Sliding (Part II)
Dear all..here is part II..hope you guys aren't bored already, and pls read in order..i will try to frame it to be in sequence..dun blame me if it doesn't come out well..ha..
Sliding Part II
John 6:22-43
In this passage, we see Jesus who have just walked on water, and have feed thousands with the miracle. In this time, there are multitudes of people who came to Jesus seeking Him, but Jesus rebuked them, stating that they seeked Him not because He was the messiah, but that He fed them once, and they were looking to him for food.
Can you imagine, if you traveled back in time to see Jesus, what would you ask Him for? Healing? Success? to forgive your sins? but over here the people asked Jesus for bread. They were convinced that they knew what they needed, which they thought was bread to eat.
1st seed to spiritual slide - unmet expectations/prayers
And sometimes in our lives when we pray to Jesus, we come up with selfish requests that if you confess to someone else, they would think it's rather trivial..Students would pray really hard for success in examinations and tests, adults pray for bonuses to come their way, some even pray for a win for the team they support in sports. But all in all, when God doesn't come through with it, we become disillusioned and bitter and upset. How many of us have never been through that? and having been through that, how many more of us have ever made a subsequent request and truly believed that God will come through with it? When you have been let down before, chances are you will begin to doubt, and the next time you pray you will find it obstructing your faith.
2nd seed to Spiritual Slide - unaccepted teachings
Know this: Jesus could have easily satisfied the multitudes by performing another miracle and give them bread to eat. Instead, Jesus boldly wanted to teach them about Himself and His messianic nature, for which the miracle was meant to convey. He taught them that He was the bread of life. But once the people realised that they weren't going to be fed, their response quickly jumped and they rejected their original faith. They thought that perhaps this man was not capable of giving them what they wanted, and then they started rejecting everything he was trying to teach.
Remember that in obediance and faith, there are no such thing as halfway marks. you cannot say that you believe 75% of something..it's either yes or no. You could pretend that you believe, but in the long run you will tire and it will all boil down to a yes or no answer.
In this case, when the people rejected Jesus teaching [because of the unmet expectation], the seed took root and they started to undermine his authority.
"Isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We knoe his father and mother. How can he say 'i came down from heaven'"
You cannot continue to believe in Christ if there are a certain doctrine practiced that you do not believe in. For example, there's no point gg on if you do not believe in the power of prayer, or communion with God, or that you do not believe in the Holy Spirit. You simply cannot go on ignoring that.
3rd seed to Spiritual Slide - unresolved doubts and questions
John 6:52 "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
It was a LEGITIMATE question! If Jesus was in front of you today and say that He is the bread of life, and that anyone who eats this bread will live forever, you would be wondering the same thing. Don't think of the usual church communion sunday, but think of a breathing man in front of you.
And one thing about our christian walk is that it is filled with loads of questions, some of which is not easy to answer and understand. But the key is that unresolved questions and doubts will sow a seed through which Satan will gain a foothold. Do not believe for a moment that questions and doubts reflect spiritual immaturity and disbelief! It does not reflect shakeness in faith, but in fact it tells of the exact opposite! If you are questioning about certain belief, it proves that there is a hunger for knowledge, and a hunger to know God more intimately and have a better understanding of who He is! Only with faith can there be doubt; without faith there is no doubt, but there is also nothing..
Better to resolve your doubts, clear your disbelief so that when you come before God in prayer or worship, it will not hinder your entrance to the Holy of Holies.
John 6:66-69
Because of these unresolved doubts, these multitudes of men and women couldn't believe in Jesus and his Messianic message, but the 12 disciples believed Him, despite all the 3 'trials' .
When you become a unreluctant bearer of these seeds, pls, i pray that you will lift it straight to God, for only through His strength can you overcome this test. Ask Him to help you clear your doubts and disbelief, Ask Him to help you accept His teachings, and above all, tell Him of your bitterness and disillussionment/disappointment.
"To Whom will we go to? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe and we know you are the Holy One of God."
The disciples are right to stick to the fact that He was the Messiah and used that to justify the 'disbelief' they had. Understanding that He was the Messiah makes other teachings and doctrines easier to accept. Do it the otherway around and you will begin to doubt the core of your belief.
Remember that one of the core beliefs of being a Christian as apart from the Jew and the Muslim is that we believe that Jesus was the Messiah, and He is the embodiment/manifestation of God's mind into our world. What tells us apart from Gnostics is that we believe that Jesus went to the cross not merely to give His disciples a model of sacrifice and matyrdom, but to die for our sins and redeem once and for all, all our sins. Always fall back to the basic core beliefs that the Bible is God's word and that other sources can be read but with care, and always always remember the way you came into Christ. For that is your justification and your reason for being, and nothing you learn along the way should ever interfere with THAT initial communion you had with Christ when you were born again.
Here I want to pray for anyone who accepts this prayer, that you will always remember the manner in which you came into Christ, the many reasons you may have had, what He did for you, what God spoke to you. In times of doubt and disbelief, or when you have unmet expectation, always remember who God is to you, and try to understand God from His point of view. Never let any circumstance/event shade or colour your perception of God. And always fall back to the core of your belief. [And pls at least find out what that is before you call yourself a christian..It will help you in the future if you ever meet with confusion.] And above all, i pray that you will be able to remember to turn to God whenever these situations happen to you, and not let the situation turn you away from God. Stay strong, pray loads, and seek to have a fresh revelation from Him EVERYDAY! [if not frequently..ha..] yepp..
