What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ?
Be willing to hear His words
Have a desire to pray
Readily repentant
Friendly to all
Humble
Sharing of our abundance
Undoubting
Watchful
Always striving to return to Him
Diligent in serving others
Committed
These are just a few of the traits or qualities that true disciples of Christ have. This is who disciples of Christ have become or at least are trying to become. Being a disciple, to me, is more about just doing these things. It's about being like Christ.
I sing the song"I Am a Child of God" most nights to my kids at bedtime. I change the word "do" in the phrase "teach me all that I must do" to "be" when I sing it to them. Via got mad at me the other night. She insisted that it is, of course, "do" in the song. (She also insists that church songs are to be sung only at church, and I can't sing them to her at bedtime *eye roll.*) While she is correct about the actual wording of the song, I still like my way more :) I tried to explain - to a 2 year old, 3 in 13 days! - that it's about who we are and not just about what we do.
I emphasize just, though, because I do believe that our actions are the greatest indicators of who we truly are most of the time. But if we are simply going through the motions of prayer, church attendance, and partaking of the Sacrament, Heavenly Father will know. He knows who we really are. Doing these things are definitely important, but they are designed for us to do them and become someone other than our natural, mortal selves. We must be striving to be while we are doing all these things.
One of the things that I will be working on next month is prayer. I'm horrible at praying consistently. It's so easy for me to fall out of the habit and so hard for me to get back in for some reason. I've noticed lately, though, that neither of my kids really have that desire to pray. I definitely need to do a better job of being an example of it, especially while I am at home with them all the time for the next few months. It's up to me to show them how to be a disciple of Christ. I'd better practice what I preach, right? ;)
Friday, October 31, 2014
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Cut It Off, Pluck It Out
Perhaps you have read the scriptures in the New Testament that talk about cutting off the hand or foot or plucking out the eye if they offend you. Yuck. Being maimed... not my idea of a good time. Of course, Christ is speaking in yet another parable ;) and Joseph Smith made it nice and easy with the translation he gave. He stated, "And a man's hand is his friend, and his foot, also; and a man's eye are they of his own household."
Well, keeping that in mind, let me give you the actual scriptures found in Mark 9. "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched (v 43). And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell... (v 45). And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire (v 47)." Nice and graphic, right? Going into the medical field you would think that blood and amputations wouldn't bother me, but I'm really getting worse as I get older. I read Oedipus the King last week and nearly gagged when he gouged out his own eyes. Maybe it's just the pregnancy... But I digress...
The first thing that comes to mind - even knowing the true meaning of these verses - is "aren't we supposed to be friendly with everyone and be kind to all? Aren't we supposed to include everyone, especially family?" Yes. Kindness and inclusion are key principles of the Gospel, but we can also go back to Nephi having to slay Laban: "It is better that one man perish than a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief" (1 Nephi 4:13). If someone is dragging us down, dragging the light of Christ out of us through temptations, it is best that we cut off the source and try to keep ourselves and posterity on the right path. I read last week that it was better to have 4 quarters than 100 pennies for friends. Glean what you will from that; I thought it was interesting :)
The second astonishing questions one may ask is, "even family?" Yep. Even family applies here. Don't get me wrong, I completely love my family. All of them. In-laws just the same as my side. But there may come a point where it's just not conducive to be around a certain family member. I love my father. I may pity him more, but I still love him. I just cannot be around him much. It is more detrimental for myself and my family to spend time with him than to simply keep a certain distance while staying in touch. I've been working on being kind the last few years (I wasn't before; I was still pretty angry), and including him if I feel like the situation presents, but I can't offer him a home. Much of his family has unfortunately had to "pluck him out" as well in order to keep their immediate families in tact and - perhaps just as important - not allowing him a leg to stand on after he's cut off all the others (see what I did there? ;) My mother tried to make a secure family with him for years but finally had to pluck him out and leave. It was better for everyone. So, sad as it it, this principle, I truly believe, applies to anyone that can bring us down instead of lifting us up.
One thing that my assignment prompt brought up that I hadn't thought much about was the idea of being free especially regarding the Word of Wisdom and staying chaste. It's such a social norm to drink and sleep around these days. It looks so glamorous, but they don't really show you the consequences on Tv shows. I lived the consequences of an alcoholic parent and a broken family. I've seen the consequences of unplanned pregnancies outside of marriage. Our first two kids weren't planned, but we've brought them into a stable marriage and have both committed to them and their wellbeing. Without saying that all children bring with them is bondage, there truly is a certain amount of freedom that you lose when you become a parent, and when they are brought into a sticky situation, the less free you are as the situation brings even more stress and hardships with it. You can lose your freedom to alcohol, drugs, even food addictions, STDs, or a sudden pregnancy that you may not have wanted. We have the choice to cut out these temptations and the people that bring them. Harsh and sad, but I really believe it is true. Seek the things and people that edify and uplift you. Don't let anyone drag you down. You have the choice to be free.
