This morning, part of my Bible reading had me in Philippians chapter 2. Even though I had spent a few months earlier this year memorizing Philippians, today this one verse really caught my attention.
Philippians 2:15 --
so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
No one wants to go outside at night and look up at black emptiness. The thing that draws people outdoors at night isn’t the darkness of the night sky, but the shining points of light breaking through that darkness. The countless stars shining down make us realize how big and great the God who created the universe is.
Is my light shining? Am I standing out in contrast to the darkness of the world? Is there light in my life that makes people think about the greatness of God? Or am I so well-adjusted to the culture around me that I fit into it without even thinking (Romans 12:2, The Message)?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Esta mañana, parte de mi lectura bíblica me tenía en Filipenses capítulo 2. Aunque había pasado unos meses este año memorizando el libro de Filipenses, hoy este versículo me llamó la atención.
Filipenses 2:15 –
para que sean intachables y puros, hijos de Dios sin culpa en medio de una generación torcida y depravada. En ella ustedes brillan como estrellas en el firmamento,
Nadie quiere salir afuera en la noche para mirar hacia arriba a un vacío negro. Lo que llama la gente afuera en la noche no es la oscuridad del cielo nocturno, sino los brillantes puntos de luz que rompen esa oscuridad. Las estrellas inumerables enviando su luz hacia abajo nos hacen reconocer lo grande y maravilloso que es el Dios quien creó el universo.
¿Está brillando mi luz? ¿Estoy marcando un contraste con la oscuridad del mundo? ¿Hay luz en mi vida que hace la gente pensar en la grandeza de Dios? ¿O estoy tan ajustado a la cultura alrededor que encajo en ella sin pensarlo (Romanos 12:2, The Message)?
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Win Bill Mounce's TNIV/NLT Greek/English interlinear New Testament
You can enter here: http://westernthm.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/book-giveaway-from-bill-mounce
But hurry, the drawing is on July 1, 2011
But hurry, the drawing is on July 1, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Angels or impostors?
Back in January, I was at a multi-church “Holy Convocation.” The guest preacher was a pastor from California. I don’t remember his name or the name of the church he pastors.
In the Friday evening service, he told a story about one time when he was in the Philippines. He was taking a cab to the Manila airport to fly back to the U.S. The taxi driver asked if he was by chance a pastor, and he said yes. The driver told the minister he had been praying all day for God to send a pastor to ride in his cab, because his daughter was very ill in the hospital and he wanted someone to pray for her. He asked if the pastor had a few minutes to spare to stop by the hospital on the way to the airport and pray for his child.
The pastor agreed, and they drove to the hospital. I don’t recall if the pastor said the man took him to the girl’s room, or just told him the room number and waited in the cab. But the pastor went in and prayed for the girl, who may have been in a coma (I don’t recall, it has been almost 3 months since I heard this story). In any event, after he prayed for her, she got better (awoke from the coma, or her vitals went to normal, or the fever left and she said she felt OK – I don’t recall).
In the Friday evening service, he told a story about one time when he was in the Philippines. He was taking a cab to the Manila airport to fly back to the U.S. The taxi driver asked if he was by chance a pastor, and he said yes. The driver told the minister he had been praying all day for God to send a pastor to ride in his cab, because his daughter was very ill in the hospital and he wanted someone to pray for her. He asked if the pastor had a few minutes to spare to stop by the hospital on the way to the airport and pray for his child.
The pastor agreed, and they drove to the hospital. I don’t recall if the pastor said the man took him to the girl’s room, or just told him the room number and waited in the cab. But the pastor went in and prayed for the girl, who may have been in a coma (I don’t recall, it has been almost 3 months since I heard this story). In any event, after he prayed for her, she got better (awoke from the coma, or her vitals went to normal, or the fever left and she said she felt OK – I don’t recall).
Monday, April 11, 2011
Whose image is on it? ¿De quién es la imagen?
Luke 20:20-25
20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?” 25 “Caesar’s,” they replied. He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
In the Sunday School class I attend, we’ve been working our way through the Gospel of Luke. This well-known passage was part of what we covered this week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)