The distinguishing mark of saving faith is not perfection. The mark of faith is not that I never sin. The mark of faith is that I fight. I fight anything that dims my sight of Jesus as my glorious Savior. I fight anything that diminishes the fullness of the lordship of Jesus in my life. I fight anything that threatens to replace Jesus as the supreme Treasure of my life. Anything that stands between me and receiving Jesus. Faith fights -- not with fists or knives or guns or bombs, but with the truth of Christ.
~ John Piper
O Lord, let it be so in my life.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
A Few Days R&R
We've just returned from a few days at the beach - time to rest and re-charge the batteries a bit. Sheila, Andrew, and Olivia joined us. What a blast to have our new little granddaughter with us for a few days. Even at 4 weeks old she is smiling and developing quite a little personality.
Tomorrow it's back to reality. I'll be preaching (Sun. AM service) at the prison. My sermon notes are entitled, "Faith, Hope, Love, these three ..." Love, according to the Apostle Paul, is greater than both faith and hope. One day faith will become sight and hope will be fulfilled. But love has no end. It will never diminish. We'll see what the Lord wants to do with that but I'm hoping to see us begin to practice the love of God more and more amongst the body at Charlotte Correctional Center. It's His love that has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. I know it's in there. It's just a matter of getting it to come out.
Tomorrow it's back to reality. I'll be preaching (Sun. AM service) at the prison. My sermon notes are entitled, "Faith, Hope, Love, these three ..." Love, according to the Apostle Paul, is greater than both faith and hope. One day faith will become sight and hope will be fulfilled. But love has no end. It will never diminish. We'll see what the Lord wants to do with that but I'm hoping to see us begin to practice the love of God more and more amongst the body at Charlotte Correctional Center. It's His love that has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. I know it's in there. It's just a matter of getting it to come out.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Perspective
Sometimes it helps to get a different perspective on things. Go someplace different. Look at things from a different angle. Sit in a different chair. Stand on the chair. Whatever. Sometimes its quite necessary. So this morning I'm sitting at Caribou Coffee with a cup of my favorite - just getting a different perspetive.
Taking the time to garner another perspective is not natural for me. I'm more the "bull in a china shop" type. (Sharon's very vivid description of me.) But I'm learning. I think the Lord is teaching me. New perspective is a good thing, whether you preach, or write, or dig ditches, or stay home raising children.
Sometimes we get so locked-in that we have no perspective. That was the culture of Israel at the time of Christ. That's why the pharisees were so vehemently opposed to Jesus. He came with a fresh perspective. Different. Radical. Upsetting to the norm. And it infuriated them. How could anyone dare to question their ways? They very systematically observed the law. They religiously kept both Torah and the oral traditions. They were grudgingly admired by the people. But Jesus came along and contested it all. He didn't come with a different law, or with new traditions. Just a fresh perspective. It was more than they could stand.
Too bad they didn't have Caribou in Jerusalem.
Taking the time to garner another perspective is not natural for me. I'm more the "bull in a china shop" type. (Sharon's very vivid description of me.) But I'm learning. I think the Lord is teaching me. New perspective is a good thing, whether you preach, or write, or dig ditches, or stay home raising children.
Sometimes we get so locked-in that we have no perspective. That was the culture of Israel at the time of Christ. That's why the pharisees were so vehemently opposed to Jesus. He came with a fresh perspective. Different. Radical. Upsetting to the norm. And it infuriated them. How could anyone dare to question their ways? They very systematically observed the law. They religiously kept both Torah and the oral traditions. They were grudgingly admired by the people. But Jesus came along and contested it all. He didn't come with a different law, or with new traditions. Just a fresh perspective. It was more than they could stand.
Too bad they didn't have Caribou in Jerusalem.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Ministry
I wish I could take credit for this. I can't. But I'm happy to share it:
"I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God:
First, it is impossible;
then, it is difficult;
then, it is done."
~ Hudson Taylor
"I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God:
First, it is impossible;
then, it is difficult;
then, it is done."
~ Hudson Taylor
Where to Begin
What is a simpleton? Here is the definition as I found it on Thesaurus.com:
Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus
Main Entry: clod
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: stupid
Synonyms: blockhead*, bobby, boor, bumpkin, chump, clown, dimwit*, dolt, dope*, dumbbell, dummy, dunce, fool, imbecile, lamebrain, loon, lout, oaf, rube, simpleton, yokel
That pretty much sums it up. My blog is representative of me: Musings of a simpleton (pick a definition). But, contrary to what you might think, that's not a bad thing. The Apostle Paul said it like this in 1 Corinthians 1:
"Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of
the world?"
and later in the same chapter:
"...but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are,
That no man should boast before God."
The older I get the more I come to realize how inadequate all of our acquired knowledge really is. The truth is I don't know much of anything at all. I am totally dependent upon the manifold grace of God. It is by that grace, through simple faith that I can come to Him and be saved. It doesn't take an advanced degree, or a lifetime of wisdom gained by experience. Just simple faith. Jesus called it "Child-like faith".
Foolishness? Perhaps. But it is also the most freeing idea I can conceive of. Think about it: Trusting in One who claimed to be the Son of God, and who proved it by allowing wicked men to crucify Him, and then rose from the dead three days later trumps all of our grand efforts, our scheming, and our creative ways of trying to justify ourselves before God.
I think that's what Jesus meant by these words: "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus
Main Entry: clod
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: stupid
Synonyms: blockhead*, bobby, boor, bumpkin, chump, clown, dimwit*, dolt, dope*, dumbbell, dummy, dunce, fool, imbecile, lamebrain, loon, lout, oaf, rube, simpleton, yokel
That pretty much sums it up. My blog is representative of me: Musings of a simpleton (pick a definition). But, contrary to what you might think, that's not a bad thing. The Apostle Paul said it like this in 1 Corinthians 1:
"Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of
the world?"
and later in the same chapter:
"...but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are,
That no man should boast before God."
The older I get the more I come to realize how inadequate all of our acquired knowledge really is. The truth is I don't know much of anything at all. I am totally dependent upon the manifold grace of God. It is by that grace, through simple faith that I can come to Him and be saved. It doesn't take an advanced degree, or a lifetime of wisdom gained by experience. Just simple faith. Jesus called it "Child-like faith".
Foolishness? Perhaps. But it is also the most freeing idea I can conceive of. Think about it: Trusting in One who claimed to be the Son of God, and who proved it by allowing wicked men to crucify Him, and then rose from the dead three days later trumps all of our grand efforts, our scheming, and our creative ways of trying to justify ourselves before God.
I think that's what Jesus meant by these words: "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
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