"How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save?" - Habakkuk 1:2 (NIV)
I recently got news that a friend's brother was mugged and seriously assaulted with a knife in Singapore. This just reminds me of the fleetingness of life.
"Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." - James 4:13-14 (NIV)
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapour in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours
"Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."" - James 4:15 (NIV)
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."" - Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)
"He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen." - Revelation 22:20-21 (NIV)
Link: More on Life as a Vapour (3 Oct 10)
Monday 31 May 2010
Sunday 30 May 2010
Trust and Obey
Trust and obey
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey
But this is not a matter of trusting and then obeying. It is also a matter of obeying and continuing to trust in God, even when we cannot understand his ways with us. Abraham trusted where he could not see (Hebrews 11:8). But even when trust wavered, obedience was the only way into the perfect will of God for his life (Romans 4:18; Hebrews 11:17-19)...
Here is an immensely important lesson to learn as early as we can in the Christian life. Be obedient even when you do not know where obedience may lead you. It will guard you and protect you. Always trust God's word and live by his commands rather than by circumstances, providences or opportunities alone. Only in obedience, in a trust which clings to the promise that God is working everything together for those who love him, can there ever be safety. For only in obedience can we discover the great joy of the will of God.
- Sinclair B. Ferguson, Discovering God's Will
A pattern of deliberately choosing to obey the Word of the Lord is the very heart of a life of principled obedience. Where obedience is rendered in this fashion habitually (ie. as a pattern of life), a life of principled, conscientious obedience exists. Where obedience is left to manifest itself according to any other principle than deliberate choice to obey, a pattern of conscientious conformity to the will of God will not exist. The reality of the Christian life is just that simple.
The Christian life is not, 'Let go and let God.' It is true that in all our obedience we are to seek and depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit; yet if we 'let go' (ie. become passive nonparticipants in the war against remaining sin), God will not do for us what He has commanded us to do. God will not obey for us.
We must not permit a life of principled, conscientious obedience to be overturned by unprincipled feelings or by the fact of remaining moral corruption. If our obedience is accompanied by good feelings, wonderful. May God be praised! But if we feel rotten, our duty does not change. If our remaining sin resists us in the path of obedience, we are not excused from our obligation to obey God. And until we embrace this perspective with all of our soul, we will go limping and halting all of our days. Unless we vigorously battle unprincipled emotions and remaining sin, we will know very little of a real life of obedience to God.
- A. N. Martin, A Life of Principled Obedience
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forever more
Links: The Obedience of the Will (26 May 10), Genesis 24 (3 Jun 10)
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey
But this is not a matter of trusting and then obeying. It is also a matter of obeying and continuing to trust in God, even when we cannot understand his ways with us. Abraham trusted where he could not see (Hebrews 11:8). But even when trust wavered, obedience was the only way into the perfect will of God for his life (Romans 4:18; Hebrews 11:17-19)...
Here is an immensely important lesson to learn as early as we can in the Christian life. Be obedient even when you do not know where obedience may lead you. It will guard you and protect you. Always trust God's word and live by his commands rather than by circumstances, providences or opportunities alone. Only in obedience, in a trust which clings to the promise that God is working everything together for those who love him, can there ever be safety. For only in obedience can we discover the great joy of the will of God.
- Sinclair B. Ferguson, Discovering God's Will
A pattern of deliberately choosing to obey the Word of the Lord is the very heart of a life of principled obedience. Where obedience is rendered in this fashion habitually (ie. as a pattern of life), a life of principled, conscientious obedience exists. Where obedience is left to manifest itself according to any other principle than deliberate choice to obey, a pattern of conscientious conformity to the will of God will not exist. The reality of the Christian life is just that simple.
The Christian life is not, 'Let go and let God.' It is true that in all our obedience we are to seek and depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit; yet if we 'let go' (ie. become passive nonparticipants in the war against remaining sin), God will not do for us what He has commanded us to do. God will not obey for us.
We must not permit a life of principled, conscientious obedience to be overturned by unprincipled feelings or by the fact of remaining moral corruption. If our obedience is accompanied by good feelings, wonderful. May God be praised! But if we feel rotten, our duty does not change. If our remaining sin resists us in the path of obedience, we are not excused from our obligation to obey God. And until we embrace this perspective with all of our soul, we will go limping and halting all of our days. Unless we vigorously battle unprincipled emotions and remaining sin, we will know very little of a real life of obedience to God.
- A. N. Martin, A Life of Principled Obedience
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forever more
Links: The Obedience of the Will (26 May 10), Genesis 24 (3 Jun 10)
Saturday 29 May 2010
Wait
"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him." - Psalm 62:5 (KJV)
We do not see what the Lord will finally bring about. We sometimes think we have learned what his ultimate purpose is for our lives, only to discover that we are like climbers who thought the next peak was the final summit. Only when we reach it do we discover that there is still some further height to scale in the purposes of God.
I have sometimes thought that there are few more testing experiences than that of walking according to the light which God has given, only to discover that everything seems to be crumbling to dust in one's hands. Then there may come days of doubt, disillusionment with oneself, perhaps a tinge of bitterness, like that the psalmists sometimes record. Much later on we may be in a position to see how all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle have fitted perfectly together. We can say 'Hitherto has the Lord helped us' (1 Samuel 7:12). But how we need patience, and how impatient we often are! Those who would submit to the guidance of God will need to pray for patience.
- Sinclair B. Ferguson, Discovering God's Will
"And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him." - Isaiah 30:18 (KJV)
There are many illustrations of this Divine method in the Word of God. The Angel at the Jabbok-ford waited till Jacob could wrestle no more, being completely exhausted by his struggles; and then, as his helpless antagonist clung to Him for support, He whispered in his ear His mystic name and blessed him there.
Our Lord waited till the Syrophoenician woman fell helpless at His feet, with the cry: "Lord, help me!" that He might grant to her the boon she craved for her child. From His throne in Heaven He pursued the same method, waiting to be gracious till the apostles and others in the upper room had reached such a condition of helplessness that He could give them their Pentecost; waiting till the little group of disciples had exhausted every other expedient, that He might release to them Peter from his prison; waiting till Paul had renounced all creative energy, that He might take him strong in His almighty power, while He whispered: "My grace is sufficient for thee; My strength is made perfect in weakness."
Too often we have misinterpreted God's dealings with us. When He has tarried beyond the Jordan, in spite of our entreaties that He should hasten to save Lazarus, we have concluded that He was strangely neglectful. But, in fact, He was waiting, at no small cost to His heart, till we had come to the end of ourselves, and the way was clear for Him to work a more astounding miracle than we had dared to hope.
God's delays are not denials; they are not neglectful nor unkind. He is waiting with watchful eye and intent for the precise moment to strike, when He can give a blessing which will be without alloy, and will flood all after life with blessings so royal, so plenteous, so divine, that eternity will be too short to utter all our praise.
- F. B. Meyer, Our Daily Walk: Volume Three
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
Links: Thus far has the LORD helped us (1 May 10), Here I raise my Ebenezer (2 Jun 10), Hither by Thy help I've come (9 Aug 10)
We do not see what the Lord will finally bring about. We sometimes think we have learned what his ultimate purpose is for our lives, only to discover that we are like climbers who thought the next peak was the final summit. Only when we reach it do we discover that there is still some further height to scale in the purposes of God.
I have sometimes thought that there are few more testing experiences than that of walking according to the light which God has given, only to discover that everything seems to be crumbling to dust in one's hands. Then there may come days of doubt, disillusionment with oneself, perhaps a tinge of bitterness, like that the psalmists sometimes record. Much later on we may be in a position to see how all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle have fitted perfectly together. We can say 'Hitherto has the Lord helped us' (1 Samuel 7:12). But how we need patience, and how impatient we often are! Those who would submit to the guidance of God will need to pray for patience.
- Sinclair B. Ferguson, Discovering God's Will
"And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him." - Isaiah 30:18 (KJV)
There are many illustrations of this Divine method in the Word of God. The Angel at the Jabbok-ford waited till Jacob could wrestle no more, being completely exhausted by his struggles; and then, as his helpless antagonist clung to Him for support, He whispered in his ear His mystic name and blessed him there.
