Neil Anderson Daily in Christ
ONE BASIS FOR TEMPTATION
Titus 3:14 Let our people also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, that they may not be unfruitful
We all have basic human needs to feel loved, accepted and worthwhile. When these needs go unmet, it's very important that we express them to our family members and fellow Christians in a positive way and allow others to minister to those needs. I believe that one basis for temptation is unmet legitimate needs. When you are too proud to say, "I don't feel loved." or when you push others away by saying, "You don't love me anymore," your need for love goes unmet. So Satan comes along with a tempting alternative: "Your wife doesn't love you like you deserve. But have you noticed the affectionate gleam in your secretary's eye?"
Other than Himself, God's primary resource for meeting your needs and keeping you pure is other believers. The problem is that many go to Sunday school, church and Bible study wearing a sanctimonious mask. Wanting to appear strong and together, they rob themselves of the opportunity of having their needs met in the warmth and safety of the Christian community. In the process, they rob the community of the opportunity to minister to their needs. By denying the fellowship of believers the privilege of meeting your legitimate needs, you are acting independently of God. You are vulnerable to the temptation of thinking that you can have your needs met in the world, the flesh and the devil.
Instead, follow the guidance of Hebrews 10:24, 25: "Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near."
Prayer:
Lord, grant me the humility to confess my needs and hurts to my Christian family in order to allow You to meet my needs in Your way.
Friday, August 31, 2007
God's Word
Excerpt from "5 Minutes with Gracia Burnham" in Discipleship Journal (July-August), p. 20.
(You might recall that Gracia and her husband, Martin, served with New Tribes Missions in the Philippines. In 2001 they were taken hostage. After 376 days of captivity Martin was killed in a gunfight. Marcia was wounded but freed.)
What kept you going during your captivity?
God's Word. Once early in our captivity, Martin and I were very discouraged. We had endured yet another gun battle, some of the group were wounded, and we were starving, stinky, and tired. Martin said, "Gracia, let's remind ourselves of what is true." We began reciting Scripture to one another: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Ro. 8:31). "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jer. 31:3). "God ... has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies" (Eph. 1:3, DBY). We didn't feel loved and blessed, but we reminded each other that these things were true nonetheless.
(You might recall that Gracia and her husband, Martin, served with New Tribes Missions in the Philippines. In 2001 they were taken hostage. After 376 days of captivity Martin was killed in a gunfight. Marcia was wounded but freed.)
What kept you going during your captivity?
God's Word. Once early in our captivity, Martin and I were very discouraged. We had endured yet another gun battle, some of the group were wounded, and we were starving, stinky, and tired. Martin said, "Gracia, let's remind ourselves of what is true." We began reciting Scripture to one another: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Ro. 8:31). "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jer. 31:3). "God ... has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies" (Eph. 1:3, DBY). We didn't feel loved and blessed, but we reminded each other that these things were true nonetheless.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
My Grace Is Sufficient
Elisabeth Elliot Daily Devotional
Title: Immunity--No. Grace--Yes.
Someone asked last week, "When Jim died was your walk with the Lord close enough that His love and comfort and presence were sufficient at all times--or did grief and sorrow at times overtake and overwhelm you?"
My answer is yes to both questions. It is not an either-or matter. The psalmist, overwhelmed, prayed, "Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I" (Ps 61:2 AV).
Paul, plagued by a thorn, besought the Lord three times to remove it.
Jesus, "horror-stricken and desperately depressed," prayed "O My Father--if it be possible..." (Mk 14:34,36).
Of none of these--the psalmist, the apostle, the Lord--could it be said that his walk with God was not close enough. There was human suffering and divine sufficiency. This is the story of our life. The promise is "My grace is sufficient" (2 Cor 12:9 AV), not "My grace will abolish your thorns."
Title: Immunity--No. Grace--Yes.
Someone asked last week, "When Jim died was your walk with the Lord close enough that His love and comfort and presence were sufficient at all times--or did grief and sorrow at times overtake and overwhelm you?"
My answer is yes to both questions. It is not an either-or matter. The psalmist, overwhelmed, prayed, "Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I" (Ps 61:2 AV).
Paul, plagued by a thorn, besought the Lord three times to remove it.
Jesus, "horror-stricken and desperately depressed," prayed "O My Father--if it be possible..." (Mk 14:34,36).
Of none of these--the psalmist, the apostle, the Lord--could it be said that his walk with God was not close enough. There was human suffering and divine sufficiency. This is the story of our life. The promise is "My grace is sufficient" (2 Cor 12:9 AV), not "My grace will abolish your thorns."
Effects of God's Truth
Two points from a John Piper Article:
These truths help protect me from trifling with divine things.
One of the curses of our culture is banality, cuteness, cleverness. Television is the main sustainer of our addiction to superficiality and triviality.
God is swept into this. Hence the trifling with divine things.
Earnestness is not excessive in our day. It might have been once. And, yes, there are imbalances in certain people today who don't seem to be able to relax and talk about the weather.
Robertson Nicole said of Spurgeon, "Evangelism of the humorous type [we might say, church growth of the marketing type] may attract multitudes, but it lays the soul in ashes and destroys the very germs of religion. Mr. Spurgeon is often thought by those who do not know his sermons to have been a humorous preacher. As a matter of fact there was no preacher whose tone was more uniformly earnest, reverent and solemn" (Quoted in The Supremacy of God in Preaching, p. 57).
These truths make me groan over the indescribable disease of our secular, God-belittling culture.
I can hardly read the newspaper or look at a TV ad or a billboard without feeling the burden that God is missing.
When God is the main reality in the universe and is treated as a non-reality, I tremble at the wrath that is being stored up. I am able to be shocked. So many Christians are sedated with the same drug as the world. But these teachings are a great antidote.
And I pray for awakening and revival.
And I try to preach to create a people that are so God-saturated that they will show and tell God everywhere and all the time.
We exist to reassert the reality of God and the supremacy of God in all of life.
These truths help protect me from trifling with divine things.
One of the curses of our culture is banality, cuteness, cleverness. Television is the main sustainer of our addiction to superficiality and triviality.
God is swept into this. Hence the trifling with divine things.
Earnestness is not excessive in our day. It might have been once. And, yes, there are imbalances in certain people today who don't seem to be able to relax and talk about the weather.
Robertson Nicole said of Spurgeon, "Evangelism of the humorous type [we might say, church growth of the marketing type] may attract multitudes, but it lays the soul in ashes and destroys the very germs of religion. Mr. Spurgeon is often thought by those who do not know his sermons to have been a humorous preacher. As a matter of fact there was no preacher whose tone was more uniformly earnest, reverent and solemn" (Quoted in The Supremacy of God in Preaching, p. 57).
These truths make me groan over the indescribable disease of our secular, God-belittling culture.
I can hardly read the newspaper or look at a TV ad or a billboard without feeling the burden that God is missing.
When God is the main reality in the universe and is treated as a non-reality, I tremble at the wrath that is being stored up. I am able to be shocked. So many Christians are sedated with the same drug as the world. But these teachings are a great antidote.
And I pray for awakening and revival.
And I try to preach to create a people that are so God-saturated that they will show and tell God everywhere and all the time.
We exist to reassert the reality of God and the supremacy of God in all of life.
Awaken Our Awe of God
Excerpt from "The God Who Thunders" by Kimberly Tyree, Discipleship Journal (July-August 2007), p. 30:
"We need to be shaken by God every now and then, to be jostled out of our need for control. We need to be reminded of how powerful and glorious He really is and experience awe in Him. Otherwise, we can get too caught up in our view of reality, forgetting that God is so much more than we can comprehend.
Often, opportunities to be shaken by God are closer than we think. As I write this article on my laptop loaded with all the newest software, connected via the internet to people and information from all over the world, I hear the wind rustling the branches outside my window, and I feel insignificant. All that I do, all that I create, all that I understand is insignificant compared to God. I am reminded that my focus should be God. Only He is worth my time, my effort, my life. Everything I do should be to glorify and praise His awesome name."
"We need to be shaken by God every now and then, to be jostled out of our need for control. We need to be reminded of how powerful and glorious He really is and experience awe in Him. Otherwise, we can get too caught up in our view of reality, forgetting that God is so much more than we can comprehend.
Often, opportunities to be shaken by God are closer than we think. As I write this article on my laptop loaded with all the newest software, connected via the internet to people and information from all over the world, I hear the wind rustling the branches outside my window, and I feel insignificant. All that I do, all that I create, all that I understand is insignificant compared to God. I am reminded that my focus should be God. Only He is worth my time, my effort, my life. Everything I do should be to glorify and praise His awesome name."
Christ Everywhere
Excerpt from John Piper -- Christ: The Ground and Goal of the Old Testament
... Should we really think of the purpose of these ancient sins having anything to do with Christ who came so much later? The answer is yes. The link between Christ and the Old Testament is more amazing than any of us realizes. Here are a couple general statements about that link. First, Luke said, in Luke 24:27, “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” And in John 5:39, Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.”
What follows is a sampling of how Christ is the ground and goal of everything in the Old Testament. ...
... Should we really think of the purpose of these ancient sins having anything to do with Christ who came so much later? The answer is yes. The link between Christ and the Old Testament is more amazing than any of us realizes. Here are a couple general statements about that link. First, Luke said, in Luke 24:27, “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” And in John 5:39, Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.”
What follows is a sampling of how Christ is the ground and goal of everything in the Old Testament. ...
- Christ upholds all things (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3). Therefore, all Old Testament events are possible because of Christ.
Christ created all things (John 1:3, 10; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2). Therefore, all that exists in the Old Testament is because of Christ.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Fear
The parents (in John 9) responding to the Pharisees after their son received his sight:
18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" 20His parents answered, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself." 22(His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
I never cease to be amazed at this, but fear will do strange things to us. The Bible says a lot about fear, but always about fearing God, not man.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10: 28)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1: 7)
18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" 20His parents answered, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself." 22(His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
I never cease to be amazed at this, but fear will do strange things to us. The Bible says a lot about fear, but always about fearing God, not man.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10: 28)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1: 7)
Little is Much
I like the lyrics from Downhere "Little is Much"
Little is much when God's in it
And no one can fathom the plans He holds
Little is much when God's in it
He changes the world with the seeds we sow
Little is much, little is much
Little is much when God's in it
And no one can fathom the plans He holds
Little is much when God's in it
He changes the world with the seeds we sow
Little is much, little is much
The Lust for Security
Elisabeth Elliot Daily Devotional
Title: The Lust for Security
Once we have set ourselves to be pilgrims and strangers on the earth, which is what Christians are meant to be, it is incongruous for us to continue to insist upon the sort of security the world tries to guarantee. Our security lies not in protecting ourselves from suffering, but in putting ourselves fully into the hands of God. The desire for physical and material security makes us sly and hard. No. We must be like little children. The child in its father's arms is not worried. It lies quietly at rest because it trusts its father.
We disobey sometimes because we say it is impossible to do what God asks. Impossible? Perhaps what we mean is impossible to do that and keep our security, impossible to obey without tremendous cost, or at least tremendous risk. Where, then, will we find safety? Is it likely that we will find it elsewhere than in the arms of the Father?
Teach me to rest in your everlasting arms. Make me know that all other security is illusion.
Title: The Lust for Security
Once we have set ourselves to be pilgrims and strangers on the earth, which is what Christians are meant to be, it is incongruous for us to continue to insist upon the sort of security the world tries to guarantee. Our security lies not in protecting ourselves from suffering, but in putting ourselves fully into the hands of God. The desire for physical and material security makes us sly and hard. No. We must be like little children. The child in its father's arms is not worried. It lies quietly at rest because it trusts its father.
We disobey sometimes because we say it is impossible to do what God asks. Impossible? Perhaps what we mean is impossible to do that and keep our security, impossible to obey without tremendous cost, or at least tremendous risk. Where, then, will we find safety? Is it likely that we will find it elsewhere than in the arms of the Father?
Teach me to rest in your everlasting arms. Make me know that all other security is illusion.
Seeking God's Kingdom
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - The Superwoman Complex
Some years ago a major news magazine ran a cover feature that said, Women Face the Future: They Tried to Have It All. Now They've Just Plain Had It. One of the misconceptions resulting from the Superwoman Complex is that we can have it all.
But my message to you is that you can't have it all. You can have a lot, your life can be full and meaningful, but you can't have it all, at least not all at the same time! As Maxine Hancock puts it: "The bad news is nobody can have it all at once. The good news is that you can have a lot of what really matters to you."
You and I must continually make choices between the many options and opportunities that are presented to us, and we have more of those today than ever before. We have to be very good at setting our priorities and sticking to them. And as Christians, our priorities are governed by God's eternal principles.
Our Lord said, Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33). All what things? All of what you need to have a good and full life. Not everything you think you need; not everything you want. But all you need will be added provided you first seek God's kingdom and His righteousness. That's how you can have all that matters.
Have you relinquished the controls of your life to the Lord lately? Quite frequently I repeat this prayer: "Lord, I give you permission to control my life. I acknowledge your right to change my plans, to re-direct my path, to give me new marching orders. Here's a blank piece of paper; I ask you to dictate my to-do list."
You see, it's real easy for us to show God our plans and ask Him to bless them. "Dear Lord, here's what I plan to do; here's what I want to be; here's how I want to do it. Please come along with me and help me and bless me." Oh, we may not use words quite so obvious, but far too often that is our attitude. Seeking God's kingdom means giving Him a blank piece of paper and asking Him to write the program for us.
I would encourage you to make sure you keep going back to that basic commitment–giving the controls to the Lord. That is the beginning of the cure for the Superwoman Complex, and the way to truly gain control of your tendency to want it all at one time.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - The Superwoman Complex
Some years ago a major news magazine ran a cover feature that said, Women Face the Future: They Tried to Have It All. Now They've Just Plain Had It. One of the misconceptions resulting from the Superwoman Complex is that we can have it all.
But my message to you is that you can't have it all. You can have a lot, your life can be full and meaningful, but you can't have it all, at least not all at the same time! As Maxine Hancock puts it: "The bad news is nobody can have it all at once. The good news is that you can have a lot of what really matters to you."
You and I must continually make choices between the many options and opportunities that are presented to us, and we have more of those today than ever before. We have to be very good at setting our priorities and sticking to them. And as Christians, our priorities are governed by God's eternal principles.
