but I'm hoping that keeping up this blog will increase my prayer life. In essence, while it covers numerous other topics, it is a collection of prayers to God. I hope to receive everything from God with thanksgiving. This is my prayer for what my future holds.
But, the alcohol angle of my prayer life will hopefully be fleeting and transient. I hope I don't have to concentrate on this subject matter for an extended point of time. The exhortation I see in later is something entirely different. "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come" (I Timothy 4:7-8).
I'm going to ignore the "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales" part for a moment. I hope that this isn't an exhortation to ignore philosophy or other things I have interest in. But, I am going to focus on training myself to be godly. What does that mean exactly?
To be honest, I haven't exactly figured it out. So, what I'll do is simply study everywhere the Scriptures uses the word "godly" or "godliness" and build from there. I'll study the text and try and figure out how to make it practically applicable to my life.
Showing posts with label Consecrate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Consecrate. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Conditional Consecration, Essential Holiness
The third day of Draw the Circle made me think about the the idea of consecration and holiness. I wondered to myself after I had posted the last blurb if I was really right in equating consecrating and holy so easily. Are they the same word basically? I remember in college learning the technical definition of the word holy was "set apart". THen when Batterson mentions that consecration means "set apart" the word holy just instantly popped into my head. It's just one of those lectures I happened to have a vivid memory of. I grew up in the church so the word holy is commonplace. We sang Holy, Holy, Holy more than any other song in our Baptist church, save the Doxology. But, I hadn't really heard a good definition of what it meant until college. It was just one of those concepts that I new related to God, in a positive way and was a command for us to be and a positive thing for us to strive for and something that the angels were and something that Moses and Abraham were and something that Jesus was and the first name of a part of the Godhead and, and, and... But that lecture in college sort of put it in concrete terms and it's stuck with me.
Forgive me now as I indulge in a little armchair linguistics with the help of Strong's online. Holy in the Old Testament comes from the Hebrew word "Qadosh", meaning "set apart for a special purpose". The New Testament word that gets translated as "Holy" is the Greek "hagios". This has a good meaning too. It connotes "different" or "otherness". But the technical definition that Strong's gives is great: "different from the world because like God". So consecration is similar. It comes from the Greek "Hagiazó". Biggest different is hagios is a adjective; hagiazó is a verb. Joshua 3:5 sees the Lord commanding them to consecrate themselves. I Timothy 4:5 has Paul telling Timothy that everything that is received with thanksgiving is good because its consecrated.
Now, maybe I'm splitting hairs and reading too much into this but as I'm looking at it I see a minute difference that may be a big deal. Holiness I think is a set apart thing of God. The otherness of "hagios" comes from God. The "qadosh" is God setting something aside for a special purpose. It was God that set Israel apart from the world. It was God that set Levi apart among Israel's tribes. Holiness comes from God alone.
But consecration seems to be a combined act of both man and God. I Timothy states that "because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer" referring to all things received with thanksgiving. Holiness doesn't require man's reception with thanksgiving though. God is Holy because God is Holy. The Holiness doesn't have a conditional existence, it is an essential thing to God. But for something to be consecrated it has two conditions. A) It requires the word of God. B) It requires an obedience to that word of God by man. Joshua couldn't have consecrated himself for God without hearing from God to get consecrated. Nothing could be consecrated or set apart to become the otherness if that Otherness wasn't first calling for that thing to become something else.
Now, I'm sure that those who actually speak Greek or Hebrew could shoot through my arguments with a tenacity that would cause my whole house of cards here to come a tumbling down. But, while spending an hour or so on Strong's Concordance via Safari doesn't make me an expert I think my initial reaction to Batterson's calling consecration "set apart" in equating it with holy was wrong. And again, maybe I'm making too much of this, but I find philosophy of language to be extremely important. Contemplating the minutia of word choices and synonyms may seem like a bit of sophistry on my part but I feel that the concepts entailed in certain words carry their weight differently, even if they weigh the same. Using the most correct language possible is essential in communicating with three groups.
