From the depths of my being, at the core of my heart, from my earliest childhood memories, I have found it impossible to believe that I am loved by anyone let alone God.
This didn’t stem from a lack of affection from parents or friends but results from an impenetrable gate leading to my heart that deflects displays of love because I don’t deserve them.
I am unlovable. I am too bad, too ugly, too me. I think this is a lie. It must be. I think it is the cause of joyless anxiety. I think it feeds on every negative that ever occurs and that they strengthen the belief that I am not loved, that God really doesn’t care, that my belief was right all along.
This is a daily fight for me, to believe that I am loved, to allow that belief to fill me with joy and security. I need God’s word every day to remind me that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
There is a love that does not depend on my goodness or accomplishments. It just comes from God because he is love and because he wants to love us and just because he does. He does. I don’t know why, but then, there are a lot of things I don’t know.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
God Suffers
I am going to write. I amn not going to correct grammar spelling or theology. I am not going to use the backspace key. This is what I think. God suffers. We get wond u in the concept that he is the cause of suffering but he is also the cause of his own suffering. He is “longsufferin” Every injustice every agnostic, atheistic moment cuts just as deep as the whip or the nnails though we can’t get to him physically now. Every cult every idol , the death ov every evil person in which he takes no pleasure cause him to suffer. We are in this together longing for complete joy together. He is no above our suffering but immersed in it. It is a facet of our fellowship. He is righteous. He is love . there is bno other plan that could have expressed his nature. Thi is the plan and it must be so. God suffers. He hates this just as much as we do at times. He weeps. One day we will laugh together.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
From Havoc To Heaven
Isa 54:16 "See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc.
God purposes and intends that there be “havoc” and frustration…
Ro 8:20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it…
The created order intentionally contains death, mourning, crying and pain. (Rev 21:4)
Jesus was subjected to it
Ro 6:9 …death no longer has mastery over him.
For a time it did.
For us it does and it will serve us for eternity. We will always enjoy paradise from the vantage point of those who have suffered the deprivation that is a taste of hell. So many have said, if we could just experience heaven and hell for a minute each, we would make a clear choice between the two, but that is what this life is: moments of sheer exuberance and joy and others of the unfulfilled longings of hell.
Every day is an opportunity to make a choice or solidify the one we have made.
This pain serves us daily now, clarifying our choice of Christ. Though it includes earthly disappointments, those disappointments will serve us for all time and eternity. We will never be tempted as Lucifer and his angles were, to abandon heaven for something better. We will have tasted Godlessness and hell and spit it eternally from our mouths. It is this experience that will cause us to cling to heaven gratefully cheerfully and those are good emotions to envision.
Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret?
There are better things ahead than any we leave behind--C.S. Lewis
God purposes and intends that there be “havoc” and frustration…
Ro 8:20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it…
The created order intentionally contains death, mourning, crying and pain. (Rev 21:4)
Jesus was subjected to it
Ro 6:9 …death no longer has mastery over him.
For a time it did.
For us it does and it will serve us for eternity. We will always enjoy paradise from the vantage point of those who have suffered the deprivation that is a taste of hell. So many have said, if we could just experience heaven and hell for a minute each, we would make a clear choice between the two, but that is what this life is: moments of sheer exuberance and joy and others of the unfulfilled longings of hell.
Every day is an opportunity to make a choice or solidify the one we have made.
This pain serves us daily now, clarifying our choice of Christ. Though it includes earthly disappointments, those disappointments will serve us for all time and eternity. We will never be tempted as Lucifer and his angles were, to abandon heaven for something better. We will have tasted Godlessness and hell and spit it eternally from our mouths. It is this experience that will cause us to cling to heaven gratefully cheerfully and those are good emotions to envision.
Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret?
There are better things ahead than any we leave behind--C.S. Lewis
Monday, November 21, 2011
Glory to God in Chronic Sin
As frustrating as chronic illness can be, it seems to me that there can come a measure of acceptance and a recognition of its capacity to drive us to God and keep us close to him. There can even be a measure of respect and admiration for the perseverance that is demonstrated in one who suffers outwardly.
What seems worse than chronic illness is chronic sin, habitual sin, what we call “besetting” sin, which robs us of joy and self-respect. It can come in many forms: pride, lust, greed, gluttony, anger… And there are none of the perks that go along with chronic illness. It causes us to loathe ourselves or the one whose sin is exposed.
The reality though is that all of us will suffer in one way or another. All of us will take sin to our graves. We may wonder, even become exasperated and ask why the God who commands purity refuses to grant it. Lately I have spoken with several people who at the base of their beings have desires that lead them into what the Bible labels as sexual sin and yet they feel powerless to change it. They fear that only death will take away what must be labeled a sinful desire. (Romans 1:24, 1Peter 4:11)
Though we may never come to the place where we no longer desire what is sinful, it is possible to fully and finally hate that specific evil, even an evil that is an inseparable part of ourselves. And therein lies a spiritual victory. Though we may not be able to flee a tendency or desire or kill it so that it no longer raises its ugly head, we can come to hate it and hate that part of ourselves.
It is the hating of wickedness that God loves. It may be part of the reason why he allows besetting sins. In this state of need, we may humbly come to the place where we know intimately and even predictably a part of our heart that is still inhabited by the enemy, a part of our soul that rebelliously refuses to submit, a hiding place for darkness, a self-deception, a love-affair brewing that we may wish so much weren’t there that it is difficult to admit that it is. But time and again we must confront it and be taught to despise it to the glory of God. It is this Christ-like passion that we can purse, even when we cannot be completely free from a desire that God labels sinful.
Ps 45:7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.
Hebrews 1:8 tell us that these are the words of the father spoken over the divine son. The Father loves Jesus because Jesus hates evil. We can too. May those sins that we may never conquer serve us, at least to cause us to hate them and so be loved by God for this Christ-like zeal.
May our hearts produce authentic words that sound like this: “I hate my sin” and may God love us for it.
What seems worse than chronic illness is chronic sin, habitual sin, what we call “besetting” sin, which robs us of joy and self-respect. It can come in many forms: pride, lust, greed, gluttony, anger… And there are none of the perks that go along with chronic illness. It causes us to loathe ourselves or the one whose sin is exposed.
The reality though is that all of us will suffer in one way or another. All of us will take sin to our graves. We may wonder, even become exasperated and ask why the God who commands purity refuses to grant it. Lately I have spoken with several people who at the base of their beings have desires that lead them into what the Bible labels as sexual sin and yet they feel powerless to change it. They fear that only death will take away what must be labeled a sinful desire. (Romans 1:24, 1Peter 4:11)
Though we may never come to the place where we no longer desire what is sinful, it is possible to fully and finally hate that specific evil, even an evil that is an inseparable part of ourselves. And therein lies a spiritual victory. Though we may not be able to flee a tendency or desire or kill it so that it no longer raises its ugly head, we can come to hate it and hate that part of ourselves.
It is the hating of wickedness that God loves. It may be part of the reason why he allows besetting sins. In this state of need, we may humbly come to the place where we know intimately and even predictably a part of our heart that is still inhabited by the enemy, a part of our soul that rebelliously refuses to submit, a hiding place for darkness, a self-deception, a love-affair brewing that we may wish so much weren’t there that it is difficult to admit that it is. But time and again we must confront it and be taught to despise it to the glory of God. It is this Christ-like passion that we can purse, even when we cannot be completely free from a desire that God labels sinful.
Ps 45:7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.
Hebrews 1:8 tell us that these are the words of the father spoken over the divine son. The Father loves Jesus because Jesus hates evil. We can too. May those sins that we may never conquer serve us, at least to cause us to hate them and so be loved by God for this Christ-like zeal.
