From Passion and Purity :
"It is quite possible to waste the present altogether. [...] Sometimes this loneliness inside hurts so badly. [So what do we do with loneliness?]
Be still and know that He is God. Use that stillness to quiet your heart before God...Get to know Him.
Remember that you are not alone. 'He will not fail thee neither forsake thee. Be strong and of good courage.' (Deut. 31:8) [...] Never mind if you cannot feel His presence. He is there.
Give thanks. 'For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.' (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)
Refuse self-pity. Turn your thoughts to Christ who has already carried your griefs and sorrows.
Accept your loneliness. It is one stage, and only one stage, on a journey that brings you to God. It will not always last.
Offer up your loneliness to God. [...] God can transform it for the good of others.
Do something for somebody else. No matter who or where you are, there is something you can do, somebody who needs you. Pray that you may be an instrument of God's peace...
The important thing is to receive this moment's experience with both hands. Don't waste it. 'Wherever you are, be all there...Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.'
[When things don't go my way does that give me cause to] resent...be miserable...be rude...be in disgust? 'Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living.' [...] We can be full of joy here and now even in our trials and troubles. [...] This is what the Bible says. That means it must be not only true, but possible, and possible for me.
[...] The effect of my troubles depends not on the nature of the troubles themselves but on how I receive them. I can receive them with both hands in faith and acceptance, or I can rebel and reject. [...]
Taken in a spirit of trust, even loneliness contributes to the maturing of character, even the endurance of separation and silence and that hardest thing of all, uncertainty, can build in us a steady hope." [End of quote]
Thoughts: It is so easy for me to dwell on what the past was like or what I imagine the future to be like that I forget to pay attention to the present. I have seen God working, though, and helping me to learn lots of lessons from the present. He is teaching me to live in the present and be thankful for the situations He has my in here and now.
Do I take JOY in times of loneliness or uncertainty? Not usually...but this summer the Lord is really teaching me to be thankful in ALL things. I want to be someone who accepts in faith and trust everything the Lord gives me. I want to be able to attest to the fact that, if I just trust in the Lord, God used separation and relative silence and uncertainty to build up a hope in me. A hope that God knows best and that He cares about me and will always be with me.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Summer Thoughts (Part 3) - May 22, 2010
More Passion and Purity quotes:
"Life requires countless 'little' deaths--occasions when we are given the chance to say no to self and yes to God. [...] Little deaths have to be died just as great ones do. Every reminder [...has] to be offered up. There is a big however . It is this: We are not meant to die merely in order to be dead. God could not want that for the creatures to whom He has given the breath of life. We die in order to live . A seed falls into the dark earth and dies. Out of its death comes multiplied life. [...] It takes faith to believe this. [...] It takes faith to live by it, faith to act on it, faith to keep looking at the joyful end of it all. A failure of faith here leads certainly to resentment and then to depression. The destruction will go on and on.
'Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24). [...] I asked God to water it, there in its darkness, and transform the dead thing into fruit. What fruit will He bring forth? If only it could be that from so small a seed He might create the fruits of the Spirit in me, even just the beginning of learning of them: love, joy, peace, [patience], gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and self-control.'" [End quote]
Thoughts : I really like the picture of a seed dying and being buried. When we die to ourselves and relinquish our pride, God begins to work one way or another. I pray that He would at least grow the fruits of the Spirit in me.
I love this example that Elisabeth Elliot paraphrases:
"To those with ears to hear and eyes to see, there will be very great release from the unbearable burdens in the language of autumn trees, for example, when they dress most gloriously in preparation for death. The red of the leaves is the sign of the cross. Winter follows, when snow closes everything in frozen silence. The trees then are skeletons, but wonders are being performed under the surface of things. Spring comes, and the hidden wonders burst out all at once--tiny shoots, swelling buds, touches of green and red where all seemed hopeless the day before. [...] If the leaves had not been let go to fall and wither, if the tree had not consented to be a skeleton for many months, there would be no new life, no bud, no flower, no fruit, no seed, no new generation."
Thoughts : I love this illustration! It also reminds me of another one I've heard regarding pruning and the fact that a bush or tree needs to be pruned in order to grow better and healthier. As mentioned in another quote in an earlier post, it may not make sense as to why God causes our "petals" or "leaves" to fall off and die, but we can be confident that He will bring new growth and fruit in the future. Praise God for that!
