have an online Bible study group.

It took a whole lot longer than expected, but I finally got things up and running. I ended up not going with the “feed my sheep” idea but went with http://onefear.net instead. Those of you that were around back when I was starting a t-shirt business will recognize the basic idea behind the name.

The site is still very much in its early stages but I have begun posting on it and there is a form where you can get updates emailed to you.

I would love any feedback or comments!

A few updates and questions.

Alright first update is that I have the domain set up for the website. I’ve actually had that set up for a while but don’t think I mentioned it on here yet. The website itself doesn’t really show any of the work I’ve done for it so far, it is just sitting there. In case anyone wants to bookmark it, it is www.feed-my-sheep.com The title of the website comes from that famous conversation where Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. I’ll explain more in depth on the site why I chose that name.

In a sense this website breaks down into a series of projects as the biggest part of the website is going to be it’s content. I have several ideas for different themes we can explore on the website. I figured I would mention at least a couple of them here in case anyone has feedback. Partially a little teaser of things to come and more importantly so I can get a better idea through feedback of which ones you would like to see first.

1. Life of David
A study exploring the life of David the shepherd boy, war hero, exile, king, musician, adulterer, murderer, and man after God’s heart. Combining the passages that directly tell us the story of his life with the Psalms that he wrote to get a clearer picture of who this man was and the struggles he faced.

2. Time Would Fail to Tell
As I was studying to teach on a passage in Daniel, I came back across a passage in Hebrews that really hit home with me: And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets – who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight… (Hebrews 11:32-34 ESV). This entire chapter is full of great stories of men and women that lived by faith and the incredible ways that God came through for them in their times of need. Even just that short excerpt lists a bunch of incredible stories. This series would be one to discuss each of the stories listed here in more detail. I think there is a great need to look more closely at some of the stories in the old testament when many times we see them as nothing more than a child’s Sunday School story. I think verse 32 says it best when it says that time would fail to tell of all the wonderful stories of faith.

3. Tear Down This Temple
You probably know that when Jesus said, “Tear down this temple and in three days I will build it up.” (paraphrase) He was talking about his own death and resurrection, but have you ever taken a closer look at the symbolism included in the instructions that were given in the construction of the sanctuary? Do you know the differences between the sanctuary and the temple? It is pretty amazing to see some of the prophecy and symbolism included in these passages that can seem like a bunch of random numbers, measurements, and materials. I’ll give you a hint – I don’t think our God does “random” :)

4.Journey Through the Wilderness
Ever wonder how a journey that could have been done in a matter of months turned into 40 years of wandering through the wilderness? In this study we’ll take a closer look at the journey of the Israelites after leaving Egypt. 400 years of slavery took it’s toll on the nation of Israel and in this study we’ll see how God used a handful of plagues to get His people out of Egypt and then spent 40 years getting Egypt out of His people.

These are just a few of the ideas I have come up with… I’ve got more on a notepad but I didn’t grab that notepad before I left the house this morning. Let me know what you think of these ideas (Like em? Hate em? Got a better idea? Couldn’t care less?)

I know some of these seem like big or intimidating topics to a lot of people, and if I’m honest, it’s kind of intimidating to me – but that’s also part of what gets me so excited about it. I love exploring those kinds of topics and explaining them to others in a way that is easier to understand than some of the other resources out there. I strongly believe that it is important to get a solid foundational understanding of the entire picture painted by scripture and I hope this website will be a tool to help many people do that.

I am working on the website that I mentioned in my previous entry still – but have still been very busy lately and haven’t had a ton of time. Plus I’m moving and getting married in the coming months. SO, it might be a few months before I really get things rolling, but I DO want to do this.

I’m up late mulling over some ideas I’ve been tossing around for a while and was wondering if anyone on here would be interested if I were to put them into action…

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A few months ago, I began the process of setting up a website for a life group that I work with. As a kind of kick of for the website, I wrote a series of devotionals in the book of Acts(56 total…)

I have been too busy lately to keep that up, but things should start slowing down soon at least in a couple areas of life. I would like to get in the habit of doing things like that, because I really enjoyed doing it and have received a lot of positive feedback.

I have been considering setting up a separate site for devotionals and other posts. That would provide an easier/better way to share my posts with more than just the life group and to receive feedback and input from others as well. I might even do a video post now and then like I did on here a few times.

If I were to do something like this, would anyone on here be interested?

