By John Piper February 20, 2002
I've been thinking again about the importance of reading and writing. There are several reasons I write. One of the most personally compelling is that I read. I mean, my main spiritual sustenance comes by the Holy Spirit from reading. Therefore reading is more important to me than eating. If I went blind, I would pay to have someone read to me. I would try to learn Braille. I would buy "books on tape." I would rather go without food than go without books. Therefore, writing feels very lifegiving to me, since I get so much of my own life from reading.
Combine this with what Paul says in Ephesians 3:3-4, "By revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. And by referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ." The early church was established by apostolic writing as well as apostolic preaching. God chose to send his living Word into the world for 30 years, and his written Word into the world for 2000+ years. Think of the assumption behind this divine decision. People in each generation would be dependent on those who read. Some people, if not all, would have to learn to read—and read well, in order to be faithful to God.
So it has been for thousands of years. Generation after generation has read the insights of its writers. This is why fresh statements of old truth are always needed. Without them people will read error. Daniel Webster once said,
If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, error will be; if God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy; if the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will.1
Millions of people are going to read. If they don't read contemporary Christian books, they are going to read contemporary secular books. They will read. It is amazing to watch people in the airports. At any given moment there must be hundreds of thousands of people reading just in airports. One of the things we Christians need to be committed to, besides reading, is giving away solid books to those who might read them, but would never buy them.
The ripple effect is incalculable. Consider this illustration:
A book by Richard Sibbes, one of the choicest of the Puritan writers, was read by Richard Baxter, who was greatly blessed by it. Baxter then wrote his Call to the Unconverted which deeply influenced Philip Doddridge, who in turn wrote The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. This brought the young William Wilberforce, subsequent English statesman and foe of slavery, to serious thoughts of eternity. Wilberforce wrote his Practical Book of Christianity which fired the soul of Leigh Richmond. Richmond, in turn, wrote The Dairyman's Daughter, a book that brought thousands to the Lord, helping Thomas Chalmers the great preacher, among others.2
It seems to me that in a literate culture like ours, where most of us know how to read and where books are available, the Biblical mandate is: keep on reading what will open the Holy Scriptures to you more and more. And keep praying for Bible-saturated writers. There are many great old books to read. But each new generation needs its own writers to make the message fresh. Read and pray. And then obey.
Pastor John
Notes
[1] Ernest Reisinger, "Every Christian a Publisher," Free Grace Broadcaster, Issue 51, Winter, 1995, p. 17.
[2] "Every Christian a Publisher," p. 18.
This reading is found in A Godward Life, Book One (Multnomah, 1997), pp. 58-59.
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© Desiring God
Showing posts with label Reflections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reflections. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Friday, May 26, 2006
Free at Last!
1 Peter 2:16
16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants [1] of God.
The ignorance of foolish men holds most of humanity in bondage. Foolish men seek earthly treasure over the heavenly. They seek immediate gratification through enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season. Delayed gratification offers lasting pleasure that honors God. Foolish men lord themselves over others and lead them by force, rather than humbling themselves and leading as a servant.
I do not want to be a foolish man, but at times I clothe myself with those chains of bondage. Father, you beckon me to “live as free”, so why do I so often seek freedom by going back to those things that once held me captive? Jesus, you are the great Liberator! You have set me free, now help me to remain free. Don’t allow my shallow heart to use the freedom that you purchased with your blood as an excuse for my reckless behavior.
What prisoner of war long held captive and tortured physically, emotionally and spiritually, would then turn on his liberator and walk back into that dungeon of despair knowing his freedom was bought with the blood of an innocent?
Christ my King – my Liberator – you have led me out of captivity and I am free, not to do as I please, but free to serve you, my gentle and merciful ruler. Let me honor you with the life that I choose. I choose to serve you and to be loved by you. I choose to cast aside my foolishness. My servitude in your great Kingdom has brought me freedom. May I roam the landscape of your Kingdom freely always!
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
The Glove on God's Hand
1 Peter 2:13-15
13Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.
Submission is a difficult thing for me. I have trouble submitting to the LORD who created me, sustains me, and holds my destiny in his hands. And that same LORD is telling me to submit to those in authority with whom I could argue that I have as much right to “rule” as they.
I think that what you’re saying here LORD is that those earthly rulers are like a glove on your mighty hand – an extension of your authority in over my life.
I think of those animal kingdom shows where there is a dominant leader in the pack and the other members know their place. Like one of those animals vying for authority, sometimes I think more highly of myself than I ought and thus I challenge your authority over me. But burned on the canvas of my mind is a picture of the fierce and rightful ruler, hovering over the cowering challenger who knows he’s met his match. Tail tucked in, he’s learned submission through fear. So I too must submit out of reverence for you.
I think of my relationship to my government, to my employer, and to my church. I challenge authority on every level all the time. I may know as much about the issues as a politician; I may have what I consider better insight and education than my employer; and I may even have a more biblical worldview and gifting as a teacher than some pastors. Even so, they are the glove on your hand.
Help me to submit out of reverence for you and for your name’s sake.
13Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.
Submission is a difficult thing for me. I have trouble submitting to the LORD who created me, sustains me, and holds my destiny in his hands. And that same LORD is telling me to submit to those in authority with whom I could argue that I have as much right to “rule” as they.
I think that what you’re saying here LORD is that those earthly rulers are like a glove on your mighty hand – an extension of your authority in over my life.
I think of those animal kingdom shows where there is a dominant leader in the pack and the other members know their place. Like one of those animals vying for authority, sometimes I think more highly of myself than I ought and thus I challenge your authority over me. But burned on the canvas of my mind is a picture of the fierce and rightful ruler, hovering over the cowering challenger who knows he’s met his match. Tail tucked in, he’s learned submission through fear. So I too must submit out of reverence for you.
