January 2012
4 posts
You would expect
Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 1 Corinthians 6:3
Paul elevates his psychotic sarcastic rant and now thrusts us into position to judge angels - Angels. Beings that the bible rarely touches on in terms of morality and status. Paul takes aim at the judgmental intellect that the Corinthians seemed to possess (such that they would...
To judge the world with inner turmoil?
Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 1 Corinthians 6:2
Paul moves on to point a finger at the Corinthians, and without looking at the entire context it would suddenly thrust a lot of responsibility upon us -what is this? Is not Jesus the judge of the world? The saints? Judge the world?
Any...
Wanderer
peekcel:
on days like this, i really miss being in melbourne.
where i can take off and go anywhere, just because.
You and me both.
Blessed are the sheep
Christian, here is a blessing for you from Jesus: “Blessed are you who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29
@johnpiper
This struck me hard as I sat down after my evening run. It’s a verse that I’ve overlooked time and time again and one I hope that you do not make the mistake of overlooking it as I have time and time again.
The context? Thomas. Doubting...
December 2011
3 posts
2012
The year everything is supposed to end.
We all know that it’s only because the Mayan’s didn’t think that far ahead.
You
He and She were chatting about her particularly dreary day.
He: You seem like you’re having a grand time either way.
She: Whatever distracts me, I guess.
He: Whatever makes you happy.
She moved her tiles on the scrabble board, completing the word, “You”.
Inspired by a true event. Perhaps platonic and unplanned, but I thought it was sweet.
Thrilling and Amazing! 15 Tips for an... →
saentinel:
3. Steal soap from your hotel and give it to kids in developing countries as a present. Studies have shown that distributing soap to kids in poor countries saves lives. Travelers are always thinking up things to give to kids that ask for handouts (pencils, erasers, candies) but nothing beats the gift of clean hands. And don’t just collect 1 or 2 from your hotel bathroom. Hit the...
November 2011
18 posts
Don't be an idiot Christian
Teacher: Can you see God?
Class: No.
Teacher: Can you touch God?
Class: No.
Teacher: Then there isn't a God!
*Student raises their hand and says...*
Student: Sir, can you see your brain?
Teacher: Not at the present moment. You could accelerate the process but I'm afraid that would be very illegal.
PSA, don't be an idiot, my Christian brothers. Silly anecdotes like this should stay what they are - Silly. Anecdotes.
Maybe I'll start another tumblr.
Keep each other in check
When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? … 1 Corinthians 6:1
Rough ride ahead, but we’ll steer through, God-willing.
However, 6:1 is easy because it echoes something I’ve been saying before - as much as possible we should keep each other in check.
The words go to law before the unrighteous (instead of...
Written Kitten
I suppose this is something I should try. A Writers Block Aid eh? And it rewards me with kittens? Count me in! … What do I write about anyway? I don’t even know what I’d want from a kitten. Do I get a real one, or just a picture? I’ve got 9gag and lolcats for the latter, so this isn’t really the best aid… is it? I mean, I like cats, but I like dogs more....
The Perfect Text
Have you ever tried drafting the perfect text? Something that sums up in 160 characters exactly what you feel, exactly what you want, and yet exactly enough to uplift or shatter a friendship to it’s deepest depths?
Something that ends up being “Hey, it’s been awhile…”, because you couldn’t take the first step into what could be your best chance to your worst...
Remove him to save him
God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” … 1 Corinthians 5:13
Getting scary? You bet. If you thought I was trying to dodge a hard line Pauline principle before, this one is lots harder. Paul has dropped the niceness and has told the Corinthians - God judges those outside (of the church), Purge the evil person from among you.
So, now not only are we to...
We are to judge
For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? … 1 Corinthians 5:12
Looking further and indepth into 1 Corinthians has given me interestingly new insight on a number of previously grey and morally ambiguous lines that I thought the bible had.
Now, the bible says that we are to judge those inside the church?
What I don’t think...
A difficult place to be
But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one… 1 Corinthians 5:11
To add to the severity of the past few verses, Paul further adds that we shouldn’t even be eating with one, which in the past was an allegory for...
Stay away
… not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world… 1 Corinthians 5:10
Mentioned before was the people that we are called to stay away from, but what makes the next verse pivotal isn’t what it says (the sexually immoral of this world, the greedy, swindlers and idolators are not what...
Responsible Love
When you really matter to someone, that person will always make time for you. No excuses, no lies, no broken promises.
As much as I am an idealist, I’ve learned to add realist parameters to the ideals that I hold. One of them involves inane, idealistic bullshit like the one above. Do you know why I think the above is stupid?
It’s selfish.
Think about it, if you really matter to...
Associative
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people… 1 Corinthians 5:9
This is certainly a verse that can be taken out of context very easily - pinpointing how we should avoid the sexually immoral (which, in todays modern world would really mean locking ourselves away into a monastery), but reading on it becomes clearer what it really means - that we shouldn’t...
Bitter first, happiness never.
