Sunday, October 30, 2011
Encouraging Reminders
These statements were posted on the same day by different people on facebook and I just found them encouraging:
"Tears, I feel you. You make me want to quit life. But excuse me, the Master has given me work to do. I must prepare a sermon." - John Piper on Oct 29, 2011
So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: "I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where he is there I shall be also!"-- Martin Luther
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
What legacy do you wish to make?
The entire set of lyrics from Hillsong United's song "The Fathers Heart" I find powerful, however I was particularly taken in by the following phrase:
"There's no other who can love me like You do
And forever I keep running back to You"
What fools we are to run after power, success, friendships, satisfaction from only a relationship, approval from men. Do these things not just stay for a while and then run away from you? Yet, I am taken in by them, day after day and week after week. I keep believing them. There is a high for a short period, but they are not there to stay with you for the long haul. But there is one who not only promises to be there with you for the long haul, but has already proven that he will do so by dying for you.
Lord, this is a prayer for my strength and my flesh are weak:
There's no other who can love me like You do
And forever I keep running back to You"
And snippets of more that stand out to me:
"When the walls close in around me
Let Your glory light the darkness of my night
...
May I walk with You by faith and not by sight
...
Greater love I have not found it
Oh by mercy You have eased this troubled mind
Open hearted I will search and I will find
Humble king You go before me
..
There's no other who can love me like You do
And forever I keep running back to You
"There's no other who can love me like You do
And forever I keep running back to You"
What fools we are to run after power, success, friendships, satisfaction from only a relationship, approval from men. Do these things not just stay for a while and then run away from you? Yet, I am taken in by them, day after day and week after week. I keep believing them. There is a high for a short period, but they are not there to stay with you for the long haul. But there is one who not only promises to be there with you for the long haul, but has already proven that he will do so by dying for you.
Lord, this is a prayer for my strength and my flesh are weak:
There's no other who can love me like You do
And forever I keep running back to You"
And snippets of more that stand out to me:
"When the walls close in around me
Let Your glory light the darkness of my night
...
May I walk with You by faith and not by sight
...
Greater love I have not found it
Oh by mercy You have eased this troubled mind
Open hearted I will search and I will find
Humble king You go before me
..
There's no other who can love me like You do
And forever I keep running back to You
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Confession of Sin
This was the confession of sin reading that we had at church today and was something I enjoyed. It is adapted from Augustine's Confession, I. v-vi; VII, iv.
Our soul is like a house, small for You to enter, but we pray that You will enlarge it. It is in ruins, but we ask You to remake it. It contains much that You will not be pleased to see; this we know and do no hide. But, to whom can we cry except to You? Forgive us, O Lord. Cleanse us from our sins, O Lord, and our secret sins. What wretches we are! In your mercy, Lord our God, tell us what You are to us. "Say you our souls, I am your salvation" (Ps. 35:3). Come, O Lord, and stir our hearts. Call us back to Yourself. Kindle Your fire in us and carry us away. Be our fire and our sweetness. Let us love You and hasten to Your side. In Jesus name, Amen.
Our soul is like a house, small for You to enter, but we pray that You will enlarge it. It is in ruins, but we ask You to remake it. It contains much that You will not be pleased to see; this we know and do no hide. But, to whom can we cry except to You? Forgive us, O Lord. Cleanse us from our sins, O Lord, and our secret sins. What wretches we are! In your mercy, Lord our God, tell us what You are to us. "Say you our souls, I am your salvation" (Ps. 35:3). Come, O Lord, and stir our hearts. Call us back to Yourself. Kindle Your fire in us and carry us away. Be our fire and our sweetness. Let us love You and hasten to Your side. In Jesus name, Amen.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Lies Woman Tell Themselves
These messages are from Nancy Leigh DeMoss's radio program.
When you Feel Inadequate
Free from Condemnation
No Situation is Hopeless
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Let Us Reason Together
"It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be too hasty and miss the way. A man's own folly ruins his life yet his heart rages against the Lord." Proverbs 19:2-3
"Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God." Isaiah 8:21
"Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord." Lamentations 3:39
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 1:18
"Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God." Isaiah 8:21
"Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord." Lamentations 3:39
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 1:18
Monday, July 18, 2011
Hungry
"Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger. Well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in the world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."
C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity
For reading at some point if it is fruitful:
http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/desire.htm
C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity
For reading at some point if it is fruitful:
http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/desire.htm
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Does God Author Sin?
Here are some helpful links from the Desiring God ministry that discuss this issue:
Blog entries:
Sermons by John Piper
Blog entries:
- Does God author sin?
- Does God cause sin?
- Does God permit sin?
- The author-story model
- Does God Cause Sin or Just Allow It?
- Why do we resist God's sovereignty?
Sermons by John Piper
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Rediscovering God Through Martha and Mary
Today's sermon was on Luke 10:38-42:
38Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." 41But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."
Some notes/comments:
The point of the text is the last sentence: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." I reminds me of a man I talked with once who was worried about having to balance chores around the house and spending time with his kids. It seems to me that if he is demonstrating to his kids in his every day life that he loves them and cares about them, and if his heart truly is to spend time with them, they will know this and be confident of it. Then if he goes to mow the lawn one afternoon rather than playing with them, then he does not have to be worried about whether or not they feel loved and served, because that is already established.
