Every Wednesday, I
try to share something inspiring that I have read online within the last week.
This week is more like a cocktail of articles that I believe can enhance our
relationships with people who question our belief in Jesus, The Christ, our
friends and our family- in that order:
When you are asked if
Jesus is God?
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| Wednesday Weekly Rounds: Good Stuff You found online this week |
So does the New Testament really
teach that Jesus is God? The NT often uses “God” (Greek: theos)
as synonymous with “God the Father”— and Jesus is not the Father. But the NT
also frequently uses “God” as the more generic term for the divine nature. So
“God” is not always a reference to the Son in particular, but the Son is always
God.
There are
several examples where Jesus is explicitly called God. Here are the clearest
ones:
John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 20:28,”Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord
and my God!’”
Romans 9:5,”To them belong the patriarchs,
and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed
forever. Amen.”
Titus 2:13, “waiting for our blessed hope,
the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ”
Hebrews 1:8,”But of the Son he says, ‘Your
throne, O God, is forever and ever, the sceptre
of uprightness is the sceptre of your kingdom.’”
2 Peter 1:1,”To those who have obtained a
faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus
Christ”
But
the evidence for Jesus’ divinity is hardly limited to these examples where he
is explicitly identified as God. You can read the complete article here
Pete Wilson really
nailed it here with how jealousy and making assumptions can kill off the best
friendship. Who hasn’t been there- either at the giving or receiving end? He said:
How
do you destroy a relationship?
Step
One: Make
Assumptions.
I recently received an email from an old friend
who was upset with me. I’m not really at liberty to talk details, but it turned
out to all be one BIG misunderstanding. In fact, he had made a series of
assumptions which turned out to be completely false. At the end of the day I
was just relieved we were able to work through the conflict, but it got me
thinking.
Assumptions are the silent deadly bombs that do
nothing but destroy healthy relationships. An assumption is one person’s IDEA
of what someone else is thinking, feeling or doing.
Parents often assume they know exactly what
their children feel, think or want. Bosses may assume employees know exactly
what they want when they ask for something. Church attendees assume they know
exactly what the pastor’s motives are. All of this is mind-reading or assuming
and it is dangerous.
While you may be right from time to time, more
often your assumptions lead to unnecessary conflict, worry, and broken
relationships.
So today I just want to encourage you to stop
and think. Instead of making assumptions how about asking questions?
Few
days later, he dropped another piece that is definitely worth a look: the green
eyed monster.
So,
if you have a really good relationship you just want to destroy:
1. Make
Assumptions
2. Get
Jealous- it will guarantee you to do stupid stuff.
If
the relationship is worth keeping, see that you avoid number 1 and 2.
Apart our relationship
with God, the next most important one would be our relationships with our
spouse. Especially for the singles, this piece helps us to put marriage
preparation in focus before scurrying down the aisle:
It’s that time of year again. People
seem to be marrying off like rabbits (at least from my news feed). Facebook has
been lighting up with pictures of brides and bridal parties, and it is fun to
see all the smiles and happy celebrations. Occasionally, an engagement
announcement will pop up, and my first thought is, I
wonder if they’re ready? I don’t mean it in a judgmental or
even critical way. I just wonder what makes a couple ready for marriage.
Certainly,
no one enters marriage with complete confidence that they are ready for all
that awaits. There are all sorts of unknown variables that even the most
calculating person couldn’t possibly anticipate. One of the great mysteries of
marriage is that it’s a commitment made in trust. You must trust yourself, your
new spouse, and God — the
giver of marriage. But are we left to only trust and take the leap? Or is there
a way of knowing if we are really ready for marriage?
Andrew Hess of The boundless blog cracked me up on “people
marrying off like rabbits…” but the rest is really informative and relevant
to both single and married people.
What have you found inspiring online this
week? Please drop a note in the comments section.
Enjoy
the rest of your week.
PS: The aim of Wednesday weekly rounds is
to share with you things I came across online and found useful. It could also
be a way of saying that “if I can’t share it on this platform”, I should
rethink reading it.
Would you be able to freely share what you
have been reading online in the past week? If you consider it inappropriate to
be shared amongst believers, maybe you shouldn’t be reading it to start with.
PPS: The
usual disclaimer: I am not affiliated or
endorsing the people mentioned in this post. As you know, they are waaaayyyy
out of my league J
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