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.
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