May our hearts produce authentic words that sound like this: “I hate my sin” and may God love us for it.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Determining Factors in Salvation
This is an exerpt from the sermon preached Jan. 2, 2011
Did God lovingly choose me because he knew I would believe or Did I believe because God chose me. The biblical answer to that question is, “Yes”.
The Bible points to both God’s choice and our choice as logical priors like two rails of a train track that go off into the distance never crossing as far as the eye can see, never one rail saying to the other, "I no longer have need of you."
God chose you because he is Sovereign God and has the right to do anything he pleases with what he has made and owns…
Psalm 115:3
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
And the parallel truth is this: When God conceived of the idea of you, he knew you would choose him. His choice matters supremely, but your choice matters completely. But - Let’s look at God first.
Romans 9:11 Before they [The twins, Jacob and Esau] were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; 12 he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.” 13 In the words of the Scriptures, “I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.” 14 Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not! 15 For God said to Moses,
“I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.” 16 So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. 17 For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.” 18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen. 19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?” 20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?
In this text God is seen as making independent decisions as to whom he will bless with mercy and compassion based solely on his right as creator of all. God’s choice is seen as independent of ours.
Now – understandably this makes us Crazy. He makes some of us for dishonorable service like Pharaoh and then blames Pharaoh for not bowing to his moral will.
It seems unfair and yet we are told not to talk back – which just pushes our rebellion against this text deeper into our own psyche. – unless – unless we try… to trust God and see him as one who refuses to gamble with our souls and submit to mere chance but rather ensures that some will certainly be saved.
God is God is not capricious, reckless, contingent not dependent on anyone. He could do no other than plan that some would certainly be saved. But within that plan he did not ordain that all would be saved. So we ask Who is at fault?
If I were to maintain the logic that has been established in Romans 9 of the potter and the clay and ask the question. Why did most of the Jews not believe in the Christ –
Logically – I would have to say because God didn’t choose them – he rejected them hated them – That is what logic says, but the text goes on to say more than simply that God is sovereign. It goes on to say man is responsible.
God shatters our narrow logic because his thoughts are higher than out thoughts .
Romans 9:31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works.
It’s their fault. Their choice is viewed here as logically prior. They determined their own fate by their refusal to believe. Why didn’t Israel attain righteousness – not because God did or did not do something but because THEY
• tried to work for reward rather than simply trust
• wanted to earn reward rather than simply receive it
• wanted the glory rather than give glory to God.
It was their fault. Their faithlessness was logically prior. It all hinges (at least in this text) on their lack of belief.
Both rails of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility are seen in Rom 9.
The Bible points to both God’s choice and our choice as logical priors, determining factors in our salvation. This then falls into the ontological gap, the black-hole question, "How can it be?". We don't know.
Did God lovingly choose me because he knew I would believe or Did I believe because God chose me. The biblical answer to that question is, “Yes”.
The Bible points to both God’s choice and our choice as logical priors like two rails of a train track that go off into the distance never crossing as far as the eye can see, never one rail saying to the other, "I no longer have need of you."
God chose you because he is Sovereign God and has the right to do anything he pleases with what he has made and owns…
Psalm 115:3
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
And the parallel truth is this: When God conceived of the idea of you, he knew you would choose him. His choice matters supremely, but your choice matters completely. But - Let’s look at God first.
Romans 9:11 Before they [The twins, Jacob and Esau] were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; 12 he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.” 13 In the words of the Scriptures, “I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.” 14 Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not! 15 For God said to Moses,
“I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.” 16 So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. 17 For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.” 18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen. 19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?” 20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?
In this text God is seen as making independent decisions as to whom he will bless with mercy and compassion based solely on his right as creator of all. God’s choice is seen as independent of ours.
Now – understandably this makes us Crazy. He makes some of us for dishonorable service like Pharaoh and then blames Pharaoh for not bowing to his moral will.
It seems unfair and yet we are told not to talk back – which just pushes our rebellion against this text deeper into our own psyche. – unless – unless we try… to trust God and see him as one who refuses to gamble with our souls and submit to mere chance but rather ensures that some will certainly be saved.
God is God is not capricious, reckless, contingent not dependent on anyone. He could do no other than plan that some would certainly be saved. But within that plan he did not ordain that all would be saved. So we ask Who is at fault?
If I were to maintain the logic that has been established in Romans 9 of the potter and the clay and ask the question. Why did most of the Jews not believe in the Christ –
Logically – I would have to say because God didn’t choose them – he rejected them hated them – That is what logic says, but the text goes on to say more than simply that God is sovereign. It goes on to say man is responsible.
God shatters our narrow logic because his thoughts are higher than out thoughts .
Romans 9:31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works.
It’s their fault. Their choice is viewed here as logically prior. They determined their own fate by their refusal to believe. Why didn’t Israel attain righteousness – not because God did or did not do something but because THEY
• tried to work for reward rather than simply trust
• wanted to earn reward rather than simply receive it
• wanted the glory rather than give glory to God.
It was their fault. Their faithlessness was logically prior. It all hinges (at least in this text) on their lack of belief.
Both rails of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility are seen in Rom 9.
The Bible points to both God’s choice and our choice as logical priors, determining factors in our salvation. This then falls into the ontological gap, the black-hole question, "How can it be?". We don't know.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Missions Prayer
Father would you lead BCC into deeper, more joy-producing fellowship with you, as we seek to obey your command to bring the good news of Jesus’ saving sacrifice to the ends of the earth.
Would you allow us to feel your delight as we represent you to a world in need of your saving grace.
Would you grant us confidence in you and generosity toward your priorities. And then use us and allow us to be encouraged by your victories attained through your strength experienced in our efforts.
We ask it in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Would you allow us to feel your delight as we represent you to a world in need of your saving grace.
Would you grant us confidence in you and generosity toward your priorities. And then use us and allow us to be encouraged by your victories attained through your strength experienced in our efforts.
We ask it in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Mission Minded
Have a look at this clip as we prepare our hearts for Sunday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7pT-7dBVhc
And a couple of sites to check out as well
www.partnersinternational.ca
www.joshuaproject.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7pT-7dBVhc
And a couple of sites to check out as well
www.partnersinternational.ca
www.joshuaproject.net
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Our Competency Comes From Christ Alone
2Co 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?
Or as the KJV says, “who is sufficient for these things?”
Who, in and of themselves, or even with a team of coaches and cheerleaders behind them, is sufficient to represent Christ to elect and non-elect in such a way that they actually experience the presence and the essence of the living Christ so that they feel either encouraged or condemned?
I am not sufficient. The elders are not sufficient. And we are not deluded by some mirage of hierarchy that would suggest that anyone living on this planet is sufficient, hence we are driven to look to Christ and his sufficiency in order to think we might accomplish anything for him in ministry.
Jesus said, “…apart from ME you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Jesus is our sufficiency in ministry, not a more energetic elder’s team, a more functional building, a better ministry plan, more compatible ministry partners or a thousand other excuses we might make to justify stepping back from ministry when feeling our insufficiency rather than simply throwing ourselves on the mercy of Christ and begging, “Use me! Fill me! Provide for me! Give me the words and use them to change and comfort your people and to warn those who do not seem to care.”
The church, you, do ministry not because we are sufficient, but because He is. Any other reason would be vanity.
2Co 3:5 It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 6 He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant.
Or as the KJV says, “who is sufficient for these things?”