Well, keeping that in mind, let me give you the actual scriptures found in Mark 9. "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched (v 43). And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell... (v 45). And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire (v 47)." Nice and graphic, right? Going into the medical field you would think that blood and amputations wouldn't bother me, but I'm really getting worse as I get older. I read Oedipus the King last week and nearly gagged when he gouged out his own eyes. Maybe it's just the pregnancy... But I digress...
The first thing that comes to mind - even knowing the true meaning of these verses - is "aren't we supposed to be friendly with everyone and be kind to all? Aren't we supposed to include everyone, especially family?" Yes. Kindness and inclusion are key principles of the Gospel, but we can also go back to Nephi having to slay Laban: "It is better that one man perish than a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief" (1 Nephi 4:13). If someone is dragging us down, dragging the light of Christ out of us through temptations, it is best that we cut off the source and try to keep ourselves and posterity on the right path. I read last week that it was better to have 4 quarters than 100 pennies for friends. Glean what you will from that; I thought it was interesting :)
The second astonishing questions one may ask is, "even family?" Yep. Even family applies here. Don't get me wrong, I completely love my family. All of them. In-laws just the same as my side. But there may come a point where it's just not conducive to be around a certain family member. I love my father. I may pity him more, but I still love him. I just cannot be around him much. It is more detrimental for myself and my family to spend time with him than to simply keep a certain distance while staying in touch. I've been working on being kind the last few years (I wasn't before; I was still pretty angry), and including him if I feel like the situation presents, but I can't offer him a home. Much of his family has unfortunately had to "pluck him out" as well in order to keep their immediate families in tact and - perhaps just as important - not allowing him a leg to stand on after he's cut off all the others (see what I did there? ;) My mother tried to make a secure family with him for years but finally had to pluck him out and leave. It was better for everyone. So, sad as it it, this principle, I truly believe, applies to anyone that can bring us down instead of lifting us up.
One thing that my assignment prompt brought up that I hadn't thought much about was the idea of being free especially regarding the Word of Wisdom and staying chaste. It's such a social norm to drink and sleep around these days. It looks so glamorous, but they don't really show you the consequences on Tv shows. I lived the consequences of an alcoholic parent and a broken family. I've seen the consequences of unplanned pregnancies outside of marriage. Our first two kids weren't planned, but we've brought them into a stable marriage and have both committed to them and their wellbeing. Without saying that all children bring with them is bondage, there truly is a certain amount of freedom that you lose when you become a parent, and when they are brought into a sticky situation, the less free you are as the situation brings even more stress and hardships with it. You can lose your freedom to alcohol, drugs, even food addictions, STDs, or a sudden pregnancy that you may not have wanted. We have the choice to cut out these temptations and the people that bring them. Harsh and sad, but I really believe it is true. Seek the things and people that edify and uplift you. Don't let anyone drag you down. You have the choice to be free.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Hunger and Thirst
This week we studied Christ's sermon about the bread of life found in John chapter 6 among other things, but this is what struck me the most. In Sunday School this week someone mentioned that being hungry and being thirsty are two very different things. I really liked the comment, but it really hit me as I was reading this story.
In John 6:35 it states "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." I loved that! He specifically gives the difference between hunger and thirst and how to combat them. If we come unto Christ, we will never hunger. If we believe Christ, we will never thirst.
I'm sitting here just having eaten a frozen burrito. I was hungry, but I wasn't thirsty. Well, after eating (the entire burrito in about a minute) I'm thirsty now. They build upon each other. If we but come unto Christ we will be inclined to believe Him, I think. We will want to know more. We will want to keep coming back and will then believe more.
I'm also taking a nutrition class this semester - you wouldn't think so since I just ate a frozen burrito ;) but I am - but it made me think about how we need both food and water to provide for all the processes of our body. We need both. I also likened this with the commandment to "feast upon the words of Christ" and I would add "Atonement" to words. With Thanksgiving coming up I thought about how a feast really is about eating and drinking. I don't ever have my Thanksgiving without a few bottles of Martinelli's ;)
This all led me, of course, to the Sacrament. Why don't we, as Latter-day Saints, just have a cracker and call it good? Or a piece of cake? A piece of cake would be great, don't you think? (I think I'll actually have some cake after I'm done with this post!) We take the Sacrament with bread and water because 1) Christ is the "bread of life" and water is the most pure drink there is (and as for Christ and His disciples, the pure wine), and 2) we need both; we need bread and water to sustain our mortal lives. We eat of His flesh and drink of His blood because they are both different. We needed Him to come in the flesh and teach us the Gospel and we need to believe that the Atonement, performed with His precious blood, is the way to everlasting life.
