Something Corrie Ten Boom said in a book (I think it was The Hiding Place), recently came to mind in a conversation. I can't quote it exactly but the jest of it was to not hold things too tightly for God will take them away. I had a very strong attachment to one of my kitties. A silver gray male who was approximately 13 yrs old. Like a dog, he followed me everywere. He was always underfoot, making his presence known. I've never known a sweeter kitty. Thankfully I applied Corrie's philosophy, for I knew it to be true. Last winter I was blessed with the privelege of holding him in my arms until he passed away. Something I normally wouldn't have time to do but I had just had surgery on my foot. How grateful I am for the years I had with him, and for the time spent while he passed. I am even more grateful for that truth which made his passing much easier because I had already given him to God many years before. The loss of something or someone we love should cause us to reach out in trust to God and to draw closer to Him.
I wish it were as easy for me with illness. Just when I think I have succceded in giving my health problem to God -- trusting Him with the results, it seems the problem increases or more problems develop. It is another rung on the ladder, a deeper degree of learning to trust Him. Whether it the surrender of a day (or week's)work to a migraine or one's entire support and well-being to an chronic all-consuming illness, God is faithful and can be trusted. Why? Because the goal is His glory. Yet, sometimes the hardest thing to do is to surrender our goals, our desires for His. But, that is what is required. I'm His bond servant, purchased by the blood of Christ. My service is to do His will, not mine. If that service entails a life of handicaps and illness then I must find a way to use them to glorify Him.
Like my sweet kitty, my health is an earthly thing, it is temporal and carnal, it is a gift, it is something that passes away. It can allow it to come between my love for God or I can use it as a tool to draw me closer to Him and bring more glory to Him.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Friday, February 4, 2011
Friday, March 13, 2009
Man's Real Character Revealed
If you're like me, you find that it easy to go though each day thinking, “I'm okay. I'm not really such a bad person." Like most people, my tendency is to think of myself in a good light and forget what I really am, a dirty, rotten, vile, sinner, saved, justified and forgiven totally by the grace of God. Even though I’m a Christian, my human nature tends toward two wrong lines of thinking. Either I think of myself (excluding God) as something better than I really am, forgetting where I came from (dirty, rotten, sinner). Or, I remember that I’m a terrible sinner, dwelling on my horribleness, and I forget that what Christ did on the cross has removed the mark against me. I forget that God no longer sees me as His enemy but as His child, justified, forgiven and loved.
Jerry Bridges in his book "Respectable Sins" says that the only cure for this is to "preach the gospel to myself every day." because the gospel, is the only remedy for our sins. • It plows the ground of our hearts so we can see our sin and acknowledge it. • After confessing our sin, the gospel frees us up so that we can then begin to deal with the particular manifestations of sin we have first openly acknowledged. It does this by assuring us that we are forgiven, that God no longer holds our sin against us, He has already charged it to Christ. • Finally it motivates and energizes us to deal with our sin, "put it to death." "...this continuous day-by-day appropriation of the gospel, as it assures us of the forgiveness of our sins, is an important part of our dealing with sin in our lives."
I was reminded again of this when I read this morning’s Grace Gems entitled, “Deicide” from Arthur Pink's "Beholding the Crucified Christ" Here are a few excerpts:
Grace Gems
Friday, March 13, 2009
Jerry Bridges in his book "Respectable Sins" says that the only cure for this is to "preach the gospel to myself every day." because the gospel, is the only remedy for our sins. • It plows the ground of our hearts so we can see our sin and acknowledge it. • After confessing our sin, the gospel frees us up so that we can then begin to deal with the particular manifestations of sin we have first openly acknowledged. It does this by assuring us that we are forgiven, that God no longer holds our sin against us, He has already charged it to Christ. • Finally it motivates and energizes us to deal with our sin, "put it to death." "...this continuous day-by-day appropriation of the gospel, as it assures us of the forgiveness of our sins, is an important part of our dealing with sin in our lives."
I was reminded again of this when I read this morning’s Grace Gems entitled, “Deicide” from Arthur Pink's "Beholding the Crucified Christ" Here are a few excerpts:
Multitudes go through the form of paying homage to God--but it is a "god" of their own imagination. They hate the true and living God, and were it possible--they would rid the universe of His existence! This is clear from their treatment of Christ, for He was none other than "God manifest in flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16). They hated and hounded Him to death--and nothing short of His cruel death by crucifixion would appease them!Here at Calvary the real character of man was revealed, and the desperate wickedness of his heart was laid bare. There it was shown, that man was capable of the blackest of all crimes! … In the treatment which the Son of God received at the hands of men--we see sin in its true colors, stripped of a disguise, exposed in its hideous reality; revealed in its true nature as contempt of God, and rebellion against Him. Here at Calvary we behold the climax of sin--and the fearful and horrible lengths to which sin is capable of going! That sin which germinated in Eden--culminated in the crucifixion! Here at Calvary, we see sin at it's apex--Deicide--in the slaying of the Lord of Glory!
