It's amazing...the work/rest rhythm that God wired into creation (i.e. Sabbath) actually works--even for non-Christians!
Watch Stefan Sagmeister: The Power of Time Off
What would result if Christians began modeling for the world a God-entranced joy-abounding lifestyle of productive work and restoring rest? Oh, that we would repent of our workaholism (even of doing 'Christian' activities) and re-align ourselves with the way God created the universe to be--a consistent rhythm of work and rest.
God's command to "keep the Sabbath" is actually for our good! How foolish to disobey.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Recent Thoughts
I haven't posted here for a while, so here are some thoughts I've posted on Facebook over the past few months.
The work of Christian leaders/pastors/ministers/clergy is not to rule over people and control their obedience, but rather to "work with them for their JOY" (2 Cor. 1:24). Pursue your joy! This is Christianity 101. Devastating consequences result when we get this wrong. God, after all, is not after your begrudging submission to Him. He wants your joy!
We speak a message of Reconciled Relationship to lonely people in a fragmented culture. This is good news.
What makes God’s grace phenomenal is not that we're worthy. We're dirty yet he loves us in it! It's not a future version of you that God loves. He loves you now as you are--in your sin, pain, brokenness, and pride. This is the gospel of grace. While we were at our worst, Christ died for us.
The idols we pursue ensure quick relief and long-term destruction. Is it worth it? Keep yourself from idols (1 John 5:21).
Here are some things Matt Chandler has said that I’ve latched on to:
When broken people try to find redemption in broken people, broken people get more broken.
Sometimes God will break your fingers to get your hands off of what will harm you.
Every time God exposes your heart by commanding of you obedience that you refuse, you just got invited into deeper intimacy with God.
Everything we own is the stuff of garage sales or landfills. Let's live simply and give generously!
Here are some other quotes that I've been pondering:
If you are the most intelligent person in the room, you are in the wrong room!
Real community is hard work, because most people are a lot like us--selfish, petty, and proud. (Kevin DeYoung)
Every painful thing we experience in relationships is meant to remind us of our need for Jesus. And every good thing we experience is meant to be a metaphor of what we can only find in Jesus. (Lane/Tripp, Relationships: A Mess Worth Making)
God is the source of all joy--all other joys are secondary and derivative. They come from him, find their meaning in him, and cannot be divorced from him." (from Randy Alcorn's phenomenal worship-producing mind-stirring affection-raising book "Heaven" - I'd highly highly recommend it)
At the turn of the century, the church became more rational than relational, more organizational than organic, more political than prayerful, and more structural than spiritual. (Winfield Bevins)
"In America, we have one-third of the world's psychiatrists, two psychotherapists for every dentist, and more counselors than librarians." Might something be wrong here?
What if Americans were to "waste less, spend less, use less, want less, need less"? (Wendell Berry)
Americans are the best entertained and quite likely the least well-informed people in the Western world. (Neil Postman)
Christ the Lord would have us cleave to Him utterly. To speak of "accepting" Him is to use far too weak an expression. Like Jacob, the believer cries, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." (Ed Clowney)
The corruption and weakness of our natures make it vital that we preach the gospel to our own hearts every day. Reminders of grace are not dry cereal for the soul; they are daily bread....For those in whom the Spirit dwells, grace is the fuel of obedience and the foundation of hope. Without its regular support, we quickly resort to self-dependence or private despair. (Bryan Chapell)
I’d highly recommend Tim Keller’s book Counterfeit Gods. Here are a few quotes to wet your appetite.
If you want God's grace all you need is need, all you need is nothing. Lay your deadly "doing" down.
The true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention. What are you really living for, what is your real--not your professed--god?
What many people call “psychological problems” are simply issues of idolatry. Perfectionism, workaholism, chronic indecisiveness, the need to control the lives of others—all of these stem from making good things into idols that then drive us into the ground as we try to appease them. Idols dominate our lives.
Donald Miller’s book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is a fun, casual, thought-provoking read. Three quotes for a taste.
Somehow we realize that great stories are told in conflict, but we are unwilling to embrace the potential greatness of the story we are actually in. We think God is unjust, rather than a master storyteller.
If you watch the news and there's a tragedy at a house in Kansas, that guy's driveway connects with yours, and you'd be surprised how few roads it takes to get there. We are all neighbors. My life is connected to everybody else's.
When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are. And when you stop expecting material possessions to complete you, you'd be surprised at how much pleasure you get in material possessions. And when you stop expecting God to end all your troubles, you'd be surprised how much you like spending time with God.
Christopher West’s Theology of the Body for Beginners is very good, and very helpful in understanding God’s design for human sexuality. Two quotes from that book:
Sin's tactic is simply to "twist" and "disorient" our desire for heaven...Behind every sin, behind every disordered "acting out," there's a genuine human desire that's meant to be fulfilled through Christ and his Church.
God loves us; he is unequivocally for us, not against us. The "banquet" really exists and everyone without exception is invited. The only "requirement" for entry is that we stop eating out of the dumpster.
The work of Christian leaders/pastors/ministers/clergy is not to rule over people and control their obedience, but rather to "work with them for their JOY" (2 Cor. 1:24). Pursue your joy! This is Christianity 101. Devastating consequences result when we get this wrong. God, after all, is not after your begrudging submission to Him. He wants your joy!
We speak a message of Reconciled Relationship to lonely people in a fragmented culture. This is good news.
What makes God’s grace phenomenal is not that we're worthy. We're dirty yet he loves us in it! It's not a future version of you that God loves. He loves you now as you are--in your sin, pain, brokenness, and pride. This is the gospel of grace. While we were at our worst, Christ died for us.
The idols we pursue ensure quick relief and long-term destruction. Is it worth it? Keep yourself from idols (1 John 5:21).
Here are some things Matt Chandler has said that I’ve latched on to:
When broken people try to find redemption in broken people, broken people get more broken.
Sometimes God will break your fingers to get your hands off of what will harm you.
Every time God exposes your heart by commanding of you obedience that you refuse, you just got invited into deeper intimacy with God.
Everything we own is the stuff of garage sales or landfills. Let's live simply and give generously!
Here are some other quotes that I've been pondering:
If you are the most intelligent person in the room, you are in the wrong room!
Real community is hard work, because most people are a lot like us--selfish, petty, and proud. (Kevin DeYoung)
Every painful thing we experience in relationships is meant to remind us of our need for Jesus. And every good thing we experience is meant to be a metaphor of what we can only find in Jesus. (Lane/Tripp, Relationships: A Mess Worth Making)
God is the source of all joy--all other joys are secondary and derivative. They come from him, find their meaning in him, and cannot be divorced from him." (from Randy Alcorn's phenomenal worship-producing mind-stirring affection-raising book "Heaven" - I'd highly highly recommend it)
At the turn of the century, the church became more rational than relational, more organizational than organic, more political than prayerful, and more structural than spiritual. (Winfield Bevins)
"In America, we have one-third of the world's psychiatrists, two psychotherapists for every dentist, and more counselors than librarians." Might something be wrong here?
What if Americans were to "waste less, spend less, use less, want less, need less"? (Wendell Berry)
Americans are the best entertained and quite likely the least well-informed people in the Western world. (Neil Postman)
Christ the Lord would have us cleave to Him utterly. To speak of "accepting" Him is to use far too weak an expression. Like Jacob, the believer cries, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." (Ed Clowney)
The corruption and weakness of our natures make it vital that we preach the gospel to our own hearts every day. Reminders of grace are not dry cereal for the soul; they are daily bread....For those in whom the Spirit dwells, grace is the fuel of obedience and the foundation of hope. Without its regular support, we quickly resort to self-dependence or private despair. (Bryan Chapell)
I’d highly recommend Tim Keller’s book Counterfeit Gods. Here are a few quotes to wet your appetite.
