Christians and Jesus

When you hear the word, Christians, what thoughts do you think?

When you hear the name, Jesus, what thoughts do you think?

Are the thoughts similar? Do they correlate with one another? What are your thoughts?

Please do not hold back whatsoever

Books

I love to read books. But the way I chose the books I've read/will read have come from a variety of sources. Suggestions from friends. Personal information about the book. But the biggest reason I have for choosing the books I've read are based off of the title. A catchy title categorizes most of the books on my shelf and stack. So, I'm going to explain to you why each book is on my shelf/stack. If for any reason you are looking for books to read, or have questions about said book, ask, and I will gladly tell you more.

My plan was to write out each book that I've read/have to read and how they came along. But as I started writing that out I realized that I was coming off as arrogant about what books I've read. And yes they are mostly great books and I recommend some, but those books aren't important. Jesus is. I could read every book in the world about Him, but if I don't act out my faith because of how Jesus has changed my life and make every effort to spread the Gospel message, then what good are those books? This all spans from the fact that I have just finished two books in three days, mainly because I didn't like them. Those two books speaking about the Holy Spirit and the Gospel message, but once again, if I am not sharing God's love in every second of my life and telling of how He died on the Cross for the world, then what was the point? I read books in order to learn something, to gain knowledge, and to wrestle through what I've learned.

One mistake I've made in the past is spending more time reading random books about Jesus than reading THE book about Jesus. That is something I strongly urge you to not let happen in your life because the Bible is the ONE book that truly matters. It is the ONE book that we should read over and over again and study deeply each time we open it. It is the ONE book that we should be completely in love with. Sadly, I definitely do not show that on a day-to-day basis. I tell you this because something I have been working on recently is being real and authentic with people (which I'll explain more later on here, hopefully). And I will still end up finishing these books and moving on toward the next 10-20 for the next stack (which is a great segue into being a good steward with my money post), but studying the Bible and then sharing Jesus' story and love will be the #1 priority (again) in my life. Because I'm tired of being passive, It's time to be a doer.

The entire Bible points towards Jesus. Together, let's fall back in love with story of Jesus and spread His love to this world.

Love God. Love People.

Joesph

So today I studied out of Matthew 1:18-25.

18Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel"
(which means, God with us). 24When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Something that really stuck out to me was how legit Joseph was during this time. You may be reading this and think, "What? Joseph tried to divorce the mother of Jesus Christ the Savior, and you are calling him legit?" But let's think about this.
-Joseph and Mary were betrothed, not exactly the same as our modern society calls being engaged. Meaning, customarily, the parents of a young man chose a young woman to be engaged to their son. After the second stage of betrothal, only a divorce could properly break the binding contract.
-Betrothed partners were referred to as husband and wife; however, they were not yet considered to be married.
-Then Mary was found to be with child.
-Having sexual relations during the betrothal period was considered immoral and was also considered adultery. According to Mosaic law, the penalty for adultery was to be stoned to death.
-Joseph then considers divorcing her, because she appears to have been unfaithful.

So Joseph is hurt, he probably feels betrayed by his betrothancee (betrothal + fiancee)(I like to make up words)and most people in his situation would make an extremely big deal out of the fact that she is pregnant and not with his child while she is legally bound to him. But Joseph doesn't do that. Verse 19 says he "resolved to divorce her quietly." And in doing so, showing compassion to Mary even though he is probably broken by what he has found out. Obviously we know that Joseph didn't divorce Mary, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and explained everything about Jesus, and our Savior, born of a virgin, saved us.

But Joseph, not knowing the whole situation, still proved to be man of God in showing Mary compassion after thinking she had been unfaithful to him. To me, this definitely earns Joseph the award of Legit.

It makes me think about how mean I've been to a few friends that have hurt me in the past over something that is so small compared to how I'm sure Joseph felt when he thought Mary had cheated on him. I definitely haven't been showing love to them or to God through those relationships with them. That's something that I am going to work on now after reading this passage. What about you? Is there anyone that has hurt you that you haven't truly forgiven? Or have you hurt someone that maybe you need to seek their forgiveness? Are there any grudges you are still holding onto? Let's give it all to God and start loving on them and Him.

