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Words such as theology and doctrine come with negative connotations for many Christians. This is a great tragedy, as I firmly believe every Christian needs to study theology to some degree in their Christian walk. There are many reasons why Christian’s need to study theology. In no particular order here are five reasons you need to study theology, and hopefully some of these you won’t have considered before.
1. You’re a theologian already…
Why do you need to study theology? Because theology isn’t something only a Professor of Theology has–we all believe something about God and therefore are theologians in our own right. However, what needs to be asked is whether what you believe is correct, and the study of theology can help answer that question.
2. Your love for Jesus is intrinsically linked with your knowledge of His Word…
Why do you need to study theology? Because Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15 I heard someone remark that a certain Christian may not have been that great theologically, but that was okay because they really loved Jesus. However, Jesus says that if we love Him, we will obey what He commands. How can we obey Him if we don’t go to His Word to rightly know His commands?
3. Your doctrine will determine how you live…
Why do you need to study theology? Because what you believe your doctrine will determine how you live your practice. This can be seen in everyday life. If you believe something to be poisonous, you simply won’t drink it. Similarly, your beliefs about God and His Word determine how you live day to day. For example if you believe God only speaks through His Word then you will study it diligently, however if you believe God speaks through impressions and the like, then you’ll listen for that still small voice. The aforementioned example drastically changes how a person goes about determining God’s will for their lives, and illustrates why you need to study theology.
4. Your affections will determine what you study…
Why do you need to study theology? Because what your affections are placed upon will determine what you spend your time studying. If your hobby is photography you will want to study the subject to know how to improve your photographs and to increase your love and appreciation for that pass-time. Likewise, if you’re a Christian and your primary affection is upon God, why would you not want to study His Word to increase your love and appreciation for Him and His gospel?
5. Your humility depends on it…
Why do you need to study theology? Because without studying theology it is possible that you will think too highly of yourself, and not high enough of God. It is true that knowledge puffs up 1 Corinthians 8:1, however the Scriptures rightly understood and applied, will give you, for example, the knowledge of man’s utter depravity and wretchedness before God, and also of God’s magnificence, holiness, sovereignty and grace, which can only serve to send a true convert to his knees in humility.
May God be glorified as you study theology, humbly opening His Word with the desire to know more about His special revelation to man.
via Five Reasons You Need to Study Theology.
The Existence of God
Challenge: I dont see God.
Response: [hold hands over eyes] I dont see you.
NEXT! Proverbs 21:22
via Pyromaniacs: The Existence of God NEXT #2.
For the single ladies out there…
How do I prepare for marriage and at the same time guard my heart?
As women, this is an incredibly difficult task because we were specifically created out of man for man. However, if we trust Jesus, we can trust that He has the best for us - whether that be a life of singleness or marriage. I think it is wise to prepare to be a wife, mother, and homemaker. If we stay single, these skills will serve us and others well - our families, our communities, and any domain that God grants us ministry in. Set your heart before Him, guarding it in purity, but keeping it tender in hope.
Five “Rules” For Women:
Don’t
Assume
Expect
Initiate
Manipulate
(And if it’s from God) Don’t fight
What are some ways I can prepare to be my husband’s helper/completer?
There are so many things I wish I would have known to learn or areas I needed to grow in before I was married. It is with this hindsight that I offer to you my list of “to do’s” before you become married (remember, these will also serve you and others well as a single woman living for God):
- Know Jesus Christ. You will not be able to fully love and give yourself to a man until you have let Jesus into your heart to change it, heal it, and nurture it. Love Him above all else.
- Purity. If you have struggles with attachments to men, sexual addictions, past abortions, sexual abuse, commitment issues, etc., deal with these now. Do not let a day go by that you hold onto any brokenness or sin that needs dealt with. Submit yourself humbly to God and He will help you. Get help from others as well. Remember, Jesus heals the broken-hearted.