If you want God's grace all you need is need, all you need is nothing. Lay your deadly "doing" down.
The true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention. What are you really living for, what is your real--not your professed--god?
What many people call “psychological problems” are simply issues of idolatry. Perfectionism, workaholism, chronic indecisiveness, the need to control the lives of others—all of these stem from making good things into idols that then drive us into the ground as we try to appease them. Idols dominate our lives.
Donald Miller’s book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is a fun, casual, thought-provoking read. Three quotes for a taste.
Somehow we realize that great stories are told in conflict, but we are unwilling to embrace the potential greatness of the story we are actually in. We think God is unjust, rather than a master storyteller.
If you watch the news and there's a tragedy at a house in Kansas, that guy's driveway connects with yours, and you'd be surprised how few roads it takes to get there. We are all neighbors. My life is connected to everybody else's.
When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are. And when you stop expecting material possessions to complete you, you'd be surprised at how much pleasure you get in material possessions. And when you stop expecting God to end all your troubles, you'd be surprised how much you like spending time with God.
Christopher West’s Theology of the Body for Beginners is very good, and very helpful in understanding God’s design for human sexuality. Two quotes from that book:
Sin's tactic is simply to "twist" and "disorient" our desire for heaven...Behind every sin, behind every disordered "acting out," there's a genuine human desire that's meant to be fulfilled through Christ and his Church.
God loves us; he is unequivocally for us, not against us. The "banquet" really exists and everyone without exception is invited. The only "requirement" for entry is that we stop eating out of the dumpster.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Mission
What a privilege we have to join the mission of Jesus. May we know the Truth we must teach, may we proclaim the gospel fearlessly, and may we do our part--in a spirit of compassion--to heal the harassed and helpless around us.
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues and
proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and
healing every disease and every affliction.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassoin for them,
because they were harassed and helpless
like sheep without a shepherd
Then he said to his disciples,
"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few,
therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest
to send out laborers into his harvest."
Matthew 9:35-38
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues and
proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and
healing every disease and every affliction.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassoin for them,
because they were harassed and helpless
like sheep without a shepherd
Then he said to his disciples,
"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few,
therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest
to send out laborers into his harvest."
Matthew 9:35-38
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Redeeming the Time
This morning I visited Providence Church--a church that The Village helped plant a few years ago. The sermon asked a big question: Will I give my life away? In particular, it challenged me to re-evaluate how I use my time.
Barry Keldie pointed out that Ephesians 5:15-17 shows us four ways to use our time. We can use it for doing godly things, doing wise things, doing foolish things, or doing sinful things. The call is to redeem the time that we've been given.
Just as Christ stepped into the world to rescue every aspect of creation, we too must step into our schedules to rescue every minute of our time. This really challenged me to keep a close watch on my schedule: How do I use my time? Does my schedule reflect Kingdom values? How much time is spent investing in godly things? In sinful things? In foolish things? Lord Jesus, may my schedule glorify you!
Barry Keldie pointed out that Ephesians 5:15-17 shows us four ways to use our time. We can use it for doing godly things, doing wise things, doing foolish things, or doing sinful things. The call is to redeem the time that we've been given.
Just as Christ stepped into the world to rescue every aspect of creation, we too must step into our schedules to rescue every minute of our time. This really challenged me to keep a close watch on my schedule: How do I use my time? Does my schedule reflect Kingdom values? How much time is spent investing in godly things? In sinful things? In foolish things? Lord Jesus, may my schedule glorify you!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Two glorious letters: "re"
For the Christian, "re" may be the most glorious letter combination in the English language. Think of all the re's that result from life in Christ: rebirth from death, release from sin, returning to God through repentance, ability to receive a renovated life, a renewed mind, a refocused vision, a reformed will, a refreshed spirit, a resurrected body...we could go on!
There is so much hope in these two little letters. No matter what we do, no matter how we "err" Christ can always "re".
Let us always remember this grace! Let us always rejoice in this gospel!
There is so much hope in these two little letters. No matter what we do, no matter how we "err" Christ can always "re".
Let us always remember this grace! Let us always rejoice in this gospel!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
More than legalism
The question that true Christ-followers ask when making moral decisions is not "Is this good or is this bad?" Those questions aren't big enough! We ask instead: "Does this stir my affections for Christ or does this stagnate my affections for Him?" This question is one that I'm beginning to ask of everything I do.
The Lord used this talk to confront me with it. Take a listen yourself: Click here and download "4.03.09 - Legalism vs. The Law - Epiphany Fellowship Church - Matt Chandler"
The Lord used this talk to confront me with it. Take a listen yourself: Click here and download "4.03.09 - Legalism vs. The Law - Epiphany Fellowship Church - Matt Chandler"
Friday, September 18, 2009
Abide in Christ (part 1)
A few years ago I received Andrew Murray’s Abide in Christ as a gift from a friend. I wish I didn’t wait until now to read it. If you’re looking for a book that will draw out longing in your heart for the Savior Jesus, this is a book for you!
In the Preface, Murray writes, “During the life of Jesus on earth, the word He chiefly used when speaking of the relations of the disciples to Himself was, “Follow me” (Matt. 4:19). When about to leave for heaven, He gave them a new word, in which their more intimate and spiritual union with Him in glory would be expressed. That chosen word was, “Abide in me” (John 15:4).”
Here are some excerpts to meditate on from chapter 1-3:
It takes time to grow into Jesus the Vine; do not expect to abide in Him unless you will give Him that time….Take time each day, before you read, while you read, and after you read, to put yourself into living contact with the living Jesus, to yield yourself distinctly and consciously to His blessed influence. (9-10)
[Jesus has] prepared for you an abiding dwelling with Himself, where your whole life and every moment of it might be spent, where the work of your daily life might be done, and where you might be enjoying unbroken communion with Him. (14)
It is only abiding that can really satisfy the thirsty soul with drinks from the rivers of pleasure that are at His right hand. (16)
Entire surrender to Jesus is the secret of perfect rest. (21)
Jesus claims the undivided allegiance of the whole heart and life; there is not a spot in our entire lives over which He does not wish to reign; in the very least things His disciples must only seek to please Him. (21)
It is not the yoke, but resistance to the yoke, that causes the difficulty; the wholehearted surrender to Jesus, as both our Master and our Keeper, finds and secures the rest. (24)
Abiding in Jesus is nothing but the giving up of oneself to be ruled and taught and led, and so resting in the arms of Everlasting Love. (25)
Abiding in Christ is meant only for the weak and is so beautifully suited to their feebleness. It does not demand the doing of some great thing or that we first lead a holy and devoted life. No, it is simply weakness entrusting itself to a Mighty One to be kept—the unfaithful one casting self on One who is altogether trustworthy and true. Abiding in Him is not a work that we have to do as the condition for enjoying His salvation, but a consenting to let Him do all for us, in us, and through us. It is a work He does for us: the fruit and the power of His redeeming love. Our part is simply to yield, to trust, and to wait for what He has engaged to perform. (28)
There is always the thought of a work that has to be done, and even though they pray for help, still the work is theirs. They fail continually and become hopeless, and the despondency only increases the helplessness....You are not under the law, with its inexorable do, but under grace, with its blessed believe what Christ will do for you. (29)
Our doing and working are but the fruit of Christ’s work in us. It is when the soul becomes utterly passive, looking and resting on what Christ is to do, that its energies are stirred to their highest activity, and we work most effectively because we know that He works in us. (30)
Christ’s aim is to have me abiding in Him. (31)
God’s truth must at once be acted on. Oh, yield yourself this very day to the blessed Savior in the surrender of the one thing He asks of you: give up yourself to abide in Him. He Himself will work it in you. You can trust Him to keep you trusting and abiding. (32)
In the Preface, Murray writes, “During the life of Jesus on earth, the word He chiefly used when speaking of the relations of the disciples to Himself was, “Follow me” (Matt. 4:19). When about to leave for heaven, He gave them a new word, in which their more intimate and spiritual union with Him in glory would be expressed. That chosen word was, “Abide in me” (John 15:4).”
