My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19, NKJV
"A wrong idea of reality leads to a wrong response to life. If we think God is stern and angry and despotic, we will live frightened. If we think that God is miserly and stingy, we will live feeling gypped. If we think that God is abstract and impersonal, we will live aimlessly and trivially.
The gospel teaches us that in every way God supplies -- he overflows with blessing and salvation. In touch with that reality we live with a sense of abandonment and walk with a confident gaiety, freely trusting, freely hoping, freely loving."
Traveling Light
God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Promises
Promises of Joy
Don’t be sad because the joy you have in the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10b
In him our hearts find joy. In his holy name we trust. Psalm 33:21
Righteous people will find joy in the Lord and take refuge in him. Everyone whose motives are decent will be able to brag. Psalm 64:10
Come, let’s sing joyfully to the Lord. Let’s shout happily to the rock of our salvation. Psalm 95:1
Let them bring songs of thanksgiving as their sacrifice. Let them tell in joyful songs what he has done. Psalm 107:22
Your written instructions are mine forever. They are the joy of my heart. Psalm 119:111
May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Don’t be sad because the joy you have in the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10b
In him our hearts find joy. In his holy name we trust. Psalm 33:21
Righteous people will find joy in the Lord and take refuge in him. Everyone whose motives are decent will be able to brag. Psalm 64:10
Come, let’s sing joyfully to the Lord. Let’s shout happily to the rock of our salvation. Psalm 95:1
Let them bring songs of thanksgiving as their sacrifice. Let them tell in joyful songs what he has done. Psalm 107:22
Your written instructions are mine forever. They are the joy of my heart. Psalm 119:111
May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
A Growing Shield
Taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16
"There is nothing mystical about faith. Biblical faith is simply what you believe about God and His Word. The more you know about Him and His Word, the more faith you will have. If you want your shield of faith to grow large and protective, your knowledge of the Lord and His Word must increase."
Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.
"There is nothing mystical about faith. Biblical faith is simply what you believe about God and His Word. The more you know about Him and His Word, the more faith you will have. If you want your shield of faith to grow large and protective, your knowledge of the Lord and His Word must increase."
Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.
Drudgery
Elizabeth Elliot Devotional
Title: Drudgery
"I must admit I feel a lot of pressure with two children under two years of age. I am committed to do it until they are in school, however, and feel it is God's will. At times like this--when I wonder if I will even be able to finish this letter with both of them screaming for something--or when I miss going to lunch or getting dressed up, everyday life seems a drudgery. I worked hard to get through college--to be a scrubwoman, ha!"
I understand this mother's cry. So does the Lord.
He has given us this word: "No temptation has come your way that is too hard for flesh and blood to bear. But God can be trusted not to allow you to suffer any temptation beyond your powers of endurance. He will see to it that every temptation has a way out, so that it will never be impossible for you to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13, PHILLIPS).
"A way out," I can hear her say, "What mother has a way out?"
The New English Bible translation throws light on this: "a way out, by enabling you to sustain it." Think, too, of Jesus' words, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:29 AV). He is willing to bear our burdens with us, if only we will come to Him and share the yoke, His yoke.
I saw this principle in operation when I visited the Dohnavur Fellowship in India. There, day after day, year in and year out, Indian women (most of them single) care for little children, handicapped children, infirm adults, old folks.
They don't go anywhere. They have none of our usual forms of amusement and diversion. They work with extremely primitive equipment--there is no running water, for example, no stoves but wood-burning ones, no washing machines. In one of the buildings I saw this text: "There they dwelt with the King for His work." That's the secret.
They do it for Him. They ask for and receive His grace to do it. I saw the joy in their lovely faces.
Title: Drudgery
"I must admit I feel a lot of pressure with two children under two years of age. I am committed to do it until they are in school, however, and feel it is God's will. At times like this--when I wonder if I will even be able to finish this letter with both of them screaming for something--or when I miss going to lunch or getting dressed up, everyday life seems a drudgery. I worked hard to get through college--to be a scrubwoman, ha!"
I understand this mother's cry. So does the Lord.
He has given us this word: "No temptation has come your way that is too hard for flesh and blood to bear. But God can be trusted not to allow you to suffer any temptation beyond your powers of endurance. He will see to it that every temptation has a way out, so that it will never be impossible for you to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13, PHILLIPS).
"A way out," I can hear her say, "What mother has a way out?"
The New English Bible translation throws light on this: "a way out, by enabling you to sustain it." Think, too, of Jesus' words, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:29 AV). He is willing to bear our burdens with us, if only we will come to Him and share the yoke, His yoke.
I saw this principle in operation when I visited the Dohnavur Fellowship in India. There, day after day, year in and year out, Indian women (most of them single) care for little children, handicapped children, infirm adults, old folks.
They don't go anywhere. They have none of our usual forms of amusement and diversion. They work with extremely primitive equipment--there is no running water, for example, no stoves but wood-burning ones, no washing machines. In one of the buildings I saw this text: "There they dwelt with the King for His work." That's the secret.
They do it for Him. They ask for and receive His grace to do it. I saw the joy in their lovely faces.
Promises
Promises of Forgiveness
Purify me from sin with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken dance. Hide your face from my sins, and wipe out all that I have done wrong. Psalm 51: 7-9
As high as the heavens are above the earth—that is how vast his mercy is toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west—that is how far he has removed our rebellious acts from himself. Psalm 103:11-12
If you forgive the failures of others, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failures. Matthew 6:14-15
God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of his Son, whom he loves. His Son paid the price to free us, which means that our sins are forgiven. Colossians 1:13-14
Put up with each other, and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13
God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we’ve done wrong. 1 John 1:9
Purify me from sin with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken dance. Hide your face from my sins, and wipe out all that I have done wrong. Psalm 51: 7-9
As high as the heavens are above the earth—that is how vast his mercy is toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west—that is how far he has removed our rebellious acts from himself. Psalm 103:11-12
If you forgive the failures of others, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failures. Matthew 6:14-15
God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of his Son, whom he loves. His Son paid the price to free us, which means that our sins are forgiven. Colossians 1:13-14
Put up with each other, and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13
God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we’ve done wrong. 1 John 1:9
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Mutually Encouraged
In a sermon on Romans 16: 25-27 entitled God Strengthens Us by the Gospel John Piper makes this statement:
"What kind of strength does Paul mean that God is able to give? Well, God can give whatever kind of strength he wants—“By my God I can leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29). But here he means the same kind of strength that he referred to in Romans 1:11-12, “I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen (stērikthēnai, the same word as in 16:25) you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.” The substance of this strength is faith in Jesus Christ."
Notice the statement .. mutually encouraged by each other's faith .. I think that this is perhaps the most important thing that can happen between believers when we gather. I think we should make it our goal when we are with fellow believers to look for a way to encourage their faith -- this seems to me to be central to our fellowship.
"What kind of strength does Paul mean that God is able to give? Well, God can give whatever kind of strength he wants—“By my God I can leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29). But here he means the same kind of strength that he referred to in Romans 1:11-12, “I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen (stērikthēnai, the same word as in 16:25) you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.” The substance of this strength is faith in Jesus Christ."
Notice the statement .. mutually encouraged by each other's faith .. I think that this is perhaps the most important thing that can happen between believers when we gather. I think we should make it our goal when we are with fellow believers to look for a way to encourage their faith -- this seems to me to be central to our fellowship.
Our Need for Recognition
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
I hate to tell you this, but the reality of most work environments is that expressions of appreciation and recognition are often few and far between. Have you noticed? Yet all of us need recognition.
As Christians in the marketplace, we report to a higher level of management than our co-workers, and we need to understand God's principles of recognition and reward. In Colossians 3 we read: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Now, this is terrific. God has a recognition and incentive program better than any employer could ever dream up, and if we perform our everyday work duties as unto Him, we're going to be recognized and rewarded by the Lord, whether our employer ever appreciates us or not.
So, if you feel you're not receiving the earthly rewards you deserve, rejoice to know that you can be assured of a heavenly reward. If you're doing a good job and nobody says "thank you," just remember that someday you'll get the "thank you" you deserve from a higher level of management. That is, of course, if you're working for Jesus and not for people.
In Matthew 6 Jesus said, Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
Jesus said that if we desire the rewards of men, we may miss out on God's reward. If our whole motivation is to be recognized and rewarded here on earth, then that will be all the reward we'll get. And if our hearts are set on impressing people and receiving their earthly rewards, it will poison our motives and keep us from receiving God's heavenly rewards.
Jesus advises us to work for heavenly rewards, because they are worthwhile and certain. Earthly rewards we may or may not get; they are undependable and frequently distributed unfairly. I wish that were not true; I wish more managers in more companies would practice that simple management skill of "catch someone doing something right and tell them." But I know there are many of you who never hear a positive word of reinforcement from your manager. But don't be discouraged. You can receive the recognition you so dearly desire if you will do your work for Jesus.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
I hate to tell you this, but the reality of most work environments is that expressions of appreciation and recognition are often few and far between. Have you noticed? Yet all of us need recognition.
As Christians in the marketplace, we report to a higher level of management than our co-workers, and we need to understand God's principles of recognition and reward. In Colossians 3 we read: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Now, this is terrific. God has a recognition and incentive program better than any employer could ever dream up, and if we perform our everyday work duties as unto Him, we're going to be recognized and rewarded by the Lord, whether our employer ever appreciates us or not.
So, if you feel you're not receiving the earthly rewards you deserve, rejoice to know that you can be assured of a heavenly reward. If you're doing a good job and nobody says "thank you," just remember that someday you'll get the "thank you" you deserve from a higher level of management. That is, of course, if you're working for Jesus and not for people.
In Matthew 6 Jesus said, Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
Jesus said that if we desire the rewards of men, we may miss out on God's reward. If our whole motivation is to be recognized and rewarded here on earth, then that will be all the reward we'll get. And if our hearts are set on impressing people and receiving their earthly rewards, it will poison our motives and keep us from receiving God's heavenly rewards.
Jesus advises us to work for heavenly rewards, because they are worthwhile and certain. Earthly rewards we may or may not get; they are undependable and frequently distributed unfairly. I wish that were not true; I wish more managers in more companies would practice that simple management skill of "catch someone doing something right and tell them." But I know there are many of you who never hear a positive word of reinforcement from your manager. But don't be discouraged. You can receive the recognition you so dearly desire if you will do your work for Jesus.
Voluntarily United
Voluntarily United
by C.S. Lewis from Mere Christianity
“God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go either wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong; I cannot. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible.
Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata … of creatures that worked like machines … would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free.”
by C.S. Lewis from Mere Christianity
“God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go either wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong; I cannot. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible.
Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata … of creatures that worked like machines … would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free.”
Promises
Promises to give Hope
Why are you discouraged, my soul? Why are you so restless? Put your hope in God, because I will still praise him. He is my savior and my God.
Psalm 42:11
I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
We were saved with this hope in mind. If we hope for something we already see, it’s not really hope. Who hopes for what can be seen? But if we hope for what we don’t see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Romans 8:24-25
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God—those whom he has called according to his plan.
Romans 8:28
Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.
1Corinthians 13:7
God our Father loved us and by his kindness gave us everlasting encouragement and good hope. Together with our Lord Jesus Christ, may he encourage and strengthen you to do and say everything that is good.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
Why are you discouraged, my soul? Why are you so restless? Put your hope in God, because I will still praise him. He is my savior and my God.
Psalm 42:11
I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
We were saved with this hope in mind. If we hope for something we already see, it’s not really hope. Who hopes for what can be seen? But if we hope for what we don’t see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Romans 8:24-25
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God—those whom he has called according to his plan.
Romans 8:28
Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.
