#because what they do is preach a false gospel and draw our attention away from what we know to be true

[creatively-storm]

@screwtornadowarningsimsouthern

[meetingheaven-blog]

Complacent Heart: Blog post # 2 :)

Hi everyone! So something has been stuck in my head all day. I went to church last Sunday and one quote from my pastor that has been repeating in my mind all day is this:

“Don’t preach Christ out of contention.” 

 Verse Reference: Philippians-  1: 15-17 (KJV).

"Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel.”

 I just started this blog this week but my prayer and hope is that whatever advice, knowledge, and or guidance I am giving you all (to whom ever takes the time to read my posts) is never preached out of contention but comes from a place of honesty and sincerity. I am not perfect. I do not want to depict the image starting my blog; that I am perfect by any means. I am just a normal, 21 year old from California who deals with the same struggles, sin, and temptations any normal college student might go through. I started writing to the public because I want people to get a chance to feel like they can relate in some way & at the same time get some words of advice. 

I hope to use my words to spread some love, light, and encouragement to others. I really think with everything going on in the world right now it is definitely needed.

I posted a long message about the church service I attended this past week on Facebook.. Reasons why I started a blog to be honest, I have too much to say lol (I’ll attach this message if you did not get to read it at the end of this) but I left out some things that I think need to be said.

With social media and its extreme use in today’s society, it is SO very easy to depict that everything is perfect. Like my pastor said, we should not be preaching out of contention. I think this applies not just to the word of God but also how we depict our lives to others; whether that is through social media or just in general. 

It is unfair to project a false sense and image that your life has no issues. It is not just unfair to others but also unfair to yourself. I will be completely honest with you; I have done it as well. I’m guilty too. I truly think this is why depression, anxiety, and even thoughts of suicide go so unnoticed unfortunately in today’s generation. Don’t get me wrong. It is okay to have bad days every once in awhile. That is life & it is normal. It’s just important to know when to get help & when to open up to your friends and family around you. This is why I am hoping to change that from here on out and be real with you all. 

To be honest if you read the first blog I posted, when I talked about being depressed my sophomore year of college... My own mom read it & said she did not know it was that bad for me. Then again, I was away at school in AZ and only came home every so often but it just goes to show it was so easy to project to others that I was OK when in reality I wasn't at all.

We are not being honest with ourselves and to those around us because of what we depict on social media. We are only posting our highlight reel. I personally can say I have a hard time scrolling through my feed some days still. I am guilty of comparing myself to others. That is not how God wants us to live though. He made us in His image and put all of us on our own unique and perfect path.

My pastor said something in the message that hit home for me towards the end. He said, “Maybe you’re empty in a full place?” I actually last semester remember journaling one night. I was writing about how I could not understand how I felt so empty in a full place. I am in nursing school (which I love) and I moved into a new house with great roommates for the summer here in AZ. I thought I should have been so full and happy, but I still felt empty… I just could not understand it. I started to really dig deep and try to understand why I was feeling the way I was feeling. Well, come to realize; God was just calling my attention back to Him. I lost sight of him because I started to feel complacent with my life and the path I was on. I started to become less thankful & grateful to be doing what I loved and treated every day like any other day. I started to become less honest with others & about what I was posting to social media. I was empty in a full place, preaching out of contention.

There is something that I have always lived by… When you are going through trials and tribulations or are just feeling empty; you have two options: #1. You can choose to grow from it & draw closer to God.   Or #2. You can let it get the best of you and push God away.

I think that God uses these moments in our lives to test us and help our faith grow. Growth never comes from a complacent heart.  Growth is simply black and white. By that, I mean you either choose to say YES and grow from what life throws at you; or you choose NO and fall further and further away from God’s path. The middle option is simply complacency and I have come to realize God likes to use those moments of complacency to test us and to see us grow. God wants us to be all in and not living lukewarm.

 So are you maybe empty in a full place? Are you preaching out of contention with what you post and how you are depicting your life to others? 