Our Lord said, Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33). All what things? All of what you need to have a good and full life. Not everything you think you need; not everything you want. But all you need will be added provided you first seek God's kingdom and His righteousness. That's how you can have all that matters.
Have you relinquished the controls of your life to the Lord lately? Quite frequently I repeat this prayer: "Lord, I give you permission to control my life. I acknowledge your right to change my plans, to re-direct my path, to give me new marching orders. Here's a blank piece of paper; I ask you to dictate my to-do list."
You see, it's real easy for us to show God our plans and ask Him to bless them. "Dear Lord, here's what I plan to do; here's what I want to be; here's how I want to do it. Please come along with me and help me and bless me." Oh, we may not use words quite so obvious, but far too often that is our attitude. Seeking God's kingdom means giving Him a blank piece of paper and asking Him to write the program for us.
I would encourage you to make sure you keep going back to that basic commitment–giving the controls to the Lord. That is the beginning of the cure for the Superwoman Complex, and the way to truly gain control of your tendency to want it all at one time.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Hope -- What, Why and How?
Excerpt from Our Hope: The Appearing of Jesus Christ by John Piper
We began this series by asking, "What is the special character of biblical hope?" And we answered: Biblical hope is not finger-crossing. It is a confident expectation of good things to come. Hebrews calls it the "full assurance of hope" (6:11).
Then we asked, "Why can sinners like us be confident that a holy God will work for us and make our future bright?" And we answered with two words: grace and gospel. Paul says that "God our Father loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace" (2 Thessalonians 2:16). And he urges us not to shift from the hope of the gospel (Colossians 1:23). So the grace of God and the good news of Christ crucified for sins and raised from the dead are the reasons that sinners like you and me can hope in God and have a confident expectation that the future will be good for us.
Then after the questions, "What?" and "Why?" we asked the question, "How?" First, "How can I hope in God when by nature I do not trust God or love God or want to obey God?" And we answered: "New birth." "By God's great mercy we have been born anew unto a living hope" (1 Peter 1:3, 23). God overcomes our rebellion and gives us a new heart—a heart that by its very nature loves to hope in God.
Then, the second "How-question" was, "How are we to hope in God if we don't know his promises?" The answer is Romans 15:4, "Whatever was written in former times was written for our instruction that by the endurance and encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope." We do know the promises of God—the whole Bible—the Scripture—was written to give us hope. Take up and read!
We began this series by asking, "What is the special character of biblical hope?" And we answered: Biblical hope is not finger-crossing. It is a confident expectation of good things to come. Hebrews calls it the "full assurance of hope" (6:11).
Then we asked, "Why can sinners like us be confident that a holy God will work for us and make our future bright?" And we answered with two words: grace and gospel. Paul says that "God our Father loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace" (2 Thessalonians 2:16). And he urges us not to shift from the hope of the gospel (Colossians 1:23). So the grace of God and the good news of Christ crucified for sins and raised from the dead are the reasons that sinners like you and me can hope in God and have a confident expectation that the future will be good for us.
Then after the questions, "What?" and "Why?" we asked the question, "How?" First, "How can I hope in God when by nature I do not trust God or love God or want to obey God?" And we answered: "New birth." "By God's great mercy we have been born anew unto a living hope" (1 Peter 1:3, 23). God overcomes our rebellion and gives us a new heart—a heart that by its very nature loves to hope in God.
Then, the second "How-question" was, "How are we to hope in God if we don't know his promises?" The answer is Romans 15:4, "Whatever was written in former times was written for our instruction that by the endurance and encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope." We do know the promises of God—the whole Bible—the Scripture—was written to give us hope. Take up and read!
The Value of Counsel
Neil Anderson Daily in Christ
Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory
No one person has complete knowledge, and everyone has a limited perspective on the truth. God has structured the church in such a way that we need each other. I have made some dumb decisions that would never have been made if I had consulted someone. However, some people will only consult those who agree with them. That's a sign of immaturity.
At the same time, the counsel of others does have to be weighed. There is a fascinating account in Acts 21 where the Holy Spirit seemed to be warning Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Disciples in Tyre "kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem" (21:4). Then a prophet named Agabus gave a visual demonstration by binding himself and saying, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt [Paul] and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles'" (21:11).
Everyone began begging him not to go. "Then Paul answered, '. . . I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.' And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, 'The will of the Lord be done!'" (21:13, 14).
Was the Holy Spirit guiding the disciples and Agabus? The information was mostly true, but the conclusion of the disciples wasn't. The Holy Spirit wasn't trying to prevent Paul from going; He was preparing Paul for the coming persecution. Paul was right in not wanting to take the easy way out.
The missionary Hudson Taylor went against advice, and circumstances nearly destroyed him. But he, more than anyone, opened up China to the gospel. Sometimes people can tell you the truth, but they draw selfish conclusions. Sometimes we need to ascertain our own motives as well as those of the people we seek counsel from, for our motives can be in error as well. The value of counsel is to get an unbiased opinion from a spiritually sensitive person which you can add to the recipe of ingredients God is giving to guide you.
Prayer:
Lord, grant me the patience to gather information and seek godly counsel for my decisions.
Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory
No one person has complete knowledge, and everyone has a limited perspective on the truth. God has structured the church in such a way that we need each other. I have made some dumb decisions that would never have been made if I had consulted someone. However, some people will only consult those who agree with them. That's a sign of immaturity.
At the same time, the counsel of others does have to be weighed. There is a fascinating account in Acts 21 where the Holy Spirit seemed to be warning Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Disciples in Tyre "kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem" (21:4). Then a prophet named Agabus gave a visual demonstration by binding himself and saying, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt [Paul] and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles'" (21:11).
Everyone began begging him not to go. "Then Paul answered, '. . . I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.' And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, 'The will of the Lord be done!'" (21:13, 14).
Was the Holy Spirit guiding the disciples and Agabus? The information was mostly true, but the conclusion of the disciples wasn't. The Holy Spirit wasn't trying to prevent Paul from going; He was preparing Paul for the coming persecution. Paul was right in not wanting to take the easy way out.
The missionary Hudson Taylor went against advice, and circumstances nearly destroyed him. But he, more than anyone, opened up China to the gospel. Sometimes people can tell you the truth, but they draw selfish conclusions. Sometimes we need to ascertain our own motives as well as those of the people we seek counsel from, for our motives can be in error as well. The value of counsel is to get an unbiased opinion from a spiritually sensitive person which you can add to the recipe of ingredients God is giving to guide you.
Prayer:
Lord, grant me the patience to gather information and seek godly counsel for my decisions.
He Is Our Treasure
Elisabeth Elliot Daily Devotional
Title: Nothing is Lost
Paul was a man who suffered the loss of everything, according to his own claim. Yet any loss he counted pure gain. The key to this transforming of earthly losses into heavenly gains is love. What do we love? If our hearts are set on people and possessions and position, the loss of those will indeed be irreparable. To the man or woman whose heart is set on Christ no loss on earth can be irreparable.
It may shock us for the moment. We may feel hurt, outraged, desolate, helpless. That is our humanity. But the Lord can show us the "long view," the incalculable gain in spiritual and eternal terms, if we love Him above all. Everything that belongs to us belongs also to Him. Everything that belongs to Him belongs also to us. What, then, can we finally lose? If we lose not Christ Himself, we have finally lost nothing, for He is our treasure and He has our hearts.
Title: Nothing is Lost
Paul was a man who suffered the loss of everything, according to his own claim. Yet any loss he counted pure gain. The key to this transforming of earthly losses into heavenly gains is love. What do we love? If our hearts are set on people and possessions and position, the loss of those will indeed be irreparable. To the man or woman whose heart is set on Christ no loss on earth can be irreparable.
It may shock us for the moment. We may feel hurt, outraged, desolate, helpless. That is our humanity. But the Lord can show us the "long view," the incalculable gain in spiritual and eternal terms, if we love Him above all. Everything that belongs to us belongs also to Him. Everything that belongs to Him belongs also to us. What, then, can we finally lose? If we lose not Christ Himself, we have finally lost nothing, for He is our treasure and He has our hearts.
Prayer Verse for This Week
Our prayer verse for this week is from 1 Peter 4:12-13
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
Monday, August 27, 2007
He Is All We Need
Come, let us sing a song
A song declaring that we belong to Jesus
He is all we need
Lift up a heart of praise
Sing now with voices raised to Jesus
Sing to the King
(A portion of the lyrics from "Sing to the King")
A song declaring that we belong to Jesus
He is all we need
Lift up a heart of praise
Sing now with voices raised to Jesus
Sing to the King
(A portion of the lyrics from "Sing to the King")
City of God
The City of God is where people walk on gold and love others; the city of man is where people walk on others and love gold.
St. Augustine
(Seen on New City Church web site)
St. Augustine
(Seen on New City Church web site)
Sermon: What If Path Isn't Clear?
Yesterday Aaron spoke about what to do when the path isn't clear. Our "this world" response is to want the numbers and statistics and make decisions based on "the odds". God's advice to us is found in Proverbs 3:5-7 (which was also last week's prayer verse!):
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Righteous are Bold as a Lion
Neil Anderson Daily in Christ
THE DEATH OF FEAR
Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion
How do you respond to fear situations in your life? The following steps will help you identify and hopefully eliminate any irrational fears.
First, analyze your fear. Most people aren't aware of what is controlling their lives. If you are struggling with anxiety attacks, determine when they first occurred. What experience preceded the first attack? People struggling with agoraphobia can usually identify one precipitating event. It is often associated with some tragedy or failure in their lives, such as a marital affair or an abortion. Satan takes advantage of victimized people if they don't seek a scriptural solution to their crisis (Psalm 38:18).
Second, determine where God's place in your life has been usurped. In what way does any fear prevent you from responsible behavior or compel you toward irresponsible behavior? You may need to confess any situations where you've allowed your actions to be controlled by fear (Psalm 28:1). We will always live less than a responsible life if we fear anything other than God.
Third, work out a plan of responsible behavior. A college student shared with me that she was living in terror of her father. They hadn't spoken to each other in six months. Obviously there was irresponsible behavior on both their parts. I suggested that she take the initiative that evening and say, "Hi, Dad!" We reasoned that there were three possible responses he could give. First, he could get mad. Second, he could respond with a greeting. Third, he could remain silent. It was the possibility of the third response that created the most fear.
We then discussed the fourth point: Determine in advance what your response will be to any fear-object. The young woman and I talked about what her response would be in each of those three cases we had mentioned. I then asked her if she would be willing to carry out our plan. She agreed to do it. I got a call that evening from a happy daughter who exclaimed, "He said 'Hi' back!"
Do the thing you fear the most, and the death of fear is certain.
Prayer:
Lord, give me the courage to meet my fears head-on and the persistence to overcome them in Your strength.
THE DEATH OF FEAR
Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion
How do you respond to fear situations in your life? The following steps will help you identify and hopefully eliminate any irrational fears.
First, analyze your fear. Most people aren't aware of what is controlling their lives. If you are struggling with anxiety attacks, determine when they first occurred. What experience preceded the first attack? People struggling with agoraphobia can usually identify one precipitating event. It is often associated with some tragedy or failure in their lives, such as a marital affair or an abortion. Satan takes advantage of victimized people if they don't seek a scriptural solution to their crisis (Psalm 38:18).
Second, determine where God's place in your life has been usurped. In what way does any fear prevent you from responsible behavior or compel you toward irresponsible behavior? You may need to confess any situations where you've allowed your actions to be controlled by fear (Psalm 28:1). We will always live less than a responsible life if we fear anything other than God.
Third, work out a plan of responsible behavior. A college student shared with me that she was living in terror of her father. They hadn't spoken to each other in six months. Obviously there was irresponsible behavior on both their parts. I suggested that she take the initiative that evening and say, "Hi, Dad!" We reasoned that there were three possible responses he could give. First, he could get mad. Second, he could respond with a greeting. Third, he could remain silent. It was the possibility of the third response that created the most fear.
We then discussed the fourth point: Determine in advance what your response will be to any fear-object. The young woman and I talked about what her response would be in each of those three cases we had mentioned. I then asked her if she would be willing to carry out our plan. She agreed to do it. I got a call that evening from a happy daughter who exclaimed, "He said 'Hi' back!"
Do the thing you fear the most, and the death of fear is certain.
Prayer:
Lord, give me the courage to meet my fears head-on and the persistence to overcome them in Your strength.
The Superwoman Complex
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Monday, August 27, 2007 - The Superwoman Complex
I remember a plaque that used to be on the desk of a young woman who worked with me, which said, "Women today have to do twice as much as men and be twice as good to get half as far. Fortunately for us it isn't difficult." Well, that sounds good, but guess what–it's not true. It's very difficult to be superwoman; in fact, it's impossible.
There are various aspects to our superwoman complexes, and no overnight cure. I find it a continuing battle to keep learning and understanding that God has not called me to be superwoman. I do not have to jump through everyone else's hoops, nor be all things to all people.
Certainly God wants to use women in remarkable ways, and He is doing that all over the world today. We need more Christian women who are available to do great things for God. But we'll never do great things for God if we're victims of the superwoman complex.
Let's first think about our hectic schedules, find out where we're over-extending, and ask ourselves how by God's grace we can start to put an end to this exhausting attempt to be superwomen.
One thing that is helpful is just to take each day and each duty one at a time and not try to figure out right now how you're going to make it through the next five days with all you have to do. Believe me, this is one area I have not conquered. I tend to wake up in the morning and lie in bed thinking of the upcoming schedule, and then go into panic mode before the day even begins.
That's unproductive and wrong thinking. Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow because you're going to worry about tomorrow tomorrow, so why worry about it today! Just take today–it's enough. (Matthew 6:34) I talk to myself a lot to remind myself that I will do today what I can do, I will be as productive as possible today, and I will not keep thinking about the upcoming schedule. Just take it one day, one hour at a time. I encourage you to do that, too. We waste a lot of emotional energy in thinking and worrying about all we have to do instead of just taking the job at hand, giving it our whole heart, and doing it.
So, start fighting back at that Superwoman Complex by living one day, one hour at a time. Purpose in your heart today that by God's grace, you will not borrow from tomorrow. I believe you'll start to see a difference in your schedule and your attitude when you determine to live one day at a time.
