"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
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
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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