-Endz- [dear all..thanks for reading so far..hah..congratulations for reading all the way! thumbs up!]
Sliding Part II
John 6:22-43
In this passage, we see Jesus who have just walked on water, and have feed thousands with the miracle. In this time, there are multitudes of people who came to Jesus seeking Him, but Jesus rebuked them, stating that they seeked Him not because He was the messiah, but that He fed them once, and they were looking to him for food.
Can you imagine, if you traveled back in time to see Jesus, what would you ask Him for? Healing? Success? to forgive your sins? but over here the people asked Jesus for bread. They were convinced that they knew what they needed, which they thought was bread to eat.
1st seed to spiritual slide - unmet expectations/prayers
And sometimes in our lives when we pray to Jesus, we come up with selfish requests that if you confess to someone else, they would think it's rather trivial..Students would pray really hard for success in examinations and tests, adults pray for bonuses to come their way, some even pray for a win for the team they support in sports. But all in all, when God doesn't come through with it, we become disillusioned and bitter and upset. How many of us have never been through that? and having been through that, how many more of us have ever made a subsequent request and truly believed that God will come through with it? When you have been let down before, chances are you will begin to doubt, and the next time you pray you will find it obstructing your faith.
2nd seed to Spiritual Slide - unaccepted teachings
Know this: Jesus could have easily satisfied the multitudes by performing another miracle and give them bread to eat. Instead, Jesus boldly wanted to teach them about Himself and His messianic nature, for which the miracle was meant to convey. He taught them that He was the bread of life. But once the people realised that they weren't going to be fed, their response quickly jumped and they rejected their original faith. They thought that perhaps this man was not capable of giving them what they wanted, and then they started rejecting everything he was trying to teach.
Remember that in obediance and faith, there are no such thing as halfway marks. you cannot say that you believe 75% of something..it's either yes or no. You could pretend that you believe, but in the long run you will tire and it will all boil down to a yes or no answer.
In this case, when the people rejected Jesus teaching [because of the unmet expectation], the seed took root and they started to undermine his authority.
"Isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We knoe his father and mother. How can he say 'i came down from heaven'"
You cannot continue to believe in Christ if there are a certain doctrine practiced that you do not believe in. For example, there's no point gg on if you do not believe in the power of prayer, or communion with God, or that you do not believe in the Holy Spirit. You simply cannot go on ignoring that.
3rd seed to Spiritual Slide - unresolved doubts and questions
John 6:52 "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
It was a LEGITIMATE question! If Jesus was in front of you today and say that He is the bread of life, and that anyone who eats this bread will live forever, you would be wondering the same thing. Don't think of the usual church communion sunday, but think of a breathing man in front of you.
And one thing about our christian walk is that it is filled with loads of questions, some of which is not easy to answer and understand. But the key is that unresolved questions and doubts will sow a seed through which Satan will gain a foothold. Do not believe for a moment that questions and doubts reflect spiritual immaturity and disbelief! It does not reflect shakeness in faith, but in fact it tells of the exact opposite! If you are questioning about certain belief, it proves that there is a hunger for knowledge, and a hunger to know God more intimately and have a better understanding of who He is! Only with faith can there be doubt; without faith there is no doubt, but there is also nothing..
Better to resolve your doubts, clear your disbelief so that when you come before God in prayer or worship, it will not hinder your entrance to the Holy of Holies.
John 6:66-69
Because of these unresolved doubts, these multitudes of men and women couldn't believe in Jesus and his Messianic message, but the 12 disciples believed Him, despite all the 3 'trials' .
When you become a unreluctant bearer of these seeds, pls, i pray that you will lift it straight to God, for only through His strength can you overcome this test. Ask Him to help you clear your doubts and disbelief, Ask Him to help you accept His teachings, and above all, tell Him of your bitterness and disillussionment/disappointment.
"To Whom will we go to? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe and we know you are the Holy One of God."
The disciples are right to stick to the fact that He was the Messiah and used that to justify the 'disbelief' they had. Understanding that He was the Messiah makes other teachings and doctrines easier to accept. Do it the otherway around and you will begin to doubt the core of your belief.
Remember that one of the core beliefs of being a Christian as apart from the Jew and the Muslim is that we believe that Jesus was the Messiah, and He is the embodiment/manifestation of God's mind into our world. What tells us apart from Gnostics is that we believe that Jesus went to the cross not merely to give His disciples a model of sacrifice and matyrdom, but to die for our sins and redeem once and for all, all our sins. Always fall back to the basic core beliefs that the Bible is God's word and that other sources can be read but with care, and always always remember the way you came into Christ. For that is your justification and your reason for being, and nothing you learn along the way should ever interfere with THAT initial communion you had with Christ when you were born again.
Here I want to pray for anyone who accepts this prayer, that you will always remember the manner in which you came into Christ, the many reasons you may have had, what He did for you, what God spoke to you. In times of doubt and disbelief, or when you have unmet expectation, always remember who God is to you, and try to understand God from His point of view. Never let any circumstance/event shade or colour your perception of God. And always fall back to the core of your belief. [And pls at least find out what that is before you call yourself a christian..It will help you in the future if you ever meet with confusion.] And above all, i pray that you will be able to remember to turn to God whenever these situations happen to you, and not let the situation turn you away from God. Stay strong, pray loads, and seek to have a fresh revelation from Him EVERYDAY! [if not frequently..ha..] yepp..
-Endz- [dear all..thanks for reading so far..hah..congratulations for reading all the way! thumbs up!]
posted by B-Rok | 5:53 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home