Reproach

A simple search in the Bible of the word reproach will yield a list of many scriptures.  Just reading several of them you'll get the impression that the word is not used in a favorable way.
There are several ways to apply the word reproach, but I would like to focus in on one particular phrase you'll see, that is being above/beyond reproach.
There are two basic way to be above/beyond reproach
1) With respect to God:

Colossians 1:21-23 (NASB)

" ²¹And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,
 ²²yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach--
 ²³if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister."
~You see we are counted "beyond reproach" in the mind of God because of the work Christ accomplished for us.

2) With respect to Man:
Philippians 2:14-16
 ^"14Do all things without grumbling or disputing;
 ¹⁵so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
 ¹⁶holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain."
~You see we are to live lives such that we are "above reproach" in this world.

The first reproach is has been taken away for us by Christ, but I must ask...  Are you "beyond reproach" with respect to God?

The second reproach is a little bit more tricky as we must still live in this "crooked and perverse generation" and it's not so easy.  This is where the rubber meets the road and the real work (and obedience), for us, comes in.  Pray, study, then obey...  So, I must ask...  How is you reproach-able-ness (is that even a word?) with respect to man coming?

Let me know.


May God bless you,

Patrick

Getting to the heart of the Matter.

Image via Wikipedia

What is in your heart?  I mean, what's really in there, deep down inside of your heart?
I'd like to call your attention to two verses that talk about this important matter.
First is Proverbs 27:19
     "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man."
and the second is Luke 6:45
     "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart."


 The qualities and attributes that the Proverb writer and Jesus are teaching about are necessarily products of a good or evil heart.  Often the mouth is the primary vehicle for the evidence of either.  Many times we are judged by others, not by what we believe or what we think, but by what we say and do.  Our hearts are reflected in what we do, how we spend our time, how we talk and relate to others, what we say, what we condone and what we condemn.
My question to you is-What how is your heart being reflected?

Let me know,

Patrick

The Wisdom of God

Psalm 111:10
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever."

It is interesting how much we can learn from our children.  How they so innocently and simply point out things that we overlook or take for granted.  Last night as we were going through our bedtime routine and came to our prayer time, my wife and I were once again reminded by our son of the simple fundamentals of living for God that we tend to over-complicate.  His prayer was simple, "Dear Lord, thank you for this day.  Please help us to obey and to learn your wisdom."  We were floored!  Keep in mind that he's only 3 1/2 years old.  I don't know how he came up with this prayer.  We've often times taught our children to pray for help with obedience, but "to learn your wisdom," is not a phrase we regularly use...  I think we may start though.
Some things to consider...
~Do you over-complicate your walk with God?
~Do you pray for God to help you to obey His will?
~Do you pray for Godly wisdom?
~Do you thank God for your day? (There's always something to be thankful for.)

Thoughts???


God bless,

Patrick

In Him...

Today, I have a short little exercise for you to try.
Read the following passage from Ephesians 1:1-14 and take note of all the times Paul uses the phrase "in Him" or a similar phrase (I'll add emphasis
to make it a little easier).

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: ²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  In love ⁵He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, ⁶to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according tothe riches of His grace ⁸which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight ⁹He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him ¹⁰with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him ¹¹also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, ¹²to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. ¹³In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.

WOW...  We certainly do have a lot IN HIM!

Are you IN HIM?

Thoughts

Normal?

I think one of the things plaguing Christianity today is a "normalization" of sin.  This is highly contributed to by the way our culture is; nothing is wrong, don't judge anything etc...  Often times I think we see sin, but don't look on it the way God does.  But isn't that what we should do?  Think back to the days in the graden of Eden.  Adam and Eve lived in that perfect, sinless state; then with one seemingly simple act they altered the course of events forever.  Notice God's response, though.  He did not tolerate their behavior, He immediately expelled them from the garden.  Do we look at sin like this?  How often do we watch T.V. or go to movies or surf the net and watch shows or videos in which people are sinning and think nothing of it?  Or maybe we think, "Boy... I'm glad I'm not like that."  I'm not implying that we cut ourselves off from everything, but I am trying to get us thinking about how we view sin and respond to it.  Has sin become acceptable?  Has it become tolerable?  Has it become normal???  I don't think God would answer yes to any of these.  Just think, would you have sent your only son to die for something that was acceptable, tolerable and normal?
Ephesians 5: 11-12 says, "¹¹Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; ¹²for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret."


Let me know what you think,

Patrick

Signs

Luke 11:29 "And as the crowds were increasing, He began to say,, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah."" (NASB)

Signs, signs, we all want signs!  Something to prove to us that Jesus is real, that God exists, that we are, in fact, saved.

Jesus dealt with this subject quite bluntly here.  The problem he was facing was not that people didn't have enough information about Him, but that they had evil hearts and refused to believe and were blaming it on a lack of "signs." (Remember Jesus was actually there in person, what more would you need?)  Jonah on the other hand was preaching God's message back in Old Testament times to a nation (Nineveh) that was full of wickedness, yet they heard his message and believed it and repented! (No signs except his message.) 
We have God's word with us today, we have His message to us.  Why do we sometimes have such a hard time believing it?!?  Jesus wants us to be like the people of Nineveh.  He wants us to simply hear His words (the Bible) and believe...

Thoughts???

Let me know,

Patrick Antonucci

"Thank you we be here."

Psalm 86:12
"I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,And will glorify Your name forever. "

When we sit down to a meal, we all go around and each take a turn praying.  Keep in mind that my son is 3 1/2, my first daughter is 2 and the baby is 10 months.  It takes some time, but it's rewarding.  One of the things I like about it is what the kids say when they pray.  Sometimes they say the cutest things and other times they say things that are so profound that my wife and I are amazed.  Often they'll pray about things that my wife or I will pray about (This really makes us think about what we say and do around them).  But most every prayer for my son and daughter starts out with, "Dear Lord, Thank you we be here."  Hearing it over and over each time we pray, I sort of take it for granted what they are saying.  Now I don't know if they know the significance of what they're saying, but I was thinking about it the other day.  It's such a simple, little prayer, but very appropriate.  "Thank you we be here" says so much with so little.  Think about what this phrase means.  I'll leave the details up to you, but do take a few minutes and think about it and let me know what you come up with.

Thank you,

Patrick Antonucci