The ordinary seems to appear in everyone's life. Aiming to get to the next level of a career or hobby may seem at first to be extraordinary and that it will change things. But that new, higher level starts to feel ordinary the longer we are there or the more we meet people who have been there. Being at that next level doesn't change who we are.
The good part of admitting we are ordinary is that we know God loves us not because of our works or exceptional things we do, but just because we are his. It's not us. He is the extraordinary one. The less we have to brag about, the more we know it's really God and not us that brings our worth and love from God.
That doesn't mean we don't try to do extraordinary things at times. God is working with us through the Holy Spirit, so we have the capability to do good that might fit in that category.
And our love for God, and his love for us, prompts us to want to do what he wants for us and for his glory—sometimes that could fit into that category of extraordinary too. Just like if we love someone, we feel compelled to do what will benefit them.
A push to always be or do the extraordinary can be hard, though, on anyone, since it's not possible to do all the time or even much at all. Some people may think that aiming to do that all the time is what God wants. But God wants us to rest and to also trust that where we are is where he wants us since he directs all of life. He has put us where we are in life, and it may seem ordinary, but one thing he wants most is for us to love him and our neighbors. Maybe the ordinary is a good place to do that. Love is often shown in being consistent.
Showing posts with label Christian life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian life. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Self-Control of the Mind
One of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) is self-control, and it applies not only to what we do but also to what we think. For example, not being anxious (Matt. 6:25) and thinking about good things (Phil. 4:8) are instructions in the Bible and those both require self-control in thinking.
A book I read once claimed that too much TV watching was the reason for less self-control of the mind in many today, saying it is a very passive activity. I don't agree with that because you can watch TV with your mind fully awake and critically thinking about all that you see.
It's true that what we see on TV might encourage not having self-control of the mind, since it reflects our current culture and our current culture is postmodern, which believes that truth is relative and therefore the self is where truth is found. But TV watching is like talking to a person. You don't have to agree on everything to have a meaningful or fun conversation, and talking to someone with a different viewpoint doesn't mean you'll soon adopt that person's viewpoint.
One way to help with developing a more self-controlled mind is to remind yourself often of truths in the Bible, and to try to be self aware of how often you are or are not authentically thinking positive thoughts. We are often surrounded by negative people, so much so that it's hard not to fall into that habit of negativity and possibly not even really notice how negative we've become.
There's never a day when there isn't something someone could complain about if they were looking for something unpleasant in their life. For example, waking up in the morning is never easy, and there could always be more coffee or more of something else we find we'd like to have. But it's draining when we or when others start to complain. And the Bible says we should try to help others and aim to be healthy. There's a place for sadness and it's good to see truthfully a situation, even when it's a very difficult one, but there's a difference between seeing reality and unnecessarily pointing out the difficult realities of life.
People may wonder how to be positive when everything seems so terrible in their life. I'd say that little by little it's possible to truly understand what a gift even life is. God has given us life. Every breath. And the possibilities that life brings. There's also beauty in this world. Laughter. Hope. Jesus's work for us, when we are not deserving in the least, but he loves us anyway.
There is so much to rejoice in when it comes to who God is and what he has done for us. Even the stories of his work throughout history is something to be amazed at.
One reason self-control of the mind is so important is that our minds have limits. Our minds can get tired too. If we spend so much time on negative thoughts, there's not much mental energy left to truly think on positive things.
And of course the most important reason is that we should do everything, including thinking, to the glory of God.
A book I read once claimed that too much TV watching was the reason for less self-control of the mind in many today, saying it is a very passive activity. I don't agree with that because you can watch TV with your mind fully awake and critically thinking about all that you see.
It's true that what we see on TV might encourage not having self-control of the mind, since it reflects our current culture and our current culture is postmodern, which believes that truth is relative and therefore the self is where truth is found. But TV watching is like talking to a person. You don't have to agree on everything to have a meaningful or fun conversation, and talking to someone with a different viewpoint doesn't mean you'll soon adopt that person's viewpoint.
One way to help with developing a more self-controlled mind is to remind yourself often of truths in the Bible, and to try to be self aware of how often you are or are not authentically thinking positive thoughts. We are often surrounded by negative people, so much so that it's hard not to fall into that habit of negativity and possibly not even really notice how negative we've become.
There's never a day when there isn't something someone could complain about if they were looking for something unpleasant in their life. For example, waking up in the morning is never easy, and there could always be more coffee or more of something else we find we'd like to have. But it's draining when we or when others start to complain. And the Bible says we should try to help others and aim to be healthy. There's a place for sadness and it's good to see truthfully a situation, even when it's a very difficult one, but there's a difference between seeing reality and unnecessarily pointing out the difficult realities of life.
People may wonder how to be positive when everything seems so terrible in their life. I'd say that little by little it's possible to truly understand what a gift even life is. God has given us life. Every breath. And the possibilities that life brings. There's also beauty in this world. Laughter. Hope. Jesus's work for us, when we are not deserving in the least, but he loves us anyway.
There is so much to rejoice in when it comes to who God is and what he has done for us. Even the stories of his work throughout history is something to be amazed at.
One reason self-control of the mind is so important is that our minds have limits. Our minds can get tired too. If we spend so much time on negative thoughts, there's not much mental energy left to truly think on positive things.
And of course the most important reason is that we should do everything, including thinking, to the glory of God.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Christian Love
The bible says that if we have all virtue but lack love then we have nothing. Love is the ultimate Christian ethic.
The faithfulness of our Christian life stands or falls on if we act in love. There are many aspects of living an ethical life, but love is behind all of these elements.
"Love God and do what you please" said St. Augustine.
If we truly live our lives with a desire to please God then we are living our faith to the fullest. Christianity is about fellowship with God.