Who, in and of themselves, or even with a team of coaches and cheerleaders behind them, is sufficient to represent Christ to elect and non-elect in such a way that they actually experience the presence and the essence of the living Christ so that they feel either encouraged or condemned?
I am not sufficient. The elders are not sufficient. And we are not deluded by some mirage of hierarchy that would suggest that anyone living on this planet is sufficient, hence we are driven to look to Christ and his sufficiency in order to think we might accomplish anything for him in ministry.
Jesus said, “…apart from ME you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Jesus is our sufficiency in ministry, not a more energetic elder’s team, a more functional building, a better ministry plan, more compatible ministry partners or a thousand other excuses we might make to justify stepping back from ministry when feeling our insufficiency rather than simply throwing ourselves on the mercy of Christ and begging, “Use me! Fill me! Provide for me! Give me the words and use them to change and comfort your people and to warn those who do not seem to care.”
The church, you, do ministry not because we are sufficient, but because He is. Any other reason would be vanity.
2Co 3:5 It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 6 He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
"Gutsy Guilt"
Part of our Christian confidence is that even when we fall into sin and experience God's Fatherly discipline, we will rise again. John Piper calls this "gutsy guilt":
To the fallen saint, who knows the darkness is self-inflicted and feels the futility of looking for hope from a frowning Judge, the Bible gives a shocking example of gutsy guilt. It pictures God’s failed prophet beneath a righteous frown, bearing his chastisement with broken-hearted boldness—
"Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light." (Micah 7:8-9)
This is courageous contrition. Gutsy guilt. The saint has fallen. The darkness of God’s indignation is on him. He does not blow it off, but waits. And he throws in the face of his accuser the confidence that his indignant Judge will plead his cause and execute justice for (not against) him. This is the application of justification to the fallen saint. Broken-hearted, gutsy guilt.
For further thought, see John Piper's 2002 article "Justification by Faith."
To the fallen saint, who knows the darkness is self-inflicted and feels the futility of looking for hope from a frowning Judge, the Bible gives a shocking example of gutsy guilt. It pictures God’s failed prophet beneath a righteous frown, bearing his chastisement with broken-hearted boldness—
"Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light." (Micah 7:8-9)
This is courageous contrition. Gutsy guilt. The saint has fallen. The darkness of God’s indignation is on him. He does not blow it off, but waits. And he throws in the face of his accuser the confidence that his indignant Judge will plead his cause and execute justice for (not against) him. This is the application of justification to the fallen saint. Broken-hearted, gutsy guilt.
For further thought, see John Piper's 2002 article "Justification by Faith."
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Sovereign, Wise, Loving and Good
Thanks to all who commented on the previous blog. I find this very cathartic and have come to the place where I truly value, as I think Paul did, being joined in “suffering for the gospel.”
2Ti 1:8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
I think our joy in him, especially in suffering, glorifies him and displays his worth.
Of course, like others, when feeling the pain, I begin to ask the big eternal and universal questions about suffering and why God has planned such an economy of suffering in his story.
The question is asked, “Why would God allow human free-will, knowing that great suffering would result?” The answer is given, “God desires to be freely loved, just as anyone would and so the choice to love him, or to refuse to love him, had to be granted.”
The second question that should be asked is, “But were not we, who love him, chosen to do so, before the foundation of the world?”
Eph 1:4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
Does not our chosen-ness negate our free-will and therefore nullify the previous argument for its necessity?
No. God’s sovereign choice never diminishes the value of our choice to love him or our responsibility when we refuse to trust him, regardless of our inability to comprehend this fact.
I will always have chosen to trust and love God and it will always matter that I did. It matters even now, perhaps most of all when he has allowed circumstances necessary for his plan, his glory, necessary for my eternal good, that can only be seen as negative in and of themselves.
I still have free will. He will not accomplish his will in me apart from mine.
Php 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
He will do this through – in conjunction with - my willingness to see it completed.
Php 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Choosing to trust and love him because I want to, because he proves himself sovereign, wise, loving and good has always mattered and it always will.
2Ti 1:8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
I think our joy in him, especially in suffering, glorifies him and displays his worth.
Of course, like others, when feeling the pain, I begin to ask the big eternal and universal questions about suffering and why God has planned such an economy of suffering in his story.
The question is asked, “Why would God allow human free-will, knowing that great suffering would result?” The answer is given, “God desires to be freely loved, just as anyone would and so the choice to love him, or to refuse to love him, had to be granted.”
The second question that should be asked is, “But were not we, who love him, chosen to do so, before the foundation of the world?”
Eph 1:4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
Does not our chosen-ness negate our free-will and therefore nullify the previous argument for its necessity?
No. God’s sovereign choice never diminishes the value of our choice to love him or our responsibility when we refuse to trust him, regardless of our inability to comprehend this fact.
I will always have chosen to trust and love God and it will always matter that I did. It matters even now, perhaps most of all when he has allowed circumstances necessary for his plan, his glory, necessary for my eternal good, that can only be seen as negative in and of themselves.
I still have free will. He will not accomplish his will in me apart from mine.
Php 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
He will do this through – in conjunction with - my willingness to see it completed.
Php 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Choosing to trust and love him because I want to, because he proves himself sovereign, wise, loving and good has always mattered and it always will.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Complaining Up
I have seen the rock face of scripture bleed life-giving water until I could not help but overflow with what God was speaking through it. There is no better “high” than being thrilled with all that God is saying, especially for one who begged him to speak as a teen.
It has been weeks since I felt overflowing. I sip trickles here and there. I cling to that rock face and beg for water, but nothing fills my soul to overflowing. I cannot get enough of Him. At least not right now. I said that I would not blog for any other reason than that.
This is depression. Perhaps it is the appropriate emotional response to loss. It is accompanied with doubts concerning the goodness of God, the love of God and the trustworthiness for God, things I could never “preach” from the pulpit, but deep waters we all go through.
We’re tempted to pity the depressed. This of course is poison. Pity is feeling sorry for someone and relating to them on that basis which only feeds the illness rather than raising the expectation that it will pass and it will. No one can live here, at least not for long. No sane person would want to.
For now, I have questions without answers, pain without resolve and a hope that is so hard to maintain it takes all my strength. The one thing I need is faith. Faith to believe the promises and the future that God has in store for his children. Faith that he gives and enables me to live, but in reality, what other choice is there but to believe and to live it despite how we may feel. Feelings are not our God. God is.
Job felt it.
Job 30:21 You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand you attack me.
Jeremiah felt it.
Lam 3:7 He has walled me in so that I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains. 8 Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer.
David felt it.
Ps 69:2 Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can’t find a foothold. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me.
Paul felt it
2Co 1:8 We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.
Perhaps depression is just an avenue for faith, a time in which the expression of faith sounds different.
Ps 142:2 I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.
I think this is where to go with it. Not to everyone, perhaps a little with a few, but mostly we ought to “complain up” as Tom Hanks said in Saving Private Ryan
This is still prayer, still faith, just the faith and the prayers of the hurting who hope that One will do something about it, show his compassion, express his care by a means that will actually comfort and restore faith, make it easier to believe in a good, loving, trustworthy God until Our faith is sight. And He will.
1Thes 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
It has been weeks since I felt overflowing. I sip trickles here and there. I cling to that rock face and beg for water, but nothing fills my soul to overflowing. I cannot get enough of Him. At least not right now. I said that I would not blog for any other reason than that.
This is depression. Perhaps it is the appropriate emotional response to loss. It is accompanied with doubts concerning the goodness of God, the love of God and the trustworthiness for God, things I could never “preach” from the pulpit, but deep waters we all go through.
