While we were still sinners

Lately this passage has been amazing me

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (romans 5:6-8 NIV)

 Its so easy to race through that- "Christ died for sinners, know that, next verse...." But have you ever stopped to consider what that really means? We often get the mentality that we are generally pretty good people who deserve salvation. I've even had people say to me that they deserve salvation more than someone who had committed a particular sin. This passage should lay any thoughts of such nature to rest. In reality we were enslaved by sins, powerless to help ourselves and totally undeserving of the grace of God. What's more, our sins were against God and deeply offensive to him. God would have been totally justified in leaving us to the fate our sins had made for us- but he didn't. How amazing is such a love that God would make the biggest sacrifice possible to redeem people who had done nothing to deserve it and were in fact in rebellion against him. It is such a humbling thought.

New domain name- joannamuses.com

This blog can now be found at joannamuses.com. All your old links, bookmarks and feed subscriptions from the old address will redirect to the new address and should continue to work just fine.

Quotable: Christians and government

I've been meaning to write a blog for a while about our responsibilities towards the government as Christians. I read a blog today by Ginger Kolbaba of Today's Christian Woman that summed up most of what i was going to say a lot better than i would have been able to say it. I encourage you to read the full article

...........The way they talked, it was as if our lives depend on what happens in Washington D.C. As Christians, of course, we know that ultimately they don’t. Of course, in many ways the government affects our daily lives—how much money we keep and give away, where our sons and daughters are sent if they enter the military. But it certainly doesn’t determine our attitudes, joy, and health of our souls. Ultimately, we know that God is in control—regardless of the president’s political leanings or who dominates in Congress.
So where does that leave us—especially if “our side” didn’t win the election? What do we do now?
Read the rest

Song of the week- Lifeline

Brooke Fraser- Lifeline

Book review: The Chronological Study Bible (NKJV)

Chronological Study Bible
 New King James Version 
Published by Thomas Nelson 2008 

If you've ever tried to read the bible from cover to cover you likely would have noticed that the books aren't exactly in the order that the events took place and that separate books often report on the same events. This can get pretty confusing! The Chronological Study Bible attempts to solve this problem through rearranging the traditional order of the text and providing study notes on the historical context.


The text
It uses the New King James version text which is not one of my preferred versions but i found it readable enough and it is supposedly quite accurate. I found that the chronological arrangement of the text they used made many sections of text i'd previously had trouble understanding make more sense. The rearrangement was particularly useful for the prophetic books such as Isaiah and Jeremiah whose prophesies were interspersed with the stories of the events and people they were describing from previous books. I also appreciated the weaving together of the four gospels into the one story of Jesus' life.


The Notes
The Chronological study bible includes very extensive notes. Unlike most study bibles that focus on the theological aspects of the text, the notes in this bible focus primarily on the historical context of the events documented in the bible. The notes include section introductions, transition pieces explaining the context of the upcoming segment of text, short articles on relevant topics, timelines and maps. As well explaining the biblical context of the texts, many of the notes explained the events in relation to the history of other civilizations. I don't know much about ancient history but still found the notes really interesting.


Layout
Of all the study bibles i've used this one is one of the best in terms of layout. All of pages include some colored elements, mostly in pleasant earthy colors. It also includes many color photos, illustrations and maps. I found the font and font size used sufficiently easy to read.

Song of the week- Hope now

Addison road- Hope now

Book review: Idol Eyes

I'm going to start reviewing books on the blog. I'm starting with something lighter since i've been bogged down with academic reading quite a bit lately in preparation for exams but i do have plans to review some deeper books and even a study bible or two.

