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12月29日 Tolerance and Persecution "One of the ways we know that our self-image is based on justification by Christ is that we are not hateful and hostile to people who differ from us; one of hte ways we know that our slef-image is based on justification by works is that we persecute! That is the principle." - Tim Keller, Galatians Study Guide, page 121 "The persecution of the true church ... is not always by the world, who are strangers ... but by our half-brothers, religious people, the nominal church. It has always been so. The Lord Jesus was bitterly opposed, rejected, mocked, and condemned by His own nation. The fiercest opponents of the apostle Paul were the official [religious leaders]. The greatest enemies of evangelical faith today are not unbelievers ... but the church, the establishment, the hierarchy. Isaac is always mocked and persecuted by Ishmael." - John Stott (pg. 127), quoted in Tim Keller, Galatians Study Guide, page 121. 12月18日 Salvation is more than ForgivenessThis is something of which we all need to be reminded. Is there not a great danger of our thinking of salvation solely in terms of pardon and forgiveness? Is there not a great danger of our thinking of the cross and Christ's death on the cross (when we do think of them) as merely designed to enable us to be pardoned and forgiven so that we might go to heaven? But that is not the teaching of the Scriptures. That is only the first step, the grand beginning. God's ultimate object in all that He has done in His Son, the perfecting of it all, is that you and I might become like that Son; Jesus Christ is the firstborn among many brethren. He ‘gave himself for us,’ says Paul, ‘that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works’ (Titus 2:14). He has done this so that you and I might be on earth what He Himself is in heaven. This, it seems to
me, is the right way of viewing our sanctification. Sanctification must always
be viewed positively and not negatively. There is nothing I know that is so
tragic and unscriptural as the way in which people persist in thinking of
sanctification as the mere absence of certain sins. Because they are not guilty
of certain sins, they say, ‘We are sanctified.’ But the biblical way to test
your sanctification is to ask, ‘Am I like Christ?’ Can I say, ‘As He is, so am I
in this world’? It is a positive, upward view. Life In Christ: Studies In 1 John by Martyn Lloyd Jones, pages 530-531 Union with Christ I was inspired with Martyn Lloyd Jones' writing describing what it means to be united to Christ: There are certain, mainly negative things that we can say about [union with Christ]. It does not mean entering in a material sense into the life of God, nor does it mean that there is a material entry of the divine essence into me. But it does mean something like this: God in His own miraculous manner awakens in me something of His own holiness. He plants within me His holy view of life and of being and of existence. God enables me, by His operations upon me through the Holy Spirit, to understand something of His own holy nature and to view life and all its circumstances as He views them Himself. I think this word ‘dwelleth’ [in 1 John 4:16-17] is a most important and helpful one. ‘He that dwelleth in love’ means, in a sense, that God is that person's home. My home is the place in which I dwell; I spend my time there. It is where I want to be. I go about my duty, but there I dwell; my heart and mind are there. I come back as much as I can. I like to be there; I live there. They who dwell in love dwell in God. God is their home—God is where they like to be; it is with God they like to spend their time, and they arrange their lives as far as they can so that they spend a maximum amount of time there. In other words, their whole outlook upon life is God. Their thinking and meditation is thus controlled by God; it is all related to Him. They bring their minds back to God—that is what it means. Just as I take my physical body back to the home in which I dwell, so Christians, says John, take their mind and heart back to God. Now, that is not an artificial phrase. We all know ourselves well enough to know that that is what we have to do. There are other powers and forces that would attract our minds and hearts away from God, and what we have to do is to come back—to come home to God. We are to dwell in God, and God dwells in us, which means that now the presence and the influence of God enters into our consciousness. We are aware of God; we are aware of Him permeating our life and moving and guiding us. Christians are people who dwell in love; and because they are thus dwelling in love, they are aware of the fact that God is dwelling in them. They are aware of a presence in their lives. As a person inhabits a house, so God inhabits and indwells the Christian. You are conscious of His presence and His influence and power, and you are aware of the fact that you are not living to yourself. You stand in amazement; you look at yourself, and you say, ‘This is not I myself; it is God—it is God in me. What made me do that? I cannot explain it except by saying it is God who made me do it. He awakened the interest. I felt a movement, a disturbance, and God was there.’ From Martyn Lloyd Jones, Life in Christ: Studies in1 John, pages 529-530 Christmas PrayerMartin Luther gave us a simple and yet heart-felt prayer for Christmas. I think this must be our prayer as we escape the materialism of Christmas and seek to know Jesus more intimately this Christmas holiday. May he find a soft place to lay in our hearts. How glad we’ll be if it is so! With all the shepherds let us go To see what God for us has done In sending us his own dear Son. Look, look, my heart, and let me peek. Whom in the manger do you seek? Who is that lovely little one? The Baby Jesus, God’s own Son. Be welcome, Lord; be now our guest. By you poor sinners have been blessed. In nakedness and cold you lie. How can I thank you—how can I? O dear Lord Jesus, for your head Now will I make the softest bed. The chamber where this bed shall be Is in my heart, inside of me. From Philip Ryken's reflection on Martin Luther's Christmas' - worth reading. 12月17日 Advent ConspiracyIf it is Jesus' birthday, why are we buying ourselves so many gifts and not buying Jesus anything? That is the question that Advent Conspiracy is asking. As an answer, they are calling us to spend more time in relational gifts (like poetry and letters) and less money on materialistic gifts for each other. Instead of sending all our money to Kohl's or Best Buy, they say, send your money to Jesus - spend some money to help the world's poorest by providing clean water for people in Liberia. They have a number of videos that describe the need for a well in Liberia. It is heart-breaking to think that their children are dying because they have no clean water and drink out of a swamp. In the past, we have asked our family to honor us with Christmas gifts given to charitable organizations. This year, we started to do that with many people on our Christmas lists. Instead of buying inexpensive gifts, we gave that money to Samaritan's Purse to help prevent malaria in some African countries. Do you know anyone who has died of malaria in America? I don't. But in Africa, many die from this preventable disease. Anyways, it gives me a lot to think about. Do you have Christmas gifts to buy? Ever thought about a well in Liberia or a mosquito net for Africa or sponsoring a child in Peru? These gifts will make an eternal difference in the life of others. A couple more links of interest: Link One 12月7日 Throw it away? We have a KitchenAid Standing mixer that is broken. It was a gift to us and Julie was using it every day (since she ends up cooking for so many church events as well as for our own family). The mixer is very fixable (I think I could do it with about 10 hours of work and I am not that good at these things - a pro would take less than an hour). I cannot find any business in the Fredericksburg area that can repair it. The closest person is 56 miles away. It is a bitter reminder to me that we live in an expendable culture - if something breaks, the cheapest thing often is to buy a new one. Today, I don't like that part of our world. 12月1日 MySpace HorrorsThese are two of the most horrible MySpace stories I have heard about. And the perpetrators? Adults. Adults living in neighborhoods with kids. A Hoax Turned Fatal Draws Anger but No ChargesAn IM Infatuation Turned to Romance. Then the Truth Came Out.It makes me ask two questions of adults: 1. Are you protecting your kids? One of the girls in the stories was 13 when she killed herself because she could not handle the pressure of a MySpace rejection. MySpace says that it is limited to kids 14 and older. I don't let Liam play with a BB gun because it is for 10 year olds. MySpace is dangerous to younger kids. Protect them! Monitor their time and discussions. One of the best ideas: keep them away from it. 2. Are you using the computer with integrity? In both stories, middle-aged mothers were acting as impersonators, the demographic one might think least likely to do this sort of thing. We all need to keep short account. Hymn: My Goal is God Himself My Goal is God Himself by Frederick Brook My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace; Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God. 'Tis His to lead me there, not mine but His... At any cost, dear Lord, by any road. So faith bounds forward to its goal in God, and love can trust her Lord to lead her there. Upheld by Him, my soul is foll'wing hard, Till God hath full fulfilled my deepest prayer. No matter if the way be sometimes dark, No matter though the cost be oft-times great, He knoweth how I best shall reach the mark, The way that leads to Him must needs be straight. One thing I know, I cannot say Him nay; One thing I do, I press on towards my Lord. My God, my Glory here from day to day, And in the glory there, my Great Reward. |
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