We’re tempted to pity the depressed. This of course is poison. Pity is feeling sorry for someone and relating to them on that basis which only feeds the illness rather than raising the expectation that it will pass and it will. No one can live here, at least not for long. No sane person would want to.
For now, I have questions without answers, pain without resolve and a hope that is so hard to maintain it takes all my strength. The one thing I need is faith. Faith to believe the promises and the future that God has in store for his children. Faith that he gives and enables me to live, but in reality, what other choice is there but to believe and to live it despite how we may feel. Feelings are not our God. God is.
Job felt it.
Job 30:21 You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand you attack me.
Jeremiah felt it.
Lam 3:7 He has walled me in so that I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains. 8 Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer.
David felt it.
Ps 69:2 Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can’t find a foothold. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me.
Paul felt it
2Co 1:8 We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.
Perhaps depression is just an avenue for faith, a time in which the expression of faith sounds different.
Ps 142:2 I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.
I think this is where to go with it. Not to everyone, perhaps a little with a few, but mostly we ought to “complain up” as Tom Hanks said in Saving Private Ryan
This is still prayer, still faith, just the faith and the prayers of the hurting who hope that One will do something about it, show his compassion, express his care by a means that will actually comfort and restore faith, make it easier to believe in a good, loving, trustworthy God until Our faith is sight. And He will.
1Thes 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Leadership is Influence.
Regardless of structures and restrictions, regardless of culture or perceived or real gender differences, regardless of how our faith and understanding of Scripture limits us, God uses whom he desires, how he desires, to lead, influence, persuade and transform others. So do we all.
Acts 13:50 Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town.
No godly person desires to exalt himself or herself to position or title, but all the godly wish to be used by God to glorify God, even if it means letting go of the demand to be perceived in all things as equal.
Philippians 2:6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
Like Jesus, our chief agenda is not that all equality be perceived and immediately honoured, but rather that God be exalted even at the expense of our humility.
How will God use you to lead others, influence others, persuade others, to a place where they recognize his glory and give him praise? By means of your humble, joyful, resourceful, responsible, risk-taking service to God.
1 Peter 3:1 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives,
Are we all equal? Absolutely! Is proving that and proclaiming that the Christian agenda? No. Does God challenge our pride in a gender-distinct fashion? Why wouldn’t he? Why wouldn’t he meet us at our point of weakness, exactly where Satan attacks. Why wouldn’t he challenge a weakness until it became a strength? He wants to use you. Excuses won’t do. We are equal in our ability to be used to influence others, even if we differ in our suitability to a particular, gender-specific office.
Acts 13:50 Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town.
No godly person desires to exalt himself or herself to position or title, but all the godly wish to be used by God to glorify God, even if it means letting go of the demand to be perceived in all things as equal.
Philippians 2:6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
Like Jesus, our chief agenda is not that all equality be perceived and immediately honoured, but rather that God be exalted even at the expense of our humility.
How will God use you to lead others, influence others, persuade others, to a place where they recognize his glory and give him praise? By means of your humble, joyful, resourceful, responsible, risk-taking service to God.
1 Peter 3:1 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives,
Are we all equal? Absolutely! Is proving that and proclaiming that the Christian agenda? No. Does God challenge our pride in a gender-distinct fashion? Why wouldn’t he? Why wouldn’t he meet us at our point of weakness, exactly where Satan attacks. Why wouldn’t he challenge a weakness until it became a strength? He wants to use you. Excuses won’t do. We are equal in our ability to be used to influence others, even if we differ in our suitability to a particular, gender-specific office.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Hebrews 12:7a Into Discipline... Endure
In preparation for this Sunday, I am recommending that you read through Hebrews 11 and 12 and consider the following outline. We always get more out of something when we have put more into it.
See you Sunday :)
Holding On to Holy Ground II
Interpreting suffering as schooling employs it as a means to holiness
1. View Difficult Circumstances As God’s Correction and Training in the Fight For Holiness
Hebrews 12:7a Endure hardship as discipline
2. Recognize That The Alternative is to Gaining Discipline is to Suffer Defeat
Hebrews 12:5 Do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart
3. Know that God is Grooming You for Eternal Sonship
Hebrews 12:7b God is treating you as sons
"The authority of parents has been so eroded that discipline rarely if ever comes into play. It has generally ceased to be a part of sonship. It is small wonder that those brought up in such an atmosphere find genuine difficulty in understanding the discipline of God."
Donald Guthrie
See you Sunday :)
Holding On to Holy Ground II
Interpreting suffering as schooling employs it as a means to holiness
1. View Difficult Circumstances As God’s Correction and Training in the Fight For Holiness
Hebrews 12:7a Endure hardship as discipline
2. Recognize That The Alternative is to Gaining Discipline is to Suffer Defeat
Hebrews 12:5 Do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart
3. Know that God is Grooming You for Eternal Sonship
Hebrews 12:7b God is treating you as sons
"The authority of parents has been so eroded that discipline rarely if ever comes into play. It has generally ceased to be a part of sonship. It is small wonder that those brought up in such an atmosphere find genuine difficulty in understanding the discipline of God."
Donald Guthrie
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Truth Worth Searching For
Ps 25:14 The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.
The Original NLT has it this way…
Friendship with the lord is reserved for those who fear him. With them he shares the secrets of his covenant.
Properly fearing the lord, which means trusting him and clinging to him just as much as we fear him... and pursuing friendship with him on that basis, points to an increased intimacy and knowledge, both experientially and cognitively.
If someone really matters to you, you will spend time with them and that time will deliver pleasure and benefit no matter how it is spent. Does God divulge secrets? Does he share some things with those closest to him while allowing others to merely scratch the surface? Do some, as Piper puts it, “Rake leaves while others mine gold”?
Though some mornings I feel dull and my mind wanders, there are other mornings where I feel I could burst. I write, I rejoice, I find what I am looking for: food for my soul that makes my heart glad.
This Sunday morning, I will get up at 5:30 as I always do, but before I enjoy devotions, I will hide Easter eggs for the kids. At 7 They will hunt for them and the hunt will be half the fun. They would be disappointed if I just handed them to them. Working for them, looking for them, makes them so much more valuable when found.
Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
The Original NLT has it this way…
Friendship with the lord is reserved for those who fear him. With them he shares the secrets of his covenant.
Properly fearing the lord, which means trusting him and clinging to him just as much as we fear him... and pursuing friendship with him on that basis, points to an increased intimacy and knowledge, both experientially and cognitively.
If someone really matters to you, you will spend time with them and that time will deliver pleasure and benefit no matter how it is spent. Does God divulge secrets? Does he share some things with those closest to him while allowing others to merely scratch the surface? Do some, as Piper puts it, “Rake leaves while others mine gold”?
Though some mornings I feel dull and my mind wanders, there are other mornings where I feel I could burst. I write, I rejoice, I find what I am looking for: food for my soul that makes my heart glad.
This Sunday morning, I will get up at 5:30 as I always do, but before I enjoy devotions, I will hide Easter eggs for the kids. At 7 They will hunt for them and the hunt will be half the fun. They would be disappointed if I just handed them to them. Working for them, looking for them, makes them so much more valuable when found.
Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Why Then Do We Still Fail?
Anonymous said...
Satan is defeated, in that we no longer fear death, but why, Andy, do we still fail due to Satan's lies and deceit while we are still living in this world? Is it because we do not fully understand or take hold of the fact that he is defeated, or does he still have some real power here in this world? Since he "[fell] from heaven like a lightning bolt", has he been here trying to trip us up? And what is our best defense against that?