Our Lord waited till the Syrophoenician woman fell helpless at His feet, with the cry: "Lord, help me!" that He might grant to her the boon she craved for her child. From His throne in Heaven He pursued the same method, waiting to be gracious till the apostles and others in the upper room had reached such a condition of helplessness that He could give them their Pentecost; waiting till the little group of disciples had exhausted every other expedient, that He might release to them Peter from his prison; waiting till Paul had renounced all creative energy, that He might take him strong in His almighty power, while He whispered: "My grace is sufficient for thee; My strength is made perfect in weakness."
Too often we have misinterpreted God's dealings with us. When He has tarried beyond the Jordan, in spite of our entreaties that He should hasten to save Lazarus, we have concluded that He was strangely neglectful. But, in fact, He was waiting, at no small cost to His heart, till we had come to the end of ourselves, and the way was clear for Him to work a more astounding miracle than we had dared to hope.
God's delays are not denials; they are not neglectful nor unkind. He is waiting with watchful eye and intent for the precise moment to strike, when He can give a blessing which will be without alloy, and will flood all after life with blessings so royal, so plenteous, so divine, that eternity will be too short to utter all our praise.
- F. B. Meyer, Our Daily Walk: Volume Three
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
Links: Thus far has the LORD helped us (1 May 10), Here I raise my Ebenezer (2 Jun 10), Hither by Thy help I've come (9 Aug 10)
Friday 28 May 2010
O Great God
O GOD OF THE HIGHEST HEAVEN,
Occupy the throne of my heart,
take full possession and reign supreme,
lay low every rebel lust,
let no vile passion resist thy holy war;
manifest thy mighty power,
and make me thine for ever.
Thou art worthy to be
praised with my every breath,
loved with my every faculty of soul,
served with my every act of life.
Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me,
purchased, washed, favoured, clothed,
adorned me,
when I was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted.
I was dead in iniquities,
having no eyes to see thee,
no ears to hear thee,
no taste to relish thy joys,
no intelligence to know thee;
But thy Spirit has quickened me,
has brought me into a new world as a new creature,
has given me spiritual perception,
has opened to me thy Word as light, guide,
solace, joy.
Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace;
No provocation can part me from thy sympathy,
for thou hast drawn me with cords of love,
and dost forgive me daily, hourly.
O help me then to walk worthy of thy love,
of my hopes, and my vocation.
Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;
Protect me that no evil befall me;
Let me lay aside every sin admired of many;
Help me to walk by thy side, lean on thy arm,
hold converse with thee,
That henceforth I may be salt of the earth
and a blessing to all.
- The Valley of Vision, Regeneration
O great God of highest heaven
Occupy my lowly heart
Own it all and reign supreme
Conquer every rebel power
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forever more
I was blinded by my sin
Had no ears to hear Your voice
Did not know Your love within
Had no taste for heaven's joys
Then Your Spirit gave me life
Opened up Your Word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace
Help me now to live a life
That's dependent on Your grace
Keep my heart and guard my soul
From the evils that I face
You are worthy to be praised
With my every thought and deed
O great God of highest heaven
Glorify Your Name through me
Occupy the throne of my heart,
take full possession and reign supreme,
lay low every rebel lust,
let no vile passion resist thy holy war;
manifest thy mighty power,
and make me thine for ever.
Thou art worthy to be
praised with my every breath,
loved with my every faculty of soul,
served with my every act of life.
Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me,
purchased, washed, favoured, clothed,
adorned me,
when I was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted.
I was dead in iniquities,
having no eyes to see thee,
no ears to hear thee,
no taste to relish thy joys,
no intelligence to know thee;
But thy Spirit has quickened me,
has brought me into a new world as a new creature,
has given me spiritual perception,
has opened to me thy Word as light, guide,
solace, joy.
Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace;
No provocation can part me from thy sympathy,
for thou hast drawn me with cords of love,
and dost forgive me daily, hourly.
O help me then to walk worthy of thy love,
of my hopes, and my vocation.
Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;
Protect me that no evil befall me;
Let me lay aside every sin admired of many;
Help me to walk by thy side, lean on thy arm,
hold converse with thee,
That henceforth I may be salt of the earth
and a blessing to all.
- The Valley of Vision, Regeneration
O great God of highest heaven
Occupy my lowly heart
Own it all and reign supreme
Conquer every rebel power
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forever more
I was blinded by my sin
Had no ears to hear Your voice
Did not know Your love within
Had no taste for heaven's joys
Then Your Spirit gave me life
Opened up Your Word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace
Help me now to live a life
That's dependent on Your grace
Keep my heart and guard my soul
From the evils that I face
You are worthy to be praised
With my every thought and deed
O great God of highest heaven
Glorify Your Name through me
Thursday 27 May 2010
But for the Grace of God
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
- Romans 7:21-25 (NIV)
For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
- Romans 7:21-25 (NIV)
Wednesday 26 May 2010
The Obedience of the Will
The supreme example outside that of our Lord himself, of a man willing against his own will, in obedience to God, is Abraham. He was asked to sacrifice Isaac, his only son - and this, in the face of all God's promises about descendants. Abraham was to tie the boy down on top of a pile of kindling on an altar. This he did (with what anguish we can only imagine), and only then, when with the knife poised he had triumphantly passed the hardest test of faith, did God show him that his son's death was not finally required.
- Elisabeth Elliot, A Slow and Certain Light
When I'm faced with anguished choice
I will listen for Your voice
And I'll stand on every promise of Your Word
Through this dark and troubled land
You will guide me with Your hand
As I stand on every promise of Your Word
And You've promised to complete
Every work begun in me
So I'll stand on every promise of Your Word
Links: Trust and Obey (30 May 10), Genesis 24 (3 Jun 10)
- Elisabeth Elliot, A Slow and Certain Light
When I'm faced with anguished choice
I will listen for Your voice
And I'll stand on every promise of Your Word
Through this dark and troubled land
You will guide me with Your hand
As I stand on every promise of Your Word
And You've promised to complete
Every work begun in me
So I'll stand on every promise of Your Word
Links: Trust and Obey (30 May 10), Genesis 24 (3 Jun 10)
Tuesday 25 May 2010
The Gift of Singleness
"I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that." - 1 Corinthians 7:7 (NIV)
In context, Paul is writing about the gift of singleness (and the gift of marriage). Taking a stab at the widespread sexual immorality of the Corinthians, he (sarcastically) wishes that all men were single like him.
[I believe that in the first part of verse 7 Paul is being sarcastic, not serious, because just a few verses earlier he suggests that 'since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband' (1 Corinthians 7:2, NIV).]
At the same time, in the second part of verse 7 Paul affirms that some have the gift of singleness and some have the gift of marriage. The question, then, is not whether there is the gift of singleness (and the gift of marriage). The question is who has the gift of singleness (and the gift of marriage).
Either everyone who is single has the gift of singleness (singleness is a status - and opportunity - which all single people have), or not everyone who is single has the gift of singleness (singleness is a spiritual gift which some have and some don't have).
To say that not everyone who is single has the gift of singleness implies that there are single people who are not supposed to have the gift of singleness. However, what about single people who are not supposed to have the gift of singleness but do not get married (for whatever reason)? Furthermore, what about single people who are supposed to have the gift of singleness but decide to get married?
In my judgment, it is more helpful to think of singleness as a status - and opportunity - which all single people have, rather than a spiritual gift which some have and some don't have.
In context, Paul is writing about the gift of singleness (and the gift of marriage). Taking a stab at the widespread sexual immorality of the Corinthians, he (sarcastically) wishes that all men were single like him.
[I believe that in the first part of verse 7 Paul is being sarcastic, not serious, because just a few verses earlier he suggests that 'since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband' (1 Corinthians 7:2, NIV).]
At the same time, in the second part of verse 7 Paul affirms that some have the gift of singleness and some have the gift of marriage. The question, then, is not whether there is the gift of singleness (and the gift of marriage). The question is who has the gift of singleness (and the gift of marriage).
Either everyone who is single has the gift of singleness (singleness is a status - and opportunity - which all single people have), or not everyone who is single has the gift of singleness (singleness is a spiritual gift which some have and some don't have).