In John 6:35 it states "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." I loved that! He specifically gives the difference between hunger and thirst and how to combat them. If we come unto Christ, we will never hunger. If we believe Christ, we will never thirst.
I'm sitting here just having eaten a frozen burrito. I was hungry, but I wasn't thirsty. Well, after eating (the entire burrito in about a minute) I'm thirsty now. They build upon each other. If we but come unto Christ we will be inclined to believe Him, I think. We will want to know more. We will want to keep coming back and will then believe more.
I'm also taking a nutrition class this semester - you wouldn't think so since I just ate a frozen burrito ;) but I am - but it made me think about how we need both food and water to provide for all the processes of our body. We need both. I also likened this with the commandment to "feast upon the words of Christ" and I would add "Atonement" to words. With Thanksgiving coming up I thought about how a feast really is about eating and drinking. I don't ever have my Thanksgiving without a few bottles of Martinelli's ;)
This all led me, of course, to the Sacrament. Why don't we, as Latter-day Saints, just have a cracker and call it good? Or a piece of cake? A piece of cake would be great, don't you think? (I think I'll actually have some cake after I'm done with this post!) We take the Sacrament with bread and water because 1) Christ is the "bread of life" and water is the most pure drink there is (and as for Christ and His disciples, the pure wine), and 2) we need both; we need bread and water to sustain our mortal lives. We eat of His flesh and drink of His blood because they are both different. We needed Him to come in the flesh and teach us the Gospel and we need to believe that the Atonement, performed with His precious blood, is the way to everlasting life.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Say What You Mean
So this week my topic is The Lord Often Taught With Parables, and I have a set of questions to answer for the assignment. But first, let's talk about why. Why did He talk in parables when He could have just come right out and say what He meant? In one of my communications classes - the only one I ever took, actually - our instructor would always say "say what you mean, mean what you say." Great advice, especially for someone (like me) who doesn't like to say much of anything concerning feelings and emotions. My poor husband can attest. It was a rough first year of marriage gaining some ground on communication ;) He still brings us the time I locked myself in the bathroom because I didn't want to talk at all. I didn't grow up expressing my feelings, and I had no idea how to do it. It still takes me a while sometimes to even process how I'm feeling and why. And as for the "mean what you say" part... Well, I think most of us would agree that when a woman says she's "fine", she's not fine.
So why can't I just talk in parables and similes and metaphors or even through actions - such as locking myself in a bathroom?? Why am I expected to come out and say exactly how I feel?? Easy answer: I'm not Christ. The other answer is that a marriage or close relationships are completely different than Christ teaching and instructing. If Christ had said exactly what He meant the scriptures would be at least twice as long! He meant many things so He simply told a short story that covered those many meanings. We all interpret the scriptures a little bit differently, and even personally we interpret them differently at different times. Why use many words when you can say so much with just a few?
Another reason for this way of communication is given right in between the parables. In Matthew 13:10-11 it says, "Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." We only understand the parables as much as we are willing to. If we don't put for the effort to see and hear the meanings we simply won't understand them, and then our understanding in halted. Line upon line. Precept upon precept.
The other thing I wanted to mention that I thought was interesting was the relationship between the word "parable" coming from the word "parabola." Just in case it has been about 10 years since you've taken a geometry class - like me - here is a picture:
Last week in my history class we studied the long journey and the monomyth. They explained this by using a picture kind of like this. Theirs was better, but I couldn't find it. Anyway, during this journey or story (parable) imagine you start at one of the arrow points in the "known" world. We cross over the x-axis (time) into the "unknown" world and go through this process of learning and becoming. We follow the parabola back into the known world and have brought back with us some kind of knowledge. I just thought it was interesting to apply this parabolic journey into the idea of the parables of Christ as well.
Okay, onto the questions and their corresponding parables...
What describes the future growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how do you explain the remarkable growth of the Church considering it is fairly new compared to most world religions and started in the small American frontier?
I had never really thought about how very new this church is in relation to Islam or Catholicism and others. And it has grown quite large very quickly. I've heard it and said it many times before: The Gospel is perfect, the Church is not. And I do believe that. But we must be doing something right! We can compare this growth to the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32). It started with one boy and one question. So small. The mustard seed is "the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree."
Why does the Church send out so many missionaries?
We believe that it is our responsibility to gather others into the Gospel. We can compare this to the parable of the net found in Matthew 13:47-50. "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind."