April 18, 2011 12:33 PM
It is worse than that we “don’t understand”. We sin because we love it, because we prefer it and choose it over pleasing God in the moment. Until we cut through our pride and admit that our sinful desires demand instant gratification and we love to satisfy them, we will never defeat the actions that spring from them.
What is not defeated is our will. We still want to sin. Sin provides some pleasure, some relief, some status or benefit and we want it and refuse to consider the consequences to our consciences. Every time I knowingly sin, it is because I want to. That is the truth of 1Cor 10:13
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
I ought to be able to kid myself. When I want to gaze at something, think something, say something, eat something that I shouldn’t, I ought to recognize my sinful desire that says, “I want…” and say to that desire, “of course you do. You’re a sinful desire that hasn’t been put to death yet. Here let me help you with that…” and smother the bastard desire before he grows into a fully developed sinful action.
If you do not, your own sinful nature, in cahoots with the devil and his world full of attractions will steal your joy in the lord which is your strength. Learn this lesson every time you sin and know…
James 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Satan is defeated, in that we no longer fear death, but why, Andy, do we still fail due to Satan's lies and deceit while we are still living in this world? Is it because we do not fully understand or take hold of the fact that he is defeated, or does he still have some real power here in this world? Since he "[fell] from heaven like a lightning bolt", has he been here trying to trip us up? And what is our best defense against that?
April 18, 2011 12:33 PM
It is worse than that we “don’t understand”. We sin because we love it, because we prefer it and choose it over pleasing God in the moment. Until we cut through our pride and admit that our sinful desires demand instant gratification and we love to satisfy them, we will never defeat the actions that spring from them.
What is not defeated is our will. We still want to sin. Sin provides some pleasure, some relief, some status or benefit and we want it and refuse to consider the consequences to our consciences. Every time I knowingly sin, it is because I want to. That is the truth of 1Cor 10:13
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
I ought to be able to kid myself. When I want to gaze at something, think something, say something, eat something that I shouldn’t, I ought to recognize my sinful desire that says, “I want…” and say to that desire, “of course you do. You’re a sinful desire that hasn’t been put to death yet. Here let me help you with that…” and smother the bastard desire before he grows into a fully developed sinful action.
If you do not, your own sinful nature, in cahoots with the devil and his world full of attractions will steal your joy in the lord which is your strength. Learn this lesson every time you sin and know…
James 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The Defeat of Satan
Psalms 76:5 Our boldest enemies have been plundered.
Seen from one angle, The defeat of Satan pictures people as mere possessions to be carted off according to the will of whomever is stronger. There is no mention of our will. The only focus is on the supremacy of Christ in the work of redemption.
Luke 11:21 For when a strong man like Satan is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe 22 until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.
Every person who comes to trust and treasure Christ is another display of his superior strength. Satan is defeated. He can no longer cause the believer to be controlled by a fear of death and thus be given over to living for the purpose of being distracted from death.
Hebrews 2:14b …only by dying could [Jesus] break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying
Referring to his impending death, Jesus states… John 12:31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
The judgment for the sin of the world fell upon the scourged and crucified Christ. The whole world is invited to take part in the benefits of that payment. Satan is stripped, disarmed, despite the fact that many don’t know it or choose not to believe it.
You could be free. You could have victory over Satan and the fear of death. And you could rejoice not only in that victory, but in the spoils of victory, the community of the redeemed amongst their redeemer for all eternity.
Luke 10 17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!” 18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
Seen from one angle, The defeat of Satan pictures people as mere possessions to be carted off according to the will of whomever is stronger. There is no mention of our will. The only focus is on the supremacy of Christ in the work of redemption.
Luke 11:21 For when a strong man like Satan is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe 22 until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.
Every person who comes to trust and treasure Christ is another display of his superior strength. Satan is defeated. He can no longer cause the believer to be controlled by a fear of death and thus be given over to living for the purpose of being distracted from death.
Hebrews 2:14b …only by dying could [Jesus] break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying
Referring to his impending death, Jesus states… John 12:31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
The judgment for the sin of the world fell upon the scourged and crucified Christ. The whole world is invited to take part in the benefits of that payment. Satan is stripped, disarmed, despite the fact that many don’t know it or choose not to believe it.
You could be free. You could have victory over Satan and the fear of death. And you could rejoice not only in that victory, but in the spoils of victory, the community of the redeemed amongst their redeemer for all eternity.
Luke 10 17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!” 18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
Monday, April 11, 2011
No Sex In Heaven
Luke 20:35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.
Angels and children are given as examples of beings made by God who experience fullness of joy apart from sexual desire and satisfaction. If one were to ask what sex is anyway, it is this:
The desire for physical pleasure.
Psalms 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
The desire for intimacy, to know and be fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
The desire to give one’s self to one who also longs to be enjoyed.
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Galatians 1:4 [The Lord Jesus Christ] gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
Genesis 15:1 Do not be afraid… I am your shield, your very great reward.
The desire for acceptance and love and a place that feels like home, where we belong, what we were made for.
John 14:2 I am going there to prepare a place for you.
Sex is only a foretaste of divine satisfaction, not an end in itself. Sex is a candle to be extinguished when the sun rises. It is a satisfaction to be surpasses by far. We will already be happier than the man in the Viagra commercial skipping down the street. We will have stronger desires to be satisfied like any exhausted lover longing for sleep. We will be married, the bride of Christ, happier in him than any memory of sign-post intimacy could ever make us. There will be no sex in heaven and we won’t miss it a bit.
For the church to enjoy it and keep sex in its proper place here on earth would be a testimony to a culture that seeks to drain the dregs of pleasure out of whatever empty bottle it finds lying around.
Angels and children are given as examples of beings made by God who experience fullness of joy apart from sexual desire and satisfaction. If one were to ask what sex is anyway, it is this:
The desire for physical pleasure.
Psalms 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
The desire for intimacy, to know and be fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
The desire to give one’s self to one who also longs to be enjoyed.
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Galatians 1:4 [The Lord Jesus Christ] gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
Genesis 15:1 Do not be afraid… I am your shield, your very great reward.
The desire for acceptance and love and a place that feels like home, where we belong, what we were made for.
John 14:2 I am going there to prepare a place for you.
Sex is only a foretaste of divine satisfaction, not an end in itself. Sex is a candle to be extinguished when the sun rises. It is a satisfaction to be surpasses by far. We will already be happier than the man in the Viagra commercial skipping down the street. We will have stronger desires to be satisfied like any exhausted lover longing for sleep. We will be married, the bride of Christ, happier in him than any memory of sign-post intimacy could ever make us. There will be no sex in heaven and we won’t miss it a bit.
For the church to enjoy it and keep sex in its proper place here on earth would be a testimony to a culture that seeks to drain the dregs of pleasure out of whatever empty bottle it finds lying around.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The Love of Most Will Grow Cold
Besides earthquakes, tsunamis and the crumbling of the world economy, one of the signs of the end of the world as we know it will be this:
Matthew 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold…
For love to grow cold, it has to have first been hot. Those who once illustrated a passionate love for Christ will walk away from church and every vestige of sacrificial faith. They will prefer financial gain, sports and entertainment and leisure, anything that has immediate payoff as opposed to hoping for the promised eternal rewards of faith and service.
And Jesus doesn’t say this might happen. It is prophesied, predicted like…
John 13:38 I tell you the truth, Peter, before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
Jesus knows what our hearts will do. But we are still responsible and will bear the consequences of our desires and actions. Though the widespread chilling of passionate faith is certain, it is still difficult to watch for one whose joy is dependent on the Christian joy of others.
1 Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?