To say that not everyone who is single has the gift of singleness implies that there are single people who are not supposed to have the gift of singleness. However, what about single people who are not supposed to have the gift of singleness but do not get married (for whatever reason)? Furthermore, what about single people who are supposed to have the gift of singleness but decide to get married?
In my judgment, it is more helpful to think of singleness as a status - and opportunity - which all single people have, rather than a spiritual gift which some have and some don't have.
Monday 24 May 2010
Gifts and the Giver
The temptation we have is that of treating all this [thinking about God's gifts] as a zero-sum game, assuming that any time spent on the gifts is necessarily time away from the Giver. But though this sometimes happens, it does not need to happen.
Rightly handled, a gift is never detached from the one who gave it. Wrongly handled, a gift can be the occasion of selfishness, which is a common problem. But it can also be the occasion of a higher form of selfishness, one which pretends to be above the whole tawdry field of "gifts in themselves".
Picture a particularly "pious" little child who as impossible to give gifts to, because he would always unwrap it, abandon it immediately, and run up to his parent and say, "But what really counts in my relationship with you!" A selfish child playing with a toy ungratefully is forgetting the giver. This pious form of selfishness is refusing to let the giver even be a giver...
When we think about the gifts in exclusion of the Giver, it is because we are being prideful, or selfish in some way. If we think about the Giver only, we are trying hard to be disembodied spirits - which is not how the Giver made us, and if we were paying all that much attention to the Giver, we ought to have noticed that He didn't want to make us that way.
If I turn every gift that God gives over in my hands suspiciously, looking for the idol trap, then I am not rejoicing before Him the way I ought to be.
- Douglas Wilson, A Full Tank of Gas and Lots of Wyoming Ahead
Rightly handled, a gift is never detached from the one who gave it. Wrongly handled, a gift can be the occasion of selfishness, which is a common problem. But it can also be the occasion of a higher form of selfishness, one which pretends to be above the whole tawdry field of "gifts in themselves".
Picture a particularly "pious" little child who as impossible to give gifts to, because he would always unwrap it, abandon it immediately, and run up to his parent and say, "But what really counts in my relationship with you!" A selfish child playing with a toy ungratefully is forgetting the giver. This pious form of selfishness is refusing to let the giver even be a giver...
When we think about the gifts in exclusion of the Giver, it is because we are being prideful, or selfish in some way. If we think about the Giver only, we are trying hard to be disembodied spirits - which is not how the Giver made us, and if we were paying all that much attention to the Giver, we ought to have noticed that He didn't want to make us that way.
If I turn every gift that God gives over in my hands suspiciously, looking for the idol trap, then I am not rejoicing before Him the way I ought to be.
- Douglas Wilson, A Full Tank of Gas and Lots of Wyoming Ahead
Sunday 23 May 2010
A Fresh Outpouring
A friend recently sent me Barker Road Methodist Church's 7-day prayer guide for this week (leading up to Pentecost Sunday today). The following is from the reading for today.
Sunday, May 23
Like the early church that waited in the upper room, we need to wait upon the Lord for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit over our lives. It is with this that we can go forth in power to set the captives free. But are we willing to let the King of glory come into our lives, fully and unreservedly, to fill us?
We need to nail our will on the Cross and open our hearts to all that God has for us in this life. We will experience His transforming love and power, as we are open to His prompting and direction in our lives.
As we spend time with the Lord and depend on the Holy Spirit everyday, God can use us to touch others around us. A stream of living waters that flows from us to others, touching lives, changing hearts.
Arise and shine, let us rise up from every area of darkness and walk in freedom into light (Isaiah 60:1-3). Let this be a year of breakthrough into a dynamic relationship with our God, not based on head knowledge or habit, but in spirit and in truth!
- Barker Road Methodist Church, A Revival of Our Hearts: A 7-Day Prayer Guide in the Season of Eastertide 2010 (17 to 23 May)
Sunday, May 23
Like the early church that waited in the upper room, we need to wait upon the Lord for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit over our lives. It is with this that we can go forth in power to set the captives free. But are we willing to let the King of glory come into our lives, fully and unreservedly, to fill us?
We need to nail our will on the Cross and open our hearts to all that God has for us in this life. We will experience His transforming love and power, as we are open to His prompting and direction in our lives.
As we spend time with the Lord and depend on the Holy Spirit everyday, God can use us to touch others around us. A stream of living waters that flows from us to others, touching lives, changing hearts.
Arise and shine, let us rise up from every area of darkness and walk in freedom into light (Isaiah 60:1-3). Let this be a year of breakthrough into a dynamic relationship with our God, not based on head knowledge or habit, but in spirit and in truth!
- Barker Road Methodist Church, A Revival of Our Hearts: A 7-Day Prayer Guide in the Season of Eastertide 2010 (17 to 23 May)
Saturday 22 May 2010
May 15 to 21
May 15: "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."" - John 8:31-32 (NIV)
May 16: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." - John 9:3 (NIV)
May 17: "One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done." - Psalm 62:11-12 (NIV)
May 18: "The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up." - 1 Samuel 2:6 (NIV)
May 19: "When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."" - John 11:4 (NIV)
May 20: "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."" - 1 Samuel 7:12 (NIV)
May 21: "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." - John 12:25 (NIV)
May 16: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." - John 9:3 (NIV)
May 17: "One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done." - Psalm 62:11-12 (NIV)
May 18: "The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up." - 1 Samuel 2:6 (NIV)
May 19: "When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."" - John 11:4 (NIV)
May 20: "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."" - 1 Samuel 7:12 (NIV)
May 21: "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." - John 12:25 (NIV)
Friday 21 May 2010
What a faithful God have I
Lord, I come before Your throne of grace
I find rest in Your presence and fullness of joy
In worship and wonder I behold Your face
Singing what a faithful God have I
What a faithful God have I
What a faithful God
What a faithful God have I
Faithful in every way
Lord of mercy, You have heard my cry
Through the storm You're the beacon, my song in the night
In the shelter of Your wings, hear my heart's reply
Singing what a faithful God have I
Lord all sovereign, granting peace from heaven
Let me comfort those who suffer with the comfort You have given
I will tell of Your great love for as long as I live
Singing what a faithful God have I
I find rest in Your presence and fullness of joy
In worship and wonder I behold Your face
Singing what a faithful God have I
What a faithful God have I
What a faithful God
What a faithful God have I
Faithful in every way
Lord of mercy, You have heard my cry
Through the storm You're the beacon, my song in the night
In the shelter of Your wings, hear my heart's reply
Singing what a faithful God have I
Lord all sovereign, granting peace from heaven
Let me comfort those who suffer with the comfort You have given
I will tell of Your great love for as long as I live
Singing what a faithful God have I
Thursday 20 May 2010
God's Ways
Sometimes we confuse our goals with God's will. We think they're the same thing. So an inevitable part of life is the frustration of at least some of our goals. We simply won't get everything we want or do everything we desire.
God has a different plan than simply giving us the satisfaction of a completed to-do list. He frustrates us to change us - to turn our life in a different direction. But even more important, to bend our heart toward the habitual posture of submission and obedience. He gets us off our fast track and onto a lonely train at midnight to somewhere we didn't plan to go.
- Dave Harvey, Rescuing Ambition
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
- Isaiah 55:8-11 (NIV)
Our Father knows what's best for us
His ways are not our own
So when your pathway grows dim
And you just can't see Him
Remember you're never alone
God has a different plan than simply giving us the satisfaction of a completed to-do list. He frustrates us to change us - to turn our life in a different direction. But even more important, to bend our heart toward the habitual posture of submission and obedience. He gets us off our fast track and onto a lonely train at midnight to somewhere we didn't plan to go.
- Dave Harvey, Rescuing Ambition
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
- Isaiah 55:8-11 (NIV)
Our Father knows what's best for us
His ways are not our own
So when your pathway grows dim
And you just can't see Him
Remember you're never alone
Wednesday 19 May 2010
A Molinist View of Relationships
In a previous post, A Molinist View of (the UK General) Election, I wrote that according to Molinism,
1. Knowing what tempts us and how much grace we need (to not be tempted beyond what we can bear), God gives us the ability to resist temptation (by His grace) or resist His grace.
