The other day I wrote about the parable of the wedding feast. I was talking about how the wedding feast was a foreshadowing of Gods kingdom and how God is the host and we are the guests. I talked about how he invites us to the feast even though we don

LK 14:7 And he spake a parable unto those that were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief seats; saying unto them,LK 14:8 When thou art bidden of any man to a marriage feast, sit not down in the chief seat; lest haply a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him,LK 14:9 and he that bade thee and him shall come and say to thee, Give this man place; and then thou shalt begin with shame to take the lowest place.LK 14:10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest place; that when he that hath bidden thee cometh, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have glory in the presence of all that sit at meat with thee.LK 14:11 For everyone that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.LK 14:12 And he said to him also that had bidden him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest haply they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee.LK 14:13 But when thou makest a feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:LK 14:14 and thou shalt be blessed; because they have not `wherewith’ to recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just.LK 14:15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

In and parable of the Guests we find a typical scene of a dinner party. People invited to the dinner party would gather around the dinner table to eat and socialize. All the guests coveted the places of honor near the host. You were seen as unimportant if you did not sit near the host.

Jesus saw what was happening and decided to turn the situation into an object lesson. You see in this passage you see 3 things taught. A lesson taught to the guests another is a lesson taught to the host and still another lesson describing the kingdom of God.

Lesson Taught to the Guests

Jesus teaches to the guests to be humble. Everyone wants to sit at the places of honor but not everyone deserves those positions. He teaches if a man humbles himself by taking the last place at the table he may find the host will honor him and bring him up to a place of honor. The men who take a place of honor may be horrified and humiliated to find he was not worthy of the position and will be sent to the last place.
Jesus attempts to teach humility to the guests in this passage which I know I could apply to my everyday life.

Lesson Taught to the Host

Not to invite thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, but to invite the sick and the poor and the Lame. Jesus says these things to teach the point that making dinner for people who you stand to benefit from means your not truly being kind and generous. If the host were to make a dinner for those who will never be able to repay him then he would be truly kind and generous. This of course does not mean that we do not eat with our friends and neighbors, but means that we should be carful and consider motives before doing something.

What this says about the Kingdom of God

This passage has a practical message as well as figurative one. Jesus wasn

My last post was about the Sabbath and why Jews and Christians celebrate it on different days. Well toady I am going to talk about how we are called to observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

The Bible talks about keeping the Sabbath day Holy. What does that mean exactly? We are called to abstain from normal work or unnecessary work on the Sabbath day. Many Jews in Jesus

This post is going to be about the Sabbath day, also known as the Lords day. The Sabbath is God

At my home church in Tallahassee fl we had a guess speaker from RTS (reformed theological seminary) Orlando come and give use a Sunday school lesson on the New Testament canon. I wish I could remember his name but I believe his first name is Charles. Anyway Charles teaches at RTS in Orland and he teaches the New Testament canon. So of course his Sunday school lesson was great and very informative.

I of course cannot express as clearly what DR. Charles passed on to us but I will try and give you a general outline. First of all for those who don

Today I decided to write about the end times and the current economic condition that our county is in currently. I feel that some people are freaking out right now with all the election propaganda floating about. They think that if their candidate doesn

I was at church on Sunday and my paster said something about God’s Will that really made sense to me. Once again at my church we are still going through the first chapter of Ephesians. My paster made the point that when it comes to God’s will that there’s really two different forms that it takes.

The first form of God’s will is that of decree. God has decreed for specific things to happen through out history. These are the things that God Wills such as events that will come true and is beyond our control. If God wills something you better believe that its going to happen. God has decreed that something is going to happen and it’s his will that it happens.

The other form of God’s will is what God wants for us. God’s will is that we not steal and commit adultery, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t do those things obviously. Being a sinner, I sin against God’s will everyday. In this form of God’s will we see what it is that God Wills for us through his law and the scriptures. Both forms are present in the first Chapter of Ephesians.

I think that it’s a good thing to know the difference between the two. My thought process was similar to that of my paster’s thoughts, his were just better put together.

I think that for my next post that I’ll do something on John Calvin and for people who don’t know who he is, he’s one of the greatest reformists of all time. He was one of the many men that are attributed to starting and continuing the protestant reformation. I think I’ll do a little bio on Calvin and little history lesson for you next time.

until then

Your Brother in Christ

Will

I may not have the most popular or common beliefs on the subject of God’s will. I think that a lot of Christians get very wrapped up in the subject. My last post was about Ephesians 1 and there is a great passage in there about God’s will.

EPH 1:8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
EPH 1:9 making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him

This passage talks about God Making known to us the Mystery of his will. Of Course after that he tells us that its not necessarily the way that you might like it but according to his good pleasure. The question that you might ask yourself is how is he going to make known his will?

I think that some people get all caught up in this and say well I “feel” that God is telling me to do something. I hear other people saying that “God told me” that this was correct. The question I would ask someone who says this is how do you know its from God. How do yo know that God is telling you to do something or not do something. I don’t think that a feelings are good enough to consider that a sign that God is telling me to do something. I don’t think that feelings should be your spiritual compass. Humans are weak physical and spiritual on a scale compared to heavenly things. Feelings should not be trusted. If people did whatever they feel was right then we would be in serious trouble. What about what God thinks?