Why are some members of the Church willing to sacrifice so much worldly wealth and recognition in order to maintain membership in the Church?
A pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46). Those that see the Church as this pearl with great value are willing to give up everything else to obtain it. The merchant man "went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
Why so some members leave the Church?
This is where our roots come in. I love Elder Nelson's talk about religion, Let Your Faith Show. "Religion" comes from the word "ligate" which means to tie back to. Religion provides the means to tie us back to Christ. Are we tied to Christ through our religion or are we simply tied to the Church? There are many reasons why people leave the Church, and I'm definitely not going to delve into them right now. It's lunch time, and I'm hungry ;) But if we don't accept the Church as simply a means for tying us to Christ and the fullness of His Gospel then I can definitely see how easy it would be to leave the Church and all its Mormon culture. We have to find root in Christ in order to survive this culture sometimes.
Let's look at Matthew 13:3-8, the parable of the seeds. "Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the throne sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit." Whether we are in or out of the LDS Church, we must find root in Christ if we expect to grow instead of wither away.
There is happiness in the Gospel, which means we can find happiness in the Church. We just have to be willing to look past the "known" sometimes and feast upon the "unknown."
So why can't I just talk in parables and similes and metaphors or even through actions - such as locking myself in a bathroom?? Why am I expected to come out and say exactly how I feel?? Easy answer: I'm not Christ. The other answer is that a marriage or close relationships are completely different than Christ teaching and instructing. If Christ had said exactly what He meant the scriptures would be at least twice as long! He meant many things so He simply told a short story that covered those many meanings. We all interpret the scriptures a little bit differently, and even personally we interpret them differently at different times. Why use many words when you can say so much with just a few?
Another reason for this way of communication is given right in between the parables. In Matthew 13:10-11 it says, "Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." We only understand the parables as much as we are willing to. If we don't put for the effort to see and hear the meanings we simply won't understand them, and then our understanding in halted. Line upon line. Precept upon precept.
The other thing I wanted to mention that I thought was interesting was the relationship between the word "parable" coming from the word "parabola." Just in case it has been about 10 years since you've taken a geometry class - like me - here is a picture:
Last week in my history class we studied the long journey and the monomyth. They explained this by using a picture kind of like this. Theirs was better, but I couldn't find it. Anyway, during this journey or story (parable) imagine you start at one of the arrow points in the "known" world. We cross over the x-axis (time) into the "unknown" world and go through this process of learning and becoming. We follow the parabola back into the known world and have brought back with us some kind of knowledge. I just thought it was interesting to apply this parabolic journey into the idea of the parables of Christ as well.
Okay, onto the questions and their corresponding parables...
What describes the future growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how do you explain the remarkable growth of the Church considering it is fairly new compared to most world religions and started in the small American frontier?
I had never really thought about how very new this church is in relation to Islam or Catholicism and others. And it has grown quite large very quickly. I've heard it and said it many times before: The Gospel is perfect, the Church is not. And I do believe that. But we must be doing something right! We can compare this growth to the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32). It started with one boy and one question. So small. The mustard seed is "the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree."
Why does the Church send out so many missionaries?
We believe that it is our responsibility to gather others into the Gospel. We can compare this to the parable of the net found in Matthew 13:47-50. "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind."
Why are some members of the Church willing to sacrifice so much worldly wealth and recognition in order to maintain membership in the Church?
A pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46). Those that see the Church as this pearl with great value are willing to give up everything else to obtain it. The merchant man "went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
Why so some members leave the Church?
This is where our roots come in. I love Elder Nelson's talk about religion, Let Your Faith Show. "Religion" comes from the word "ligate" which means to tie back to. Religion provides the means to tie us back to Christ. Are we tied to Christ through our religion or are we simply tied to the Church? There are many reasons why people leave the Church, and I'm definitely not going to delve into them right now. It's lunch time, and I'm hungry ;) But if we don't accept the Church as simply a means for tying us to Christ and the fullness of His Gospel then I can definitely see how easy it would be to leave the Church and all its Mormon culture. We have to find root in Christ in order to survive this culture sometimes.
Let's look at Matthew 13:3-8, the parable of the seeds. "Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the throne sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit." Whether we are in or out of the LDS Church, we must find root in Christ if we expect to grow instead of wither away.
There is happiness in the Gospel, which means we can find happiness in the Church. We just have to be willing to look past the "known" sometimes and feast upon the "unknown."
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Faith Precedes the Miracle
It hit me one day as I was sitting in seminary in high school - either my Freshman or Sophomore year, I don't remember - but for some reason it hit home that faith precedes the miracle. There is some kind of faith, somewhere, from someone... before the miracle happens. It's like fuel for an engine; if there is no gas in the car, it won't start. It's that simple. Maybe your car is completely empty, but before that car will start someone needs to come to you with a little red gas can.
