Ozymandias

I don't normally read a lot of poetry, but this has to be one of my favorite poems. I really makes you stop and think about what is truly valuable and lasting (Matt. 6:19-20).

"Ozymandias"
Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveler from and antique land who said:
Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed,
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look upon my works ye mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains, round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The low and level sands stretch far away.

God's Will

I'm reading a commentary on Philippians by James Montgomer Boice for one of my classes, and he has an interesting discussion on knowing the will of God for you life. If you want the full discussion, you'll have to read the book for yourself (pp. 233-9), but I wanted to put the principles down here. Let me know what you think.

1) You must be wiling to do His will even before you know what it is.
2) Nothing can be the will of God that is contrary to the Word of God (Jn. 6:40; Rom. 12:1-2; Col. 3:23; Phil. 4:8).
3) Daily and even hourly fellowship with the Lord (Ps. 32:8).
4) You must be prepared for the Lord to guide you into new ways.

The Weaker and Stronger Brothers (Rom. 14-15)

As always with my Sunday school notes, these are very rough and hopefully someday will be put in a more readable format. Until then, I hope this helps.
Before looking at my comments, read the passage for yourself.

The Weaker and Stronger Brothers (Romans 14-15)

- Explain difference between principles (found in the text of Scripture [e.g. “I will set no wicked thing before my eyes”] and standards (what we put in our lives to help us obey the principles).
- Paul counts himself among the strong.
- We are never told to judge another person; however, 15:14 speaks of admonishing others. The word here has the idea of teaching or warning. In other words, we are not supposed to judge others based upon our own standards; we are to show them what God says on an issue. We must remember that the same principle can, at times, be kept several different ways. Direct statements however, God has already passed judgment on, and therefore, we are just when we warn the sinner about the judgment that God has already prescribed on that action.

Strong Brother
Description: eats the food (v. 3) and doesn’t regard the day (vv. 5-6).
Duties: 1) Don’t regard the weaker brother with contempt (vv. 3, 10)
2) Don’t put a stumblingblock in a brother’s way (v. 13)
3) Walk according to love (we look at this in greater depth later but mention it here since it shows up in this context and is specifically stated to the stronger brother).

Weak Brother
- The trouble that I find is that we have this idea of just letting the weaker brother stay weak. Granted, the stronger should not try to cram their ideas down the throat of the weaker, but the goal should be the maturity of the faith of the weaker brother to the point that they are no longer weak.
Description: eats only vegetables (v. 2) and observes certain days (vv. 5-6)
Duties: 1) Don’t judge the other brother [each person is a servant of God (v. 3) and God can help them to stand firm in the faith even though you don’t think it is of faith (v. 4) – as a side note, the emphasis is on God keeping the believer standing, not the believer doing it (c.f. Gal. 3:3)].
2) Don’t eat (or do) what/when you doubt (v. 23) [Schreiner translates v. 20b as “stumbles” rather than gives offense (NASB). Listen to your conscience, and if you feel that it is sin, don’t do it because for you it is sin.

Both
- Both are to operate out of love: the weaker by not judging, the stronger by not holding the weaker in contempt.
- Both are servants of the Lord.