Here are some excerpts to meditate on from chapter 1-3:
It takes time to grow into Jesus the Vine; do not expect to abide in Him unless you will give Him that time….Take time each day, before you read, while you read, and after you read, to put yourself into living contact with the living Jesus, to yield yourself distinctly and consciously to His blessed influence. (9-10)
[Jesus has] prepared for you an abiding dwelling with Himself, where your whole life and every moment of it might be spent, where the work of your daily life might be done, and where you might be enjoying unbroken communion with Him. (14)
It is only abiding that can really satisfy the thirsty soul with drinks from the rivers of pleasure that are at His right hand. (16)
Entire surrender to Jesus is the secret of perfect rest. (21)
Jesus claims the undivided allegiance of the whole heart and life; there is not a spot in our entire lives over which He does not wish to reign; in the very least things His disciples must only seek to please Him. (21)
It is not the yoke, but resistance to the yoke, that causes the difficulty; the wholehearted surrender to Jesus, as both our Master and our Keeper, finds and secures the rest. (24)
Abiding in Jesus is nothing but the giving up of oneself to be ruled and taught and led, and so resting in the arms of Everlasting Love. (25)
Abiding in Christ is meant only for the weak and is so beautifully suited to their feebleness. It does not demand the doing of some great thing or that we first lead a holy and devoted life. No, it is simply weakness entrusting itself to a Mighty One to be kept—the unfaithful one casting self on One who is altogether trustworthy and true. Abiding in Him is not a work that we have to do as the condition for enjoying His salvation, but a consenting to let Him do all for us, in us, and through us. It is a work He does for us: the fruit and the power of His redeeming love. Our part is simply to yield, to trust, and to wait for what He has engaged to perform. (28)
There is always the thought of a work that has to be done, and even though they pray for help, still the work is theirs. They fail continually and become hopeless, and the despondency only increases the helplessness....You are not under the law, with its inexorable do, but under grace, with its blessed believe what Christ will do for you. (29)
Our doing and working are but the fruit of Christ’s work in us. It is when the soul becomes utterly passive, looking and resting on what Christ is to do, that its energies are stirred to their highest activity, and we work most effectively because we know that He works in us. (30)
Christ’s aim is to have me abiding in Him. (31)
God’s truth must at once be acted on. Oh, yield yourself this very day to the blessed Savior in the surrender of the one thing He asks of you: give up yourself to abide in Him. He Himself will work it in you. You can trust Him to keep you trusting and abiding. (32)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sit...Walk...Stand (Insights from Watchman Nee)
Watchman Nee’s Sit, Walk, Stand is a spectacular little book that offers great insight into the Christian life. Nee draws from the book of Ephesians, which he sees broken down into three sections:
(1) Our Position in Christ (1:1-3:21)—SIT
(2) Our Life in the World (4:1-6:9)—WALK
(3) Our Attitude to the Enemy (6:10-24)—STAND.
Here are some excerpts (primarily from the SIT chapter). We must remember that Christian life is a work of God from start to finish...sheer grace. May we truly believe this!
Christianity does not begin with walking; it begins with sitting….Most Christians make the mistake of trying to walk in order to be able to sit, but that is a reversal of the true order….Christianity is a queer business! If at the outset we try to do anything, we get nothing; if we seek to attain something, we miss everything. For Christianity begins not with a big DO, but with a big DONE….we are invited at the very outset to sit down and enjoy what God has done for us; not to set out to try and attain it for ourselves. (14)
The Christian life from start to finish is based upon this principle of utter dependence upon the Lord Jesus….we only advance in the Christian life as we learn first of all to sit down….When we walk or stand we bear on our legs all the weight of our own body, but when we sit down our entire weight rests upon the chair or couch on which we sit. We grow weary when we walk or stand, but we feel rested when we have sat down for a while. In walking or standing we expend a great deal of energy, but when we are seated we relax at once, because the strain no longer falls upon our muscles and nerves but upon something outside of ourselves. (15)
I received everything not by walking but by sitting down, not by doing but by resting in the Lord….No Christian experience begins with walking, but always with a definite sitting down. The secret of deliverance from sin is not to do something but to rest on what God has done. (18, 22)
God is waiting till you cease to do. When you cease doing, then God will begin. Have you ever tried to save a drowning man? The trouble is that his fear prevents him trusting himself to you. When that is so, there are just two ways of going about it. Either you must knock him unconscious and then drag him to the shore, or else you must leave him to struggle and should until his strength gives way before you go to his rescue. If you try to save him while he has any strength left, he will clutch at you in his terror and drag you under, and both he and you will be lost. God is waiting for your store of strength to be utterly exhausted before he can deliver you. Once you have ceased to struggle, he will do everything. God is waiting for you to despair. (23)
OH, MAY WE BELIEVE THIS...
God is so wealthy that his chief delight is to give. His treasure-stores are so full that it is pain to him when we refuse him an opportunity of lavishing those treasures upon us….It is a grief to the heart of God when we try to provide things for him. He is so very, very rich. It gives him true joy when we just let him give and give and give again to us. It is a grief to him, too, when we try to do things for him, for he is so very, very able. He longs that we will just let him do and do and do. He wants to be the Giver eternally, and he wants to be the Doer eternally. If only we saw how rich and how great he is, we would leave all the giving and all the doing to him….Just you stop “giving,” and you will prove what a Giver God is! Stop “working,” and you will discover what a Worker he is!....When we come to an end of our works, his work begins. (24-25, 69)
God never asks us to do anything we can do. He asks us to live a life which we can never live and to do a work which we can never do. Yet, by his grace, we are living it and doing it. The life we live is the life of Christ lived in the power of God, and the work we do is the work of Christ carried on through us by his Spirit whom we obey. Self is the only obstruction to that life and to that work. (69)
(1) Our Position in Christ (1:1-3:21)—SIT
(2) Our Life in the World (4:1-6:9)—WALK
(3) Our Attitude to the Enemy (6:10-24)—STAND.
Here are some excerpts (primarily from the SIT chapter). We must remember that Christian life is a work of God from start to finish...sheer grace. May we truly believe this!
Christianity does not begin with walking; it begins with sitting….Most Christians make the mistake of trying to walk in order to be able to sit, but that is a reversal of the true order….Christianity is a queer business! If at the outset we try to do anything, we get nothing; if we seek to attain something, we miss everything. For Christianity begins not with a big DO, but with a big DONE….we are invited at the very outset to sit down and enjoy what God has done for us; not to set out to try and attain it for ourselves. (14)
The Christian life from start to finish is based upon this principle of utter dependence upon the Lord Jesus….we only advance in the Christian life as we learn first of all to sit down….When we walk or stand we bear on our legs all the weight of our own body, but when we sit down our entire weight rests upon the chair or couch on which we sit. We grow weary when we walk or stand, but we feel rested when we have sat down for a while. In walking or standing we expend a great deal of energy, but when we are seated we relax at once, because the strain no longer falls upon our muscles and nerves but upon something outside of ourselves. (15)
I received everything not by walking but by sitting down, not by doing but by resting in the Lord….No Christian experience begins with walking, but always with a definite sitting down. The secret of deliverance from sin is not to do something but to rest on what God has done. (18, 22)
God is waiting till you cease to do. When you cease doing, then God will begin. Have you ever tried to save a drowning man? The trouble is that his fear prevents him trusting himself to you. When that is so, there are just two ways of going about it. Either you must knock him unconscious and then drag him to the shore, or else you must leave him to struggle and should until his strength gives way before you go to his rescue. If you try to save him while he has any strength left, he will clutch at you in his terror and drag you under, and both he and you will be lost. God is waiting for your store of strength to be utterly exhausted before he can deliver you. Once you have ceased to struggle, he will do everything. God is waiting for you to despair. (23)
OH, MAY WE BELIEVE THIS...