When I watch dozens of new people stream into our church and our attendance numbers stay virtually the same, I know, like lots of other pastors know, that the “regulars” are coming less frequently.
The church becomes like Wal-Mart, just visited when there is a felt need or we can spare the time.
I guess I have to watch this happen. But I hate it. And it concerns me that it doesn’t concern those who are drifting away, because drifting leads to shipwreck. And no one wants that for you.
Hebrews 2:1 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
The love of most will grow cold. This will happen. It doesn’t have to happen to you.
Luke 10:27-28
You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And, Love your neighbour as yourself…. Do this and you will live!
Matthew 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold…
For love to grow cold, it has to have first been hot. Those who once illustrated a passionate love for Christ will walk away from church and every vestige of sacrificial faith. They will prefer financial gain, sports and entertainment and leisure, anything that has immediate payoff as opposed to hoping for the promised eternal rewards of faith and service.
And Jesus doesn’t say this might happen. It is prophesied, predicted like…
John 13:38 I tell you the truth, Peter, before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
Jesus knows what our hearts will do. But we are still responsible and will bear the consequences of our desires and actions. Though the widespread chilling of passionate faith is certain, it is still difficult to watch for one whose joy is dependent on the Christian joy of others.
1 Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?
When I watch dozens of new people stream into our church and our attendance numbers stay virtually the same, I know, like lots of other pastors know, that the “regulars” are coming less frequently.
The church becomes like Wal-Mart, just visited when there is a felt need or we can spare the time.
I guess I have to watch this happen. But I hate it. And it concerns me that it doesn’t concern those who are drifting away, because drifting leads to shipwreck. And no one wants that for you.
Hebrews 2:1 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
The love of most will grow cold. This will happen. It doesn’t have to happen to you.
Luke 10:27-28
You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And, Love your neighbour as yourself…. Do this and you will live!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Love Hate Relationship
Feel the tension of
Lamentations 3:22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
Do you get the sense that his love is a great dam restraining his own righteous anger against sin and sinners.
Jesus knows this inner tug of war.
Luke 12:49 "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
Yet we read…
2 Peter 3:9 He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Patience is the prerequisite of the perturbed. God is no simpleton with a singular undiluted emotional state.
The psalmist David, a man after God’s own heart prays…
Psalms 6:1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
Yet we can be unconcerned about Gods anger, demanding pure comfort from our religion with no hint of tension that would compel us to pursue holiness. We don’t always wish to see the appropriate state of emotional turmoil that God rightly experiences concerning the lack of holy passion in our lives. But we get some sense of God’s internal conversation In Luke 13:6-9 as his mercy and patience wrestles with his righteousness and justice.
Luke 13:6 Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig-tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig-tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ 8 "‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig round it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’"
No matter what we may call ourselves, our acceptance on that final day will be dependent upon holiness in our character brought about by the Spirit. We must produce fruit or be felled.
Lamentations 3:22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
Do you get the sense that his love is a great dam restraining his own righteous anger against sin and sinners.
Jesus knows this inner tug of war.
Luke 12:49 "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
Yet we read…
2 Peter 3:9 He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Patience is the prerequisite of the perturbed. God is no simpleton with a singular undiluted emotional state.
The psalmist David, a man after God’s own heart prays…
Psalms 6:1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
Yet we can be unconcerned about Gods anger, demanding pure comfort from our religion with no hint of tension that would compel us to pursue holiness. We don’t always wish to see the appropriate state of emotional turmoil that God rightly experiences concerning the lack of holy passion in our lives. But we get some sense of God’s internal conversation In Luke 13:6-9 as his mercy and patience wrestles with his righteousness and justice.
Luke 13:6 Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig-tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig-tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ 8 "‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig round it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’"
No matter what we may call ourselves, our acceptance on that final day will be dependent upon holiness in our character brought about by the Spirit. We must produce fruit or be felled.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Whom God Hates and Loves
We hear that God loves people. Are we aware that he hates some and that he even has something of a love-hate relationship with those he loves?
Psalms 5:5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.
Do I, at least some times fit into this category?
Psalms 11:5 The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates.
Do I ever love violence in a video game or in a movie or at a sporting event?
Psalm 21:8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes. 9 At the time of your appearing you will make them like a fiery furnace. In his wrath the LORD will swallow them up, and his fire will consume them. 10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind. 11 Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed; 12 for you will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with drawn bow. 13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength; we will sing and praise your might.
John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
I think we can never know the depths of the love of God until we recognize the reality of his righteous hatred toward sinners like us. His love is displayed to us in mercy and grace, mercy that does not treat us as our sins deserve and grace that lavishes blessing on us that we do not merit. Until we acknowledge the depth of God’s hatred for sin and sinners, we will not appreciate and value rightly the quality and magnitude of his love for a sinner like me.
Psalms 5:5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.
Do I, at least some times fit into this category?
Psalms 11:5 The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates.
Do I ever love violence in a video game or in a movie or at a sporting event?
Psalm 21:8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes. 9 At the time of your appearing you will make them like a fiery furnace. In his wrath the LORD will swallow them up, and his fire will consume them. 10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind. 11 Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed; 12 for you will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with drawn bow. 13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength; we will sing and praise your might.
John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
I think we can never know the depths of the love of God until we recognize the reality of his righteous hatred toward sinners like us. His love is displayed to us in mercy and grace, mercy that does not treat us as our sins deserve and grace that lavishes blessing on us that we do not merit. Until we acknowledge the depth of God’s hatred for sin and sinners, we will not appreciate and value rightly the quality and magnitude of his love for a sinner like me.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Repentance After a Second Marriage
Mark 6:17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.18 For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife."
Do you notice how John the Baptist is still harping on Herod concerning the legality of his marriage to Herodias after the marriage had already taken place? Look at the verb tense…
“ his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.”
They were already married yet John was saying "It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife."
It seems that John was still protesting the marriage after it had taken place. It seems like there was still repentance work to be done despite the fact that vows had been made and the marriage consummated.
A second marriage is no safe haven from the one who sees the heart. Just because you have remarried, does not mean that you do not have repentance work to do from sin that contributed to the failure of your previous marriage.
Isaiah 30:15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.
Know that your heart will resist repentance. May the Holy Spirit harp on those who have hard work to do, cleaning out what has been swept under the rug. Just because you cannot un-digest an apple does not mean you cannot repent of stealing it.
Do you notice how John the Baptist is still harping on Herod concerning the legality of his marriage to Herodias after the marriage had already taken place? Look at the verb tense…
“ his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.”
They were already married yet John was saying "It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife."
It seems that John was still protesting the marriage after it had taken place. It seems like there was still repentance work to be done despite the fact that vows had been made and the marriage consummated.
A second marriage is no safe haven from the one who sees the heart. Just because you have remarried, does not mean that you do not have repentance work to do from sin that contributed to the failure of your previous marriage.
Isaiah 30:15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.
Know that your heart will resist repentance. May the Holy Spirit harp on those who have hard work to do, cleaning out what has been swept under the rug. Just because you cannot un-digest an apple does not mean you cannot repent of stealing it.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The Lord of Loss 2
Jesus recognized that it was God himself who was responsible for his looming crucifixion, telling his disciples, “ …the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd…'” (Matthew 26:31)
The father himself takes full responsibility for his intentions in what he has ordained.
Isaiah 53:10 … it was the LORD’s will to crush him (Jesus) and cause him to suffer…
Acts 2:23 This man (Jesus) was handed over to you (those who crucified him) by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge.
