Friday, May 28, 2004
mini bible study
heard a good homily today. and it actually stuck. glenn always asks me what the homily is about because he likes bible studying a lot, so it makes me have to remember them better. this was a good one:
The Gospel According to John (John 21:14-19)
14This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus Reinstates Peter
15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
16Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
17The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." 18Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
There were three points that the priest made:
(1) We get very annoyed when people ask us the same thing over and over. So of course when Jesus kept asking Peter the same thing, Peter got annoyed. But Jesus was asking him three times in order to redeem those three times that Peter betrayed Jesus. He was giving Peter a chance to make up for the time that he turned against Him.
(2) The number 3 is very absolute in the bible. Jesus rose from the dead three times, Peter denied Him three times, and now, Peter has redeemed himself absolutely.
(3) With every question that Jesus asked and with every response that Peter gave, Jesus gave him a specific action to take. It is not enough to just say that we love Him. If we truly love Him, we must take action, do His work and follow Him.
i was talking with an old friend (now more of an acquaintance i guess) about purpose in life. he mentioned loving others and that's the main goal. it was simplistic and concise i thought. and i fully agree. but i added on to that thought with the works. i think we all have something that God wants us to do with our lives and if we love Him, we want to know what that is. we constantly offer up our daily works and actions to Him and pray that He will lead us toward the path He wants us to do. sometimes it's rather frustrating cuz we question if what we are doing is what He wants for our lives. and sometimes we want it to be just plainly told to us like a psychic would tell us our future. but then life wouldn't be a surprise anymore and i think it would take the fun out of it. i find that God-loving people just pray about all the decisions in their lives and for divine guidance.
and then there are some people who have an inkling of what their purpose is. but they're shy or unconfident about their abilities, or they're lazy or afraid of hard work. so they sit there praying, "are you sure, Lord? i'm not sure this is what you want of me, so i'll just wait and see what you continue to say." so they wait for signs or for doors to open or for doors to close. sometimes we kinda hope it'll close cuz we don't wanna do it, right? but then the same message comes across and still they're hesitant to do His work. i dunno, it's scary and all, cuz we're not sure of things. but for me, i can never be doubtful of God. He's the one being in my life that has never ever ever let me down. maybe He hasn't given me what i want, but He's never done or not done anything to harm me or let me down. it's always for my eventual good. so how can i ever doubt Him? i may be unsure of myself, i may not trust myself cuz of my inconsistencies, but i can't be unsure of God. He's the only one i can fully trust all the time. i hate change so much, and in this world of constant change and difficulty, His constance is my sole comfort. that's why if it's for Him, i do it. i can't say no. i'll stress myself out, work my weekends, all for Him. that's my Basta Ikaw, Lord!
-->i went a long time without blogging about anything significant. someone asked me to blog again. heheeh, be careful what you ask for!
The Gospel According to John (John 21:14-19)
14This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus Reinstates Peter
15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
16Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
17The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." 18Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
There were three points that the priest made:
(1) We get very annoyed when people ask us the same thing over and over. So of course when Jesus kept asking Peter the same thing, Peter got annoyed. But Jesus was asking him three times in order to redeem those three times that Peter betrayed Jesus. He was giving Peter a chance to make up for the time that he turned against Him.
(2) The number 3 is very absolute in the bible. Jesus rose from the dead three times, Peter denied Him three times, and now, Peter has redeemed himself absolutely.
(3) With every question that Jesus asked and with every response that Peter gave, Jesus gave him a specific action to take. It is not enough to just say that we love Him. If we truly love Him, we must take action, do His work and follow Him.
i was talking with an old friend (now more of an acquaintance i guess) about purpose in life. he mentioned loving others and that's the main goal. it was simplistic and concise i thought. and i fully agree. but i added on to that thought with the works. i think we all have something that God wants us to do with our lives and if we love Him, we want to know what that is. we constantly offer up our daily works and actions to Him and pray that He will lead us toward the path He wants us to do. sometimes it's rather frustrating cuz we question if what we are doing is what He wants for our lives. and sometimes we want it to be just plainly told to us like a psychic would tell us our future. but then life wouldn't be a surprise anymore and i think it would take the fun out of it. i find that God-loving people just pray about all the decisions in their lives and for divine guidance.
and then there are some people who have an inkling of what their purpose is. but they're shy or unconfident about their abilities, or they're lazy or afraid of hard work. so they sit there praying, "are you sure, Lord? i'm not sure this is what you want of me, so i'll just wait and see what you continue to say." so they wait for signs or for doors to open or for doors to close. sometimes we kinda hope it'll close cuz we don't wanna do it, right? but then the same message comes across and still they're hesitant to do His work. i dunno, it's scary and all, cuz we're not sure of things. but for me, i can never be doubtful of God. He's the one being in my life that has never ever ever let me down. maybe He hasn't given me what i want, but He's never done or not done anything to harm me or let me down. it's always for my eventual good. so how can i ever doubt Him? i may be unsure of myself, i may not trust myself cuz of my inconsistencies, but i can't be unsure of God. He's the only one i can fully trust all the time. i hate change so much, and in this world of constant change and difficulty, His constance is my sole comfort. that's why if it's for Him, i do it. i can't say no. i'll stress myself out, work my weekends, all for Him. that's my Basta Ikaw, Lord!
-->i went a long time without blogging about anything significant. someone asked me to blog again. heheeh, be careful what you ask for!
Comments:
Post a Comment
quotable quotes
-
"To try is to risk failure. But risk must be taken because the
greatest hazard of life is to risk nothing. The person who risks
nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid
suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change,
grow, live, and love."
~unknown
"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues."
~ Abraham Lincoln
"live a life that others will remember years from now, NOT because it pointed to you but because of how it pointed to the One who made you."
~ Mark Hart, the Bible Geek
"we grow up learning to become self-reliant, but really we need to be God-reliant"
"we could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box"
"never wound hearts that love u, never give them the endless pain, because wounded hearts are like roses that never bloom"
"there comes a time when we have to stop loving someone not because that person has stopped loving us but because we have found out that they'd be happier if we'd let go"