God is so wealthy that his chief delight is to give. His treasure-stores are so full that it is pain to him when we refuse him an opportunity of lavishing those treasures upon us….It is a grief to the heart of God when we try to provide things for him. He is so very, very rich. It gives him true joy when we just let him give and give and give again to us. It is a grief to him, too, when we try to do things for him, for he is so very, very able. He longs that we will just let him do and do and do. He wants to be the Giver eternally, and he wants to be the Doer eternally. If only we saw how rich and how great he is, we would leave all the giving and all the doing to him….Just you stop “giving,” and you will prove what a Giver God is! Stop “working,” and you will discover what a Worker he is!....When we come to an end of our works, his work begins. (24-25, 69)
God never asks us to do anything we can do. He asks us to live a life which we can never live and to do a work which we can never do. Yet, by his grace, we are living it and doing it. The life we live is the life of Christ lived in the power of God, and the work we do is the work of Christ carried on through us by his Spirit whom we obey. Self is the only obstruction to that life and to that work. (69)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Mere Theology (part 2)
Here are some more excerpts from Will Vaus’ Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C.S. Lewis. These come from chapters 12-25. Skim through…and then linger on what strikes you. I'd highly recommend this books as a resource!
Chapter 12 – The Tao
Until I reach perfection, the Law is there as a tutor to lead me to Christ. I must try to act as a Christian today whether I feel like it or not. One day, I will always feel like acting as a Christian should. (120)
Growing in the Christian life is more like [God] painting his portrait in our lives than like obeying a set of rules. (120)
Chapter 13 – Venus
Sexual sin is bad, but it is the least bad of all sins. A cold, self-righteous snob who goes to church regularly may be nearer to hell than a prostituted. But it is better to be neither! (127)
Chapter 14 – Marriage and Divorce
We must remember that the husband is the head of the wife only in so far as he is to her what Christ is to the church. He is to love her as Christ has loved the church and give up his life for her. This kind of headship is thus embodied most clearly in a marriage that is most like a crucifixion. (136-137)
A good wife contains so many persons in herself. In relation to her husband she can be daughter, mother, pupil, teacher, subject and sovereign, mistress, and always holding all these together, comrade, friend, shipmate and fellow soldier. (137)
Chapter 16 – I Am the King’s Man
The rightful King of the universe has landed in disguise on this planet and has set about winning us back to himself, that he might raise us to reign with him in the heavenlies. (146)
Chapter 17 – War and Peace
War does not make death more frequent, war just makes death more real to us, and that is a good thing. One should be prepared for death and not put too much of one’s hope in this life. (150)
Chapter 18 – What’s Love Got to Do With It?
“Love ceases to be a demon only when he ceases to be a god” (Denis de Rougemont). God is love but love is not God. (157)
Lewis’ delightful rule of friendship: “People who bore one another should meet seldom; people who interest one another, often.” (159)
We should act as if we love others and then we will end up loving them. (161)
Grace must shine and rain on the garden of our loves if the loves are to grow properly. Left to themselves the natural loves either vanish or become demons. But when God arrives, these half-gods can remain and be fruitful. (162)
The only place outside heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell. (162)
Then in the end, by loving God more than our natural loves, we shall love our natural loves more than we do now. (164)
If we cannot practice the presence of God, it is something to practice his absence, to realize the vacuum in our hearts that only he can fill. (164)
Chapter 19 – The Church
Once no one goes to church except to seek Christ, then the number of actual believers can be discovered. (172)
The test of music is always the same. We should ask ourselves, “Does this music make me more obedient, more God-centered and neighbor-centered or more self-centered?” (174)
Our present services are merely attempts at worship. When we attempt to worship God in church what we are doing is tuning our instruments for Heaven, where one day we shall praise God perfectly, with total delight. (175)
Chapter 20 – Prayer
When we don’t use any ready-made forms we tend to get too cozy with the Almighty. (177)
The body needs to be active in prayer as well as the soul. But concentration matters more than kneeling. (178)
We often pray for others when we should be doing things for them. (182)
We should make these [mental distractions in prayer] the subject of our prayers. We shouldn’t try to keep the distraction out of our minds. Rather, we should pray about the distraction, and then we may be able to return to our normal pattern of prayer. (183)
[We must be careful of] mere “Jesus-worship” rather than worship of the triune God. (184)
By spending time in God’s creation every day we reconstitute our souls. (185)
We must remember that we are still in the school of prayer; we haven’t graduated yet. (185)
Chapter 21 – The Sacraments
Communion is holy, for in it Christ is truly hidden. (193)
Jesus’ command was “Take, eat,” not “Take, understand.” Being tormented by wondering what the wafer and wine are stops one from receiving what God wants to give. It is like taking a red coal out of the fire to examine it; it goes dead. Overanalyzes of Communion leads to paralysis in the reception of it. (195)
Chapter 24 – Heaven
All scriptural images [describing heaven] (harps, crowns, gold, etc.) are symbolic attempts to express the inexpressible. Musical instruments are mentioned because music suggests ecstasy and infinity. Crowns are mentioned to suggest splendor and power and joy. Gold is mentioned to suggest the timelessness of Heaven and the preciousness of it. Those who take these symbols literally might as well think that when Jesus told his disciples to act like doves, he meant for them to lay eggs! (210)
Heaven is like morning, full of the promise of a new day, a fresh start, sunrise not sunset. (212)
Christians throughout the ages who have thought most of the next world are also the ones who have done the most for this world….Aim for Heaven, and you will get Earth along with it; aim for Earth, and you will get nothing. (213)
If we find in ourselves a desire that this world cannot satisfy, perhaps it is because we were made for another world. (214)
Our worship services on Earth are merely attempts at worship, attempts that are never fully successful, and sometimes 99.9 percent failures, or else total failures! (216)
Our present bodies were not given us so that they could one day be done away with. Rather, they were given us for training purposes. (221)
Nature will be cured, not tamed nor sterilized. (222)
“If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead” (William Law). If we insist upon holding on to hell, or anything other than God in this life, then we shall not see Heaven; if we accept Heaven, we shall not be able to keep even the smallest souvenirs from hell. (224)
Chapter 12 – The Tao
Until I reach perfection, the Law is there as a tutor to lead me to Christ. I must try to act as a Christian today whether I feel like it or not. One day, I will always feel like acting as a Christian should. (120)
Growing in the Christian life is more like [God] painting his portrait in our lives than like obeying a set of rules. (120)
Chapter 13 – Venus
Sexual sin is bad, but it is the least bad of all sins. A cold, self-righteous snob who goes to church regularly may be nearer to hell than a prostituted. But it is better to be neither! (127)
Chapter 14 – Marriage and Divorce
We must remember that the husband is the head of the wife only in so far as he is to her what Christ is to the church. He is to love her as Christ has loved the church and give up his life for her. This kind of headship is thus embodied most clearly in a marriage that is most like a crucifixion. (136-137)
A good wife contains so many persons in herself. In relation to her husband she can be daughter, mother, pupil, teacher, subject and sovereign, mistress, and always holding all these together, comrade, friend, shipmate and fellow soldier. (137)
Chapter 16 – I Am the King’s Man
The rightful King of the universe has landed in disguise on this planet and has set about winning us back to himself, that he might raise us to reign with him in the heavenlies. (146)
Chapter 17 – War and Peace
War does not make death more frequent, war just makes death more real to us, and that is a good thing. One should be prepared for death and not put too much of one’s hope in this life. (150)
Chapter 18 – What’s Love Got to Do With It?