Grace Gems
Friday, March 13, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
John Piper - God Promises Christians Pain and Trouble
I've wanted to start a series of articles on suffering and God's purposes in it. I've decided to begin with some excellent videos. This first video is by John Piper, Pastor for Preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In this video, John shares with us God's promise and at least one aspect of His purpose for suffering, pain and trouble.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Thoughts On Time
With this last weekend's time change, my focus has been on time. Last Tuesday I ran across a convicting little gem of an article that I posted on my Facebook page. I timely reminder that I need to jealously guard my time and use it wisely.
Pilfering of Another's Time by Hannah More
"Redeeming the time." Ephesians 5:16
Christians should especially be on their guard against a spirit of idleness, and a slovenly habitual wasting of time. We must guard against a habitual frivolousness at home; and an abundance of unprofitable small-talk, idle reading, inane drowsiness, and a quiet and dull frittering away of time.We must seriously consider--what a large portion of life we have unwisely squandered; what days and nights we have wasted, if not sinfully--yet selfishly; if not loaded with evil--yet destitute of good. In the day of judgment, the thin disguise which our treacherous heart now casts over vanity and sloth, will then be torn off.We are guilty of the strange inconsistency of being most wasteful of what we best love--and of throwing away what we most fear to lose--that TIME of which life is made up. It is not so much a lack of time--as a wasting of our time--which prevents life from answering all the ends for which God has given it to us.Few things make us so useful of the world, as the prudent use of our precious time. We should not only be careful not to waste our own time--but that others do not rob us of it! The "stealing of our purse" is a serious wrong to us. But the "stealing of our time" should grieve us even more! Pilfering of another's time is a felony for which no restitution can be made--for time is not only invaluable, but irrecoverable!Every particle of time is valuable. No day can be insignificant--when every day is to be accounted for. Each one possesses weight and importance. What a scene will open upon us, when, from our eternal state--we shall look back on the use we have made of time--when we shall take a clear retrospect of all we have done, and all we ought to have done!"Almighty God, I adore Your infinite patience, which has not cut me off in the midst of my follies. Let me no longer abuse that precious treasure, time. Let me bid adieu to all those vain amusements, those trifling entertainments and sinful diversions--which have robbed me of many valuable hours. Let me no longer waste my time in ease and pleasure, in unprofitable studies and conversation; but grant, that by moderation and temperance in my enjoyments, I may be able to give a good account of it in the day of judgment, and be accepted in and through the merits of Jesus Christ, my only mediator and advocate. Amen."
Grace Gems (choice ELECTRONIC books, sermons & quotes)
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Pilfering of Another's Time by Hannah More
"Redeeming the time." Ephesians 5:16
Christians should especially be on their guard against a spirit of idleness, and a slovenly habitual wasting of time. We must guard against a habitual frivolousness at home; and an abundance of unprofitable small-talk, idle reading, inane drowsiness, and a quiet and dull frittering away of time.We must seriously consider--what a large portion of life we have unwisely squandered; what days and nights we have wasted, if not sinfully--yet selfishly; if not loaded with evil--yet destitute of good. In the day of judgment, the thin disguise which our treacherous heart now casts over vanity and sloth, will then be torn off.We are guilty of the strange inconsistency of being most wasteful of what we best love--and of throwing away what we most fear to lose--that TIME of which life is made up. It is not so much a lack of time--as a wasting of our time--which prevents life from answering all the ends for which God has given it to us.Few things make us so useful of the world, as the prudent use of our precious time. We should not only be careful not to waste our own time--but that others do not rob us of it! The "stealing of our purse" is a serious wrong to us. But the "stealing of our time" should grieve us even more! Pilfering of another's time is a felony for which no restitution can be made--for time is not only invaluable, but irrecoverable!Every particle of time is valuable. No day can be insignificant--when every day is to be accounted for. Each one possesses weight and importance. What a scene will open upon us, when, from our eternal state--we shall look back on the use we have made of time--when we shall take a clear retrospect of all we have done, and all we ought to have done!"Almighty God, I adore Your infinite patience, which has not cut me off in the midst of my follies. Let me no longer abuse that precious treasure, time. Let me bid adieu to all those vain amusements, those trifling entertainments and sinful diversions--which have robbed me of many valuable hours. Let me no longer waste my time in ease and pleasure, in unprofitable studies and conversation; but grant, that by moderation and temperance in my enjoyments, I may be able to give a good account of it in the day of judgment, and be accepted in and through the merits of Jesus Christ, my only mediator and advocate. Amen."