A) Those who aren't actually there to ask you clarifying questions or to pick up on your nonverbal communication.
B) The Divine because even though He knows what you are praying, by wrestling with the synonyms a deeper understanding can be fleshed out and give us a better grasp of God though our pursuit of Him.
C) Your own mind. By combining and cataloging and distinguishing on levels that would bring a smile to the face of a Byzantine you may very well confuse yourself for the vast part of your day, but when those moments of sweet lucidity come, brief as they may be - ah such moments of clarity are unrivaled!
Draw The Circle - Amazing Things
In Day three of Mark Batterson's book Draw the Circle he titles the prayer challenge as "Amazing Things". On day two he talked about trusting God because He is great, not just great at the big things, but great because He cares about the little things. But He cares about Amazing Things as well. The Amazing Things though are the things that God has in store for us. Batterson points out the part in Joshua where the Lord commands Joshua to consecrate himself, "for the Lord will do amazing things among you" (Joshua 3:5).
The word consecrate means to set apart or to make holy. Usually today we think of it when something is made sacred like a church or a cemetery. The idea of consecrating oneself is hard and ties into the difficulty I have with this particular prayer, the difficulty being that its hard to do and not that I disagree with it. The issue at hand is my pride, my ego. It's hard to give up things to consecrate myself, to dedicate myself wholly to God. I think it's gotten harder now as I've gotten older. I think ten years ago I could've just thrown myself at the feet of God when I felt Him calling me to do something. I might not have had the discipline or dedication to stick with the project He had called me to, but I feel I was more willing. As I've gotten older and become relatively more accomplished (not that I'm a superstar extraordinaire) I've become more prideful and full of myself. It's hard, when I'm even in tune enough to hear His calls, to abandon myself, my ambitions, my plans and follow His.
Batterson talks about this time he was in a Cleveland airport early in the morning and that this particular flight had made him miss his normal prayer time with his church. Then he felt God calling him to kneel down and pray right then and there. He talked about how the prayer with his church on every morning at 7:14 had become such an integral part of his life that when he missed it, on days like the day he was in the Cleveland airport that he felt pangs to pray like you feel hunger. I desire that prayer routine to be so embedded in my life that when I miss it I feel literal hunger. But, I don't know if I'm humble enough to hear God tell me to drop to my knees and pray in public and follow through. Batterson also stated that a little of his ego died that day. That scared me. I want the hunger to pray, but do I really want to make the sacrifice of myself to get it?
Throughout today's devotion he basically reiterated what I intellectually know and understand, that being the more I give myself to God the more He gives His self to me. I know it. I want that. But, my pride seems to cling on to bits of who I am - even the bits I don't particularly like about me. I don't think I cling to the parts of my personality that I'm not really fond of or that are blatantly sinful because I'm in a mood to rebel against the commandments of God. I think I cling to them because they are mine. It's a pride thing, but also a selfishness. It's also a fear of the future, a fear of the process. It's complacency.
So in praying with Erin tonight she prayed for me what I had asked (to get God's help with my pride, and for me to get to the point where I hunger to pray to God). Prayer has never been my strong suit in my Christian walk. I can read the Word, read commentaries on the Word, listen to sermons and lectures and do charitable things with relative ease. But, when it comes to praying I just don't do it as regularly as I'd like or as I should. So I genuinely want to hunger to pray. Erin's prayer on this was fine. But, when she answered my request on stripping away my pride and ego she prayed to God that He would take out his long sword and slash my ego away. It made me shudder a bit. It is the prayer that I want. I want to humble myself before God and let go of who I am so that He can mold me into who I am supposed to be. I even imagine that much of who I am will be who I will be and the parts I don't particularly like about the current state of me will be stripped away in God's molding, but I'd rather him mold with a spoon than a long sword. Even so, Lord you heard my wife's prayer and it is with a strong trepidation that I pray you answer her petition.