1Corinthians 13:7
God our Father loved us and by his kindness gave us everlasting encouragement and good hope. Together with our Lord Jesus Christ, may he encourage and strengthen you to do and say everything that is good.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
Monday, November 27, 2006
Evensong
Last night we continued reading 1 Corinthians. We read chapters 14 and 15.
"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them -- yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me."
1 Cor 14:10
"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them -- yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me."
1 Cor 14:10
Sermon: Try This at Home
Our sermon yesterday was from Ephesians 5. Aaron talked about being "children of light". At the beginning of the sermon he gave an illustration about how we listen differently if we plan to put into effect what we are hearing. With that in mind then we should "try this at home" and be children of light empowered by the Spirit of God.
Obedience
OBEDIENCE
Genesis 49:10
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh come: And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
Romans 1:5
through whom we received grace and apostleship, unto obedience of faith among all the nations, for his name's sake;
Romans 5:19
For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous.
Romans 6:16
Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves [as] servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Romans 15:18
For I will not dare to speak of any things save those which Christ wrought through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed,
Romans 16:19
For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I rejoice therefore over you: but I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple unto that which is evil.
Romans 16:26
but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith:
2 Corinthians 7:15
And his affection is more abundantly toward you, while he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.
2 Corinthians 9:13
seeing that through the proving [of you] by this ministration they glorify God for the obedience of your confession unto the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of [your] contribution unto them and unto all;
2 Corinthians 10:5
casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;
2 Corinthians 10:6
and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience shall be made full.
Philemon 1:21
Having confidence in thine obedience I write unto thee, knowing that thou wilt do even beyond what I say.
Hebrews 5:8
though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered;
1 Peter 1:2
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
1 Peter 1:14
as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts in [the time of] your ignorance:
1 Peter 1:22
Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently:
The Holy Bible
Genesis 49:10
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh come: And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
Romans 1:5
through whom we received grace and apostleship, unto obedience of faith among all the nations, for his name's sake;
Romans 5:19
For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous.
Romans 6:16
Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves [as] servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Romans 15:18
For I will not dare to speak of any things save those which Christ wrought through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed,
Romans 16:19
For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I rejoice therefore over you: but I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple unto that which is evil.
Romans 16:26
but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith:
2 Corinthians 7:15
And his affection is more abundantly toward you, while he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.
2 Corinthians 9:13
seeing that through the proving [of you] by this ministration they glorify God for the obedience of your confession unto the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of [your] contribution unto them and unto all;
2 Corinthians 10:5
casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;
2 Corinthians 10:6
and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience shall be made full.
Philemon 1:21
Having confidence in thine obedience I write unto thee, knowing that thou wilt do even beyond what I say.
Hebrews 5:8
though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered;
1 Peter 1:2
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
1 Peter 1:14
as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts in [the time of] your ignorance:
1 Peter 1:22
Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently:
The Holy Bible
Friday, November 24, 2006
Thankful
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Friday, November 24, 2006
I hope you have a thankful day everyday. You know why? Because thankfulness is good for you!
I've been encouraging you to practice overflowing with thanksgiving, and I've given you seven helpful hints on how to do that.
Did you ever think about the power that is released when you become a thankful person? Let me tell you some of the great things that will happen:
People will like you much better. Thankful people are nice to be around. Your relationships will improve. You'll have more friends.
Your energy level will go up. It's true, because when you're thankful, you unleash a lot of good energy that is often wasted on complaining and negativism. You will do more work in less time. And that's going to make you a better employee, which will make your boss happy! I won't go so far as to say you'll get a raise, but then again–who knows?
Your stress will go down. When you are being thankful, you are thinking about the good things in your life, and that keeps you from focusing on the negative things. It's like a release valve on a pressure cooker–you will see your stress go down.
Your face will be prettier–or more handsome, whichever you prefer! Think about it–when you are thankful, you're not worried or fretting, and those things cause lines in our faces and age us! You'll look younger!
Your posture will improve. When you're thankful, you stand up straighter. When you're negative, your shoulders tend to stoop and your back curves.
There's power in thankfulness. You have much to gain. But way above and beyond all of these, here's the most important reason to be thankful:
You will honor and glorify Jesus Christ as He deserves. When you overflow with thankfulness, you tell the world what Jesus has done for you and you are a good ambassador for Him. Not to mention, it pleases Him to see your thankful heart.
Let's start a campaign to overflow with thankfulness. What a way to live!
Friday, November 24, 2006
I hope you have a thankful day everyday. You know why? Because thankfulness is good for you!
I've been encouraging you to practice overflowing with thanksgiving, and I've given you seven helpful hints on how to do that.
Did you ever think about the power that is released when you become a thankful person? Let me tell you some of the great things that will happen:
People will like you much better. Thankful people are nice to be around. Your relationships will improve. You'll have more friends.
Your energy level will go up. It's true, because when you're thankful, you unleash a lot of good energy that is often wasted on complaining and negativism. You will do more work in less time. And that's going to make you a better employee, which will make your boss happy! I won't go so far as to say you'll get a raise, but then again–who knows?
Your stress will go down. When you are being thankful, you are thinking about the good things in your life, and that keeps you from focusing on the negative things. It's like a release valve on a pressure cooker–you will see your stress go down.
Your face will be prettier–or more handsome, whichever you prefer! Think about it–when you are thankful, you're not worried or fretting, and those things cause lines in our faces and age us! You'll look younger!
Your posture will improve. When you're thankful, you stand up straighter. When you're negative, your shoulders tend to stoop and your back curves.
There's power in thankfulness. You have much to gain. But way above and beyond all of these, here's the most important reason to be thankful:
You will honor and glorify Jesus Christ as He deserves. When you overflow with thankfulness, you tell the world what Jesus has done for you and you are a good ambassador for Him. Not to mention, it pleases Him to see your thankful heart.
Let's start a campaign to overflow with thankfulness. What a way to live!
Calendar
A Cleared Calendar
Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.LUKE 5:16 NIV
How long has it been since you let God have you?I mean really have you? How long since you gave him a portion of undiluted, uninterrupted time listening for his voice?
Apparently, Jesus did.
He made a deliberate effort to spend time with God.Spend much time reading about the listening life of Jesus and a distinct pattern emerges. He spent regular time with God, praying and listening.
Mark says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed”
(Mark 1:35 NW)....Let me ask the obvious. If Jesus, the Son of God, the sinless Savior of humankind, thought it worthwhile to dear his calendar to pray, wouldn’t we be wise to do the same?
Max Lucado
Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.LUKE 5:16 NIV
How long has it been since you let God have you?I mean really have you? How long since you gave him a portion of undiluted, uninterrupted time listening for his voice?
Apparently, Jesus did.
He made a deliberate effort to spend time with God.Spend much time reading about the listening life of Jesus and a distinct pattern emerges. He spent regular time with God, praying and listening.
Mark says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed”
(Mark 1:35 NW)....Let me ask the obvious. If Jesus, the Son of God, the sinless Savior of humankind, thought it worthwhile to dear his calendar to pray, wouldn’t we be wise to do the same?
Max Lucado
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Thanks
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Overflowing with Thankfulness
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Has anyone ever said to you, "You are just overflowing with thankfulness"? Honestly, that's never happened to me and probably not you either. Yet, the Bible tells us in Colossians 2 that we should overflow with thankfulness.
I do believe this, with all my heart–if you learn to practice thankfulness, people will notice. They'll notice your joyful spirit; they'll notice your words of thanks; they'll notice the smile on your face and the bounce in your step. You look different when you overflow with thankfulness. It softens the lines in your face; makes you look younger and gives a gentleness to your words. It lightens your load so you have a spring in your walk.
You don't believe me? Well, I challenge you to practice thankfulness and see if people don't notice the difference in you. I've given you five suggestions to help you practice being thankful. Here's one more:
6. Think about where you'd be without Jesus. That will make you thankful.
There's a song I like by Stephen Curtis Chapman entitled "Remember Your Chains." The chorus says:
Remember your chains.
Remember the prison that once held you
Before the love of God broke through.Remember the place you were without grace.
And when you see where you are now,
Remember your chains, and remember your chains are gone.
For me, nothing makes me overflow with thankfulness like remembering what Jesus has done in my life and hearing what He has done in the lives of others. Each year some of my close friends get together at my home on New Year's Day, and one of our traditions is to re-tell our stories–to remember our chains are gone. What a great experience that is. We always overflow with thankfulness when we remember where we were before we met Jesus.
As you prepare for Thanksgiving this week, have you stopped to truly have a thankful heart? Maybe you've been so busy with all the preparations that you've forgotten the purpose–to be thankful. In fact, there are very few people in our country who will celebrate thanksgiving. Most will celebrate a big meal, a family gathering, a football game. But not too many will be primarily focused on having a thankful heart.
Don't miss this opportunity to develop the habit of overflowing with thankfulness. It is the only way to live.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Has anyone ever said to you, "You are just overflowing with thankfulness"? Honestly, that's never happened to me and probably not you either. Yet, the Bible tells us in Colossians 2 that we should overflow with thankfulness.
I do believe this, with all my heart–if you learn to practice thankfulness, people will notice. They'll notice your joyful spirit; they'll notice your words of thanks; they'll notice the smile on your face and the bounce in your step. You look different when you overflow with thankfulness. It softens the lines in your face; makes you look younger and gives a gentleness to your words. It lightens your load so you have a spring in your walk.
You don't believe me? Well, I challenge you to practice thankfulness and see if people don't notice the difference in you. I've given you five suggestions to help you practice being thankful. Here's one more:
6. Think about where you'd be without Jesus. That will make you thankful.
There's a song I like by Stephen Curtis Chapman entitled "Remember Your Chains." The chorus says:
Remember your chains.
Remember the prison that once held you
Before the love of God broke through.Remember the place you were without grace.
And when you see where you are now,
Remember your chains, and remember your chains are gone.
For me, nothing makes me overflow with thankfulness like remembering what Jesus has done in my life and hearing what He has done in the lives of others. Each year some of my close friends get together at my home on New Year's Day, and one of our traditions is to re-tell our stories–to remember our chains are gone. What a great experience that is. We always overflow with thankfulness when we remember where we were before we met Jesus.
As you prepare for Thanksgiving this week, have you stopped to truly have a thankful heart? Maybe you've been so busy with all the preparations that you've forgotten the purpose–to be thankful. In fact, there are very few people in our country who will celebrate thanksgiving. Most will celebrate a big meal, a family gathering, a football game. But not too many will be primarily focused on having a thankful heart.
Don't miss this opportunity to develop the habit of overflowing with thankfulness. It is the only way to live.
What Is Happening?
Elizabeth Elliot Devotional
Title: What is Happening?
What on earth is happening in our culture? The answer is plain, I'm afraid, in Romans 1 and 2.
Men render truth dumb and inoperative by their wickedness. They refuse to acknowledge God or to thank Him for what He is or does. They become fatuous in their argumentations. Behind a facade of wisdom they become fools. They give up God. They forfeit the truth of God and
accept a lie. They overflow with insolent pride; their minds teem with diabolical invention. They recognize no obligations to honor, lose all natural affection, and have no use for mercy.
They do not hesitate to give their thorough approval to others who do the same (see Romans 1:18-2:5, PHILLIPS).
Can we condemn them without subjecting ourselves to the same standard of judgment by which we condemn? Of course we can't. Judgment must be righteous judgment (John 7:24), based on the Word of God.
"There is no doubt at all that he will 'render to every man according to his works,' and that means eternal life to those who, in patiently doing good, aim at the unseen.... "It also means anger and wrath for those who rebel against God's plan of life. "But there is glory and honor and peace for every worker on the side of good" (see Rom. 2:6-10, PHILLIPS).
Title: What is Happening?
What on earth is happening in our culture? The answer is plain, I'm afraid, in Romans 1 and 2.