2. God knows whether (and under what circumstances) we would resist temptation or resist His grace.
3. Knowing whether (and under what circumstances) we would resist temptation or resist His grace, God works all things according to His will.
Grounded in God
Our view of relationships should be grounded in our view of God. Indeed, our view of everything should be grounded in our view of God.
If we believe that we don't have the God-given ability to choose to enter into a relationship with God, how much more should we believe that we don't have the God-given ability to choose to enter into a relationship with someone else!
If we believe that we have the God-given ability to choose to enter into a relationship with someone else, how much more should we believe that we have the God-given ability to choose to enter into a relationship with God, the perfect relationship!
Of course, to say that we have the God-given ability to choose to enter into a relationship with God is not to say that God does not predestine (Arminianism). God does predestine.
The question is not whether God predestines. The question is whether God foreknows what He predestines (5-point Calvinism) or whether God predestines what He foreknows (Molinism).
Arminianism - God does not predestine.
5-point Calvinism - God foreknows what He predestines.
Molinism - God predestines what He foreknows.
"It is up to God whether we find ourselves in a world in which we are predestined, but it is up to us whether we are predestined in the world in which we find ourselves." - William Lane Craig, Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom: The Coherence of Theism: Omniscience
"The Lord predicted Peter would deny him and by the use of middle knowledge ordained the scenario that infallibly guaranteed Peter would do so. However, God did not make or cause Peter to do as he did." - Kenneth Keathley, A Molinist View of Election or How to be a Consistent Infralapsarian
Molinism and Relationships
Applying the Molinist view to relationships,
1. God gives us the opportunity to enter into relationships - and enter into relationships freely!
2. God knows whether (and under what circumstances) we would enter into relationships - and who we would enter into relationships with!
3. Knowing all of the above, God works all things according to His will.
"This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church." - Ephesians 5:32 (NIV)
Links: A Molinist View of (the UK General) Election (7 May 10), The First and Ultimate Matchmaker (4 Jun 10), A Molinist View of Samson's Marriage (30 Jun 10)
1. Knowing what tempts us and how much grace we need (to not be tempted beyond what we can bear), God gives us the ability to resist temptation (by His grace) or resist His grace.
2. God knows whether (and under what circumstances) we would resist temptation or resist His grace.
3. Knowing whether (and under what circumstances) we would resist temptation or resist His grace, God works all things according to His will.
Grounded in God
Our view of relationships should be grounded in our view of God. Indeed, our view of everything should be grounded in our view of God.
If we believe that we don't have the God-given ability to choose to enter into a relationship with God, how much more should we believe that we don't have the God-given ability to choose to enter into a relationship with someone else!
If we believe that we have the God-given ability to choose to enter into a relationship with someone else, how much more should we believe that we have the God-given ability to choose to enter into a relationship with God, the perfect relationship!
Of course, to say that we have the God-given ability to choose to enter into a relationship with God is not to say that God does not predestine (Arminianism). God does predestine.
The question is not whether God predestines. The question is whether God foreknows what He predestines (5-point Calvinism) or whether God predestines what He foreknows (Molinism).
Arminianism - God does not predestine.
5-point Calvinism - God foreknows what He predestines.
Molinism - God predestines what He foreknows.
"It is up to God whether we find ourselves in a world in which we are predestined, but it is up to us whether we are predestined in the world in which we find ourselves." - William Lane Craig, Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom: The Coherence of Theism: Omniscience
"The Lord predicted Peter would deny him and by the use of middle knowledge ordained the scenario that infallibly guaranteed Peter would do so. However, God did not make or cause Peter to do as he did." - Kenneth Keathley, A Molinist View of Election or How to be a Consistent Infralapsarian
Molinism and Relationships
Applying the Molinist view to relationships,
1. God gives us the opportunity to enter into relationships - and enter into relationships freely!
2. God knows whether (and under what circumstances) we would enter into relationships - and who we would enter into relationships with!
3. Knowing all of the above, God works all things according to His will.
"This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church." - Ephesians 5:32 (NIV)
Links: A Molinist View of (the UK General) Election (7 May 10), The First and Ultimate Matchmaker (4 Jun 10), A Molinist View of Samson's Marriage (30 Jun 10)
Tuesday 18 May 2010
Unless the LORD builds the house
A friend recently sent me Barker Road Methodist Church's 7-day prayer guide for this week (leading up to Pentecost Sunday this weekend). The following is from the reading for today.
Tuesday, May 18
God does not call us to strive. He tells us not to worry, to rest in Him because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We are reminded that unless the Lord builds the house, we labour in vain. Even to our detriment.
- Barker Road Methodist Church, A Revival of Our Hearts: A 7-Day Prayer Guide in the Season of Eastertide 2010 (17 to 23 May)
"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." - Psalm 127:1 (NIV)
"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe - as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." - 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 (NIV)
"For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything." - Hebrews 3:4 (NIV)
Tuesday, May 18
God does not call us to strive. He tells us not to worry, to rest in Him because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We are reminded that unless the Lord builds the house, we labour in vain. Even to our detriment.
- Barker Road Methodist Church, A Revival of Our Hearts: A 7-Day Prayer Guide in the Season of Eastertide 2010 (17 to 23 May)
"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." - Psalm 127:1 (NIV)
"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe - as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." - 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 (NIV)
"For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything." - Hebrews 3:4 (NIV)
Monday 17 May 2010
Sunday 16 May 2010
Abraham's Great Reward
"After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."" - Genesis 15:1 (NIV)
First, then, let us enquire, WHAT IS THIS REWARD? "I am your exceeding great reward."
It is not the land of Canaan. That was to be given to Abraham, but that was not his great reward. It is not a posterity, though he pined for it. No, it is not anything that God will give him - it is God, Himself. I - I, Jehovah - the Hebrew is peculiarly emphatic in setting apart the word, "I, Jehovah, am your exceeding great reward." The Lord Himself is the portion of His people!
A man may have other rewards if he is content with God as his reward, but he who has any sinister or even secondary aim in what he does in the cause of God, spoils it all. This is the fly in the precious ointment! We must get rid of everything of this sort and be just as satisfied to serve God in obloquy and reproach as we are to serve Him amid the acclamations of the multitude!
- C. H. Spurgeon, Abraham's Great Reward
"By [the ordinances of the LORD] is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward." - Psalm 19:11 (NIV)
"By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death." - Hebrews 11:17-19 (NIV)
"Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend." - James 2:21-23 (NIV)
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." - Psalm 84:11 (NIV)
"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" - Romans 8:32 (NIV)
God does not withhold anything from us. Why should we withhold anything from God?
Links: Abraham's Dilemma and Believing God for His Best (12 May 10), Trust and Obey (16 Sep 10)
First, then, let us enquire, WHAT IS THIS REWARD? "I am your exceeding great reward."
It is not the land of Canaan. That was to be given to Abraham, but that was not his great reward. It is not a posterity, though he pined for it. No, it is not anything that God will give him - it is God, Himself. I - I, Jehovah - the Hebrew is peculiarly emphatic in setting apart the word, "I, Jehovah, am your exceeding great reward." The Lord Himself is the portion of His people!
A man may have other rewards if he is content with God as his reward, but he who has any sinister or even secondary aim in what he does in the cause of God, spoils it all. This is the fly in the precious ointment! We must get rid of everything of this sort and be just as satisfied to serve God in obloquy and reproach as we are to serve Him amid the acclamations of the multitude!
- C. H. Spurgeon, Abraham's Great Reward
"By [the ordinances of the LORD] is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward." - Psalm 19:11 (NIV)
"By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death." - Hebrews 11:17-19 (NIV)
"Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend." - James 2:21-23 (NIV)
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." - Psalm 84:11 (NIV)
"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" - Romans 8:32 (NIV)
God does not withhold anything from us. Why should we withhold anything from God?