I think of my relationship to my government, to my employer, and to my church. I challenge authority on every level all the time. I may know as much about the issues as a politician; I may have what I consider better insight and education than my employer; and I may even have a more biblical worldview and gifting as a teacher than some pastors. Even so, they are the glove on your hand.
Help me to submit out of reverence for you and for your name’s sake.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Sidetracked Sojourners and Truckstop Pilgrims
1 Peter 2:11-12
11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
If I am a pilgrim and sojourner simply passing through this world then why is it that I have become so settled and contented making myself at home? It is as if on my way to
“Sojourner” describes the relationship with where I am now along the road of sanctification. It implies constant movement and never settling in.
“Pilgrim” describes the relationship between where I am now and my final destination. A pilgrim has a destination in mind and stops at nothing to get there.
Along the journey from salvation to sanctification and onward to glorification in heaven, I must recognize that the desires of my flesh that once reigned unjustly over my body like Jadis over Narnia – those desires are in relentless pursuit of me, beckoning me to forget the destination and the One who awaits me there. Those desires beg me to return to the familiar land of complacency. As I travel I am fighting this war for my own soul and it is a fight for nobility which has been bestowed upon me by the King himself.
Many along my path will have no concept of my sojourn or the destination and they will be threatened by the passion with which I move through this decaying world. But I must maintain the King’s nobility and represent him well so that when he greets them with an invitation to join him, they will be encouraged by the memory of a pilgrim they once met along the way, and as a result join the only trustworthy pursuit in life- that of the Kingdom of God.
Monday, May 15, 2006
The Temple Today
1 Peter 2:4-10
4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."[a] 7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,[b]"[c] 8and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall."[d] They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Though the religious elite controlled the Temple, which was the symbol of God’s presence, that building was already crumbling before its destruction in AD 70. The moment that Emmanuel cam to Israel the Temple began to lose its significance. After all, the building symbolically housed God’s Shekinah glory, but his glory could not be found there. Instead it was found in human flesh wandering around the Galilean countryside. Like a stone rejected, the religious found no place for Jesus in their religious system. But he who was rejected became the chief cornerstone for the new and living temple of God.
This temple would be mobile, like the Tabernacle. The other was stationary. This temple would be for all nations and made from “stones” found and chosen at the four corners of the earth. The Temple in Jerusalem gave preference for Jews and was proudly quarried close to home. The new temple brought with it a new and representative priesthood. The old was by birthright and privilege.
As the religious leaders walked ceremonially through the old Temple, they literally stumbled over the Rock – the LORD Jesus Christ. His appearance was rough and he did not fit their meticulous plans. So they rejected him and sent him outside the city walls to be crushed for gravel and used to walk upon. He was crush, but with every blow of their hammer a piece of Messiah grew into another spiritual stone. They could not diminish his influence. They only expanded it as the new temple came to life through his resurrection.
And now I have become one of his elect – a chosen generation – a priest in his service. As a small, insignificant stone in the glory of his new temple called the Body of Christ, my presence beckons me to proclaim what the religious of his day could not see. Though I once was a useless piece of gravel, he has chosen me and incorporated me into his master plan. I stand only because the Chief Cornerstone is my foundation. I have obtained his disturbing mercy and have been made to understand what so many have missed – that the eternal Word of God is none other than Jesus the Messiah. And because I now believe, I will never be put to shame. I am a chosen part of his glorious new Temple – the Body of Christ.
4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."[a] 7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,[b]"[c] 8and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall."[d] They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Though the religious elite controlled the Temple, which was the symbol of God’s presence, that building was already crumbling before its destruction in AD 70. The moment that Emmanuel cam to Israel the Temple began to lose its significance. After all, the building symbolically housed God’s Shekinah glory, but his glory could not be found there. Instead it was found in human flesh wandering around the Galilean countryside. Like a stone rejected, the religious found no place for Jesus in their religious system. But he who was rejected became the chief cornerstone for the new and living temple of God.
This temple would be mobile, like the Tabernacle. The other was stationary. This temple would be for all nations and made from “stones” found and chosen at the four corners of the earth. The Temple in Jerusalem gave preference for Jews and was proudly quarried close to home. The new temple brought with it a new and representative priesthood. The old was by birthright and privilege.
As the religious leaders walked ceremonially through the old Temple, they literally stumbled over the Rock – the LORD Jesus Christ. His appearance was rough and he did not fit their meticulous plans. So they rejected him and sent him outside the city walls to be crushed for gravel and used to walk upon. He was crush, but with every blow of their hammer a piece of Messiah grew into another spiritual stone. They could not diminish his influence. They only expanded it as the new temple came to life through his resurrection.
And now I have become one of his elect – a chosen generation – a priest in his service. As a small, insignificant stone in the glory of his new temple called the Body of Christ, my presence beckons me to proclaim what the religious of his day could not see. Though I once was a useless piece of gravel, he has chosen me and incorporated me into his master plan. I stand only because the Chief Cornerstone is my foundation. I have obtained his disturbing mercy and have been made to understand what so many have missed – that the eternal Word of God is none other than Jesus the Messiah. And because I now believe, I will never be put to shame. I am a chosen part of his glorious new Temple – the Body of Christ.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
The Tree in Me
1 Peter 1:25-2:3
25but the word of the Lord stands forever."[a] And this is the word that was preached to you. 1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
The word of the Lord which endures forever is the gospel that was preached to me. The gospel then endures forever. And if I am born again by that word being planted in my heart and mind as an incorruptible seed, then the Tree of Life has sprouted forth in the garden of my life.
Like Adam, I am to tend to the garden and may eat the fruit therein. But there was another tree in Adam’s Garden as there once was in mine. The moment Christ broke through with his precious blood, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil began to be uprooted and started itself dying, even as the Tree of Life started to grow. As the keeper of my garden I must clip the roots of the evil tree which are malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and evil speech. The Devil who planted that tree has spent years nurturing its roots. He acted with malice against Yahweh to destroy His good creation. The Devil’s hypocrisy was evident in that he disguises himself as an angel of light. It was his envy of God’s glory that set things in motion. And through evil speech he spread his filth depositing the seed of sinful nature into all mankind.