Christians have the power to change the world when the joy from our fellowship with God overflows in the world.
The faithfulness of our Christian life stands or falls on if we act in love. There are many aspects of living an ethical life, but love is behind all of these elements.
"Love God and do what you please" said St. Augustine.
If we truly live our lives with a desire to please God then we are living our faith to the fullest. Christianity is about fellowship with God.
Christians have the power to change the world when the joy from our fellowship with God overflows in the world.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Complexity in Life and Faith
Life is full of complexity. You see the multifaceted nature of everything when you study something for a day, or a year, or even decades. That's how long it takes to truly attempt to learn all the details of something at times.
The same goes for knowing the Bible, God, and living a Christian life. Often people want it to be simple: Hear the message once and respond, and that's it. Or go to church, and you've got it. Those are good thing, but there's more.
The gospel is simple in a way. But it also has a beautiful depth to it too. When you accept Christ, all you need to know are some basic truths. But after that, growing in knowledge is important.
What more is there to grow in knowledge, you may be asking. Here's a starter list to help you see what topics there are:
Learning about these things can aid in living in a Christian way.
The same goes for knowing the Bible, God, and living a Christian life. Often people want it to be simple: Hear the message once and respond, and that's it. Or go to church, and you've got it. Those are good thing, but there's more.
The gospel is simple in a way. But it also has a beautiful depth to it too. When you accept Christ, all you need to know are some basic truths. But after that, growing in knowledge is important.
What more is there to grow in knowledge, you may be asking. Here's a starter list to help you see what topics there are:
- Grace. The true meaning of grace.
- Law/Commands/Sin. How this relates to grace, too, but we must first see why we need and are given grace. And learning how God's commands really are good for us.
- Wisdom. Since life is complex, sometime discernment and good judgment are needed. The Bible helps us in learning wisdom.
- Love. What it means to truly live out those two commands. It is active and much more. I've created a list of 6 posts on loving others.
- How God has related to humans throughout history. This includes feeling loved and accepted by Christ if you're a Christian.
- The Trinity.
Learning about these things can aid in living in a Christian way.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Happiness in the Christian Life
Some traditions and common sayings in Christian circles may lead people to believe that Christianity is only about self-denial. The Bible mentions this, but the Bible has a specific meanings for it, and when done in the right way (following the true meaning of it and with wisdom), it leads to happiness.
Christianity is about seeking your happiness and the happiness of others in God. The self-denial of Christianity promotes the long-term happiness of ourselves.
Often people focus too much on the denial, of not doing things, like denying themselves pleasure instead of positively doing things for others. When we help and love others we find we are much happier than if we were always alone.
When we talk about the Christian life, it's important to not forget the freeing aspect of Christ's work for us and how God's commands are really good and freeing in a sense. Sin is what tries to convince us that there is a better way than God's commands when truly there's not.
Here are five posts related to this topic:
Christianity is about seeking your happiness and the happiness of others in God. The self-denial of Christianity promotes the long-term happiness of ourselves.
Often people focus too much on the denial, of not doing things, like denying themselves pleasure instead of positively doing things for others. When we help and love others we find we are much happier than if we were always alone.
When we talk about the Christian life, it's important to not forget the freeing aspect of Christ's work for us and how God's commands are really good and freeing in a sense. Sin is what tries to convince us that there is a better way than God's commands when truly there's not.
Here are five posts related to this topic:
- Our True Selves: "Often our feeling about Christianity from the outside or inside is that it may destroy our personality. ... The reality is that we find our true selves when we accept God. ..."
- Suffering as Non-Ideal: "Various Christian groups have promoted suffering as a Christian virtue. While the bible does suggest that suffering produces virtue, the bible does not promote a life of suffering. ..."
- The Word "Sacrifice" Should Be Used More Carefully
- Pleasure Is Not the Enemy
- Reflections on Being "Selfless"
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Why Long-Time Christians Still Need to Hear and Think on the Gospel
The good news of the gospel always applies and affects Christians, even ones who've been Christians for a very long time.
I heard someone say once that he's heard the gospel story, so he'd rather not hear it again. He knows it. So why mention it again?
A major reason for needing to hear it again and again is that we all have a human nature. All of us have a nature that leans toward distraction and chasing after trivial things at times. So we need to be reminded of God's part in our lives then and now because of Christ's work for us.
Often when we hear how we were not worthy of fellowship with God but we are through Jesus's work and faith, we feel compelled to praise and worship and do good works.
We are also learning over time. When we read about certain accounts of Jesus in the gospels, we might see some detail that really shows us more the mind or love of Christ. Or how it relates to certain situations in our daily lives.
Not only in preaching or worship songs can we be reminded of the gospel, but it's important to include this in our devotional times too. Some devotions may only speak of how we need to do better--but really we need to be sure at times that we think about Christ being the reason we don't have to constantly think we have to do better. We can rest in him. We can know that everything will end well in a sense. And that often helps give us the peace and courage to do what we're commanded by God. There are times when we do need to think about doing better, but that shouldn't fill up the entirety of our devotional time. There is a place for worship too.
I heard someone say once that he's heard the gospel story, so he'd rather not hear it again. He knows it. So why mention it again?
A major reason for needing to hear it again and again is that we all have a human nature. All of us have a nature that leans toward distraction and chasing after trivial things at times. So we need to be reminded of God's part in our lives then and now because of Christ's work for us.
Often when we hear how we were not worthy of fellowship with God but we are through Jesus's work and faith, we feel compelled to praise and worship and do good works.
We are also learning over time. When we read about certain accounts of Jesus in the gospels, we might see some detail that really shows us more the mind or love of Christ. Or how it relates to certain situations in our daily lives.