I hope this post helps anyone recognize that they are maybe being complacent. It is a new day. You are alive, you are loved, and you have a purpose. Choose to grow. Choose to not have a heart that is complacent & lukewarm. Choose JESUS. He is the only one that can make you feel FULL even in the emptiest of places. 

 With Love, Jess.

[bldgrelationshipwgod]

Matthew 13:1-9 | The Parable of the Sower That same day Jesus went out of the house & sat by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat & sat down, while all the people stood on the shore. And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, & the birds came & devoured it. Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, & they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up & choked the seedlings. Still other seed fell on good soil & produced a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold. Those who have ears, let them hear.”                     _____________________________________________________

Joseph Benson Commentary (1749 –1821)  | Matthew 13:1-2

The same day — On which Jesus delivered the discourse, & performed the miracles recorded in the preceding chapter, being unwearied & incessant in the blessed work in which He was engaged, He went out of the house, into which He had retired for a while, & sat by the sea-side — Namely, the sea of Galilee, or lake of Gennesareth, that He might give the people an opportunity of going to Him, & being instructed by His blessed doctrine.

great multitudes gathered to Him — The calumnies [false & defamatory statements] of the Pharisees not having had the effect intended.

On the contrary, the crowd was now become so great, that neither the house, nor the court before it, could contain the people.

So that, for the conveniency of being better heard, & less incommoded by them, He went into a ship, & sat — A small vessel on the lake, which, it seems, constantly waited upon Him while He was on the coast. [Mark 3:9]

Mark 3:9 | Jesus asked His disciples to have a boat ready for Him so that the crowd would not crush Him. 

Here, being conveniently seated, at a little distance from the shore, on which the whole multitude stood, & which probably might be somewhat circular & declining, He could be both easily seen & heard.

Matthew 13:3 | And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow your seed. 

v.3 — “Delivered many doctrines of the highest importance, wisely making choice of such for the subject of His sermons, when He had the greatest number of hearers, because on those occasions there was a probability of doing the most good by them.”

parables — The Word parable sometimes signifies a sublime discourse, elevated beyond the common forms of speech, as Numbers 23:7; 24:15; Job 27:1; Job 29:1, where see the notes: sometimes a mere proverb, or adage.

Such as those mentioned Luke 4:23, Physician, heal yourselves; & Luke 6:39, Can the blind lead the blind? in both which places the Word παραβολη, parable, is used in the original, & in the former place is rendered proverb in our translation.

Numbers 23:7 | And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come & denounce Israel!’ 

Numbers 24:15 | ..Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying, “This prophecy of Balaam of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open,

Job 27:1 | Job continued his parable: The remainder of Job’s speech—now, for the first time, called his parable—consists of his determination not to renounce his righteousness. [2-6]

Job 29:1 | And Job continued his parable:

Sometimes the word means an apologue [moral fable], as Ezekiel 17:2, “Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel.

Notes: A continued metaphor or figurative speech: an allegory. The prophets frequently delivered their instructions in this way, as being well calculated both to engage the attention of their hearers, & to make a deep & lasting impression on their minds. It was a mode of teaching peculiarly adapted to the eastern people, therefore often adopted by their instructers, whether inspired or uninspired. It is well known that our Lord frequently used it in preaching His gospel.

But here, & generally in the gospels, the Word is to be understood, according to its Greek etymology, as signifying a comparison, namely, taken from the ordinary affairs of people, & used to illustrate the things of God.

As this is the first time the term occurs in this history, & as we shall frequently meet with it hereafter, it may not be improper to make the following general observations, applicable, more or less, to all our Lord’s parables.                     _____________________________________________________

1] It is not necessary to a parable that the matter contained, or things related in it, should be true in fact. For parables are not spoken to inform us in matters of fact, but in some spiritual truths, to which they bear some proportion.

This we see in Jotham’s parable of the trees going to choose themselves a king, Judges 9:7 to Judges 15:2.

Judges 9:7 | When this was reported to Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, & cried out: “Listen to me, O leaders of Shechem, & may God listen to you.

Judges 15:2 | “I was sure that you thoroughly hated her,” said her father “so I gave her to one of the people who accompanied you. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.”