Links: Abraham's Dilemma and Believing God for His Best (12 May 10), Trust and Obey (16 Sep 10)
Saturday 15 May 2010
May 8 to 14
May 8: "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?" - John 5:46-47 (NIV)
May 9: "He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do." - John 6:6 (NIV)
May 10: "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." - John 6:27 (NIV)
May 11: "Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."" - John 6:68-69 (NIV)
May 12: "A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones." - Proverbs 12:4 (NIV)
May 13: "But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow." - Psalm 60:4 (NIV)
May 14: "You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one." - John 8:15 (NIV)
May 9: "He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do." - John 6:6 (NIV)
May 10: "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." - John 6:27 (NIV)
May 11: "Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."" - John 6:68-69 (NIV)
May 12: "A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones." - Proverbs 12:4 (NIV)
May 13: "But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow." - Psalm 60:4 (NIV)
May 14: "You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one." - John 8:15 (NIV)
Friday 14 May 2010
More on Contentment
I'm reading the Bible in one year and the Wisdom reading for Jun 5 is Proverbs 14:5-14.
"Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy." - Proverbs 14:10 (NIV)
Contentment does not come from feeling bitter about what we don't have; it comes from finding joy in what we do have!
Discovering the Secret of Contentment
Trust is the key to contentment. We must realise that God is always in control and that He is good. If this were not true, He could never give His children the promise of Romans 8:28.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
He is absolutely faithful to provide all we need to fulfill His will, which is exactly what we would desire if we knew all the facts.
- Bill Thrasher, Believing God for His Best
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
Philippians was the first book I studied as a small group leader at York (almost more than two years ago) and it remains a special book to me. If I had to sum up Philippians in one word, I would say "contentment".
Incidentally, York CU is studying Ecclesiastes in small groups this term, my last term in York.
"A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?" - Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 (NIV)
"I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil - this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him." - Ecclesiastes 3:12-14 (NIV)
"Then I realised that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labour under the sun during the few days of life God has given him - for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work - this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart." - Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 (NIV)
I was just listening to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (from Monty Python's Life of Brian) on my iPod.
For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow
Forget about your sin
Give the audience a grin
Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow
By its own worldly logic (which I wouldn't recommend), we should always look on the bright side of life - because death's the final word (or so it seems).
But death is not the final word.
"But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." - Romans 8:10-11 (NIV)
"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." - 1 Corinthians 15:19-20 (NIV)
"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV)
And the good news is that our sin is both forgiven and forgotten. Not forgiven and forgotten because it doesn't matter, but because it has been fully dealt with in the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Not forgiven and forgotten by us, but by the One who has the power and authority to do so - God!
"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." - Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)
"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.
"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write in on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbour or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." - Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NIV)
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit." - Romans 8:1-4 (NIV)
How much more, then, should we always look on the bright side of (eternal) life!
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."" - Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)
Links: On Contentment (13 Dec 09), Knowing Jesus, Knowing God (20 Sep 10)
"Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy." - Proverbs 14:10 (NIV)
Contentment does not come from feeling bitter about what we don't have; it comes from finding joy in what we do have!
Discovering the Secret of Contentment
Trust is the key to contentment. We must realise that God is always in control and that He is good. If this were not true, He could never give His children the promise of Romans 8:28.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
He is absolutely faithful to provide all we need to fulfill His will, which is exactly what we would desire if we knew all the facts.
- Bill Thrasher, Believing God for His Best
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
Philippians was the first book I studied as a small group leader at York (
Incidentally, York CU is studying Ecclesiastes in small groups this term, my last term in York.
"A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?" - Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 (NIV)
"I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil - this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him." - Ecclesiastes 3:12-14 (NIV)
"Then I realised that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labour under the sun during the few days of life God has given him - for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work - this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart." - Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 (NIV)
I was just listening to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (from Monty Python's Life of Brian) on my iPod.
For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow
Forget about your sin
Give the audience a grin
Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow
By its own worldly logic (which I wouldn't recommend), we should always look on the bright side of life - because death's the final word (or so it seems).
But death is not the final word.
"But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." - Romans 8:10-11 (NIV)
"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." - 1 Corinthians 15:19-20 (NIV)
"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV)
And the good news is that our sin is both forgiven and forgotten. Not forgiven and forgotten because it doesn't matter, but because it has been fully dealt with in the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Not forgiven and forgotten by us, but by the One who has the power and authority to do so - God!
"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." - Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)
"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.
"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write in on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbour or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." - Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NIV)
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit." - Romans 8:1-4 (NIV)
How much more, then, should we always look on the bright side of (eternal) life!
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."" - Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)
Links: On Contentment (13 Dec 09), Knowing Jesus, Knowing God (20 Sep 10)
Thursday 13 May 2010
Let Thy will be done
Now, what God requires of those who seek His face is "a right intention" - a deliberate, a resigned, a joyful acceptance of His good and perfect will. All true prayer must fall back upon the great atonement, in which the Man of Sorrows translated into "active passion" the supplication of His agony.
"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will" (Matthew 26:39). He has transmitted to us His own prayer and we offer it in the power of His sacrifice. "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven... your will be done'" (Matthew 6:9-10).
Lord, here I hold within my trembling hand,
This will of mine - a thing which seemeth small;
And only Thou, O Christ, canst understand
How, when I yield Thee this, I yield mine all.
It hath been wet with tears, and stained with sighs,
Clenched in my grasp till beauty has it none;
Now, from Thy footstool where it prostrate lies
The prayer ascendeth, Let Thy will be done.
- David M'Intyre, The Hidden Life of Prayer
"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will" (Matthew 26:39). He has transmitted to us His own prayer and we offer it in the power of His sacrifice. "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven... your will be done'" (Matthew 6:9-10).
Lord, here I hold within my trembling hand,
This will of mine - a thing which seemeth small;
And only Thou, O Christ, canst understand
How, when I yield Thee this, I yield mine all.
It hath been wet with tears, and stained with sighs,
Clenched in my grasp till beauty has it none;
Now, from Thy footstool where it prostrate lies
The prayer ascendeth, Let Thy will be done.
- David M'Intyre, The Hidden Life of Prayer
Wednesday 12 May 2010
Abraham's Dilemma and Believing God for His Best
Abraham's Dilemma
In Theological Ethics, Abraham's Dilemma refers to Abraham's anguished choice between obeying God and killing his son.
"Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."" - Genesis 22:1-2 (NIV)
While some philosophers might say that a good God could not have commanded Abraham to kill his son, I believe that God could have, and in fact commanded Abraham to kill his son.
To deny that God could have commanded Abraham to kill his son not only denies the historicity of Genesis 22 - it also denies the historicity of other passages of Scripture which refer to Genesis 22, such as Hebrews 11:17-19 and James 2:21-23. Besides, the revelation of Abraham's Dilemma is that the LORD will provide.
The LORD Will Provide
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
- Genesis 22:9-14 (NIV)
The LORD provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice as a burnt offering, and He has provided His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as the perfect sacrifice for our sin and sanctification.
"The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" - Hebrews 9:13-14 (NIV)
"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" - Romans 8:32 (NIV)
The LORD will provide. What are you (still) withholding from Him?
Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?
Your heart does the Spirit control?
You can only be blest
And have peace and sweet rest
As you yield Him your body and soul
Believing God for His Best
God was asking me, like Abraham of the Old Testament, to yield up my "Isaac". God gave me the grace to do it; but, with travail of soul, I asked Him for "a three-day Moriah". (Abraham laboured under the burden of having to sacrifice Isaac for three days since it took him that long to journey to Mount Moriah where he was to build this altar.)
- Penny Thrasher, Believing God for His Best
Obedience is Costly
Making holy choices often means making hard choices. Sometimes obedience means giving up something greatly desired, perhaps without understanding why. Abraham must have felt this way, his knife poised to take Isaac's life. Why should God require me to give Him my son's life? he must have wondered.
But God did not want Isaac's life - He wanted Abraham's heart. He wants our hearts as well, and giving them to Him might require surrendering something or someone we don't want to live without.
Do we direct our own lives, or are they under God's direction? Do we insist upon self-sovereignty, or have we yielded sovereignty over our lives to the Lord?
Obedience is costly. But the price that God paid to establish a relationship with us - wherein it is even possible for us to be obedient - was costlier still.