Monday, August 27, 2007 - The Superwoman Complex
I remember a plaque that used to be on the desk of a young woman who worked with me, which said, "Women today have to do twice as much as men and be twice as good to get half as far. Fortunately for us it isn't difficult." Well, that sounds good, but guess what–it's not true. It's very difficult to be superwoman; in fact, it's impossible.
There are various aspects to our superwoman complexes, and no overnight cure. I find it a continuing battle to keep learning and understanding that God has not called me to be superwoman. I do not have to jump through everyone else's hoops, nor be all things to all people.
Certainly God wants to use women in remarkable ways, and He is doing that all over the world today. We need more Christian women who are available to do great things for God. But we'll never do great things for God if we're victims of the superwoman complex.
Let's first think about our hectic schedules, find out where we're over-extending, and ask ourselves how by God's grace we can start to put an end to this exhausting attempt to be superwomen.
One thing that is helpful is just to take each day and each duty one at a time and not try to figure out right now how you're going to make it through the next five days with all you have to do. Believe me, this is one area I have not conquered. I tend to wake up in the morning and lie in bed thinking of the upcoming schedule, and then go into panic mode before the day even begins.
That's unproductive and wrong thinking. Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow because you're going to worry about tomorrow tomorrow, so why worry about it today! Just take today–it's enough. (Matthew 6:34) I talk to myself a lot to remind myself that I will do today what I can do, I will be as productive as possible today, and I will not keep thinking about the upcoming schedule. Just take it one day, one hour at a time. I encourage you to do that, too. We waste a lot of emotional energy in thinking and worrying about all we have to do instead of just taking the job at hand, giving it our whole heart, and doing it.
So, start fighting back at that Superwoman Complex by living one day, one hour at a time. Purpose in your heart today that by God's grace, you will not borrow from tomorrow. I believe you'll start to see a difference in your schedule and your attitude when you determine to live one day at a time.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Power of the Word
Neil Anderson Daily in Christ
THE GENUINE PROPHET
Jeremiah 23:22 If they [the prophets] had stood in My council, then they would have announced My words to My people, and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds
Every true prophet of God in the Old Testament was an evangelist. His ministry drew people back to God and His Word. The call to righteousness was the standard which separated the genuine prophet from the imitation, as the prophet Jeremiah wrote. If you come across someone who claims to be a prophet, but who is not involved in calling people to a righteous walk with God, you may be dealing with a counterfeit.
In the New Testament, the gift of prophecy has one primary purpose: to reveal unrighteousness and bring conviction. Paul wrote that, as a result of prophecy, "The secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you" (1 Corinthians 14:25).
The Lord revealed through Jeremiah another criterion for distinguishing a true prophet from a false prophet: "I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, 'I had a dream, I had a dream!' . . . The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?" (23:25, 28). God is warning His people against prophets who value their dreams above His Word.
God is not saying that dreams are unimportant. Indeed, He often spoke to people in the Bible through dreams before the full revelation of Scripture was complete. But in comparison to the nutritious grain of His Word, dreams are mere straw. If you feed straw to cattle, they'll die. They will sleep on it, but they won't eat it because it has no nutrients. Similarly, dreams may be of some value, but they are never to be equated with God's Word as the basis for our faith or our walk.
Prayer:
Thank You, Lord, for the power of Your Word, which cuts through falsehood and brings to light everything hidden in darkness.
THE GENUINE PROPHET
Jeremiah 23:22 If they [the prophets] had stood in My council, then they would have announced My words to My people, and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds
Every true prophet of God in the Old Testament was an evangelist. His ministry drew people back to God and His Word. The call to righteousness was the standard which separated the genuine prophet from the imitation, as the prophet Jeremiah wrote. If you come across someone who claims to be a prophet, but who is not involved in calling people to a righteous walk with God, you may be dealing with a counterfeit.
In the New Testament, the gift of prophecy has one primary purpose: to reveal unrighteousness and bring conviction. Paul wrote that, as a result of prophecy, "The secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you" (1 Corinthians 14:25).
The Lord revealed through Jeremiah another criterion for distinguishing a true prophet from a false prophet: "I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, 'I had a dream, I had a dream!' . . . The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?" (23:25, 28). God is warning His people against prophets who value their dreams above His Word.
God is not saying that dreams are unimportant. Indeed, He often spoke to people in the Bible through dreams before the full revelation of Scripture was complete. But in comparison to the nutritious grain of His Word, dreams are mere straw. If you feed straw to cattle, they'll die. They will sleep on it, but they won't eat it because it has no nutrients. Similarly, dreams may be of some value, but they are never to be equated with God's Word as the basis for our faith or our walk.
Prayer:
Thank You, Lord, for the power of Your Word, which cuts through falsehood and brings to light everything hidden in darkness.
Witnesses for God
Elisabeth Elliot Daily Devotional
Title: The Danger of Not Knowing God
We are meant to be witnesses for God--people who have seen and known Him and are willing to speak of what they see and know. Sometimes there is danger for such people--as in Russia, where it can mean forced labor, banishment, death.
In China in the early 1930s a missionary couple, John and Betty Stam, were captured by Chinese Communists and marched through the streets of the village to a chopping block where each was beheaded. If they had been willing to recant their Christian faith, their lives would have been spared. Given their commitment to Christ, such a choice was unthinkable. They placed not only their lives but the life of their baby, Helen Priscilla, in the hands of God, confident that God could protect them if He chose, and, if He chose not to, it was safer to be in those hands than anywhere else in the universe. Like thousands of Christians before them, they preferred the sword to disobedience, believing that the danger of not knowing God is infinitely greater than any other danger.
Lord, be our Sun and Shield. Shine on us, protect us as we seek to live and witness to your truth. Forgive us (especially those of us who have never faced lions, fire, or sword because of our faith) for our fears of petty loss. Remind us that it is in losing ourselves that we find You.
Title: The Danger of Not Knowing God
We are meant to be witnesses for God--people who have seen and known Him and are willing to speak of what they see and know. Sometimes there is danger for such people--as in Russia, where it can mean forced labor, banishment, death.
In China in the early 1930s a missionary couple, John and Betty Stam, were captured by Chinese Communists and marched through the streets of the village to a chopping block where each was beheaded. If they had been willing to recant their Christian faith, their lives would have been spared. Given their commitment to Christ, such a choice was unthinkable. They placed not only their lives but the life of their baby, Helen Priscilla, in the hands of God, confident that God could protect them if He chose, and, if He chose not to, it was safer to be in those hands than anywhere else in the universe. Like thousands of Christians before them, they preferred the sword to disobedience, believing that the danger of not knowing God is infinitely greater than any other danger.
Lord, be our Sun and Shield. Shine on us, protect us as we seek to live and witness to your truth. Forgive us (especially those of us who have never faced lions, fire, or sword because of our faith) for our fears of petty loss. Remind us that it is in losing ourselves that we find You.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Fight Hopelessness with the Word of God
Excerpt from John Piper, How Can I Keep on Hoping? The Scriptures!
The point of my message this morning is that when you are born again, you are born for battle—a battle to maintain the full assurance of hope to the end (Hebrews 6:11), a battle that can only be fought and won with the Word of God.
Let me say it again: when we were born anew by the Spirit of God, we were born for battle—the battle of perseverance (Mark 13:13), the battle to hold fast to our confession of hope (Hebrews 10:23), the battle not to shift from the hope of the gospel (Colossians 1:23). And the only way anyone can win this battle and maintain the full assurance of hope firm to the end is by fighting hopelessness with the Word of God.
We simply must learn this lesson. Let me illustrate before we turn to Romans 15:4. Henry Martyn was a young missionary to India and Arabia and Persia in the early 1800's. He had left his fiancé Lydia Grenfell behind in England in 1806 and would never see her again—he died at 31.
On the boat he fought back self-pity and discouragement with the promises of God's Word. He arrived in Calcutta in May and two months later had a devastating experience. One of the veteran missionaries preached a sermon directed against Henry Martyn and his doctrines. He called his teaching inconsistent, extravagant, and absurd. He accused him of seeking only to "gratify self-sufficiency, pride and uncharitableness."
How could this lonely young man endure such a crushing experience, and not only endure but during the next six years have the perseverance to translate the New Testament into Hindustani, Persian, and Arabic?
We can hear the answer in his own journal:
Henry Martyn fought the battle against discouragement and hopelessness with the truths of God's Word: "Jesus is my friend, my master, my God, my all!" And that is the way we must fight every day, and never stop until the war is over and the Commander puts the wreath of victory on our heads.
The point of my message this morning is that when you are born again, you are born for battle—a battle to maintain the full assurance of hope to the end (Hebrews 6:11), a battle that can only be fought and won with the Word of God.
Let me say it again: when we were born anew by the Spirit of God, we were born for battle—the battle of perseverance (Mark 13:13), the battle to hold fast to our confession of hope (Hebrews 10:23), the battle not to shift from the hope of the gospel (Colossians 1:23). And the only way anyone can win this battle and maintain the full assurance of hope firm to the end is by fighting hopelessness with the Word of God.
We simply must learn this lesson. Let me illustrate before we turn to Romans 15:4. Henry Martyn was a young missionary to India and Arabia and Persia in the early 1800's. He had left his fiancé Lydia Grenfell behind in England in 1806 and would never see her again—he died at 31.
On the boat he fought back self-pity and discouragement with the promises of God's Word. He arrived in Calcutta in May and two months later had a devastating experience. One of the veteran missionaries preached a sermon directed against Henry Martyn and his doctrines. He called his teaching inconsistent, extravagant, and absurd. He accused him of seeking only to "gratify self-sufficiency, pride and uncharitableness."
How could this lonely young man endure such a crushing experience, and not only endure but during the next six years have the perseverance to translate the New Testament into Hindustani, Persian, and Arabic?
We can hear the answer in his own journal:
In the multitude of my troubled thoughts I still saw that there is a strong consolation in the hope set before us. Let men do their worst, let me be torn to pieces, and my dear Lydia torn from me; or let me labour for fifty years amidst scorn, and never seeing one soul converted; still it shall not be worse for my soul in eternity, nor worse for it in time. Though the heathen rage and the English people imagine a vain thing, the Lord Jesus, who controls all events, is my friend, my master, my God, my all.
Henry Martyn fought the battle against discouragement and hopelessness with the truths of God's Word: "Jesus is my friend, my master, my God, my all!" And that is the way we must fight every day, and never stop until the war is over and the Commander puts the wreath of victory on our heads.
Let Emotions Be a Product of Obedience
Neil Anderson Daily in Christ
REFLECTING REALITY
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is
Telling someone that they shouldn't feel the way they do is a subtle form of rejection. They can do little about how they feel. The real problem is that they have a wrong perception of their situation which is making them feel the way they do. You can't change how you feel, but you can change what you think.
For example, suppose your dream of owning your own home was in the hands of a lending institution which was screening your application for financing. All your friends are praying for the loan to be approved. But you get home one evening to find a message on your phone machine that you didn't qualify. Where would you be emotionally in just a matter of seconds? At the bottom!
Now suppose you're getting ready to break the bad news to your spouse that your dream house is still only a dream. Then you listen to the next message on the machine which tells you that the first message was a mistake. You actually did qualify! Now where are you emotionally? The top! What you first believed didn't reflect truth, so what you felt didn't reflect reality.
Imagine the real estate agent, who knows that you qualified, stopping by to congratulate you before you heard the second message on the machine. He expects to find you overjoyed, but instead you're in despair. "Why are you depressed?" he asks. "You should be happy." But his encouragement is meaningless until he tells you the truth about your loan. If what you believe does not reflect truth, then what you feel does not reflect reality.
The order of Scripture is to know the truth, believe it, walk according to it, and let your emotions be a product of your obedience. When you believe what you feel instead of the truth, how will your walk be? As inconsistent as your feelings. But when you believe and act on the truth, your feelings will reflect reality. Jesus said, "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them" (John 13:17).
Prayer:
Lord, I commit myself to follow Your Word and do right. I want to enjoy the positive emotions that come from obedience.
REFLECTING REALITY
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is
Telling someone that they shouldn't feel the way they do is a subtle form of rejection. They can do little about how they feel. The real problem is that they have a wrong perception of their situation which is making them feel the way they do. You can't change how you feel, but you can change what you think.
For example, suppose your dream of owning your own home was in the hands of a lending institution which was screening your application for financing. All your friends are praying for the loan to be approved. But you get home one evening to find a message on your phone machine that you didn't qualify. Where would you be emotionally in just a matter of seconds? At the bottom!
Now suppose you're getting ready to break the bad news to your spouse that your dream house is still only a dream. Then you listen to the next message on the machine which tells you that the first message was a mistake. You actually did qualify! Now where are you emotionally? The top! What you first believed didn't reflect truth, so what you felt didn't reflect reality.
Imagine the real estate agent, who knows that you qualified, stopping by to congratulate you before you heard the second message on the machine. He expects to find you overjoyed, but instead you're in despair. "Why are you depressed?" he asks. "You should be happy." But his encouragement is meaningless until he tells you the truth about your loan. If what you believe does not reflect truth, then what you feel does not reflect reality.
The order of Scripture is to know the truth, believe it, walk according to it, and let your emotions be a product of your obedience. When you believe what you feel instead of the truth, how will your walk be? As inconsistent as your feelings. But when you believe and act on the truth, your feelings will reflect reality. Jesus said, "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them" (John 13:17).
Prayer:
Lord, I commit myself to follow Your Word and do right. I want to enjoy the positive emotions that come from obedience.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Being Part of a Covenant Community
Excerpt from John Piper, Why a Church Covenant?
... Those reflections are now bearing fruit in several ways.
1. Small Groups
Our study is bearing fruit in a heightened sense of priority for ministering to each other in small groups—not just studying, but transmitting God's grace to each other in love, and meeting each other's needs and strengthening each other's faith, and sustaining each other's hope, and keeping each other focused on God, running the race with perseverance.
2. Shepherding Efforts
Our study is bearing fruit in a wider shepherding effort coordinated with this small group network, and overseen by the elders. The aim is to do the best we can not to lose track of people who are not in one of our small groups but who are part of the body and would benefit from regular contact with the leadership of the church. The goal of the elders is to have this structure in place some time in March.