Now, Christ Jesus has reestablished the Tree of Life through his eternal word planted in me. The growth is new and young and must be nurtured as a babe growing by its mother’s milk. So too, I must desire the pure milk of the word that the Tree of Life would grow in me and bear eternal fruit. If indeed life is in me, then I will desire what brings life and shun that which brings death. I have tasted O Lord that you are gracious . . . bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in me as I drink in your eternal and incorruptible word.
25but the word of the Lord stands forever."[a] And this is the word that was preached to you. 1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
The word of the Lord which endures forever is the gospel that was preached to me. The gospel then endures forever. And if I am born again by that word being planted in my heart and mind as an incorruptible seed, then the Tree of Life has sprouted forth in the garden of my life.
Like Adam, I am to tend to the garden and may eat the fruit therein. But there was another tree in Adam’s Garden as there once was in mine. The moment Christ broke through with his precious blood, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil began to be uprooted and started itself dying, even as the Tree of Life started to grow. As the keeper of my garden I must clip the roots of the evil tree which are malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and evil speech. The Devil who planted that tree has spent years nurturing its roots. He acted with malice against Yahweh to destroy His good creation. The Devil’s hypocrisy was evident in that he disguises himself as an angel of light. It was his envy of God’s glory that set things in motion. And through evil speech he spread his filth depositing the seed of sinful nature into all mankind.
Now, Christ Jesus has reestablished the Tree of Life through his eternal word planted in me. The growth is new and young and must be nurtured as a babe growing by its mother’s milk. So too, I must desire the pure milk of the word that the Tree of Life would grow in me and bear eternal fruit. If indeed life is in me, then I will desire what brings life and shun that which brings death. I have tasted O Lord that you are gracious . . . bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in me as I drink in your eternal and incorruptible word.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Deadly Rationalism in Preaching
I'll make a departure from the norm again today and post a quote from one of my favorite author/preachers, A.W. Tozer:
And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your
faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
--1 Corinthians 2:4-5
There is today an evangelical rationalism not unlike the rationalism
taught by the scribes and Pharisees. They said the truth is in the
word, and if you want to know the truth, go to the rabbi and learn
the word. If you get the word, you have the truth....
But revelation is not enough! There must be illumination before
revelation can get to a person's soul. It is not enough that I hold
an inspired book in my hands. I must have an inspired heart. There is
the difference, in spite of the evangelical rationalist who insists
that revelation is enough....
In His days Christ's conflict was with the theological rationalist.
It revealed itself in the Sermon on the Mount and in the whole book
of John. Just as Colossians argues against Manichaeism and Galatians
argues against Jewish legalism, so the book of John is a long,
inspired, passionately outpoured book trying to save us from
evangelical rationalism--the doctrine that says the text is enough.
Textualism is as deadly as liberalism. Faith Beyond Reason, 23-24.
"Lord, I believe strongly in the inspiration and authority of the
Scriptures; I am committed to expository preaching. So I see the
danger and pray that You might keep me from this error of
textualism. Amen."
And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your
faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
--1 Corinthians 2:4-5
There is today an evangelical rationalism not unlike the rationalism
taught by the scribes and Pharisees. They said the truth is in the
word, and if you want to know the truth, go to the rabbi and learn
the word. If you get the word, you have the truth....
But revelation is not enough! There must be illumination before
revelation can get to a person's soul. It is not enough that I hold
an inspired book in my hands. I must have an inspired heart. There is
the difference, in spite of the evangelical rationalist who insists
that revelation is enough....
In His days Christ's conflict was with the theological rationalist.
It revealed itself in the Sermon on the Mount and in the whole book
of John. Just as Colossians argues against Manichaeism and Galatians
argues against Jewish legalism, so the book of John is a long,
inspired, passionately outpoured book trying to save us from
evangelical rationalism--the doctrine that says the text is enough.
Textualism is as deadly as liberalism. Faith Beyond Reason, 23-24.
"Lord, I believe strongly in the inspiration and authority of the
Scriptures; I am committed to expository preaching. So I see the
danger and pray that You might keep me from this error of
textualism. Amen."
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
The Seed of Love
1 Peter 1:22-25
22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.[b] 23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25but the word of the Lord stands forever."[c] And this is the word that was preached to you.
Spirit of God you have purified my soul with the truth of your word by enabling me to obey and become as you – filled with sacrificial love. Where your kind of love is lacking in me, I pray that you would bring conviction through your word and fill those voids so that I may love fervently and without regard for what I may get in return. The love of this world is turned upside down. We love as long as we are getting something in return. But that is not the way that you love Father.
You love because of who you are, first and foremost. You loved me before I returned the affection. While I was rebellious and filled with sinful pride you modeled your love and confirmed it through the death of your Son, my Savior and King.
Now I am enabled to love purely and fervently because your sacrificial love has brought a harvest of righteousness into my heart enabling me to do so unconditionally and mercifully. And when I do love as you, you get the glory, not me. The seed of that love has been your living and abiding word which bears the fruit of your love within me. It is through that word that I have been born again into a life of obedience. And your word is what makes me eternally alive. My body and its desires live but a season, but your word planted within my heart endures forever and bears a harvest of righteousness to your glory.
May my heart and mind be transformed by your eternal word today. Make me to have your kind of sacrificial love.
22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.[b] 23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25but the word of the Lord stands forever."[c] And this is the word that was preached to you.
Spirit of God you have purified my soul with the truth of your word by enabling me to obey and become as you – filled with sacrificial love. Where your kind of love is lacking in me, I pray that you would bring conviction through your word and fill those voids so that I may love fervently and without regard for what I may get in return. The love of this world is turned upside down. We love as long as we are getting something in return. But that is not the way that you love Father.