Not only in preaching or worship songs can we be reminded of the gospel, but it's important to include this in our devotional times too. Some devotions may only speak of how we need to do better--but really we need to be sure at times that we think about Christ being the reason we don't have to constantly think we have to do better. We can rest in him. We can know that everything will end well in a sense. And that often helps give us the peace and courage to do what we're commanded by God. There are times when we do need to think about doing better, but that shouldn't fill up the entirety of our devotional time. There is a place for worship too.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
All Good Things from God
Recently I read an article mentioning that all good things come from God (James 1:17). What a beautiful reality.
If we truly start to think often on this, that all good things flow from God, we'd have countless opportunities to thank God. The sun shining and the way the cool wind feels on a hot day can be a cause for quiet awe and reflection.
Or even on a winter day full of snow and cold, the type where people like to complain about the cold, there's a chance to see the beauty of snow or feel the heat inside.
There are hundreds of possible things to be grateful for each day. That doesn't mean that life isn't sad at times, but that gifts are always around us. A beautiful sign from God of his blessings to us. Big and small.
If we truly start to think often on this, that all good things flow from God, we'd have countless opportunities to thank God. The sun shining and the way the cool wind feels on a hot day can be a cause for quiet awe and reflection.
Or even on a winter day full of snow and cold, the type where people like to complain about the cold, there's a chance to see the beauty of snow or feel the heat inside.
There are hundreds of possible things to be grateful for each day. That doesn't mean that life isn't sad at times, but that gifts are always around us. A beautiful sign from God of his blessings to us. Big and small.
.%20What%20a%20beautiful%20reality.%20%20%23God%20%23Beauty%20%23Blessings%20%23GodIsGood)
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Is God Enough?
Is God enough? The true answer sums up greatly the maturity of a Christian. Of course we all know the right answer to say, but the right answer and the true answer are often different.
The bible emphatically says that God is enough. If you choose God over everything else you have made a wise choice. It is good to not have to choose, but it highlights our understanding.
God is our father in heaven who is complete in goodness in himself and desires to draw us into eternal fellowship with himself. We often doubt God's goodness to us. We question if God is really enough.
God is truly more than enough. It is difficult to see from our limited perspective. We are in the thick of the difficulties of life and often cannot see things. Sometimes years after the fact we can see some sign of the reason for things, but we often never find the answers.
You see we live by faith. God shows us what we need to know, but he asks us to have faith and does not show us everything. We are saved by faith. We continue our journey in the Christian life in faith. God shows us what we need to know and often more than we need to know, but he never shows us everything.
He asks us to trust him and follow him. Sometimes it fells like it does not make sense to follow God because we are so close to the problems. God knows our nature and loves us anyway.
We often in life try to hide this or that flaw because we feel we may not be accepted. Maybe we have goofy tastes in music and others will laugh because we are not "refined in our music taste" or maybe we are "not cool" or "not reverent." Often people judge others by the most strange measures.
We judge preferences in music, food, style as if it says something absolute. We can be quite absurd at times if we are honest. God knows all of this and loves us anyway. He guides us in the Christian life, helping us to grow all the while knowing far more about our failings than we ever will.
The bible emphatically says that God is enough. If you choose God over everything else you have made a wise choice. It is good to not have to choose, but it highlights our understanding.
God is our father in heaven who is complete in goodness in himself and desires to draw us into eternal fellowship with himself. We often doubt God's goodness to us. We question if God is really enough.
God is truly more than enough. It is difficult to see from our limited perspective. We are in the thick of the difficulties of life and often cannot see things. Sometimes years after the fact we can see some sign of the reason for things, but we often never find the answers.
You see we live by faith. God shows us what we need to know, but he asks us to have faith and does not show us everything. We are saved by faith. We continue our journey in the Christian life in faith. God shows us what we need to know and often more than we need to know, but he never shows us everything.
He asks us to trust him and follow him. Sometimes it fells like it does not make sense to follow God because we are so close to the problems. God knows our nature and loves us anyway.
We often in life try to hide this or that flaw because we feel we may not be accepted. Maybe we have goofy tastes in music and others will laugh because we are not "refined in our music taste" or maybe we are "not cool" or "not reverent." Often people judge others by the most strange measures.
We judge preferences in music, food, style as if it says something absolute. We can be quite absurd at times if we are honest. God knows all of this and loves us anyway. He guides us in the Christian life, helping us to grow all the while knowing far more about our failings than we ever will.
Monday, September 22, 2014
A Rational View of Ourselves
Often it is easy in life to judge ourselves by an easier standard than we judge others by. I did this or that because I was tired. Or I acted poorly for this or that reason.
But when someone else acts poorly we never allow for mitigating circumstances. It is often that we judge ourselves by an easier standard than others. We always give ourselves the benefit of the doubt.
The bible tells us that we will be judged by the standard with which we judge. We should always strive to judge others more gently than we judge ourselves. Because our sinful hearts will often cause us to undervalue our fault in things.
It is always easy for us to see why we are at less fault than others think and very hard for us to imagine why others may be at less fault than we think. Our nature is quick to defend ourselves. It is what makes progress in the Christian life so hard.
You see we cannot do better if we refuse to see how we are wrong. If how we are wrong is always a lack of sleep or not a good breakfast or a bad day at work than we will never grow. You see if we sleep more, have a good breakfast, and a good day at work then it will become a bad commute or an unexpected bill.
There is always something to blame other than ourselves! It takes great humility to simply accept that when we fail there is something beyond the mitigating factors which causes our failure. Yes the poor sleep or bad traffic did not help but they are only part of the explanation and the least helpful part.
But when someone else acts poorly we never allow for mitigating circumstances. It is often that we judge ourselves by an easier standard than others. We always give ourselves the benefit of the doubt.
The bible tells us that we will be judged by the standard with which we judge. We should always strive to judge others more gently than we judge ourselves. Because our sinful hearts will often cause us to undervalue our fault in things.