3. A Ministry Mindset in All Members
Our study is bearing fruit in a renewed commitment to foster a ministry mindset in all the members and to create an atmosphere that releases your vision for how to meet needs in the body and spread the truth and beauty of Christ in the city. The elders and ministerial staff exist to equip the saints to dream and do the ministry. We do this through teaching and prayer and inspiration and coordination and oversight, but we do not see ourselves as the primary inventors and organizers of ministry. ...
4. Striving for Right Spirit
Our study is bearing fruit in a deepened sense that structure is not the essential problem when we are not what we ought to be—like not as outgoing to strangers, or not as sensitive to hurts in the body, or not as aggressive in evangelism. Structure is part of the problem, but again and again in our Plenary Sessions last fall people would say, what we are striving for is not the fruit of right structure but right spirit. ...
5. The Covenantal Meaning of the Local Church
Finally, our study is bearing fruit in sending us back to the covenantal meaning of the local church. ... The elders see this as one of the causes of our present weaknesses. We have not been clear and public and well-taught about what it means to be people gathered into a local church by covenant. ... This omission has worked with other forces to reduce the biblical significance of being part of a covenant community.
...
... Those reflections are now bearing fruit in several ways.
1. Small Groups
Our study is bearing fruit in a heightened sense of priority for ministering to each other in small groups—not just studying, but transmitting God's grace to each other in love, and meeting each other's needs and strengthening each other's faith, and sustaining each other's hope, and keeping each other focused on God, running the race with perseverance.
2. Shepherding Efforts
Our study is bearing fruit in a wider shepherding effort coordinated with this small group network, and overseen by the elders. The aim is to do the best we can not to lose track of people who are not in one of our small groups but who are part of the body and would benefit from regular contact with the leadership of the church. The goal of the elders is to have this structure in place some time in March.
3. A Ministry Mindset in All Members
Our study is bearing fruit in a renewed commitment to foster a ministry mindset in all the members and to create an atmosphere that releases your vision for how to meet needs in the body and spread the truth and beauty of Christ in the city. The elders and ministerial staff exist to equip the saints to dream and do the ministry. We do this through teaching and prayer and inspiration and coordination and oversight, but we do not see ourselves as the primary inventors and organizers of ministry. ...
4. Striving for Right Spirit
Our study is bearing fruit in a deepened sense that structure is not the essential problem when we are not what we ought to be—like not as outgoing to strangers, or not as sensitive to hurts in the body, or not as aggressive in evangelism. Structure is part of the problem, but again and again in our Plenary Sessions last fall people would say, what we are striving for is not the fruit of right structure but right spirit. ...
5. The Covenantal Meaning of the Local Church
Finally, our study is bearing fruit in sending us back to the covenantal meaning of the local church. ... The elders see this as one of the causes of our present weaknesses. We have not been clear and public and well-taught about what it means to be people gathered into a local church by covenant. ... This omission has worked with other forces to reduce the biblical significance of being part of a covenant community.
...
Peace on Your Feet
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - If Your Body Matched Your Soul
Have you ever had problems with your feet? If your feet aren't in the best condition, it makes it rather difficult to do anything else, doesn't it? John greets Gaius in 3 John, where he writes, I pray you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. Gaius was in such good spiritual condition that John could pray his body would be as well off as his soul. Would you want someone to pray that for you? I'm not sure I would.
Maybe if our bodies reflected our spiritual condition, some of us would have problems with our feet. What causes foot problems? Well, sometimes it's wearing the wrong shoes. We women have experienced some of the consequences of wearing shoes designed, I'm convinced, by an evil-minded contortionist, with heels too thin and high for any human, and toes too narrow for a bird's feet. But our vanity has caused us to hobble around in those things called shoes, until our feet have suffered all kinds of problems.
We need to wear the right spiritual shoes. Ephesians 6 says to fit your feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Put peace on your feet. Why in the world would you want peace on your feet? Because in this spiritual warfare, we have to be able to keep moving no matter what kind of situation we're in. In battle a soldier wears heavy boots designed to work in any environment–desert, snow, rocky or smooth terrain. And the gospel of peace on our feet keeps us going no matter what.
Have you been putting peace on your feet everyday before you leave home? You really shouldn't leave home without those shoes, because peace will keep you going in the midst of the worse kind of circumstances. Paul describes it as peace that transcends all understanding. I call it unreasonable peace–peace when you shouldn't feel peaceful. That's what will cure your foot problems, if you'll wear peace each day on your feet.
How do you do that? Pray on peace daily. "Lord, today, whatever situation arises, no matter who I have to deal with, no matter what emotions start creeping up on me or overtaking me, give me your peace on my feet, your constant presence in my life, so that I can stay in the battle and keep marching with your peace as my shoes."
Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - If Your Body Matched Your Soul
Have you ever had problems with your feet? If your feet aren't in the best condition, it makes it rather difficult to do anything else, doesn't it? John greets Gaius in 3 John, where he writes, I pray you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. Gaius was in such good spiritual condition that John could pray his body would be as well off as his soul. Would you want someone to pray that for you? I'm not sure I would.
Maybe if our bodies reflected our spiritual condition, some of us would have problems with our feet. What causes foot problems? Well, sometimes it's wearing the wrong shoes. We women have experienced some of the consequences of wearing shoes designed, I'm convinced, by an evil-minded contortionist, with heels too thin and high for any human, and toes too narrow for a bird's feet. But our vanity has caused us to hobble around in those things called shoes, until our feet have suffered all kinds of problems.
We need to wear the right spiritual shoes. Ephesians 6 says to fit your feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Put peace on your feet. Why in the world would you want peace on your feet? Because in this spiritual warfare, we have to be able to keep moving no matter what kind of situation we're in. In battle a soldier wears heavy boots designed to work in any environment–desert, snow, rocky or smooth terrain. And the gospel of peace on our feet keeps us going no matter what.
Have you been putting peace on your feet everyday before you leave home? You really shouldn't leave home without those shoes, because peace will keep you going in the midst of the worse kind of circumstances. Paul describes it as peace that transcends all understanding. I call it unreasonable peace–peace when you shouldn't feel peaceful. That's what will cure your foot problems, if you'll wear peace each day on your feet.
How do you do that? Pray on peace daily. "Lord, today, whatever situation arises, no matter who I have to deal with, no matter what emotions start creeping up on me or overtaking me, give me your peace on my feet, your constant presence in my life, so that I can stay in the battle and keep marching with your peace as my shoes."
Scripture, Exhortation and Teaching
Paul's instructions to Timothy (1 Timothy 4)
... set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. ... Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
ESV (verses 12b, 13, 15-16)
Get the word out. Teach all these things. And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching. And that special gift of ministry you were given when the leaders of the church laid hands on you and prayed—keep that dusted off and in use.
Cultivate these things. Immerse yourself in them. The people will all see you mature right before their eyes! Keep a firm grasp on both your character and your teaching. Don't be diverted. Just keep at it. Both you and those who hear you will experience salvation.
The Message (verses 11-16)
... set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. ... Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
ESV (verses 12b, 13, 15-16)
Get the word out. Teach all these things. And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching. And that special gift of ministry you were given when the leaders of the church laid hands on you and prayed—keep that dusted off and in use.
Cultivate these things. Immerse yourself in them. The people will all see you mature right before their eyes! Keep a firm grasp on both your character and your teaching. Don't be diverted. Just keep at it. Both you and those who hear you will experience salvation.
The Message (verses 11-16)
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
God Be Near
"If God be near a church, it must pray. And if He be not there, one of the first tokens of His absence will be a slothfulness in prayer."
Charles H. Spurgeon
Trust in the LORD
Our prayer verse for this week is Proverbs 3: 5-6
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Perseverance and Faithfulness
Neil Anderson Daily in Christ
HIS DISCIPLE
Romans 12:1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice
An African pastor was overwhelmed by rebels who demanded that he renounce his faith. He refused. The night before they took his life, he wrote the following lines on a scrap of paper:
I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed." I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I've stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals!
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought , compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let up, or burn up till I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops.
And when He comes to get His own, He'll have no problems recognizing me. My colors will be clear.
Prayer:
Lord, develop in me the perseverance and faithfulness to pursue Your goal for my life even in the face of rejection.
Not My Power or Might
Title: Not Power But Privilege
Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Jesus gave responsibility and power to those who were willing to take the path He took. They were to represent the kingdom wherever they went--their peace to rest on those who received them. Those who rejected them were actually rejecting Christ. His followers would have power over snakes and scorpions.
There are principles here for us today, I believe. Surely every believer represents Christ and his kingdom. We are promised power from the Holy Spirit. But as soon as his power is manifest, another spirit is there instantly to tempt us to take credit to ourselves. If we are thanked for something we were merely the instrument for, it can become a heady business. Wow! we say, imagining that we deserve the credit.
Jesus warned the disciples not to be impressed when spirits submitted to them. It was not by their might or power that the enemy was subdued. They were nothing more than bearers of the kingdom. He told them to rejoice, not that they had performed a miraculous feat, but that their names were written in heaven.
Open my eyes, Lord, to recognize that the power is always yours. What is mine is the privilege, given from above, for your glory.
Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Jesus gave responsibility and power to those who were willing to take the path He took. They were to represent the kingdom wherever they went--their peace to rest on those who received them. Those who rejected them were actually rejecting Christ. His followers would have power over snakes and scorpions.
There are principles here for us today, I believe. Surely every believer represents Christ and his kingdom. We are promised power from the Holy Spirit. But as soon as his power is manifest, another spirit is there instantly to tempt us to take credit to ourselves. If we are thanked for something we were merely the instrument for, it can become a heady business. Wow! we say, imagining that we deserve the credit.
Jesus warned the disciples not to be impressed when spirits submitted to them. It was not by their might or power that the enemy was subdued. They were nothing more than bearers of the kingdom. He told them to rejoice, not that they had performed a miraculous feat, but that their names were written in heaven.
Open my eyes, Lord, to recognize that the power is always yours. What is mine is the privilege, given from above, for your glory.
Not Edifying? Don't Say It
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - If Your Body Matched Your Soul
John wrote to Gaius in his third letter: "I pray you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." I'm not sure I'd want anyone to pray that my body would do as well as my soul. How about you? Might be terribly revealing and maybe a little embarrassing.
If your bodily condition reflected your spiritual condition, would you have some mouth problems? Maybe your tongue would be covered with canker sores, or you'd have bad breath, or you'd have foot-in-mouth disease!
The Bible has so much to say about the condition of our tongue–the words we speak and what comes out of our mouths. Ephesians 4:29 would be enough. Paul wrote: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Friends, if we practiced that verse, we would cure our mouth problems right away.
Let's make that verse a daily prayer: "Lord, today please help me to keep any unwholesome talk from coming out of my mouth; may everything I say today build someone up and benefit those who listen." In fact, I challenge you to make a commitment that you will get through one entire day without any mouth problems.
You could print this verse on some cards, and put those cards everywhere–on the refrigerator, on your desk, on the car dashboard–and flood your mind with these instructions on curing your mouth problems.
It would undoubtedly mean you and I would have to stop in the middle of a lot of sentences and change the course of a conversation. It would mean walking away from some conversations, saying positives things when others are negative, refusing to gripe about the boss or the lazy co-worker or the weather, declaring a moratorium on gossip. It would mean complimenting people sincerely and praising someone for a job well done.
I remember being with a group of Christians once when one woman in the group started to tell us something, and then she stopped. "No," she said, "that's not edifying; I'm not going to say it." And just like that, she had caught herself ahead of time and not allowed her mouth to utter something unwholesome. I thought, "What if more of us would just check our mouths out and keep the unwholesome, discouraging, gossipy, unnecessary words from coming out of our mouths! What a difference it would make in our relationships and in our testimony.
The Psalmist prayed, Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips (Psalm 141:3). What a good prayer for all of us to cure all our mouth problems. I encourage you to add that to your daily prayer list.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - If Your Body Matched Your Soul
John wrote to Gaius in his third letter: "I pray you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." I'm not sure I'd want anyone to pray that my body would do as well as my soul. How about you? Might be terribly revealing and maybe a little embarrassing.
If your bodily condition reflected your spiritual condition, would you have some mouth problems? Maybe your tongue would be covered with canker sores, or you'd have bad breath, or you'd have foot-in-mouth disease!
The Bible has so much to say about the condition of our tongue–the words we speak and what comes out of our mouths. Ephesians 4:29 would be enough. Paul wrote: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Friends, if we practiced that verse, we would cure our mouth problems right away.
Let's make that verse a daily prayer: "Lord, today please help me to keep any unwholesome talk from coming out of my mouth; may everything I say today build someone up and benefit those who listen." In fact, I challenge you to make a commitment that you will get through one entire day without any mouth problems.
You could print this verse on some cards, and put those cards everywhere–on the refrigerator, on your desk, on the car dashboard–and flood your mind with these instructions on curing your mouth problems.
It would undoubtedly mean you and I would have to stop in the middle of a lot of sentences and change the course of a conversation. It would mean walking away from some conversations, saying positives things when others are negative, refusing to gripe about the boss or the lazy co-worker or the weather, declaring a moratorium on gossip. It would mean complimenting people sincerely and praising someone for a job well done.
I remember being with a group of Christians once when one woman in the group started to tell us something, and then she stopped. "No," she said, "that's not edifying; I'm not going to say it." And just like that, she had caught herself ahead of time and not allowed her mouth to utter something unwholesome. I thought, "What if more of us would just check our mouths out and keep the unwholesome, discouraging, gossipy, unnecessary words from coming out of our mouths! What a difference it would make in our relationships and in our testimony.
The Psalmist prayed, Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips (Psalm 141:3). What a good prayer for all of us to cure all our mouth problems. I encourage you to add that to your daily prayer list.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Participation in the Things of God
"All the advertising we can do will never equal the interest and participation in the things of God resulting from the gracious answers to the prayers of faith generated by the Holy Spirit."
A. W. Tozer
A. W. Tozer
We're Depending on God
Psalm 33: 20-22
We're depending on God;
he's everything we need.
What's more, our hearts brim with joy
since we've taken for our own his holy name.
Love us, God, with all you've got—
that's what we're depending on.
The Message
Our soul waits for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
ESV
We're depending on God;
he's everything we need.