You love because of who you are, first and foremost. You loved me before I returned the affection. While I was rebellious and filled with sinful pride you modeled your love and confirmed it through the death of your Son, my Savior and King.
Now I am enabled to love purely and fervently because your sacrificial love has brought a harvest of righteousness into my heart enabling me to do so unconditionally and mercifully. And when I do love as you, you get the glory, not me. The seed of that love has been your living and abiding word which bears the fruit of your love within me. It is through that word that I have been born again into a life of obedience. And your word is what makes me eternally alive. My body and its desires live but a season, but your word planted within my heart endures forever and bears a harvest of righteousness to your glory.
May my heart and mind be transformed by your eternal word today. Make me to have your kind of sacrificial love.
Monday, May 08, 2006
God's Disturbing Mercy
1 Peter 1:17-21
17Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Father I call on you this morning knowing that you are the impartial judge of my life. I know that I am in Christ and that it is his virtue that brought me into your disturbing mercy to begin with. Though I’m a child, yea because I am a child you have warned me to live with a healthy and reverent fear of what you think of my life. Your grace and mercy do not cancel out your justice. Rather, your grace and mercy are complimentary of your justice. In light of what a short life I will have here on earth compared with the vastness of eternity awaiting me, I should live with a constant thought toward pleasing you.
I can be confident that the blood of Christ, more precious than any substance, has redeemed me like a prisoner of war bought back from captivity. What prisoner of war would come back to his own camp having been freed by the sacrificial death of his future king and then turn and work for the one who held him captive? Blatant sin in the life of a believer is tantamount to treason and treachery. And I am guilty.
Father I confess that I have failed to honor your Son’s redemption of my soul by living with little regard for what you think of me. Your word says that your plan of redemption was put into effect before my rebellious fathers turned away from you. Just as you raised Christ Jesus from the dead, I pray that you would infuse me with resurrection power that I might die to sin and live to Christ. And when that happens, I know that I will fare well at your Judgment. Pour out your mercy and grace upon me and make me holy as you are holy. My hope rests not in myself, but is in you alone.
17Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Father I call on you this morning knowing that you are the impartial judge of my life. I know that I am in Christ and that it is his virtue that brought me into your disturbing mercy to begin with. Though I’m a child, yea because I am a child you have warned me to live with a healthy and reverent fear of what you think of my life. Your grace and mercy do not cancel out your justice. Rather, your grace and mercy are complimentary of your justice. In light of what a short life I will have here on earth compared with the vastness of eternity awaiting me, I should live with a constant thought toward pleasing you.
I can be confident that the blood of Christ, more precious than any substance, has redeemed me like a prisoner of war bought back from captivity. What prisoner of war would come back to his own camp having been freed by the sacrificial death of his future king and then turn and work for the one who held him captive? Blatant sin in the life of a believer is tantamount to treason and treachery. And I am guilty.
Father I confess that I have failed to honor your Son’s redemption of my soul by living with little regard for what you think of me. Your word says that your plan of redemption was put into effect before my rebellious fathers turned away from you. Just as you raised Christ Jesus from the dead, I pray that you would infuse me with resurrection power that I might die to sin and live to Christ. And when that happens, I know that I will fare well at your Judgment. Pour out your mercy and grace upon me and make me holy as you are holy. My hope rests not in myself, but is in you alone.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Godly Desire: the Fuel for a Life of Purpose
“May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose.” – Psalm 20:4
What is your heart’s desire? What is your purpose in life? Our glorious Creator had in mind for us a purpose when He thought us into existence. So our purpose in life is God-ordained and will be found by us only when we pursue God Himself. If we seek our purpose apart from God, we will come up empty-handed. “Seek first His Kingdom” (Matthew 6:33) gives us insight into this universal quest: our general purpose in life is to establish the rule of God in our hearts. But what about our specific purpose as individuals? What is your heart’s desire? If you are seeking God first, then you can trust your heart’s desire for there is a divine intersection where God’s purpose for us and our own desire meet. Like a delicate balancing act the two should merge and become a single path leading in the same direction. Be careful however because desires can become dangerous when they are disconnected from our eternal purpose. However, when desire flows from purpose, they act as a mighty current carrying us toward our God-ordained destiny! So God has given us all the general purpose of living a life of passionate worship. But every individual has a specific purpose that is discovered by the desire that God births into that worshipful heart. When your desire is from God, you can trust your desire. And when you are living God’s purpose, you can rest in the assurance that it will be both fulfilling and fulfilled. Godly desire will become the very fuel that energizes you to life a life of purpose.
Application:
What are you doing to grow in God’s general purpose of living a life of worship? Would you say that you are seeking God’s kingdom first, or your own? Are the desires of your heart God-centered or self-centered? Write out what the desires of your heart are in the areas of personal growth, family, ministry, and career. Whose kingdom will be expanded if your heart’s desires are fulfilled?
What is your heart’s desire? What is your purpose in life? Our glorious Creator had in mind for us a purpose when He thought us into existence. So our purpose in life is God-ordained and will be found by us only when we pursue God Himself. If we seek our purpose apart from God, we will come up empty-handed. “Seek first His Kingdom” (Matthew 6:33) gives us insight into this universal quest: our general purpose in life is to establish the rule of God in our hearts. But what about our specific purpose as individuals? What is your heart’s desire? If you are seeking God first, then you can trust your heart’s desire for there is a divine intersection where God’s purpose for us and our own desire meet. Like a delicate balancing act the two should merge and become a single path leading in the same direction. Be careful however because desires can become dangerous when they are disconnected from our eternal purpose. However, when desire flows from purpose, they act as a mighty current carrying us toward our God-ordained destiny! So God has given us all the general purpose of living a life of passionate worship. But every individual has a specific purpose that is discovered by the desire that God births into that worshipful heart. When your desire is from God, you can trust your desire. And when you are living God’s purpose, you can rest in the assurance that it will be both fulfilling and fulfilled. Godly desire will become the very fuel that energizes you to life a life of purpose.