Grace Gems (choice ELECTRONIC books, sermons & quotes)
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Quote for the Week
This week I read an article written by Rick Thomas, entitled “Investigating Legalism.” As the title suggests, the subject of Mr. Thomas’ article is legalism. The primary question he addresses is, “Where is wordliness found?” Thomas concludes that this is a huge question. Why? Because “…how you answer it will determine your Christian worldview: how you view and practice life as a Christian.”
Thomas gives us the biblical answer, explaining that, “worldliness is not primarily external, in the world itself, it lies in our heart. The apostle John locates it there in these verses “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions–is not from the Father but is from the world." (1 Jn. 2:15-16).
Thomas continues, “Desires (or lusts) and pride in the Bible are synonyms for sinful heart attitudes, not external sins. Pride and lust are inward. John describes this as worldliness. John places worldliness inside the person. John tells us not to love the world or the things in the world. And then he sets out to describe what is in the world. He does this by talking about pride, lusts, desires and sinful heart attitudes. For John, this is worldliness. This is how worldliness is described and/or defined for him. …you must guard your heart from the temptation of thinking that the external is sinful. It is the heart that must be guarded. It is sinful lust, desires and pride that make me worldly.”
To summarize his article, he ends with a quote from pages 161-162 of Dr. R. C. Sproul’s book, “The Holiness of God.” This quote is my Quote for the Week:
Rick says, “Thanks, Mr. Sproul!”
I say “Thanks, Mr. Sproul and “Thanks Rick Thomas!”
You may read the entire 7-part article which includes Sproul’s quote at the following link:
http://competentcounseling.com/2008/08/25/gnostic-worldly-or-christian/
The book The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul may be purchased at the following links:
http://www.amazon.com/Holiness-God-R-C-Sproul/dp/0842339655/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219637285&sr=8-1
http://www.wtsbooks.com/product-exec/product_id/2965/nm/The+Holiness+of+God+%28Paperback%29
Thomas gives us the biblical answer, explaining that, “worldliness is not primarily external, in the world itself, it lies in our heart. The apostle John locates it there in these verses “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions–is not from the Father but is from the world." (1 Jn. 2:15-16).
Thomas continues, “Desires (or lusts) and pride in the Bible are synonyms for sinful heart attitudes, not external sins. Pride and lust are inward. John describes this as worldliness. John places worldliness inside the person. John tells us not to love the world or the things in the world. And then he sets out to describe what is in the world. He does this by talking about pride, lusts, desires and sinful heart attitudes. For John, this is worldliness. This is how worldliness is described and/or defined for him. …you must guard your heart from the temptation of thinking that the external is sinful. It is the heart that must be guarded. It is sinful lust, desires and pride that make me worldly.”
To summarize his article, he ends with a quote from pages 161-162 of Dr. R. C. Sproul’s book, “The Holiness of God.” This quote is my Quote for the Week:
It is a tragedy that the matter of nonconformity has been treated by Christians at a shallow level. The simplistic way of not conforming is to see what is in style in our culture and then do the opposite. If short hair is in vogue, the nonconformist wears long hair. If going to the movies is popular, then Christians avoid movies as “worldly.” The extreme case of this may be seen in groups that refuse to wear buttons or use electricity because such things, too, are worldly.
A superficial style of nonconformity is the classical pharisaical trap. The kingdom of God is not about buttons, movies, or dancing. The concern of God is not focused on what we eat or what we drink. The call of nonconformity is a call to a deeper level of righteousness, that goes beyond externals. When piety is defined exclusively in terms of externals, the whole point of the apostle’s teaching has been lost. Somehow we have failed to hear Jesus’ words that it is not what goes into a person’s mouth that deflies a person, but what comes out of that mouth. We still want to make the kingdom a matter of eating and drinking.
Why are such distortions rampant in Christian circles? The only answer I can give is sin. Our marks of piety can actually be evidences of impiety. When we major in minors and blow insignificant trifles out of proportion, we imitate the Pharisees. When we make dancing and movies the test of spirituality, we are guilty of substituting a cheap morality for a genuine one. We do these things to obscure the deeper issues of righteousness. Anyone can avoid dancing or going to movies. These require no great effort of moral courage. What is difficult is to control the tongue, to act with integrity, to reveal the fruit of the Spirit.
Rick says, “Thanks, Mr. Sproul!”
I say “Thanks, Mr. Sproul and “Thanks Rick Thomas!”
You may read the entire 7-part article which includes Sproul’s quote at the following link:
http://competentcounseling.com/2008/08/25/gnostic-worldly-or-christian/
The book The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul may be purchased at the following links:
http://www.amazon.com/Holiness-God-R-C-Sproul/dp/0842339655/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219637285&sr=8-1
http://www.wtsbooks.com/product-exec/product_id/2965/nm/The+Holiness+of+God+%28Paperback%29
Thursday, February 12, 2009
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