"Life requires countless 'little' deaths--occasions when we are given the chance to say no to self and yes to God. [...] Little deaths have to be died just as great ones do. Every reminder [...has] to be offered up. There is a big however . It is this: We are not meant to die merely in order to be dead. God could not want that for the creatures to whom He has given the breath of life. We die in order to live . A seed falls into the dark earth and dies. Out of its death comes multiplied life. [...] It takes faith to believe this. [...] It takes faith to live by it, faith to act on it, faith to keep looking at the joyful end of it all. A failure of faith here leads certainly to resentment and then to depression. The destruction will go on and on.
'Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24). [...] I asked God to water it, there in its darkness, and transform the dead thing into fruit. What fruit will He bring forth? If only it could be that from so small a seed He might create the fruits of the Spirit in me, even just the beginning of learning of them: love, joy, peace, [patience], gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and self-control.'" [End quote]
Thoughts : I really like the picture of a seed dying and being buried. When we die to ourselves and relinquish our pride, God begins to work one way or another. I pray that He would at least grow the fruits of the Spirit in me.
I love this example that Elisabeth Elliot paraphrases:
"To those with ears to hear and eyes to see, there will be very great release from the unbearable burdens in the language of autumn trees, for example, when they dress most gloriously in preparation for death. The red of the leaves is the sign of the cross. Winter follows, when snow closes everything in frozen silence. The trees then are skeletons, but wonders are being performed under the surface of things. Spring comes, and the hidden wonders burst out all at once--tiny shoots, swelling buds, touches of green and red where all seemed hopeless the day before. [...] If the leaves had not been let go to fall and wither, if the tree had not consented to be a skeleton for many months, there would be no new life, no bud, no flower, no fruit, no seed, no new generation."
Thoughts : I love this illustration! It also reminds me of another one I've heard regarding pruning and the fact that a bush or tree needs to be pruned in order to grow better and healthier. As mentioned in another quote in an earlier post, it may not make sense as to why God causes our "petals" or "leaves" to fall off and die, but we can be confident that He will bring new growth and fruit in the future. Praise God for that!
Summer Thoughts (Part 2) - May 22, 2010
Even though I read the book Passion and Purity last summer, I thought it appropriate to read it again. There are so many good truths in this book that can be applied to every day life. Here are some more of my favorite quotes as of what I have read today.
"Waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one's thoughts. It is easy to talk oneself into a decision that has no permanence--easier sometimes than to wait patiently."
Thoughts : I am reminded of Proverbs 3:5-6 here: "Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Do I trust the Lord enough to be willing to live with an uncertain future? Am I willing and do I continually raise the "question marks" in life up to God? Do I trust God in ALL things and lay aside all worry and doubt? The honest answer: not all the time. But, praise God for His amazing and unending patience, goodness, and love that He lavishes upon me! I have come to appreciate His patience and mercy more and more as I continually learn these lessons.
"Waiting silently is the hardest thing of all. [...] The things that we feel most deeply we ought to learn to be silent about, at least until we have talked them over thoroughly with God." [emphasis added]
Thoughts : I am terrible at waiting, let alone waiting "silently." In Colossians 1:11 talks about "patience with joy." The beginning of verse 11 says "May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might." If you leave out the phrase "according to His glorious might" you see the connection of "May you be strengthened with all power...for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to God the Father..." I think that is so cool that Paul prays specifically that the Colossians would be strengthened "for...patience with joy, giving thanks." Usually I do not associate patience with joy but it makes sense, but I know that I can find joy in waiting.
As a girl, I can attest to the fact that talking about something to somebody else is very easy to do. The 2nd part of the quote is a good reminder to me because I know that turning to God about my "problems" is not always the first place I go. But if we wait, and if we wait silently except for talking the matter over with God, imagine how many things would end more smoothly? Psalm 62:5 says, "For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is in Him." Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God." I need to wait patiently and silently until the Lord sees fit to act and show His will to me.
Waiting means...
"'Steadfastness, that is holding on;
Patience, that is holding back;
Expectancy, that is holding the face up;
Obedience, that is holding one's self in readiness to go or do;
Listening, that is holding quiet and still so as to hear.'
How long, Lord, must I wait?
Never mind, child. Trust Me."
Thoughts : I really like line about listening...I know I do not take the time to sit and be quiet and still before the Lord so that I can hear Him; usually I just want answers at the exact moment I want them.
"Waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one's thoughts. It is easy to talk oneself into a decision that has no permanence--easier sometimes than to wait patiently."