“Love ceases to be a demon only when he ceases to be a god” (Denis de Rougemont). God is love but love is not God. (157)
Lewis’ delightful rule of friendship: “People who bore one another should meet seldom; people who interest one another, often.” (159)
We should act as if we love others and then we will end up loving them. (161)
Grace must shine and rain on the garden of our loves if the loves are to grow properly. Left to themselves the natural loves either vanish or become demons. But when God arrives, these half-gods can remain and be fruitful. (162)
The only place outside heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell. (162)
Then in the end, by loving God more than our natural loves, we shall love our natural loves more than we do now. (164)
If we cannot practice the presence of God, it is something to practice his absence, to realize the vacuum in our hearts that only he can fill. (164)
Chapter 19 – The Church
Once no one goes to church except to seek Christ, then the number of actual believers can be discovered. (172)
The test of music is always the same. We should ask ourselves, “Does this music make me more obedient, more God-centered and neighbor-centered or more self-centered?” (174)
Our present services are merely attempts at worship. When we attempt to worship God in church what we are doing is tuning our instruments for Heaven, where one day we shall praise God perfectly, with total delight. (175)
Chapter 20 – Prayer
When we don’t use any ready-made forms we tend to get too cozy with the Almighty. (177)
The body needs to be active in prayer as well as the soul. But concentration matters more than kneeling. (178)
We often pray for others when we should be doing things for them. (182)
We should make these [mental distractions in prayer] the subject of our prayers. We shouldn’t try to keep the distraction out of our minds. Rather, we should pray about the distraction, and then we may be able to return to our normal pattern of prayer. (183)
[We must be careful of] mere “Jesus-worship” rather than worship of the triune God. (184)
By spending time in God’s creation every day we reconstitute our souls. (185)
We must remember that we are still in the school of prayer; we haven’t graduated yet. (185)
Chapter 21 – The Sacraments
Communion is holy, for in it Christ is truly hidden. (193)
Jesus’ command was “Take, eat,” not “Take, understand.” Being tormented by wondering what the wafer and wine are stops one from receiving what God wants to give. It is like taking a red coal out of the fire to examine it; it goes dead. Overanalyzes of Communion leads to paralysis in the reception of it. (195)
Chapter 24 – Heaven
All scriptural images [describing heaven] (harps, crowns, gold, etc.) are symbolic attempts to express the inexpressible. Musical instruments are mentioned because music suggests ecstasy and infinity. Crowns are mentioned to suggest splendor and power and joy. Gold is mentioned to suggest the timelessness of Heaven and the preciousness of it. Those who take these symbols literally might as well think that when Jesus told his disciples to act like doves, he meant for them to lay eggs! (210)
Heaven is like morning, full of the promise of a new day, a fresh start, sunrise not sunset. (212)
Christians throughout the ages who have thought most of the next world are also the ones who have done the most for this world….Aim for Heaven, and you will get Earth along with it; aim for Earth, and you will get nothing. (213)
If we find in ourselves a desire that this world cannot satisfy, perhaps it is because we were made for another world. (214)
Our worship services on Earth are merely attempts at worship, attempts that are never fully successful, and sometimes 99.9 percent failures, or else total failures! (216)
Our present bodies were not given us so that they could one day be done away with. Rather, they were given us for training purposes. (221)
Nature will be cured, not tamed nor sterilized. (222)
“If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead” (William Law). If we insist upon holding on to hell, or anything other than God in this life, then we shall not see Heaven; if we accept Heaven, we shall not be able to keep even the smallest souvenirs from hell. (224)
Sunday, September 13, 2009
C.S. Lewis on "Surrender"
Take a moment to read these excerpts from C.S. Lewis’ article “A Slip of the Tongue” from The Weight of Glory, p. 187-192. May we learn to give every part of our lives to God in complete surrender!
This is my endlessly recurrent temptation: to go down to that Sea (I think St. John of the Cross called God a sea) and there neither dive nor swim nor float, but only dabble and splash, careful not to get out of my depth and holding on to the lifeline which connects me with my things temporal.
[God] has, in the last resort, nothing to give us but Himself; and He can give that only insofar as our self-affirming will retires and makes room for Him in our souls. Let us make up our minds to it; there will be nothing “of our own” left over to live on, no “ordinary” life.
For He claims all, because He is love and must bless. He cannot bless us unless He has us. When we try to keep within us an area that is our own, we try to keep an area of death. Therefore, in love, He claims all. There’s no bargaining with Him.
“If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead.” Those are hard words to take.
Will it really make no difference whether it was women or patriotism, cocaine or art, whisky or a seat in the Cabinet, money or science? Well, surely no difference that matters. We shall have missed the end for which we are formed and rejected the only thing that satisfies. Does it matter to a man dying in a desert by which choice of route he missed the only well?
Failure will be forgiven; it is acquiescence that is fatal, the permitted, regularized presence of an area in ourselves which we still claim for our own. We may never, this side of death, drive the invader out of our territory, but we must be in the Resistance, not in the Vichy government. And this, so far as I can yet see, must be begun again every day.
This is my endlessly recurrent temptation: to go down to that Sea (I think St. John of the Cross called God a sea) and there neither dive nor swim nor float, but only dabble and splash, careful not to get out of my depth and holding on to the lifeline which connects me with my things temporal.
[God] has, in the last resort, nothing to give us but Himself; and He can give that only insofar as our self-affirming will retires and makes room for Him in our souls. Let us make up our minds to it; there will be nothing “of our own” left over to live on, no “ordinary” life.
For He claims all, because He is love and must bless. He cannot bless us unless He has us. When we try to keep within us an area that is our own, we try to keep an area of death. Therefore, in love, He claims all. There’s no bargaining with Him.
“If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead.” Those are hard words to take.
Will it really make no difference whether it was women or patriotism, cocaine or art, whisky or a seat in the Cabinet, money or science? Well, surely no difference that matters. We shall have missed the end for which we are formed and rejected the only thing that satisfies. Does it matter to a man dying in a desert by which choice of route he missed the only well?
Failure will be forgiven; it is acquiescence that is fatal, the permitted, regularized presence of an area in ourselves which we still claim for our own. We may never, this side of death, drive the invader out of our territory, but we must be in the Resistance, not in the Vichy government. And this, so far as I can yet see, must be begun again every day.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Repentance (part 2)
In The Doctrine of Repentance, Thomas Watson takes two chapters (3 and 4) to expound upon the fact that “repentance is a spiritual medicine made up of six special ingredients.” He lists these ingredients as (1) Sight of sin, (2) Sorrow for sin, (3) Confession of sin, (4) Shame for sin, (5) Hatred for sin, (6) Turning from sin. By God's grace, we must learn to mix these together.
Going on…here are some more quotes. I'd encourage you to read them slowly, and let the ones that stick out strike your soul!