In the end Batterson made a good point about exchanging who we are with God to who He wants us to be. If we give to God of ourselves, He gives of Himself. We will exchange our sins for the righteousness of Christ. That isn't a bad trade, but it's still a hard one. I ask you now Lord to make me willing and soften my heart. Break my pride and help me relinquish my demanding of being in charge of who I am. Make me into who you want me to be.
The word consecrate means to set apart or to make holy. Usually today we think of it when something is made sacred like a church or a cemetery. The idea of consecrating oneself is hard and ties into the difficulty I have with this particular prayer, the difficulty being that its hard to do and not that I disagree with it. The issue at hand is my pride, my ego. It's hard to give up things to consecrate myself, to dedicate myself wholly to God. I think it's gotten harder now as I've gotten older. I think ten years ago I could've just thrown myself at the feet of God when I felt Him calling me to do something. I might not have had the discipline or dedication to stick with the project He had called me to, but I feel I was more willing. As I've gotten older and become relatively more accomplished (not that I'm a superstar extraordinaire) I've become more prideful and full of myself. It's hard, when I'm even in tune enough to hear His calls, to abandon myself, my ambitions, my plans and follow His.
Batterson talks about this time he was in a Cleveland airport early in the morning and that this particular flight had made him miss his normal prayer time with his church. Then he felt God calling him to kneel down and pray right then and there. He talked about how the prayer with his church on every morning at 7:14 had become such an integral part of his life that when he missed it, on days like the day he was in the Cleveland airport that he felt pangs to pray like you feel hunger. I desire that prayer routine to be so embedded in my life that when I miss it I feel literal hunger. But, I don't know if I'm humble enough to hear God tell me to drop to my knees and pray in public and follow through. Batterson also stated that a little of his ego died that day. That scared me. I want the hunger to pray, but do I really want to make the sacrifice of myself to get it?
Throughout today's devotion he basically reiterated what I intellectually know and understand, that being the more I give myself to God the more He gives His self to me. I know it. I want that. But, my pride seems to cling on to bits of who I am - even the bits I don't particularly like about me. I don't think I cling to the parts of my personality that I'm not really fond of or that are blatantly sinful because I'm in a mood to rebel against the commandments of God. I think I cling to them because they are mine. It's a pride thing, but also a selfishness. It's also a fear of the future, a fear of the process. It's complacency.
So in praying with Erin tonight she prayed for me what I had asked (to get God's help with my pride, and for me to get to the point where I hunger to pray to God). Prayer has never been my strong suit in my Christian walk. I can read the Word, read commentaries on the Word, listen to sermons and lectures and do charitable things with relative ease. But, when it comes to praying I just don't do it as regularly as I'd like or as I should. So I genuinely want to hunger to pray. Erin's prayer on this was fine. But, when she answered my request on stripping away my pride and ego she prayed to God that He would take out his long sword and slash my ego away. It made me shudder a bit. It is the prayer that I want. I want to humble myself before God and let go of who I am so that He can mold me into who I am supposed to be. I even imagine that much of who I am will be who I will be and the parts I don't particularly like about the current state of me will be stripped away in God's molding, but I'd rather him mold with a spoon than a long sword. Even so, Lord you heard my wife's prayer and it is with a strong trepidation that I pray you answer her petition.
In the end Batterson made a good point about exchanging who we are with God to who He wants us to be. If we give to God of ourselves, He gives of Himself. We will exchange our sins for the righteousness of Christ. That isn't a bad trade, but it's still a hard one. I ask you now Lord to make me willing and soften my heart. Break my pride and help me relinquish my demanding of being in charge of who I am. Make me into who you want me to be.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Brief Notes on Judges 1-21
(Originally Written May 27, 2008 in the Journal)
Notes on Judges
Chapter 1
Judah and Simeon attacked the Canaanites and Perizzites in Bezek. They caught Adonibezek and cut off his thumbs and big toes. Adonibezek said, 'as I have done to others, God has doen to me'. He was taken and killed at Jerusalem.
The house of Joseph went and took Bethel with the help of the Lord.
