Hi Brian,
It was so nice to spend time with you and your family! Thank you so much for having us stay. I forgot to mention that I won’t be able to do the blog while we’re here as I don’t have my resources with me! I may post some blessings and lessons from being in this beautiful place! I will get right back to it when we get home!
Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!
Sunday, April 8, 2018
Hi Brian!
This week 'I AM' going to cover another of the Mysteries we went over on a Wednesday night a couple of weeks ago! It is SO good! This one is called "The Power Of As".
"In the Book of Ephesians it is written, 'Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children'. How would you understand and apply that?" asked the teacher.
"Beloved children would imitate their fathers, So since you are beloved children, imitate your heavenly Father, God."
"That's good," he said. "'Be imitators of God as beloved children' You could take that to mean since you are beloved children, imitate God. And that would be correct. But it doesn't exactly say that. It says as, the Greek word hoce. Hoce can be translated as in the same way as, or just like. So it could be translated as 'Be imitators of God in the same way as, or just like beloved children.' How do you carry out that command? First you must have an idea of what beloved children are, how they act, how they react, how they live. Then you live as if you were one of them. So as you believe they would act, so act in that same way. As a child of God, you are not bound by what you've been or even by what you are now. In God you have the power to live as you are not ... or rather as you are not yet ... but to live as you are yet to be. And toward that end, the word as is a very powerful thing. When the angel came to Gideon, he found a man living in fear. Yet he said to him, 'The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.' A mighty man of valor was not who Gideon was, but who Gideon was to become. But the angel greeted him as if he was a mighty man of valor. Gideon now had to live by faith as if he was that mighty man of valor. And that's what he became. That's the secret of as. Do not be bound by what you are. Rather, live as if you were that which you are to become. Be as Gideon, the one whose life was changed when an angel greeted him. And do you know what the angel called him ... in Hebrew? He called him gibbor. Gibbor literally means champion. Now imagine how a champion in God would live, a person of righteousness, purity, holiness, godliness, and power. Imagine how a champion of faith would live. Then live as that champion. Live as if you could do great and mighty things for God ... even if it's far beyond anything you've known, or been, or done. Live by faith as if you could, as if that champion was you and , as it was with Gideon, it will become so. It will become you in the power of as."
The Mission: Live now not according to who you are but as you are to be. Live this day in the power of as - as a victorious, mighty champion!
Judges 6:11-12; Ephesians 5:1, 21-29
I LOVE this! As we meditate on the Word and who HE says we are, Holy Spirit gives us the picture of what that looks like. Then as we meditate on that, he will show us how to begin to BE that! Neither you or Kristine would be where you are in your careers, or as spouses and parents, if you hadn't had a God-given image of what that would look like! Your successes came from having the right image of what you were aiming for! So we CAN BE all HE says we are in the Word! I am going to use a song I used a couple of blogs ago because it is SO appropriate! "Who You Say I Am" by Hillsong Worship from their new album "There Is More".
This week 'I AM' going to cover another of the Mysteries we went over on a Wednesday night a couple of weeks ago! It is SO good! This one is called "The Power Of As".
"In the Book of Ephesians it is written, 'Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children'. How would you understand and apply that?" asked the teacher.
"Beloved children would imitate their fathers, So since you are beloved children, imitate your heavenly Father, God."