It is not necessary that all the actions of people, mentioned in a parable, should be morally just & good.

The actions of the unjust steward, Luke 16:1-8, were not Song of Solomon 3 dly.

Luke 16:1-8 | Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’

The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my position? I am too weak to dig & too ashamed to beg. I know what I will do, so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes...’ And he called in each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first. ‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he answered. ‘Take your bill,’ said the manager. ‘Sit down quickly, & write fifty.’ Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he replied. ‘Take your bill & write eighty,’ he told him. The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.

For right understanding of a parable, our great care must be to attend to the main scope of it; or to what our Lord had chiefly in view, & designed to teach.                     _____________________________________________________

4] This may be learned, either from His general or more particular explication of it; or from what hath been termed the pro-parabola, or preface to the parable; or the epi-parabola, or conclusion of it.

5] It is not to be expected that all the particular actions or things represented in a parable, should be answered by something in the explication.

Lastly, Though the scope of the parable be the main thing we are to attend to, yet it may collaterally inform us in several other things also.

This way of teaching, extremely common in the eastern countries, & much used by our Lord, was particularly calculated to draw & fix our attention;

to excite the inquiry of such as were well disposed, & to lead them to a serious examination & diligent searching after the truth veiled under such emblems;

to teach, in a manner most natural, beautiful, & instructive, by common & familiar objects, the most divine & important doctrines, &

give clearer ideas of them than could have been otherwise attained;

to cause divine truths to make a more deep & lasting impression on men’s minds, & to be better remembered.

Add to this, He taught by parables, that He might convey in a manner the least offensive some very unpalatable truths, such as the rejection of the Jews & the calling of the Gentiles.

It must be observed, also, as we learn from Matthew 13:11-15, that, by an awful mixture of justice & mercy, our Lord intended hereby to throw a veil over some of the mysteries of His kingdom, & to conceal from the proud & careless those truths which, if they understood, He foresaw they would only abuse to their greater condemnation.

In this chapter our Lord delivers seven parables, directing the four former, as being of general concern, to all the people; the three latter, to His disciples.

He begins with the parable of a sower who cast His seed on four different kinds of ground, only one of which brought forth fruit, not because of any difference in the seed wherewith the others were sown, or any defect in the cultivation of them, but because of other reasons specified in the parable.

And these were designed to represent four classes of hearers of the Word of God, only one of which bears fruit to His glory; not because a different doctrine is declared to the others, or less labour bestowed upon them, but because of the hinderances of fruitfulness spoken of in the explanation of the parable.

How exquisitely proper was this parable to be an introduction to all the rest! inasmuch as in it our Lord shows us why, when the same sower, He himself, or any messenger of his, always sows the same seed, it does not always produce the same effect.

                     _____________________________________________________

Matthew 13:4-9.

When He sowed, some seeds fell by the way-side — By the side of a beaten path which lay through the ground He was sowing.

This wayside being neither broken up by the plough nor hedged in, the seed that fell here lay uncovered, & was partly trodden down, & partly devoured by the fowls, Luke 8:5, so that no fruit could be expected.

Some fell upon stony places, επι τα πετρωδη, upon rocky places.

Luke says, επι την πετραν, upon the rock; where they had not much earth — Either above them to retard their springing, or under them to nourish their roots; & forthwith, ευθεως, speedily, they sprung up, & looked very promising.

And when the sun was up, & shone hot upon them, that is, upon the tender blades, they were scorched by the warmth of His beams, & because they had no root — No room for taking root in so shallow a bed of earth, & lacked moisture, [so Luke,] they withered away & perished.

Observe, if they had had sufficient depth of earth, wherein to take root, & had not lacked moisture, the heat of the sun, however great, would not have caused them to wither, but rather would have promoted their growth.

And some fell among thorns — Under the Word thorns is included brambles, thistles, & every other kind of weed which is apt to spring up among corn, & to prevent its growth & fruitfulness.

Weeds, of whatever kind, do not usually appear immediately when the corn is sown, nor perhaps till long after.