A true turning from sin is a divorcing it, so as never to come near it any more. (56)
It is not falling into water that drowns, but lying in it. It is not falling into sin that damns, but lying in it without repentance. (62)
CHAPTER 6 – A SERIOUS EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE
There is no rowing to paradise except upon the stream of repenting tears. (63)
Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet. (63)
Either men must turn or God will overturn. (66)
If prayer does not make a man leave sin, sin will make him leave prayer. (68)
The hypocrite carries his Bible under his arm, but not in his heart….God’s anger will fall heavier upon hypocrites. They dishonour God more and take away the gospel’s good name. Therefore the Lord reserves the most deadly arrows in his quiver to shoot at them. If heathens be damned, hypocrites shall be double-damned. (68-69)
Repentance is necessary for God’s own people. Repentance is a continuous act. (69)
The sins of God’s people do more provoke God than do the sins of others. The sins of the wicked pierce Christ’s side. The sins of the godly go to his heart. (72)
Sin hangs weights upon us so that we move but slowly to heaven. (73)
CHAPTER 7 – POWERFUL MOTIVES TO REPENTANCE
What is knowledge good for without repentance? It is better to mortify one sin than to understand all mysteries. Learning and a bad heart is like a fair face with a cancer in the breast. Knowledge without repentance will be but a torch to light men to hell. (77)
Repentance unravels sin and makes it as if it had never been. (79)
Never do the flowers of grace grow more than after a shower of repentant tears. (79)
We tasted the apple, and [Christ] the vinegar and gall. We sinned in every faculty, and he bled in every vein. Can we look upon a suffering Saviour with dry eyes? (81)
After a few showers that fall from our eyes, we shall have perpetual sunshine. (82)
A hard heart is the worst heart. It is called a heart of stone (Ezek. 36:26). If it were iron it might be mollified in the furnace, but a stone put in the fire will not melt; it will sooner fly in your face. Impenitence is a sin that grieves Christ. (83)
It is not so much the disease that offends the physician as the contempt of his physic. It is not so much the sins we have committed that so provoke and grieve Christ as that we refuse the physic of repentance which he prescribes. (84)
A hard heart is the anvil on which the hammer of God’s justice will be striking to all eternity. (84)
CHAPTER 8 – EXHORTATIONS TO SPEEDY REPENTANCE
Repentance requires haste. (86)
Sin is a poison. It is dangerous to let poison lie long in the body. (88)
It is dangerous to procrastinate repentance because the longer any go on in sin the harder they will find the work of repentance. Delay strengthens sin and hardens the heart and gives the devil fuller possession. A plant at first may be easily plucked up, but when it has spread its roots deep in the earth, a whole team cannot remove it. It is hard to remove sin when once it comes to be rooted. (88-89)
Conscience is a bosom-preacher. Sometimes it convinces, sometimes it reproves. It says, as Nathan to David, ‘Thou art the man’ (2 Sam. 12:7). (90)
CHAPTER 9 – THE TRIAL OF OUR REPENTANCE, AND COMFORT FOR THE PENITENT
He that repents of sin, his spirit rises against it, as one’s blood rises at the sight of him whom he mortally hates. Indignation is a being fretted at the heart with sin. (93)
A true penitent pursues his sins with a holy malice. He crucifies his lusts. A true child of God seeks to be revenged most of those sins which have dishonoured God most. (95)
Take heed that you do not ascribe too much to repentance. We please God by repentance but we do not satisfy him by it. To trust in our repentance is to make it a saviour. Though repentance helps to purge out the filth of sin, yet it is Christ’s blood that washes away the guilt of sin. (96-97)
When a spirit of repentance is open in the heart, a spring of mercy is open in heaven. (97)
The true penitent may look on death with comfort. His life has been a life of tears, and now at death all tears shall be wiped away. Death shall not be a destruction, but a deliverance from goal. (98)
CHAPTER 10 – THE REMOVING OF THE IMPEDIMENTS TO REPENTANCE
Sin is a sugared draught, mixed with poison. The sinner thinks there is danger in sin, but there is also delight, and the danger does not terrify him as much as the delight bewitches him. (101)
Delighting in sin hardens the heart. In true repentance there must be a grieving for sin, but how can one grieve for that which he loves? He who delights in sin can hardly pray against it. (102)
Remember, great sins have been swallowed up in the sea of God’s infinite compassions. (103)
The Lord indeed is longsuffering towards sinners and would by his patience bribe them to repentance, but here is their wretchedness; because he forbears to punish they forbear to repent. (104)
The longer God’s arrow is drawing, the deeper it will wound. (104)
The world so engrosses men’s time and bewitches their affections that they cannot repent. They had rather put gold in their bag than tears in God’s bottle. (105)
Going on…here are some more quotes. I'd encourage you to read them slowly, and let the ones that stick out strike your soul!
A true turning from sin is a divorcing it, so as never to come near it any more. (56)
It is not falling into water that drowns, but lying in it. It is not falling into sin that damns, but lying in it without repentance. (62)
CHAPTER 6 – A SERIOUS EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE
There is no rowing to paradise except upon the stream of repenting tears. (63)
Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet. (63)
Either men must turn or God will overturn. (66)
If prayer does not make a man leave sin, sin will make him leave prayer. (68)
The hypocrite carries his Bible under his arm, but not in his heart….God’s anger will fall heavier upon hypocrites. They dishonour God more and take away the gospel’s good name. Therefore the Lord reserves the most deadly arrows in his quiver to shoot at them. If heathens be damned, hypocrites shall be double-damned. (68-69)
Repentance is necessary for God’s own people. Repentance is a continuous act. (69)
The sins of God’s people do more provoke God than do the sins of others. The sins of the wicked pierce Christ’s side. The sins of the godly go to his heart. (72)
Sin hangs weights upon us so that we move but slowly to heaven. (73)
CHAPTER 7 – POWERFUL MOTIVES TO REPENTANCE
What is knowledge good for without repentance? It is better to mortify one sin than to understand all mysteries. Learning and a bad heart is like a fair face with a cancer in the breast. Knowledge without repentance will be but a torch to light men to hell. (77)
Repentance unravels sin and makes it as if it had never been. (79)
Never do the flowers of grace grow more than after a shower of repentant tears. (79)
We tasted the apple, and [Christ] the vinegar and gall. We sinned in every faculty, and he bled in every vein. Can we look upon a suffering Saviour with dry eyes? (81)
After a few showers that fall from our eyes, we shall have perpetual sunshine. (82)
A hard heart is the worst heart. It is called a heart of stone (Ezek. 36:26). If it were iron it might be mollified in the furnace, but a stone put in the fire will not melt; it will sooner fly in your face. Impenitence is a sin that grieves Christ. (83)
It is not so much the disease that offends the physician as the contempt of his physic. It is not so much the sins we have committed that so provoke and grieve Christ as that we refuse the physic of repentance which he prescribes. (84)
A hard heart is the anvil on which the hammer of God’s justice will be striking to all eternity. (84)
CHAPTER 8 – EXHORTATIONS TO SPEEDY REPENTANCE
Repentance requires haste. (86)
Sin is a poison. It is dangerous to let poison lie long in the body. (88)
It is dangerous to procrastinate repentance because the longer any go on in sin the harder they will find the work of repentance. Delay strengthens sin and hardens the heart and gives the devil fuller possession. A plant at first may be easily plucked up, but when it has spread its roots deep in the earth, a whole team cannot remove it. It is hard to remove sin when once it comes to be rooted. (88-89)
Conscience is a bosom-preacher. Sometimes it convinces, sometimes it reproves. It says, as Nathan to David, ‘Thou art the man’ (2 Sam. 12:7). (90)
CHAPTER 9 – THE TRIAL OF OUR REPENTANCE, AND COMFORT FOR THE PENITENT
He that repents of sin, his spirit rises against it, as one’s blood rises at the sight of him whom he mortally hates. Indignation is a being fretted at the heart with sin. (93)
A true penitent pursues his sins with a holy malice. He crucifies his lusts. A true child of God seeks to be revenged most of those sins which have dishonoured God most. (95)
Take heed that you do not ascribe too much to repentance. We please God by repentance but we do not satisfy him by it. To trust in our repentance is to make it a saviour. Though repentance helps to purge out the filth of sin, yet it is Christ’s blood that washes away the guilt of sin. (96-97)
When a spirit of repentance is open in the heart, a spring of mercy is open in heaven. (97)
The true penitent may look on death with comfort. His life has been a life of tears, and now at death all tears shall be wiped away. Death shall not be a destruction, but a deliverance from goal. (98)
CHAPTER 10 – THE REMOVING OF THE IMPEDIMENTS TO REPENTANCE
Sin is a sugared draught, mixed with poison. The sinner thinks there is danger in sin, but there is also delight, and the danger does not terrify him as much as the delight bewitches him. (101)
Delighting in sin hardens the heart. In true repentance there must be a grieving for sin, but how can one grieve for that which he loves? He who delights in sin can hardly pray against it. (102)
Remember, great sins have been swallowed up in the sea of God’s infinite compassions. (103)
The Lord indeed is longsuffering towards sinners and would by his patience bribe them to repentance, but here is their wretchedness; because he forbears to punish they forbear to repent. (104)
The longer God’s arrow is drawing, the deeper it will wound. (104)
The world so engrosses men’s time and bewitches their affections that they cannot repent. They had rather put gold in their bag than tears in God’s bottle. (105)
Friday, September 11, 2009
Mere Theology (part 1)
I’m reading Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C.S. Lewis by Will Vaus. My buddy James gave it to me in hopes that (in his words) Lewis’ theology would root me in orthodoxy and bloom into doxology. The book is a very helpful resource to quickly learn what Lewis believed about Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, heaven, hell, creation, the Fall, the forgiveness of sins, marriage and divorce, war and peace, the church and sacraments, masculinity and femininity, and so much more. I would recommend it to you. Lewis is one of the greatest Christian thinkers to ever have lived!