Similarly, Jesus is not saying here that Martha should stop her serving and preparation for those that came to eat at her house. In fact, Jeff points out this second scripture (John 12):
1Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5"Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" 6He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7Jesus said, "Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."
Things to note here:
Mary got this not only more than Martha, but more than any of the other men that were in the room. In Luke, we see that she is either bold enough or so taken in by Jesus' teaching that she goes against social norms and stops her work of food preparation to listen with the other men to what Jesus is saying. Not only so, but she sits at Jesus' feet, a place that is often designated for disciples (so says Jeff). Later in John, she anoints Jesus' feet with expensive oil... she GETS before anyone else that Jesus is to die and why he is to die.
The point that Jeff is trying to make is that this text in Luke is again NOT about work vs prayer and not about personality and things like that. It is simply about worshiping Christ as the "one thing" and the very center of all that we do... and learning from Mary who is always found sitting at his feet, no matter where we find her.
It is neat that Martha is provided as a model for what it looks like when we fail. Christ does not condemn her, nor does she fall apart because she failed. We can keep on serving and going about our daily life, but learning to do so as an act of worship and with a love for Christ.
38Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." 41But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."
Some notes/comments:
- One of goals of sermon is to rearrange our thinking about how we see this text
- This is not about telling us to stop being active to get us to pray more
- This is not about personalities - "I'm a Martha type person", etc.
- Jesus is not getting on to Martha for serving, but rather for her heart in how she serves.
- Jesus does not rebuke Martha, but rather he loves her. He says "Martha, Martha", demonstrating his tenderness for her.
The point of the text is the last sentence: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." I reminds me of a man I talked with once who was worried about having to balance chores around the house and spending time with his kids. It seems to me that if he is demonstrating to his kids in his every day life that he loves them and cares about them, and if his heart truly is to spend time with them, they will know this and be confident of it. Then if he goes to mow the lawn one afternoon rather than playing with them, then he does not have to be worried about whether or not they feel loved and served, because that is already established.
Similarly, Jesus is not saying here that Martha should stop her serving and preparation for those that came to eat at her house. In fact, Jeff points out this second scripture (John 12):
1Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5"Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" 6He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7Jesus said, "Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."
Things to note here:
- Jesus loved this family. The first sentence says that Jesus went to see them because he knew he was going to die.
- Martha served. The point of the lesson from Luke again is NOT that she would stop serving, but rather that she would see HIM as first. She can only truly serve after Jesus is first in her life. From John 12:1, we see that this is starting to happen.
Mary got this not only more than Martha, but more than any of the other men that were in the room. In Luke, we see that she is either bold enough or so taken in by Jesus' teaching that she goes against social norms and stops her work of food preparation to listen with the other men to what Jesus is saying. Not only so, but she sits at Jesus' feet, a place that is often designated for disciples (so says Jeff). Later in John, she anoints Jesus' feet with expensive oil... she GETS before anyone else that Jesus is to die and why he is to die.
The point that Jeff is trying to make is that this text in Luke is again NOT about work vs prayer and not about personality and things like that. It is simply about worshiping Christ as the "one thing" and the very center of all that we do... and learning from Mary who is always found sitting at his feet, no matter where we find her.
It is neat that Martha is provided as a model for what it looks like when we fail. Christ does not condemn her, nor does she fall apart because she failed. We can keep on serving and going about our daily life, but learning to do so as an act of worship and with a love for Christ.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Wake Me
Music by "The Ineloquent"
Song: From main website, 2nd track
Lyrics:
WAKE ME
Romans 13:11-12; Revelation 3:1-3; Galatians 6:7-9;
Words by Georgiana Eakins
Music by The Ineloquent
The night is nearly over
And daylight’s almost here
Salvation’s growing closer
As days just disappear
Away
What will I have to show for
If I just choose to sleep
I must wake from this slumber,
What have I sown to reap
Anyway
So wake me
And melt this frozen heart of mine
Take me up and bring me back to life
Wake me
‘Cause I’ve been sleeping for a while
Take me back to where I fell
The very first time
Open up your eyes tonight
Step from the dark of night
Into the armor of light
This sin that dwells in my heart
Makes me hide from you
I’ve tried to serve two masters
But I will have to choose
A way
And living in the shadows
Has starved my will to fight
So wrap your change around me
And pull me towards the light
Of day
Source of lyrics: Pure Volume
Song: From main website, 2nd track
Lyrics:
WAKE ME
Romans 13:11-12; Revelation 3:1-3; Galatians 6:7-9;
Words by Georgiana Eakins
Music by The Ineloquent
The night is nearly over
And daylight’s almost here
Salvation’s growing closer
As days just disappear
Away
What will I have to show for
If I just choose to sleep
I must wake from this slumber,
What have I sown to reap
Anyway
So wake me
And melt this frozen heart of mine
Take me up and bring me back to life
Wake me
‘Cause I’ve been sleeping for a while
Take me back to where I fell
The very first time
Open up your eyes tonight
Step from the dark of night
Into the armor of light
This sin that dwells in my heart
Makes me hide from you
I’ve tried to serve two masters
But I will have to choose
A way
And living in the shadows
Has starved my will to fight
So wrap your change around me
And pull me towards the light
Of day
Source of lyrics: Pure Volume
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