What's more, our hearts brim with joy
since we've taken for our own his holy name.
Love us, God, with all you've got—
that's what we're depending on.
The Message
Our soul waits for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
ESV
Forever Eyes
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Monday, August 20, 2007 - If Your Body Matched Your Soul
How are you feeling today? Got a backache, or stomach trouble, or maybe your blood pressure is a little high or you've got bunions on your feet? How's your body doing?
Recently I noticed that in John's third letter, he expressed concern about Gaius' health. He wrote: "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." What if I prayed for you that your body would prosper as well as your soul, like John did for Gaius? Would you be in better or worse physical condition?
For example, if your bodily health reflected your spiritual health, would your eyes be giving you trouble today? Would you have spiritual farsightedness? That's the ability many people have to see the faults of others, but they can't see their own faults up close.
Jesus said, Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye (Matthew 7:3-5).
Jesus was pretty strong about the cure for spiritual farsightedness, wasn't He? This is a disease that hypocrites have; I really don't like to think of myself in those terms, do you? But that's what we are when we see others' faults, talk about others' faults, tell others where they are wrong, and fail to first and foremost focus on the planks in our own eyes. And what I've discovered is that when I concentrate on the plank in my own eyes, it doesn't leave me much time to work on the specks in the eyes of others!
Or maybe you have spiritual nearsightedness–you look at everything through small, earthly eyes. Second Corinthians 4:18 says, So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. How can we see what is unseen? We have to have Forever Eyes.
Monday, August 20, 2007 - If Your Body Matched Your Soul
How are you feeling today? Got a backache, or stomach trouble, or maybe your blood pressure is a little high or you've got bunions on your feet? How's your body doing?
Recently I noticed that in John's third letter, he expressed concern about Gaius' health. He wrote: "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." What if I prayed for you that your body would prosper as well as your soul, like John did for Gaius? Would you be in better or worse physical condition?
For example, if your bodily health reflected your spiritual health, would your eyes be giving you trouble today? Would you have spiritual farsightedness? That's the ability many people have to see the faults of others, but they can't see their own faults up close.
Jesus said, Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye (Matthew 7:3-5).
Jesus was pretty strong about the cure for spiritual farsightedness, wasn't He? This is a disease that hypocrites have; I really don't like to think of myself in those terms, do you? But that's what we are when we see others' faults, talk about others' faults, tell others where they are wrong, and fail to first and foremost focus on the planks in our own eyes. And what I've discovered is that when I concentrate on the plank in my own eyes, it doesn't leave me much time to work on the specks in the eyes of others!
Or maybe you have spiritual nearsightedness–you look at everything through small, earthly eyes. Second Corinthians 4:18 says, So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. How can we see what is unseen? We have to have Forever Eyes.
How God Works
Neil Anderson Daily in Christ
HOW GOD WORKS
Deuteronomy 8:6
You shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him
I believe in miracles, and I accept as fact every one recorded in the Bible. I believe that our entire Christian experience is a miracle. It simply cannot be explained by natural means. And God's power is seen in other miraculous ways today, but must He always prove Himself by stepping outside His created order? If God doesn't primarily guide us through His Word (which never changes) and take into account the fixed order of the universe, how can we ever have any stability? How can we make any plans if God doesn't reveal His ways and then stay consistent with them?
God is not capricious in His dealings with man. He has clearly established His ways and He is faithful to them. I believe God has revealed His ways and we are to walk in them. The question is, how does God work through human responsibility and the natural order of the universe to bring about His will? Somehow He works through a less-than-perfect church, orchestrating human affairs in such a way as to guarantee the outcome of the ages. What really impresses me is His timing, not His miraculous interventions.
Notice how Jesus responded to those who insisted on a sign: "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet" (Matthew 12:39). Satan wanted a sign too. He said, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down" (Matthew 4:6). To this Jesus responded, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test" (verse 7 NIV ). Jesus was saying that the sign we need is the Word of God, and we are to use the Word to guard against Satan's temptations to force the Lord to prove Himself.
I think it is better to prove ourselves to God rather than demand He prove Himself to us. We are the ones being tested, not God. "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).
Prayer:
Lord, I want to be responsible to use the gifts You have given me and lay aside sin and fruitless activities.
HOW GOD WORKS
Deuteronomy 8:6
You shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him
I believe in miracles, and I accept as fact every one recorded in the Bible. I believe that our entire Christian experience is a miracle. It simply cannot be explained by natural means. And God's power is seen in other miraculous ways today, but must He always prove Himself by stepping outside His created order? If God doesn't primarily guide us through His Word (which never changes) and take into account the fixed order of the universe, how can we ever have any stability? How can we make any plans if God doesn't reveal His ways and then stay consistent with them?
God is not capricious in His dealings with man. He has clearly established His ways and He is faithful to them. I believe God has revealed His ways and we are to walk in them. The question is, how does God work through human responsibility and the natural order of the universe to bring about His will? Somehow He works through a less-than-perfect church, orchestrating human affairs in such a way as to guarantee the outcome of the ages. What really impresses me is His timing, not His miraculous interventions.
Notice how Jesus responded to those who insisted on a sign: "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet" (Matthew 12:39). Satan wanted a sign too. He said, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down" (Matthew 4:6). To this Jesus responded, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test" (verse 7 NIV ). Jesus was saying that the sign we need is the Word of God, and we are to use the Word to guard against Satan's temptations to force the Lord to prove Himself.
I think it is better to prove ourselves to God rather than demand He prove Himself to us. We are the ones being tested, not God. "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).
Prayer:
Lord, I want to be responsible to use the gifts You have given me and lay aside sin and fruitless activities.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Glories of Jesus
Colossians 1:14-20
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God,the firstborn of all creation. 16For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Excerpt from John Piper, All Things Were Created Through Him and For Him
In verse 14, he begins a litany of amazing truths about Jesus Christ that are probably the most concentrated description of the glories of Jesus in the New Testament. Let’s list them—all fifteen of them—and then come back to the one I want to focus on.
Verse 14: In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Verse 15a: He is the image of the invisible God.
Verse 15b: He is the firstborn of all creation—that is, the specially honored, first and only Son over all creation.
Verse 16a: By him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. (We will come back to verse 16.)
Verse 16b: All things were created through him.
Verse 16c: All things were created for him.
Verse 17a: He is before all things.
Verse 17b: In him all things hold together.
Verse 18a: He is the head of the body, the church.
Verse 18b: He is the beginning.
Verse 18c: He is the firstborn from the dead.
Verse 18d: In everything he is preeminent.
Verse 19: In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.
Verse 20a: He reconciles all things to himself, whether on earth or in heaven.
Verse 20b: He makes peace by the blood of his cross.
This is worth memorizing. If your heart ever wavers and grows cold, go here; memorize this litany of glories and ask God to give you affections that correspond to the measure of this greatness. If any person or any power or any wisdom or any love awakens any admiration or any amazement or any joy, let it be the greatest Person and the greatest power and the greatest wisdom and the greatest love that exists—Jesus Christ.
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God,the firstborn of all creation. 16For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Excerpt from John Piper, All Things Were Created Through Him and For Him
In verse 14, he begins a litany of amazing truths about Jesus Christ that are probably the most concentrated description of the glories of Jesus in the New Testament. Let’s list them—all fifteen of them—and then come back to the one I want to focus on.
Verse 14: In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Verse 15a: He is the image of the invisible God.
Verse 15b: He is the firstborn of all creation—that is, the specially honored, first and only Son over all creation.
Verse 16a: By him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. (We will come back to verse 16.)
Verse 16b: All things were created through him.
Verse 16c: All things were created for him.
Verse 17a: He is before all things.
Verse 17b: In him all things hold together.
Verse 18a: He is the head of the body, the church.
Verse 18b: He is the beginning.
Verse 18c: He is the firstborn from the dead.
Verse 18d: In everything he is preeminent.
Verse 19: In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.
Verse 20a: He reconciles all things to himself, whether on earth or in heaven.
Verse 20b: He makes peace by the blood of his cross.
This is worth memorizing. If your heart ever wavers and grows cold, go here; memorize this litany of glories and ask God to give you affections that correspond to the measure of this greatness. If any person or any power or any wisdom or any love awakens any admiration or any amazement or any joy, let it be the greatest Person and the greatest power and the greatest wisdom and the greatest love that exists—Jesus Christ.
Sermon: Destination
Today Aaron spoke on direction and destination based on Proverbs 7. Key thought: your path determines your destination.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Christ: My Treasure
Philippians 3:7-9
7But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
ESV
The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness.
The Message
7But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I have come to consider as [one combined] loss for Christ's sake.
8Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One),
9And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law's demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith.
Amplified Bible
7But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
ESV
The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness.
The Message
7But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I have come to consider as [one combined] loss for Christ's sake.
8Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One),
9And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law's demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith.
Amplified Bible
Morally Distinct
Excerpt from John Piper, Good Doctrine Makes Better (Teenage) Saints
"Here it is again. More evidence from surveys what the Bible makes so plain: superficial, non-doctrinal, non-serious Christians sin pretty much like the world; but more serious, more doctrinally oriented Christians lead lives that are morally distinct. Two years ago Ron Sider flagged this in his book The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World?
Now a new book by Mark Regnerus called Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers gives the same bleak picture of so-called “evangelical teenagers” who sleep around as much as unbelievers. But again the book points out that “the 16% of American teenagers who say that their faith is ‘extremely important to their lives’ are living chastely” (Gene Veith, “Sex and the Evangelical Teen,” World, August 11, 2007, p. 9). "
...
"Here it is again. More evidence from surveys what the Bible makes so plain: superficial, non-doctrinal, non-serious Christians sin pretty much like the world; but more serious, more doctrinally oriented Christians lead lives that are morally distinct. Two years ago Ron Sider flagged this in his book The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World?
Now a new book by Mark Regnerus called Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers gives the same bleak picture of so-called “evangelical teenagers” who sleep around as much as unbelievers. But again the book points out that “the 16% of American teenagers who say that their faith is ‘extremely important to their lives’ are living chastely” (Gene Veith, “Sex and the Evangelical Teen,” World, August 11, 2007, p. 9). "
...
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Prayer Verse for This Week
Our prayer verse is Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
God knows that we get "weary" and easily discouraged and so He encourages us to keep going -- to hold on to that hope -- to look ahead to the harvest. I'm reminded of the verse in Hebrews 12 where we are told to "consider him (Jesus) who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
God knows that we get "weary" and easily discouraged and so He encourages us to keep going -- to hold on to that hope -- to look ahead to the harvest. I'm reminded of the verse in Hebrews 12 where we are told to "consider him (Jesus) who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
More Ephesians Thoughts
Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
As I continue to think about these verses these phrases stand out:
Predestined. Before the foundation of the world. Chosen. Adopted. Blessed us in the Beloved.
My thoughts: it's not as if we have been so smart, or so good, or so capable that we have figured all this out -- it is all about what He has done. I think when we get to heaven if God were to ask how we got there we would have no basis for pride, no basis for saying "we were smarter than someone else" -- no, I think we would have to say it is only because of His grace, His mercy, His love.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
As I continue to think about these verses these phrases stand out:
Predestined. Before the foundation of the world. Chosen. Adopted. Blessed us in the Beloved.
My thoughts: it's not as if we have been so smart, or so good, or so capable that we have figured all this out -- it is all about what He has done. I think when we get to heaven if God were to ask how we got there we would have no basis for pride, no basis for saying "we were smarter than someone else" -- no, I think we would have to say it is only because of His grace, His mercy, His love.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
God Has a Plan
Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
--------
God has a plan -- it originates in His love and existed before we were here but it involves us --the plan is evidence of His glorious grace -- the goal of this plan is His glory.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
--------
God has a plan -- it originates in His love and existed before we were here but it involves us --the plan is evidence of His glorious grace -- the goal of this plan is His glory.
Love
Today's Neil Anderson Devotional
LOVING OTHERS
Luke 6:32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them
For many people, loving others is a nebulous concept. Fortunately, agape love is very clearly defined in the Scriptures. When love is used as a noun in Scripture, it is referring to character. For example: "God is love" (1 John 4:8); "Love is patient, love is kind," etc. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Love is the highest of character attainments: "The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Timothy 1:5). Love is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), the means by which a true disciple of Christ is identified (John 13:35). The attention given to love in passages such as 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John 4 reveals its importance to God in our interpersonal relationships, of which the family is primary.
Agape love is not dependent on the person being loved, but on the lover. You may like someone because of who he is; but you love him because of who you are. God loves us not because we are lovable, but because God is love. If it were any other way, God's love would be conditional. If you performed better, would God love you more? Of course not. God's love for us is not based on our performance, but on His character.
Love is also used as a verb in Scripture. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). Used this way, love is grace in action. It is giving unconditionally to meet the needs of another.
If you say you don't love someone, you have said more about yourself than about that person. Specifically, you're saying that you haven't attained the maturity to love him unconditionally (Luke 6:32). The grace of God enables you to love others in a way that people without Christ cannot. God doesn't command you to like your family, your neighbors and your coworkers because you can't order your emotions to respond. But He does instruct you to love them. You can always choose to do the loving thing and trust that your feelings will follow in time.
Prayer:
Thank You, Father, for bestowing on me the greatest love of all by sending Jesus. Teach me to love others as You have loved me.
LOVING OTHERS
Luke 6:32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them
For many people, loving others is a nebulous concept. Fortunately, agape love is very clearly defined in the Scriptures. When love is used as a noun in Scripture, it is referring to character. For example: "God is love" (1 John 4:8); "Love is patient, love is kind," etc. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Love is the highest of character attainments: "The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Timothy 1:5). Love is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), the means by which a true disciple of Christ is identified (John 13:35). The attention given to love in passages such as 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John 4 reveals its importance to God in our interpersonal relationships, of which the family is primary.
Agape love is not dependent on the person being loved, but on the lover. You may like someone because of who he is; but you love him because of who you are. God loves us not because we are lovable, but because God is love. If it were any other way, God's love would be conditional. If you performed better, would God love you more? Of course not. God's love for us is not based on our performance, but on His character.
Love is also used as a verb in Scripture. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). Used this way, love is grace in action. It is giving unconditionally to meet the needs of another.