Men render truth dumb and inoperative by their wickedness. They refuse to acknowledge God or to thank Him for what He is or does. They become fatuous in their argumentations. Behind a facade of wisdom they become fools. They give up God. They forfeit the truth of God and
accept a lie. They overflow with insolent pride; their minds teem with diabolical invention. They recognize no obligations to honor, lose all natural affection, and have no use for mercy.
They do not hesitate to give their thorough approval to others who do the same (see Romans 1:18-2:5, PHILLIPS).
Can we condemn them without subjecting ourselves to the same standard of judgment by which we condemn? Of course we can't. Judgment must be righteous judgment (John 7:24), based on the Word of God.
"There is no doubt at all that he will 'render to every man according to his works,' and that means eternal life to those who, in patiently doing good, aim at the unseen.... "It also means anger and wrath for those who rebel against God's plan of life. "But there is glory and honor and peace for every worker on the side of good" (see Rom. 2:6-10, PHILLIPS).
Good Ideas
No Shortage of Good Ideas
By C.S. Lewis
from Mere Christianity
“When you get down to it, is not the popular idea of Christianity simply this: that Jesus Christ was a great moral teacher and that if only we took His advice we might be able to establish a better social order and avoid another war? Now, mind you, that is quite true. But it tells you much less than the whole truth about Christianity and it has no practical importance at all.
It is quite true that if we took Christ’s advice we should soon be living in a happier world. You need not even go as far as Christ. If we did all that Plato or Aristotle or Confucius told us, we should get on a great deal better than we do. And so what? We never have followed the advice of great teachers. Why are we likely to begin now? Why are we more likely to follow Christ than any of the others? Because He is the best moral teacher? But that makes it even less likely
that we shall follow Him. If we cannot take the elementary lessons, is it likely we are going to take the most advanced one?
If Christianity only means one more bit of good advice, then Christianity is of no importance. There has been no lack of good advice for the last four thousand years. A bit more makes no difference.”
By C.S. Lewis
from Mere Christianity
“When you get down to it, is not the popular idea of Christianity simply this: that Jesus Christ was a great moral teacher and that if only we took His advice we might be able to establish a better social order and avoid another war? Now, mind you, that is quite true. But it tells you much less than the whole truth about Christianity and it has no practical importance at all.
It is quite true that if we took Christ’s advice we should soon be living in a happier world. You need not even go as far as Christ. If we did all that Plato or Aristotle or Confucius told us, we should get on a great deal better than we do. And so what? We never have followed the advice of great teachers. Why are we likely to begin now? Why are we more likely to follow Christ than any of the others? Because He is the best moral teacher? But that makes it even less likely
that we shall follow Him. If we cannot take the elementary lessons, is it likely we are going to take the most advanced one?
If Christianity only means one more bit of good advice, then Christianity is of no importance. There has been no lack of good advice for the last four thousand years. A bit more makes no difference.”
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Knowing God
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
1 John 4:7
1 John 4:7
Find Your Part and Play It To The Fullest
"In John Eldredge's little book, Epic, he talks about how life doesn't come like a math problem that can be solved, like an equation into which we plug the right numbers and get the right answers. Instead, he says, life comes to us as a story. Waking up each day is like turning the page in the story of our life. We don't know what characters will make an appearance or what will happen or how the plot will thicken. We don't know over a year's time how a chapter will end -- whether it will be dramatic or funny or calamitous. We just have to live out our life one day at a time and be ready for the story to unfold.
Fortunately, Eldredge says, regardless of how our story turns out on an given day, month, or year, we can read ahead and see how the story of our life turns out in the end. We were born into a story that God is telling, the most dramatic story in history -- an epic of God-like proportions. We have a part to play in God's story of the ages, and it is our calling to find our part and play it to the fullest."
"Writing Your Story", Ready!Set!Growth! by David Jeremiah.
(John Eldredge, Epic: The Story God Is Telling and the Role That is Yours to Play (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004)
Fortunately, Eldredge says, regardless of how our story turns out on an given day, month, or year, we can read ahead and see how the story of our life turns out in the end. We were born into a story that God is telling, the most dramatic story in history -- an epic of God-like proportions. We have a part to play in God's story of the ages, and it is our calling to find our part and play it to the fullest."
"Writing Your Story", Ready!Set!Growth! by David Jeremiah.
(John Eldredge, Epic: The Story God Is Telling and the Role That is Yours to Play (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004)
Monday, November 20, 2006
Experience or Revelation
EXPERIENCE OR REVELATION by Oswald Chambers
"We have received . . . the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." 1 Corinthians 2:12
Reality is Redemption, not my experience of Redemption; but Redemption has no meaning for me until it speaks the language of my conscious life. When I am born again, the Spirit of God takes me right out of myself and my experiences, and identifies me with Jesus Christ. If I am left with my experiences, my experiences have not been produced by Redemption. The proof that they are produced by Redemption is that I am led out of myself all the time, I no longer pay any attention to my experiences as the ground of Reality, but only to the Reality which produced the experiences. My experiences are not worth anything unless they keep me at the Source, Jesus Christ.
If you try to dam up the Holy Spirit in you to produce subjective experiences, you will find that He will burst all bounds and take you back again to the historic Christ. Never nourish an experience which has not God as its Source and faith in God as its result. If you do, your experience is anti-Christian, no matter what visions you may have had. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you try to lord it over Him? Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord? He must be Lord over you, and you must not pay attention to any experience over which He is not Lord. There comes a time when God will make you impatient with your own experience - I do not care what I experience; I am sure of Him.
Be ruthless with yourself if you are given to talking about the experiences you have had. Faith that is sure of itself is not faith; faith that is sure of God is the only faith there is.
"We have received . . . the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." 1 Corinthians 2:12
Reality is Redemption, not my experience of Redemption; but Redemption has no meaning for me until it speaks the language of my conscious life. When I am born again, the Spirit of God takes me right out of myself and my experiences, and identifies me with Jesus Christ. If I am left with my experiences, my experiences have not been produced by Redemption. The proof that they are produced by Redemption is that I am led out of myself all the time, I no longer pay any attention to my experiences as the ground of Reality, but only to the Reality which produced the experiences. My experiences are not worth anything unless they keep me at the Source, Jesus Christ.
If you try to dam up the Holy Spirit in you to produce subjective experiences, you will find that He will burst all bounds and take you back again to the historic Christ. Never nourish an experience which has not God as its Source and faith in God as its result. If you do, your experience is anti-Christian, no matter what visions you may have had. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you try to lord it over Him? Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord? He must be Lord over you, and you must not pay attention to any experience over which He is not Lord. There comes a time when God will make you impatient with your own experience - I do not care what I experience; I am sure of Him.
Be ruthless with yourself if you are given to talking about the experiences you have had. Faith that is sure of itself is not faith; faith that is sure of God is the only faith there is.
Overflowing with Thankfulness
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Monday, November 20, 2006
Thanksgiving–it's turkey time again! As we begin this Thanksgiving week I thought it might be a good idea to talk about being thankful. Paul wrote to the Colossians:
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7)
Overflowing with thankfulness–that's what we should be if we have received Christ Jesus as our Lord and are continuing to grow in our faith. In other words, thankfulness is supposed to be a trademark of a Christian.
Ask yourself this question: Would people who know you well–who are around you often and see you in real-life environments regularly–would they describe you as a thankful person? Do you overflow with thankfulness? If something is overflowing, people would notice, don't you think?
This is a characteristic I've been trying to cultivate more and more in my life because I want to be thankful for all my many, many blessings. But also because being thankful is a major stress buster! I'm not kidding; one of the best things you can do to reduce your stress, lower your blood pressure, and lengthen your life is to practice thankfulness.
Notice I said "practice thankfulness." You see, it's really easy to get caught up in complaining because that's what we hear around us quite often. Don't you hear a good bit of griping and complaining where you work? Well, you might have caught that disease without realizing it. So, you need to practice thankfulness.
Here are some suggestions to help you do that.
1. Put a sign on your desk or your mirror that says "Overflow with thankfulness today." I think we just sometimes need simple reminders. It sure wouldn’t hurt.
2. Put on thankfulness each morning before you leave home. Colossians 3 gives us a list of garments that we should put on each day as God's chosen people, and at the end of this list we read: "And be thankful." So, while you're buttoning your shirt or putting on your shoes, just make a little ritual each day of saying, "And I'm also putting on thankfulness to wear all day today."
Monday, November 20, 2006
Thanksgiving–it's turkey time again! As we begin this Thanksgiving week I thought it might be a good idea to talk about being thankful. Paul wrote to the Colossians:
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7)
Overflowing with thankfulness–that's what we should be if we have received Christ Jesus as our Lord and are continuing to grow in our faith. In other words, thankfulness is supposed to be a trademark of a Christian.
Ask yourself this question: Would people who know you well–who are around you often and see you in real-life environments regularly–would they describe you as a thankful person? Do you overflow with thankfulness? If something is overflowing, people would notice, don't you think?
This is a characteristic I've been trying to cultivate more and more in my life because I want to be thankful for all my many, many blessings. But also because being thankful is a major stress buster! I'm not kidding; one of the best things you can do to reduce your stress, lower your blood pressure, and lengthen your life is to practice thankfulness.
Notice I said "practice thankfulness." You see, it's really easy to get caught up in complaining because that's what we hear around us quite often. Don't you hear a good bit of griping and complaining where you work? Well, you might have caught that disease without realizing it. So, you need to practice thankfulness.
Here are some suggestions to help you do that.
1. Put a sign on your desk or your mirror that says "Overflow with thankfulness today." I think we just sometimes need simple reminders. It sure wouldn’t hurt.
2. Put on thankfulness each morning before you leave home. Colossians 3 gives us a list of garments that we should put on each day as God's chosen people, and at the end of this list we read: "And be thankful." So, while you're buttoning your shirt or putting on your shoes, just make a little ritual each day of saying, "And I'm also putting on thankfulness to wear all day today."
Evensong
Last night was our monthly prayer time. Here's one of the prayers of the early church:
They called on God to save unbelievers.
Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved (Romans 10:1).
Do you know someone today for which you could ask God for their salvation?
They called on God to save unbelievers.
Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved (Romans 10:1).
Do you know someone today for which you could ask God for their salvation?
Sermon
Aaron preached on Isaiah 53 yesterday and that sometimes our common sense is not right. God doesn't always do what we logically think He will do. God will bet on the underdog every time.
Here's a verse that I think expresses this idea:
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." 1 Corinthians 1:25
and then
"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on man's wisdom, but on God's power." 2:4
Here's a verse that I think expresses this idea:
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." 1 Corinthians 1:25
and then
"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on man's wisdom, but on God's power." 2:4
Friday, November 17, 2006
The Lord is Near
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
Psalm 145: 18-19
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
Psalm 145: 18-19
Live Your Life with Passion
"Once some people asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment in the Old Testament. He said it was to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matathew 22:37). Even our relationship with God is to be carried out with passion. But how many of us approach it that way? We live our own lives six days a week and get excited about God on Sunday. But is that the way love for God ought to be impacting our life? Shouldn't our love for Him be radically impacting every moment of our life?"
...
"The source of our passion is to be none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul concludes in verse 24 [Colossians 3]. I find it fascinating that the word "enthusiasm" is made up of the two Greek words en (in) and theos (God). Enthusiasm is God in you. That's how we know that passion comes from God.
"Passion is not something we develop as much as something we discover. ... The gift and the Spirit are already in you! You need only discover them and put them to work for the Lord."
...
"How do you begin to live your life with passion? It begins with a small, bold step of obedience in doing what you know now is what God wants you to do."
...
"Committing to Growth" in Ready!Set!Growth! by David Jeremiah.
...
