Friday, May 7, 2010

It's Friday!

So it's been Finals Week around here and we've been living under the shadow of long lists and stacks of unwashed dishes, ready for that final presentation to be in our past.
Yes I understand that I could have easily lived life as normal, while Michael finished his semester up but....what fun is that? I pushed aside my normal householdly tasks to join w/him in his last push of the semester, supporting and encouraging him.
By cooking.
I can't help it.
When someone is stressed out or things aren't going right I try to stuff their face.
It's just who I am today.

But now we have FREEDOM!!! The semester is over, I have my husband back and now we can stuff our faces for the joy of freedom, not from the oppressive power-point presentations lurking around the corner. Woo Hoo!!!!
I don't know about you, but I'm jumping for joy.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Love the Law

If the end of the law is Christ, what then is the purpose of the law now that we have Christ?

We see David, a man after God's own heart, himself a prophet, testifying of the Messiah in his writings about the Lord and His Anointed One, speaking very highly of the Law of the Lord. "More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold."(Psalm 19)

We know that the Scriptures are given by inspiration and are able to make us wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." The scripture is also there for completeness and equipping of the people of God. (2 Timothy 3)

Throughout scripture we see the term, "word of God". This word is the logos of God. Logos is a Greek word which may be used to mean various kinds of communication, including: language, talk, statement, story, prose, thought, reason, account, analogy, and many others. I will use logos to mean God's message to us. This logos cannot merely be contained in a book, but Scripture is there to help us see what His logos has been over the ages.

The logos of God was given primarily to the Jews, but at one time, the Logos of God became flesh. Jesus is that ultimate communication to us from the Father. This Logos(Jesus) is now preached to all people and all nations. And so Jesus is the key to and the end result of the law, all of scripture, giftings, miracles, marriage, teaching, and all of creation. He is the source of it, and the end of it all. Literally the Alpha and Omega.

We as Christians should take full advantage of both the Logos that is near to our hearts and our mouths(Rom. 10:8), which comes by the Spirit through faith, and the form of His logos that is written down. So we should learn to love and meditate on the law, not because the works of the law make us righteous, but because it contains the logos of our King throughout. The shadows and types in the Law and Prophets are a reflection of the kingdom in which we now live. When we study the written logos with a true knowledge and faith in the living and active Logos made flesh, we will be equipped and ready in and out of season to speak the gospel(logos) to all that they may hear and believe. Also this is for reminding each other to turn to God's continual message and voice.

Study, ask the Spirit to show you where to act, and have fun. :)

The Goal of the Law

In Romans chapter 9 and 10, Paul talks some about the law of righteousness. Read Rom. 9:30-33; 10:1-4.

In particular, Rom 10:14 says, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."

Israel didn't pursue the law of righteousness by faith in a salvation of the heart. Instead, the end of their pursuit of the law of righteousness was a belief that the works of the law brought salvation. So it is with many today.

So when Jesus shows up and says that the kingdom is here and He is the promise (Luke 4:18-19; 20:9-18), the Pharisees and religious leaders stumbled over that stone. Those whose hearts weren't turned toward God, not having faith in Him for their salvation but rather having faith in their own ability to fulfill God's law, weren't able to see the salvation offered to them in the Word made flesh.

The end goal of the law of righteousness is always Jesus.