It is always easy for us to see why we are at less fault than others think and very hard for us to imagine why others may be at less fault than we think. Our nature is quick to defend ourselves. It is what makes progress in the Christian life so hard.
You see we cannot do better if we refuse to see how we are wrong. If how we are wrong is always a lack of sleep or not a good breakfast or a bad day at work than we will never grow. You see if we sleep more, have a good breakfast, and a good day at work then it will become a bad commute or an unexpected bill.
There is always something to blame other than ourselves! It takes great humility to simply accept that when we fail there is something beyond the mitigating factors which causes our failure. Yes the poor sleep or bad traffic did not help but they are only part of the explanation and the least helpful part.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Liberty in the Christian Life
The bible offers a great deal of latitude and liberty in the Christian life. The bible does have many specifics, but often you find Jesus opposed to an over zealous application of the specifics.
There is always wisdom needed in life. Situations in life are often complex. There are not easy answers to many problems. One size fits all solutions often fail.
That is why the bible constantly calls us to love. We are to love God and love our neighbor. In the unclear of situations our principle is love.
Love has a great patience, but it can also have an aggressive or adversarial edge. You see love at time forces us to act. You see that true love at time needs to take a stand.
Love also does not insist on it's own way. We might prefer certain things in the the church be this way or that way, but we cannot insist on preference or infringe upon the liberty of others because certain things displease us.
Often in life there are things others do which we think are wrong or shortsighted or maybe a bit non-ideal. But these things fall in the realm of liberty. We cannot ever take a strong stand against that which falls in the realm of liberty even if it seems shortsighted or wrong.
If we take a stand against folly which is permitted in liberty we fall into the even graver error of legalism. Liberty allows what is not always pleasing to oneself but is permitted in the bible. Legalism insists on its own way. It insists on essentials the bible does not insist on.
Legalism seeks for a higher ethic than God desires. It is a theology which has little sense of true importance and is undesirable.
We always need to try to make important what the bible sees as important and have liberty where the bible sees liberty. We need to try to make the emphasis of the bible our own.
Post: True Christian Liberty
There is always wisdom needed in life. Situations in life are often complex. There are not easy answers to many problems. One size fits all solutions often fail.
That is why the bible constantly calls us to love. We are to love God and love our neighbor. In the unclear of situations our principle is love.
Love has a great patience, but it can also have an aggressive or adversarial edge. You see love at time forces us to act. You see that true love at time needs to take a stand.
Love also does not insist on it's own way. We might prefer certain things in the the church be this way or that way, but we cannot insist on preference or infringe upon the liberty of others because certain things displease us.
Often in life there are things others do which we think are wrong or shortsighted or maybe a bit non-ideal. But these things fall in the realm of liberty. We cannot ever take a strong stand against that which falls in the realm of liberty even if it seems shortsighted or wrong.
If we take a stand against folly which is permitted in liberty we fall into the even graver error of legalism. Liberty allows what is not always pleasing to oneself but is permitted in the bible. Legalism insists on its own way. It insists on essentials the bible does not insist on.
Legalism seeks for a higher ethic than God desires. It is a theology which has little sense of true importance and is undesirable.
We always need to try to make important what the bible sees as important and have liberty where the bible sees liberty. We need to try to make the emphasis of the bible our own.
Post: True Christian Liberty
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Growth and Admitting Flaws
Often in the Christian life our spiritual growth is hindered because we won't admit flaws. We cannot grow in areas if we refuse to admit we need to grow in areas.
The message of the bible is that man is under the curse of sin. The biblical ethic is so high that an honest understanding of its requirements tells us that we constantly fail.
God has grace on us and counts feeble attempts as a keeping of the law through the purifying blood of Jesus. Grace covers all our transgressions. We should not seek to sin because we have grace. If we are truly saved by grace the grace of God that saves us will naturally make us desire to do good works.
Grace which saves comes from our union with Jesus through faith in his death. The same union with Jesus that comes through faith also begins to change us degree by degree to be like Jesus.
It is faith in the cross which saves us and it is also faith in the cross which is the power which pushes us to grow in grace. Often it is easy to think that salvation and sanctification are caused by two different causes. We are saved and now need to figure out how to live.
Of course there is a need to figure out what Christian life entails, but the element behind both is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The link between justification and sanctification is that both events are tied together and driven by the same element faith in the work of Jesus.
Post: Our Way
The message of the bible is that man is under the curse of sin. The biblical ethic is so high that an honest understanding of its requirements tells us that we constantly fail.
God has grace on us and counts feeble attempts as a keeping of the law through the purifying blood of Jesus. Grace covers all our transgressions. We should not seek to sin because we have grace. If we are truly saved by grace the grace of God that saves us will naturally make us desire to do good works.
Grace which saves comes from our union with Jesus through faith in his death. The same union with Jesus that comes through faith also begins to change us degree by degree to be like Jesus.
It is faith in the cross which saves us and it is also faith in the cross which is the power which pushes us to grow in grace. Often it is easy to think that salvation and sanctification are caused by two different causes. We are saved and now need to figure out how to live.
Of course there is a need to figure out what Christian life entails, but the element behind both is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The link between justification and sanctification is that both events are tied together and driven by the same element faith in the work of Jesus.
Post: Our Way
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Growth
Growing in the Christian life requires looking to God. Often people look to grow by looking at sin and then trying to avoid sin.
There is truth in the approach, but studying the problem does not help us as much to the solution as looking at God. If we look to God and learn about God and love God then we will make far more progress in faith than if we look at sin and try to avoid it.
Righteous living is very active in nature. This is also why looking to God is helpful. God is a God who acts.
Jesus' life was filled with righteous activity from start to finish. The need for the Christian to act is at least as important for righteousness as the avoidance of sin.