Application:
What are you doing to grow in God’s general purpose of living a life of worship? Would you say that you are seeking God’s kingdom first, or your own? Are the desires of your heart God-centered or self-centered? Write out what the desires of your heart are in the areas of personal growth, family, ministry, and career. Whose kingdom will be expanded if your heart’s desires are fulfilled?
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Getting Beyond Your Past and Into Your Purpose
“By my God I can leap over a wall” – Psalm 18:29
Many are the walls that stand between me and who God has purposed me to become. My past rises up made by each sinful decision, which like blocks, are stacked one on top of the other. Strongholds from the past often seem insurmountable because I failed to deal with them one at a time. I have unwillingly constructed a wall of failures pieced together by the mortar of neglect and apathy. Left to myself I would never get beyond the wall to my destination. But “by my God” the wall of my past can at once be conquered.
The wall of Jericho was a product of Israel’s failure to tackle a problem head-on in God’s timing. So after 40 years of wandering through the wilderness, they were forced to deal with a problem that had been compounded by a lack of faith, apathy, and neglect.
Be thankful my heart, that I need not deconstruct this intimidating structure for there are bricks in my own wall that left me with massive scars. Like Joshua of old saw God bring the wall down in a moment, that same God will strengthen my feeble legs and enable me to leap over my strongholds of past failure. And leap I must, not in my strength, but by the power of my God. And as He swiftly and gently conquers that which I could not, I must hold tightly to Him for He alone knows what awaits me on the other side of the wall. This thing I do know, that as I move toward the heights of His purpose for my life, He will enlarge the path beneath my feet and deliver me into a spacious land because He delights in being my God (v. 19).
Application:
What walls have you constructed through neglect and apathy that are keeping you out of the “promised land” of God's purpose for your life?
Are you prepared to face those walls and take a leap of faith headlong into God’s purpose regardless of how intimidated you are by the fear of failure?
Many are the walls that stand between me and who God has purposed me to become. My past rises up made by each sinful decision, which like blocks, are stacked one on top of the other. Strongholds from the past often seem insurmountable because I failed to deal with them one at a time. I have unwillingly constructed a wall of failures pieced together by the mortar of neglect and apathy. Left to myself I would never get beyond the wall to my destination. But “by my God” the wall of my past can at once be conquered.
The wall of Jericho was a product of Israel’s failure to tackle a problem head-on in God’s timing. So after 40 years of wandering through the wilderness, they were forced to deal with a problem that had been compounded by a lack of faith, apathy, and neglect.
Be thankful my heart, that I need not deconstruct this intimidating structure for there are bricks in my own wall that left me with massive scars. Like Joshua of old saw God bring the wall down in a moment, that same God will strengthen my feeble legs and enable me to leap over my strongholds of past failure. And leap I must, not in my strength, but by the power of my God. And as He swiftly and gently conquers that which I could not, I must hold tightly to Him for He alone knows what awaits me on the other side of the wall. This thing I do know, that as I move toward the heights of His purpose for my life, He will enlarge the path beneath my feet and deliver me into a spacious land because He delights in being my God (v. 19).
Application:
What walls have you constructed through neglect and apathy that are keeping you out of the “promised land” of God's purpose for your life?
Are you prepared to face those walls and take a leap of faith headlong into God’s purpose regardless of how intimidated you are by the fear of failure?
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Just Like My Daddy
1 Peter 1:13-16
13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."[a]
In light of the trials I have endured and the faith which has resulted; in light of the way the Spirit of Christ preached the gospel message through the ages that I might be an object of his disturbing grace; in light of the fact that I have been elected as an inheritor of Christ’s incorruptible Kingdom; in light of all this you LORD have asked me, nay commanded me, to prepare for battle. Like a soldier I have much hanging off of me externally – unnecessary garb that will only serve to slow me down. You have exhorted me to pull in and tuck away all that would trip me up – all that would slow me down.
There are so many things that need to be put away: pride, being a people pleaser, desires that are unbefitting for a disciple, worries of this world, and even sometimes what I call “ministry”. Help me Father to pull in those loose ends in my thinking and regain control, or rather give you control of my mind so that I might be sober with Christ-centered priorities. Not looking back at my failures but forward to your promises, which are the fulfillment of all grace coming to me at the revelation of my King, Jesus Christ. I have no need to think other than that my Lord upon his return will continue to extend the grace he offered me on the day he brought me into the presence of his Father, our Father.
Father I know you desire obedience from me just as I do from my own children – for your respect and for my good. Often times in the past I have allowed my mind to drift back to the days of my ignorance when I could tell no difference between rocks and diamonds, fools gold and the real thing. But now I do know and my mind has been trained by your Spirit to recognize a counterfeit. Don’t allow me to be a poor steward of the brilliant and costly grace you’ve displayed and given to me. Help me – cause me to be holy as you build your character into me. You are holy my Father and I want to be like you so that you are glorified in me. Every father would be honored by the thought that his son wants to grow up and be just like his daddy. Abba, Daddy, I know that you alone are God. I want to give you glory and experience the pure pleasure of being holy – like you – because that is my destiny in Christ Jesus.
13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."[a]
In light of the trials I have endured and the faith which has resulted; in light of the way the Spirit of Christ preached the gospel message through the ages that I might be an object of his disturbing grace; in light of the fact that I have been elected as an inheritor of Christ’s incorruptible Kingdom; in light of all this you LORD have asked me, nay commanded me, to prepare for battle. Like a soldier I have much hanging off of me externally – unnecessary garb that will only serve to slow me down. You have exhorted me to pull in and tuck away all that would trip me up – all that would slow me down.