Here are some excerpts from the first 11 chapters. Some are direct quotes from Lewis; others are Vaus’ reiteration of Lewis’ though.
Every Christian is a theologian...theology is like a map. If you want to get further in the Christian life, you must use that map. (15)
Christianity is the story of how the rightful King of this world has landed here in disguise…and is calling on us to take part in his plan of sabotage against the Dark Power. (30)
We must not use the Bible as a kind of encyclopedia out of which texts can be plucked for use as weapons. (39)
What Christians mean when they say “God is love” is that the living, dynamic activity of love has been going on in God forever and has created everything else. (45)
People go to hell because they choose to go there. The doors of hell are locked on the inside. (50)
The assistance of God does not remove the reality of our decisions; when we are more in God, then we are most freely ourselves. (60)
Creation is taking place at every moment, not just at one point millions of years ago. God is outside of time. God did not create the universe long ago; rather, he creates the universe every minute. Humanity is in the process of being created. (68-69)
In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity….But He goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with Him. God became a human being so that people might become children of God. (82)
The Eternal Being, who knows everything and created everything, became not only a man but, before that, a baby, and before that a fetus. If we want to get the real idea of it, then we need to think how we would like to become slugs or crabs! (82-83)
All our trying must lead up to the essential moment at which we turn to God and say, “You must do this, because I can’t.” (105)
People are not saved because they do works of love but that they do works of love because they are saved. God’s work, God’s love, God’s grace come first. We receive that grace and that love through faith, and out of that faith we do good because we love him who first loved us. (108)
Since the Fall there is no neutral ground in the universe. We live in the midst of a war-torn battlefield. Every inch is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan. (111)
Central to Satan’s war strategy is temptation, a general pull toward self-centeredness. God designed the human machine to run on himself. Satan tempts us to run the human machine on the wrong juice. (111)
To God’s way of thinking, being in over our heads is the best place for us because only then will we learn to rely on him more fully. (112)
The devil loves curing one fault by giving us a greater one. (113)
We must act mercilessly toward little indulgences and not allow even these to trip us up. (116)
Thank you Lewis. Thank you Vaus.
Here are some excerpts from the first 11 chapters. Some are direct quotes from Lewis; others are Vaus’ reiteration of Lewis’ though.
Every Christian is a theologian...theology is like a map. If you want to get further in the Christian life, you must use that map. (15)
Christianity is the story of how the rightful King of this world has landed here in disguise…and is calling on us to take part in his plan of sabotage against the Dark Power. (30)
We must not use the Bible as a kind of encyclopedia out of which texts can be plucked for use as weapons. (39)
What Christians mean when they say “God is love” is that the living, dynamic activity of love has been going on in God forever and has created everything else. (45)
People go to hell because they choose to go there. The doors of hell are locked on the inside. (50)
The assistance of God does not remove the reality of our decisions; when we are more in God, then we are most freely ourselves. (60)
Creation is taking place at every moment, not just at one point millions of years ago. God is outside of time. God did not create the universe long ago; rather, he creates the universe every minute. Humanity is in the process of being created. (68-69)
In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity….But He goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with Him. God became a human being so that people might become children of God. (82)
The Eternal Being, who knows everything and created everything, became not only a man but, before that, a baby, and before that a fetus. If we want to get the real idea of it, then we need to think how we would like to become slugs or crabs! (82-83)
All our trying must lead up to the essential moment at which we turn to God and say, “You must do this, because I can’t.” (105)
People are not saved because they do works of love but that they do works of love because they are saved. God’s work, God’s love, God’s grace come first. We receive that grace and that love through faith, and out of that faith we do good because we love him who first loved us. (108)
Since the Fall there is no neutral ground in the universe. We live in the midst of a war-torn battlefield. Every inch is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan. (111)
Central to Satan’s war strategy is temptation, a general pull toward self-centeredness. God designed the human machine to run on himself. Satan tempts us to run the human machine on the wrong juice. (111)
To God’s way of thinking, being in over our heads is the best place for us because only then will we learn to rely on him more fully. (112)
The devil loves curing one fault by giving us a greater one. (113)
We must act mercilessly toward little indulgences and not allow even these to trip us up. (116)
Thank you Lewis. Thank you Vaus.
A Humbling Thought on 9/11
We all have terrorist-tendencies in us, and if not for the active grace of God and the continual work of Christ in our lives, we'd act out our counter-kingdom agendas of destruction on those around us every day. The world is not comprised of "good people" and "bad people". We are all bad people in need of transforming grace!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Recovery at the Village
One of the reasons I came down to TX was to be a part of Recovery at The Village. I went for the first time tonight. Amazing. A room full of people--real, honest, broken people--depending utterly on the grace of God (and the community of His people) to change...to grow...to heal...to recover.
What is Recovery at the Village? Recovery at The Village exists to bring glory to God through lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a repentance and reconciliation ministry that seeks to counsel people into the fullness of joy that God intends for His children. e.
We provide those who find themselves struggling with the effects of sin a safe place to walk honestly in loving community and receive God's truth in addressing life's difficulties.
I'm convinced that it is vital for every local church to encourage their people to fight indwelling sin by providing a grace-saturated, Christ-centered, community-oriented context to do so. Too often church folk are forced to put on the Sunday-smile and walk around hiding their sin from others, in fear of being embarrassed or even shunned for the secret sins and struggles that plague their lives. Everyone is broken. Everyone needs grace. I'm so encouraged that at The Village "It's ok to not be ok...but it's not ok to stay there." By God's grace, may we all fight the sin that plagues us so deeply within. Get help.
What is Recovery at the Village? Recovery at The Village exists to bring glory to God through lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a repentance and reconciliation ministry that seeks to counsel people into the fullness of joy that God intends for His children. e.