You see avoiding sin, without an active expression of love is meaningless. The bible says if we have all things, but lack love it is worthless.
Love is something which is active and must be expressed. We can avoid sin sitting in isolation in a room our who lives and the avoidance of sin is worthless without expressing love.
Love is active. We must go out and do. We must risk and be vulnerable. Love is more important for real righteousness than avoidance of sin.
There is truth in the approach, but studying the problem does not help us as much to the solution as looking at God. If we look to God and learn about God and love God then we will make far more progress in faith than if we look at sin and try to avoid it.
Righteous living is very active in nature. This is also why looking to God is helpful. God is a God who acts.
Jesus' life was filled with righteous activity from start to finish. The need for the Christian to act is at least as important for righteousness as the avoidance of sin.
You see avoiding sin, without an active expression of love is meaningless. The bible says if we have all things, but lack love it is worthless.
Love is something which is active and must be expressed. We can avoid sin sitting in isolation in a room our who lives and the avoidance of sin is worthless without expressing love.
Love is active. We must go out and do. We must risk and be vulnerable. Love is more important for real righteousness than avoidance of sin.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Prayer and Action
Prayer must motivate action in the prayer. Obviously we often pray for things outside our control. We are people with limited resources and abilities.
At times though we pray about problems which we can and are able to be a part of the solution. The test of the faithfulness of prayer is if we have been praying and God offers us a chance to take part in the solution for which we are praying-do we grasp it?
You see at many times in the Christian life it becomes very easy to move through the motions. Prayer can easily become a habit with no meaning or sincerity behind it.
When we pray about things that intersect with our life in even a small way we should look to see if we may be part of the solution for what we are praying for. You see maybe the issue was too big for us yesterday, or we had no idea how to proceed, but today God has opened the door for us to solve the problem.
You see it is not mankind that solves problems ultimately but God. If we pray but do not consider how we may be part of the solutions to the problems in our prayers then we have not really prayed with any sincerity.
Too often prayer in the world today is an excuse for inaction. If I spend a few minutes praying then I have cared for the issue. You see the error is that true prayer is based on love and desires the result prayed for and will always consider that if it is possible for us to solve the problem we will.
It is often not in our power but if we pray in truth we must be open to solve the problems if God opens doors for us.
At times though we pray about problems which we can and are able to be a part of the solution. The test of the faithfulness of prayer is if we have been praying and God offers us a chance to take part in the solution for which we are praying-do we grasp it?
You see at many times in the Christian life it becomes very easy to move through the motions. Prayer can easily become a habit with no meaning or sincerity behind it.
When we pray about things that intersect with our life in even a small way we should look to see if we may be part of the solution for what we are praying for. You see maybe the issue was too big for us yesterday, or we had no idea how to proceed, but today God has opened the door for us to solve the problem.
You see it is not mankind that solves problems ultimately but God. If we pray but do not consider how we may be part of the solutions to the problems in our prayers then we have not really prayed with any sincerity.
Too often prayer in the world today is an excuse for inaction. If I spend a few minutes praying then I have cared for the issue. You see the error is that true prayer is based on love and desires the result prayed for and will always consider that if it is possible for us to solve the problem we will.
It is often not in our power but if we pray in truth we must be open to solve the problems if God opens doors for us.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Faith as a Way of Life
The church often views faith as something which has happened. When did you come to faith in Jesus?
It is true that faith has a beginning but you see it continues. It has an end listed in the bible when we meet God face to face in heaven.
You see we live life day by day by faith. What does living by faith mean?
You see it is trusting in things we do not see and always clinging the promises of God.
Why is living by faith relevant? Primarily because it makes us humble and open to opportunities. You see we do not know as much as we think.
The tendency of mankind is to always see oneself as someone who knows things and has capabilities. This hinders our mission because we rely on our own strength not on God.
To realize that we do not know and we do not see God but through a glass dimly allows true ministry and a more faithful following of God.
You see we are all pilgrims on a journey and we are all lost and needing direction at times. Some pilgrims on the path of faith are more lost than others and some are mainly on the right path and some very far astray, but we all are on a path and there is murkiness to it and we are not always sure what is right or wrong.
Often ethics and the Christian life is made very simple. You see in the bible that ethics and the Christian life is very difficult.
Usually the disconnect is that we have simplified faith to make it easy to fulfill. We like things that are achievable.
Christianity is inconvenient in that it demands the unachievable, to be sinless, and then simply says look you cannot achieve this. Go have faith in Jesus – he has achieved what you cannot.
The great achievement of the Christian, faith, rests outside of himself. And as he lives out faith the works flow from his connection to Jesus.
The bible has an ethical sense which is terribly difficult. It is impossible to fulfill. But God knows our frame and says have faith I have already fulfilled the whole law for you and go and live in faith.
And as we live in faith we fail but by God’s grace it has no effect on our standing since the cross is final. It is finished. Salvation is won or lost at the cross.
We are free to live out obedience to God while resting in the fact that victory is won. You see the path we journey on is fully under the shadow of the cross where all of our sin has been blotted out and we are already clothed in Jesus’ righteousness.
We can have the freedom to fail because the battle is won and the freedom is liberating because we are asked to live in faith and what is requested is that we live in faith and not that we have any success.
You see success in many aspects of life is given by God. It is not a result of the quality of faith. That we fail often has no relation to the quality of our faith or efforts and more on God’s will.
And you can see that there is often no relation between the success God gives and how he views his children. He may give one child great success and another very little, but it often has no bearing on his view of them.
Many wicked man have been given by God a short ephemeral success and many children a long and hard path, but you see we need to look by faith at things and not judge as the world judges.
It is true that faith has a beginning but you see it continues. It has an end listed in the bible when we meet God face to face in heaven.
