I am away at a conference this week. It has so far proven beneficial for me to be alone for a time and just sit with God. Here are a few bullets that I have come up with during a bit of that time:
• May we live out the mission that God has called us to in the place where He has called to live it and allow for everyone else to do that same, all the while understanding that there are people who will screw up and there are people who will never get it and there will be people that differ from us that do get it. God is more important that our way of thinking. The gospel is more important than our way of thinking.
God would you turn us into a group of people who are continually looking for the next thing to repent of? Expose my sin and expose our sin and as you do remind us of your adoption of us and your love for us.
• “God is a sender, He sent you to where you are. How are you doing with your mission?” Stetzer
• God may I be consumed with you and may I be convicted by you and may I be loving of all, not just those who agree with me. God I want to learn about you. Will you cause me to be only happy with the things of you? I read in this book that “the primary mark of a spirit filled believer is a kind and loving spirit. The primary mark of a carnal believer is a critical, angry attitude. A sure sign of carnality is a loud pushy attitude that demands its own way.”
• You have got things under control Oh God. This world has been doing fine dating back before February 6, 1971 (my birthday). I am unneeded by you. I rest in what you are doing and so now I wait on what you would have me do and ask you for courage and wisdom and strength to run after that hard hard hard. I love you oh Lord and worship you. You are glory and you are power and you are in control. Rest in that now. Whatever happens God is in control. What ever happens he is and he was and is to come.
• Psalm 29:1-2
1 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Here is a quote from an article written by Tim Keller called "All of Life Is Repentance". It has to do with what I am talking about and sort of supports it::
"But in the gospel the purpose of repentance is to repeatedly tap into the joy of our union with Jesus Christ in order to weaken our need to anything contrary to God's heart."
Attitude and Giving
I am reading a book called Returning to Holiness. The chapter that I am on is about sins of attitude. There is a statement in the chapter that says, "the very root of sin is love and worship of self over God."
I have been pondering this notion and being convicted of it in last few weeks and especially the last few days. I was having a conversation with a friendabout how I am concerned with myself and providing for my own wants and needs. I do things for my wife so that she will do them for me. I want to turn on the tv for the kids and get them in bed early so that I can have some time to myself. Time that I will use to browse the net for the latest on baseball or football. I am giving up others to serve myself.
Phil 2:3-9
In humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant,being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.
God would you rid my heart of the filthiness of selfishness and pride and laziness. Would you cause me to give away myself and give into the needs of others. May I give up myself and give of myself for your purposes. Consume my heart with thoughts of eternal things.
I have been pondering this notion and being convicted of it in last few weeks and especially the last few days. I was having a conversation with a friendabout how I am concerned with myself and providing for my own wants and needs. I do things for my wife so that she will do them for me. I want to turn on the tv for the kids and get them in bed early so that I can have some time to myself. Time that I will use to browse the net for the latest on baseball or football. I am giving up others to serve myself.
Phil 2:3-9
In humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant,being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.
God would you rid my heart of the filthiness of selfishness and pride and laziness. Would you cause me to give away myself and give into the needs of others. May I give up myself and give of myself for your purposes. Consume my heart with thoughts of eternal things.
Does Christianity have an image problem?
I would like to know what people think about this article that apperared in Time and how it does and or should impact what we are doing at North Church.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1667639,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1667639,00.html
Romans 5:8
This weeks studying has brought me to my favorite verse in all of scripture.
But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 ESV)
That word that is translated "shows" is a beautiful word that we must think deeply about to begin to grasp the beauty of it. Some translations use demonstrates, proves, evidences. But the whole of the word is not found in any English translation. The whole of the word has that connotation of proving or showing or demonstrating or giving evidence, but another piece on top of that. That piece is that His love has been placed within our reach.
God has placed within our reach His love. It has been taken from a far and placed with our grasp. This week I am talking about the law and our inability to measure up to it and our subsequent failure to commune with God. But God has sent His son so that His joy giving and ultimately fulfilling love might be within our reach. Take time to bask in that notion.
But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 ESV)
That word that is translated "shows" is a beautiful word that we must think deeply about to begin to grasp the beauty of it. Some translations use demonstrates, proves, evidences. But the whole of the word is not found in any English translation. The whole of the word has that connotation of proving or showing or demonstrating or giving evidence, but another piece on top of that. That piece is that His love has been placed within our reach.
God has placed within our reach His love. It has been taken from a far and placed with our grasp. This week I am talking about the law and our inability to measure up to it and our subsequent failure to commune with God. But God has sent His son so that His joy giving and ultimately fulfilling love might be within our reach. Take time to bask in that notion.
The Law as a School Master
Galatians 3:24 (ESV)
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
The following is commentary from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible:: "The sense of the passage is, that the law performed this office of a schoolmaster(translated in the ESV as guardian) until the coming of Christ; which shows that till that time the church was in its minority, that the Jews were but children in knowledge and understanding, and therefore stood in need, and were under the care of a schoolmaster, the law."
The law's purpose was to educate the Jews on their need for a saviour and to eventually show them the beauty and freedom that is found in grace and the Son of God, who came and fulfilled the law and offered us His own righteousness by faith.
This is a wonderfully poetic truth and brings my sin soaked heart to adoration of Jesus.
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
The following is commentary from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible:: "The sense of the passage is, that the law performed this office of a schoolmaster(translated in the ESV as guardian) until the coming of Christ; which shows that till that time the church was in its minority, that the Jews were but children in knowledge and understanding, and therefore stood in need, and were under the care of a schoolmaster, the law."
The law's purpose was to educate the Jews on their need for a saviour and to eventually show them the beauty and freedom that is found in grace and the Son of God, who came and fulfilled the law and offered us His own righteousness by faith.
This is a wonderfully poetic truth and brings my sin soaked heart to adoration of Jesus.