- William P. Risk, Dating and Waiting
God does not desire dead sacrifices. He desires living sacrifices - our obedience to His will!
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
When I'm faced with anguished choice
I will listen for Your voice
And I'll stand on every promise of Your Word
Through this dark and troubled land
You will guide me with Your hand
As I stand on every promise of Your Word
And You've promised to complete
Every work begun in me
So I'll stand on every promise of Your Word
Links: Abraham's Great Reward (16 May 10), Trust and Obey (16 Sep 10)
In Theological Ethics, Abraham's Dilemma refers to Abraham's anguished choice between obeying God and killing his son.
"Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."" - Genesis 22:1-2 (NIV)
While some philosophers might say that a good God could not have commanded Abraham to kill his son, I believe that God could have, and in fact commanded Abraham to kill his son.
To deny that God could have commanded Abraham to kill his son not only denies the historicity of Genesis 22 - it also denies the historicity of other passages of Scripture which refer to Genesis 22, such as Hebrews 11:17-19 and James 2:21-23. Besides, the revelation of Abraham's Dilemma is that the LORD will provide.
The LORD Will Provide
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
- Genesis 22:9-14 (NIV)
The LORD provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice as a burnt offering, and He has provided His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as the perfect sacrifice for our sin and sanctification.
"The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" - Hebrews 9:13-14 (NIV)
"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" - Romans 8:32 (NIV)
The LORD will provide. What are you (still) withholding from Him?
Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?
Your heart does the Spirit control?
You can only be blest
And have peace and sweet rest
As you yield Him your body and soul
Believing God for His Best
God was asking me, like Abraham of the Old Testament, to yield up my "Isaac". God gave me the grace to do it; but, with travail of soul, I asked Him for "a three-day Moriah". (Abraham laboured under the burden of having to sacrifice Isaac for three days since it took him that long to journey to Mount Moriah where he was to build this altar.)
- Penny Thrasher, Believing God for His Best
Obedience is Costly
Making holy choices often means making hard choices. Sometimes obedience means giving up something greatly desired, perhaps without understanding why. Abraham must have felt this way, his knife poised to take Isaac's life. Why should God require me to give Him my son's life? he must have wondered.
But God did not want Isaac's life - He wanted Abraham's heart. He wants our hearts as well, and giving them to Him might require surrendering something or someone we don't want to live without.
Do we direct our own lives, or are they under God's direction? Do we insist upon self-sovereignty, or have we yielded sovereignty over our lives to the Lord?
Obedience is costly. But the price that God paid to establish a relationship with us - wherein it is even possible for us to be obedient - was costlier still.
- William P. Risk, Dating and Waiting
God does not desire dead sacrifices. He desires living sacrifices - our obedience to His will!
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
When I'm faced with anguished choice
I will listen for Your voice
And I'll stand on every promise of Your Word
Through this dark and troubled land
You will guide me with Your hand
As I stand on every promise of Your Word
And You've promised to complete
Every work begun in me
So I'll stand on every promise of Your Word
Links: Abraham's Great Reward (16 May 10), Trust and Obey (16 Sep 10)
Tuesday 11 May 2010
Hope in God
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28 (NIV)
As Phil Walker put it in his sermon at York Baptist Church on Sun evening, God works for our good. In fact, God works for our best.
Do we believe God for His best, which is ultimately our best?
The Ark in Ashdod and Ekron
After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place.
But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His heads and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon's temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.
- 1 Samuel 5:1-5 (NIV)
The true God topples our false gods, our idols, and we shouldn't try to put them back up!
Flee from Idolatry
Talking to myself I inquired, "Why are you so down?" I discovered that it was clearly because of ___. Pondering why ___ had such an impact upon me, I came to the realisation that ___ had become an idol in my life. An idol is someone or something that one looks to meet the thirsts of the heart. There was nothing wrong with ___, but I needed to get my heart right with God.
The Lord drew my attention to 1 Corinthians 10:14, which contains the command to "flee from idolatry".
- Bill Thrasher, Believing God for His Best
We are to flee from idolatry precisely because
1. No temptation has seized us except what is common to man.
2. God is faithful; He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear.
3. When we are tempted, God will also provide a way out so that we can stand up under it.
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
In your hearts enthrone Him
There let Him subdue
All that is not holy
All that is not true
Crown Him as your Captain
In temptation's hour
Let His will enfold you
In its light and power
Links: Why are you so down? (16 Oct 09), no other gods (7 Feb 10)
As Phil Walker put it in his sermon at York Baptist Church on Sun evening, God works for our good. In fact, God works for our best.
Do we believe God for His best, which is ultimately our best?
The Ark in Ashdod and Ekron
After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place.
But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His heads and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon's temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.
- 1 Samuel 5:1-5 (NIV)
The true God topples our false gods, our idols, and we shouldn't try to put them back up!
Flee from Idolatry
Talking to myself I inquired, "Why are you so down?" I discovered that it was clearly because of ___. Pondering why ___ had such an impact upon me, I came to the realisation that ___ had become an idol in my life. An idol is someone or something that one looks to meet the thirsts of the heart. There was nothing wrong with ___, but I needed to get my heart right with God.
The Lord drew my attention to 1 Corinthians 10:14, which contains the command to "flee from idolatry".
- Bill Thrasher, Believing God for His Best
We are to flee from idolatry precisely because
1. No temptation has seized us except what is common to man.
2. God is faithful; He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear.
3. When we are tempted, God will also provide a way out so that we can stand up under it.
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
In your hearts enthrone Him
There let Him subdue
All that is not holy
All that is not true
Crown Him as your Captain
In temptation's hour
Let His will enfold you
In its light and power
Links: Why are you so down? (16 Oct 09), no other gods (7 Feb 10)
Monday 10 May 2010
Waiting Upon God
To wait is not merely to remain impassive. It is to expect - to look for with patience, and also with submission. It is to long for, but not impatiently; to look for, but not to fret at the delay; to watch for, but not restlessly; to feel that if He does not come we will acquiesce, and yet to refuse to let the mind acquiesce in the feeling that He will not come.
- Andrew Bruce Davidson, Waiting Upon God
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." - Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." - Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
"A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?" - Proverbs 20:24 (NIV)
Therefore,
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
- Andrew Bruce Davidson, Waiting Upon God
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." - Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." - Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
"A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?" - Proverbs 20:24 (NIV)
Therefore,
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Sunday 9 May 2010
Freedom in Christ
I'm reading the Bible in one year and the Wisdom reading for May 29 is Psalm 68:15-20.
"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens." - Psalm 68:19 (NIV)
The Burden of Sin
"Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." - Isaiah 53:12 (NIV)
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."" - Galatians 3:13 (NIV)
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." - 1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)
If God in Christ bore the burden of our sin, how much more will He bear the burden of our sanctification!
"Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." - Romans 5:9-11 (NIV)
"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" - Romans 8:32 (NIV)
"The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" - Hebrews 9:13-14 (NIV)
Slaves to Righteousness
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Romans 6:15-23 (NIV)
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." - Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
We are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness!
If God in Christ freed us from the penalty of sin, how much more will He free us from the power of sin!
The Way Out
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." - Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens!
"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens." - Psalm 68:19 (NIV)
The Burden of Sin
"Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." - Isaiah 53:12 (NIV)
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."" - Galatians 3:13 (NIV)
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." - 1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)
If God in Christ bore the burden of our sin, how much more will He bear the burden of our sanctification!
"Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." - Romans 5:9-11 (NIV)
"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" - Romans 8:32 (NIV)
"The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" - Hebrews 9:13-14 (NIV)
Slaves to Righteousness
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Romans 6:15-23 (NIV)
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." - Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
We are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness!
If God in Christ freed us from the penalty of sin, how much more will He free us from the power of sin!
The Way Out
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." - Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens!