"The source of our passion is to be none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul concludes in verse 24 [Colossians 3]. I find it fascinating that the word "enthusiasm" is made up of the two Greek words en (in) and theos (God). Enthusiasm is God in you. That's how we know that passion comes from God.
"Passion is not something we develop as much as something we discover. ... The gift and the Spirit are already in you! You need only discover them and put them to work for the Lord."
...
"How do you begin to live your life with passion? It begins with a small, bold step of obedience in doing what you know now is what God wants you to do."
...
"Committing to Growth" in Ready!Set!Growth! by David Jeremiah.
Praying Like the Early Church
More from "What to Pray For" by John Piper
Pray for a deeper sense of assured hope.
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers . . . that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. (Ephesians 1:16, 18)
Pray for strength and endurance.
[We have not ceased to pray for you to be] strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. (Colossians 1:11; cf. Ephesians 3:16)
Pray deeper sense of his power within them.
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers . . . that you may know . . . what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe. (Ephesians 1:16, 18-19)
Pray that your faith not be destroyed.
I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren. (Luke 22:32)
But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:36)
Pray for greater faith.
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24; cf. Ephesians 3:17)
Pray that you might not fall into temptation.
Lead us not into temptation. (Matthew 6:13)
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)
Pray for a deeper sense of assured hope.
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers . . . that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. (Ephesians 1:16, 18)
Pray for strength and endurance.
[We have not ceased to pray for you to be] strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. (Colossians 1:11; cf. Ephesians 3:16)
Pray deeper sense of his power within them.
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers . . . that you may know . . . what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe. (Ephesians 1:16, 18-19)
Pray that your faith not be destroyed.
I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren. (Luke 22:32)
But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:36)
Pray for greater faith.
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24; cf. Ephesians 3:17)
Pray that you might not fall into temptation.
Lead us not into temptation. (Matthew 6:13)
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)
Have You Left Your First Love?
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Friday, November 17, 2006
Have you left your first love for Jesus? I think we need to have a checkup once in a while to see if, like the church in Ephesus that we read about in Revelations 2, we might be forsaking our first love. When we allow that to happen, we lose our joy, and our service for Christ becomes a duty rather than a privilege.
Ask yourself, are you still in first love with Christ? Does your heart skip beats when you think about His love for you? Can you sing
And when I think that God His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross my burdens gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sins. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, How great Thou art!
…without choking up? Do you find tears running down your cheeks when all by yourself you're reading Psalm 40 where it says, He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Do you find obedience a drudgery, or is it your delight to please the Lord? Does it break your heart to know that your sin has broken His heart, or do you take sin lightly? Have you left your first love?
To keep our love fresh, we are told to remember and do the things we did at first. Jesus knew how important it was for us to remember. He instituted the Lord's Supper as a way to help us remember. We partake of the elements in communion in order to remember what Jesus did for us on Calvary. If we are constantly reminded of these things, our first love will stay in full bloom.
If a couple in first love will continue throughout their relationship to practice the good things they did at first, they can keep that first love alive. If we would continue to do the things that foster first love–the things we probably did when first we accepted Christ–our love would not grow cold. Reading and meditating on Scripture, spending time in prayer, fellowshipping with believers, keeping our thoughts and minds focused on Jesus–those are the things we have to keep doing.
If you're no longer in first love with Jesus, it's because you've left Him–you've forgotten to remember to do the things that keep first love alive. I encourage you to go back to that first love and keep it alive.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Have you left your first love for Jesus? I think we need to have a checkup once in a while to see if, like the church in Ephesus that we read about in Revelations 2, we might be forsaking our first love. When we allow that to happen, we lose our joy, and our service for Christ becomes a duty rather than a privilege.
Ask yourself, are you still in first love with Christ? Does your heart skip beats when you think about His love for you? Can you sing
And when I think that God His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross my burdens gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sins. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, How great Thou art!
…without choking up? Do you find tears running down your cheeks when all by yourself you're reading Psalm 40 where it says, He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Do you find obedience a drudgery, or is it your delight to please the Lord? Does it break your heart to know that your sin has broken His heart, or do you take sin lightly? Have you left your first love?
To keep our love fresh, we are told to remember and do the things we did at first. Jesus knew how important it was for us to remember. He instituted the Lord's Supper as a way to help us remember. We partake of the elements in communion in order to remember what Jesus did for us on Calvary. If we are constantly reminded of these things, our first love will stay in full bloom.
If a couple in first love will continue throughout their relationship to practice the good things they did at first, they can keep that first love alive. If we would continue to do the things that foster first love–the things we probably did when first we accepted Christ–our love would not grow cold. Reading and meditating on Scripture, spending time in prayer, fellowshipping with believers, keeping our thoughts and minds focused on Jesus–those are the things we have to keep doing.
If you're no longer in first love with Jesus, it's because you've left Him–you've forgotten to remember to do the things that keep first love alive. I encourage you to go back to that first love and keep it alive.
The World Must Be Shown
Elizabeth Elliot Devotional
Title: The World Must Be Shown
When Jesus was speaking with His disciples before His crucifixion, He gave them His parting gift: peace such as the world can never give. But He went on immediately to say, "Set your troubled hearts at rest and banish your fears.... I shall not talk much longer with you, for the Prince of this world approaches. He has no rights over me, but the world must be shown that I love the Father and do exactly as he commands" (John 14:27, 30-31, NEB).
A young mother called to ask for "something that will help me to trust in the Lord." She explained that she had several small children, she herself was thirty years old, and she had cancer. Chemotherapy had done its hideous work of making her totally bald. The prognosis was not good. Could I say to her, "Set your troubled heart at rest. God is going to heal you"? Certainly not.
Jesus did not tell His disciples that He would not be killed. How do I know whether God would heal this young woman? I could, however, remind her that He would not for a moment let go of her, that His love enfolded her and her precious children every minute of every day and every night, and that underneath are the Everlasting Arms.
But is that enough? The terrible things in the world seem to make a mockery of the love of God, and the question always arises: Why! There are important clues in the words of Jesus.
The disciples' worst fears were about to be realized, yet He commanded (yes, commanded) them to be at peace. All would be well, all manner of things would be well--in the end. In a short time, however, the Prince of this world, Satan himself, was to be permitted to have his way. Not that Satan had any rights over Jesus. Far from it. Nor has he "rights" over any of God's children, including that dear mother. But Satan is permitted to approach. He challenges God, we know from the Book of Job, as to the validity of His children's faith.
God allows him to make a test case from time to time. It had to be proved to Satan, in Job's case, that there is such a thing as obedient faith which does not depend on receiving only benefits. Jesus had to show the world that He loved the Father and would, no matter what happened, do exactly what He said. The servant is not greater than his Lord. When we cry "Why, Lord?" we should ask instead, "Why not, Lord? Shall I not follow my Master in suffering as in everything else?"
Does our faith depend on having every prayer answered as we think it should be answered, or does it rest rather on the character of a sovereign Lord? We can't really tell, can we, until we're in real trouble.
I never heard more from the young woman. I neglected to ask her address. But I prayed for her, asking God to enable her to show the world what genuine faith is--the kind of faith that overcomes the world because it trusts and obeys, no matter what the circumstances. The world does not want to be told. The world must be shown.
Isn't that part of the answer to the great question of why Christians suffer?
Title: The World Must Be Shown
When Jesus was speaking with His disciples before His crucifixion, He gave them His parting gift: peace such as the world can never give. But He went on immediately to say, "Set your troubled hearts at rest and banish your fears.... I shall not talk much longer with you, for the Prince of this world approaches. He has no rights over me, but the world must be shown that I love the Father and do exactly as he commands" (John 14:27, 30-31, NEB).
A young mother called to ask for "something that will help me to trust in the Lord." She explained that she had several small children, she herself was thirty years old, and she had cancer. Chemotherapy had done its hideous work of making her totally bald. The prognosis was not good. Could I say to her, "Set your troubled heart at rest. God is going to heal you"? Certainly not.
Jesus did not tell His disciples that He would not be killed. How do I know whether God would heal this young woman? I could, however, remind her that He would not for a moment let go of her, that His love enfolded her and her precious children every minute of every day and every night, and that underneath are the Everlasting Arms.
But is that enough? The terrible things in the world seem to make a mockery of the love of God, and the question always arises: Why! There are important clues in the words of Jesus.
The disciples' worst fears were about to be realized, yet He commanded (yes, commanded) them to be at peace. All would be well, all manner of things would be well--in the end. In a short time, however, the Prince of this world, Satan himself, was to be permitted to have his way. Not that Satan had any rights over Jesus. Far from it. Nor has he "rights" over any of God's children, including that dear mother. But Satan is permitted to approach. He challenges God, we know from the Book of Job, as to the validity of His children's faith.
God allows him to make a test case from time to time. It had to be proved to Satan, in Job's case, that there is such a thing as obedient faith which does not depend on receiving only benefits. Jesus had to show the world that He loved the Father and would, no matter what happened, do exactly what He said. The servant is not greater than his Lord. When we cry "Why, Lord?" we should ask instead, "Why not, Lord? Shall I not follow my Master in suffering as in everything else?"
Does our faith depend on having every prayer answered as we think it should be answered, or does it rest rather on the character of a sovereign Lord? We can't really tell, can we, until we're in real trouble.
I never heard more from the young woman. I neglected to ask her address. But I prayed for her, asking God to enable her to show the world what genuine faith is--the kind of faith that overcomes the world because it trusts and obeys, no matter what the circumstances. The world does not want to be told. The world must be shown.
Isn't that part of the answer to the great question of why Christians suffer?
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Last and Final Word
The last and final word is this:
Fear God.
Do what he tells you.
Ecclesiastes 12:13b, The Message
Fear God.
Do what he tells you.
Ecclesiastes 12:13b, The Message
Meaning and Purpose for Your Life
"The God of eternity has something in mind for your life that has been in His heart from before the foundation of the world. Psalm 139 reveals that God knew you intimately before you were even formed in your mother's womb. In those Scriptures, the psalmist speaks of a deep sense of destiny and assignment. This assignment is eternally significant. When God calls you to a new thing, He has something important and specific in mind. God's hopes and plans for you are not trivial. They are not second best. God's dreams are about being and doing, about achievement and accomplishment. Taken together, they are God's unique assignment for you, and they give meaning and purpose to your life."
A Little Book About God by Lauren Ford
A Little Book About God by Lauren Ford
Spiritually Minded
More thoughts on How to Be Spiritually Minded by John Piper:
...
Being spiritually minded is a matter of life and death. Paul said in Romans 8:6, “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” The phrase “set the mind on the Spirit” translates a noun phrase, phronēma tou pneumatos—“mindset of the Spirit.” There is no good one-word English equivalent for phronēma. It is not just “mind” but also “attitude.” And not just “mindset” but also “attitude-set.” It is the frame and disposition of our mind. To say that we have a “phronēma of the Spirit” is to say that the Spirit is shaping our mind-attitude-set according to his own. It exalts Christ and values God and cherishes the Word of God and sees people and things with a relentless God-consciousness.
...
Go to the hospital to pray with a dying man.
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:2)
I did this last week and it had, as always, a sobering effect and blew away much worldliness from my mind.
Risk being thought foolish and weird.
It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. (Matthew 10:25)
Realize that millions of people in the other religions of the world are not looking for people with more American cultural coolness or techno savvy. They are looking for a “holy man,” a “man of God.”
The question will not be, “Is he quick-witted and fast-talking and clever?” The question will be: “Does he pray a lot? Does he know his holy Book, much of it by heart? Is he self-denying and focused on God? Is he powerful in his weakness?”
...
