Elliott's Muses

Today is Oct. 31st and therefore in the U.S. it's Halloween.  There will be trick or treating, and people dressed up in weird constumes...kids are cute... so what's the big deal? The word Halloween is derived from the words "all hallows' eve" - which for centuries was the night preceding Nov. 1st and the celebration of "All Saints Day".   For centuries the church celebrated Nov. 1 as a day to honor the historical "saints" of the church.  Now, as a Christian, we're all "Saints".  Scripture says so: Romans 1:7   To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.   1 Corinthians 1:2   To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:  Ephesians 1:1    Paul, an apostle of Ch...

Yesterday I posted the first part of this teaching I recently did at New Life.  It's part of this Fall series entitled "The Journey of Faith".  Our lives are a journey and we can live them in various ways.  To choose to live by faith is to orient our lives in such a way that our faith in God becomes the basis for our decision making in all things.   I think it's fair to think of Faith as a compass.   A compass always points north.   So, faith always directs us back to God, his word, and our trust in him. Faith does not sit in a quiet background, it lives in the tensions of life.  Faith is tested in every day life.  Here's where we continue with the story of Abraham and God's - seemingly impossible - command to him concerning his son of promise, Isaac. Genesis 22:1-2 1  After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2  He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and g...

I've been doing a series of teachings I’ve entitled, “The Journey of Faith”.  They all come from Hebrews 11, and the subsequent stories in Genesis (and later Exodus). Faith is the most basic aspect of our relationship with God.  While we use the word frequently, it's crucial that we understand what it means to "journey" through life by Faith. The most important thing to learn about how Faith intersects with our lives is by first realizing that Faith is an everyday thing - because it's a relationship with Someone, God, and not a religious something.  That is crucial, but the second thing is equally important:  We should realize  how much God enjoys our actions based on Faith. Hebrews 11:6 6  …without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. I mentioned this last week…God blesses, and rewards Faith… When we put our Faith in an active way, it...

I began this on Monday with hopes to finish it yesterday, but alas, "stuff happens".  The theme of this teaching is that "Faith is the assurance of things 'hoped' for, the evidence of it is not seen".  No one more epitomized this than Abraham, who left his country and family to go to the place of God's promise.  When he got there, he found a constant need for adjustments - that's the nature of our own faith.  We have to learn to adjust to the changing circumstances and at the same time learn to be true to God by faith. While we do that we live in the "hope of God's goodness to us"...that is the Faith we're trying to learn how to walk in... Here's part 2 of this teaching:   Faith Means – Our Hope Doesn’t Presume, It Waits For God The story of Abram and Sarah takes a DETOUR in their Faith Journey. Genesis 16:1-4 1  Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Haga...

This teaching is part of a series I've been doing at New Life Fellowship, where I serve as the Pastor-Teacher.  The series is entitled "The Journey of Faith" which means that our lives are meant to be lived by faith as we journey through it.   Faith is the most basic aspect of our relationship with God.  While we use the word frequently, it's crucial that we understand what it means to "journey" through life by Faith. Faith is an everyday thing - because it's a relationship with Someone, and not a religious something.  This teaching is a continuation of the Abraham story and what we see is the way in which HOPE is central to the way Faith works in our lives.  We are looking at Hebrews 11 and the stories in Genesis that relate to the Hebrews 11 statements.  Last week we looked at Abraham, and this week I continue the Abraham story. Hebrews 11:8-12 8  It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another ...