Mandisa- Idol Eyes
(released 2007 by Tyndale House Publishers)

Mandisa competed in the 2006 round of the popular television show American Idol. She made it close to the finish but was voted out in a storm of controversy over some misunderstood remarks. Mandisa has since gone on to be a successful recording artist in the Christian market. Idol eyes tells the story of her journey through the American idol process and what she learned from the experience. She does a great job at giving you a feel for the ups and downs of the experience and what goes on behind the scenes on the show without ever becoming gossipy. As an Idol junky i found learning about what goes on when the cameras aren't rolling fascinating. As well as providing insight into the show, Mandisa shows great spiritual insight in her reflections on what God has taught her and how her faith is grown. I found what she had to say to be really encouraging. Everyone will be able to relate to her in some way whether that be on issues of body image, standing up for what you believe even when mocked or many other areas which she shares on. If you are an Idol fan you will especially enjoy this book but even if you are not i think you will still enjoy it and benefit from it.

Song of the week- In My Name

The song


Download the song for free


The story


Add your name to the fight against poverty

Unity in divided times

I spent quite a bit of time watching the American election coverage over the last day. It was certainly a history making day! I won't be entering into discussions of the rights and wrongs of any political party or politician and ask that you don't do so on the comments of this blog. What i do want to talk about is how we treat believers who we disagree with. I have been very concerned about some of what i have seen circulating on myspace bulletins and blog comments today. It has greatly grieved me to see the often vicious attacks some Christians are launching on other believers who have voted for the democrats and even against believers who chose to abstain from voting.

Election campaigns involve a lot of fear, a lot of "us and them" talk, a lot of caricaturing people and a lot of fault finding. We've let these attitudes seep into the Christian community, particularly when it comes to political affiliation. The only problem is the believers that voted differently to you this election are not some evil enemy intent on destroying everything that is holy in the world as many would have you believe. They are your brothers and sisters in Christ. God loves them as much as he loves you. Christ died for their sins too just as he did for yours. They will be in heaven one day with you. They may have had motives for their choice of vote as good as you had for yours. They may have prayed as much or more than you about how to vote for.

The bible exorts us over and over again to be unified as believers

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (Romans 15:13 NIV)

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. (Phillipians 2:1-2 NIV)

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. (1 Peter 3:8 NIV)

I could keep posting scripture after scripture but you get the point.As a church we cannot afford to be mimicking the world around us and living in division. It can cause incredible damage to believers, distract from our calling and be an incredibly bad witness to unbelievers. In these times of change of all sorts we need to come together as believers. We won't always agree on everything and that's OK. The gospel that unites us is bigger and more important than any election or political party. Imagine if as a Christian community we became not known as republicans, conservatives, democrats or whatever other political label but as people committed to showing grace and humbly loving even those whom we disagree with. I think that could well change the world more than any vote could.

In God we trust

I've been listening to a great song by Derek Webb called In God We Trust. I think it is very relevant to recent events

in God we trust
and the government is on His shoulders
in God we trust
through democracy and tyranny alike
in God we trust
He uses both good and evil men
in God we trust
so we fight for peace and He fights for us
in God we trust
even when He fights us for someone else
in God we trust
even when He looks like the enemy
in God we trust
even though our hearts are bankrupt
in God we trust
for more than just the value of our dollar bills
in God we trust
but there’s no gold behind these notes of reserve
in God we trust
even through our great presumption
in God we trust
even though He favors no nation-state
in God we trust
even when the blessing is a curse

You can download the album for free at noisetrade for the rest of the week

Prayer needed

I've been a bit light on the more substantial updates of late for which i apologize. I definitely haven't forgotten however being in the middle of the university exams period i haven't had the left over time or energy to condense all the ideas and verses in my head into coherent blog posts! Exams will be over in a week and then i promise i'll be back into posting some more. I'm planning to start doing book reviews as well.

In the mean time i could really use some prayer. I have 3 exams this week. The International studies one tomorrow i think i'll be OK at although is quite challenging because of the huge amount of writing involved. The Asian history one in 2 days time is really bothering me. They've given us the question for the 1500 word essay ahead of time and no matter how much i read and plan, i've yet to be able to come up with a coherent answer for it. In a few days time i have a Chinese language exam. I have not done very well this semester, have failed a few of the smaller tests. I need to do really really well on the exam because i absolutely cannot afford to fail the subject. Please pray that i manage to do all these exams at the required standard and don't freak out too much.