There are many, many examples throughout the scriptures, but particularly in the New Testament as this is where most of Christ's life is recorded. Miracles abounded! His entire life was a miracle it seemed! I want to touch on a few examples - since that is part of the assignment this week ;) - but also to show that there was always someone that came to Christ with the faith in Him the He could do ... whatever. Really.
Matthew 8:1-4 Jesus heals the leper. The leper himself had faith enough to approach the Savior and ask Him for cleanliness.
Matthew 8:5-13 Jesus heals a man's servant of palsy. I really think this one is wonderful because it tells us that this man had authority; he had soldiers and servants that were under his command, but he was humble enough to ask Christ - not for himself, but for someone else - to spare a little healing power. And even after asking, the man says, "Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." I love it. This man didn't even see himself as an equal to Christ as a master only with different authority; he knew Christ was the Master.
Matthew 8:14-15 Jesus heal's Peter's mother-in-law from a fever. My son has had a fever since last night. Poor kid. (Am I horrible in admitting that it's kind of nice just cuddling him instead of cleaning up after his messes? No? Didn't think so ;) Anyway, we're mostly letting him ride his fever out. It's what fevers do. Now, it doesn't say in these verses exactly how ill this mother was, but we know that as soon as "he touched her hand, [...] the fever left her." Fevers don't just vanish... Unless it is the will of God and someone has the faith that it can be done. I'm sure Peter himself and his mother-in-law both had faith because as soon as that fever was gone "she arose, and ministered unto them."
Matthew 8:16 One verse. "When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick." Whoever they were, they had faith. They cared enough about their fellow men that they brought them to Christ. The other part I love about this and a few other verses throughout is that Christ healed all of them. He took the time to actually care for each of them. He didn't just perform His miracle as a testimony of His power and get out of town. He healed each of them that needed healing.
Matthew 8:23-27 Jesus and His disciples are on the ship with a raging tempest. Jesus slept as "the ship was covered with the waves." His disciples finally decided to wake Him. There's faith, right? Apparently not. Christ's response was, "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith." What?? Essentially, this says to me, "Why in the world would you think I would let you drown? You are my disciples. You have work to do! Where is the faith I expected you to have?" Of course, He calmed the winds and the sea "and there was a great calm." Where is our faith? Do we ever think He is just letting us drown?
Matthew 8:28-34 Not gonna lie. This one is a little funky to me. Mostly the wording. "Two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce [...] What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" And then the devils asked that they be sent into a pig's body as that would be better than no body at all. It seems even these devils - who knew exactly who Jesus was, the Son of God - had faith, yes faith, enough to ask for a little mercy concerning their banishment. Interesting.
Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34 The woman with the issue of blood. She simply touched the hem of His garment and knew she would be healed. Christ felt the "virtue" or power go out of Him when she did. He knew her, even in a swarm of other people, and stopped to say "thy faith had made thee whole." Perfect faith.
Matthew 9:27-31 Jesus heals two blind men. They simply come to Him, He asks, "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" They said 'yes' and they were simply healed.
Mark 2:1-12 Another man with palsy, carried by four others to the house where Jesus was. The house was so crowded, though, that they uncovered the roof and lowered the sick man in. They were faithfully desperate. And as soon as Christ saw their faith, He healed this man too.
So many miracles. So great power! At times it can seem like God is not here for us anymore. Miracles like these don't abound like they did then. It's a different era, a different dispensation. But the truth is, miracles still occur. Whether they are obvious or not, they happen. As far as healing goes, I think it's a miracle that "ordinary" men can now heal as Jesus did. Of course, those ordinary men were truly blessed with light and knowledge from God that led to this great expansion of the medical world. That is healing power. Men with their medicine can heal leprosy and issues of bleeding. But that ultimate miracle - that miracle of being saved - can only come through Christ forgiving us of our sins and making us whole. But there needs to be faith first. Many say that there is no God or that He has abandoned us because we see a lack in expected miracles. Shame on us, we of little faith...
Exercise the faith and the miracle will follow. And you will notice it.
There are many, many examples throughout the scriptures, but particularly in the New Testament as this is where most of Christ's life is recorded. Miracles abounded! His entire life was a miracle it seemed! I want to touch on a few examples - since that is part of the assignment this week ;) - but also to show that there was always someone that came to Christ with the faith in Him the He could do ... whatever. Really.
Matthew 8:1-4 Jesus heals the leper. The leper himself had faith enough to approach the Savior and ask Him for cleanliness.