Being spiritually minded is a matter of life and death. Paul said in Romans 8:6, “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” The phrase “set the mind on the Spirit” translates a noun phrase, phronēma tou pneumatos—“mindset of the Spirit.” There is no good one-word English equivalent for phronēma. It is not just “mind” but also “attitude.” And not just “mindset” but also “attitude-set.” It is the frame and disposition of our mind. To say that we have a “phronēma of the Spirit” is to say that the Spirit is shaping our mind-attitude-set according to his own. It exalts Christ and values God and cherishes the Word of God and sees people and things with a relentless God-consciousness.
...
Go to the hospital to pray with a dying man.
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:2)
I did this last week and it had, as always, a sobering effect and blew away much worldliness from my mind.
Risk being thought foolish and weird.
It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. (Matthew 10:25)
Realize that millions of people in the other religions of the world are not looking for people with more American cultural coolness or techno savvy. They are looking for a “holy man,” a “man of God.”
The question will not be, “Is he quick-witted and fast-talking and clever?” The question will be: “Does he pray a lot? Does he know his holy Book, much of it by heart? Is he self-denying and focused on God? Is he powerful in his weakness?”
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Purpose Reminder
Question to Consider: It spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself?
Verse to remember: "Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him." Colossians 1:16b (The Message)
Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, Day 1.
Verse to remember: "Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him." Colossians 1:16b (The Message)
Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, Day 1.
Praying
What to Pray For (continued) by John Piper
Pray for a mind of discernment.
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. (Philippians 1:9-10)
Pray for a knowledge of his will.
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (Colossians 1:9)
Pray to know God better.
[We have not ceased to pray for you to be] increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:10; cf. Ephesians 1:17)
Pray for power to comprehend the love of Christ.
I bow my knees before the Father . . . [that you] may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge. (Ephesians 3:14, 18-19)
Pray for a mind of discernment.
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. (Philippians 1:9-10)
Pray for a knowledge of his will.
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (Colossians 1:9)
Pray to know God better.
[We have not ceased to pray for you to be] increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:10; cf. Ephesians 1:17)
Pray for power to comprehend the love of Christ.
I bow my knees before the Father . . . [that you] may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge. (Ephesians 3:14, 18-19)
First Love
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Do you know what first love is? It's that exciting, special aura which surrounds you when you're first in love.
Think about a couple you know who are engaged or newly married. That first love causes certain patterns of behavior, right? With first love you think about the other person an awful lot. You try to please them in every way you can. You delight in their company. You want to spend all your time with them. First love is consuming.
But first love will fade rather quickly if it is not nurtured and carefully protected. The breakup of marriages and relationships we see all around us is testimony to the fact that something has happened to that first love. Those people at one point were in first love–with all the excitement and promises it held for them. But it didn't last. Far too often even relationships that don't split are humdrum and lifeless because that first love is abandoned.
That's what had happened to these dear people in the church at Ephesus. They were doing the right things, but they had forsaken their first love. It didn't just die on them. They forsook it.
In Revelations 2, the Apostle John gave this church the remedy for this problem. He said, Remember the heights from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
Remember, repent, and do what you used to do. That was the prescription for regaining that first love, for keeping it alive. It's the same for us today. If we don't work at remembering and repenting and doing the things that keep first love fresh, we'll forsake our first love for Christ.
Remembering is not something that just automatically happens. We have to work at it. The older I get, the more I have to work at remembering, and the more I see what happens when I forget! It's so easy to forget! I think this is one of the biggest problems we Christians face: We don't make a conscious effort to remember. It was the curse of the children of Israel throughout Old Testament history. They kept forsaking God and getting into sin and idolatry and all kinds of trouble because they forgot what God had done for them in the past. God gives us many ways to help us remember, so that we won't leave our first love.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Do you know what first love is? It's that exciting, special aura which surrounds you when you're first in love.
Think about a couple you know who are engaged or newly married. That first love causes certain patterns of behavior, right? With first love you think about the other person an awful lot. You try to please them in every way you can. You delight in their company. You want to spend all your time with them. First love is consuming.
But first love will fade rather quickly if it is not nurtured and carefully protected. The breakup of marriages and relationships we see all around us is testimony to the fact that something has happened to that first love. Those people at one point were in first love–with all the excitement and promises it held for them. But it didn't last. Far too often even relationships that don't split are humdrum and lifeless because that first love is abandoned.
That's what had happened to these dear people in the church at Ephesus. They were doing the right things, but they had forsaken their first love. It didn't just die on them. They forsook it.
In Revelations 2, the Apostle John gave this church the remedy for this problem. He said, Remember the heights from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
Remember, repent, and do what you used to do. That was the prescription for regaining that first love, for keeping it alive. It's the same for us today. If we don't work at remembering and repenting and doing the things that keep first love fresh, we'll forsake our first love for Christ.
Remembering is not something that just automatically happens. We have to work at it. The older I get, the more I have to work at remembering, and the more I see what happens when I forget! It's so easy to forget! I think this is one of the biggest problems we Christians face: We don't make a conscious effort to remember. It was the curse of the children of Israel throughout Old Testament history. They kept forsaking God and getting into sin and idolatry and all kinds of trouble because they forgot what God had done for them in the past. God gives us many ways to help us remember, so that we won't leave our first love.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
More Prayers
More "What to Pray For" by John Piper
Pray that God would vindicate his people in their cause.
And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? (Luke 18:7 rsv)
Pray that God would save unbelievers.
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)
Pray that God would direct the use of the sword.
Take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. (Ephesians 6:17-18)
Pray for boldness in proclamation.
Praying at all times in the Spirit . . . and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. (Ephesians 6:18-19)
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness. (Acts 4:29)
.. More to follow
Pray that God would vindicate his people in their cause.
And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? (Luke 18:7 rsv)
Pray that God would save unbelievers.
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)
Pray that God would direct the use of the sword.
Take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. (Ephesians 6:17-18)
Pray for boldness in proclamation.
Praying at all times in the Spirit . . . and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. (Ephesians 6:18-19)
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness. (Acts 4:29)
.. More to follow
Perfect Peace
"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You."
Isaiah 26:3
Isaiah 26:3
Passionate About God
"We live in a politically correct culture where it is considered inappropriate to be passionate about faith. Sports, okay. Faith, no. So Christians live their lives on the defensive, even passively. But God is not passive, and He does not want us to be. We are to live our lives with passion!"
...
"Passion is a way to live life -- living with a burning desire in our hearts to do what God called us to do as part of His world-changing plans. Passion is the motivation that keeps us pushing ahead in spite of setbacks and discouragement. Passion is a human characteristic, not just a Christian one. There are lots of people without much to say spiritually who live passionate lives."
...
"I say passion is a human characteristics because passion comes from God. God hates apathy and indifference. Christ told the church at Laodicea, "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So, then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3: 15-16)."
"Committing to Growth", Ready!Set!Growth! by David Jeremiah.
...
"Passion is a way to live life -- living with a burning desire in our hearts to do what God called us to do as part of His world-changing plans. Passion is the motivation that keeps us pushing ahead in spite of setbacks and discouragement. Passion is a human characteristic, not just a Christian one. There are lots of people without much to say spiritually who live passionate lives."
...
"I say passion is a human characteristics because passion comes from God. God hates apathy and indifference. Christ told the church at Laodicea, "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So, then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3: 15-16)."
"Committing to Growth", Ready!Set!Growth! by David Jeremiah.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Evensong
At our evening worship we read together the letter to the saints at Philippi.
Paul's prayer for them was: "... that your love may abound more and more in the knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ -- to the glory and praise of God." (1:9-11)
A good prayer for you to pray today for your fellow saints.
Paul's prayer for them was: "... that your love may abound more and more in the knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ -- to the glory and praise of God." (1:9-11)
A good prayer for you to pray today for your fellow saints.
Praying Like the Early Church
From John Piper's What to Pray For
If you want to pray for what the early church prayed for . . .
Pray that God would exalt his name in the world.
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (Matthew 6:9)
Pray that God would extend his kingdom in the world.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
Pray that the gospel would speed ahead and be honored.
Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you. (2 Thessalonians 3:1)
Pray for the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:13; cf. Ephesians 3:19)
... more later in the week
If you want to pray for what the early church prayed for . . .
Pray that God would exalt his name in the world.
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (Matthew 6:9)
Pray that God would extend his kingdom in the world.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
Pray that the gospel would speed ahead and be honored.
Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you. (2 Thessalonians 3:1)
Pray for the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:13; cf. Ephesians 3:19)
... more later in the week
Have You Left Your First Love?
Chrisitian Working Woman Transcript:
Monday, November 13, 2006
My Bible reading lately has found me in the book of Revelations. I was particularly impressed by the second chapter, verses 2 through 4, which is a letter to the church at Ephesus.
Here was one of the early churches who had taken a strong stand as Christians in the first century. These were not secret service Christians. They were people with very good intentions and a strong commitment to the cause of their Lord Jesus Christ. Here are the good things the Apostle John writes about this church:
They had good deeds.
They worked very hard.
They persevered and didn't give up easily.
They refused to tolerate wickedness.
They were quick to deal with false doctrine.
They had endured many hardships.
They had not grown weary.
Now, I don't know about you, but I'd be glad to have people say those things about me. That's a pretty impressive list. It's not easy to find people with those qualifications. What more could you ask for?
But this church had failed in their ministry. In verse 4 we read: You have forsaken your first love. Their deeds were right, but their hearts were cold.
As I've studied these few verses written to the church at Ephesus, God has impressed upon my heart how critical it is that our service for God come from a heart of love. It's very possible for us to do all the right things from a cold heart, and that makes our work for God ineffective, no matter how right it is.
Do you remember just before Jesus went back to heaven, He gave the Apostle Peter a job interview. You'll find it in John 21. Jesus was reinstating Peter for service, after his disgraceful behavior at the trial when he denied Jesus. And he asked Peter three questions. Here they are:
Do you truly love me?
Do you truly love me?
Do you love me?
Our Lord puts the same question to us today: Do we truly love Him? Or have we, like those dear faithful people at Ephesus, left our first love for Christ? I'm going to look at what it means to leave your first love, and how we can get back to that place and keep that first love alive. I think I'm just beginning to understand how vital this is to my walk with God. Have you left your first love?
Monday, November 13, 2006
My Bible reading lately has found me in the book of Revelations. I was particularly impressed by the second chapter, verses 2 through 4, which is a letter to the church at Ephesus.
Here was one of the early churches who had taken a strong stand as Christians in the first century. These were not secret service Christians. They were people with very good intentions and a strong commitment to the cause of their Lord Jesus Christ. Here are the good things the Apostle John writes about this church:
They had good deeds.
They worked very hard.
They persevered and didn't give up easily.
They refused to tolerate wickedness.
They were quick to deal with false doctrine.
They had endured many hardships.
They had not grown weary.
Now, I don't know about you, but I'd be glad to have people say those things about me. That's a pretty impressive list. It's not easy to find people with those qualifications. What more could you ask for?
But this church had failed in their ministry. In verse 4 we read: You have forsaken your first love. Their deeds were right, but their hearts were cold.
As I've studied these few verses written to the church at Ephesus, God has impressed upon my heart how critical it is that our service for God come from a heart of love. It's very possible for us to do all the right things from a cold heart, and that makes our work for God ineffective, no matter how right it is.
Do you remember just before Jesus went back to heaven, He gave the Apostle Peter a job interview. You'll find it in John 21. Jesus was reinstating Peter for service, after his disgraceful behavior at the trial when he denied Jesus. And he asked Peter three questions. Here they are:
Do you truly love me?
Do you truly love me?
Do you love me?
Our Lord puts the same question to us today: Do we truly love Him? Or have we, like those dear faithful people at Ephesus, left our first love for Christ? I'm going to look at what it means to leave your first love, and how we can get back to that place and keep that first love alive. I think I'm just beginning to understand how vital this is to my walk with God. Have you left your first love?