If you say you don't love someone, you have said more about yourself than about that person. Specifically, you're saying that you haven't attained the maturity to love him unconditionally (Luke 6:32). The grace of God enables you to love others in a way that people without Christ cannot. God doesn't command you to like your family, your neighbors and your coworkers because you can't order your emotions to respond. But He does instruct you to love them. You can always choose to do the loving thing and trust that your feelings will follow in time.
Prayer:
Thank You, Father, for bestowing on me the greatest love of all by sending Jesus. Teach me to love others as You have loved me.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Being Shaped by the Mission of Christ
Excerpt from How Mission Shapes Us
by Greg Taylor, Managing EditorJuly - August, 2007
Current Issue of Wineskins
"We are shaped by the mission of Christ. Frost and Hirsh have an incredibly helpful typology in their book, The Shaping of Things to Come.
The Aussie Kiwi combo perhaps speak with a bit more objectivity about American culture as they observe that the mainline churches are dying and a shift must take place. They say that many American churches started with church as the driving force that shapes our mission. Then mission shapes Christ into the image of the church.
Frost and Hirsh call for a reversal of this model to one that starts with Jesus' mission. Christ's mission shapes our mission, and in turn this mission shapes the church. So the progression is Christ-Mission-Church rather than Church-Mission-Christ.
This is no small shift. This is huge. It turns our "Christian" worldview upside down. It changes the questions we ask. It changes our actions in the community. It completely forever changes the way we live out the call to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world.
Instead of asking, "Will someone be offended and leave our church?" we preach and counsel the body of Christ in ways that Jesus preached, offending only with the gospel.
Instead of asking, "What ministry programs can we start in our church to help it grow?" we are asking, "How can we join in Christ's desire to see captives set free in this city?"
Instead of asking, "How can we get more members of our church?" we are asking, "How can we equip more people to be missionaries who are the presence of Jesus in their circles of influence?"
Rather than assuming a mission that is about a church organization and building a little kingdom on earth, the mission of Christ and his kingdom is our mission and kingdom we live and serve in."
by Greg Taylor, Managing EditorJuly - August, 2007
Current Issue of Wineskins
"We are shaped by the mission of Christ. Frost and Hirsh have an incredibly helpful typology in their book, The Shaping of Things to Come.
The Aussie Kiwi combo perhaps speak with a bit more objectivity about American culture as they observe that the mainline churches are dying and a shift must take place. They say that many American churches started with church as the driving force that shapes our mission. Then mission shapes Christ into the image of the church.
Frost and Hirsh call for a reversal of this model to one that starts with Jesus' mission. Christ's mission shapes our mission, and in turn this mission shapes the church. So the progression is Christ-Mission-Church rather than Church-Mission-Christ.
This is no small shift. This is huge. It turns our "Christian" worldview upside down. It changes the questions we ask. It changes our actions in the community. It completely forever changes the way we live out the call to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world.
Instead of asking, "Will someone be offended and leave our church?" we preach and counsel the body of Christ in ways that Jesus preached, offending only with the gospel.
Instead of asking, "What ministry programs can we start in our church to help it grow?" we are asking, "How can we join in Christ's desire to see captives set free in this city?"
Instead of asking, "How can we get more members of our church?" we are asking, "How can we equip more people to be missionaries who are the presence of Jesus in their circles of influence?"
Rather than assuming a mission that is about a church organization and building a little kingdom on earth, the mission of Christ and his kingdom is our mission and kingdom we live and serve in."
Worship
An example of (spontaneous) community worship from Nehemiah 8:5-6
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
God in His greatness was proclaimed (Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God) -- the proclamation was confirmed and acknowledged (the people answered "Amen, Amen") -- All the people responded by speaking (Amen, Amen), honoring (lifting hands) and humbling themselves (bowed their heads, faces to the ground) in worship.
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
God in His greatness was proclaimed (Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God) -- the proclamation was confirmed and acknowledged (the people answered "Amen, Amen") -- All the people responded by speaking (Amen, Amen), honoring (lifting hands) and humbling themselves (bowed their heads, faces to the ground) in worship.
It Is No Wilderness to Him
Elisabeth Elliot Daily Devotional, Title: Wastelands
There are dry, fruitless, lonely places in each of our lives, where we seem to travel alone, sometimes feeling as though we must surely have lost the way. What am I doing here? How did this happen? Lord, get me out of this!
He does not get us out. Not when we ask for it, at any rate, because it was He all along who brought us to this place. He has been here before--it is no wilderness to Him, and He walks with us. There are things to be seen and learned in these apparent wastelands which cannot be seen and learned in the "city"--in places of comfort, convenience, and company.
God does not intend to make it no wasteland. He intends rather to keep us--to hold us with his strength, to sustain us with his sure words--in a place where there is nothing else we can count on.
"God did not guide them by the road towards the Philistines, although that was the shortest...God made them go round by way of the wilderness towards the Red Sea" (Ex 13:17,18 NEB).
Imagine what Israel and all of us who worship Israel's God would have missed if they had gone by the short route--the thrilling story of the deliverance from Egypt's chariots when the sea was rolled back. Let's not ask for shortcuts. Let's keep alert for the wonders our Guide will show us in the wilderness.
There are dry, fruitless, lonely places in each of our lives, where we seem to travel alone, sometimes feeling as though we must surely have lost the way. What am I doing here? How did this happen? Lord, get me out of this!
He does not get us out. Not when we ask for it, at any rate, because it was He all along who brought us to this place. He has been here before--it is no wilderness to Him, and He walks with us. There are things to be seen and learned in these apparent wastelands which cannot be seen and learned in the "city"--in places of comfort, convenience, and company.
God does not intend to make it no wasteland. He intends rather to keep us--to hold us with his strength, to sustain us with his sure words--in a place where there is nothing else we can count on.
"God did not guide them by the road towards the Philistines, although that was the shortest...God made them go round by way of the wilderness towards the Red Sea" (Ex 13:17,18 NEB).
Imagine what Israel and all of us who worship Israel's God would have missed if they had gone by the short route--the thrilling story of the deliverance from Egypt's chariots when the sea was rolled back. Let's not ask for shortcuts. Let's keep alert for the wonders our Guide will show us in the wilderness.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Affections
"If you desire to undertake a devout life, you must not only cease to sin, but also cleanse your heart from all affections to sin. ... Souls that are recovered from the state of sin, and still retain these affections ... eat without relish, sleep without rest, laugh without joy, and drag themselves along rather than walk. They do good, but with such a spiritual heaviness that it takes away all grace from their good exercises."
Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
What's So Confusing About God's Will?
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Wednesday, August 08, 2007 - What’s So Confusing About God’s Will?
God's will - do those words strike a note of fear or confusion in you? It seems many times we struggle with God's will for our lives because we're afraid of it. We fear that what God wants us to do will be too hard, require too much sacrifice, too demanding, not what we want, not what will make us happy!
You remember the story of the rich man who came to Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor and he would have treasure in heaven. Then he could follow Jesus.
Now, Jesus didn't tell him this to make him miserable, but because Jesus knew this would bring him fulfillment and peace. He wanted him to have God's best–eternal treasures, instead of settling for the meager riches of earth.
The rich man gave lip service to doing the will of Jesus, but backed out when he learned the price tag. What would people think if he gave everything away? What would his family do? Besides, that was his money and why should he have to give it away in order to follow Jesus? Didn't make sense! So, his answer was no.
He wanted the will of God to fit within his pre-planned agenda. He leaned to his own understanding and decided that keeping his money was the right thing to do. But we read in Mark 10 that he went away sad! He chose not to do God's will, and it caused him great sadness. Had he opted for eternal treasures, he would have been free and happy.
Don't you imagine he spent many days wishing he'd followed Jesus, knowing he'd missed the important things of life? I don't believe he ever enjoyed his money again; it was a burden to him. He chose it because he was afraid to do what Jesus told him to do. But Isaiah 53:6 tells us when we go our own way, we go astray. He chose his own way, went terribly astray and was very sad.
Have you been giving lip service to wanting God's will in your life, but in reality you've been scared to death of allowing Him to call the shots? That fear is totally unfounded and unreasonable, and it's a trick of the enemy to keep you from all the riches that God has for you.
He's the God of all the universe, with all power, knowledge and wisdom, He loves you more than anyone else ever will and wants only the best for you, and He never makes a mistake. If He asks you to do something that looks like it's too hard or requires too much sacrifice, remember the rich man. He kept his riches, but he lived a very sad life.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007 - What’s So Confusing About God’s Will?
God's will - do those words strike a note of fear or confusion in you? It seems many times we struggle with God's will for our lives because we're afraid of it. We fear that what God wants us to do will be too hard, require too much sacrifice, too demanding, not what we want, not what will make us happy!
You remember the story of the rich man who came to Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor and he would have treasure in heaven. Then he could follow Jesus.
Now, Jesus didn't tell him this to make him miserable, but because Jesus knew this would bring him fulfillment and peace. He wanted him to have God's best–eternal treasures, instead of settling for the meager riches of earth.
The rich man gave lip service to doing the will of Jesus, but backed out when he learned the price tag. What would people think if he gave everything away? What would his family do? Besides, that was his money and why should he have to give it away in order to follow Jesus? Didn't make sense! So, his answer was no.
He wanted the will of God to fit within his pre-planned agenda. He leaned to his own understanding and decided that keeping his money was the right thing to do. But we read in Mark 10 that he went away sad! He chose not to do God's will, and it caused him great sadness. Had he opted for eternal treasures, he would have been free and happy.
Don't you imagine he spent many days wishing he'd followed Jesus, knowing he'd missed the important things of life? I don't believe he ever enjoyed his money again; it was a burden to him. He chose it because he was afraid to do what Jesus told him to do. But Isaiah 53:6 tells us when we go our own way, we go astray. He chose his own way, went terribly astray and was very sad.
Have you been giving lip service to wanting God's will in your life, but in reality you've been scared to death of allowing Him to call the shots? That fear is totally unfounded and unreasonable, and it's a trick of the enemy to keep you from all the riches that God has for you.
He's the God of all the universe, with all power, knowledge and wisdom, He loves you more than anyone else ever will and wants only the best for you, and He never makes a mistake. If He asks you to do something that looks like it's too hard or requires too much sacrifice, remember the rich man. He kept his riches, but he lived a very sad life.
Take It
Elisabeth Elliot Daily Devotional: Take Strength
These strong, simple words can be spiritual adrenaline for us when we need them. They were written by a man who knew what he was talking about, as he himself was in prison. He was writing to a young minister who was also suffering and evidently tempted by doubt, fear, even uncertainty of his call. The older man admonishes him very lovingly to take his share of suffering, take his share of hardship like a good soldier, and to take strength from the grace of God (2 Tm 2:1 NEB).
Where shall I ever find the strength I need to get through this experience, this ordeal, this day, this week? The answer is Take it! Take it from the grace which is ours already, in Christ Jesus.
"Here it is," He is saying, "Will you have some?"
"Yes, thank You, Lord. I'll take it."
These strong, simple words can be spiritual adrenaline for us when we need them. They were written by a man who knew what he was talking about, as he himself was in prison. He was writing to a young minister who was also suffering and evidently tempted by doubt, fear, even uncertainty of his call. The older man admonishes him very lovingly to take his share of suffering, take his share of hardship like a good soldier, and to take strength from the grace of God (2 Tm 2:1 NEB).
Where shall I ever find the strength I need to get through this experience, this ordeal, this day, this week? The answer is Take it! Take it from the grace which is ours already, in Christ Jesus.
"Here it is," He is saying, "Will you have some?"
"Yes, thank You, Lord. I'll take it."
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Joy in God
Excerpt from The Happiness of God: Foundation for Christian Hedonism by John Piper
"Christian Hedonism teaches that the desire to be happy is God-given and should not be denied or resisted but directed to God for satisfaction. Christian Hedonism does not say that whatever you enjoy is good. It says that God has shown you what is good and doing it ought to bring you joy (Micah 6:8). And since doing the will of God ought to bring you joy, the pursuit of joy is an essential part of all moral effort. If you abandon the pursuit of joy (and thus refuse to be a Hedonist, as I use the term), you cannot fulfill the will of God. Christian Hedonism affirms that the godliest saints of every age have discovered no contradiction in saying, on the one hand, "We are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered" (Romans 8:36), and on the other hand, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I will say, Rejoice" (Philippians 4:4). Christian Hedonism does not join the culture of self-gratification that makes you a slave of your sinful impulses. Christian Hedonism commands that we not be conformed to this age but that we be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) so we can delight to do the will of our Father in heaven. According to Christian Hedonism joy in God is not optional icing on the cake of Christianity. When you think it through, joy in God is an essential part of saving faith. "
"Christian Hedonism teaches that the desire to be happy is God-given and should not be denied or resisted but directed to God for satisfaction. Christian Hedonism does not say that whatever you enjoy is good. It says that God has shown you what is good and doing it ought to bring you joy (Micah 6:8). And since doing the will of God ought to bring you joy, the pursuit of joy is an essential part of all moral effort. If you abandon the pursuit of joy (and thus refuse to be a Hedonist, as I use the term), you cannot fulfill the will of God. Christian Hedonism affirms that the godliest saints of every age have discovered no contradiction in saying, on the one hand, "We are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered" (Romans 8:36), and on the other hand, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I will say, Rejoice" (Philippians 4:4). Christian Hedonism does not join the culture of self-gratification that makes you a slave of your sinful impulses. Christian Hedonism commands that we not be conformed to this age but that we be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) so we can delight to do the will of our Father in heaven. According to Christian Hedonism joy in God is not optional icing on the cake of Christianity. When you think it through, joy in God is an essential part of saving faith. "
What’s So Confusing About God’s Will?
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - What’s So Confusing About God’s Will?
One of the frequent questions I receive from listeners is how can they know God's will for their lives. Yesterday I pointed out that God's will is not a great mystery or a treasure hunt. He will make it more than clear to us when we meet the prerequisites.
Romans 12:2 says: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.
If I want to know God's will in my life, in any situation, I must make certain that I am continually being transformed by a renewing of my mind. Now what does that mean to me in my everyday life? It means I must replace my own thinking with biblical thinking. How do I do that? I have to know the Bible, I have to stay in it daily, it must be my highest priority.