There are so many things that need to be put away: pride, being a people pleaser, desires that are unbefitting for a disciple, worries of this world, and even sometimes what I call “ministry”. Help me Father to pull in those loose ends in my thinking and regain control, or rather give you control of my mind so that I might be sober with Christ-centered priorities. Not looking back at my failures but forward to your promises, which are the fulfillment of all grace coming to me at the revelation of my King, Jesus Christ. I have no need to think other than that my Lord upon his return will continue to extend the grace he offered me on the day he brought me into the presence of his Father, our Father.
Father I know you desire obedience from me just as I do from my own children – for your respect and for my good. Often times in the past I have allowed my mind to drift back to the days of my ignorance when I could tell no difference between rocks and diamonds, fools gold and the real thing. But now I do know and my mind has been trained by your Spirit to recognize a counterfeit. Don’t allow me to be a poor steward of the brilliant and costly grace you’ve displayed and given to me. Help me – cause me to be holy as you build your character into me. You are holy my Father and I want to be like you so that you are glorified in me. Every father would be honored by the thought that his son wants to grow up and be just like his daddy. Abba, Daddy, I know that you alone are God. I want to give you glory and experience the pure pleasure of being holy – like you – because that is my destiny in Christ Jesus.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Searching for Treasure
1 Peter 1:10-12
10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Since the dawn of time prophets have labored looking forward in hope toward what I have the privilege of looking back upon in faith. Those prophets “inquired” and “searched carefully” for the treasures hidden in the field. They left no stone unturned and allowed no opportunity to pass. They weren’t sure when or where the Christ would come, but they understood why. The prophets knew of their sin and shortcomings and that drove them to a life of meticulous searching. They were confident that God’s merciful grace was coming and that his lavish character would be generous with the benefits. They worked and I benefited from their labor.
It is much easier for me to buy a car than for me to build one. For 100 years engineers have worked to design and perfect something that I now use daily. I’m indebted to them for their life’s work has become a necessity to me.
How much more am I indebted to the faithful who came before me, praying and acting in faith, even at their peril, writing of their findings and passing the treasure of the knowledge of Christ down as an inheritance to me. The Spirit of Christ compelled them with the idea of a Suffering Servant and motivated them with the thought of a glorious Messiah that would reign. They understood that their toil would not produce much fruit in their lifetime, but they labored on in search of the treasure that their incomplete map might be passed to another generation. And their hope was that one day a long way off, a generation would find the Treasure and steward it well.
In effect, my forebears were actually preaching the gospel through the portals of time and their voices are still ringing out to this day saying, “This is the way . . . the Treasure is here in this field. The Cross marks the spot! Now go sell all you have and purchase that field and be a good steward of that Treasure – our Christ – whose glory we labored and gave our lives for.” And as they preached this simple message the angels in heaven perched on their posts looking down in amazement, even a bit puzzled, recognizing the likeness of their King on the face of a baby – in the touch of a healer – and in the blood of a condemned criminal. And then early one morning they too grasped the glory of our priceless Treasure.
Lord Jesus, may I seek you and enjoy you with the same intensity that the prophets and angels did. And may I be a good steward pointing others to you, our blessed Treasure.
10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Since the dawn of time prophets have labored looking forward in hope toward what I have the privilege of looking back upon in faith. Those prophets “inquired” and “searched carefully” for the treasures hidden in the field. They left no stone unturned and allowed no opportunity to pass. They weren’t sure when or where the Christ would come, but they understood why. The prophets knew of their sin and shortcomings and that drove them to a life of meticulous searching. They were confident that God’s merciful grace was coming and that his lavish character would be generous with the benefits. They worked and I benefited from their labor.
It is much easier for me to buy a car than for me to build one. For 100 years engineers have worked to design and perfect something that I now use daily. I’m indebted to them for their life’s work has become a necessity to me.
How much more am I indebted to the faithful who came before me, praying and acting in faith, even at their peril, writing of their findings and passing the treasure of the knowledge of Christ down as an inheritance to me. The Spirit of Christ compelled them with the idea of a Suffering Servant and motivated them with the thought of a glorious Messiah that would reign. They understood that their toil would not produce much fruit in their lifetime, but they labored on in search of the treasure that their incomplete map might be passed to another generation. And their hope was that one day a long way off, a generation would find the Treasure and steward it well.
In effect, my forebears were actually preaching the gospel through the portals of time and their voices are still ringing out to this day saying, “This is the way . . . the Treasure is here in this field. The Cross marks the spot! Now go sell all you have and purchase that field and be a good steward of that Treasure – our Christ – whose glory we labored and gave our lives for.” And as they preached this simple message the angels in heaven perched on their posts looking down in amazement, even a bit puzzled, recognizing the likeness of their King on the face of a baby – in the touch of a healer – and in the blood of a condemned criminal. And then early one morning they too grasped the glory of our priceless Treasure.
Lord Jesus, may I seek you and enjoy you with the same intensity that the prophets and angels did. And may I be a good steward pointing others to you, our blessed Treasure.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
The Eyes of Faith
1 Peter 1:7-9
7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
So the trials that I endure are not intended to destroy my faith, but rather to prove it genuine. Like an unused muscle that has atrophied, faith that has no trials will weaken. But the faith that you LORD have so mercifully gifted me with, you intend to train and teach me how to benefit from. And it is this training which lets me know that my faith is genuine.
You desire genuine faith because it always results in your praise, honor and glory. And though I do not see you with human eyes, the eyes of faith have allowed me to focus on your beauty and I can’t help but love you my Lord Jesus. I will one day see you clearly when you exchange my faith for sight, but until that day I will be content with the sight of you that has been burned into my heart and etched into my mind. And by virtue of your training me to see you, I am filled with joy which my words fall short of conveying.