Sermon
Yesterday Aaron preached on Numbers 22 and Balaam:
My takeaway was: "Don't argue with talking donkeys", but I think the real message was about the Spirit of God in community and the need for community discernment doing everything with truth and love.
My takeaway was: "Don't argue with talking donkeys", but I think the real message was about the Spirit of God in community and the need for community discernment doing everything with truth and love.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Troubles
Elizabeth Elliot Devotional
Title: Church Troubles
When the church prays "hallowed be thy name" it is usually pretty obvious that that holy name is far from hallowed in the way we as church members behave. In our travels we see and hear much about church troubles, and I am always reminded of the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus just before He went to the cross. As He prayed for believers ("those you have given me") His petition was, "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one" (John 17:11, NIV).
For those who would later believe He prayed, "that all of them may be one, Father.... May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" (John 17:21; 23, NIV).
The answer to that prayer seems yet remote. Ought we not to put ourselves, each of us as individuals, in a position to cooperate with God in His bringing about this unity? How shall the world recognize His love unless we act in love toward one another? No one, I feel sure, would disagree here--in theory. Love each other. The obstacle is our selfish, self-determined selves.
Most churches have problems with the choir.
Martin Luther said, "If you can confine the devil's work to the choir, do so." But let's suppose that the problem seems to be the pastor.
(I confess to a certain bias in favor of these harried souls--I have a nephew, two nephews-in-law, a son-in-law, and a brother who are pastors). He's too young or too old, too conservative or too liberal, his sermons are irrelevant to our needs, or too long or too pointed for this congregation, he's a social mismatch, not sensitive to the variety of folks we've got here, he's partial--in short, we got the wrong man, it's a bad mix, the solution is simple: get rid of him. Then all will be well.
Before we take such a position of sovereignty, assuming we know the root of the trouble and are warranted in enforcing our "solution," might we not ask ourselves a few questions? (I do not refer here, of course, to cases which unequivocally call for dismissal, such as immorality or heresy.)
Who called this pastor? Was it the bishop? The church? Was the decision prayed over? Do we believe in the Holy Spirit's guidance?
Do we understand the shepherd of the flock to be one who bears responsibility and authority?
"Encourage and rebuke with all authority" was the apostle Paul's word to a young shepherd (Titus 2:15, NIV). To Timothy he said, "Command and teach" (1 Timothy 4:11, NIV). "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority...so that their work will be a joy, not a burden" (Hebrews 13:17, NIV). Have we respected that divine assignment?
If the sheep send the shepherd out of the fold, will not the sheep themselves be devastated, as well as the shepherd? Spiritual devastation is often the result of taking things into our own hands. No humility is wrought in us, no more robust faith is born.
Have we learned the meekness which understands the power of patience, of quiet waiting on God, and the futility of employing massive methods to get our own way? What about the reverence that trusts God's hidden, seemingly slow, working out of His own mysterious purposes? Impatience hardens.
Have we challenged evil with the wrong weapons?
"By the meekness and gantleness of Christ, I appeal to you.... Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:1,3-4, NIV).
Are we willing to accept suffering? How much do we know of costly action, sacrificial love? Have we been willing to lay down our lives for this man, travail in prayer, accept the cross in the depths of our own hearts? The demands of faith cut across human logic and politics, and often oppose all ordinary methods and even common sense.
Have we pondered Jesus' warning not to expect His church to be without spot or wrinkle? The net brings in good fish and bad. The tares grow along with the wheat. He is at work perfecting His own bride--we'll never manage it ourselves.
Are we willing to let the cross cut painfully--humbly to relinquish our grasp of what we believe to be the true nature of the conflict, let go of our certainties of what "ought to be,"
and of our particular "rights"? Can we, in the spirit of Christ, mortify our whims, accept setbacks, accustom ourselves to misunderstanding, quit asking "What about my needs?" Let God take care of those--He promised He would, all of them.
"The Christian turns again and again from that bewildered contemplation of history in which God is so easily lost, to the prayer of filial trust in which He is always found, knowing here that those very things which seem to turn to man's disadvantage may yet work to the Divine advantage. On the frontier between prayer and history stands the Cross, a perpetual reminder of the price by which the Kingdom is brought in" (Evelyn Underhill, Abba).
Perhaps, if we would earnestly and prayerfully consider these things, both pastor and flock might be changed and the severance thus avoided. Perhaps not, but in the process we, the sheep, will certainly have learned to trust the Chief Shepherd more fully, and will have become a little more like Him.
"Love divine has seen and counted
Every tear it caused to fall,
And the storm which Love appointed
Was its choicest gift of all."
Title: Church Troubles
When the church prays "hallowed be thy name" it is usually pretty obvious that that holy name is far from hallowed in the way we as church members behave. In our travels we see and hear much about church troubles, and I am always reminded of the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus just before He went to the cross. As He prayed for believers ("those you have given me") His petition was, "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one" (John 17:11, NIV).
For those who would later believe He prayed, "that all of them may be one, Father.... May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" (John 17:21; 23, NIV).
The answer to that prayer seems yet remote. Ought we not to put ourselves, each of us as individuals, in a position to cooperate with God in His bringing about this unity? How shall the world recognize His love unless we act in love toward one another? No one, I feel sure, would disagree here--in theory. Love each other. The obstacle is our selfish, self-determined selves.
Most churches have problems with the choir.
Martin Luther said, "If you can confine the devil's work to the choir, do so." But let's suppose that the problem seems to be the pastor.
(I confess to a certain bias in favor of these harried souls--I have a nephew, two nephews-in-law, a son-in-law, and a brother who are pastors). He's too young or too old, too conservative or too liberal, his sermons are irrelevant to our needs, or too long or too pointed for this congregation, he's a social mismatch, not sensitive to the variety of folks we've got here, he's partial--in short, we got the wrong man, it's a bad mix, the solution is simple: get rid of him. Then all will be well.
Before we take such a position of sovereignty, assuming we know the root of the trouble and are warranted in enforcing our "solution," might we not ask ourselves a few questions? (I do not refer here, of course, to cases which unequivocally call for dismissal, such as immorality or heresy.)
Who called this pastor? Was it the bishop? The church? Was the decision prayed over? Do we believe in the Holy Spirit's guidance?
Do we understand the shepherd of the flock to be one who bears responsibility and authority?
"Encourage and rebuke with all authority" was the apostle Paul's word to a young shepherd (Titus 2:15, NIV). To Timothy he said, "Command and teach" (1 Timothy 4:11, NIV). "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority...so that their work will be a joy, not a burden" (Hebrews 13:17, NIV). Have we respected that divine assignment?
If the sheep send the shepherd out of the fold, will not the sheep themselves be devastated, as well as the shepherd? Spiritual devastation is often the result of taking things into our own hands. No humility is wrought in us, no more robust faith is born.
Have we learned the meekness which understands the power of patience, of quiet waiting on God, and the futility of employing massive methods to get our own way? What about the reverence that trusts God's hidden, seemingly slow, working out of His own mysterious purposes? Impatience hardens.
Have we challenged evil with the wrong weapons?
"By the meekness and gantleness of Christ, I appeal to you.... Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:1,3-4, NIV).
Are we willing to accept suffering? How much do we know of costly action, sacrificial love? Have we been willing to lay down our lives for this man, travail in prayer, accept the cross in the depths of our own hearts? The demands of faith cut across human logic and politics, and often oppose all ordinary methods and even common sense.
Have we pondered Jesus' warning not to expect His church to be without spot or wrinkle? The net brings in good fish and bad. The tares grow along with the wheat. He is at work perfecting His own bride--we'll never manage it ourselves.
Are we willing to let the cross cut painfully--humbly to relinquish our grasp of what we believe to be the true nature of the conflict, let go of our certainties of what "ought to be,"
and of our particular "rights"? Can we, in the spirit of Christ, mortify our whims, accept setbacks, accustom ourselves to misunderstanding, quit asking "What about my needs?" Let God take care of those--He promised He would, all of them.
"The Christian turns again and again from that bewildered contemplation of history in which God is so easily lost, to the prayer of filial trust in which He is always found, knowing here that those very things which seem to turn to man's disadvantage may yet work to the Divine advantage. On the frontier between prayer and history stands the Cross, a perpetual reminder of the price by which the Kingdom is brought in" (Evelyn Underhill, Abba).
Perhaps, if we would earnestly and prayerfully consider these things, both pastor and flock might be changed and the severance thus avoided. Perhaps not, but in the process we, the sheep, will certainly have learned to trust the Chief Shepherd more fully, and will have become a little more like Him.
"Love divine has seen and counted
Every tear it caused to fall,
And the storm which Love appointed
Was its choicest gift of all."
Friday, November 10, 2006
Transformation
"Salvation is not reformation (reforming your natural self), it's transformation (giving you new life). If Jesus Christ comes to dwell in a life where He did not dwell previously, I have to believe there is going to be a difference in that life. I believe it is valid to warn those who claim to be Christians, but whose lives manifest nothing of Christ, to look within and make sure that they are in the faith."
"Bearing Spiritual Fruit", Ready!Set!Growth! by David Jeremiah.
"Bearing Spiritual Fruit", Ready!Set!Growth! by David Jeremiah.
Spiritually Minded
Continuation of excerpts from "How to be Spiritually Minded" by John Piper
Remember Jesus’ warning about what chokes spiritual life: cares, riches and pleasures of life.
Those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. (Luke 8:14)
The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (Mark 4:19)
Ponder what smells good to God and what he delights in!
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:2)
For we are the aroma of Christ to God. (2 Corinthians 2:15)
His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Psalm 147:10)
Be friends with spiritually minded people.
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. (Proverbs 13:20)
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
Read God-besotted, spiritually minded writers.
For example, read the sermons of Jonathan Edwards and John Owen in Volume Seven of his Works, On Spiritual Mindedness. Here are some sample sermon titles from volume 25 of the Yale edition of Edwards’ Works, just to give you a flavor how different things were in those d
ays:
"The Great Concern of a Watchman of Souls"
"The Beauty of Piety in Youth"
"The Church’s Marriage to Her Sons, and to Her God"
"Yield to God’s Word, or Be Broken by His Hand"
"Saving Faith and Christian Obedience Arise from Godly Love"
"The Peace Which Christ Gives His True Followers"
"Men’s Inhumanity to God"
"Christ Is to the Heart Like a River to a Tree Planted by It"
"God Is Infinitely Strong"
Ponder your life that will very soon be without a body.
Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)
How attached are all your joys to your body?
Remember Jesus’ warning about what chokes spiritual life: cares, riches and pleasures of life.
Those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. (Luke 8:14)
The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (Mark 4:19)
Ponder what smells good to God and what he delights in!
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:2)
For we are the aroma of Christ to God. (2 Corinthians 2:15)
His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Psalm 147:10)
Be friends with spiritually minded people.
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. (Proverbs 13:20)
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
Read God-besotted, spiritually minded writers.
For example, read the sermons of Jonathan Edwards and John Owen in Volume Seven of his Works, On Spiritual Mindedness. Here are some sample sermon titles from volume 25 of the Yale edition of Edwards’ Works, just to give you a flavor how different things were in those d
ays:
"The Great Concern of a Watchman of Souls"
"The Beauty of Piety in Youth"
"The Church’s Marriage to Her Sons, and to Her God"
"Yield to God’s Word, or Be Broken by His Hand"
"Saving Faith and Christian Obedience Arise from Godly Love"
"The Peace Which Christ Gives His True Followers"
"Men’s Inhumanity to God"
"Christ Is to the Heart Like a River to a Tree Planted by It"
"God Is Infinitely Strong"
Ponder your life that will very soon be without a body.
Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)
How attached are all your joys to your body?
Witnessing
Christian Working Woman Transcript - Thursday
Jesus & Fran on the Job - Witnessing
The next morning as she talks with Jesus early in her day, she says, "You know, Lord, I had hoped I could tell Sue about You last night. She really needs You, Lord, but I don't know–she didn't seem to want to listen. She just wanted to talk about Ed."