I know from 1 Corinthians 2:16 that as a child of God, I have the mind of Christ within me because His Spirit lives in my body. Therefore, the more I turn my mind over to the Spirit of God within me, the more I think biblically, the way Jesus thinks. Then, as Romans 12:2 says, I will be able to test and approve God's will for me in any situation. No mystery or confusion when I meet God's terms.
Another prerequisite, as found in Proverbs 3:5-6 is that we must not lean to our own understanding. We have to be totally open to God's plan, rather than ask God to bless our plans. Maybe you've been trying to figure it all out and then give God the game plan. Doesn't work that way; we can't lean to our own understanding.
First Thessalonians 4:3-7 tells us, It is God's will that you should be sanctified; that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God, and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him...For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
This makes God's will for my life pretty clear, doesn't it? I must abstain from sexual sins, control my body, subdue my passions and treat others fairly. That's God's will for each of us, and that will keep most of us busy for awhile.
Do you want to know God's will for your life? Start working on these prerequisites. I promise you, by the authority of God's Word, that when you are willing to live a pure life and you daily seek to have your mind transformed by the Word of God, allowing Him to set the agenda, knowing what God wants you to do will not be a puzzle or a mystery. You'll know the will of God for you.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007 - What’s So Confusing About God’s Will?
One of the frequent questions I receive from listeners is how can they know God's will for their lives. Yesterday I pointed out that God's will is not a great mystery or a treasure hunt. He will make it more than clear to us when we meet the prerequisites.
Romans 12:2 says: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.
If I want to know God's will in my life, in any situation, I must make certain that I am continually being transformed by a renewing of my mind. Now what does that mean to me in my everyday life? It means I must replace my own thinking with biblical thinking. How do I do that? I have to know the Bible, I have to stay in it daily, it must be my highest priority.
I know from 1 Corinthians 2:16 that as a child of God, I have the mind of Christ within me because His Spirit lives in my body. Therefore, the more I turn my mind over to the Spirit of God within me, the more I think biblically, the way Jesus thinks. Then, as Romans 12:2 says, I will be able to test and approve God's will for me in any situation. No mystery or confusion when I meet God's terms.
Another prerequisite, as found in Proverbs 3:5-6 is that we must not lean to our own understanding. We have to be totally open to God's plan, rather than ask God to bless our plans. Maybe you've been trying to figure it all out and then give God the game plan. Doesn't work that way; we can't lean to our own understanding.
First Thessalonians 4:3-7 tells us, It is God's will that you should be sanctified; that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God, and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him...For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
This makes God's will for my life pretty clear, doesn't it? I must abstain from sexual sins, control my body, subdue my passions and treat others fairly. That's God's will for each of us, and that will keep most of us busy for awhile.
Do you want to know God's will for your life? Start working on these prerequisites. I promise you, by the authority of God's Word, that when you are willing to live a pure life and you daily seek to have your mind transformed by the Word of God, allowing Him to set the agenda, knowing what God wants you to do will not be a puzzle or a mystery. You'll know the will of God for you.
Controlling
Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ Devotional
August 7
TRYING TO CONTROL OTHERS
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).
When a person's self-worth or success hinges on the achievement of a goal which can be blocked or which is uncertain or impossible, how will he respond to those who frustrate his goals? Often he will attempt to control or manipulate the people or circumstances who stand between him and his success.
For example, a pastor's goal is to have the finest youth ministry in the community. But one of his board members blocks his goal by insisting that a music ministry is more important. Every attempt by the pastor to hire a youth pastor is vetoed by the influential board member who wants to hire a music director first. The pastor wrongly perceives that his sense of worth and success in ministry is on the line. So he shifts into a power mode to push the stumbling block out of the way. He looks for a way to change the opposition's mind or remove him from the board because he believes that his success in ministry is dependent on reaching his goal of a great youth ministry.
A mother believes that her self-worth is dependent on her children behaving in a certain way. Her goal is to raise perfect little Christians who will become pastors or missionaries. But as the children reach their teen years and begin to express their independence, their behavior doesn't always match their mother's ideal. So instead of helping them grow through adolescence and releasing them into adulthood, she tries to control them.
It is not hard to understand why people try to control others. They believe that their worth is dependent on other people and circumstances. This is a false belief as evidenced by the fact that the most insecure people you will ever meet are manipulators and controllers of others. But people who are secure in their identity in Christ don't need to control others. Their goal is to be the leader, spouse, parent or employee that God wants them to be because nothing can keep them from being what God wants them to be but themselves.
Lord, I affirm that my worth is based on my relationship with You and that I am free to become the person You want me to be.
Copyright © 2006 Freedom in Christ
All Rights Reserved
Taken from Daily in Christ by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson
Monday, August 06, 2007
Sermon: When It's Not Working for You
Yesterday Aaron started a two-part series on "broken dreams". Broken dreams can happen because sometimes we mess things up and sometimes because events happen that are outside our control.
Yesterday we focused on the first one through the life of David from 1 Samuel 21. In these verses we see two "wake up" calls that should have been reminders to David that he was headed down the wrong path: the bread of the Presence (symbol of God's provision) and Goliath's sword -- both reminders of God and for David to reconnect to God for direction.
Yesterday we focused on the first one through the life of David from 1 Samuel 21. In these verses we see two "wake up" calls that should have been reminders to David that he was headed down the wrong path: the bread of the Presence (symbol of God's provision) and Goliath's sword -- both reminders of God and for David to reconnect to God for direction.
God's Will for Our Lives
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Monday, August 06, 2007 - Knowing God’s will for our Lives
One of the area’s where we Christians seem to be confused is how we can know God’s will for our lives. Let me share with you some of the reasons I believe we struggle with this. First we think God’s will is some kind of mystery. A heavenly game of hide and seek that God’s playing with us. But God doesn’t send us on a treasure hunt to find His will. He wants us to know it more than we want to know it.
Consider Romans 12:2, which says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” It doesn’t say, then you’ll be able to make a good guess and hope you found what God’s will is for you. No, its clear that we should be able to know the perfect and pleasing will of God. No mystery, no Easter egg hunt, no confusion.
And in Ephesians 5:17 we read, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Paul is saying that when we don’t know what God’s will is then we are being foolish or unwise. Its not God’s fault it is our own foolishness. And Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. And in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Again we are promised that God will show us His way, not maybe or hopefully or if you know how to read the road signs and decipher His hidden code. There are many unbiblical ideas about how you will know what God’s will is with your life. Some think it has to be a traumatic or emotional experience where you are moved in some mystical way.
A lot of people talk about putting out their fleeces based on Gideon’s experience found in Judges chapter 6. They set up a test for God. If this happens or that doesn’t happens then I’ll know God has shown me exactly what to do. But, if you have studied that story about Gideon, that when Gideon asked God to do a miracle with the fleece, it was because Gideon had not believed what God had already promised Him. It was because of his weak faith that Gideon had put out a fleece. Not because he didn’t know what God wanted him to do.
Knowing God’s will is not necessarily an emotional experience, a calling, a light that strikes you, or bush that burns. Oh, true sometimes God uses unusual ways to talk to us, but those are rare exceptions. Most of the time He reveals His will through His Word to those who are living in obedience and saturating their lives daily with His truth. And always His will for us will be in total agreement with the written will of God. Knowing God’s will is an inevitable result if you fulfill the prerequisites.
Monday, August 06, 2007 - Knowing God’s will for our Lives
One of the area’s where we Christians seem to be confused is how we can know God’s will for our lives. Let me share with you some of the reasons I believe we struggle with this. First we think God’s will is some kind of mystery. A heavenly game of hide and seek that God’s playing with us. But God doesn’t send us on a treasure hunt to find His will. He wants us to know it more than we want to know it.
Consider Romans 12:2, which says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” It doesn’t say, then you’ll be able to make a good guess and hope you found what God’s will is for you. No, its clear that we should be able to know the perfect and pleasing will of God. No mystery, no Easter egg hunt, no confusion.
And in Ephesians 5:17 we read, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Paul is saying that when we don’t know what God’s will is then we are being foolish or unwise. Its not God’s fault it is our own foolishness. And Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. And in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Again we are promised that God will show us His way, not maybe or hopefully or if you know how to read the road signs and decipher His hidden code. There are many unbiblical ideas about how you will know what God’s will is with your life. Some think it has to be a traumatic or emotional experience where you are moved in some mystical way.
A lot of people talk about putting out their fleeces based on Gideon’s experience found in Judges chapter 6. They set up a test for God. If this happens or that doesn’t happens then I’ll know God has shown me exactly what to do. But, if you have studied that story about Gideon, that when Gideon asked God to do a miracle with the fleece, it was because Gideon had not believed what God had already promised Him. It was because of his weak faith that Gideon had put out a fleece. Not because he didn’t know what God wanted him to do.
Knowing God’s will is not necessarily an emotional experience, a calling, a light that strikes you, or bush that burns. Oh, true sometimes God uses unusual ways to talk to us, but those are rare exceptions. Most of the time He reveals His will through His Word to those who are living in obedience and saturating their lives daily with His truth. And always His will for us will be in total agreement with the written will of God. Knowing God’s will is an inevitable result if you fulfill the prerequisites.
Pop Quizzes
Elisabeth Elliot Devotional: "A Faith Untried"
"A faith untried is no faith at all," someone has said. Today I declared my faith before a hundred women and came home to a startling piece of bad news. Hopes were dashed, plans ruined, over a seemingly trivial thing. We did not know what to do. "Trust me" is always the word at such a time. "But Lord, we did trust You. You answered us and everything was working so beautifully. Now this. What shall we do?" "Keep on trusting me. That is my assignment for you tonight. Commit your way to Me; trust in Me; stand still and see."
Why, of course, Lord! I see what You mean. How could I be sure I'm trusting You unless You keep giving me "pop quizzes"? These are the exams in the school of faith.
"More precious than perishable gold is faith which has stood the test. These trials come so that your faith may prove itself worthy" (1 Pt 1:7 NEB).
"A faith untried is no faith at all," someone has said. Today I declared my faith before a hundred women and came home to a startling piece of bad news. Hopes were dashed, plans ruined, over a seemingly trivial thing. We did not know what to do. "Trust me" is always the word at such a time. "But Lord, we did trust You. You answered us and everything was working so beautifully. Now this. What shall we do?" "Keep on trusting me. That is my assignment for you tonight. Commit your way to Me; trust in Me; stand still and see."
Why, of course, Lord! I see what You mean. How could I be sure I'm trusting You unless You keep giving me "pop quizzes"? These are the exams in the school of faith.
"More precious than perishable gold is faith which has stood the test. These trials come so that your faith may prove itself worthy" (1 Pt 1:7 NEB).
Spiritual Vitality
Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ Devotional
August 6
GOD-SENT CHRISTIANS
You have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:20).
If I were asked to determine the spiritual vitality of any religious group using only one criterion, I would evaluate its representative leaders. Are they a group of individuals vying for power, arming themselves with arguments to defend their position and exert their will? Or are they servant leaders knit together by the Holy Spirit who are collectively trying to discern God's will?
Similarly, if I wanted to determine the spiritual vitality of an individual using only one criterion, I would evaluate whether the person desires to live according to the will of God, or if he desires to do his own thing. The prayer of a vital, growing Christian is, "Make me know Thy ways, O LORD; teach me Thy paths" (Psalm 25:4).
Once our will is bent in the right direction, Jesus raises the additional question of motive: "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him" (John 7:18). The person who is true glorifies the one who sent him.
This is perfectly modeled in the Godhead. Notice first the example of Jesus: "For I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me" (John 8:42). The Holy Spirit acts in the same way. In John 16:13, 14, Jesus said, "He [the Spirit] will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak. . . . He shall glorify Me."
I can take this one step further. Are you ready for this? Jesus said in John 20:21: "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." Granted, that was said to the apostles, but we are all under the Great Commission. Do you want to be true? Then glorify the One who sent you! People who know they are God-sent and are committed to live like that, glorify God. Self-sent people seek their own glory.
Today, Lord, I purpose to reflect my appointment as Your sent-one by glorifying You instead of myself.
Copyright © 2006 Freedom in Christ
All Rights Reserved
Taken from Daily in Christ by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson
Friday, August 03, 2007
Quietness
Elisabeth Elliot Devotional: "First Be Quiet"
Our hectic lives involve many changes, and changes require decisions, and decisions must often be made in the midst of a multitude of confusions. We run here and there asking advice. Often we make decisions without sufficient deliberation because we simply haven't time--or so we tell ourselves.
There is a marvelously helpful practice that we usually overlook. It is quietness. Notice how often in the gospels we find Jesus going away alone, even when people needed Him. He deliberately chose solitude. The more hectic our lives become, the more necessary is this quietness. When it is impossible to break away physically to a place of solitude for a day or so in order to think and pray over a hard decision, there is one thing which I think helps--do not speak about the decision to anyone but God for forty-eight hours at least. Just hold it before Him alone. Keep your mouth shut for two days. Pray. Listen. Seek his counsel.
Try this, too--sit before Him for fifteen consecutive minutes in silence, focusing your mind on the words of Psalm 86:11 (NEB), "Guide me, O Lord, that I may be true to thee and follow thy path."
Our hectic lives involve many changes, and changes require decisions, and decisions must often be made in the midst of a multitude of confusions. We run here and there asking advice. Often we make decisions without sufficient deliberation because we simply haven't time--or so we tell ourselves.
There is a marvelously helpful practice that we usually overlook. It is quietness. Notice how often in the gospels we find Jesus going away alone, even when people needed Him. He deliberately chose solitude. The more hectic our lives become, the more necessary is this quietness. When it is impossible to break away physically to a place of solitude for a day or so in order to think and pray over a hard decision, there is one thing which I think helps--do not speak about the decision to anyone but God for forty-eight hours at least. Just hold it before Him alone. Keep your mouth shut for two days. Pray. Listen. Seek his counsel.
Try this, too--sit before Him for fifteen consecutive minutes in silence, focusing your mind on the words of Psalm 86:11 (NEB), "Guide me, O Lord, that I may be true to thee and follow thy path."
Childlike Faith vs. Childish Faith
Christian Working Woman Transcript
Friday, August 03, 2007 - Childlike Faith vs. Childish Faith
Have you ever met an adult who was childish? A person who is supposed to be grown up but yet behaves in childish ways is not someone we admire. Yet, many Christians have never grown up in their faith and their walk with God has many childish characteristics.
