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Tag: hermeneutics

Alive and Powerful – Understanding the Bible (A “vlog”)

March 4, 2015 MatthewRuttan

This blog is a video + blog. A “vlog”—Is that a thing? It’s about the Bible. At once the world’s best-seller and most shoplifted book.

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How to Not Worship the Bible

August 3, 2013 MatthewRuttan

The biggest “issue” in the church is how to interpret the Bible. That’s how I see it. Think of conversations about the environment, or homosexuality, or

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Pretending to be perfect The “Up!” Devo for November 15 Today I’d like to ask you this: If you’re going through something really tough, have you talked to someone about it? Talking to someone about your situation can be hard. It can be difficult to verbalize your feelings. Or maybe you doubt if it will do any good. But one of the reasons I think many people don’t reach out is because they (a) don’t want to admit that they’re human and need help, (b) think it makes them seem weak, or (c) wonder if they’re a “bad Christian” because they don’t have it all together. But James has a very matter-of-fact way of saying things: “We all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2). Yup. ALL of us. None of us have all our ducks in a row (even if we pretend to). Even still, many people go on pretending to be perfect, acting as if stumbling is something other people do, but ever themselves. As a result, they suffer in silence. But think of all the biblical passages about encouraging one another like 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 3:13 and 10:25, Acts 20:21, and Romans 12:8. Well, sometimes you’re giving the encouragement, and sometimes you’re getting it. “We all stumble in many ways.” Life isn’t always smooth sailing. If you’re going through something tough, talk to someone about it. You probably won’t talk to someone about your problems if you’re too busy pretending to be perfect. By Matthew Ruttan --"Up!" is published 5 days a week (Monday - Friday) and returns on November 18. #faith #inspiration #help #talkaboutit #mentalhealth #wellness #health #encouragement #perfect #perfectionism

God is God. You are you. The “Up!” Devo for November 14 In today’s modern society we can control more and more things in the quest for convenience and comfort. -We can control the temperature in our homes, sometimes even from a distance. -We have access to medicines that people would have died for a century ago. -We can make headaches go away with a single pill. -We have microwaves and flush toilets. -We can bank from our phones. -We can track weather patterns live, and see forecasts. -We can download music from all over the world the minute it’s released. -We can control when and where we watch our favourite shows. -We can go shopping and remain on the couch, with our purchases delivered right to our front door. Control. But just because we can control more and more things, that doesn’t mean we can or should control EVERYTHING. In Revelation 4:8 we’re given a glimpse of worship in heaven: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” That profound lyrical truth gives us some much-needed perspective: God is in control. Not you. God is Almighty. Not you. God is the Author of life. Not you. It’s a plain-faced fact. So today, when you’re tempted to get stressed out about controlling this, that, and a million others things… Breathe. Seriously. Breathe deeply. Pause, and breathe deeply. Even for 10 seconds. It's a great reminder. Just because we can control more and more things, that doesn’t mean we can or should control everything. God is God. You are you. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” Breathe. And be at peace. By Matthew Ruttan #peace #relax #faith #inspiration #control #society #convenience #stress #revelation

As beggars telling others about food The “Up!” Devo for November 13 For the past two days I’ve spoken about peace. And, more specifically, the peace that only Jesus can give. For those of us who have come to know and follow Jesus, this should fill us with great… Humility. Not superiority. Not arrogance. Not self-righteousness. In the same biblical book where we are told that Jesus is God in “bodily form” (Colossians 2:9), that he is to have “the supremacy” (1:18), and that he comes to “reconcile to himself all things” (1:20), we are also told to clothe ourselves “with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). Compassion. Kindness. Humility. Gentleness. Patience. So to guard against arrogance, here’s an idea: Be quick to notice your own flaws, and slow to notice others’. It will remind you of your own imperfection, God’s overflowing patience, and the mutual need all of us have. There’s a beautiful phrase in a booklet called Living Faith that makes the point: “in the spirit of humility, as beggars telling others where food is to be found, we point to life in Christ.” Let’s point to the life and peace Jesus offers with humble confidence, in a spirit of humility, and as beggars telling others where food is to be found. Be quick to notice your own flaws, and slow to notice others.’ By Matthew Ruttan --Bible quotes are from the NIV. #humility #integrity #kindness #virtue #faith #JesusChrist #peace #worldpeace #evangelism #colossians #inspiration

Neil Armstrong… and Jesus The “Up!” Devo for November 12 I read a story about an elementary school class who was learning about the moon. They wondered, ‘What does zero-gravity feel like?’ and ‘What did it really look like out there?’ As a surprise, the teacher had arranged for none other than Neil Armstrong to make a special appearance! In the middle of their discussion, in he walked. All of a sudden, their text books didn’t matter. They could talk directly with an expert, the first man to walk on the moon. He was the ultimate authority on the subject! In a similar way, Jesus is our ultimate authority on the subject of finding peace with God, and furthering peace between people. Colossians 1:19 says, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Jesus]…” Think of that for a minute. If God was pleased to have ALL his FULLNESS dwell in Jesus, there’s no greater expert than him! If we truly know Jesus, we’ll know true peace. I believe that so much of the pain in our world, the uncertainty in our world, and the fear in our world, would be helped if we could be confident about our source of peace—not only for our relationship with God, but for our relationship with one another. We can be. Jesus’ identity, love, truth, integrity and example make him our ultimate authority. If Neil Armstrong was supremely qualified to talk about what it was like on the moon, how much more qualified is Jesus to talk about peace with God, and peace between people. In a troubled world, be confident in Christ, the "Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). If we truly know Jesus, we’ll know true peace. By Matthew Ruttan #peace #worldpeace #peacewithGod #faith #JesusChrist #colossians #incarnation #faith #inspiration #confident

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