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I came across this quote from Karen’s email list a little while back (she sends quotes each day):

The devout student is the best of all students. There are too many who are devout, but not students. They will not accept the discipline of study and of learning, and they even look with suspicion upon the further knowledge which study brings to men. There are equally too many who are students, but not devout. They are interested too much in intellectual knowledge, and too little in the life of prayer and in the life of service of their fellow men. A man would do well to aim at being not only a student, and not only devout, but at being a devout student.
–William Barclay

Recently, I received this email from a friend who wanted some clarification on 1 Timothy 3:16. In some versions it says, “God was manifested in the flesh,” while in others, “he who was manifested in the flesh.” Below is the note I received:

Howdy Sean,

I did not see a good spot to put this in the blog, but am in a conversation with a friend at work about the Unitarian view vs. the Oneness view, not to mention preexistence discussion. I could not see anything about 1 Timothy 3, specifically verse 16. The point I think he is trying to make is that God made himself flesh. I do not specifically read that nor do I see how this fits into the rest of 1 Timothy. In addition, that verse is indented in the Bibles I have been reading which suggests a quote, but I cannot find it. Finally, I see Theos in the greek, though some translations have he. Not sure what to believe there.

Wow. Powerful for sure. She speaks to a common misconception in the church today which makes people think that they cannot be holy. Yet page after page we see the call to “be holy as I am holy” and the like - with words which tell us the LORD will enable and empower us to do so. So which sin, which area of your life is too powerful or tied down which cannot be overcome and broken by the power of the God who can create a universe with a word?

Our desire should be to give it all to Him. If one recognizes what the LORD has done through the Messiah on behalf of us, shouldn’t that love push us, motivate, even control us to give love back to Him?

A few weeks back our Australian brothers and sisters held their first Theological Conference for those who believe in the gospel of the kingdom and the creed of Jesus. A participant and coordinator of the conference, Paul Herring, emailed me a link to the audio files and papers (click here). Since the audios were in .wma format and many iPods cannot play this file type, I have converted them to .mp3 and produced the table below. I have only listened to the first talk by our esteemed colleague, Greg Deuble, and enjoyed it very much. On a technical note, the first and sixth talks had to be extracted from the video recording so there is a bit of room noise on them but they are still quite intelligible. If you have a moment, visit their site, called Restoration Fellowship of Australia. Also, for a detailed schedule of the conference, including pictures of the presenters as well as abstracts of each of the talks, click here.

This past week we went to Camp Pinnacle in Voorhesville, NY with a crew of fifty teenagers studying the topic Walk in Love. It was a wonderful time to address a variety of issues that teens regularly face in school and at home. The goal was to show them how to follow Jesus in a way that demonstrates love even when everyone else is following the crowd.

Years ago when I first began to take a look at Messianic Judaism I was under the impression that they were Jewish yet believed that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Jewish Messiah. But I soon discovered that this was not the case. In fact modern Messianic Judaism – to use a Scriptural description – is really more like a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.

I’m sure many people have heard about “Jews for Jesus”. And perhaps just as I did originally, many may perceive them to be just what their catchy group name suggests, Jews that believe in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. Some may even perceive them to be a branch of Judaism that is simply reclaiming the faith that Jesus, his Apostles, and Paul all practiced in the 1^st Century. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Powerful words. Something to think about

Which Jesus do you follow? The one of Scripture and history or the one of you’re making and fantasy?

1 John 5:20
And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

The words “this is the true God” could either be applied to “him who is true” or “his Son Jesus Christ.” The Greek is ambiguous on this. Thus, in order to determine which interpretation is the best, we need to look at the theology, in particular, of John and 1-3 John. In this case, there is a very similar statement in John 17.3.

There are common presuppositions that everyone brings towards reading the Scriptures that are entirely unwarranted. These are brought by both those who have faith in the Scriptures, and those who wish to invalidate them. And both views need light shed on them. I hope to use some of NT Wright’s introductory “The New Testament and the People of God” in helping us understand these issues.

In the New Testament field, some critics have made a great song and dance about the fact that the details of Jesus’ life, or the fact of his resurrection, cannot be proved ’scientifically’; philosophical rigour should compel them to admit that the same problem pertains to the vast range of ordinary human knowledge, including the implicit claim that knowledge requires empirical verification.

Each month ChristianAudio.com offers a free audio book download. This month (which is soon to end) the featured item is Brother Laurence’s Practicing the Presence of God unabridged. To download it click the link below:

Practicing the Presence of God

Don’t forget to enter the coupon code JULY2008. Here is a description from ChristianAudio.com:

“My most usual method is this simple attention, an affectionate regard for God to whom I find myself often attached with greater sweetness and delight than that of an infant at the mother’s breast. To choose an expression, I would call this state the bosom of God, for the inexpressible sweetness which I taste and experience there.” This is how “Brother Lawrence” describes his constant practice of speaking with and reflecting upon God amidst the mundane tasks of life. Nicholas Herman (c. 1605-1691) was born in Lorraine, France, and served as a cook and shoe repairer at a Carmelite monastery. He was only a lay member of the order, and walked with a limp from injuries incurred as a soldier, yet his private thoughts provide a wellspring of devotional insight and refreshment.