- Deal with your “core” lies. We all have lies we believe about ourselves and Satan wants to use them to tear us and others apart. To determine your “core lies,” watch for things that make you angry, anxious, or depressed. The core lies are usually under there. Whatever goals we’ve created because of our core lies have to go. For example, one of my core was “I am not good enough.” If I felt threatened in a situation that hit on my lie (”why did you let the kids watch T.V. today?) and I would get very angry and defensive. I had to let go of that lie because it would affect how I treated my husband. I also had to learn the truth - that Jesus loves me so much that He died for me and He is the ONLY one who has the authority to tell me who I am.
- choose now to let your future husband be who he is and that “he is enough for me”. Men struggle with feeling that they are not enough. Be a refuge and place where he can experience freedom and grace. Be his biggest fan
- Become a wise steward of your finances. Learn how to balance a checkbook, budget (and stick to it), and save. If you have debt, work diligently now to pay it off.
- Learn a few “domestic” skills, such as sewing, canning, knitting, painting, crafting, etc. (These come in handy if you have to live frugally and when you have kiddos).
- Let go of your independence. I cannot tell you how much you holding onto your own “rights” or independence will harm your marriage. Here is an excerpt my friend Laura wrote regarding this:
Perhaps the most significant thing you will sacrifice is the spirit of independence which is destroying women. There is no room for the independent spirit in a woman’s life: we simply cannot love a man, children, or others well if we are entangled in this popular mentality that we are the center of the universe and we should have everything our way and we should be able to accomplish everything we desire and we shouldn’t have to answer to anyone but ourselves.
If you want to be great in God’s kingdom, learn to be the servant of all.
In the world’s eyes, you will be sacrificing so much, but in God’s eyes, you will be the lifeblood of His next generation, a generation who will praise His name.
That pretty much involves you eating free Pizza, and hanging out with friends, so it sounds real good to me…
We are invited to be the judges of a Pizza cook-off of the Bridge Builders Class. It will be a good time and a big party, so I hope you will be there if you can. Tomorrow from 4-7pm.
If you can’t make it to this, don’t forget about all the other things…
Here are some directions to let you know where it is
5935 Rogers Rd.
Cumming, GA 30040
I just wanted to write and let everyone know what a great time we had last Friday night at our activity. The night started with a competitive game of cards, where Eric and I were able to beat Philip and Josh. After that we ate some great soup and watched a movie. It was really a fun time, and you truly missed out if you were not there. It was great to have Josh there too. He has just started coming, and it was good to be able to spend some more time getting to know him.
I know you are probably thinking “Man I am so sad and disappointed that I skipped that activity.” Don’t worry we are having another one this Saturday at 4. This is going to be great because we are going over to the Pearson’s and their Sunday School class is cooking us pizza for free. We get to be the taste testers, judging which pizza is the best. This means we get to eat a lot of pizza, you really can’t beat that. So I hope to see you there.
-Lindsay
I am convinced of prayer more than I am motivated to pray way too often, but I am moved to pray more often when I am reminded of its vitality in my life. It is the secret to a real Christian life. The secret to getting the attitude of God toward a topic. The secret to understanding things spiritually and not carnally…
Some things I found recently that I need to be reminded of in my desirous, but often failing, prayer life:
Johns Gospel includes 3 key passages on prayer in chapters 14 through 16.
- First, in John 14:13-14, Jesus teaches that prayer is for the glory of His Father. God gives whatever we ask—provided it accords with the pursuit of his glory.
- Second, in John 15:7-16, Jesus teaches that prayer is for our fruit-bearing. Prayer is a wartime walkie-talkie for advancing Gods global mission, not a domestic intercom for calling in personal comforts.
- Third, in John 16:23-24, Jesus teaches that prayer is for our joy being full. God wants us to be happy, and he means to do it through our prayers.
Yes, prayer is a duty—the way eating and drinking and breathing are duties. But prayer also is a means of grace and a great gift from God.
Zechariah 13:8-9 gives us an additional lesson: God can put his people through the fires of suffering to awaken their appetite for prayer. May we not become so dulled by prosperity that our hearts become too weak to sense our profound need for prayer. And when suffering comes, may it prompt us to turn to God in prayer, rather than turn away in unbelief.