Love God. Love Others.
Love Jesus. Love People.
Love. Love.

Pretty-fying Your Blog

Welcome back to Word's From A Recovering Sinner. Sadly, it has been a long time since I have put a lot of effort into this blog, which means there are probably very few people who still come here to read and discuss. But hopefully that is about to change. I've started writing new topics and discussions for our blog that will debut in a couple of days. These are some thoughts that have been on my mind for awhile and hopefully will provide a few laughs, tears, sweat, maybe some bloodshed as well, who knows. This first series I think most of us can relate to in some way or form as the recurring theme involved with be authenticity.

As I started thinking seriously about this blog again I came to the conclusion that it needed something else, something new, something fresh. And what's the best way to do that, in the form of a new site. It would be perfect, it would have a new layout, pictures, maybe some 3D or possibly 4D features, it was going to be legit. Simply put, I wanted my blog to be the coolest looking blog anyone has ever seen. Then I started thinking seriously/rationally about all of this again, and this question kept popping up in my head: Why am I spending so much time frivolously looking for new color schemes and layouts instead of intentionally spending meaningful time with God or within the community that we've built here on our floor and with our friends?

This comes with incredible timing as the sermon at church this morning discussed idolatry, specifically with the Egyptians and Israelites in Exodus. What we often forget is that anything we place in front of God can become an idol or is an idol. And it doesn't have to be a bronze statue to bow to, it can be in the form of television, sleep, football or footBale, (as in the false god from the bible, I don't know how you spell it but I thought that was clever)or even something as simple and stupid as a new layout/website for a blog.

I am so thankful for the friends I've made while being up here. Together, we have built a community that is so passionate for loving God and loving each other and if it wasn't for that community, especially within the last two weeks, I might still be looking at new layouts for this site.

So what's keeping you from spending time with God right now? Whatever it is, I encourage you to put it on hold for a little while, and spend meaningful, intentional time with God and within your own community or building up a community, because that time is far more important than other thing on this earth that will eventually waste away.

1.1.11

Welcome to 2011 and Happy New Year's to those of you that still keep up with this blog! My hope is that this year more time will be spent living according to God's will and serving and loving Him in everything that we do! I hope to post more this upcoming year just on what God is showing me and what God is doing in my life. So here's to a new year, a new start, and a year of following after God.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
-2 Corinthians 5:17

Come To Jesus Re-Focus Meeting With Myself

For awhile now I've felt like I needed to change something. I've felt like something needed to be different in my life. I've felt like I've just been coasting through school and life and my relationship with Christ. So finally I had enough and I held a Come To Jesus Re-Focus Meeting With Myself late Sunday night. I talked to Jesus, sang to Jesus, read scripture, and drafted a semester goal list that will serve as my to-do list for the rest of the semester with plenty of room for expansion. The time was refreshing and exactly what I needed to get my priorities back in line. So here is the Shew's To-Do's for the rest of the semester:

1. Love God Love Others
2. Defeat Satan
3. Intentionally spend time daily studying the Word
4. Intentionally spend time daily memorizing scripture
5. Intentionally spend time daily making intentional conversations
6. Finish reading plan
7. Begin study through Grasping God's Word
8. Get in shape (only allowed in gym if intentional time has been spent with Jesus that day)
9. Be a good student and keep that scholarship

Something God has been showing me recently has been how important it is to have accountability with other people. Which is also perfect timing because a few of us have decided to begin an accountability group as we hope to not only grow together as men but as brothers in Christ who will go out each day into the world and share God's Love and His Message. I love God's Timing, it is so much better than any of ours put together and multiplied by two.

So what are some of the goals that you would like to achieve in the upcoming days/weeks/months/or years?

Body, Let's go be Doers

New Post Is Coming

Sorry its been awhile since I've updated this thing...but...I will post tomorrow/today sometime titled, Campfire at the Horn's.

Until then comment below about how you have seen God work recently or what God has been doing in your life.