You see we live life day by day by faith. What does living by faith mean?
You see it is trusting in things we do not see and always clinging the promises of God.
Why is living by faith relevant? Primarily because it makes us humble and open to opportunities. You see we do not know as much as we think.
The tendency of mankind is to always see oneself as someone who knows things and has capabilities. This hinders our mission because we rely on our own strength not on God.
To realize that we do not know and we do not see God but through a glass dimly allows true ministry and a more faithful following of God.
You see we are all pilgrims on a journey and we are all lost and needing direction at times. Some pilgrims on the path of faith are more lost than others and some are mainly on the right path and some very far astray, but we all are on a path and there is murkiness to it and we are not always sure what is right or wrong.
Often ethics and the Christian life is made very simple. You see in the bible that ethics and the Christian life is very difficult.
Usually the disconnect is that we have simplified faith to make it easy to fulfill. We like things that are achievable.
Christianity is inconvenient in that it demands the unachievable, to be sinless, and then simply says look you cannot achieve this. Go have faith in Jesus – he has achieved what you cannot.
The great achievement of the Christian, faith, rests outside of himself. And as he lives out faith the works flow from his connection to Jesus.
The bible has an ethical sense which is terribly difficult. It is impossible to fulfill. But God knows our frame and says have faith I have already fulfilled the whole law for you and go and live in faith.
And as we live in faith we fail but by God’s grace it has no effect on our standing since the cross is final. It is finished. Salvation is won or lost at the cross.
We are free to live out obedience to God while resting in the fact that victory is won. You see the path we journey on is fully under the shadow of the cross where all of our sin has been blotted out and we are already clothed in Jesus’ righteousness.
We can have the freedom to fail because the battle is won and the freedom is liberating because we are asked to live in faith and what is requested is that we live in faith and not that we have any success.
You see success in many aspects of life is given by God. It is not a result of the quality of faith. That we fail often has no relation to the quality of our faith or efforts and more on God’s will.
And you can see that there is often no relation between the success God gives and how he views his children. He may give one child great success and another very little, but it often has no bearing on his view of them.
Many wicked man have been given by God a short ephemeral success and many children a long and hard path, but you see we need to look by faith at things and not judge as the world judges.
Monday, August 5, 2013
The Christian Life
Some Christians have a theology which tends to have a fairly unpleasant taste. I find that a common issue tends to be an over realized eschatology.
What this simply means is the person thinks that what is only possible in heaven can be achieved on earth. Basically the expectation of sanctification is too high.
Often the great irony is that since the expectation of sanctification is too high there is a need to dumb down the law of God. So the law becomes very easy to fulfill.
With an easy to fulfill law the actions of a person often seem to simply fail to comprehend the teachings of Jesus. This is true since the teachings of Jesus are impossible to live up to in this life.
Since we always live by grace and we can never get past grace in this life there is not a need to feel that we must fulfill the law perfectly. We should desire to do so but know that we will fail.
If we believe we have succeeded in fulfilling the law entirely we have already failed in some why. The question is simply where our failure is.
Grace is something apart form our works and actions. It is a proper relation to Jesus and his works and actions.
We are saved by being united to faith to the perfect earthly life of Jesus and his saving work on the Cross.
We do not need to feel that we must add something to the salvation we have been given. We should seek to please God, but as children already part of his family.
What this simply means is the person thinks that what is only possible in heaven can be achieved on earth. Basically the expectation of sanctification is too high.
Often the great irony is that since the expectation of sanctification is too high there is a need to dumb down the law of God. So the law becomes very easy to fulfill.
With an easy to fulfill law the actions of a person often seem to simply fail to comprehend the teachings of Jesus. This is true since the teachings of Jesus are impossible to live up to in this life.
Since we always live by grace and we can never get past grace in this life there is not a need to feel that we must fulfill the law perfectly. We should desire to do so but know that we will fail.
If we believe we have succeeded in fulfilling the law entirely we have already failed in some why. The question is simply where our failure is.
Grace is something apart form our works and actions. It is a proper relation to Jesus and his works and actions.
We are saved by being united to faith to the perfect earthly life of Jesus and his saving work on the Cross.
We do not need to feel that we must add something to the salvation we have been given. We should seek to please God, but as children already part of his family.
Friday, July 7, 2006
John Piper Quote on Authenticity in the Christian Life
A John Piper quote of the day that I liked:
"O how serious is this matter of authenticity in the Christian life! A decision
for Christ is not nearly so crucial as a life for Christ."
"O how serious is this matter of authenticity in the Christian life! A decision
for Christ is not nearly so crucial as a life for Christ."
Monday, May 22, 2006
John Piper Quote on the Main Challenge of the Christian Life
A bit from a John Piper sermon that I liked. (That I liked especially that is :)
It seems to me that the main challenge of the Christian life is to see what you see. To see what you see. Because Jesus criticized us, “seeing they do not see.” So you can see and not see. So the main challenge of the Christian life is to see what you see. My job as a pastor is to see what I see, when I read the bible and then say it so others can see what I see. Because most of us don't see what we see. Because isn't it amazing that in the first line of Hebrew God spoke. I mean, do we stop and see what we see. God is not a silent God. He is not a withdrawn God. He is not an uncommunicative God. He is not like many of the people we know who when they enter a room slink off to the corner, because they don't want to talk....
