Don't think that I am moving forward in any new way, but my blog will. I get a lot of
talking to here at CIU and I think I'll share more of it, how does that sound!? In a way my blog will focus less on tracking events and moods and more on CIU and some of what I get to learn about here. And right now I am reading for my hermeneutics class and saw this, "knowledge puffs up; love builds up (1 Cor. 8:1)". So I am not just going to blog more about what I learn but I am going to try to share about things I learn with the goal of loving, the goal of living these things out in my life. What good will it do me to learn from the following chapel I write about that we are to be Holy if I don't aspire with my heart the clenching of holiness with my life's grip to hold onto it as God's mercy chooses for me to work it out in my salvation, my walk with God, my abiding in Him. Which brings me to my next thought, I've always like the title to my online journaling "Joe's Cozy Abode" and this is my third such web log. And I have looked up the definition of abode several times and this time it seemed more fitting than ever. As I talk about what I learn at CIU I will also be talking about what I am doing or living out here at CIU and that isn't properly boiled down to its most basic element until you boil my life down to my walk with God and He commanded me to abide in Him and so I like the ring of Joe's Cozy Abode more than ever, Joe's cozy... {You could say a.) My abode as in my sojourn with God or dwelling with God b.)My abode as in the past tense of to abide, remain and continue in relationship with God, enduring, and accepting} Following are the definitions
a·bode /əˈboʊd/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-bohd] noun: | 1. | a place in which a person resides; residence; dwelling; habitation; home. |
| 2. | an extended stay in a place; sojourn. |
[Origin:
1200–50; ME
abood a waiting, delay, stay; akin to
abide
]
and abide
/əˈbaɪd/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-bahyd] as a verb:
–verb (used without object) | 1. | to remain; continue; stay: Abide with me. |
| 2. | to have one's abode; dwell; reside: to abide in a small Scottish village. |
| 3. | to continue in a particular condition, attitude, relationship, etc.; last. |
–verb (used with object) | 4. | to put up with; tolerate; stand: I can't abide dishonesty! |
| 5. | to endure, sustain, or withstand without yielding or submitting: to abide a vigorous onslaught. |
| 6. | to wait for; await: to abide the coming of the Lord. |
| 7. | to accept without opposition or question: to abide the verdict of the judges. |
| 8. | to pay the price or penalty of; suffer for. |
—Verb phrase| 9. | abide by, | b. | to submit to; agree to: to abide by the court's decision. |
| c. | to remain steadfast or faithful to; keep: If you make a promise, abide by it. |
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Today we had college chapel rather than the usual college/grad/seminary etc chapel where everyone meets in one place. Also, rather than a praise band and the normal former pastor turned educator type speaker (Just kidding, we have great variety each time in who speaks from a senator, to the Gamecock's football Chaplin, to our president, to missionaries from all over the world with crazy crazy stories etc.), instead we had the humanities department host the chapel. They played the piano and then talked about 1 Peter 1:13-19. There is one focus here in the center, verse 16 "because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." Then there are two lenses that help us see this focus applied to our lives. In a nutshell they are the cross and the crown. They are like two lenses that help us see the call to holiness in our lives! The cross is more self explanatory as the fullest expression of God's love for us and His act to give us a right relationship with Him and then the crown will symbolize the hope that we have laid out for our future. This was elaborated on for a while and the result was pretty good, it was an uplifting view of how we seek holiness (sanctification) in our lives. Some of the quotes are pretty good...
"How do the things you pursue fit in with the holiness of heaven?"
"We keep our cell phones and ipods closer before our eyes than we keep the cross and crown."
and less relevant but it spoke to me, he was talking about someone who said he "viewed sin as though Jesus just died yesterday" which helps clarify sin as iniquity when you may be trying to fool yourself into thinking it is something less. That just spoke to me, at times a sin can seem so small or insignificant but that idea clears things up very quickly.
There is a lot more to write, I'll try to get back again on Tuesday. Some snippets:
- The Gamecocks lost horribly to Vanderbilt and slipped from #6 to #16. Let's go Carolina and beat Tennessee this weekend.
- Karie got engaged, wowzerrs! Congratulations Karie and Andy!!!
- Sammy and Zeus are still awesome
- My friend John Hardin gave his life to Christ on October 20th 2007 and my eyes tear up just typing that :') That's pretty awesome
- Ashley and I celebrated our 75th dayversary about two weeks ago, we are happily married for 3 months and 7 days.
I am off to read for class... Ciao