Many peoples were not dislodged from their homes, but the Israelites impressed them as laborers.
Chapter 2
Because the Israelites did not remove all the inhabitants from the Promised Land, the Lord sent an angel to tell them that the other gods would now be a snare to them. After Joshua died and his generation passed on, a new generation offended the Lord by worshipping the Baals. The Lord grew angry with Israel for their idolatry and refused to remove any more of the peoples living in the Promised Land.
Chapter 3
The Lord allowed the five lords of the Philistines, the remaining Canaanites, the Sidonians and the Hivites to remain in the land as a test for Israel's fidelity.
The Lord allowed the Israelites to fall under the rule of Cushan-rishathaim, king of Aram Naharaim for eight years. Then they cried out to the Lord and the Lord raised up Othniel, nephew of Caleb. Israel was at peace for 40 years until Othniel died.
The Israelites sinned again and the Lord raised up Eglon, king of Moab who enslaved them for 18 years. The Israelites called out to the Lord and the Lord raised up Ehud, a Benjaminite. Ehud was left-handed. He hid his sword on the right thigh where it would not be checked and stabbed Eglon in the stomach. Eglon was so fat his belly swallowed the sword. The Israelites came down and conquered Moab and reigned over them for 80 years.
Shamgar was raised up by the Lord and rescued the Israelites by killing 600 Philistines with an ox-goad.
Chapter 4
The Israelites abandoned God after the death of Ehud, so the Lord allowed Jabin, king of Hazor to oppress them for 20 years. Debora and Barak gathered 10,000 men from Zebulun and Naphtali and marched to Mt. Trabor where they defeated the chariots of Jabin. Sisera, the general of Jabin fled and was killed by Jael, the wife of Heber, who was allied with Jabin.
Chapter 5
After defeating the chariots there was peace for 40 years.
Chapter 6
The Israelites again offended the Lord. They fell under the reign of Midian. The Lord sent an angel to Gideon and told him to rise up and save Israel. Gideon tore down the altar to Baal and the sacred pole and built an altar to the Lord on its place. Gideon then tested the Lord twice to see if it was really the Lord.
Chapter 7
The Lord told Gideon he had too many soldiers for him to deliver Midian into his hands. Gideon told all who were fearful to leave. 22,000 men left, but 10,000 stayed. The Lord then dwindled the number down to 300 men.
Chapter 8
Gideon then pursued Zebah and Zalmunna with his 300 men and was refused food from the men in Succoth and Penuel. Gideon vowed to crush Succoth and Penuel when he returned victoriously. Gideon caught Zebah and Zalmunna and returned to crush Succoth and Penuel. Gideon told his son to kill Zebah and Zalmunna but he was too afraid to, so Gideo did it himself. After Gideon died the Israelites once again turned to the Baals.
Chapter 9
Abimelech, the son of Gideon through a concubine, went to Schechem and killed all 70 of Gideon's legitimate sons. Only Jotham, Gidoen's youngest son survived. The people of Schechem made Abimelech king. Abimelech made war on cities against him and was killed by a woman who dropped a millstone on his head.
Chapter 10
After the death of Abimelech, the Issacharite Tola rose up to save Israel. After Tola came Jair. After Jair died the Israelites turned away from God and served the Baals once more. They were allowed to be oppressed for eighteen years by the Ammonites in punishment. The Israelites cried out once more but the Lord told them to cry out to the gods they had chosen. When they persisted the Lord grieved over them.
Chapter 11
Jephtah, the son of Gilead by a harlot was driven away for being illegitimate. But, the elders of Gilead called him back to be their leader. Jephtah vowed to the Lord that he would offer up whomever came out of the door to greet him in victory as a holocaust to the Lord if the Lord would grant him victory. When Jephtah returned victoriously his daughter came out to greet him and he tore his clothes in despair. Jephtah then offered her as a holocaust as he had vowed.