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Two Commands and Their Implications
Two commands and their implications:
Love the lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul and love your neighbor as yourself are two central commands in the bible. Jesus as the one who must fulfill the law perfectly on our behalf fulfilled both of these. The interesting thing about the first command is that ALL our love is commanded from God and yet more is still required. This must mean in fact that loving God with all our heart mind and soul is not in contradiction with loving ourselves and our neighbor. There must be a type of love that not only places love in our neighbor but also is in fullness a love of God. If this is true one may well expect the enjoyment of a good game of hockey in heaven. We may take delight in it while at the same time placing our full love on God. It would seem unreasonable to assume that if we can have compatible love with humans that we cannot have it with other things. In fact we would be forced to say that Jesus had no love for anything but God and man if we said that. But clearly God delighted in his creation before man came so clearly we may love anything in creation and still fully love God. (I am not saying that we can fulfill this now but it would be possible were it not for sin) The implications of this would be that loving the Lord with all our heart in heaven need not mean that we may love nothing else in heaven. Heaven, contrary to some views would not be a place of constant worship of God. It would be in a sense in that all activities would become worship but it implies that there will be worship and climbing mountains and enjoying sunsets that all place our full enjoyment on God. If this doesn’t sound possible to you, you should consider if our Lord and savior Jesus Christ has not already fulfilled it. It would seem he must have. He had a love that was for man and yet gave all his love to God thus fulfilling the whole of the law. Jesus is one in will with the father so when the father declared his delight over his creation it is Jesus as well who delighted in it. (And God doesn’t change (And unlike the philosophical giants would like us to think that is a VERY good thing)) So Jesus on earth delighted in his fellow humans (he is fully human and fully God) and in creation all the while giving all his love to God. If these presuppositions and logic have truth to them there will be great Hockey games, epic D&D adventures (well I'm not positive about that one as I don't know how much fun fighting evil in a world where there is no evil is (but at least in that there will be great stories and thus roleplaying systems)), and stunningly deep Go games in heaven all of which are enjoyed while God is given all the love.
Love the lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul and love your neighbor as yourself are two central commands in the bible. Jesus as the one who must fulfill the law perfectly on our behalf fulfilled both of these. The interesting thing about the first command is that ALL our love is commanded from God and yet more is still required. This must mean in fact that loving God with all our heart mind and soul is not in contradiction with loving ourselves and our neighbor. There must be a type of love that not only places love in our neighbor but also is in fullness a love of God. If this is true one may well expect the enjoyment of a good game of hockey in heaven. We may take delight in it while at the same time placing our full love on God. It would seem unreasonable to assume that if we can have compatible love with humans that we cannot have it with other things. In fact we would be forced to say that Jesus had no love for anything but God and man if we said that. But clearly God delighted in his creation before man came so clearly we may love anything in creation and still fully love God. (I am not saying that we can fulfill this now but it would be possible were it not for sin) The implications of this would be that loving the Lord with all our heart in heaven need not mean that we may love nothing else in heaven. Heaven, contrary to some views would not be a place of constant worship of God. It would be in a sense in that all activities would become worship but it implies that there will be worship and climbing mountains and enjoying sunsets that all place our full enjoyment on God. If this doesn’t sound possible to you, you should consider if our Lord and savior Jesus Christ has not already fulfilled it. It would seem he must have. He had a love that was for man and yet gave all his love to God thus fulfilling the whole of the law. Jesus is one in will with the father so when the father declared his delight over his creation it is Jesus as well who delighted in it. (And God doesn’t change (And unlike the philosophical giants would like us to think that is a VERY good thing)) So Jesus on earth delighted in his fellow humans (he is fully human and fully God) and in creation all the while giving all his love to God. If these presuppositions and logic have truth to them there will be great Hockey games, epic D&D adventures (well I'm not positive about that one as I don't know how much fun fighting evil in a world where there is no evil is (but at least in that there will be great stories and thus roleplaying systems)), and stunningly deep Go games in heaven all of which are enjoyed while God is given all the love.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Low View of Sin
A text I read and disliked.
"People make God's will harder than it needs to be. It is not primarily a device for deciding details. (Where do I live? What college do I choose? Whom do I marry? Should I drink Pepsi or Coke?) God's will is more about finding out about God. Jesus simply summed up God's will for your life when He said: 'And you must love the Lord you God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.... [and] love your neighbor as your self' (Mark 12:30-31). That's it no secret formula. No list of 'pros and cons.' Just staying focused on God. The details and decisions of your life will fall into place if your heart is in the right place--and that's what 'God's will' is all about. Remember that God's will is not so much a function of time and place as it is an attitude of the heart."
I dislike this text because it has a low view of sin and this creates a misconception about the Christian life.
It would seem to twist the text to say that this is not the experience of believers. For None=None, No one= No one, All=All. This text shouldn't sunrise us at all if we consider the verse quoted in the text.
"And you must love the Lord you God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.... [and] love your neighbor as your self."
The is good and holy and just, but it is deadly when sin uses it. For sin makes us utterly incapable of loving the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul for one second. If you wish to please go read the Romans text again as you missed the entire point. Thus the text thus creates the misconception that everything will fall into place if our heart is right with God. This has two problems.
1) Our hearts are never right with God, even our best actions are flawed (see Romans text above).
2) The Christian life is one of great struggle, need for repentance and fasting.
This way the falling into place of the Christian life is an unrealistic and dangerous choice of words for those who God through his tender love has sent trials of immense proportions to them. Things may 'fall into place' but they may fall into place after facing difficulties of many kinds and after much prayer. Where do I live? What college do I choose? Whom do I marry? Should I drink Pepsi or Coke? All of these things listed (well accept the last its ridiculous to place with the others) can and often are long and difficult decisions for many. Just loving God does not bring the difficulty out of life and make everything fall into place. Things often bang, scratch, and crash into place in our lives even for those who walk with God.
"People make God's will harder than it needs to be. It is not primarily a device for deciding details. (Where do I live? What college do I choose? Whom do I marry? Should I drink Pepsi or Coke?) God's will is more about finding out about God. Jesus simply summed up God's will for your life when He said: 'And you must love the Lord you God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.... [and] love your neighbor as your self' (Mark 12:30-31). That's it no secret formula. No list of 'pros and cons.' Just staying focused on God. The details and decisions of your life will fall into place if your heart is in the right place--and that's what 'God's will' is all about. Remember that God's will is not so much a function of time and place as it is an attitude of the heart."
