June 2012 - What You Read

Listed below are my most popular posts during the month of June. I published 10 posts last month and received over a thousand hits. Check out what you were reading!

Posts (June)

April Showers... And Posts! Apr 30, 2012, 2 comments 33 Pageviews

What's Behind Your Mustache? May 14, 2012 32 Pageviews

4,000 & Still Going May 1, 2012, 3 comments 19 Pageviews

@VOne2012 - Are You Bipolar or Something? Jun 18, 2012 18 Pageviews

Jesus Vision Jun 11, 2012 17 Pageviews

Posts (All Time)

Athletes With Shuffling Feet Mar 16, 2012 116 Pageviews

What's Behind Your Mustache? May 14, 2012 77 Pageviews

Anniversary Post Dec 20, 2011, 1 comment 69 Pageviews

April Showers... And Posts! Apr 30, 2012, 2 comments 64 Pageviews

What Holy Things We Talked About Sep 26, 2011 60 Pageviews

Expounding on Nehemiah - Link!

My sermon is posted! Remember my clarifications that I posted on the blog!
Sermon Network - Bible Truth Chapel : Elders Randy Beers and Daniel Roberts - Miami, FL

This Little Light Running Over Miami

The Premise

Bible Bar! (c) brunosan

Knowing God

 

My dad, Nelson Jimenez, was given the expansive topic of knowing God. Which could be boiled down to know the whole Bible. Or, more practically, understand some of the core principles of God's character. These principles are, in turn, the things that we should be imitating in our own lives.

 

The Quotes

Strive to Bring About Action

What's the point of knowing God if that knowledge doesn't bring about change in our life? The whole point of knowing God is to know how to behave in each situation we find ourselves in. We know God is love, so we should love. We know Him as the Prince of Peace, so we should be peacemakers. We know He is just, so we should strive for justice.

Holding it In

 

This section of the message reminded me of a song we sang in Sunday School:

This little light of mine

I'm gonna let it shine.

Let it shine, let it shine.

Let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel? No!

I'm gonna let it shine.

Let it shine, let it shine.

Let it shine.

Shine all over Miami

I'm gonna let it shine.

Let it shine, let it shine.

Let it shine.

God's word & His character should fill us up to the brim & begin running over...

Find Christ in What They Say

 

This is an important point. Some people say we should only rely on the Holy Spirit to whisper truth into our ear. The problem with that is the fact that the whole counsel of God has been given to us & the book is now closed. There are no new revelations. The Church has gone through 2,000 centuries of changing times, yet the truth remains as relevant today as ever. Heresies have come & gone. The Church today does not need to reinvent the wheel. We can read what people have already learned & find Christ in it. We don't need to remain illiterate & closed minded.

Granted, the Holy Spirit does guide us into all truth. He guides us into application of scripture. The interpretation is there, it all points to Christ. How is it relevant in your life? That's between you & God. I can't answer that question.

More Reading

Jesus Vision
Craig Fritchey & the 7 Cs
The Ancient Light Saber

@VOne2012 - Are You Bipolar or Something?

Notes

You can't serve two masters. It's not about what you feel like doing, it's about making a conscious decision of which master you choose to serve.

Matthew 6:24
24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. NIV

More Reading

All of my video blogs

@VOne2012 - Who Are You?

Notes

Who are you? I know you by what you communicate to me.

Ephesians 5:18-2018 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. NIV

@VOne2012 - What time is it?

Video blog number 4: We are responsible for good time management. The way you spend your time has a direct affect on the person you are.


Ephesians 5:15-17
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

@VOne2012 - Do You Stand Out?

The third installment of the Varsity 1, 2012 video blogs detailing the spiritual emphasis of our week of camp. Be sure to read the caption for the highlights of the nugget.

@VOne2012 - Who's Watching You?

Tagline

The second video blog sharing the spiritual emphasis of V1 at Camp Horizon. Every idle word is monitored. Remember: When Jesus scrolls through your Facebook & Twitter timeline, is He going to like what He sees? 

Matthew 12:35-37 

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."  --NIV

Other Video Blogs

• @VOne2012 - What's Your Status? 

Jesus Vision

^{The Bible}

^{Genesis 16:7 & 13-14}

⁷ The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur.¹³ Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.”She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”¹⁴ So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered. --NLT 

The Lord Found Me

The Lord Jesus came to seek & to save the lost. Luke 15 proves that much. It is amazing that He takes the time to give each & every human being the chance to have an intimate encounter with Him. For Hagar, it happens here at the spring of water. God made an appointment to meet her. God shows up right on time.

This reminds me of another meeting, one that occurs in John 4. Jesus has a very important appointment to make, He says so when insisting that He must needs go through Samaria. This meeting was also with a woman. It was also by a water source. It's as if He is saying, I am the source of all satisfaction, & I want to give it to you. My thoughts were triggered during yesterday's Lord's Supper by this hymn:

Come, Thou fount of every blessing,Tune my heart to sing Thy praise.Streams of mercy, never ceasing,Call for ceaseless songs of praise.