Thoughts : I am reminded of Proverbs 3:5-6 here: "Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Do I trust the Lord enough to be willing to live with an uncertain future? Am I willing and do I continually raise the "question marks" in life up to God? Do I trust God in ALL things and lay aside all worry and doubt? The honest answer: not all the time. But, praise God for His amazing and unending patience, goodness, and love that He lavishes upon me! I have come to appreciate His patience and mercy more and more as I continually learn these lessons.
"Waiting silently is the hardest thing of all. [...] The things that we feel most deeply we ought to learn to be silent about, at least until we have talked them over thoroughly with God." [emphasis added]
Thoughts : I am terrible at waiting, let alone waiting "silently." In Colossians 1:11 talks about "patience with joy." The beginning of verse 11 says "May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might." If you leave out the phrase "according to His glorious might" you see the connection of "May you be strengthened with all power...for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to God the Father..." I think that is so cool that Paul prays specifically that the Colossians would be strengthened "for...patience with joy, giving thanks." Usually I do not associate patience with joy but it makes sense, but I know that I can find joy in waiting.
As a girl, I can attest to the fact that talking about something to somebody else is very easy to do. The 2nd part of the quote is a good reminder to me because I know that turning to God about my "problems" is not always the first place I go. But if we wait, and if we wait silently except for talking the matter over with God, imagine how many things would end more smoothly? Psalm 62:5 says, "For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is in Him." Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God." I need to wait patiently and silently until the Lord sees fit to act and show His will to me.
Waiting means...
"'Steadfastness, that is holding on;
Patience, that is holding back;
Expectancy, that is holding the face up;
Obedience, that is holding one's self in readiness to go or do;
Listening, that is holding quiet and still so as to hear.'
How long, Lord, must I wait?
Never mind, child. Trust Me."
Thoughts : I really like line about listening...I know I do not take the time to sit and be quiet and still before the Lord so that I can hear Him; usually I just want answers at the exact moment I want them.
What Grace is Mine
What Grace is Mine by the Gettys
"So I will go wherever He is calling me
I lose my life to find my life in Him
I give my all to gain the hope that never dies
I bow my heart, take up my cross, and follow Him."
Can I truly pray this prayer? Do I trust God enough that He will take me where He sees is best? Will I give everything to Him and not look back?
"So I will go wherever He is calling me
I lose my life to find my life in Him
I give my all to gain the hope that never dies
I bow my heart, take up my cross, and follow Him."
Can I truly pray this prayer? Do I trust God enough that He will take me where He sees is best? Will I give everything to Him and not look back?
Friday, May 21, 2010
We Must Give God Everything
In reading Passion and Purity this morning, this part really stuck out to me seeing how it is so applicable to my life at the moment. The chapter this excerpt is from is called "Does God Want Everything?" The author, Elisabeth Elliot, begins the chapter talking about God "sifting men's hearts" in both the Old and New Testament, testing to see if they were totally committed to their God. (For those of you reading this blog and do not know anything about this book, it is the story of the 5 year courtship of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot and the lessons she learned in waiting on God's perfect timing and finding true joy in the Lord.) Elliot says:
"In Lilias Trotter's beautifully illustrated book, Parables of the Cross , she describes the death-life cycle of plants, which illustrates the spiritual processes that must go on in us if we are to die to self and live to God. In the love life, as well as in other areas:
'The fair new petals must fall, and for no visible reason. No one seems enriched by the stripping.
And the first step into the realm of giving is a like surrender--not manward but Godward: an utter yielding of our best. So long as our idea of surrender is limited to renouncing of unlawful things, we have never grasped its true meaning: that is not worthy of the name for "no polluted thing" can be offered.
The life lost on the Cross was not a sinful one--the treasure poured forth there was God-given, God-blessed treasure, lawful and right to be kept: only that there was the life of the world at stake.'
What kind of a God is it who asks everything of us? The same God who '...did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all; and with this gift how can he fail to lavish upon us all he has to give?'
He gives all.
He asks all.
I wanted to be loved. Nothing unusual about that, nothing to separate my generation from any other.
But I wanted something deeper. Down among all the foolishness in my diary, thoughts like chaff which the wind of the Spirit can drive away, there was some wheat. There was an honest-to-God longing for the 'fixed heart.' [...] But the question to precede all others, which finally determines the course of our lives, is What do I really want? Was it to love what God commands [...] and to desire what He promises? Did I want what I wanted, or did I want what He wanted, no matter what it might cost?