I dislike this text because it has a low view of sin and this creates a misconception about the Christian life.
Romans 3:10-18
As it is written, "None is righteous, no, not one;
No one understands;
No one seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become worthless.
No one does good, not even one.
Their throat is an open grave;
They use their tongues to deceive.
The venom of apses is under their lips.
Their mouth is full of bitterness and courses.
There feet are swift to shed blood;
In their paths are ruin and misery.
And the way of peace they have not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes.
It would seem to twist the text to say that this is not the experience of believers. For None=None, No one= No one, All=All. This text shouldn't sunrise us at all if we consider the verse quoted in the text.
"And you must love the Lord you God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.... [and] love your neighbor as your self."
The is good and holy and just, but it is deadly when sin uses it. For sin makes us utterly incapable of loving the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul for one second. If you wish to please go read the Romans text again as you missed the entire point. Thus the text thus creates the misconception that everything will fall into place if our heart is right with God. This has two problems.
1) Our hearts are never right with God, even our best actions are flawed (see Romans text above).
2) The Christian life is one of great struggle, need for repentance and fasting.
This way the falling into place of the Christian life is an unrealistic and dangerous choice of words for those who God through his tender love has sent trials of immense proportions to them. Things may 'fall into place' but they may fall into place after facing difficulties of many kinds and after much prayer. Where do I live? What college do I choose? Whom do I marry? Should I drink Pepsi or Coke? All of these things listed (well accept the last its ridiculous to place with the others) can and often are long and difficult decisions for many. Just loving God does not bring the difficulty out of life and make everything fall into place. Things often bang, scratch, and crash into place in our lives even for those who walk with God.
Thursday, June 2, 2005
Bearing Good Fruit
A brief piece of writing I composed on a fundamentally important question.
John the Baptist spoke in Luke 3:9, "The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." Lack of good fruit is proof of a fatal condition in a man's heart. We all tend to brush over such verses carelessly. The reason for this is that God causes fruit to spring forth in the lives of all Christians. We know this because all Christians have the Holy Spirit helping them daily become sweeter and sweeter. And since we are Christians we must have this fruit. We as Christians, however, should check to see that we truly are bearing good fruit. For we may be being deceived by the devil.
Jesus speaks of this deception in Matthew 7:21-23: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and preform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you, away from me you evildoers." This passage should be of great concern for us for Jesus speaks of this group as consisting of many.' These people surely displayed what looked like good fruit and yet they were thrown into the fire for lack of it. For this reason we need to contemplate deeply what truly constitutes good fruit, so that none of us will be thrown into the fire of hell because we were deceived by the devil and our wicked hearts into believing we were saved.
How does a person know if they have good fruits? John the Baptist spoke that the fruits must be good, not any old fruits will do. How can we be sure that the fruits we see showing up in our lives are not the fruits similar to a kind and generous atheist. For our fruits may well look good by human standards, but how can we know that they are the kind that flow from the Holy Spirits infusion of Christs righteousness into our lives. I believe that the answer can be found in our attitude toward God. God demands from us all to love him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. We on earth will surely never be able to give him this, but if Christ's righteousness is being given to us in increasing measures we will surely see strides as our love grows for God.
If we see our love for Christ growing daily this will be a sure sign that we are saved. But, if our love to Christ is very similar to what it was five or ten years ago we should begin to wonder what is going on in our lives. In Jesus's parable of the sower the good see that produced fruit multiplied thirty or sixty or even a hundred times. Since the Christian life is meant to multiply in such terms faith that multiplied but a very small crop must be examined carefully. Those who the spirit is creating fruit in will naturally have a greater desire and love for God.
John the Baptist spoke in Luke 3:9, "The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." Lack of good fruit is proof of a fatal condition in a man's heart. We all tend to brush over such verses carelessly. The reason for this is that God causes fruit to spring forth in the lives of all Christians. We know this because all Christians have the Holy Spirit helping them daily become sweeter and sweeter. And since we are Christians we must have this fruit. We as Christians, however, should check to see that we truly are bearing good fruit. For we may be being deceived by the devil.
Jesus speaks of this deception in Matthew 7:21-23: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and preform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you, away from me you evildoers." This passage should be of great concern for us for Jesus speaks of this group as consisting of many.' These people surely displayed what looked like good fruit and yet they were thrown into the fire for lack of it. For this reason we need to contemplate deeply what truly constitutes good fruit, so that none of us will be thrown into the fire of hell because we were deceived by the devil and our wicked hearts into believing we were saved.
How does a person know if they have good fruits? John the Baptist spoke that the fruits must be good, not any old fruits will do. How can we be sure that the fruits we see showing up in our lives are not the fruits similar to a kind and generous atheist. For our fruits may well look good by human standards, but how can we know that they are the kind that flow from the Holy Spirits infusion of Christs righteousness into our lives. I believe that the answer can be found in our attitude toward God. God demands from us all to love him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. We on earth will surely never be able to give him this, but if Christ's righteousness is being given to us in increasing measures we will surely see strides as our love grows for God.
If we see our love for Christ growing daily this will be a sure sign that we are saved. But, if our love to Christ is very similar to what it was five or ten years ago we should begin to wonder what is going on in our lives. In Jesus's parable of the sower the good see that produced fruit multiplied thirty or sixty or even a hundred times. Since the Christian life is meant to multiply in such terms faith that multiplied but a very small crop must be examined carefully. Those who the spirit is creating fruit in will naturally have a greater desire and love for God.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)