"Fran, you're sowing seeds. You did the right thing to listen to Sue. You showed her love and that's what she needed last night," Jesus assures Fran.
"Yes, but I don't want her to think I approve of her relationship with Ed. She was living in sin, and it's a good thing he left, you know," Fran says.
"Yes, I know, but listening to someone's hurts doesn't mean you approve of their lifestyle. Don't worry, Sue knows how you feel about her relationship. Last night she needed to know that you cared and loved her unconditionally," Jesus replies.
"Okay, but I hope someday to be able to lead her to know you, Jesus."
"Yes, well, you certainly earned your right last night, Fran, so keep praying for her," Jesus says. And after a few more minutes in prayer, Fran gets her day going, a little weary, but feeling good about her evening with Sue.
As she arrives at the office, Fran remembers there's a department meeting this morning. "Oops, better get into that meeting before I'm late," she says, and hurries to the conference room.
It seems the only chair available is right next to Bud, head of operations. Fran is not terribly fond of Bud. He's crude, to put it mildly, and uses profanity a lot, not to mention dirty jokes when he has a chance.
"Oh, Fran, don't tell me you're going to sit next to me," Bud says as she sits down. "Be careful, you might catch something." Bud always tries to get to Fran, and it seems as soon as she gets near, his language gets worse.
She tries to ignore his comment, but he immediately uses the Lord's name in a blasphemous way. Fran winches at his words. "Oh, 'scuse me, Fran, I forgot you're a Jesus freak, didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Bud says, with obvious sarcasm.
"Lord," Fran whispers to Jesus, "am I supposed to just sit here and let Bud get by with this profane use of your name?"
"Stay calm," Jesus replies, "I'll tell you what to say."
Jesus & Fran on the Job - Witnessing
The next morning as she talks with Jesus early in her day, she says, "You know, Lord, I had hoped I could tell Sue about You last night. She really needs You, Lord, but I don't know–she didn't seem to want to listen. She just wanted to talk about Ed."
"Fran, you're sowing seeds. You did the right thing to listen to Sue. You showed her love and that's what she needed last night," Jesus assures Fran.
"Yes, but I don't want her to think I approve of her relationship with Ed. She was living in sin, and it's a good thing he left, you know," Fran says.
"Yes, I know, but listening to someone's hurts doesn't mean you approve of their lifestyle. Don't worry, Sue knows how you feel about her relationship. Last night she needed to know that you cared and loved her unconditionally," Jesus replies.
"Okay, but I hope someday to be able to lead her to know you, Jesus."
"Yes, well, you certainly earned your right last night, Fran, so keep praying for her," Jesus says. And after a few more minutes in prayer, Fran gets her day going, a little weary, but feeling good about her evening with Sue.
As she arrives at the office, Fran remembers there's a department meeting this morning. "Oops, better get into that meeting before I'm late," she says, and hurries to the conference room.
It seems the only chair available is right next to Bud, head of operations. Fran is not terribly fond of Bud. He's crude, to put it mildly, and uses profanity a lot, not to mention dirty jokes when he has a chance.
"Oh, Fran, don't tell me you're going to sit next to me," Bud says as she sits down. "Be careful, you might catch something." Bud always tries to get to Fran, and it seems as soon as she gets near, his language gets worse.
She tries to ignore his comment, but he immediately uses the Lord's name in a blasphemous way. Fran winches at his words. "Oh, 'scuse me, Fran, I forgot you're a Jesus freak, didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Bud says, with obvious sarcasm.
"Lord," Fran whispers to Jesus, "am I supposed to just sit here and let Bud get by with this profane use of your name?"
"Stay calm," Jesus replies, "I'll tell you what to say."
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Ancient Landmark Words
49-56 Remember what you said to me, your servant—
I hang on to these words for dear life! These words hold me up in bad times;
yes, your promises rejuvenate me. The insolent ridicule me without mercy,
but I don't budge from your revelation. I watch for your ancient landmark words, and know I'm on the right track. But when I see the wicked ignore your directions, I'm beside myself with anger. I set your instructions to music and sing them as I walk this pilgrim way. I meditate on your name all night, God, treasuring your revelation, O God. Still, I walk through a rain of derision because I live by your Word and counsel.
Psalm 119 (The Message)
I hang on to these words for dear life! These words hold me up in bad times;
yes, your promises rejuvenate me. The insolent ridicule me without mercy,
but I don't budge from your revelation. I watch for your ancient landmark words, and know I'm on the right track. But when I see the wicked ignore your directions, I'm beside myself with anger. I set your instructions to music and sing them as I walk this pilgrim way. I meditate on your name all night, God, treasuring your revelation, O God. Still, I walk through a rain of derision because I live by your Word and counsel.
Psalm 119 (The Message)
Success and Prosperity
"If you open your Bible to Joshua, chapter 1, you'll find the only chapter in the Bible where the spiritual life is discussed in terms of "success" and "prosperity". The last phrase of verse 7 says, "so that you may have success where you go." And in verse eight it talks about making "your way prosperous". I don't know any Christian who would not want to be spiritually successful and prosperous, and Joshua 1 holds the key to realizing them both. It takes us down to the lowest common denominator of spiritual commitment -- that which we have to do to be spiritually successful."
"Obeying the Father", Ready!Set!Growth! by David Jeremiah.
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Joshua 1: 7-8
"Obeying the Father", Ready!Set!Growth! by David Jeremiah.
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Joshua 1: 7-8
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Being Spiritually Minded
How to Be Spiritually Minded by John Piper
...
Being spiritually minded is a matter of life and death. Paul said in Romans 8:6, “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” The phrase “set the mind on the Spirit” translates a noun phrase, phronēma tou pneumatos—“mindset of the Spirit.” There is no good one-word English equivalent for phronēma. It is not just “mind” but also “attitude.” And not just “mindset” but also “attitude-set.” It is the frame and disposition of our mind. To say that we have a “phronēma of the Spirit” is to say that the Spirit is shaping our mind-attitude-set according to his own. It exalts Christ and values God and cherishes the Word of God and sees people and things with a relentless God-consciousness.
I long to be spiritually minded all the time. I want to see the world with spiritual eyes—computers and all. So I stopped computer gazing and wrote the following strategies for being and staying spiritually minded. They are not in any particular order. Only as they came to me with a few tweaks.
Realize your outer nature is wasting away and inner nature must be renewed by setting your mind on things that are above.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
Take radical steps to keep your mind pure.
You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. (Matthew 5:27-29)
Make God the gladness of all your joys.
Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. (Psalm 43:4)
Literally the phrase “my exceeding joy” is “gladness of my joy.” I take this to mean that in all our joys God should be the gladness of the joy. Every joy should become a joy in God. If a joy cannot offer a taste of who God is, and be enjoyed the more for that, then it is unspiritual joy.
...
An excerpt -- see link for entire article.
...
Being spiritually minded is a matter of life and death. Paul said in Romans 8:6, “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” The phrase “set the mind on the Spirit” translates a noun phrase, phronēma tou pneumatos—“mindset of the Spirit.” There is no good one-word English equivalent for phronēma. It is not just “mind” but also “attitude.” And not just “mindset” but also “attitude-set.” It is the frame and disposition of our mind. To say that we have a “phronēma of the Spirit” is to say that the Spirit is shaping our mind-attitude-set according to his own. It exalts Christ and values God and cherishes the Word of God and sees people and things with a relentless God-consciousness.
I long to be spiritually minded all the time. I want to see the world with spiritual eyes—computers and all. So I stopped computer gazing and wrote the following strategies for being and staying spiritually minded. They are not in any particular order. Only as they came to me with a few tweaks.
Realize your outer nature is wasting away and inner nature must be renewed by setting your mind on things that are above.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
Take radical steps to keep your mind pure.
You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. (Matthew 5:27-29)
Make God the gladness of all your joys.
Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. (Psalm 43:4)
Literally the phrase “my exceeding joy” is “gladness of my joy.” I take this to mean that in all our joys God should be the gladness of the joy. Every joy should become a joy in God. If a joy cannot offer a taste of who God is, and be enjoyed the more for that, then it is unspiritual joy.
...
An excerpt -- see link for entire article.
How to Discover What God Wants
Elizabeth Elliot Devotional
Title: How to Discover What God Wants
A young woman came in great perplexity to a Scottish preacher, asking how she could resolve the question of her own desires when they seemed to be in such contradiction to the will of God.
He took out a slip of paper, wrote two words on it, handed it to her with the request that she sit down for ten minutes, ponder the words, cross out one of them, and bring the slip back to him.
She sat down and read: No Lord. Which to cross out? It did not take her long to see that if she was saying No she could not say Lord, and if she wanted to call Him Lord, she could not say No.
No question comes up more often among Christian young people who face what seem to be limitless options than this one of how to discover what God wants them to do. What, exactly, is one's calling?
There are two very simple conditions to discovering the will of God. Paul states them clearly in his letter to the Romans, chapter 12.
The first is in verse 1 (Jerusalem Bible): "...offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God." The place to start is by putting yourself utterly and unconditionally at God's disposal. You say Yes Lord. You turn over all the rights at the very beginning. Once that's settled you can go on to the second, in verse 2:
"Do not model yourselves on the behavior of the world around you, but let your behavior change, modelled by your new mind." I said that the conditions were simple. I did not say they were easy.
Exchanging a No Lord for a Yes Lord has often been painful for me. But I do want a "new mind"--one that takes its cues from the Word of God, not the mass media. I pray for a clear eye to see through the fog of popular opinion, and a will strong enough to withstand the currents--a will surrendered, laid alongside Christ's. He is my model. This means a different set of ambitions, a different definition of happiness, a different standard of judgment altogether.
Behavior will change, and very likely it will change enough to make me appear rather odd--but then my Master was thought very odd.
Paul goes on to say that these conditions are "the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do." No wonder we scratch our heads and ask, "What is the secret of knowing the will of God?" We haven't started at the right place--the offering of that all-inclusive sacrifice, our very bodies, and then the resolute refusal of the world's values.
"Make Thy paths known to me, O Lord; teach me Thy ways. Lead me in Thy truth and teach me; Thou art God my Savior."
Psalm 25:4, 5, NEB
"When we cannot see our way
Let us trust and still obey;
He who bids us forward go
Cannot fail the way to show.
Though the sea be deep and wide,
Though a passage seem denied,
Fearless let us still proceed,
Since the Lord vouchsafes to lead."
Anonymous
"If there is any man who fears the Lord, he shall be shown the path that he should choose."
Psalm 25:12, NEB
Title: How to Discover What God Wants
A young woman came in great perplexity to a Scottish preacher, asking how she could resolve the question of her own desires when they seemed to be in such contradiction to the will of God.
He took out a slip of paper, wrote two words on it, handed it to her with the request that she sit down for ten minutes, ponder the words, cross out one of them, and bring the slip back to him.
She sat down and read: No Lord. Which to cross out? It did not take her long to see that if she was saying No she could not say Lord, and if she wanted to call Him Lord, she could not say No.
No question comes up more often among Christian young people who face what seem to be limitless options than this one of how to discover what God wants them to do. What, exactly, is one's calling?
There are two very simple conditions to discovering the will of God. Paul states them clearly in his letter to the Romans, chapter 12.
The first is in verse 1 (Jerusalem Bible): "...offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God." The place to start is by putting yourself utterly and unconditionally at God's disposal. You say Yes Lord. You turn over all the rights at the very beginning. Once that's settled you can go on to the second, in verse 2:
"Do not model yourselves on the behavior of the world around you, but let your behavior change, modelled by your new mind." I said that the conditions were simple. I did not say they were easy.