Until the will and the affections are brought under the authority of Christ, we have not begun to understand, let alone to accept, His Lordship. The Cross, as it enters the love life, will reveal the heart's truth. My heart, I know, would be forever a lonely hunter unless settled 'where true joys are to be found.'
One morning I was reading the story of Jesus' feeding of the five thousand. The disciples could find only five loaves of bread and two fishes. 'Let me have them,' said Jesus. He asked for all. He took them, said the blessing, and broke them before He gave them out. I remembered what a chapel speaker, Ruth Stull of Peru, had said: 'If my life is broken when given to Jesus, it is because pieces will feed a multitude, while a loaf will satisfy only a little lad." (End of quote)
I know this excerpt was really long, but it totally addressed some things I was thinking about last night. I loved the illustration of the petals falling off the flower. There are times when I know I need to give God wants and desires but it does not make sense to do so. We see time and time again each spring the blossoming of fruit trees; the flowers are beautiful and it seems sad when they fall off. But we know, from past experience, that a more precious thing is coming...the actual fruit! As believers, we see testimony to God's requiring sacrifice and the blessings He gives for obedience in the lives of His children. Abraham obeyed God and took Isaac to be sacrificed; but God saved Issac because of Abraham's obedience and blessed him beyond anything he imagined. I may not know why God requires me to sacrifice certain things, but I can be confident in knowing that He will bring that sacrifice to fruition if not in this life on earth but in the life to come.
"In Lilias Trotter's beautifully illustrated book, Parables of the Cross , she describes the death-life cycle of plants, which illustrates the spiritual processes that must go on in us if we are to die to self and live to God. In the love life, as well as in other areas:
'The fair new petals must fall, and for no visible reason. No one seems enriched by the stripping.
And the first step into the realm of giving is a like surrender--not manward but Godward: an utter yielding of our best. So long as our idea of surrender is limited to renouncing of unlawful things, we have never grasped its true meaning: that is not worthy of the name for "no polluted thing" can be offered.
The life lost on the Cross was not a sinful one--the treasure poured forth there was God-given, God-blessed treasure, lawful and right to be kept: only that there was the life of the world at stake.'
What kind of a God is it who asks everything of us? The same God who '...did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all; and with this gift how can he fail to lavish upon us all he has to give?'
He gives all.
He asks all.
I wanted to be loved. Nothing unusual about that, nothing to separate my generation from any other.
But I wanted something deeper. Down among all the foolishness in my diary, thoughts like chaff which the wind of the Spirit can drive away, there was some wheat. There was an honest-to-God longing for the 'fixed heart.' [...] But the question to precede all others, which finally determines the course of our lives, is What do I really want? Was it to love what God commands [...] and to desire what He promises? Did I want what I wanted, or did I want what He wanted, no matter what it might cost?
Until the will and the affections are brought under the authority of Christ, we have not begun to understand, let alone to accept, His Lordship. The Cross, as it enters the love life, will reveal the heart's truth. My heart, I know, would be forever a lonely hunter unless settled 'where true joys are to be found.'
One morning I was reading the story of Jesus' feeding of the five thousand. The disciples could find only five loaves of bread and two fishes. 'Let me have them,' said Jesus. He asked for all. He took them, said the blessing, and broke them before He gave them out. I remembered what a chapel speaker, Ruth Stull of Peru, had said: 'If my life is broken when given to Jesus, it is because pieces will feed a multitude, while a loaf will satisfy only a little lad." (End of quote)
I know this excerpt was really long, but it totally addressed some things I was thinking about last night. I loved the illustration of the petals falling off the flower. There are times when I know I need to give God wants and desires but it does not make sense to do so. We see time and time again each spring the blossoming of fruit trees; the flowers are beautiful and it seems sad when they fall off. But we know, from past experience, that a more precious thing is coming...the actual fruit! As believers, we see testimony to God's requiring sacrifice and the blessings He gives for obedience in the lives of His children. Abraham obeyed God and took Isaac to be sacrificed; but God saved Issac because of Abraham's obedience and blessed him beyond anything he imagined. I may not know why God requires me to sacrifice certain things, but I can be confident in knowing that He will bring that sacrifice to fruition if not in this life on earth but in the life to come.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
He Still Loves Me
From J.I. Packer's book Knowing God :
"There is unspeakable comfort--the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not enervates--in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love, and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that His love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench His determination to bless me. There is, certainly, great cause for humility in the thought that He sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow-men do not see (and am I glad!), and that He sees more corruption in me than that which I see in myself (which, in all conscience, is enough). There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, He wants me as His friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given His Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose. We cannot work these thoughts out here, but merely to mention them is enough to show how much it means to know, not merely that we know God, but that He knows us."
