This week’s ABC, Ephesians 6:18:

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.

I like how this verse tells us to be “on the alert” for prayer requests, essentially. I think we tend to view prayer requests as things that are dealt with a few times when experiences of troubles are volunteered in BCS, and not much more.

The reason why I like this passage is that it encourages us to have a more active role in ministering to others in prayer. It’s not just praying for people who happen to share in BCS or come to prayer meeting, but much more than that. I have a prayer list, and try to update it regularly. I encourage everyone to do the same. Prayer requests and brethren in need are things we should watch for more vigilantly and follow up on them with more perseverance. I will be the first to admit that I’ve taken prayer requests before and forgotten about them or not ended up praying for them for whatever bad excuse, but keeping a prayer list helps guard against this. It serves as a reminder of those requests and people who slip your radar now and then.

There are many practical things we can do to have a more active and effective personal prayer ministry, but keeping a prayer list (and an up to date one!) is a quick and practical way to get some results. So I encourage you all to do so if you do not already.

My Bible study was a little shortened this week due to the tight schedule, so I made it more freeform, and we focused on the end of the passage more than the beginning, and didn’t get to this point. So I’m turning it into an ABC post =P.

Check out Ephesians 4:1-6. In 4:1, Paul exhorts us to walk worthy of the calling “to which we have been called”. Hopefully we’ve all been learning about how God has called us out of sin into life (and if not, go re-read the first three chapters of Ephesians and look for this). Ok, great, but what does it mean to walk worthy and how do we do it? Paul lists out a bunch of things in 4:2-3: humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance, and unity in the Spirit.

Notice these are all interpersonal things, about how we should act towards one another. And this is a great link to our theme of “one for all and all for One” and the emphasis on what Christian community should look like. These qualities are all things that should be present in our fellowship. So we should check ourselves: how are we doing on each of these categories, and where can we improve? How can we take practical, real steps in building the strength and unity of our community?

Humility: demonstrate it by serving one another, whether in an official role in fellowship, or in a less formal (but still very important!) way. If you just come to fellowship seeking to get your needs met, perhaps you should check yourself for self-centeredness.

Gentleness: as opposed to being hard on one another, especially in restoration for sin (see Galatians 6:1). If someone came to you with a sin to confess or a burden that they need prayer for, how would you respond?

Patience: literally longsuffering. Are we quick to judge people in the fellowship because of a minor fault? Are we willing to forgive people when they wrong us, sacrifice for them and walk with them on the long road of becoming more Christlike?

Tolerance for one another: some of us will have our differences, but they should not be insurmountable with Christ’s help. Do you have conflict with people in the fellowship that you let remain unresolved? Also related to patience, see above.

Unity in the Spirit: note, that’s “in the Spirit”. That’s the only way we get unity. Look down to 4:4-6. Let us be all for One, and that is Christ.

I think this is a good passage to think about in light of the Missions Conference that just passed. It’s challenging to me in that John states that his joy will be completed in proclaiming the gospel and seeing more people come to Christ. I’m happy when I hear about other people accepting Christ as Lord and Savior, but I don’t know if I could say that it is the thing that really gets me going. And this is probably why missions and sharing the gospel with random people comes so hard for me. Certainly, I care about some of my friends and have a heart for them and pray regularly that they will find Christ. But when it comes to faceless, random people in the world that I don’t know, the compassion just isn’t strong enough. I often find it a lot harder to pray for countries or people groups to receive Christ, because it seems so impersonal. But the scope of John’s message and Christ’s compassion universal. It didn’t just extend to his friends or people he’d gotten to know well. I’m sure that it included a lot of those types of people, but it went far beyond that. Just a challenge for me coming out of this weekend and this passage.

What stands out to me the most in this week’s ABC (Ephesians 3:13) is Paul’s heart and approach towards ministry.

He writes to the Ephesians, saying that they should not be discouraged, just as he is not, at his imprisonment and other things he has suffered. He says not to lose heart because the sufferings he endures are for their behalf and for their glory.

