A Bible discussion hosted by Four Seasons Community Church.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Hebrews 12
Hi everyone, Sorry for the late start this week. The new reading plan is posted on the church website, www.fourseasonschurch.org. Leave your thoughts and questions.
9 comments:
Anonymous
said...
One thought as I read about Jacob and Esau, it shows you cannot favor one child= all of our children are special!! By the way, this reading plan works great.
I used to think that when something bad happened that it was God's punishment for sin. Then I learned of God's love for each of us and that He does not cause bad things to happen. Bad things happen because of choices. These verses in Hebrews tell us that because of God's love for us he disciplines us. I know that during rough patches in my life, I learn to rely more on Him and have a closer relationship with Him and in the end I can be thankful for the rough patch that brought me to that closer relationship. Is God using the bad choices that either we make or someone else makes to discipline us?
I don't know that God is disciplining us for someone else's bad decision. I believe that there are natural consequences of our decisions that sometimes impact others. However, the good news is that God can supernaturally intervene in those natural consequences to teach us something we might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn in a concrete manner. More often than we know, though, I believe God supernaturally protects us from the bad decisions of others.
One good thing about God's discipline is that He loves us and we are His. If He is treating us as His children, am I correct that Jesus would be our big brother? That is awesome!!
Learning from our bad choices (or the choices of others) and experiencing discipline are two different things. One has its source in us, the other in God. Despite this God can use both to accomplish His will in our lives. Vicky, you are right that God does not cause bad things to happen. His discipline is not a bad thing, but we may perceive it that way the same as a child might when disciplined by parents. Sometimes discipline is painful, mostly I think it involves waiting...who likes that? The point however is not punishment, it is corrective. When we adjust our lives to where God wants, or when we understand the truth He wants us to see, the discipline will end.
There is no Scriptural support for this, but I heard by grandfather say once that he was told growing up that the mark of Cain was dark skin, as in Negroes. This is bad theology and one example of how the Bible can be used improperly to support an agenda. This also has to be wrong because of your second question. Yes, according to the Bible, everyone died in the flood but Noah and his family. I don't think we can say what the mark was, other than it must have been obvious to those who looked at him. Maybe it was something like a tattoo? Maybe he became pale like an albino? All we can do is guess.
These readings have so many lessons in them. I think Mike and Jeremy could preach on them a year. By the way I was thinking about God disciplining us. If it means He loves us and we are His, that outweighs the being disciplined. To me, if I am His, that is awesome in itself.
I am still pondering this discipline stuff but I think it is now more of trying to relate it to personal events in my own life instead of just understanding that no matter if it was the source of choices or discipline it was/is a good thing. All of the rough spots in my life have led me to where I am today-to church, to God, to this church, to my friends and most important to a closer walk with God. I searched this week for the Bible verse that says to be joyful in the trials that you face. It is James 1:2-4 and Romans 5:3-5. Thanks everyone for helping me with this--Love you guys!
9 comments:
One thought as I read about Jacob and Esau, it shows you cannot favor one child= all of our children are special!! By the way, this reading plan works great.
I used to think that when something bad happened that it was God's punishment for sin. Then I learned of God's love for each of us and that He does not cause bad things to happen. Bad things happen because of choices. These verses in Hebrews tell us that because of God's love for us he disciplines us. I know that during rough patches in my life, I learn to rely more on Him and have a closer relationship with Him and in the end I can be thankful for the rough patch that brought me to that closer relationship. Is God using the bad choices that either we make or someone else makes to discipline us?
I don't know that God is disciplining us for someone else's bad decision. I believe that there are natural consequences of our decisions that sometimes impact others. However, the good news is that God can supernaturally intervene in those natural consequences to teach us something we might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn in a concrete manner. More often than we know, though, I believe God supernaturally protects us from the bad decisions of others.
One good thing about God's discipline is that He loves us and we are His. If He is treating us as His children, am I correct that Jesus would be our big brother? That is awesome!!
Learning from our bad choices (or the choices of others) and experiencing discipline are two different things. One has its source in us, the other in God. Despite this God can use both to accomplish His will in our lives. Vicky, you are right that God does not cause bad things to happen. His discipline is not a bad thing, but we may perceive it that way the same as a child might when disciplined by parents. Sometimes discipline is painful, mostly I think it involves waiting...who likes that? The point however is not punishment, it is corrective. When we adjust our lives to where God wants, or when we understand the truth He wants us to see, the discipline will end.
I was wondering, is there anything listed about what mark God put on Cain? Was his decendents killed in the flood?
There is no Scriptural support for this, but I heard by grandfather say once that he was told growing up that the mark of Cain was dark skin, as in Negroes. This is bad theology and one example of how the Bible can be used improperly to support an agenda. This also has to be wrong because of your second question. Yes, according to the Bible, everyone died in the flood but Noah and his family. I don't think we can say what the mark was, other than it must have been obvious to those who looked at him. Maybe it was something like a tattoo? Maybe he became pale like an albino? All we can do is guess.
These readings have so many lessons in them. I think Mike and Jeremy could preach on them a year. By the way I was thinking about God disciplining us. If it means He loves us and we are His, that outweighs the being disciplined. To me, if I am His, that is awesome in itself.
I am still pondering this discipline stuff but I think it is now more of trying to relate it to personal events in my own life instead of just understanding that no matter if it was the source of choices or discipline it was/is a good thing. All of the rough spots in my life have led me to where I am today-to church, to God, to this church, to my friends and most important to a closer walk with God. I searched this week for the Bible verse that says to be joyful in the trials that you face. It is James 1:2-4 and Romans 5:3-5. Thanks everyone for helping me with this--Love you guys!
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