Peter wrote: Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good (1 Peter 2:2-3).
But in Hebrews we read: Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:13-14).
How would you describe faith that lives on milk? Well, these types of Christians are those who run from one person to another, one church to another, one event to another, looking for a new experience or seeking Christian entertainment. They want easy-to-digest teaching rather than in-depth study of God’s Word.
Another trait of childish faith is that it is rooted in emotionalism instead of being rooted in truth. Emotions are fine; they are God-given gifts which we need. But if your faith is based on your feelings, it is a childish faith. It runs hot and cold, just like your feelings do. Childish faith is often a roller-coaster ride–up one day, down the next.
Christians living on milk are those who have no structured Bible study plan in their lives. They are no further in their walk with God this year than they were last year.
Immature, childish faith is characterized by being easily discouraged and giving up quickly. It expects to be served rather than to serve. Childish faith expects the church to meet its needs, instead of looking for ways to minister to others.
The Apostle Paul said that when he became a man, he put away childish things. I urge you to seriously pray for a child-like faith, and dedicate yourself to putting away the childish things. You don’t want to stay in that childish mode. You want to grow up in Christ to full maturity and have a faith that has wonderful child-like qualities, but is not childish.
Friday, August 03, 2007 - Childlike Faith vs. Childish Faith
Have you ever met an adult who was childish? A person who is supposed to be grown up but yet behaves in childish ways is not someone we admire. Yet, many Christians have never grown up in their faith and their walk with God has many childish characteristics.
Peter wrote: Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good (1 Peter 2:2-3).
But in Hebrews we read: Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:13-14).
How would you describe faith that lives on milk? Well, these types of Christians are those who run from one person to another, one church to another, one event to another, looking for a new experience or seeking Christian entertainment. They want easy-to-digest teaching rather than in-depth study of God’s Word.
Another trait of childish faith is that it is rooted in emotionalism instead of being rooted in truth. Emotions are fine; they are God-given gifts which we need. But if your faith is based on your feelings, it is a childish faith. It runs hot and cold, just like your feelings do. Childish faith is often a roller-coaster ride–up one day, down the next.
Christians living on milk are those who have no structured Bible study plan in their lives. They are no further in their walk with God this year than they were last year.
Immature, childish faith is characterized by being easily discouraged and giving up quickly. It expects to be served rather than to serve. Childish faith expects the church to meet its needs, instead of looking for ways to minister to others.
The Apostle Paul said that when he became a man, he put away childish things. I urge you to seriously pray for a child-like faith, and dedicate yourself to putting away the childish things. You don’t want to stay in that childish mode. You want to grow up in Christ to full maturity and have a faith that has wonderful child-like qualities, but is not childish.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Counting on God's Rule to Prevail
Habakkuk 3:17-19 (The Message)
Though the cherry trees don't blossom
and the strawberries don't ripen, Though the apples are worm-eaten
and the wheat fields stunted, Though the sheep pens are sheepless
and the cattle barns empty, I'm singing joyful praise to God.
I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God's Rule to prevail,
I take heart and gain strength. I run like a deer.
I feel like I'm king of the mountain!
(For congregational use, with a full orchestra.)
Though the cherry trees don't blossom
and the strawberries don't ripen, Though the apples are worm-eaten
and the wheat fields stunted, Though the sheep pens are sheepless
and the cattle barns empty, I'm singing joyful praise to God.
I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God's Rule to prevail,
I take heart and gain strength. I run like a deer.
I feel like I'm king of the mountain!
(For congregational use, with a full orchestra.)
God's Supremacy in All Things
Excerpt from John Piper, Where is God?
(sermon given on September 11, 2005)
There is no unadulterated joy in this world for people who care about others. The Bible describes Christ’s servants like this: “[We are] sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” (2 Corinthians 6:10).
“Sorrowful yet always rejoicing.” How can that be? It can be because Christ is supreme over all things forever, but suffering and death remain for a while. Life is not simple. There is pleasure, and there is pain. There is sweetness, and there is bitter suffering. There is joy, and there is misery. There is life and health, and there is disease and death. And therefore emotions are not simple. For those who love others, and not just their own comforts, this complexity means that we will rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15). And there is always someone we know who is weeping, and someone we know who is rejoicing. And therefore we will learn the secret of “sorrowful yet always rejoicing”—and joyful yet always sorrowing. Those amazing words that describe the Christian soul—“sorrowful yet always rejoicing”—mean that suffering remains for a while in this world, but Christ is supreme now and forever.
...
1.The reason this terrorized and troubled world exists is because God planned the history of redemption and then permitted sin to enter the world through our first parents, Adam and Eve.
... Therefore Adam’s sin was part of God’s plan so that God could reveal his mercy and grace and justice and wrath and patience and wisdom in ways that could have never been revealed, if there were no sin and no Savior and no history of salvation.
2.The reason this terrorized and troubled world exists is because God subjected the natural world to futility. That is, God put the natural world under a curse so that the physical horrors we see around us in diseases and calamities would become a vivid picture of how horrible sin is. In other words, natural evil is a signpost pointing to the horrors of moral evil.
... Therefore, God mercifully shouts to us in our sicknesses and pain and calamities: Wake up! Sin is like this! Sin leads to things like this. (See Revelation 9:20; 16:9, 11.) The natural world is shot through with horrors to wake us from the dreamworld of thinking sin is no big deal. It is a horrifically big deal.
3. The reason this terrorized and troubled world exists is so that followers of Christ can experience and display that no pleasure and no treasure compares to knowing Christ. That is, the loss of every good thing in this world is meant to reveal that Christ himself more than compensates for all losses.
... Famines, pestilence, persecution—these happen so that the world might see in the followers of Jesus and discover for themselves that God made us for himself and that he is our “exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4) and at his right hand are pleasures for every more (Psalm 16:11). The losses of life are meant to wean us off the poisonous pleasures of the world and lure us to Christ our everlasting joy.
4. Finally, the reason this terrorized and troubled world exists is to make a place for Jesus Christ the Son of God to suffer and die for our sins. The reason there is terror is so that Christ would be terrorized. The reason there is trouble is so that Christ could be troubled. The reason there is pain is so that Christ could feel pain. This is the world God prepared for the suffering and death of his Son. This is the world where God made the best display of his love in the suffering of his Son.
Romans 5:8, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” ... God’s deepest answer to terrorism and calamity is the suffering and death of his Son. He entered into our fallen world of sin and misery and death. He bore in himself the cause of it all—sin. And he bought by his death the cure for it all—forgiveness and everlasting joy in the age to come.
(sermon given on September 11, 2005)
There is no unadulterated joy in this world for people who care about others. The Bible describes Christ’s servants like this: “[We are] sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” (2 Corinthians 6:10).
“Sorrowful yet always rejoicing.” How can that be? It can be because Christ is supreme over all things forever, but suffering and death remain for a while. Life is not simple. There is pleasure, and there is pain. There is sweetness, and there is bitter suffering. There is joy, and there is misery. There is life and health, and there is disease and death. And therefore emotions are not simple. For those who love others, and not just their own comforts, this complexity means that we will rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15). And there is always someone we know who is weeping, and someone we know who is rejoicing. And therefore we will learn the secret of “sorrowful yet always rejoicing”—and joyful yet always sorrowing. Those amazing words that describe the Christian soul—“sorrowful yet always rejoicing”—mean that suffering remains for a while in this world, but Christ is supreme now and forever.
...
1.The reason this terrorized and troubled world exists is because God planned the history of redemption and then permitted sin to enter the world through our first parents, Adam and Eve.
... Therefore Adam’s sin was part of God’s plan so that God could reveal his mercy and grace and justice and wrath and patience and wisdom in ways that could have never been revealed, if there were no sin and no Savior and no history of salvation.
2.The reason this terrorized and troubled world exists is because God subjected the natural world to futility. That is, God put the natural world under a curse so that the physical horrors we see around us in diseases and calamities would become a vivid picture of how horrible sin is. In other words, natural evil is a signpost pointing to the horrors of moral evil.
... Therefore, God mercifully shouts to us in our sicknesses and pain and calamities: Wake up! Sin is like this! Sin leads to things like this. (See Revelation 9:20; 16:9, 11.) The natural world is shot through with horrors to wake us from the dreamworld of thinking sin is no big deal. It is a horrifically big deal.
3. The reason this terrorized and troubled world exists is so that followers of Christ can experience and display that no pleasure and no treasure compares to knowing Christ. That is, the loss of every good thing in this world is meant to reveal that Christ himself more than compensates for all losses.
... Famines, pestilence, persecution—these happen so that the world might see in the followers of Jesus and discover for themselves that God made us for himself and that he is our “exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4) and at his right hand are pleasures for every more (Psalm 16:11). The losses of life are meant to wean us off the poisonous pleasures of the world and lure us to Christ our everlasting joy.
4. Finally, the reason this terrorized and troubled world exists is to make a place for Jesus Christ the Son of God to suffer and die for our sins. The reason there is terror is so that Christ would be terrorized. The reason there is trouble is so that Christ could be troubled. The reason there is pain is so that Christ could feel pain. This is the world God prepared for the suffering and death of his Son. This is the world where God made the best display of his love in the suffering of his Son.
Romans 5:8, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” ... God’s deepest answer to terrorism and calamity is the suffering and death of his Son. He entered into our fallen world of sin and misery and death. He bore in himself the cause of it all—sin. And he bought by his death the cure for it all—forgiveness and everlasting joy in the age to come.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Those We Admire
"There is a simple principle at work in all this which I think everyone in this room can agree to. The principle is this: We become like those we admire most."
John Piper, The Blazing Center Study Guide, p. 88.
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
Philippians 3: 17-19, ESV
John Piper, The Blazing Center Study Guide, p. 88.
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
Philippians 3: 17-19, ESV
Treasure
"Consider the people who will work hard at learning to play an instrument, knowing that it takes years to acquire the skills, who will practice hard to lower their golf score or to improve their sports performance, knowing it takes years to become proficient, who will discipline themselves throughout their career because they know it takes sacrifice to succeed. These same people will give up quickly when they find the Spiritual Disciplines don't come easily, as though becoming like Jesus was not supposed to take much effort.
The undisciplined are like the playwright George Kaufman, who was enduring a sales pitch from a gold-mine promoter. The salesman was praising the productivity of the mine in hopes of persuading Kaufman to buy shares in it. "Why, it's so rich you can pick up the chunks of gold from the ground."
"Do you mean," asked Kaufman, "I'd have to bend over?"
The gold of Godliness isn't found on the surface of Christianity. It has to be dug from the depths with the tools of the Disciplines. But for those who persevere, the treasure are more than worth the troubles."
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney, p. 19.
The undisciplined are like the playwright George Kaufman, who was enduring a sales pitch from a gold-mine promoter. The salesman was praising the productivity of the mine in hopes of persuading Kaufman to buy shares in it. "Why, it's so rich you can pick up the chunks of gold from the ground."
"Do you mean," asked Kaufman, "I'd have to bend over?"
The gold of Godliness isn't found on the surface of Christianity. It has to be dug from the depths with the tools of the Disciplines. But for those who persevere, the treasure are more than worth the troubles."
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney, p. 19.
Time for God
Elisabeth Elliot Daily Devotional: Time for God
It is a good and necessary thing to set aside time for God in each day. The busier the day, the more indispensable is this quiet period for prayer, Bible reading, and silent listening. It often happens, however, that I find my mind so full of earthly matters that it seems I have gotten up early in vain and have wasted three-fourths of the time so dearly bought (I do love my sleep!). But I have come to believe that the act of will required to arrange time for God may be an offering to Him. As such He accepts it, and what would otherwise be "loss" to me I count as "gain" for Christ.
Let us not be "weary in well-doing," or discouraged in the pursuit of holiness. Let us, like Moses, go to the Rock of Horeb--and God says to us what He said to him, "You will find me waiting for you there" (Ex 17:6 NEB).
It is a good and necessary thing to set aside time for God in each day. The busier the day, the more indispensable is this quiet period for prayer, Bible reading, and silent listening. It often happens, however, that I find my mind so full of earthly matters that it seems I have gotten up early in vain and have wasted three-fourths of the time so dearly bought (I do love my sleep!). But I have come to believe that the act of will required to arrange time for God may be an offering to Him. As such He accepts it, and what would otherwise be "loss" to me I count as "gain" for Christ.
Let us not be "weary in well-doing," or discouraged in the pursuit of holiness. Let us, like Moses, go to the Rock of Horeb--and God says to us what He said to him, "You will find me waiting for you there" (Ex 17:6 NEB).
Children of God
Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ Devotional
August 1
HIS ACCEPTED, ADOPTED CHILD
Beloved, now we are children of God (1 John 3:2).
Having a right relationship with God begins with settling once and for all the issue that God is your loving Father and you are His accepted, adopted child. That's the foundational truth of your spiritual heritage. You are a child of God, you are created in His image, you have been declared righteous by Him because you trust that what Christ accomplished in His death and resurrection is applicable to you. As long as you believe that and walk accordingly, your daily experience of practical Christianity will result in growth. But when you forget who you are, and try to produce in your daily experience the acceptance God has already extended to you, you'll struggle. We don't serve God to gain His acceptance; we are accepted so we serve God. We don't follow Him in order to be loved; we are loved so we follow Him.
That's why you are called to live by faith (Romans 1:16, 17). The essence of the victorious Christian life is believing what is already true about you. Do you have a choice? Of course! Satan will try to convince you that you are an unworthy, unacceptable, sin-sick person who will never amount to anything in God's eyes. Is that who you are? No, you are not! You are a saint whom God has declared righteous. Believing Satan's lie will lock you into a defeated, fruitless life. But believing God's truth about your identity will set you free.
Your perception of your identity makes such a big difference in your success at dealing with the challenges and conflicts of your life. It is imperative to your growth and maturity that you believe God's truth about who you are.
The Bible says, "See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are" (1 John 3:1). Tragically, many believers are desperately trying to become something they already are, while others are living like something they aren't. It's true: "Beloved, now we are children of God" (1 John 3:2).
Lord God, I affirm anew that I am Your blood-bought child. The evil one cannot touch me as long as I live according to my position in Christ.
Copyright © 2006 Freedom in Christ
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Taken from Daily in Christ by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson
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