It would probably be set up like a Blog allowing other people to post comments and such(maybe even allowing certain people to also author posts).

If so, are there any books/passages/topics that you are particularly interested in studying?

I’ve been pretty busy lately, so there’s been another gap in the devotionals, but here is one that I thought would be good this holiday season, with Thanksgiving about a month ago for those of us in the US, and Christmas coming up fast.

It comes out of Luke 10:38-42 – Merry Christmas

Alright, I’m back with another video devotional. It still feels really weird talking to a camera, and I had a bit of a struggle in the editing process… but I guess those are both things that will get better with practice.

Here’s a link to the study, coming out of 2 Samuel 6 – Undignified

I find myself apologizing once again for the gap between these studies. I can’t even begin to explain everything that’s been going on in my life lately… I don’t even understand half of it yet myself, and things aren’t finished yet. Though they do seem to be getting better. It’s been extremely hard for me to focus enough to write anything lately, and even though that is starting to get easier, I got the idea of doing a video devotional. So that’s what I did… and today I uploaded my first one. For some reason once I uploaded it the sound is off a little bit from the video(it’s fine on the copy I have here).

So anyway, here it is: Bear the Marks

Hey everyone. I’m very sorry it’s been so long since I’ve updated this… it’s been an incredibly rough month or so. I could really use continued prayers. I appreciate John Lee posting a couple of times in my absence. I intended to have my next entry be about good choices, but I’m having a really hard time focusing because of all that’s going on in my life right now, so I’m just going to do something from my personal studies.

Tonight, I was reading Jeremiah chapter 2. In my Bible, this chapter is titled God’s Case Against Israel. To start with, here are a couple passages from this chapter:

“Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; Be very desolate,” says the LORD.“For My people have committed two evils:They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,And hewn themselves cisterns broken cisterns that can hold no water.
2:12-13

“Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backslidings will rebuke you.Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the LORD your God, and the fear of Me is not in you,” says the LORD God of hosts.
2:19

“For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face.But in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise and save us.’ But where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, If they can save you in the time of your trouble.”
2:27b-28a

“Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent, surely His anger shall turn from me.’Behold, I will plead My case against you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’”
2:35

This is a chapter full of God rebuking Israel, His chosen nation, because they have turned from Him, and began worshiping other gods. In verses 12-13, He says they have committed two evils. First, they turned from Him, the fountain on living water. Second, they tried making their own gods. He calls those gods broken cisterns that can hold no water. A cistern is used to catch rain water. So the first thing that comes to mind from that comparison is that I’d rather have water out of a fountain, than rain water that’s been sitting there a while anyway, but He says they are cisterns that can’t even hold water. Useless for anything, but still Israel has turned to them when they already had the fountain.

In verse 19, He says that there is going to be a time when it gets so bad that their own wickedness is going to be enough to show them how wrong they are.

In verses 27-28, He says that when times get bad, they’re going to finally turn back toward Him and cry out for help, which shows that they know their gods are useless for help, and He is the one they need. Yet they have still turned away.

Verse 35 is a simple yet powerful statement. I’ve heard countless people say that in this day, “Oh, I’m a good guy, I’m sure God will see that.” Apparently there were people in Israel at this time saying the same thing, and God says, not only that they’re wrong, but that He is going to plead a case against them.



So how do these 2500+ year old verses apply to us today?


Two things come to mind almost immediately. First, the nation of America. I realize not everyone reading this may be from the US, but hopefully you can apply this part to whatever nation you live in. The second things that comes to mind is just Christianity in general, and those professing it.

America, used to be known as a Godly nation. Some say it still is, but I have trouble seeing it many times. A great nation sure, but if we’re not careful, we’re headed in a bad direction. I can see a lot of parallels between our country, and the nation of Israel that God is rebuking in this chapter. We’re turning from Him, taking Him out of schools, government buildings, and it seems, even some churches. A couple weeks ago, someone asked me my thoughts on the coming election, and when I told them, I gave them a scriptural reference reference for why I felt that way… and they told me about the separation of church and state. That blew my mind… I wanted to ask them if they were going to separate whether they agree or disagree with each candidate from their decision to vote as well. Anyway, I just want to use these passages as a word of caution that we need to be sure that, as a nation, we are not making broken cisterns for ourselves.