Truly, our Lord comes to us & brings us every blessing imaginable.

The Lord saw me

Not only is Hagar found in this passage, she declares that she has been seen. This is not a scientific term that describes the act of recognizing objects that are in front of you, this is an emotional term that deals with how one person perceives another. Hagar says, The Lord understands me.

The human heart longs to be understood, & the Lord does just that & more. Not only does God understand you for who you are, but He also has a vision for who you can be with His help. In Jeremiah, God says He knows the plans He has for you, & they are for your benefit. The Samaritan Woman was known for all her faults, yet still loved & accepted by the Lord Jesus on the basis of what He could do for her.

Where you fit

Think of Luke 15, where would you fit in these stories? I can tell you where I am. I am the lost coin. I am the lost sheep. I am the prodigal son. I am that one that was lost, valued & sought. That's where you fit too.

Jesus sought me when a strangerWandering from the fold of God.He, to rescue me from danger,Interposed His precious blood.

Here's some more reading on the subject:

• Religious Relationships
• Get the Advantage
• Bubble Boy Faces the Real World

Nehemiah & Expounding

Passing the Faith Along

I delivered a message on How to Expound on God's Word on Wednesday night as a part of Bible Truth Chapel's continuing series entitled Passing the Faith Along. The message was recorded & should be up on  http://sermon.net/bibletruthchapel in the coming weeks. I have published my notes on Google Docs to help ya'll follow along.

A Note on my Notes

During the talk, my mind went completely blank when it came to Typology & I couldn't understand my own notes. Here's what happened, you will find in my notes approx. where I messed up the following categories: Real, Personal & Legal. Let me explain in text format.

• Real (events & objects) This refers to types that are things. Examples include:
• Objects: Jerusalem as a picture of the Church or the brazen altar as picture of Christ's redemptive work
• Events: Passover as a picture of Jesus' work on the Cross

• Personal (people) This refers to types that are people. Examples include:
• Joseph as a picture of Christ
• Abraham & Isaac as pictures of The Father & The Son

• Legal (mosaic law & ritual) This refers to types that are laws & Rituals. Examples include:
• Laws: Tithe as picture of giving to the Lord spiritually
• Ritual: Method of choosing the Passover lamb relating to Christ's perfection.

More Reading

• Is Genesis Mythopoetic & Does it Matter?
• Is Genesis Mythopoetic & Does it Matter? Part 2
• Quest for Admin Parking - Conclusion

Wisdom for Dummies

The Premise

Calvin Fritchey continued his series on the book of Proverbs with chapter 30. He touched on a number of topics that are intended to increase our wisdom while decreasing the pain we endure on this earth due to our own selfishness & stubbornness. According to scripture, we can be wise if we truly desire it!

The Quotes

Cool-wise

Cool-wise

The book Wisdom for Dummies has already been written, it's alternatively been called The Bible! The steps are pretty simple (though never easy): listen & do.

Listen to God's Word. In order to listen you must read. Read God's word in order to know His will, or at least the jist of His will, for every life-situation. Once you have listened, you will know what to do. Without doing what God asks, all you have is knowledge (knowledge is information with meaning assigned to it). The implementation of that knowledge in a real situation is known as wisdom.

Manipulating the words

Manipulating the words

Since our wisdom handbook has been created (and curated), we only need to take it in. Some of the things found in the Bible are difficult despite their simplicity. Therefore, there is a great temptation to manipulate what is being said in order to take the edge off of what is required or to make it more appealing to our own nature.

The problem with that, of course, is the fact that our own nature is fallen. We are imperfect images of God who are in need of some reworking in order to return to our former splendor. God's word is always perfect, it never leans too far to the right (legalism) or to the left (antinomialism). The imbalance comes from skewed people who try to interpret according to their own fancies.

Lesson to my readers: double-check what I write on this blog. These ideas are all my own as I go through my spiritual journey. God reserves every right to change my mind on the various interpretations of scripture that are found on these web pages. I try my best to remain true to scripture, but I am also a human being just like most of my readers.

God with us

God with us

The Bible is one major attempt from God to us in order to restore a relationship. It is an example of God's love to us and His desire to draw us near to Him. Given these evidences of God's nature, why would He leave us out in the cold when we ask Him to be near to us? By asking Him to be near, it is assumed that we give up all other pleasures & things that repel Him. Remember, draw near to God & He always reciprocates.

(The) You

If this was a blessing to you, pass it on! I am not opposed to Retweets, sharing on Facebook, Google+, Reddit, Stumbleupon, Delicious, ETC. If you didn't like it, leave it alone. Or contact me about it. I'll hear you out!

Here are some more articles that you can read about Wisdom/The Bible/etc...

• Ya, It's Kosher
• Sssome #BTSermon NotessS
• His Works & His Words