Exchanging a No Lord for a Yes Lord has often been painful for me. But I do want a "new mind"--one that takes its cues from the Word of God, not the mass media. I pray for a clear eye to see through the fog of popular opinion, and a will strong enough to withstand the currents--a will surrendered, laid alongside Christ's. He is my model. This means a different set of ambitions, a different definition of happiness, a different standard of judgment altogether.
Behavior will change, and very likely it will change enough to make me appear rather odd--but then my Master was thought very odd.
Paul goes on to say that these conditions are "the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do." No wonder we scratch our heads and ask, "What is the secret of knowing the will of God?" We haven't started at the right place--the offering of that all-inclusive sacrifice, our very bodies, and then the resolute refusal of the world's values.
"Make Thy paths known to me, O Lord; teach me Thy ways. Lead me in Thy truth and teach me; Thou art God my Savior."
Psalm 25:4, 5, NEB
"When we cannot see our way
Let us trust and still obey;
He who bids us forward go
Cannot fail the way to show.
Though the sea be deep and wide,
Though a passage seem denied,
Fearless let us still proceed,
Since the Lord vouchsafes to lead."
Anonymous
"If there is any man who fears the Lord, he shall be shown the path that he should choose."
Psalm 25:12, NEB
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Christian Spirituality
I thought this portion of the post would be interesting as a stand alone comment.
---
We might consider the four “nonnegotiable essentials” of Christian spirituality laid out by Ronald Rolheiser in The Holy Longing:
1. Private prayer and private morality: “In many of the spiritual classics of Christian literature, the writers … suggest that we will make progress in the spiritual life only if we, daily, do an extended period of private prayer, and only if we practice a scrupulous vigilance in regards to all the moral areas within our private lives. In essence, that is the first nonnegotiable within the spiritual life.”
2. Social justice: “… according to the Jewish prophets, where we stand with God depends not just upon prayer and sincerity of heart but also on where we stand with the poor. … All Christian churches have always taught this, in one way or the other, and they have also always, in their best expressions, lived it out.”
3. Mellowness of heart and spirit: “Both as liberals and conservatives we too easily write off this third prong of the spiritual life, rationalizing that our causes are so urgent, we are so wounded, and our world is so bad, that, in our situation, anger and bitterness are justified. But we are wrong…”
4. Community as a constitutive element of true worship: “… anyone who claims to love God who is invisible but refuses to deal with a visible neighbor is a liar, for one can only really love a God who is love if one is concretely involved with a real community (ultimately an ‘ecclesial community’) on earth.”
---
We might consider the four “nonnegotiable essentials” of Christian spirituality laid out by Ronald Rolheiser in The Holy Longing:
1. Private prayer and private morality: “In many of the spiritual classics of Christian literature, the writers … suggest that we will make progress in the spiritual life only if we, daily, do an extended period of private prayer, and only if we practice a scrupulous vigilance in regards to all the moral areas within our private lives. In essence, that is the first nonnegotiable within the spiritual life.”
2. Social justice: “… according to the Jewish prophets, where we stand with God depends not just upon prayer and sincerity of heart but also on where we stand with the poor. … All Christian churches have always taught this, in one way or the other, and they have also always, in their best expressions, lived it out.”
3. Mellowness of heart and spirit: “Both as liberals and conservatives we too easily write off this third prong of the spiritual life, rationalizing that our causes are so urgent, we are so wounded, and our world is so bad, that, in our situation, anger and bitterness are justified. But we are wrong…”
4. Community as a constitutive element of true worship: “… anyone who claims to love God who is invisible but refuses to deal with a visible neighbor is a liar, for one can only really love a God who is love if one is concretely involved with a real community (ultimately an ‘ecclesial community’) on earth.”
Pursue Your Calling Intentionally
"I believe God the Father has given every follower of Jesus a certain work to do -- a purpose for life. God has equipped each one of us specifically with gifts, abilities, desires and opportunities. He has led us into a variety of different vocations and places to live. Wherever we are, there are opportunities to begin pursuing the calling God has put into each of our hearts. But we must begin to pursue that calling intentionally -- on purpose!"
Living Your Life on Purpose, Ready!Set!Growth! by David Jeremiah.
Living Your Life on Purpose, Ready!Set!Growth! by David Jeremiah.
Discerning the Call of God
Three questions may help to clarify the call of God. Have I made up my mind to do what He says, no matter what the cost? Am I faithfully reading His Word and praying? Am I obedient in what I know today of His will?
"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul"
(Psalm 143:8, NIV).
-- from Elizabeth Elliot Devotional (Discerning the Call of God )
"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul"
(Psalm 143:8, NIV).
-- from Elizabeth Elliot Devotional (Discerning the Call of God )
Thursday, November 02, 2006
We Have a Choice
You may have heard today's broadcast on Focus on the Family
Excerpt from We Have A Choice by James Robinson
I earnestly pray that the free world and especially America — my home
and the land of the free, where many choose to live as slaves bound by
appetites and actions, demanding their way rather than God’s way — may
somehow be spared the horrendous results such decadent practices have
produced throughout history. I don’t want us to get what we deserve. I
cry out for mercy for me, my family members, friends and everyone — even
those who chose to be our enemies. I don’t want anyone to perish but all
to repent, just as the Bible expresses. This is the very desire of God’s heart.
Please join me in focused prayer.
-- see link to read entire paper --
Excerpt from We Have A Choice by James Robinson
I earnestly pray that the free world and especially America — my home
and the land of the free, where many choose to live as slaves bound by
appetites and actions, demanding their way rather than God’s way — may
somehow be spared the horrendous results such decadent practices have
produced throughout history. I don’t want us to get what we deserve. I
cry out for mercy for me, my family members, friends and everyone — even
those who chose to be our enemies. I don’t want anyone to perish but all
to repent, just as the Bible expresses. This is the very desire of God’s heart.
Please join me in focused prayer.
-- see link to read entire paper --
Full Identification with Christ
The sweetest part, . . . is the rest which full identification with Christ brings. I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize this; for He, I know, is able to carry out His will, and His will is mine. It makes no matter where He places me, or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest position He must give me His grace, and in the most difficult His grace is sufficient. . . . So, if God should place me in serious perplexity, must He not give me much guidance; in positions of great difficulty, much grace; in circumstances of great pressure and trials, much strength? No fear that His resources will prove unequal to the emergency! And His resources are mine, for He is mine, and is with me and dwells in me. And since Christ has thus dwelt in my heart by faith, how happy I have been! . . . I am no better than before. In a sense, I do not wish to be, nor am I striving to be. But I am dead and buried with Christ––ay, and risen too! And now Christ lives in me, and "the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Hudson Taylor writing on The Exchanged Life
Hudson Taylor writing on The Exchanged Life
All Men Will Know
As we studied John 13 last night I was once again struck by this verse:
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
v. 34-35
And of course since we have been focusing on being disciples, Christ followers, the part that again jumps out is "all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." It says to me that loving others was a noticeable characteristic of our Teacher and Lord.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
v. 34-35
And of course since we have been focusing on being disciples, Christ followers, the part that again jumps out is "all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." It says to me that loving others was a noticeable characteristic of our Teacher and Lord.
Interruptions
I confess that I have never thought about interruptions in this way:
One more quotation--this from an out-of-print book, The Life and Letters of Janet Erskine Stuart. Says one who was her assistant for some years, "She delighted in seeing her plan upset by unexpected events, saying that it gave her great comfort, and that she looked on such things as an assurance that God was watching over her stewardship, was securing the accomplishment of His will, and working out His own designs. Whether she traced the secondary causes to the prayer of a child, to the imperfection of an individual, to obstacles arising from misunderstandings, or to interference of outside agencies, she was joyfully and graciously ready to recognize the indication of God's ruling hand, and to allow herself to be guided by it."
From Elizabeth Elliot Devotional
Interruptions, Delays, Inconveniences
One more quotation--this from an out-of-print book, The Life and Letters of Janet Erskine Stuart. Says one who was her assistant for some years, "She delighted in seeing her plan upset by unexpected events, saying that it gave her great comfort, and that she looked on such things as an assurance that God was watching over her stewardship, was securing the accomplishment of His will, and working out His own designs. Whether she traced the secondary causes to the prayer of a child, to the imperfection of an individual, to obstacles arising from misunderstandings, or to interference of outside agencies, she was joyfully and graciously ready to recognize the indication of God's ruling hand, and to allow herself to be guided by it."
From Elizabeth Elliot Devotional
Interruptions, Delays, Inconveniences
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Invited to Dinner at God's Place
Psalm 15 (The Message)
1 God, who gets invited to dinner at your place?
How do we get on your guest list?
2 "Walk straight,
act right,
tell the truth.
3-4 "Don't hurt your friend,
don't blame your neighbor;
despise the despicable.
5 "Keep your word even when it costs you,
make an honest living,
never take a bribe.
"You'll never get
blacklisted
if you live like this."
1 God, who gets invited to dinner at your place?
How do we get on your guest list?
2 "Walk straight,
act right,
tell the truth.
3-4 "Don't hurt your friend,
don't blame your neighbor;
despise the despicable.
5 "Keep your word even when it costs you,
make an honest living,
never take a bribe.
"You'll never get
blacklisted
if you live like this."
Nothing is God But the Will of God
"Man has a claim on God, a divine claim for any pain, want, disappointment, or misery that will help to make him what he ought to be. He has a claim to be punished, and to be spared not one pang that may urge him toward repentance; yea, he has a claim to be compelled to repent; to be hedged in on every side, to have one after another of the strong, sharp-toothed sheep-dogs of the Great Shepherd sent after him, to thwart him in any desire, foil him in any plan, frustrate him of any hope, until he comes to see at length that nothing will ease his pain, nothing make life a thing worth having, but the presence of the living God within him; that nothing is good but the will of God; nothing noble enough for the desire of the heart of man but oneness with the eternal. For this God must make him yield his very being, that He himself may enter in and dwell with him."
George MacDonald (quoted by Elizabeth Elliot in God's Sheep-Dogs Devotional)
George MacDonald (quoted by Elizabeth Elliot in God's Sheep-Dogs Devotional)
No Neutral Ground
You formerly walked ... according to the prince of the power of the air .. the spirit who is now working in the sons of disobedience.
"C.S. Lewis wrote, "There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan" (Christian Reflections, Eerdman's, 1967, 33). A very real devil is intent on spoiling your life, but be assured that in Christ you have the authority to defeat his schemes."
Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.
"C.S. Lewis wrote, "There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan" (Christian Reflections, Eerdman's, 1967, 33). A very real devil is intent on spoiling your life, but be assured that in Christ you have the authority to defeat his schemes."
Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.
Path of Forgiveness
Identify the Offender and the offense.
(It is difficult to forgive a person when the offense is not clearly stated.)
Acknowledge how the offense made you feel.
(Allowing yourself to feel the pain clarifies the offense.)
Release the person from the debt.
(Realize forgiveness is a gift that you choose to give and not a feeling. Because God has forgiven you, you can forgive.)
Accept the offender unconditionally.
(Believing that you are fully accepted by Christ allows His love to flow through you to the offender.)
Be willing to forgive again.
(To love is to risk!)
Christian Families Today Newsletter (Spring 2006)
www.ChristianFamiliesToday.org
(It is difficult to forgive a person when the offense is not clearly stated.)
Acknowledge how the offense made you feel.
(Allowing yourself to feel the pain clarifies the offense.)
Release the person from the debt.
(Realize forgiveness is a gift that you choose to give and not a feeling. Because God has forgiven you, you can forgive.)
Accept the offender unconditionally.
(Believing that you are fully accepted by Christ allows His love to flow through you to the offender.)
Be willing to forgive again.
(To love is to risk!)
Christian Families Today Newsletter (Spring 2006)
www.ChristianFamiliesToday.org
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