"There is unspeakable comfort--the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not enervates--in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love, and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that His love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench His determination to bless me. There is, certainly, great cause for humility in the thought that He sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow-men do not see (and am I glad!), and that He sees more corruption in me than that which I see in myself (which, in all conscience, is enough). There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, He wants me as His friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given His Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose. We cannot work these thoughts out here, but merely to mention them is enough to show how much it means to know, not merely that we know God, but that He knows us."
Material for Sacrifice
From Elisabeth Elliot's book Passion and Purity :
"'What has been like water from the well of Bethlehem to you recently? Love, friendship, spiritual blessing? Then at the peril of your soul you take it to satisfy yourself. If you do, you cannot pour it out before the Lord. How am I to pour out spiritual gifts, or natural friendship, or love? How can I give them to the Lord? In one way only--in the determination of the mind, and that takes about two seconds. If I hold spiritual blessings or friendship for myself they will corrupt me, no matter how beautiful they are. I have to pour them out before the Lord, give them to Him in my mind, though it looks as if I am wasting them, even as David poured the water out on the sand, to be instantly sucked up.'"
"[...] God gives us material for sacrifice. Sometimes the sacrifice makes little sense to others, but when offered to Him is always accepted. What was the 'point' in God's asking Abraham for the sacrifice of his beloved son, Isaac? The story has often been attacked as 'pagan' and has been grossly misunderstood. Our offerings to Him may very likely be seen as senseless or even fanatical, but He receives them. Jesus received the precious ointment from the worshiping woman, although those present thought it a foolish waste. It is a lesson I understood very dimly in 1948, but it has become clearer and clearer the further I go with God. I have tried to explain it sometimes to people who are lonely and longing for love. 'Give it to Jesus,' I say. The loneliness itself is material for sacrifice. The very longings themselves can be offered to Him who understands perfectly. The transformation into something He can use for the good of others takes place only when the offering is put into His hands. What will He do with these offerings? Never mind. He knows what to do."
Learning to give up those hopes and desires which seem good to us can be hard. But do we trust God enough to give them totally to Him? Can we truly open our hands and offer them freely up to Him?
"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act." (Psalm 37:5)
God promises peace to one who trusts in Him; will we truly trust Him with all areas of our lives?
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You." (Isaiah 26:3)
"'What has been like water from the well of Bethlehem to you recently? Love, friendship, spiritual blessing? Then at the peril of your soul you take it to satisfy yourself. If you do, you cannot pour it out before the Lord. How am I to pour out spiritual gifts, or natural friendship, or love? How can I give them to the Lord? In one way only--in the determination of the mind, and that takes about two seconds. If I hold spiritual blessings or friendship for myself they will corrupt me, no matter how beautiful they are. I have to pour them out before the Lord, give them to Him in my mind, though it looks as if I am wasting them, even as David poured the water out on the sand, to be instantly sucked up.'"
"[...] God gives us material for sacrifice. Sometimes the sacrifice makes little sense to others, but when offered to Him is always accepted. What was the 'point' in God's asking Abraham for the sacrifice of his beloved son, Isaac? The story has often been attacked as 'pagan' and has been grossly misunderstood. Our offerings to Him may very likely be seen as senseless or even fanatical, but He receives them. Jesus received the precious ointment from the worshiping woman, although those present thought it a foolish waste. It is a lesson I understood very dimly in 1948, but it has become clearer and clearer the further I go with God. I have tried to explain it sometimes to people who are lonely and longing for love. 'Give it to Jesus,' I say. The loneliness itself is material for sacrifice. The very longings themselves can be offered to Him who understands perfectly. The transformation into something He can use for the good of others takes place only when the offering is put into His hands. What will He do with these offerings? Never mind. He knows what to do."
Learning to give up those hopes and desires which seem good to us can be hard. But do we trust God enough to give them totally to Him? Can we truly open our hands and offer them freely up to Him?