The corn takes root, springs up, & perhaps even covers the ground, & bids fair for a plentiful crop, before they make their appearance: but as they are the natural product of the soil, they thrive better & grow faster than the corn, & soon overtop it.

And, if they be suffered to remain, they absorb the moisture, & exhaust the fertilizing virtue of the ground; they also shade the corn from the kindly influences of the sun & rain, & so choke it that it has not room to expand itself.

It therefore gradually declines, & at last dies away, & renders the husbandman’s labour, & the seed sown, fruitless.

But other, the rest of the seed, fell into good ground, soft & ploughed up, not hard, unbroken, & trodden down, like a way-side; not a rocky place, but a deep soil; not a bed of thorns, brambles, & weeds, but ground purged of all such obstructions to fertility; & brought forth fruit — Being deeply rooted & nourished, it grew, & increased so as not only to produce an ear, but full & ripe corn in the ear, & that in rich abundance; some of it thirty times as much as the seed sown, some sixty, & some even a hundred times as much.

Who hath ears to hear, let Him — A proverbial expression used by our Lord, when He spake of things of very great importance, & which deserved peculiar attention.

Such were the things now declared; they merited, & will merit, the most serious consideration of all who would not be forgetful or unfruitful hearers of the Word of God, but would bring forth fruit worthy of their privileges.

[romancatholicreflections]

28th August >> Daily Reflection on Today's First Reading (1Thessalonians 1:2-5, 8-10) for Roman Catholics on Monday of the Twenty-First week in Ordinary Time

Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5, 8-10 We have been reading from the Old Testament for the past nine weeks. We began with the 12th chapter of the book of Genesis and went through selected passages from each of the first eight books of the Bible in order: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Ruth. Today we go back to the New Testament and we begin with readings from the first letter of Paul to the Christians of Thessalonika, in Macedonia, northern Greece. The letters of Paul (and those attributed to him) are not presented in our New Testament in the order in which they were written. They have been listed according to their length, so the letter to the Romans, being the longest, is placed first and the short letter to Philemon is last. The first letter to the Thessalonians, although well down the list, is actually the earliest letter of Paul’s that we have. It seems to have been written from the city of Corinth, in Achaia, in southern Greece. It was written about the year 51 AD or just a little over 20 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. This makes it also the earliest of the 27 books of the whole New Testament. It was written, as were all the Pauline letters, well before the first gospel. This makes it a work of considerable significance. Twenty years, in many ways, was a much shorter period in those days than now because society changed much more slowly and, in a 20-year period, would hardly have changed at all. Nevertheless, as we read through this letter we see how well developed the Christian message already is. The ideas contained here were, for the Christians who read them, part of the Gospel message, i.e. the Good News about God which came to us through Jesus Christ. Note that Paul uses the word “gospel” (euangelion, ‘euaggelion, Good News) in today’s passage, although Mark, Matthew, Luke and John – as we know them – would not begin to appear for another 20 years. The New International Version Study Bible gives this introduction to the city of Thessalonica: Thessalonica was a bustling seaport city at the head of the Thermaic Gulf. It was an important communication and trade centre, located at the junction of the great Egnatian Way and the road leading north to the Danube. Its population numbered about 200,000, making it the largest city in Macedonia. It was also the capital of its province. The background of the Thessalonian church is found in Acts 17:1-9. Since Paul began his ministry there in the Jewish synagogue, it is reasonable to assume that the new church included some Jews. However, 1:9-10 and Acts 17:4 seem to indicate that the church was largely Gentile in membership… Paul’s purpose in writing this letter was to encourage the new converts in their trials (3:3-5), to give instruction concerning godly living (4:1-8), to urge some not to neglect daily work (4:11-12) and to give assurance concerning the future of believers who die before Christ returns… The subject of eschatology seems to be predominant in both Thessalonian letters. Every chapter of 1 Thessalonians ends with a reference to the Second Coming of Christ, with chap 4 giving it major consideration… The two letters are often designated as the eschatological letters of Paul. (edited) Today’s reading may be summarised as follows: Paul expresses his satisfaction that the three principal Christian characteristics – faith, hope and love – are at work in the Thessalonian community. Unhesitatingly, he places its members among those specially beloved and chosen by God. He recalls that his preaching of the Gospel to them was not received as a mere intellectual exercise but had made a strong actual impact on their lives which not even the opposition of unbelievers could dispel. Their faith has been an inspiration to Christians elsewhere, who have been impressed especially by the Thessalonians’ complete abandonment of idolatry for the worship of the true God, and by their profound orientation toward the Second Coming of Jesus. (New American Bible) The letter begins, as usual, with greetings from Paul – together with Silvanus and Timothy – to the local Christians for whom he is writing. He assures the Thessalonians that they are constantly in his prayers and those of his companions. There then comes a typical Pauline blessing: “We remember before our God and Father how active is the faith, how unsparing the love, how persevering the hope which you have from our Lord Jesus Christ.” In this relatively short sentence the very core of Christianity is expressed. We see the centrality of the Trinitarian relationship between the Father and Christ and the Spirit, as well as the vital elements of faith, hope and love. This triad of faith, hope and love is found frequently throughout the New Testament. – Real faith results in action. “What good is it to profess faith without practicing it?… Faith without works is as dead as a body without breath” (James 2:14,26). – Christian hope is not mere wishful thinking but firm confidence in Jesus Christ and his promises of a life that never ends. “I am the Way, I am Truth and Life.” – Unsparing love imitates that of Jesus, who said that the greatest love anyone could show was to give one’s life for one’s friends. “We know, brothers loved by God, that you have been chosen, because our gospel came to you not only in words, but also in the power and in the Holy Spirit and with great effect.” He addresses them as “brothers loved by God”. They are all united to each other as children of one Father and brothers and sisters of his Son. The term ‘brothers’ is used by Paul 28 times in the two Thessalonian letters. “Our gospel”, that is, the gospel proclaimed by Paul, Silas and Timothy, a gospel they themselves had received by faith and passed on. It ultimately comes from God the Father and then through Christ to his followers and beyond. It is not mere hollow-sounding words. It is filled with power and, once assimilated, can have a transforming effect on one’s whole life. This has been its effect on the Thessalonian Christians. And anyone who proclaims the Christian message through the words of Scripture knows that there is a power there that goes far beyond any human eloquence. And “you observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your sake.” The example of Paul’s own life and that of his companions was a kind of living gospel, which also had its influence on them. And they lived this life, not to draw attention to themselves but to lead the Christians to the following of Jesus’ Way. “Your light must shine before others so that they may see the goodness in your acts and give praise to your heavenly Father” (Matt 5:16). Paul then congratulates the Thessalonians on the quality of their faith whose reputation has spread far and wide not only to Macedonia, of which Thessalonika is the capital, and to Achaia in the south where Corinth was situated, but everywhere. “It was from you that the word of the Lord rang out.” So effective has been their influence that Paul has hardly to speak about it himself. One reason why the Thessalonian example became so widespread was because the city lay on the important Egnatian Way (Via Egnatiana). Apart from that, it was a busy seaport and the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia. People in other places are telling Paul about how he began his work with the Thessalonians, how they turned away from false gods and came to serve the living and true God and are now waiting for the return of Jesus, his Son. Here we have three marks of true conversion: 1, turning from idols (of all kinds); 2, serving God; and 3, waiting for Christ to return. In his two short letters to the Thessalonians, Paul speaks much of the second coming of Christ. In this early period of Christianity, this was a major preoccupation for Christians. As the years passed and there was no sign of the Second Coming and people were dying off before it happened, the conviction of an imminent coming waned and the focus switched to spending a long life in the service of the Gospel. Right now, though, they are waiting for the One who will save them from the Retribution, the Day of Reckoning, that is to come. We have in these last two sentences of the reading two main elements of the Good News as preached by Paul: a vigorous emphasis on monotheism and a Christology stressing the coming of the Risen Lord. We might ask ourselves, if Paul was writing to the Christian community in which we live – our diocese or our parish – what do we think he might want to say by way of praise or criticism? What should we be developing further and what should we be correcting or abandoning? And how much of what he might say could apply to me personally?