Chapter 12
The Ephraimites went to war with Jephtah, but Jephtah defeated them. After Jephtah died, Izban of Bethlehem judged Israel. After Izban, Elon judged Israel. After Elon, Abdon judged Israel.
Chapter 13
After Abdon, the Israelites turned from God so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for 40 years. An angel of the Lord appeared to a woman and told her that she would bear a son to be consecrated to the Lord from the womb. No razor was to touch his head. The woman bore a son and called him Samson.
Chapter 14
Samson killed a lion with his bare hands.
Chapter 15
Samson's wife was married to another man. In anger Samson destroyed the Philistine town with foxes and fire. Samson then killed a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass. Samson judged Israel for 20 years.
Chapter 16
Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah who wished to find out the secret of his strength for money she was offered. Finally she betrayed him and cut off his hair. The Philistines captured Samson and gouged out his eyes. The put him on display as a prisoner in the temple of Dagon. Samson collapsed the temple, killing everyone inside.
Chapter 17
Micah had an image made of the true God and consecrated a Levite as his personal priest.
Chapter 18
A group of Danites stole Micah's image of God and his priest and attacked a town and sacked it. They rebuilt the city and lived there until they were taken captive.
Chapter 19
A Levite from Ephraim went to get his unfaithful concubine. After getting her he stayed in Gibeah where he gave his concubine to the men of the town to save his own skin. When he returned home he cut her into twelve pieces and sent them throughout Israel.
Chapter 20
The men of Israel rose up and went to this Levite's house and he relayed the story of what had happened. The men of Israel rose up against Gibeah but the Benjaminites refused to give over the wicked men. The Benjaminites went to war with Israel. The Benjaminites defeated the Israelites on the first two days but were crushed on the third day.
Chapter 21
The Israelites were distraught over having destroyed their brother Benjamin. They had sworn an oath not to give wives to Benjamin and so the tribe was in danger of dying out. But the Lord provided a way.
Notes on Judges
Chapter 1
Judah and Simeon attacked the Canaanites and Perizzites in Bezek. They caught Adonibezek and cut off his thumbs and big toes. Adonibezek said, 'as I have done to others, God has doen to me'. He was taken and killed at Jerusalem.
The house of Joseph went and took Bethel with the help of the Lord.
Many peoples were not dislodged from their homes, but the Israelites impressed them as laborers.
Chapter 2
Because the Israelites did not remove all the inhabitants from the Promised Land, the Lord sent an angel to tell them that the other gods would now be a snare to them. After Joshua died and his generation passed on, a new generation offended the Lord by worshipping the Baals. The Lord grew angry with Israel for their idolatry and refused to remove any more of the peoples living in the Promised Land.
Chapter 3
The Lord allowed the five lords of the Philistines, the remaining Canaanites, the Sidonians and the Hivites to remain in the land as a test for Israel's fidelity.
The Lord allowed the Israelites to fall under the rule of Cushan-rishathaim, king of Aram Naharaim for eight years. Then they cried out to the Lord and the Lord raised up Othniel, nephew of Caleb. Israel was at peace for 40 years until Othniel died.
The Israelites sinned again and the Lord raised up Eglon, king of Moab who enslaved them for 18 years. The Israelites called out to the Lord and the Lord raised up Ehud, a Benjaminite. Ehud was left-handed. He hid his sword on the right thigh where it would not be checked and stabbed Eglon in the stomach. Eglon was so fat his belly swallowed the sword. The Israelites came down and conquered Moab and reigned over them for 80 years.
Shamgar was raised up by the Lord and rescued the Israelites by killing 600 Philistines with an ox-goad.
Chapter 4
The Israelites abandoned God after the death of Ehud, so the Lord allowed Jabin, king of Hazor to oppress them for 20 years. Debora and Barak gathered 10,000 men from Zebulun and Naphtali and marched to Mt. Trabor where they defeated the chariots of Jabin. Sisera, the general of Jabin fled and was killed by Jael, the wife of Heber, who was allied with Jabin.
Chapter 5
After defeating the chariots there was peace for 40 years.
