“It cannot be over-emphasized that we have not seen the full meaning of the cross till we have seen it as the center of the gospel, flanked on the one hand by total inability and unconditional surrender and on the other by irresistible grace and final preservation.
Christ died to save a certain company of helpless sinners upon whom God had set his free saving love. Christ’s death ensured the calling and keeping – the present and final salvation – of all whose sins he bore. That is what Calvary meant, and means. The cross saved; the cross saves.”
- J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990), 138.
Have you ever sat down to write, had a desire to write, and pretty much everything you wanted to say figured out, but not been able to write. It is really frustrating. That happened to me today. I just got out of one of my classes and was really wanting to write about what I was thinking. I finished lunch, sat down, and began to write. All that I typed about pertained to how pessimistic I am and about how that topic had nothing to do with what I really wanted to write about. Needless to say I am pretty much frustrated.
But, what I really wanted to talk about was my concern for my generation. It seems like we are unable to stay “in the middle of the road” when it comes to our form of Christianity. We either fall into the “ditch” of isolation and completely cut ourself off from those we are trying to reach. Or we run headlong into the “ditch” of assimilation and attempt to be as much like those we are trying to reach as we can get. Neither of these approaches work.
We must press on where the Bible has laid the path. At times it may not seem like the best course to trod, yet, God’s has laid it out as the only course we can. On either side of this path the ditches run deep. It is so easy to become sidetracked or think that another way may be better that we end up causing more harm than good. We must follow the course the Bible lays forth.
There is quite a bit more that can be said… but I can’t seem to say it how I would like… So… This will have to do.
Filed under: General
“Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change. Are you either?”
We often, as Christians, struggle what God would have us to do. We find ourselves searching for the “Will of God” for our life. We desire to know specifically what He would have us to do. There are many people out there that abuse this term. They use the “Will of God” as an excuse to serve themselves and do what they truly desire to do. They serve their flesh and justify their behavior that directly and indirectly violates principles throughout God’s Word all in the name of pursuing His “will.”
While this search, at times, can cause a host of problems, there are things that are clearly laid out for us in scripture as being God’s will for His children. One of these, in light of the upcoming Holiday, is extremely applicable.
” …give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18
We do not have to search and scour to find God’s will for our life in this matter. He has clearly stated it for us. We are to “give thanks in all circumstances.” While there are multiple reasons as to why we can do this, it is nonetheless the will of God.
Therefore:
3.) I Resolve, in light of this command in scripture, to strive to give thanks in all circumstances. For it is through these circumstances that God is bringing about His ultimate goal of conforming me into the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-29).
May we all give Thanks…
“…Here I stand, I can do No Other”
The World in which we live is a dangerous place. The Faith that we posses and the Foundation on which we stand are being undermined on a daily basis. The Things once held as sacred, holy, and true are now being cast aside as false, in error, and a story. Those around us smile and proverbially pat us on our head as if we are silly little children for believing what we believe. We are looked at as being un-intellectual for following the path laid out in a two thousand year old book.
The more I read and study the past, examine the present, and make conclusions about the future the more fearful I become. Due to the claims and attacks of those on the outside, many young, un-discipled Christians flee the very bastions of truth. The head to that which is deemed intelligent, that which is deemed logical, that which is deemed scientific. This should, this can not be.
Many men in the past when faced with the propositions of this world and the temptations of their flesh have written statements of accountability to act as a reference point for their lives. This was not to replace Scripture, but was a result of Scripture. These statements were a direct result of the application and the personalization of Biblical principles. These men were resolved to stand.
Out of, for lack of a better word, the fear of myself and the known allure of the means, methods, and principles that the world proclaims, I Begin to Resolve. While many have been flooding my mind over the course of the past few weeks, I will begin to attempt to place them on paper one at a time.
1) I resolve to fully embrace “God’s way” in every area of life. This entails the rejection of any form of compromise in the areas deemed Fundamental to the faith.
2) I exist to bring God glory in every area of my life (I Cor. 10:31). If God cannot receive glory through the practical out workings of my everyday life, even in that which is deemed necessary to sustain life, I will abstain from doing it.
This concept of bringing God glory consists of an understanding of what constitutes glory. Glory is the weight that something deserves. It is ascribing greatness to a person or object. Therefore, I resolve to strive to ascribe greatness to my God in and through everything.
I am not making God any bigger through this, but simply returning to Him what He is and what He rightfully deserves.
Here are two simple resolutions. As I continue to grow and learn more the list will increase.