Matthew 8:5-13 Jesus heals a man's servant of palsy. I really think this one is wonderful because it tells us that this man had authority; he had soldiers and servants that were under his command, but he was humble enough to ask Christ - not for himself, but for someone else - to spare a little healing power. And even after asking, the man says, "Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." I love it. This man didn't even see himself as an equal to Christ as a master only with different authority; he knew Christ was the Master.
Matthew 8:14-15 Jesus heal's Peter's mother-in-law from a fever. My son has had a fever since last night. Poor kid. (Am I horrible in admitting that it's kind of nice just cuddling him instead of cleaning up after his messes? No? Didn't think so ;) Anyway, we're mostly letting him ride his fever out. It's what fevers do. Now, it doesn't say in these verses exactly how ill this mother was, but we know that as soon as "he touched her hand, [...] the fever left her." Fevers don't just vanish... Unless it is the will of God and someone has the faith that it can be done. I'm sure Peter himself and his mother-in-law both had faith because as soon as that fever was gone "she arose, and ministered unto them."
Matthew 8:16 One verse. "When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick." Whoever they were, they had faith. They cared enough about their fellow men that they brought them to Christ. The other part I love about this and a few other verses throughout is that Christ healed all of them. He took the time to actually care for each of them. He didn't just perform His miracle as a testimony of His power and get out of town. He healed each of them that needed healing.
Matthew 8:23-27 Jesus and His disciples are on the ship with a raging tempest. Jesus slept as "the ship was covered with the waves." His disciples finally decided to wake Him. There's faith, right? Apparently not. Christ's response was, "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith." What?? Essentially, this says to me, "Why in the world would you think I would let you drown? You are my disciples. You have work to do! Where is the faith I expected you to have?" Of course, He calmed the winds and the sea "and there was a great calm." Where is our faith? Do we ever think He is just letting us drown?
Matthew 8:28-34 Not gonna lie. This one is a little funky to me. Mostly the wording. "Two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce [...] What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" And then the devils asked that they be sent into a pig's body as that would be better than no body at all. It seems even these devils - who knew exactly who Jesus was, the Son of God - had faith, yes faith, enough to ask for a little mercy concerning their banishment. Interesting.
Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34 The woman with the issue of blood. She simply touched the hem of His garment and knew she would be healed. Christ felt the "virtue" or power go out of Him when she did. He knew her, even in a swarm of other people, and stopped to say "thy faith had made thee whole." Perfect faith.
Matthew 9:27-31 Jesus heals two blind men. They simply come to Him, He asks, "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" They said 'yes' and they were simply healed.
Mark 2:1-12 Another man with palsy, carried by four others to the house where Jesus was. The house was so crowded, though, that they uncovered the roof and lowered the sick man in. They were faithfully desperate. And as soon as Christ saw their faith, He healed this man too.
So many miracles. So great power! At times it can seem like God is not here for us anymore. Miracles like these don't abound like they did then. It's a different era, a different dispensation. But the truth is, miracles still occur. Whether they are obvious or not, they happen. As far as healing goes, I think it's a miracle that "ordinary" men can now heal as Jesus did. Of course, those ordinary men were truly blessed with light and knowledge from God that led to this great expansion of the medical world. That is healing power. Men with their medicine can heal leprosy and issues of bleeding. But that ultimate miracle - that miracle of being saved - can only come through Christ forgiving us of our sins and making us whole. But there needs to be faith first. Many say that there is no God or that He has abandoned us because we see a lack in expected miracles. Shame on us, we of little faith...
Exercise the faith and the miracle will follow. And you will notice it.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Born Again
I was raised in mostly Utah and Idaho in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most of my friends were members or at least knew who we were and generally what we believed. Those who weren't members - I don't remember them being a part of any one set religion. Then I moved to Texas when I was 17. Almost everyone knew Jesus, which for some reason I did not expect. My first culture shock was when I moved to Saudi Arabia when I was 14, but I expected it to be a completely different world there. At 17, I traveled by car instead of 5 planes to get to this new place. I knew there was an LDS church building that we would go to so we wouldn't have to hold our own meetings in our home. But I had no idea there were so many other churches. I'd say I definitely grew up sheltered in the "jello belt" (what a previous professor likes to call Utah and Idaho). I had seen a little bit about how other churches were different on Tv; mostly that they were a little louder than our Sacrament meetings (unless you're in a ward full of toddlers). But I had never really interacted with many others and discussed religion, beliefs, standards, etc. I'd heard the phrase "born again" in movies, but couldn't recall hearing anyone exclaim it in person before I moved to San Antonio. And I obviously didn't study my scriptures very well because the phrase was just so foreign to me. It may not be a part of our Mormon vernacular, but it sure is part of our religion.