Jesus died at the hand of God to satisfy the wrath of God kindled by the justice of God in the face of the offence of sin which was intentionally allowed by God to fully display the fullness of the mercy and righteousness of God . Jesus sits at the father’s right hand adoring the one who crucified him, in perfect fellowship, holding no grudge against the Father for the perfect act of appointing propitiation.
No-one, including Christ himself, dies for any other ultimate reason than the will of God.
Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
If my best friend murdered a man, it would be an issue between us. I would be angry, feel separated, distanced from him because of his brutal act. But if my best friend were a policeman who shot someone in the line of duty and it was deemed a “righteous” kill, there would be no issue between us. He would have done the right thing. He would still be considered good.
Every kill of God’s is a righteous kill. All have sinned and the wages of sin is death. We were told. We willfully disobeyed. We will all die. God will never, can never, be accused of an unrighteous kill. Jesus adores a perfectly righteous God despite the fact that God takes every single life.
Adoring a perfectly righteous God. I want to be there. I plan to be there. If I could identify anything that keeps me from being there it would only be that I am too small, too unable to comprehend, too infantile, juvenile, too faithless to worship the One who takes every single life.
Father help me to get where I need to be, where I want to be. Where I know I must end up, not just trusting you, but rejoicing in who you are and what you do.
I need to do more than merely trust God. I need to believe there is not a malicious bone in his body. I need to believe that though he ordains that evil be, he himself is not evil, but perfectly righteous, worthy of all praise. And he is.
The father himself takes full responsibility for his intentions in what he has ordained.
Isaiah 53:10 … it was the LORD’s will to crush him (Jesus) and cause him to suffer…
Acts 2:23 This man (Jesus) was handed over to you (those who crucified him) by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge.
Jesus died at the hand of God to satisfy the wrath of God kindled by the justice of God in the face of the offence of sin which was intentionally allowed by God to fully display the fullness of the mercy and righteousness of God . Jesus sits at the father’s right hand adoring the one who crucified him, in perfect fellowship, holding no grudge against the Father for the perfect act of appointing propitiation.
No-one, including Christ himself, dies for any other ultimate reason than the will of God.
Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
If my best friend murdered a man, it would be an issue between us. I would be angry, feel separated, distanced from him because of his brutal act. But if my best friend were a policeman who shot someone in the line of duty and it was deemed a “righteous” kill, there would be no issue between us. He would have done the right thing. He would still be considered good.
Every kill of God’s is a righteous kill. All have sinned and the wages of sin is death. We were told. We willfully disobeyed. We will all die. God will never, can never, be accused of an unrighteous kill. Jesus adores a perfectly righteous God despite the fact that God takes every single life.
Adoring a perfectly righteous God. I want to be there. I plan to be there. If I could identify anything that keeps me from being there it would only be that I am too small, too unable to comprehend, too infantile, juvenile, too faithless to worship the One who takes every single life.
Father help me to get where I need to be, where I want to be. Where I know I must end up, not just trusting you, but rejoicing in who you are and what you do.
I need to do more than merely trust God. I need to believe there is not a malicious bone in his body. I need to believe that though he ordains that evil be, he himself is not evil, but perfectly righteous, worthy of all praise. And he is.
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Lord of Loss
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things… 9 Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker…
Deuteronomy 32:39 "See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no-one can deliver out of my hand.
Exodus 4:11 Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
Acts 17:26 …he determined the times set for them…
James 4:15 …If it is the Lord’s will, we will live…
Hebrews 9:27 …man is destined to die…
Job 1:21 …the LORD has taken away…
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 16:20 …those who trust the LORD will be joyful.
Deuteronomy 32:39 "See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no-one can deliver out of my hand.
Exodus 4:11 Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
Acts 17:26 …he determined the times set for them…
James 4:15 …If it is the Lord’s will, we will live…
Hebrews 9:27 …man is destined to die…
Job 1:21 …the LORD has taken away…
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 16:20 …those who trust the LORD will be joyful.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Empty But Full
I have been experimenting, trying to replace temporal hope with eternal hope. So far it has proved a dismal failure. Eternal hope is like poured concrete which provides a good foundation, but one does not furnish his home with concrete.
We are temporal beings who need some kind of temporal goals and dreams in order to muster strength for the day-in, day-out. So what do we do when there is no short-term desire and aim?
After bouts of exhausting grief and crying jags that leave my eyes parched, I am beginning to realize and experience God as my present-tense strength, hope and joy.
He is my strength to love his people and serve them.
He is my hope. I have him. I don’t need him to do more or be more than he already is.
He is my joy, where every other can seem as though it has been stripped away. I have Christ and rejoice in him and so have joy that enables me to enjoy those he has given me.
Habakkuk 3:17 Though the fig-tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.
We are temporal beings who need some kind of temporal goals and dreams in order to muster strength for the day-in, day-out. So what do we do when there is no short-term desire and aim?
After bouts of exhausting grief and crying jags that leave my eyes parched, I am beginning to realize and experience God as my present-tense strength, hope and joy.
He is my strength to love his people and serve them.
He is my hope. I have him. I don’t need him to do more or be more than he already is.
He is my joy, where every other can seem as though it has been stripped away. I have Christ and rejoice in him and so have joy that enables me to enjoy those he has given me.
Habakkuk 3:17 Though the fig-tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
A Genuine Christian Hedonist
1 Peter 1:6b …now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine.
If my faith is being proved genuine, at very least to myself, by means of its continuance and growth through these difficult times, then I need to affirm and others should know that it is the faith of a Christian-Hedonist that is being tested and confirmed.
Psalm 84:5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the LORD,
who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,
it will become a place of refreshing springs.
The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
7 They will continue to grow stronger,
and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.
If God himself, standing by me, is my strength and strength is the means by which we may experience victorious joy in the battle against doubt and bitterness and anger and apathy and temptation which constantly attack the one in grief, then I have found my joy even as I walk through the valley of weeping.
How could I ask for more than the Apostle Paul who described himself as, “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing”? (2 Corinthians 6:10) This is what a Christian Hedonist seeks: Strength in God, Joy in God that frees one to pursue the priorities of God to the glory of God which includes the believers eternal joy.
Psalms 50:15 “…call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”
God gets glory by our rejoicing in him for the sanctification he accomplishes by means of our trials. Sanctification means holding on to faith and growing in holiness as the necessary prelude to glorification.
Hebrews 11:6 without faith it is impossible to please God.
Hebrews 12:14 without holiness no-one will see the Lord.
If you are not finding your strength in Christ which gives you joy amidst grief, then I encourage you to find out what a Christian Hedonist is and become one.
http://www.desiringgod.org/about/our-distinctives/our-beliefs/what-is-christian-hedonism
If my faith is being proved genuine, at very least to myself, by means of its continuance and growth through these difficult times, then I need to affirm and others should know that it is the faith of a Christian-Hedonist that is being tested and confirmed.
Psalm 84:5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the LORD,
who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,
it will become a place of refreshing springs.
The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
7 They will continue to grow stronger,
and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.
If God himself, standing by me, is my strength and strength is the means by which we may experience victorious joy in the battle against doubt and bitterness and anger and apathy and temptation which constantly attack the one in grief, then I have found my joy even as I walk through the valley of weeping.
How could I ask for more than the Apostle Paul who described himself as, “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing”? (2 Corinthians 6:10) This is what a Christian Hedonist seeks: Strength in God, Joy in God that frees one to pursue the priorities of God to the glory of God which includes the believers eternal joy.
Psalms 50:15 “…call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”
God gets glory by our rejoicing in him for the sanctification he accomplishes by means of our trials. Sanctification means holding on to faith and growing in holiness as the necessary prelude to glorification.