"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act." (Psalm 37:5)
God promises peace to one who trusts in Him; will we truly trust Him with all areas of our lives?
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You." (Isaiah 26:3)
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Behold I Am Wise (...Or Not)
I started reading the book Knowing God by J.I. Packer this morning and am so excited to continue reading it! The opening paragraphs of the book were astounding and addressed some things I had never thought about before. Packer begins his book by quoting Charles H. Spurgeon. In a sermon regarding the subject of studying God, Spurgeon said,
"[...] There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. Other subjects we can compass and grapple with; in them we feel a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought, 'Behold I am wise'. But when we come to this master-science [he is talking in reference to the study of God], finding that our plumb-line cannot sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its height, we turn away with the thought that vain man would be wise, but he is like a wild ass's colt; and with solemn exclamation, 'I am but of yesterday, and know nothing'. No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God."
Packer then goes on to talk about the question of why we, as Christians, should study God. He gives this example:
"Knowing about God is crucially important for the living of our lives. As it would be cruel to an Amazonian tribesman to fly him to London, put him down without explanation in Trafalgar Square and leave him, as one who knew nothing of English or England, to fend for himself, so we are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God.Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfold, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul."
Later, he gives reason to why we should try to know God:
"For the fact that we have to face is this: that if we pursue theological knowledge for its own sake, it is bound to go bad on us. It will make us proud and conceited. [...] We need to guard our hearts against such an attitude, and pray to be kept from it. [...] Our aim in studying the Godhead must be to know God Himself the better. Our concern must be to enlarge our acquaintance, not simply with the doctrine of God's attributes, but with the living God whose attributes they are. As He is the subject of our study, and our helper in it, so He must Himself be the end of it. We must seek, in studying God, to be led to God. It was for this purpose that revelation was given, and it is to this use that we must put it."
"[...] There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. Other subjects we can compass and grapple with; in them we feel a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought, 'Behold I am wise'. But when we come to this master-science [he is talking in reference to the study of God], finding that our plumb-line cannot sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its height, we turn away with the thought that vain man would be wise, but he is like a wild ass's colt; and with solemn exclamation, 'I am but of yesterday, and know nothing'. No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God."
Packer then goes on to talk about the question of why we, as Christians, should study God. He gives this example:
"Knowing about God is crucially important for the living of our lives. As it would be cruel to an Amazonian tribesman to fly him to London, put him down without explanation in Trafalgar Square and leave him, as one who knew nothing of English or England, to fend for himself, so we are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God.Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfold, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul."
Later, he gives reason to why we should try to know God:
"For the fact that we have to face is this: that if we pursue theological knowledge for its own sake, it is bound to go bad on us. It will make us proud and conceited. [...] We need to guard our hearts against such an attitude, and pray to be kept from it. [...] Our aim in studying the Godhead must be to know God Himself the better. Our concern must be to enlarge our acquaintance, not simply with the doctrine of God's attributes, but with the living God whose attributes they are. As He is the subject of our study, and our helper in it, so He must Himself be the end of it. We must seek, in studying God, to be led to God. It was for this purpose that revelation was given, and it is to this use that we must put it."
Thursday, May 13, 2010
God's Goodness
"A great many things in God's divine providence do not look to the eye like goodness. But faith sits down before mysteries such as these, and says, 'The Lord is good, therefore all that He does must be good no matter how it looks. I can wait for His explanations.'"
~Hannah Whitall Smith~
2 Corinthians 12:7-10, "So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
I may not know why God puts certain circumstances in my life, but I know that He will sustain me through them and that His glory will be manifested through them. I can be confident that He will give me strength because He will give me grace to make it through. In the midst of a trial, I may not be able to see its good or purpose, but I can have faith that the Lord has ordained it as a good thing because He is good. Therefore, I can endure and have faith in the hope and rest to come once it or this life has passed.
~Hannah Whitall Smith~
2 Corinthians 12:7-10, "So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
I may not know why God puts certain circumstances in my life, but I know that He will sustain me through them and that His glory will be manifested through them. I can be confident that He will give me strength because He will give me grace to make it through. In the midst of a trial, I may not be able to see its good or purpose, but I can have faith that the Lord has ordained it as a good thing because He is good. Therefore, I can endure and have faith in the hope and rest to come once it or this life has passed.