So, that's the topic I chose for this week's blog: born again. I love how literal some of the people in the scriptures are. As Jesus was speaking with Nicodemus, a Jewish ruler, in John Chapter 3, He tells him that he must be born again in order to see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus must have thought Christ was crazy to ask him to jump back into a womb as an old man. Really, Nico states, "How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" (John 3:4) Some explanation is quite necessary for those of us with thick heads ;) Jesus goes on and explains, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (3:5). A few points here: First, He is obviously not talking about a literal rebirth from our mother again (Heaven knows she should only have to do that once for each kid!) Christ is speaking metaphorically of a different kind of birth, which I will get to next. Second, in verse 3 Christ uses the word "see" before the phrase "kingdom of God," whereas in verse 5 He uses the word "enter" instead. Without this rebirth, we can do neither.
But what's the difference? I love how these two ideas connect to a phrase in Moses 6:59 stating, "... even so ye must be born again ... that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory." To me, seeing the kingdom of God is hope in this life that we may one day have eternal life if we have been born again, and to enter into the kingdom would, of course, be to actually live eternally with Christ. It's a two-part blessing just as it is a two-part commitment.
But wait, once you're born again, isn't that it? This is what baffled me the most when talking religion in Texas. I've always thought of life as a - well, a life-long process of perfection, not simply a one-time occurrence somewhere between your mortal life and death where you accept Jesus and that's it. It's not a live-how-you-want-since-Jesus-is-your-Savior kind of deal once you are baptized. It's a process of not only believing Christ but being like Christ. Why in the world would He have lived a perfect life if He didn't expect us to follow Him? Especially when He says, "Come, follow me"? We must accept Christ, be born again, and then "walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). Now, I don't know about you, but I do not change easily. I don't become a new person in a day or in an hour. It's been two weeks since I quit my job and have been trying to transition to stay-at-home-mom, and I'm still as crazy as I was last Monday! They painted my downstairs carpet this week. It was fantastic. Lots of crying and screaming. But that's why we have this nice long life, right? It's a process of learning patience and temper control and patience again once we think we've mastered it.
It's not just about being baptized - born of the water - no matter what church you attend; it's also about being born of the Spirit - striving for that new life - with the Holy Ghost guiding us and Christ literally saving us from those shortcomings. Heavenly Father loves us all so much that He sent Christ to atone for all those shortcomings and transgressions and sins that we were bound to make. They both love all of us more than we can comprehend. And even though we - I can't be the only one who freaks out when the carpet gets painted - have a lot of things to get better at, Heavenly Father continues to bless us. He gives us those days to better ourselves because He loves us and wants us to come home, to enter the kingdom. We just have to decide to keep being born again every day.
So, that's the topic I chose for this week's blog: born again. I love how literal some of the people in the scriptures are. As Jesus was speaking with Nicodemus, a Jewish ruler, in John Chapter 3, He tells him that he must be born again in order to see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus must have thought Christ was crazy to ask him to jump back into a womb as an old man. Really, Nico states, "How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" (John 3:4) Some explanation is quite necessary for those of us with thick heads ;) Jesus goes on and explains, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (3:5). A few points here: First, He is obviously not talking about a literal rebirth from our mother again (Heaven knows she should only have to do that once for each kid!) Christ is speaking metaphorically of a different kind of birth, which I will get to next. Second, in verse 3 Christ uses the word "see" before the phrase "kingdom of God," whereas in verse 5 He uses the word "enter" instead. Without this rebirth, we can do neither.
But what's the difference? I love how these two ideas connect to a phrase in Moses 6:59 stating, "... even so ye must be born again ... that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory." To me, seeing the kingdom of God is hope in this life that we may one day have eternal life if we have been born again, and to enter into the kingdom would, of course, be to actually live eternally with Christ. It's a two-part blessing just as it is a two-part commitment.
But wait, once you're born again, isn't that it? This is what baffled me the most when talking religion in Texas. I've always thought of life as a - well, a life-long process of perfection, not simply a one-time occurrence somewhere between your mortal life and death where you accept Jesus and that's it. It's not a live-how-you-want-since-Jesus-is-your-Savior kind of deal once you are baptized. It's a process of not only believing Christ but being like Christ. Why in the world would He have lived a perfect life if He didn't expect us to follow Him? Especially when He says, "Come, follow me"? We must accept Christ, be born again, and then "walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). Now, I don't know about you, but I do not change easily. I don't become a new person in a day or in an hour. It's been two weeks since I quit my job and have been trying to transition to stay-at-home-mom, and I'm still as crazy as I was last Monday! They painted my downstairs carpet this week. It was fantastic. Lots of crying and screaming. But that's why we have this nice long life, right? It's a process of learning patience and temper control and patience again once we think we've mastered it.