Hebrews 11:6 without faith it is impossible to please God.
Hebrews 12:14 without holiness no-one will see the Lord.
If you are not finding your strength in Christ which gives you joy amidst grief, then I encourage you to find out what a Christian Hedonist is and become one.
http://www.desiringgod.org/about/our-distinctives/our-beliefs/what-is-christian-hedonism
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Welcome Grief
For months I have been plagued by what I thought was anxiety, which one would expect I suppose, when one’s spouse has died and one is left with three children and a stove which is just as happy to cook fingers as well as frozen entrées.
But I have worked hard at ordering life and God has been good, so I have no real reason to be afraid. So this week, when another wave of what I thought was fear came over me, I stopped what I was doing and furiously typed what I was feeling.
As the words appeared on the screen, It became apparent that what I was feeling was grief: profoundly, painfully missing every detail of a relationship that the river of life has taken downstream.
C.S. Lewis was right, "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear."
(A Grief Observed)
Ah Grief! It's you! You are so much more welcome in my life than fear. Fear can kill you. Fear can spiral into depression and anxious lethargy and make you wonder if you will ever get up, ever get out again. I am afraid of fear, but not grief. Grief leads to happiness.
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
God blesses the griever, but He commands us not to fear.
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
There is no blessing for those who fear only a slow drain of emotional energy that leaves us empty and faithless, but not grief. Grief brings us to God.
So, come Grief. Do your work. Break me and then make me. Wound me and then heal me. Lead me to blessedness that will last forever when God himself, no mediator, no emissary, no indirect means will comfort me, but God himself, the source of all comfort.
2 Corinthians 1:3 NLT
God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
Ah Grief, come. Lead me there.
But I have worked hard at ordering life and God has been good, so I have no real reason to be afraid. So this week, when another wave of what I thought was fear came over me, I stopped what I was doing and furiously typed what I was feeling.
As the words appeared on the screen, It became apparent that what I was feeling was grief: profoundly, painfully missing every detail of a relationship that the river of life has taken downstream.
C.S. Lewis was right, "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear."
(A Grief Observed)
Ah Grief! It's you! You are so much more welcome in my life than fear. Fear can kill you. Fear can spiral into depression and anxious lethargy and make you wonder if you will ever get up, ever get out again. I am afraid of fear, but not grief. Grief leads to happiness.
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
God blesses the griever, but He commands us not to fear.
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
There is no blessing for those who fear only a slow drain of emotional energy that leaves us empty and faithless, but not grief. Grief brings us to God.
So, come Grief. Do your work. Break me and then make me. Wound me and then heal me. Lead me to blessedness that will last forever when God himself, no mediator, no emissary, no indirect means will comfort me, but God himself, the source of all comfort.
2 Corinthians 1:3 NLT
God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
Ah Grief, come. Lead me there.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Seeking the Benefits of Love
Q. Who would be so bold as to encourage us to love, so that we could receive something in return?
A. Only someone who knows love perfectly.
But, aren’t we just supposed to love out of obedience, because Gods is love, because love is right and best and makes the world go around and sometimes because we just feel like it? Should we ever hope for some benefit, even be motivated by some advantage, some profit, when we love others?
Jesus said…
Luke 6:32 "If you love those who love you,… what credit… is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you,… what credit… is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment,… what credit… is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners’, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then… your reward… will be great, and you will be… sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
What should we expect if we love people and they do not love us back?
Credit, reward, sonship.
In order for love to be love, it must expect some benefit in return, if not from anyone else, then from God himself. We may like to think we are above all of that and are capable of loving selflessly, but even God does not love that way. God is full of self-interest in loving us. He never wants nothing in return. The greatest command is Love the lord your God with all your heart… (Matthew 22:37)
Here is someone who explains loving with benefit in mind even better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKBAbtzMfE0
A. Only someone who knows love perfectly.
But, aren’t we just supposed to love out of obedience, because Gods is love, because love is right and best and makes the world go around and sometimes because we just feel like it? Should we ever hope for some benefit, even be motivated by some advantage, some profit, when we love others?
Jesus said…
Luke 6:32 "If you love those who love you,… what credit… is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you,… what credit… is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment,… what credit… is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners’, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then… your reward… will be great, and you will be… sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
What should we expect if we love people and they do not love us back?
Credit, reward, sonship.
In order for love to be love, it must expect some benefit in return, if not from anyone else, then from God himself. We may like to think we are above all of that and are capable of loving selflessly, but even God does not love that way. God is full of self-interest in loving us. He never wants nothing in return. The greatest command is Love the lord your God with all your heart… (Matthew 22:37)
Here is someone who explains loving with benefit in mind even better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKBAbtzMfE0
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Your Only Helper
I have been through the grief process before so at least I am able to recognize the pattern this time. Sometimes it feels like it will never end. God breaks us and then makes us and then breaks us again. He takes us to the place where we wonder if he has any mercy, any compassion, or whether he has completely given up on us. Then he shows us the next step we need to take toward him, the ultimate resolution to all that we suffer.
Hosea 5:14 I will be like a lion to Israel, like a strong young lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces! I will carry them off, and no one will be left to rescue them. 15 Then I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and turn to me. For as soon as trouble comes, they will earnestly search for me.” 6:1 “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds…."
13:8 Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away, I will tear out your heart. I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle you like a wild animal.9 You are about to be destroyed, O Israel— yes, by me, your only helper.
Hosea 5:14 I will be like a lion to Israel, like a strong young lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces! I will carry them off, and no one will be left to rescue them. 15 Then I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and turn to me. For as soon as trouble comes, they will earnestly search for me.” 6:1 “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds…."
13:8 Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away, I will tear out your heart. I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle you like a wild animal.9 You are about to be destroyed, O Israel— yes, by me, your only helper.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sorrowful Yet Always Rejoicing
I perceive that the grieving mind experiences three categories of passive thought. This is where the unengaged parts of the sorrowful soul naturally go: Missing. Feeling-alone. Hoping.
Hoping can be divided into two categories: temporal and eternal.
Temporal hope can be further broken down into 2 categories: spiritual and physical.
Temporal spiritual hope looks like this, and it seems reasonable that if one hopes for something, that one would also strive towards it.
1Ti 6:6 True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.
Ps 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
Ec 5:19b To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life––this is indeed a gift from God.
Heb 13:5 …be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Php. 4:11b I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Contentment. Confidence. Capability. These are pretty good temporal hopes and goals. They are also exciting promises, especially considering the resource we have been given to fulfill them. We have been given God. John Piper quotes Jonathan Edwards in ‘Pierced By The Word”…
“The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem and their everlasting honor and glory.”
With this truth firmly in mind, we may be those who are, “…sorrowful, yet always rejoicing…” (2 Co 6:10)
Hoping can be divided into two categories: temporal and eternal.
Temporal hope can be further broken down into 2 categories: spiritual and physical.
Temporal spiritual hope looks like this, and it seems reasonable that if one hopes for something, that one would also strive towards it.
1Ti 6:6 True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.
Ps 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
Ec 5:19b To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life––this is indeed a gift from God.
Heb 13:5 …be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Php. 4:11b I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Contentment. Confidence. Capability. These are pretty good temporal hopes and goals. They are also exciting promises, especially considering the resource we have been given to fulfill them. We have been given God. John Piper quotes Jonathan Edwards in ‘Pierced By The Word”…
“The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem and their everlasting honor and glory.”
With this truth firmly in mind, we may be those who are, “…sorrowful, yet always rejoicing…” (2 Co 6:10)
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