We provide those who find themselves struggling with the effects of sin a safe place to walk honestly in loving community and receive God's truth in addressing life's difficulties.
I'm convinced that it is vital for every local church to encourage their people to fight indwelling sin by providing a grace-saturated, Christ-centered, community-oriented context to do so. Too often church folk are forced to put on the Sunday-smile and walk around hiding their sin from others, in fear of being embarrassed or even shunned for the secret sins and struggles that plague their lives. Everyone is broken. Everyone needs grace. I'm so encouraged that at The Village "It's ok to not be ok...but it's not ok to stay there." By God's grace, may we all fight the sin that plagues us so deeply within. Get help.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Repentance (part 1)
I’m slowly working through a book by an old-school Puritan, Thomas Watson, titled “The Doctrine of Repentance.” It’s rich with passionate pleas to turn from sin and turn to Christ! To turn from death and turn to live! To turn from God's displeasure to live in His joy! Here are a few excerpts from chapters 1-4. May we all learn to live in repentance.
In Adam we all suffered shipwreck, and repentance is the only plank left us after shipwreck to swim to heaven. (p. 13)
Until the heart is full of compunction [regret] it is not fit for Christ. How welcome is a surgeon to a man who is bleeding from his wounds! (p. 20)
We are to find as much bitterness in weeping for sin as ever we found sweetness in committing it. (p. 24)
O Christian, the disease of your soul is chronic and frequently returns upon you; therefore you must be continually physicking yourself by repentance. (26)
The more bitterness we taste in sin, the more sweetness we shall taste in Christ. (27)
Our hearts must go along with our confessions. The hypocrite confesses sin but loves it, like a thief who confesses to stolen goods, yet loves stealing. (p, 29)
The sins we [Christians] commit are far worse than the sins of the heathen. We act against more light….the Christian sins against clearer conviction. (p. 42)
Be assured, the more we are ashamed of sin now, the less we shall be ashamed at Christ’s coming. (p. 44)
A true penitent is a sin-loather….It is more to loath sin than to leave it…the nauseating and loathing of sin argues a detestation of it. Christ is never loved till sin be loathed. Heaven is never longed for till sin be loathed….Sound repentance begins in the love of God and ends in the hatred of sin…a rue penitent with a secret abhorrence of it is disgusted by it and will not meddle with it. (p. 45-46)
To the godly sin is as a thorn in the eye; to the wicked it is as a crown on the head. (p. 47)
Sin is the Trojan horse out of which comes a whole army of troubles. (p. 51)
A real penitent turns out off the road of sin. Every sin is abandoned—not one must escape—so a true convert seeks the destruction of every lust. He knows how dangerous it is to entertain any one sin. He that hides one rebel in his house is a traitor to the Crown and he that indulges one sin is a traitorous hypocrite. (p. 54)
“Repent and turn to God” (Acts 26:20) – Turning from sin is like pulling the arrow out of the wound; turning to God is like pouring in the balm. (p. 55)
In Adam we all suffered shipwreck, and repentance is the only plank left us after shipwreck to swim to heaven. (p. 13)
Until the heart is full of compunction [regret] it is not fit for Christ. How welcome is a surgeon to a man who is bleeding from his wounds! (p. 20)
We are to find as much bitterness in weeping for sin as ever we found sweetness in committing it. (p. 24)
O Christian, the disease of your soul is chronic and frequently returns upon you; therefore you must be continually physicking yourself by repentance. (26)
The more bitterness we taste in sin, the more sweetness we shall taste in Christ. (27)
Our hearts must go along with our confessions. The hypocrite confesses sin but loves it, like a thief who confesses to stolen goods, yet loves stealing. (p, 29)
The sins we [Christians] commit are far worse than the sins of the heathen. We act against more light….the Christian sins against clearer conviction. (p. 42)
Be assured, the more we are ashamed of sin now, the less we shall be ashamed at Christ’s coming. (p. 44)
A true penitent is a sin-loather….It is more to loath sin than to leave it…the nauseating and loathing of sin argues a detestation of it. Christ is never loved till sin be loathed. Heaven is never longed for till sin be loathed….Sound repentance begins in the love of God and ends in the hatred of sin…a rue penitent with a secret abhorrence of it is disgusted by it and will not meddle with it. (p. 45-46)
To the godly sin is as a thorn in the eye; to the wicked it is as a crown on the head. (p. 47)
Sin is the Trojan horse out of which comes a whole army of troubles. (p. 51)
A real penitent turns out off the road of sin. Every sin is abandoned—not one must escape—so a true convert seeks the destruction of every lust. He knows how dangerous it is to entertain any one sin. He that hides one rebel in his house is a traitor to the Crown and he that indulges one sin is a traitorous hypocrite. (p. 54)
“Repent and turn to God” (Acts 26:20) – Turning from sin is like pulling the arrow out of the wound; turning to God is like pouring in the balm. (p. 55)
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
What brings me here?
It's a weird thing: the unsettledness of soul. The past three years, I've been in a very comfortable world with a 'perfect job' (one that fit my gifts and passions really well!). Why on earth would I find my soul unsettled? Why would the deepest part of who I am be in perpetual unrest?
Soul-stirring is a means of God-directing.
God has stirred my soul and is sending me wandering. In doing so, He is preparing me for something that lies ahead. He has called me away from the comfort…into confusion…in order to find the rest that He alone can give!
Question: Why would He do such a thing? Answer: To cause me to cling to Him. Reasoning: When I’m comfortable, I don’t need His comforting. When life is in line, I don’t need His tweaking. When everything is in tune, I’m not desperate for His arranging.
The Old Testament people are an example of this: God called them out of the comfort of slavery (though definitely not a 'perfect' condition, it was a stable condition none the less - see Ex. 16:3) and into the confusion of wilderness wandering. He did this to lead them into the Promised Land, and to spend many years shaping and re-shaping their lives. This same God plans to bring me through the wilderness (i.e. the last two years at Calvary, and my current Dallas excursion) to shape me into the man He’s creating me to be.
Who am I becoming?
Not sure. But it will take a wilderness wandering to find that out.
When will I find rest of soul?
I don’t know that either. But I do know that if I stayed where I was (in the comfort of Connecticut) and didn’t step out to journey with the Great Life-Shaper, I would never find the deep rest of soul that He alone can give!
Lord, lead me on the journey. Teach me. Grow me. Change me. For your glory and my joy.
Soul-stirring is a means of God-directing.
God has stirred my soul and is sending me wandering. In doing so, He is preparing me for something that lies ahead. He has called me away from the comfort…into confusion…in order to find the rest that He alone can give!
Question: Why would He do such a thing? Answer: To cause me to cling to Him. Reasoning: When I’m comfortable, I don’t need His comforting. When life is in line, I don’t need His tweaking. When everything is in tune, I’m not desperate for His arranging.
The Old Testament people are an example of this: God called them out of the comfort of slavery (though definitely not a 'perfect' condition, it was a stable condition none the less - see Ex. 16:3) and into the confusion of wilderness wandering. He did this to lead them into the Promised Land, and to spend many years shaping and re-shaping their lives. This same God plans to bring me through the wilderness (i.e. the last two years at Calvary, and my current Dallas excursion) to shape me into the man He’s creating me to be.
Who am I becoming?
Not sure. But it will take a wilderness wandering to find that out.
When will I find rest of soul?
I don’t know that either. But I do know that if I stayed where I was (in the comfort of Connecticut) and didn’t step out to journey with the Great Life-Shaper, I would never find the deep rest of soul that He alone can give!
Lord, lead me on the journey. Teach me. Grow me. Change me. For your glory and my joy.
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