"Be Perfect"

This week we heard from Mike Aleckson.  He walked us through the bible, and gave us a general overview of scripture. 

He started out by having us read Matthew 5:48, which says... 

"You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." 

Wow. Talk about pressure... Needless to say, we were all kind of intimidated by this guy who came in and told us that we should be perfect.   Obviously, as humans, we could never meet that expectation. Don't worry, he didn't expect us to. 

Mike began by making a timeline of scripture ranging from creation to the resurrection of man.  We plotted out some key points, such as the fall, the exodus, the exile of the Jewish people, and many other things up until the time of Christ.  I had never seen the bible presented this way, so it was really interesting to see everything chronologically.  

We talked about six major covenants that God made with man throughout the bible.  Mike taught us that a covenant is like a promise with rules that must be followed.  We talked about the Adamic covenant, which was between God and Adam, and gave Adam free reign over the garden of Eden, as long as they did not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; the Noahic covenant which was made between Noah and God, and promised Noah that God would protect his family if he built a boat, and brought along with him and his family two of every creature on the far of the earth. Next came the abrahamic covenant, which promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations as long as he trusted God full heartedly. The mosaic covenant was God's agreement with Moses which promised him that if he listened to God's commands and stepped up to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he would e a treasured possession among all people.  The davidic covenant was God's promise to David (yes, like David and Goliath) that he would be the father of the kingly line, and that his offspring will reign forever.  This is the first prophecy of an eternal king, or messiah. (See 2 Samuel 7:12.. It's some pretty cool foreshadowing!) Finally, we learned about the New Covenant. This is the covenant that was made to ensure eternal life to those who believe in the name of the son of God.  That is why He sent his only son to die on the cross to pay the price of all of our sins.  

Wednesday, we talked about the importance of faith and works, and about the importance of having a balance of these two things.  As a Christian, you are filled with the spirit of The Lord, which will compel us to follow his word.  However, we still have to make the conschious effort to serve him daily. 

Today, on our final day with Mike Aleckson, we talked about how we can live in a way to further the kingdom between now and the coming of the Lord.  He pointed out ways we can user our future careers to serve him.  There are so many different ways to serve our Lord, that there is no excuse not to.

Mike finally explained to us the greek behind the word 'perfect' used in Matthew 5.  It comes from the greek word teleion, meaning fulfilled purpose.  When Jesus calls us to be perfect, he is truly calling us to live for our created purpose; HIM.  

 
Overall, this was a challenging week, of determining what I do and do not believe, as well as making choices for myself about several controversial issues.  I had never been challenged in this way, so it was definitely a great week of growth.  I look forward to digging deeper into scripture to learn for myself what the bible says about these things.  

" Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." - Ephesians 6:19-20

I appreciate all of your prayers for me, and I would love to know how I can be praying specifically for each of you!  Please let me know!  :)