"That's good," he said. "'Be imitators of God as beloved children' You could take that to mean since you are beloved children, imitate God. And that would be correct. But it doesn't exactly say that. It says as, the Greek word hoce. Hoce can be translated as in the same way as, or just like. So it could be translated as 'Be imitators of God in the same way as, or just like beloved children.' How do you carry out that command? First you must have an idea of what beloved children are, how they act, how they react, how they live. Then you live as if you were one of them. So as you believe they would act, so act in that same way. As a child of God, you are not bound by what you've been or even by what you are now. In God you have the power to live as you are not ... or rather as you are not yet ... but to live as you are yet to be. And toward that end, the word as is a very powerful thing. When the angel came to Gideon, he found a man living in fear. Yet he said to him, 'The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.' A mighty man of valor was not who Gideon was, but who Gideon was to become. But the angel greeted him as if he was a mighty man of valor. Gideon now had to live by faith as if he was that mighty man of valor. And that's what he became. That's the secret of as. Do not be bound by what you are. Rather, live as if you were that which you are to become. Be as Gideon, the one whose life was changed when an angel greeted him. And do you know what the angel called him ... in Hebrew? He called him gibbor. Gibbor literally means champion. Now imagine how a champion in God would live, a person of righteousness, purity, holiness, godliness, and power. Imagine how a champion of faith would live. Then live as that champion. Live as if you could do great and mighty things for God ... even if it's far beyond anything you've known, or been, or done. Live by faith as if you could, as if that champion was you and , as it was with Gideon, it will become so. It will become you in the power of as."
The Mission: Live now not according to who you are but as you are to be. Live this day in the power of as - as a victorious, mighty champion!
Judges 6:11-12; Ephesians 5:1, 21-29
I LOVE this! As we meditate on the Word and who HE says we are, Holy Spirit gives us the picture of what that looks like. Then as we meditate on that, he will show us how to begin to BE that! Neither you or Kristine would be where you are in your careers, or as spouses and parents, if you hadn't had a God-given image of what that would look like! Your successes came from having the right image of what you were aiming for! So we CAN BE all HE says we are in the Word! I am going to use a song I used a couple of blogs ago because it is SO appropriate! "Who You Say I Am" by Hillsong Worship from their new album "There Is More".
VERSE 1:
Who am I that the highest King
Would welcome me
I was lost but He brought me in
Oh His love for me
Oh His love for me
CHORUS:
Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I’m a child of God
Yes I am
VERSE 2:
Free at last
He has ransomed me
His grace runs deep
While I was a slave to sin
Jesus died for me
Yes He died for me
CHORUS 2:
Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I’m a child of God
Yes I am
In my Father’s house
There’s a place for me
I’m a child of God
Yes I am
BRIDGE:
I am chosen
Not forsaken
I am who You say I am
You are for me
Not against me
I am who You say I am
Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Hi Brian!
It was SO good to see everyone this weekend! Your girls are so fun and so loving! The word for this week is an interesting one! It is "eyeservice" and is found in two places in the New Testament: Ephesians 6:6 and Colossians 3:22. I am including the verses before and after these.
Ephesians 6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; 6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: 8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. KJV
Colossians 3:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. KJV
This is the Greek word "ophthalmodouleia". Strong's Concordance says: sight-labor that needs watching. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: service performed (only) under the master's eye. Vine's Expository Dictionary adds: diligently performed when he (the master) is looking, but neglected in his absence. Louw and Nida Greek-English Lexicon also adds this: to serve with a view to impressing others; to serve in order to call attention to oneself. I haven't known MANY people who operate this way, but over the years I have worked with SOME! This type of person is rarely a real team player! They are more concerned with drawing attention to themselves, many times at the expense of other people. They APPEAR to be working and holding up their end of things, but usually leave others to pick up the slack. The thing that they don't realize is that there are rewards for faithfulness, diligence and integrity that will not come any other way. Rewards like the promise that ANY good thing that we do will be reciprocated by the LORD Himself! Rewards like favor and success in whatever you do, both in work and career, and in hobbies, pastimes, interests, endeavors, family and friends! I think it is pretty obvious that there is no "eyeservice" going on with you or Kristine, and your girls will reap the benefits of such great examples! I LOVE reading the Word and finding that I have already been doing things God's way! Here is Hillsong with "Crowns":
Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!
It was SO good to see everyone this weekend! Your girls are so fun and so loving! The word for this week is an interesting one! It is "eyeservice" and is found in two places in the New Testament: Ephesians 6:6 and Colossians 3:22. I am including the verses before and after these.
Ephesians 6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; 6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: 8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. KJV
Colossians 3:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. KJV
Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!
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