Chinese people are familiar with the adage “Bitter first, sweetness later”, which encourages people to get the bad stuff out of the way before you have the good so that you can enjoy it better.
That’s bad advice, I feel. Stop it. You’ll never truly be happy if you’re going to keep waiting until there’s no more bitterness. You can control it to a degree on your...
October 2011
2 posts
Old Testament Bread
Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth… 1 Corinthians 5:8
As mostly gentile as my audience tends to be, it’s not in our best interest to celebrate Passover because it’s neither our culture or terribly relevant to us anymore, as it was to Paul and the Jews of his time.
...
September 2011
6 posts
The Season to be humble
Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed… 1 Corinthians 5:7
The passover was a time of great anticipation - the Israelite slaves were for the most part spared from the terrible plagues that was ongoing in Egypt, and everyone knew someone thing was up, something was going to happen. Then Moses...
5 tags
wanderlust, wonderment and words: The Love of God. →
twenteetoo:
The question I’d like to ask you today is not, “How much do you love God?” … but “Do you realize how much God loves you?”
I felt that was the most important bit, follow the link to read the full story.
Stuff I can't write in ads.
We’ve all been there, you’re leaving the house for a relaxing day out and you spy your DSLR and try not to look it in the eye of its lens. You had a good relationship with it once, taking it wherever you went in your youthful enthusiasm. Then, one day, you decided it was just too heavy and bulky to be taken everywhere – maybe when you go traveling or when you know there will be a photo...
At yeast it's good.
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? … 1 Corinthians 5:6
For kicks and giggles, I googled the phrase, “What’s the deal with the Israelites and yeast?”
The standard answer to the aversion towards yeast in Israelic practice is their hurry out of Egypt and it’s symbolism to sin - this is one of the verses that...
August 2011
5 posts
Delivered to Satan, awaiting Reply
…you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 5:5
This is not a verse that’s alone in the New Testament, the one that champions love, forgiveness and grace; as compared to the wrath and anger of God which we always see in the Old Testament. Paul does this in atleast half of his letters -...
“Then Van Helsing turned and said gravely. So gravely that I could not help...”
– Dracula, Bram Stoker (via bingstagram)
In My Name, never in vain.
…When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus… 1 Corinthians 5:4
While we most certainly do not need to channel the spirit of Paul when rebuking our peers, it is helpful to note that we should always rebuke others in the name and power of the Lord Jesus Christ - which includes the spirit of love that He has whenever he...
July 2011
8 posts
Judge, or you will be.
For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing.. 1 Corinthians 5:3
The question that’s probably foremost in your mind (because it is in mine) is how can Paul judge from afar? That’s two things that Paul is doing that sounds horrible - he’s judging (judge not or you will be judged) and doing...
Deselection
And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you… 1 Corinthians 5:2
Paul is rarely apologetic, and he isn’t here - if there is someone doing wrong in your congregation - remove him.
This doesn’t sit well with Christians today (or, conversely, sits too well with Christians today), so I hope to quantify what Paul is trying...
Judge, or you will be judged
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife… 1 Corinthians 5:1
Liberal Christians today, probably spurned by their conservative past, have begun to become tolerant of many things. It’s common to see Christians with tattoos, drinking with mates, and even smoking; but then...
By Any Means Necessary
What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness? 1 Corinthians 4:21
As the saying goes, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. So it is with dealing with people.
Paul is giving the Corinthians a choice. I can adhere to “spare the rod, spoil the child”, or you can wise up and we can talk about this. The main idea being that there is no...
Learn to select - it is your right.
I used to have a stack of AsiaPac books - you know the ones. They covered and translated comics originally in chinese that were based on chinese mythology and philosophies, very often the concepts of Confucianism, Tao, and Zen.
One of my favourites was Mencius ( 孟子), lauded as the best Confucian after Confucius himself. One of his quotes I’ve held fast to is this
If I see something good,...
Two Sides a little far gone.
JO: Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
PW : Your Worst Life Now: Paul Washer shares with you all about your lack of human potential and your total depravity.
I think a balance can be struck between the two. Don't you?
Weary
Theodicy to my Weltschmerz,
The salve to my disdain.
That my Lord and God knows all my hurts, and brings me strength again.
June 2011
19 posts
Whose Power?
For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power… 1 Corinthians 4:20
“Lord, Lord - I have done many things in your name!”
“Have you?”
“Yes! I’ve donated money to your church, I sat on the council, I do some gardening once in awhile…”
“Yes, yes, of course, I’ve seen all that. However, whose power did you run...
“If you give love
I’ll return the love and you will see
So much more than...”
– Third Day
It is far more important to love others through Love for your creator and Lord, than to love your creator and Lord, through the love you have for others.
Talk is cheap, Power is pricey.
But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power… 1 Corinthians 4:19
It sounds, perhaps, a little intimidating. Paul isn’t saying that he will come back to Corinth (God Willing) to hear the talk of these people, but rather their power - because talk is cheap, power is so much more than that.
However, Paul...