Growing Up
Growing older is an interesting thing. Although I know that being 20 years old is not old in the grand scheme of eternity, but sometimes I feel like it is pretty old. =P Sunday, as I sat and watched my brother and one of his best friends, I thought back to the days when I used to watch them play as boys at age 7 and up. (They are now almost 25.) I smiled to myself watching them still talk and laugh as they always have; not much has changed except they look more grown up and they have gotten bigger. My brother is now a teacher and his friend is just graduated from seminary. For me, watching their wives talk was not quite as weird seeing how I have not known them my entire life. However, watching and listening to two grown men talk about "the old days" or about how they are excited to see God use them in ministry, almost brought tears to my eyes. It is so neat and such a blessing to see how God has grown and matured these boys into men who are passionate about serving the Lord. Instead of being partners in crime and sticking kidney beans down their ears (yes, they really did that!), they are not talking about being partners in ministry for the sake of the Kingdom.
This afternoon I was reading my brother and his wife's blog of their trip to Togo, Africa. I got choked up when I read about how they are praying about going back to the country to stay, not because I am necessarily sad they are leaving, but because it is so awesome to see how the Lord is sending out His workers. Although I will miss my brothers and their wives when they go abroad, I can hardly wait to see how the Lord is going to use them for the sake of the Gospel.
Earlier this morning, I helped babysit for a preschool type class at my church. One of the families that was there we met when I was 8 years old. At that time, the parents were dating and in college at The Master's College. I have babysat for them and watched their 3 kids grow up since the youngest was born. It is really weird for me now because their oldest (who is 9) and I (who is 20 years old) are about the same age as her parents and I were when we first met some 12 years ago. It is just funny to see how things come full circle at some point. =]
Things like this often make me realize how quickly time goes by. It does not seem so very long ago that my parents dropped me off for WOW week in August '08 and yet in 3 months time from now I will be there to welcome incoming students for 2010. Time seems to literally fly. Things change so quickly and it is exciting to see where God will direct the futures of His children. I hope and pray that I would not squander the time given to me by God but that I would be faithful to use it to honor and glorify Him.
This afternoon I was reading my brother and his wife's blog of their trip to Togo, Africa. I got choked up when I read about how they are praying about going back to the country to stay, not because I am necessarily sad they are leaving, but because it is so awesome to see how the Lord is sending out His workers. Although I will miss my brothers and their wives when they go abroad, I can hardly wait to see how the Lord is going to use them for the sake of the Gospel.
Earlier this morning, I helped babysit for a preschool type class at my church. One of the families that was there we met when I was 8 years old. At that time, the parents were dating and in college at The Master's College. I have babysat for them and watched their 3 kids grow up since the youngest was born. It is really weird for me now because their oldest (who is 9) and I (who is 20 years old) are about the same age as her parents and I were when we first met some 12 years ago. It is just funny to see how things come full circle at some point. =]
Things like this often make me realize how quickly time goes by. It does not seem so very long ago that my parents dropped me off for WOW week in August '08 and yet in 3 months time from now I will be there to welcome incoming students for 2010. Time seems to literally fly. Things change so quickly and it is exciting to see where God will direct the futures of His children. I hope and pray that I would not squander the time given to me by God but that I would be faithful to use it to honor and glorify Him.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Lessons to be Learned
I realized today that this summer is going to be filled with many lessons the Lord is going to teach me. There are a few, however, that I think are going to be a lot more obvious than others.
First, I know that the Lord is going to be teaching me the lesson of being selfless. Moving back home from college is always an interesting experience especially during the first few weeks of being back. =] I believe it was this past Christmas break that I truly realized how selfish college students can be. (Now, maybe I am just realizing that I in particular am extremely selfish which I know is the case.) At college, students do not really have to look out for others. True, we have to be mindful and thoughtful towards our roommates, wingmates, and friends, but are we really making personal sacrifices for others? We decide for ourselves when we want to eat, when we want to do homework, when we want to take a break from homework, when we want to sleep, when we want to exercise, etc. True, we might wait for somebody to go to dinner, but, in reality, we operate on our own time schedule. When I come home, I have to be mindful of the other people I am living with. I have to keep in mind that I need to be taking care of others; I do not just have only myself to take care of. I need to take care of my dishes, keep my room clean, keep my stuff from being sprawled all over the house, when I make myself food I should offer to share with others, etc. Each time I come home it's like I have to "reprogram" my brain for a type of "home living" setting. But this should not be the case! Philippians 2:3-7 says, "Do nothing form rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." We are to be selfless because Christ was selfless. The mindset of servanthood and thinking of others above myself should be a mindset that I have ALL of the time. I pray that I would learn to be selfless not only here at home, but also at school and wherever else the Lord has me.