Like a surgeon who has a trained eye to recognize what is unseen to ordinary man, make me skilled to see you through the eyes of faith until my faith of no longer of need and I am at last saved from the cancer of unbelief. Let Christ be revealed in my heart each day from now until he is revealed on a cloud in the heavens. I once was blind but now I see – what an inexpressible and glorious joy!
7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
So the trials that I endure are not intended to destroy my faith, but rather to prove it genuine. Like an unused muscle that has atrophied, faith that has no trials will weaken. But the faith that you LORD have so mercifully gifted me with, you intend to train and teach me how to benefit from. And it is this training which lets me know that my faith is genuine.
You desire genuine faith because it always results in your praise, honor and glory. And though I do not see you with human eyes, the eyes of faith have allowed me to focus on your beauty and I can’t help but love you my Lord Jesus. I will one day see you clearly when you exchange my faith for sight, but until that day I will be content with the sight of you that has been burned into my heart and etched into my mind. And by virtue of your training me to see you, I am filled with joy which my words fall short of conveying.
Like a surgeon who has a trained eye to recognize what is unseen to ordinary man, make me skilled to see you through the eyes of faith until my faith of no longer of need and I am at last saved from the cancer of unbelief. Let Christ be revealed in my heart each day from now until he is revealed on a cloud in the heavens. I once was blind but now I see – what an inexpressible and glorious joy!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Dark Night of the Soul
1 Peter 1:6-7
6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
In the midst of what Tozer refers to as “the dark night of the soul”, I have learned to rejoice in trials. It is a time where the LORD has been silently with me. The greatest suffering that I’ve endured has been how the LORD has stripped away the guise of emotion so that my spirit lay bare before him.
Often I’ve wanted to hear something, anything from you LORD. I would’ve rather been chastised than to endure your silence. I have grieved the loss of your company and yet you never left me. I remember just prior to learning of Susan’s (my mother-in-love) cancer and the need for us to return from living in South Asia, how you spoke more clearly to me than I’ve ever heard. That one word you spoke – “Emmanuel” – pierced my heart so that even now in your silence I can hear the echo, like ripples on a pond moving outward to cover my soul with the impact of your embrace.
At times I have taken liberty and sought affection elsewhere. Almost as if to punish you for your silence I allowed my heart to drift toward idolatry. But now you have brushed against me once more. You have taken my hand, and though still silent, my heart has been broken at how quickly I forsook you. I am learning that this trial has not been punishment, but rather purifying. You have proved my faith genuine by taking me through the refiner’s fire. So now I sit quietly with you in praise and thanksgiving in my heart that you never left me. Now all glory and honor is yours as Jesus Christ has been revealed in me through taking away all my props and crutches. Again I’m amazed at your gentle but strong presence. You don’t have to say a word – I know you’re with me!
6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
In the midst of what Tozer refers to as “the dark night of the soul”, I have learned to rejoice in trials. It is a time where the LORD has been silently with me. The greatest suffering that I’ve endured has been how the LORD has stripped away the guise of emotion so that my spirit lay bare before him.
Often I’ve wanted to hear something, anything from you LORD. I would’ve rather been chastised than to endure your silence. I have grieved the loss of your company and yet you never left me. I remember just prior to learning of Susan’s (my mother-in-love) cancer and the need for us to return from living in South Asia, how you spoke more clearly to me than I’ve ever heard. That one word you spoke – “Emmanuel” – pierced my heart so that even now in your silence I can hear the echo, like ripples on a pond moving outward to cover my soul with the impact of your embrace.
At times I have taken liberty and sought affection elsewhere. Almost as if to punish you for your silence I allowed my heart to drift toward idolatry. But now you have brushed against me once more. You have taken my hand, and though still silent, my heart has been broken at how quickly I forsook you. I am learning that this trial has not been punishment, but rather purifying. You have proved my faith genuine by taking me through the refiner’s fire. So now I sit quietly with you in praise and thanksgiving in my heart that you never left me. Now all glory and honor is yours as Jesus Christ has been revealed in me through taking away all my props and crutches. Again I’m amazed at your gentle but strong presence. You don’t have to say a word – I know you’re with me!
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
The Prince and the Pauper
1 Peter 1:3-5
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Jesus changed the rules of the religious landscape when he confidently and consistently referred to God as his Father. As a disciple of Jesus, Peter had a special relationship with his Lord. He was convinced that his relationship with Jesus brought him into favor with the Father of his Lord.
And today, Father, I come to you based upon the same hope. You are Father to my dear friend, Jesus. Jesus found me lost and hurting and he took me in and cared for me. And now he has brought me to you – his blessed Father – and you show the same mercy as he.
My relationship with you is not according to my own merit or worthiness. Like a criminal beggar I stood outside your gate with nothing to offer and a mind only to take. And because of your abundant mercy you have called me inside, wiped away my past and you are making me fit for servitude by training me in your mercies.
But my renewal and my hope cost you dearly. Your beloved Son, my friend who brought me to you – He paid my outstanding debts. Not with silver or gold, but with his precious blood. And because that debt has been paid in full I am now a free man. Let not my freedom carry me away from your presence. Rather, let the affection of my resurrected friend satisfy my deepest longings. Help me to see that his blood not only paid my debt, but it also was the cost of my adoption into your family where you have for me an inheritance to share as a further display of your extravagant mercies. Keep me near to you by faith and reveal the fullness of your great salvation in me.
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Jesus changed the rules of the religious landscape when he confidently and consistently referred to God as his Father. As a disciple of Jesus, Peter had a special relationship with his Lord. He was convinced that his relationship with Jesus brought him into favor with the Father of his Lord.
And today, Father, I come to you based upon the same hope. You are Father to my dear friend, Jesus. Jesus found me lost and hurting and he took me in and cared for me. And now he has brought me to you – his blessed Father – and you show the same mercy as he.