The second thing is that it seems like even some of the people that profess Christ are turning and going their own ways. With acceptance and tolerance being hot topics today, I’ve seen many churches using questionable doctrine. Some churches are saying that certain sins are okay, God will accept you anyway. God will accept you, if you accept His salvation and repent, but the word repent itself means to turn away, and without at least a desire to repent, I doubt if you’ve actually given your life to Him. Some I know have completely omitted the word “sin” because it could be offensive to some people. Well, I suppose I’m here to be offensive tonight and tell you all that you’re sinners. I am too. My Savior died for sin, He didn’t just think it would be cool to hang on a cross. If you negate sin as a factor in all of this, that would make his death kind of pointless… and I’d like you to read verse 35 again.

Anyway, both as a county, and as the people of God, we need to be careful that we’re not putting other gods before God. That we’re not turning our backs on Him and His Word.

Anyway, guess I was in the mood to complain a bit. Hope that all made sense, and hopefully I’ll be able to update again next week.

Until then, any questions/comments/whatever are welcome.

God bless,
Oogy

I apologize for not making an entry last week and then missing last night too(if you hadn’t noticed the pattern, I’ve been trying to do updates on Tuesdays). I’ve been having a pretty rough time… physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally – you name it.

Anyway, that’s more of a prayer request than an excuse. Rough time or not, I had the choice to make the updates or not.

And that’s what I’d like to talk about. Choices. Life is full of choices. What will I eat? What will I watch on TV? What kind of people will I surround myself with? Will I go to Sunday School or sleep in? Will I call in sick to work today? Will I spend time today reading my Bible and praying? Will I spend all day playing games online? I think you get the point, so I’ll stop there.

The Bible also is full of choices. They say hindsight is 20/20, and since we can see some of the side-effects of the choices we read about, it seems obvious to us what the correct choice should be. In life, sometimes it’s not so obvious – then sometimes it is that obvious, but the right choice is still the harder one to make.

A few examples of Biblical bad choices jump to mind. Probably the most obvious is found in Genesis 3:6

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”

The next that jumps to mind is also in Genesis, this time in chapter 19 verse 26

“But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”

Jumping to the New Testament, in Luke 22:57 we find another:

“But he denied Him, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know Him.’”

Each of these people had been warned against these mistakes.

“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”

“So it came to pass, when they had brought them ouside, that he said, ‘Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.’”

“Then He said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.’”

It’s easy sometimes to look at these decisions and think “Duh!” that’s a stupid mistake, why would anyone do that? But when you think about it, we each face those same decisions everyday. Sure, maybe God didn’t specify one tree that we can’t eat from, or tell us to flee our home lest we be destroyed, but on a deeper level these choices are extremely similar to the ones we face in our daily lives. For example:

Adam and Eve’s choice
We see that sin seems pleasant to the eyes… it’s desirable… it tastesfeels good. We know we’ve been warned against it, but like Adam we see others doing it, they’re telling us how good it feels. Before you know it we’re taking a bite. And maybe we’re not being thrown out of a garden of perfection, but each time we take that bite, we’re breaking fellowship with our creator.

Lot’s wife’s choice
We’ve been told to turn from our sins, to flee from temptation, and to live lives separate from the world. When we head out from the city walls, we’re determined, this new life away from that corruption seems like it might be pretty good, but after we’ve run a few hundred yards(or sometimes just taken a few steps), we start thinking about all things we put behind us. Remembering how good they felt… and how much effort this running is taking. We look back… and no, we’re not turned into a pillar of salt, but we’re driving the nail that much farther into our Savior’s hands.

Peter’s choice
Just what were the effects of Peter’s bad choice? There certainly were effects, but they were less tangible. Probably the most noticeable effect is going to be the immediate guilt. When the rooster crowed after his third denial, I can imagine the wave of guilt he felt. I think we’ve all probably felt it. We’ve just done something we know we shouldn’t and then something snaps us back to reality, hand not caught in the cookie jar but rather covered in chocolate from the cookies we’ve already eaten. Suddenly, we realize how obvious the correct choice was and how wrong the choice we made is. That’s when we look up and see Christ looking back at us, sorrow in His eyes, but waiting for us to repent.

I don’t want it to sound like all choices lead to bad decisions, so I was going to talk about some good decisions too, but this is getting a bit long, so I may save that for another time.

As always, I look forward to any input.

I had something in mind to do for the Bible study this week… but when the time came to do it, I felt like I needed to change it. I just wasn’t sure what to do… and then I came across something pretty amazing. I was going to try to explain this in my own words, but I think I’ll just let you listen to Louie Giglio

Lamanin