Chapter 6
The Israelites again offended the Lord. They fell under the reign of Midian. The Lord sent an angel to Gideon and told him to rise up and save Israel. Gideon tore down the altar to Baal and the sacred pole and built an altar to the Lord on its place. Gideon then tested the Lord twice to see if it was really the Lord.
Chapter 7
The Lord told Gideon he had too many soldiers for him to deliver Midian into his hands. Gideon told all who were fearful to leave. 22,000 men left, but 10,000 stayed. The Lord then dwindled the number down to 300 men.
Chapter 8
Gideon then pursued Zebah and Zalmunna with his 300 men and was refused food from the men in Succoth and Penuel. Gideon vowed to crush Succoth and Penuel when he returned victoriously. Gideon caught Zebah and Zalmunna and returned to crush Succoth and Penuel. Gideon told his son to kill Zebah and Zalmunna but he was too afraid to, so Gideo did it himself. After Gideon died the Israelites once again turned to the Baals.
Chapter 9
Abimelech, the son of Gideon through a concubine, went to Schechem and killed all 70 of Gideon's legitimate sons. Only Jotham, Gidoen's youngest son survived. The people of Schechem made Abimelech king. Abimelech made war on cities against him and was killed by a woman who dropped a millstone on his head.
Chapter 10
After the death of Abimelech, the Issacharite Tola rose up to save Israel. After Tola came Jair. After Jair died the Israelites turned away from God and served the Baals once more. They were allowed to be oppressed for eighteen years by the Ammonites in punishment. The Israelites cried out once more but the Lord told them to cry out to the gods they had chosen. When they persisted the Lord grieved over them.
Chapter 11
Jephtah, the son of Gilead by a harlot was driven away for being illegitimate. But, the elders of Gilead called him back to be their leader. Jephtah vowed to the Lord that he would offer up whomever came out of the door to greet him in victory as a holocaust to the Lord if the Lord would grant him victory. When Jephtah returned victoriously his daughter came out to greet him and he tore his clothes in despair. Jephtah then offered her as a holocaust as he had vowed.
Chapter 12
The Ephraimites went to war with Jephtah, but Jephtah defeated them. After Jephtah died, Izban of Bethlehem judged Israel. After Izban, Elon judged Israel. After Elon, Abdon judged Israel.
Chapter 13
After Abdon, the Israelites turned from God so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for 40 years. An angel of the Lord appeared to a woman and told her that she would bear a son to be consecrated to the Lord from the womb. No razor was to touch his head. The woman bore a son and called him Samson.
Chapter 14
Samson killed a lion with his bare hands.
Chapter 15
Samson's wife was married to another man. In anger Samson destroyed the Philistine town with foxes and fire. Samson then killed a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass. Samson judged Israel for 20 years.
Chapter 16
Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah who wished to find out the secret of his strength for money she was offered. Finally she betrayed him and cut off his hair. The Philistines captured Samson and gouged out his eyes. The put him on display as a prisoner in the temple of Dagon. Samson collapsed the temple, killing everyone inside.
Chapter 17
Micah had an image made of the true God and consecrated a Levite as his personal priest.
Chapter 18
A group of Danites stole Micah's image of God and his priest and attacked a town and sacked it. They rebuilt the city and lived there until they were taken captive.
Chapter 19
A Levite from Ephraim went to get his unfaithful concubine. After getting her he stayed in Gibeah where he gave his concubine to the men of the town to save his own skin. When he returned home he cut her into twelve pieces and sent them throughout Israel.
Chapter 20
The men of Israel rose up and went to this Levite's house and he relayed the story of what had happened. The men of Israel rose up against Gibeah but the Benjaminites refused to give over the wicked men. The Benjaminites went to war with Israel. The Benjaminites defeated the Israelites on the first two days but were crushed on the third day.
Chapter 21
The Israelites were distraught over having destroyed their brother Benjamin. They had sworn an oath not to give wives to Benjamin and so the tribe was in danger of dying out. But the Lord provided a way.
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