Saturday 8 May 2010
May 1 to 7
May 1: "This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him." - John 2:11 (NIV)
May 2: "Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled." - Joshua 21:45 (NIV)
May 3: "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." - Joshua 24:15 (NIV)
May 4: "Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."" - John 4:13-14 (NIV)
May 5: "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." - John 4:34 (NIV)
May 6: "Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed." - Psalm 57:1 (NIV)
May 7: "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." - John 5:24 (NIV)
May 2: "Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled." - Joshua 21:45 (NIV)
May 3: "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." - Joshua 24:15 (NIV)
May 4: "Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."" - John 4:13-14 (NIV)
May 5: "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." - John 4:34 (NIV)
May 6: "Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed." - Psalm 57:1 (NIV)
May 7: "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." - John 5:24 (NIV)
Friday 7 May 2010
A Molinist View of (the UK General) Election
Although I'm not a UK citizen, being a Commonwealth citizen I could vote in yesterday's UK general election. And I'm a Molinist.
According to Molinism,
1. Knowing what tempts us and how much grace we need (to not be tempted beyond what we can bear), God gives us the ability to resist temptation (by His grace) or resist His grace.
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
2. God knows whether (and under what circumstances) we would resist temptation or resist His grace.
For example, Jesus knew that 'if the miracles that were performed in [Korazin and Bethsaida] had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes' (Matthew 11:21, NIV). Of course, the point is not that the miracles that were performed in Korazin and Bethsaida were not performed in Tyre and Sidon. The point is that even if the miracles that were performed in Korazin and Bethsaida were not performed in Tyre and Sidon, Tyre and Sidon - under the circumstances which did obtain - could have chosen to repent but nevertheless chose not to repent.
Indeed, God knew that Judas would betray Jesus under certain circumstances. Again, the point is not that Judas might not have betrayed Jesus under different circumstances. The point is that even if Judas would not have betrayed Jesus under different circumstances, Judas - under the circumstances which did obtain - could have chosen not to betray Jesus but nevertheless chose to betray Jesus.
3. Knowing whether (and under what circumstances) we would resist temptation or resist His grace, God works all things according to His will.
Knowing that Judas would betray Jesus under certain circumstances, God created a world in which these circumstances would obtain and Judas would betray Jesus - leading to Jesus' death and resurrection for our justification.
Turning to the UK general election,
1. God gives us the opportunity to vote - and vote freely!
2. God knows whether (and under what circumstances) we would vote - and which party we would vote for!
3. Knowing all of the above, God works all things according to His will.
"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." - Romans 13:1 (NIV)
*****
Molinism places mystery where it should be located, i.e. in God's infinite attributes rather than in his character. Critics of Molinism, particularly open theists, contend that the Molinist fails to give an adequate explanation of how it is that God infallibly knows what choices free creatures are going to make. This is generally known as "the grounding objection", because it questions whether Molinism provides any grounds or basis for God's middle knowledge.
Molinists generally reply by arguing that God innately knows all things by virtue of his omniscience, and that it is simply in the nature of God to have infallible knowledge of all things. The Molinist advocate affirms, but may not be able to explain to everyone's satisfaction, that God has exhaustive foreknowledge of what creatures with libertarian freedom will do.
If Molinists have to appeal to mystery at this point, it is doing so at a better and more reasonable point. I'd rather have the Molinist difficulty of not being able to explain how God's omniscience operates, instead of the Calvinist difficulty of making God appear to be the author of sin. In other words, Molinism's difficulties are with God's infinite attributes rather than his holy and righteous nature.
Implicit in the grounding objection is the denial that God has the ability to create creatures with libertarian freedom (of the morally significant kind). This places a surprising constraint on the scope of God's sovereignty. The Molinist embraces a richer conception of God's sovereignty, since God exercises meticulous providence despite the existence of free creatures!
One of the things we understand the least about God is how his infinite attributes operate - his omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. So why place the mystery of reprobation in God's character? Molinists do not claim to know God's purposes exhaustively, but one of the things most clearly revealed about God is his holiness, righteousness and goodness. Would we not rather place the mystery within the transcendent, infinite, inexhaustible omniscience of God rather than the revealed character and purposes of God?
- Kenneth Keathley, A Molinist View of Election or How to be a Consistent Infralapsarian
Links: A Molinist View of Relationships (19 May 10), The First and Ultimate Matchmaker (4 Jun 10), A Molinist View of Samson's Marriage (30 Jun 10)
According to Molinism,
1. Knowing what tempts us and how much grace we need (to not be tempted beyond what we can bear), God gives us the ability to resist temptation (by His grace) or resist His grace.
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
2. God knows whether (and under what circumstances) we would resist temptation or resist His grace.
For example, Jesus knew that 'if the miracles that were performed in [Korazin and Bethsaida] had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes' (Matthew 11:21, NIV). Of course, the point is not that the miracles that were performed in Korazin and Bethsaida were not performed in Tyre and Sidon. The point is that even if the miracles that were performed in Korazin and Bethsaida were not performed in Tyre and Sidon, Tyre and Sidon - under the circumstances which did obtain - could have chosen to repent but nevertheless chose not to repent.
Indeed, God knew that Judas would betray Jesus under certain circumstances. Again, the point is not that Judas might not have betrayed Jesus under different circumstances. The point is that even if Judas would not have betrayed Jesus under different circumstances, Judas - under the circumstances which did obtain - could have chosen not to betray Jesus but nevertheless chose to betray Jesus.
3. Knowing whether (and under what circumstances) we would resist temptation or resist His grace, God works all things according to His will.
Knowing that Judas would betray Jesus under certain circumstances, God created a world in which these circumstances would obtain and Judas would betray Jesus - leading to Jesus' death and resurrection for our justification.
Turning to the UK general election,
1. God gives us the opportunity to vote - and vote freely!
2. God knows whether (and under what circumstances) we would vote - and which party we would vote for!
3. Knowing all of the above, God works all things according to His will.
"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." - Romans 13:1 (NIV)
*****
Molinism places mystery where it should be located, i.e. in God's infinite attributes rather than in his character. Critics of Molinism, particularly open theists, contend that the Molinist fails to give an adequate explanation of how it is that God infallibly knows what choices free creatures are going to make. This is generally known as "the grounding objection", because it questions whether Molinism provides any grounds or basis for God's middle knowledge.
Molinists generally reply by arguing that God innately knows all things by virtue of his omniscience, and that it is simply in the nature of God to have infallible knowledge of all things. The Molinist advocate affirms, but may not be able to explain to everyone's satisfaction, that God has exhaustive foreknowledge of what creatures with libertarian freedom will do.
If Molinists have to appeal to mystery at this point, it is doing so at a better and more reasonable point. I'd rather have the Molinist difficulty of not being able to explain how God's omniscience operates, instead of the Calvinist difficulty of making God appear to be the author of sin. In other words, Molinism's difficulties are with God's infinite attributes rather than his holy and righteous nature.
Implicit in the grounding objection is the denial that God has the ability to create creatures with libertarian freedom (of the morally significant kind). This places a surprising constraint on the scope of God's sovereignty. The Molinist embraces a richer conception of God's sovereignty, since God exercises meticulous providence despite the existence of free creatures!
One of the things we understand the least about God is how his infinite attributes operate - his omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. So why place the mystery of reprobation in God's character? Molinists do not claim to know God's purposes exhaustively, but one of the things most clearly revealed about God is his holiness, righteousness and goodness. Would we not rather place the mystery within the transcendent, infinite, inexhaustible omniscience of God rather than the revealed character and purposes of God?
- Kenneth Keathley, A Molinist View of Election or How to be a Consistent Infralapsarian
Links: A Molinist View of Relationships (19 May 10), The First and Ultimate Matchmaker (4 Jun 10), A Molinist View of Samson's Marriage (30 Jun 10)
Thursday 6 May 2010
The Son of God and God
The guiding intuition is the Aristotelian idea that it is possible for an object a and an object b to be "one in number" - that is, numerically the same - without being strictly identical...
We believe in things that are very plausibly characterised as hylomorphic compounds whose matter is a familiar material object and whose form is an accidental property. For example, we believe in fists and hands, bronze statues and lumps of bronze, cats and heaps of cat tissue, and so on. Why we should believe all this but not that sitting down is a way of replacing one kind of object (a standing-man) with another (a seated-man) is an interesting and surprisingly difficult question.
