Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2017

Has the Law been done away with? What does Romans 6:4 mean? What is To be under Grace?

Jesus said he did not come to abolish the law but to fullfill it, we know that, but a question is begging to get answered... What is to "abolish"? What did Jesus ment with that? Did he mean he came to do away with? Maybe He fulfill as in "it is done and finished"? Let's answer this, because in this verse lies a great point... Lets see, first, to abolish is " to do away with, to finish, to discard" . If he did not come to discard the law, what did he came for? Well, a translation of fulfill can be "to complete", another is "to carry out as required or pledged" This is quite interesting, because it poses a question, if Jesus did not come to "discard" the law, but to "carry it out as intended" then, should WE  also live by Mosaic law? Should WE , and by "we" I mean 21st century non-jewish christians, also keep the sabbath? Should we eat Pork? should we carry on with Jewish law? after all, according to Je

Living the Atheist Dream, Making Disciples in the Process

Odd wording, isn't it? "The atheist dream" , but what am I referring to? Well, quite simply, a country where God is most certainly forgotten unless you want to "OMG" something or you forgot to study for finals and you need to get a quick fix. I'm Uruguayan, and like most uruguayans I grew up in a household which called itself catholic but which never attended mass, prayed as a ritual before trips (not for a real connection though!), but nothing really meaning, no special way of life, no praising, no nothing. Also like most Uruguayans I attended public schooling for some time, which was as devoid of Christ as you could imagine. No "In God we trust" no "One nation under God": God was simply a myth which no one talked about, and Jesus was some dude which was used as a reference for the calendar and whose birth meant great presents in December! This meant that finding someone who truly believed was a rare occasion. This country of fake bel

Faith saves, but not all faith does.

I'm a sinner, had I faced death earlier, I might had had to greet hell: I'm no saint, if you have read this blog before, you know I've struggled with much in my life, I have always thought of myself as a "good enough Christian" but good enough according to who? well, not according to the bible, nor according to Jesus, according to myself.  It is dangerous to do just that, I know , been there & done than. However, what led me into such place? well, Not lack of mere faith, lack of commitment I'd say. You see, its true that Faith alone saves (well, as I interpret the bible at least, and this being the most congruent idea with Jesus' sacrifice, I'll later explain), but its not mere "I believe in Jesus" type of faith, Jesus himself said it best in Matthew 7:21-23: Not everyone who says to me "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. (22) On that say many will

Too broken? Nonsense, God can use you too

"Jesus aint for me, you know, I dont want more rules to follow" Or "Jesus aint for me, I like drinking", "I sleep around", "I'm a lair", "I've had an abortion" or "I'm Gay! God cant love me!". This are some of the "rebuttals" some people use, or think, in order to excuse themselves for not following Jesus; sometimes, they really think that being this things actually bar them from becoming Christian. I've even heard the "You know, I cant be a christian, I love gays way too much". To be honest, this is utter nonsense. If you are broken, a sinner, doesnt matter the type of life you got, Jesus can, will, and does love you and is eager for you to follow him. Now here comes the issue, many of us have felt that because we are too broken, God cant use us, that we ought to resign ourselves to a life of earthly living because we are not "good enough" to follow Jesus, when actually, Jesus did

Sacrifice, Ritual Cleanliness and Priesthood

Imagine yourself living in the days of Moses, you're living your life, following this guy that drove you out of slavery, and you have seen God's hand at work. You crossed a parted sea which closed behind you, you have seen bread appear from nothing, and water pour from a dry rock. You have no doubt, God's with your people. So now this prophet goes to mount Sinai, you hear thunder and rain, days passes and no one hears from this guy... food starts lacking, so does water, so you and everyone around pulls together and does what you have learned in Egypt, you make a statue for a God, and you worship it in order to see if you can ease the situation, The God of Abraham,The great I AM seems to have left your side. Here comes Moses! he finally comes back, he's angry, he's angry at the idol, he tells you that you should have trusted the God of Israel, this so called YHWH. Years pass, your whole society has been restructured, each year, the priests, those that live closer to

In all things, worship the Lord. No excuses.

I wake up at 6:05 each morning to get ready for university and I leave my house at 7. At 6:15 I'm half asleep, with my eyes barely open, 6:20 I'm in the shower. By 6:40 I'm showered and dressed. At this moment, more or less I go to my room, kneel down facing the cross which is in the center of the back wall of my room, put my elbows againt my bed which is next to that wall and I pray, Its way more than a simple habit or something I need to check off my list. It is part of my daily routine, but not like shaving (which its something that I dont enjoy doing, yet I do), I do it because I love to do it. Unlike waking up at 6ish in the morning, starting my day with a prayer is a great thing and it always ends up in a smile in my face. I hear you saying "Alright, so, whats the point about telling me how you pray every single day? good for you bro, but I dont think its necessary". The point here is a simple thing, I live my life for Jesus, thanks to Jesus and with Jesu

God's plan Vs Our's (Spoilers: God's better) Part 2

Back in this topic... Why did I felt necessary to tell that little... well maybe longish story about me? This is because that story perfectly illustrates  not only today's and yesterday's topic, but it also shows what I was talking about in my " The importance of community " Post. This is how a, at the beginning, devout christian (although an immature one), through loosing that community which is so important for all of us, allowed himself to be pulled into sin, little by little, sin by sin. Now, one thing that I failed to mention in my community post is, that community serves also a checks and balances role in the christian's life. If you feel something is good, but then you're called out by fellow Christians, you'll be able to correct your behavior. However, if you were to do the same sinful thing, but you dont have a christian community to call you out, you might not realize its a sin, or that its simply pulling you away from our Lord Jesus Christ. Thi

God's plan Vs Our's (Spoilers: God's better) Part 1

"Lord, please, I beg you, allow me to get the scholarship and enter in this university, it is the best in the Country lord, and all my friends are here, I beg you, this time, follow my plan, could you? Lord, I know this is the best, it will be good for my CV and I'll get a job for sure, plus I dont have to say goodbye to my whole life, so, I beg you, In Jesus's Name, Amen"  Like this I prayed back in late 2016, I was waiting for the results of the Scholarship to come. Why did i asked for my idea of my life to be fulfilled? Because I Though I knew better, I concluded that getting in the best school was the best, plus not having to have that awful "I'm leaving, for good" talk with my best friend, and by best friend I mean someone who was there when no one else was. Also it meant not moving to a city that I despised with all my heart and soul and that avoided as long as I could. So I guessed that staying in that city was the best. What Happened? The very fa

Sunday Christians.

He wake's up, its 8:10 in his clock, takes a shower. Finds himself half asleep water running down his back, wondering what will he eat after the service is over, he shaves, and grumbling to his alarm clock as if it was an annoying friend, he gets dressed. He drinks his morning coffee, eats a toast. Now its 9:20, He gets in his car and drives his family to church, pulling up there, his grim expression and half asleep face shifts into a big smile, he now blesses being there and greets his fellow church attendees. Sits through the service, he sings a few songs, he's barely there, his nicely dressed body is there, and his mind seems to be there, he follows pastor Jim's sermon, but once he stands and prepares to leave his mind is wiped clean, he was recalling last night's game all along. He talks to his friends there, he portrays the image of a christian, he shares some insight to a seemingly christian life to John, his coworker, and Melissa, his wife's friend. He leave