My relationship with you is not according to my own merit or worthiness. Like a criminal beggar I stood outside your gate with nothing to offer and a mind only to take. And because of your abundant mercy you have called me inside, wiped away my past and you are making me fit for servitude by training me in your mercies.
But my renewal and my hope cost you dearly. Your beloved Son, my friend who brought me to you – He paid my outstanding debts. Not with silver or gold, but with his precious blood. And because that debt has been paid in full I am now a free man. Let not my freedom carry me away from your presence. Rather, let the affection of my resurrected friend satisfy my deepest longings. Help me to see that his blood not only paid my debt, but it also was the cost of my adoption into your family where you have for me an inheritance to share as a further display of your extravagant mercies. Keep me near to you by faith and reveal the fullness of your great salvation in me.
Monday, April 24, 2006
An Unworthy Candidate for Election
1 Peter 1:2
1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
When I think of election I automatically go to the idea of choosing the best and most reputable candidate – one who will represent my thoughts and attitudes most accurately.
Father, I cannot comprehend then why I am among your elect and yet your Spirit confirms that I am. The thought that you chose me – you cast your vote for me – is gloriously unthinkable if that choice were based upon my merit or reputation. But your election of me is quite different in that it is not based upon my merit, but yours. You chose me so that you could form me into a representative – an ambassador of your Kingdom.
Because of humanity’s fallen nature, there are no good candidates for that role. There are men of higher morals, deeper devotion and greater ability. And yet, even their strengths betray them and they are marred by sin, confirming their inability to adequately represent you.
In me you found nothing but sin and weakness and yet you cast your vote on me, knowing that you could mould me into Your image through the inner working of your Spirit. That is the essence of sanctification – you have set me apart to become holy and obedient.
Like Moses ratified the Covenant with Israel through the sprinkling of blood (Exodus 24:8), you have confirmed your choice of me as representative by sprinkling the blood of Jesus on me. So here I am LORD with nothing to offer except what you work into me. Exercise in me your work of obedience and help me to be a good representative of your thoughts and feelings this day. I rejoice in your election of me!
Quote of the day: “The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation.” Henry David Thoreau
Let this not be said of me. Rather, may I be both purposeful and live loud enough to be heard.
1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
When I think of election I automatically go to the idea of choosing the best and most reputable candidate – one who will represent my thoughts and attitudes most accurately.
Father, I cannot comprehend then why I am among your elect and yet your Spirit confirms that I am. The thought that you chose me – you cast your vote for me – is gloriously unthinkable if that choice were based upon my merit or reputation. But your election of me is quite different in that it is not based upon my merit, but yours. You chose me so that you could form me into a representative – an ambassador of your Kingdom.
Because of humanity’s fallen nature, there are no good candidates for that role. There are men of higher morals, deeper devotion and greater ability. And yet, even their strengths betray them and they are marred by sin, confirming their inability to adequately represent you.
In me you found nothing but sin and weakness and yet you cast your vote on me, knowing that you could mould me into Your image through the inner working of your Spirit. That is the essence of sanctification – you have set me apart to become holy and obedient.
Like Moses ratified the Covenant with Israel through the sprinkling of blood (Exodus 24:8), you have confirmed your choice of me as representative by sprinkling the blood of Jesus on me. So here I am LORD with nothing to offer except what you work into me. Exercise in me your work of obedience and help me to be a good representative of your thoughts and feelings this day. I rejoice in your election of me!
Quote of the day: “The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation.” Henry David Thoreau
Let this not be said of me. Rather, may I be both purposeful and live loud enough to be heard.
Friday, August 05, 2005
A Cloudy Paradox
The thunder is rolling low in the sky just outside my window and I have found my mind drifting from one thing to another. It is amazing how the rain can put me in a trance and render me useless. Every journey has its pondering places along the way. I guess that just like the rain washes everything clean, my cloudy mind needs to experience a rainy daze occasionally if for no other reason than that clarity follows soonafter.
We normally think of a cloud as something that obscures our vision. But could it be that some clouds actually clarify? Could some clouds come into our lives not to confuse us but rather to guide us?
God's children found that to be the case in the desert as they came out of Egypt.
"And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way . . ." Exodus 13:21
The cloud clarified - it guided them.
Sometimes clouds are scary though. I remember how as a child I would hear the thunder rumbling from the clouds outside and fear would strike me to the core. A cloud can't hurt anyone. It's just vapor - water molecules. And yet their black presence has the ability to change our mood and send us running.
I overcame those childish fears after time simply because experience has taught me that even when clouds roll in I generally have nothing to fear. Often we must "go into" our fears in order to render the fear powerless over our lives.
If the cloud in the desert represented the Presence of Almighty God, then the children of God faced a paradox. What they in fact feared was in reality their Protector. They followed at a distance, but the brave pressed in close. They enjoyed the cloud from afar, but Moses was not content with that. He desired to get personal.
"Moses entered the cloud . . ." Exodus 24:18
What did he find there? He found reason both to fear and to be comforted. In the Presence of Holiness embodied, Moses feared the LORD for he knew himself better than he ever had. And yet he was comforted, because all that had formerly been hidden and unknown had become plain and personal to him.
I want to be like Moses . . . pressing into the God who I both fear and am comforted by. I want to draw near to the cloud so that all will be clarified. I want to breathe in the vapors and allow the Holy Spirit to engulf me in His Presence.
And yet I'm sitting here looking out the window at the clouds from a distance. I hear their rumbling and I see their movement. Will I dare to draw near? Will I find clarity in the cloud?
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Mid-Stream
welcome to my sojourn. you're joining me mid-stream in this endeavor but at least we can share the adventure. we'll face many challenges in our search for authenticity and purpose, but we'll not allow those to diminish our joy in the journey as we seek to follow the Way. if you have questions, let us engage them together. if you have doubts, put them into words so that we can find clarity in the context of community. above all, let's set our gaze toward True North and move in that direction. one step at a time. come what may, we will move toward the Truth.
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