- Jeffrey E. Brower and Michael C. Rea, 'Material Constitution and the Trinity' in Michael C. Rea (ed.), Oxford Readings in Philosophical Theology Volume 1: Trinity, Incarnation, Atonement
How can Jesus be 'the Son of God' and 'God' at the same time?
That's like asking, how can a lump of clay be 'a lump of clay' and 'clay' at the same time?
We believe in things that are very plausibly characterised as hylomorphic compounds whose matter is a familiar material object and whose form is an accidental property. For example, we believe in fists and hands, bronze statues and lumps of bronze, cats and heaps of cat tissue, and so on. Why we should believe all this but not that sitting down is a way of replacing one kind of object (a standing-man) with another (a seated-man) is an interesting and surprisingly difficult question.
- Jeffrey E. Brower and Michael C. Rea, 'Material Constitution and the Trinity' in Michael C. Rea (ed.), Oxford Readings in Philosophical Theology Volume 1: Trinity, Incarnation, Atonement
How can Jesus be 'the Son of God' and 'God' at the same time?
That's like asking, how can a lump of clay be 'a lump of clay' and 'clay' at the same time?
Wednesday 5 May 2010
A wife of noble character who can find?
York CU is studying Ecclesiastes in small groups this term. We were looking at the start of Ecclesiastes yesterday and I was reminded of Proverbs 31:10 on the opposite page of my Bible.
"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." - Proverbs 31:10 (NIV)
Of course, no one can find (or be) a wife of noble character on his (or her) own. It is God who gives life; it is God who gives growth; it is God who 'in all things... works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose' (Romans 8:28, NIV).
"Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the LORD." - Proverbs 19:14 (NIV)
Links: The Proverbs 31 Woman (14 Feb 09), The Wife of Noble Character (14 Feb 10), The Man of Noble Character (6 Sep 10), The Psalm 112 Man (9 Sep 10)
"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." - Proverbs 31:10 (NIV)
Of course, no one can find (or be) a wife of noble character on his (or her) own. It is God who gives life; it is God who gives growth; it is God who 'in all things... works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose' (Romans 8:28, NIV).
"Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the LORD." - Proverbs 19:14 (NIV)
Links: The Proverbs 31 Woman (14 Feb 09), The Wife of Noble Character (14 Feb 10), The Man of Noble Character (6 Sep 10), The Psalm 112 Man (9 Sep 10)
Tuesday 4 May 2010
Trusting in God as a Means vs Trusting in God as an End
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
- Luke 18:9-14 (NIV)
Not an Overt Legalist
As far as we know, this Pharisee was a total advocate of the sovereignty of God. As far as we know, he would have said, "Not I but the grace of God in me has worked this righteousness." He says, "I thank you, God, that I have this righteousness." That was not his mistake. His mistake was that he trusted in this apparently God-produced righteousness for justification.
- John Piper, Did Jesus Preach the Gospel of Evangelicalism?
The point is not that the Pharisee did not trust in God. The Pharisee did trust in God. The point is that the Pharisee trusted in God in order to trust in the fact that he trusted in God.
Simply trusting every day
Trusting through a stormy way
Even when my faith is small
Trusting Jesus, that is all
Trusting as the moments fly
Trusting as the days go by
Trusting Him, whatever befall
Trusting Jesus, that is all
"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." - Jude 24-25 (NIV)
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
- Luke 18:9-14 (NIV)
Not an Overt Legalist
As far as we know, this Pharisee was a total advocate of the sovereignty of God. As far as we know, he would have said, "Not I but the grace of God in me has worked this righteousness." He says, "I thank you, God, that I have this righteousness." That was not his mistake. His mistake was that he trusted in this apparently God-produced righteousness for justification.
- John Piper, Did Jesus Preach the Gospel of Evangelicalism?
The point is not that the Pharisee did not trust in God. The Pharisee did trust in God. The point is that the Pharisee trusted in God in order to trust in the fact that he trusted in God.
Simply trusting every day
Trusting through a stormy way
Even when my faith is small
Trusting Jesus, that is all
Trusting as the moments fly
Trusting as the days go by
Trusting Him, whatever befall
Trusting Jesus, that is all
"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." - Jude 24-25 (NIV)
Monday 3 May 2010
To obey is better than sacrifice
I'm reading the Bible in one year and the Old Testament reading for May 24 is 1 Samuel 14:24-15:35.
"But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."" - 1 Samuel 15:22 (NIV)
After defeating the Amalekites in battle, 'Saul and the army spared Agag [king of the Amalekites] and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs - everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed' (1 Samuel 15:9, NIV). This was contrary to the LORD's instructions to 'attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys' (1 Samuel 15:3, NIV).
God does not desire dead sacrifices. He desires living sacrifices - our obedience to His will!
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
"But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."" - 1 Samuel 15:22 (NIV)
After defeating the Amalekites in battle, 'Saul and the army spared Agag [king of the Amalekites] and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs - everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed' (1 Samuel 15:9, NIV). This was contrary to the LORD's instructions to 'attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys' (1 Samuel 15:3, NIV).
God does not desire dead sacrifices. He desires living sacrifices - our obedience to His will!
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
Saturday 1 May 2010
Thus far has the LORD helped us
I'm reading the Bible in one year and the Old Testament reading for May 20 (I'm slightly ahead in my readings) is 1 Samuel 5:1-7:17.
"Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."" - 1 Samuel 7:12 (NIV)
After subduing the Philistines at Mizpah, Samuel established an altar to praise the LORD for delivering the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines.
For various reasons, the 1st of May seems like an appropriate time for me to raise my Ebenezer, to remember what the LORD has done in the past and give thanks for what He will do in the future.
The best is yet to be!
Thank you Father, that if it is Your will, You will bring it to pass at just the right time, and Your will is exactly what I would desire if I knew all the facts.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
- Isaiah 55:8-11 (NIV)
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.
- Lamentations 3:19-27 (NIV)
Thank you Father, that if it is not Your will, Your grace is sufficient for me, and Your will is still exactly what I would desire if I knew all the facts.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28 (NIV)
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NIV)
Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I've come
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood
Links: Wait (29 May 10), Here I raise my Ebenezer (2 Jun 10), Hither by Thy help I've come (9 Aug 10)
"Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."" - 1 Samuel 7:12 (NIV)
After subduing the Philistines at Mizpah, Samuel established an altar to praise the LORD for delivering the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines.
For various reasons, the 1st of May seems like an appropriate time for me to raise my Ebenezer, to remember what the LORD has done in the past and give thanks for what He will do in the future.
The best is yet to be!
Thank you Father, that if it is Your will, You will bring it to pass at just the right time, and Your will is exactly what I would desire if I knew all the facts.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
- Isaiah 55:8-11 (NIV)
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.
- Lamentations 3:19-27 (NIV)
Thank you Father, that if it is not Your will, Your grace is sufficient for me, and Your will is still exactly what I would desire if I knew all the facts.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28 (NIV)
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NIV)
Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I've come
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood
Links: Wait (29 May 10), Here I raise my Ebenezer (2 Jun 10), Hither by Thy help I've come (9 Aug 10)
Apr 22 to 30
Apr 22: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9 (NIV)
Apr 23: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." - Luke 22:31-32 (NIV)
Apr 24: "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." - Luke 22:46 (NIV)
Apr 25: "The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not enquire of the LORD." - Joshua 9:14 (NIV)
Apr 26: "Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last." - Luke 23:46 (NIV)
Apr 27: "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." - Psalm 51:10-12 (NIV)
Apr 28: "But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints." - Psalm 52:8-9 (NIV)
Apr 29: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." - John 1:14 (NIV)
Apr 30: "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"" - John 1:29 (NIV)
Apr 23: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." - Luke 22:31-32 (NIV)
Apr 24: "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." - Luke 22:46 (NIV)
Apr 25: "The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not enquire of the LORD." - Joshua 9:14 (NIV)
Apr 26: "Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last." - Luke 23:46 (NIV)
Apr 27: "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." - Psalm 51:10-12 (NIV)
Apr 28: "But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints." - Psalm 52:8-9 (NIV)
Apr 29: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." - John 1:14 (NIV)
Apr 30: "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"" - John 1:29 (NIV)
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