As someone who’s served for several years in Crossroads, there have inevitably been times where I’ve had to make a small sacrifice for the ministry. I’ve had to adjust my schedule, stay up late studying, or cut other things out of my day in order to fulfill my duties at Crossroads. And there have been times where I have resented that. Times when I wished I weren’t serving as much so I could go and do what I wanted to do, or take it easier. But consider Paul. By the time of the writing of this letter, he’d been through so much more than I have been, and probably more than I will ever face. See 2 Corinthians 11:23-29 for a partial list of Paul’s trials throughout his ministry. It’s pretty staggering. And through it all, he was so much more content, so much happier in his situation than I was in my minor inconveniences, because he wasn’t serving just to get check boxes filled and events dead and done with. He was serving for the spiritual growth and salvation of all the Gentiles. Many times, I’ve lost sight of that fact.

There may be times where serving one another may involve inconvenience or sacrifice. But anything we face today will surely pale in comparison to what Paul had to go through. Ask yourself: do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ enough to be able to do this? How much are you willing to sacrifice? Why do you feel the way that you do? It is my hope and prayer that as we continue to think about being one for all and all for One this semester that we will be able to excel in our Christ-like, self-sacrificial love for one another.

This week’s ABC, Romans 10:12-13 was intended as a follow up to the last Bible study we did, Ephesians 2:11-22, which talks about the reconciliation between Gentile and Jew. And just touching back to that study, Ephesians 2:12 reminds Paul’s Gentile audience that before Christ, they were “without God in the world”. What a change this is now, going from that to a God who is “abounding in riches for all who call on Him”. When both are taken in conjunction, it is an excellent reminder of what we have to be thankful for.

But practically, what does this mean? Well, yes, it increases our thanksgiving and love for God when we are reminded of what He has done for us. But how often do we take advantage of this change? One of the biggest ways that we can do this is through prayer. That is our direct line to God, where we do the calling on Him. How many of us go through a day and don’t pray at all? How often do we do that? Prayer should also be an act of worship and thanksgiving, because it is only because of Christ’s death that we have this ability. If you don’t like praying, or don’t think it’s important, I challenge you to think what message that conveys. It’s like saying that even though Christ’s death has brought us to the point where we can pray openly and directly to God at any time, you’d have been just as happy without that happening. Hmm…

Now, I’m not accusing anyone of actively believing that Christ’s death did nothing. I just want to challenge you all who read this to take (perhaps yet another) look at what Christ has done and have that make a change in your lives.

This week’s ABC made me think a little about my own situation. I wasn’t born here; I’m not an American citizen or a permanent resident yet despite the fact that I’ve lived here for the past 8 years; I don’t get to vote but still have to pay taxes; I’m ineligible for a lot of things; and yes, I have at times experienced the discrimination and stigma that comes with being an immigrant, even though I’m here completely legally. Also, I moved around quite a lot before coming to America, so I never really knew what to say when people asked me “Where are you from?”, because my childhood wasn’t spent in just one country or city or neighborhood. To save time now, my short answer is that I’m from San Jose, because I called it home in middle school and high school, and that’s where my parents live, but if your home is somewhere that you feel like you belong, then I would have to say that I’m from Berkeley, because I feel like I belong at Cal and at Crossroads, but it wouldn’t really make sense to say that to someone because I’m not actually from Berkeley, in the sense of the word people have when they ask that question. My Indian passport just means I stand in a different line at the airport there, but I don’t have any real attachment to the country besides some family. So I’m not a citizen in the full sense here or anywhere else, and I’m not sure where I’m from. Guess you could call me confused. But contrasting all those confusing feelings with the fact that we have 100% citizenship in the kingdom, I have to say that its really nice to have a place that I know I belong and am accepted regardless of anything besides Jesus’ sacrifice. Citizenship in heaven is worth so much more than anything this world has to offer (although Crossroads has been good to me ).

Every time I read of citizenship and having a country and a family in heaven, I think of my physical situation here in the United States. I’ve written about it before.

I doubt that this issue will be resolved soon, if ever for me. Having a place in heaven is awesome, coming from my perspective. For me, the “no longer strangers and aliens” part really, really rings true. Before really finding out what Christ’s sacrifice means, I did feel like a wanderer, or at least someone who wasn’t wanted much of anywhere in the world. When Paul talks about the previous state of the Gentiles and them being ostracized and excluded, I think I get a very small picture of what that would have been like by looking at my little identity crisis.

