Tag Archive - Romans

Finding Truth

October 9, 2007 in Discipleship with 0 Comments

I am a firm believer that God alone is the source of truth, that His truth is absolute, and that absolute truth is found in God’s Word. However, I don’t believe that God has limited us to finding His truth only in His Word.

In fact, the Bible itself tells us that God has infused both His creation and our conscience with the truth about Him
(Romans 1:18-2:16).

But, truth is found in other places as well. Just as Paul was able to use then-modern poets and philosophers to show God’s truth, so can we (see Acts 17:22-31 and Titus 1:10-14).

I just finished Jim Collins’ excellent book, Good to Great. It’s not about the Bible; it’s about how to turn a good company into a great one. But many of the principles he presents are truth. In fact, out of the 80 sections that I highlighted in my copy of the book, next to 25 of them I wrote at least one Bible reference containing a direct parallel. And many of the rest were similar to Bible principles. I just didn’t think of an exact verse right away.

The same principles that apply to growing a great company apply to growing a great Christian and growing a great church. In fact, that sounds like a great teaching series. Stay tuned!

Sacrifice and Gracefulness

December 20, 2006 in Other with 0 Comments

Church Update
Not much to update. It’s been nearly a year since we last heard an official word from the airport. Keep praying – God’s timing is perfect, even when it drives us nuts.

Personal Update
Last week I sold my car before I had to put repair money into it that I would never see again. Today, I bought a small SUV that I have been looking at, with money that we have been saving for a down payment toward a new house. It took just about everything we had in that fund. We thought that were going to have to start all over.

In an extremely generous and totally unexpected move, the OTCC family gave Saralynn and me back what we paid in rent over the course of this year as a Christmas gift. The best part? It was exactly enough to replenish what we took out of our house savings. Not only is God’s timing perfect, but His provision is also precise – neither more nor less than is necessary for the moment.

We are exceedingly grateful to all who were a part of that decision, not knowing they were playing a role in this.

Scriptural Thought of the Week
Last week I introduced Paul’s phrase of purpose in his letter to the church in Ephesus, “in order that”, looking at 4:28. Here is another instance from the very next verse.

“Not one harmful word is to escape your lips, but (only) if something good to build up where necessary, in order that it might give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29 (my trans.) 

This is a whole lot stronger than in most English translations, but it conveys the force of Paul’s command, rather than impling a simple suggestion. A genuine Christ-follower is not to harm with his/her words. In fact, putting this alongside other passages (see 1 Thessalonians 4:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:12; and 1 Timothy 2:2), it seems like the fewer the words we speak, the quieter our lives, the better. And the words we choose to utter are to be purposefully helpful and appropriate to the moment at hand.

What would your home look like if harmful words were banned – if only helpful, grace-giving words were spoken? How would your friendship with God be if you intentionally chose to only build up other, showing His grace in every word?

Quote of the Week
I finished Swindoll’s book today that has been on my reading list to the left for several weeks. As usual he was very pointed and convicting. Here is his take on a familiar phrase from Romans 12:1.

“The dictionary would call the phrase living sacrifice an oxymoron, a term that is logically self-defeating. Paul’s odd expression is a lot like telling someone to become a living martyr. How can that be? To become a martyr, one has to die. In this case Paul isn’t asking us to seek our own demise, not literally. He is, however, pleasing for us to give up our life as we continue living it. When we get out of bed in the morning, as we arrive at work and put in those hours, as we relate, as we play, as we carry out our personal responsibilities then fall into bed for the night, we are to do everything as a deliberate act of submission out of obedience to God. That path leads to our becoming a living, breathing sacrifice – dead to anything our Master hates, devoted to everything He loves.”

Quoted from: Charles R. Swindoll, So, You Want to Be Like Christ? Eight Essentials to Get You There (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005), p. 173. ISBN: 084991731X

 

 

Until next time,

Dan’l

The comments in this blog are always the personal opinions of Daniel Goepfrich and are not meant to be taken as official statements of Oak Tree Community Church, its staff, or its members.

Post-Election Blog

November 8, 2006 in Other with 0 Comments

Church Update
The new road is open!!! I had to go to the store early this afternoon (my computer power supply died). I was gone for less than 45 minutes. When I left, they were still spraying lines. When I returned, they were moving barricades and letting people through. No news, no announcements. Just open.

The Good: Maybe the airport will be contacting us soon, now that this project is complete, and we are in the path of the next one.

The Bad: We thought that just our street (Lynn Street) was going to be dead-ended at the new road, and the next one(s) north would be open. Not so. There is absolutely no turning west off of the new Mayflower Road into our neighborhood. That means that those coming from the east (from South Bend) can get to us in only two ways:

1 – Go three blocks north on Mayflower, one block west, and back-track three blocks south to Lynn Street (what a pain!)

2 – Go one block south to Edison Road and come in our (formerly) rear entrance, which will be closed when the next phase of the road is started

Obviously, this is not good for us, access-wise. Keep praying – this must be coming to a head soon.

Personal Thoughts on the Election
Well, I have to say that I’m deeply disappointed in the results of yesterday’s mid-term elections. As of this posting, the Virginia Senate race is still being decided, trying to determine if the Democrats will control the U.S. Senate as well as the House. For those of us in north-central Indiana, we lost not only on the national level, but on the state and local levels as well. Democrats gained control of the Indiana State House by a small margin and our representative, Chris Chocola, lost his seat in the U.S. House.

While the Republicans certainly lost the elections, I believe that the ultimate losers of this campaign are the citizens of the U. S. of A. Not because they lost the elections – obviously, the majority of the voters got their pick. However, America lost because of the vast difference in the underlying ideologies of the Republican and Democratic Parties.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I fully believe that all candidates sincerely think that their plan is the best for our country. But I come from a biblical and theological worldview, not just a social one. Biblically and theologically, the foundation of the Democratic Party is just not there. The Republicans aren’t perfect – by any means! – but their conservative values are at least based on biblical principle, even if they’re not always employed properly.

Scriptural Thought of the Week
So what does this mean for us now? First,

“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” Romans 13:1 (NASB) 

No matter what I think of Democratic philosophy or ideology, the fact remains that God is still in control of everything – including the American government – and we are obligated to obey it and Him.

Secondly,

“I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NASB) 

We need to pray for our governmental leaders. Many of them are brand new, and – regardless of the letter behind their names – they’ll need a lot of prayer to get up to speed and try to do what’s right for our country.

In reality, this could turn out to be a very good thing. History has proven time and time again that genuine Christianity actually grows stronger and thrives in the face of godless and anti-God authority. It’s happening in countries all over the world even today. This is our chance to really shine. As the Dems announced over and over in their celebration speeches last night, it truly is a “new day” in America. Let’s do our part to make the biggest impact for Christ that we can in what time we have.

 

 

Until next time,

Dan’l

 

The comments in this blog are always the personal opinions of Daniel Goepfrich and are not meant to be taken as official statements of Oak Tree Community Church, its staff, or its members.

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