This is what I believe about God’s will. I believe that God’s will is revealed though his word and prayer. When you are trying to consider what direction to take maybe instead of waiting for some kind of light to shine down from heaven and show the path you should read your bible and find out what God thinks about your situation. Pray about the situation and fallow that up with more reading. I believe that if the bible doesn’t speak out against something that you want to do then I would say go for it. If it is truly not God’s will for you then he will make sure that you don’t succeed in your venture to make it clear that this is not what he wanted for you.

If you wanted to marry someone and your a Christian and the other person is a non Christian the bible speaks out against marring some that is “unevenly yoked”. Meaning someone that doesn’t have the same beliefs than you. So if you were wondering what’s God’s will for you and your boyfriend or girlfriend you might want to read the scripture and see what it says and you might find that God’s will for you is to not be “unevenly yoked” with him or her.

All that I am saying is that instead if depending on feelings or whatever people depend on to make decisions rely on the scriptures. I believe that you have the right to make decisions as long as your decision is within God’s law. The bible already has the guide lines for your life you just have to make yourself more knowledgeable of them so that God can “speak” or “tell you” what to do through them. Don’t waist your life waiting for the light from heaven instead look to the bible for God’s will and it will light your path.

My paster has been preaching on Ephesians 1 for the last couple weeks. He has been taking his time with it because there is all kinds of good stuff in the first chapter of Ephesians. For the people out there who don’t have the first chapter of Ephesians dedicated to memory don’t worry neither do I. I tried one time and I think that my memory is broken from my childhood from all the memorization. So here it is encase like me you forget try and read the whole thing I know that it looks like a lot but its worth it to read the whole thing its great.

EPH 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints that are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:
EPH 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
EPH 1:3 Blessed `be’ the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly `places’ in Christ:
EPH 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love:
EPH 1:5 having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
EPH 1:6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved:
EPH 1:7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
EPH 1:8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
EPH 1:9 making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
EPH 1:10 unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, `I say,’
EPH 1:11 in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will;
EPH 1:12 to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ:
EPH 1:13 in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,– in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
EPH 1:14 which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of `God’s’ own possession, unto the praise of his glory.
EPH 1:15 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which `ye show’ toward all the saints,
EPH 1:16 cease not to give thanks for you, making mention `of you’ in my prayers;
EPH 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;
EPH 1:18 having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
EPH 1:19 and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
EPH 1:20 which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly `places’,
EPH 1:21 far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
EPH 1:22 and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church,
EPH 1:23 which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

This is the America Standard version right from biblekeeper.com. I am a big fan of the ESV AKA the English Standard Version however. I love this passage it’s one of the greatest passages in the bible in my opinion. What makes it great is that basically summaries what the Christian life is all about. The first two verses are Paul’s greeting to the people of Ephesus, fallowed by one of the greatest outlines of the Christian walk and life.

I think that one of the most encouraging verses in this passage is in 4 when he talks about how we were chosen in him before the foundations of the world. Its a great comfort to know that we were chosen before the foundations of the world to be with the savior.

If you watch the general flow of this passage by paul, goes like this:

• we are blesses with spiritual blessings vs3
• God chose us before the foundations of the world vs.4
• God predestined or foreordained us for adoption in Christ vs.5
  
• why has he done this to the praise of his glorious grace vs.6
  
• what do we have in him Vs 7 we have redemption in his blood and forgiveness of sins. vs.7
  
• He is going to make known the Mysteries of his will Vs.9

From there he goes on to explain in detail about the inheritance we have in Christ. I think that this passage deserves a second look and some contemplation. I am not the best at explaining passages but I feel that I might of gotten you on the right path to fully understanding this passage.

My name is Will Burns and I was born in Birmingham, Alabama. I lived there for about 8 years while attending a Christian school and going to Briarwood Presbyterian Church. I guess you could say that this was my leaning ground where I got my start learning and growing in Christ.

We moved to Atlanta, Georgia at about age 8 and lived there for a couple years. In Georgia I attended Perimeter Pres. church and also went to school there. My father was transfered from his job to a position in south Florida.

We moved down to south Florida which was a big change from living in the south. We soon lost our southern accents and some of our southern ways of life all the time attending a great little presbyterian church called West Boca Pres. I was home schooled from about 3 grade on so most of my school life was spent at home. I attended Fort Lauderdale Christian School when it came time to venture off into the world of high school. After high school I went to a small community college where I did my AA requirements before attending FSU.

At FSU is where I think I grew the most in the Lord. I got involved with a campus ministry called RUF. Reformed university fellowship was a great place to learn more about the lord as well as getting to know fellow Christians from around the campus. RUF wasn’t the only great thing about living in Tallahassee.

My church, Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian, that I have been going to now for almost 3 years has been a great blessing. The Paster at COPC is Paster Bill Hobbs and is a great preacher. I have been blessed to be able to sit under his preaching for as long as I have. I believe that I have learned more under his preaching in these last 3 years than the sum of the preaching of my whole life. He is truly a great preacher. The congregation at COPC is great as well. I have never been to a church that had a congregation that enjoyed and talked so much about the sermons. People at this church truly took to heart the sermons and will spend hours after the service talking about what was preached. This to me was amazing I had never seen people so existed about the message and I found that I had never been so happy in a church as I am in Calvary.

Having said that I feel that you might have an idea of where I am coming as well as a little background on me. I hope that my upcoming post are uplifting and that you will find them helpful in your own life.

-In love

Will