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

—Ephesians 5:18-19

Happy Blogging

P.S. Behind on ABCs? Lost those pesky sheets? The past ABCs have been posted for your convenience.

]]> http://seizetheword.wordpress.com/2008/09/28/this-weeks-abc/feed/ 0 zoebios121 http://seizetheword.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/the-meaning-of-life/ http://seizetheword.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/the-meaning-of-life/#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:22:00 +0000 durandal7777777 http://seizetheword.wordpress.com/?p=313 ]]>

I ask you: what is the meaning of life? I believe that the answer to that question can be found at the very end of the Bible study we did last Friday. Below is the verse in question, Ephesians 2:10:

For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

We were created “in Christ Jesus for good works”. This is what we are meant to do in our lives here on earth. Notice that we’re not talking about salvation by works here, though: Paul has just finished saying that we are saved by grace through faith (see 2:8–9). We are saved by grace, but God wants us to put us to work when that has happened.

So what implications does this verse have for our lives?

1. God has something for you to do. If we are created for good works and God has prepared them, there are things that we are supposed to do. The works that He has laid out before us aren’t meant to just sit there and go unnoticed. This goes for everyone. No one can say “I have no spiritual gifts: therefore I can’t do anything for God” or “God’s not calling me to be a pastor, so I don’t have to do anything else except come to church.”
2. Find what God has created you for and do it. Given that God has already laid out things for you to do, seek to discern and find the open doors and the works that He wants you to accomplish, and then follow in them. Check yourself: how well do you do at this right now? If this isn’t in your mind or your life at all, then think about it and pray for guidance as to where God might be calling you to serve.
3. Don’t take pride in what you’ve been able to accomplish for God’s kingdom: you can’t. This is important once you’ve started following in those works and God’s begun to work through you. As someone who’s served in Crossroads for about four years now, I find it easy to look at what God has done through me and think I’ve done a good job creating opportunities for His kingdom. But that is false. Everything I’ve ever done for Christ has been solely because God set the path beforehand and not of my own strength or intelligence to open that path. For those who are serving, this is an important thing to keep in mind so that our sight remains on Him, where it should be.

Ultimately, this is our purpose in life: to be used by God, for the purposes and the works that He has preordained for us. Serving in ministry and being God’s vessels should be a great joy, something that we do out of gratitude and something that should be very, very fulfilling.

]]> http://seizetheword.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/the-meaning-of-life/feed/ 0 durandal7777777 http://seizetheword.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/310/ http://seizetheword.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/310/#comments Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:00:54 +0000 Grace http://seizetheword.wordpress.com/?p=310 ]]>

As some of you know, Tim and I are taking Near Eastern Studies 132 (Biblical Poetry) together.  In this class, we are currently learning about the literary styles of Canaanite, Babylonian, and Egyptian poetry, in the context of which elements have carried over to the Bible.

The Babylonians had many gods.  Whenever a misfortune — viewed as punishment — occurred, the people were often unsure of both the god offended and the crime.  This uncertainty led to rather amusing results, as poems address both gods and goddesses (what if it wasn’t a god you offended, per se?), with repeated statements of the poor mortal’s unawareness at what wrong he had committed.

A collection of snippets I picked out:

“May the god, whoever he is, be reconciled.
May the goddess, whoever she is, be reconciled…
I have perpetrated unwittingly an abomination to my god.
I have unwittingly violated a taboo of my goddess…
O god, whoever you are, many are my wrongs, great my sins,
O goddess, whoever you are, many are my wrongs, great my sins!
I do not know what wrong I have done,
I do not know what sin I have committed,
I do not know what abomination I have perpetrated,
I do not know what taboo I have violated!”

Isn’t it lovely that we only have one God, so there’s no question of who we’re angering, and that He’s pretty clear in general about what He approves and disapproves of?  Praise be to Him, the one and only!

]]> http://seizetheword.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/310/feed/ 3 Grace