Each year Christmas night finds members of my family feeling some melancholy. After weeks of anticipation, the Christmas celebrations have flashed by us and are suddenly gone. And we’re left standing, watching the Christmas taillights and music fade into the night.
But it’s possible that this moment of melancholy may be the best teaching moment of the whole season. Because as long as the beautiful gifts remain unopened around the tree and the events are still ahead of us, they can appear to be the hope we are waiting for. But when the tree is empty and events are past, we realize we are longing for a lasting hope.
So last night, as Pam and I tucked our kids into bed, we talked about a few things with them:
- Gifts and events can’t fill the soul. God gives us such things to enjoy. They are expressions of his generosity as well as ours, but gifts and celebrations themselves are not designed to satisfy. Theyre designed to point us to the Giver. Gifts are like sunbeams. We are not meant to love sunbeams but the Sun.
- Putting our hope in gifts will leave us empty. Many people live their lives looking for the right sunbeam to make them happy. But if we depend on anything in the world to satisfy our soul’s deepest desire, it will eventually leave us with that post-Christmas soul-ache. We will ask, “Is that all?” because we know deep down that’s not all there is. We are designed to treasure a Person, not his things.
- It is more blessed to give than receive. What kind of happiness this Christmas felt richer, getting the presents that you wanted or making someone else happy with something that you gave to them? Receiving is a blessing, but Jesus is right—giving is a greater blessing. A greedy soul lives in a small, lonely world. A generous soul lives in a wide world of love.
It’s just like God to let the glitter and flash of the celebrations even in his honor to pass and then to come to us in the quiet, even melancholic void they leave. Because often that’s when we are most likely to understand the hope he intends for us to have at Christmas.
via Hopeful Post-Christmas Melancholy :: Desiring God.
I want to let yall know about some things upcoming with Single Focus in January. There are a lot of things going on and we would love to have you be a part!
January
1-3 - Our Generation Summit in Gatlinburg, TN
4 - (am) Testimony Sunday in class
4 - (pm) Mark Tolson’s support-raising send off service
11 - Single Focus Special Speaker - missionary David Gardner to Peru
16 - Dinner and a Movie Night - Facing the Giants
18 - PM Service will be send off to Peru for Chris Gardner
21 - $1 Bowling Night
28-30 - Baptist History Conference - 6pm
There was something neat I found when I read my Bible this morning.
I read in Jeremiah 50:39-40 this about Babylon:
“39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.”
So, I decided to see what was going on with ancient Babylon today. I made a quick search and found this on good ‘ol Wikipedia:
All that remains today of the ancient famed city of Babylon is a mound, or tell, of broken mud-brick buildings and debris in the fertile Mesopotamian plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in Iraq.
Then I noticed a section on…
Reconstruction
In 1985, Saddam Hussein started rebuilding the city on top of the old ruins (because of this, artifacts and other finds may well be under the city by now), investing in both restoration and new construction. To the dismay of archaeologists, he inscribed his name on many of the bricks in imitation of Nebuchadnezzar. One frequent inscription reads: “This was built by Saddam Hussein, son of Nebuchadnezzar, to glorify Iraq”. This recalls the ziggurat at Ur, where each individual brick was stamped with “Ur-Nammu, king of Ur, who built the temple of Nanna“. These bricks became sought after as collectors’ items after the downfall of Hussein, and the ruins are no longer being restored to their original state. ….
When the Gulf War ended, Saddam wanted to build a modern palace, also over some old ruins; it was made in the pyramidal style of a Sumerian ziggurat. He named it Saddam Hill. In 2003, he was ready to begin the construction of a cable car line over Babylon when the invasion began and halted the project.
An article published in April 2006 states that UN officials and Iraqi leaders have big plans for restoring Babylon, making it a gem of a new Iraq as a cultural center complete with shopping malls, hotels, and perhaps a theme park: “One day millions of people will visit Babylon.” [13][14]
Seems like to me that about 4,000 years have passed since Jeremiah prophesied that it would never have anybody there again and it wouldn’t be rebuilt and it still hasn’t been. I wonder if these Iraqi leaders will be able to get it done?