It's not just about being baptized - born of the water - no matter what church you attend; it's also about being born of the Spirit - striving for that new life - with the Holy Ghost guiding us and Christ literally saving us from those shortcomings. Heavenly Father loves us all so much that He sent Christ to atone for all those shortcomings and transgressions and sins that we were bound to make. They both love all of us more than we can comprehend. And even though we - I can't be the only one who freaks out when the carpet gets painted - have a lot of things to get better at, Heavenly Father continues to bless us. He gives us those days to better ourselves because He loves us and wants us to come home, to enter the kingdom. We just have to decide to keep being born again every day.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Christ's Childhood
Why, yes, it has been since April since I've posted. It has been a crazy few months! More on that later in a separate post :)
This semester I am taking a New Testament class and one of the projects is a weekly... something. We choose from a number of options and topics and do what we want. I figured this would be the best way to share my thoughts and feelings about the things I study this semester. This was the first week of classes and hence my first post in this series. I chose the topic of the childhood of Christ.
The thing that stuck out to me most while studying what was given was that Christ started out like most children. In Luke we learn that Christ stuck around the temple after his parents had started heading home and they had no idea. He scared them to death! My kids do that once in a while. Even if Christ knew that he would be fine and was doing what he was supposed to, he missed the important relay of info to Mary or Joseph and really frightened them.
We often think of Christ as being born with all His knowledge and omniscience, but in the institute manual we learn that Christ had to overcome the veil throughout His mortality. We also learn in Doctrine and Covenants section 93 that He learned just like we do, just like children do: line upon line. In verse 13 it states, "And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness." My kids do that, too. This part actually give me hope, especially this week, that children can learn and become a little better each day.
We had a rough week this week. It was my first week being home with the kids all day in 2 years. It's true that it's hard being a working mom, especially last semester while going to school as well, but being a stay-at-home-mom is a whole new kind of hard for me, one that I'm really not used to. It's sad, really; I'm not used to my kids. I'm used to them on the weekends and doing fun things, feeding them dinner and getting them to bed, but I'm definitely not used to the messes and the loud and the fighting. But we're all learning a little at a time. Next week will be a little better than this week, and I'm sure the week after next will be better yet. Even Christ had to learn that you should tell your parents where you are going and had to learn things from his mortal parents about how to conduct himself. I can learn to be a better stay-at-home-mom, and my kids will learn (hopefully) that it's not okay to spill pickle juice all over the floor and then smash cereal into it. We all work on learning grace to grace until we become like Him. I'm so thankful for this Gospel that teaches me that :) and I'm so grateful for Christ's example, even his example in childhood.
This semester I am taking a New Testament class and one of the projects is a weekly... something. We choose from a number of options and topics and do what we want. I figured this would be the best way to share my thoughts and feelings about the things I study this semester. This was the first week of classes and hence my first post in this series. I chose the topic of the childhood of Christ.
The thing that stuck out to me most while studying what was given was that Christ started out like most children. In Luke we learn that Christ stuck around the temple after his parents had started heading home and they had no idea. He scared them to death! My kids do that once in a while. Even if Christ knew that he would be fine and was doing what he was supposed to, he missed the important relay of info to Mary or Joseph and really frightened them.
We often think of Christ as being born with all His knowledge and omniscience, but in the institute manual we learn that Christ had to overcome the veil throughout His mortality. We also learn in Doctrine and Covenants section 93 that He learned just like we do, just like children do: line upon line. In verse 13 it states, "And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness." My kids do that, too. This part actually give me hope, especially this week, that children can learn and become a little better each day.
We had a rough week this week. It was my first week being home with the kids all day in 2 years. It's true that it's hard being a working mom, especially last semester while going to school as well, but being a stay-at-home-mom is a whole new kind of hard for me, one that I'm really not used to. It's sad, really; I'm not used to my kids. I'm used to them on the weekends and doing fun things, feeding them dinner and getting them to bed, but I'm definitely not used to the messes and the loud and the fighting. But we're all learning a little at a time. Next week will be a little better than this week, and I'm sure the week after next will be better yet. Even Christ had to learn that you should tell your parents where you are going and had to learn things from his mortal parents about how to conduct himself. I can learn to be a better stay-at-home-mom, and my kids will learn (hopefully) that it's not okay to spill pickle juice all over the floor and then smash cereal into it. We all work on learning grace to grace until we become like Him. I'm so thankful for this Gospel that teaches me that :) and I'm so grateful for Christ's example, even his example in childhood.
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