In the words of Martin Luther when commanded to recant of his new found faith in Christ Alone…
“…Here I stand, I can do No Other”
“We depend on plans, programs, vision statements- but somewhere along the way we have succumb to the temptation to displace the foolishness of the cross with the wisdom of strategic planning.”
~Dr. D.A. Carson~
He whom I bow to only knows to whom I bow
When I attempt the ineffable Name, murmuring Thou,
And dream of Pheidian fancies and embrace in heart
Symbols (I know) which cannot be the thing Thou art.
Thus always, taken at their word, all prayers blaspheme
Worshipping with frail images a folk-lore dream,
And all men in their praying, self-deceived, address
The coinage of their own unquiet thoughts, unless
Thou in magnetic mercy to Thyself divert
Our arrows, aimed unskilfully, beyond desert;
And all men are idolators, crying unheard
To a deaf idol, if Thou take them at their word.
Take not, O Lord, our literal sense. Lord, in thy great
Unbroken speech our limping metaphor translate.
C.S.Lewis
1898-1963
Filed under: Prayer...
Tomorrow is the Semester “Day of Prayer.” It is exactly what it sounds to be. Every semester the student body gathers in the gym for a time of prayer stretching from 9 o’clock in the morning til 4 o’clock in the afternoon. The day is structured around different things: personal holiness, unsaved family, churches, the persecuted believers, burdens of our classmates, and the list could go on.
Part of me longs for this day… while the other part dreads it. For it is on this day that I realize how far I really am from God. When I go before my God and am forced to first inspect myself… I am ashamed. Yes… I know that my Loving Father looks at me and sees nothing but the Righteousness of Christ… but the shame of who I know I truly am still exists. How could God… accept me, listen to me, comfort me, answer me… I struggle.
I do not struggle believing that it is possible or even that it is true… I struggle with how. How could God do this? I know the basis of it rest solely on the work that Christ did on the cross. So, I guess it is not a true struggle… but utter amazement.
I started this post with the desire to pose a question… but for some reason my thoughts wandered here. Perhaps I will ask the question later.
Filed under: General
So I decide to read my sisters blog yesterday and was surprised to find out that I had been “tagged.” What this is I haven’t got a clue. I am a hermit of a blogger and like to keep to myself. But, since I haven’t had much that has spurred me to write as of late… why not. So here we go… 8 Random Facts About Me…
1.) Ever since my Mom… um… our dogs “passed away” I have wanted to get another pet. Since I haven’t really been home for an extended period of time, this has never worked out. So, I am going to have to wait until I move out. And when I do… I am going to get a Saint Bernard named “Brother” and a Beagle named “Baron.”
2.) Though I really don’t know what I am going to do after I graduate (by the way… you could be praying about that), my long term goal is to move into the inner-city. By God’s grace I will be able to start Bible studies, work with the youth, and Plant a Church. I desire to see nothing more than God working like He did in the book of Acts.
3.) I love Rice! I eat it at least 3 times a week for dinner. It all started when my roommate bought a rice cooker and I bought a twenty pound bag of rice. Nine weeks later and 3/4 of the rice gone… and I still haven’t gotten sick of it…
4.) I am accused of having a different accent depending on who I am around at the time. Though I don’t mean to… I beginning to see that all the accusations are well founded. I blame it on all the different people I have been around. I have worked down South for the past three summers… so I have a Southern Accent at times. I have worked and am still working with inner-city students… so I have a “ghetto” accent at times. I blame it on my in grained youngest born traits…
5.) I love to drink coffee… This is unique to my family. While it is beginning to change slightly with the cappuccino/coffee shop craze that seems to be taking over… I still believe I am the only one to drink coffee. I view it as a future ministry tool.
6.) I love to drive! Over the course of the past 3 years I have watched my truck’s mileage roll over some pretty long distances. Right now I am a couple hundred miles over 200,000 and it is still going strong. My record for the longest drive was 26 hours on 1hour 30mins of sleep. The thing was… I could have kept going….
7.) I am prone to lose things. I have lost everything from my wallet in a store (I was around 11 years and I was shopping with my Grandma), my winter coat somewhere on campus (I still don’t know what happened to it), my digital camera (I found it right before it was going to be sold), my cell phone (my Dad made me go look through a lawn before church to find it), and various things that I don’t know of yet. I keep finding and losing more things everyday.
8.) I can’t wait for Thanksgiving. You can ask the people that I talk to on a regular basis, I have been talking about seeing my sisters and their families for the past month and a half. I want to be able to play with my niece and nephews. Time flies way too fast, they grow up way to quickly, and I rarely get to see them.
Well, there you go… hopefully I will get to write a little more soon…