The second lesson that I know the Lord will be teaching me this summer is the lesson of patience/contentment/surrender/waiting upon the Lord, etc. There are a few aspects of my life that I would very much like to have the answer to right now. Not knowing these answers is really hard because I very much like to plan ahead; I like to have all my ducks in a nice, neat row. I like to know where my life is going. I am beginning to learn that being super organized is both a blessing and a curse. (and a curse in the sense of it prevents me from being flexible to some extent) This summer will be filled with a lot of praying and waiting upon the Lord; I will be learning to be patient in many different areas. God acts according to HIS time schedule, not on the time schedule of Katherine. Psalm 37:5 is a constant reminder to me of God's sovereignty; it says, "Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him; and He will act." As long as I am trusting the Lord and being obedient to Him, I can be confident that He will act according to His will and according to what He sees as best for me and others.
This summer will be one where a lot of things I KNOW are going to be solidified into things that I truly BELIEVE. For instance, I KNOW that I can only be satisfied in God alone and that true joy can only come from Him, but do I really BELIEVE that? I KNOW I have the ability to exercise patience (because it is one of the Fruits of the Spirit) and to choose to be content, but do I really BELIEVE that I can wait? I have the head knowledge, but now I need to live out that knowledge in daily life. I need to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer. (James 1:22)
First, I know that the Lord is going to be teaching me the lesson of being selfless. Moving back home from college is always an interesting experience especially during the first few weeks of being back. =] I believe it was this past Christmas break that I truly realized how selfish college students can be. (Now, maybe I am just realizing that I in particular am extremely selfish which I know is the case.) At college, students do not really have to look out for others. True, we have to be mindful and thoughtful towards our roommates, wingmates, and friends, but are we really making personal sacrifices for others? We decide for ourselves when we want to eat, when we want to do homework, when we want to take a break from homework, when we want to sleep, when we want to exercise, etc. True, we might wait for somebody to go to dinner, but, in reality, we operate on our own time schedule. When I come home, I have to be mindful of the other people I am living with. I have to keep in mind that I need to be taking care of others; I do not just have only myself to take care of. I need to take care of my dishes, keep my room clean, keep my stuff from being sprawled all over the house, when I make myself food I should offer to share with others, etc. Each time I come home it's like I have to "reprogram" my brain for a type of "home living" setting. But this should not be the case! Philippians 2:3-7 says, "Do nothing form rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." We are to be selfless because Christ was selfless. The mindset of servanthood and thinking of others above myself should be a mindset that I have ALL of the time. I pray that I would learn to be selfless not only here at home, but also at school and wherever else the Lord has me.
The second lesson that I know the Lord will be teaching me this summer is the lesson of patience/contentment/surrender/waiting upon the Lord, etc. There are a few aspects of my life that I would very much like to have the answer to right now. Not knowing these answers is really hard because I very much like to plan ahead; I like to have all my ducks in a nice, neat row. I like to know where my life is going. I am beginning to learn that being super organized is both a blessing and a curse. (and a curse in the sense of it prevents me from being flexible to some extent) This summer will be filled with a lot of praying and waiting upon the Lord; I will be learning to be patient in many different areas. God acts according to HIS time schedule, not on the time schedule of Katherine. Psalm 37:5 is a constant reminder to me of God's sovereignty; it says, "Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him; and He will act." As long as I am trusting the Lord and being obedient to Him, I can be confident that He will act according to His will and according to what He sees as best for me and others.
This summer will be one where a lot of things I KNOW are going to be solidified into things that I truly BELIEVE. For instance, I KNOW that I can only be satisfied in God alone and that true joy can only come from Him, but do I really BELIEVE that? I KNOW I have the ability to exercise patience (because it is one of the Fruits of the Spirit) and to choose to be content, but do I really BELIEVE that I can wait? I have the head knowledge, but now I need to live out that knowledge in daily life. I need to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer. (James 1:22)
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Summer Thoughts (Part 1) - May 9, 2010
As the semester wound down to the end, I began to realize how fickle and foolish I can be. Just a few weeks ago I was wishing and praying that the end of the year would come; I was so very much looking forward from being free from homework, classes, and even social life. But as the year came to a close and as I now sit in my room at home, I realize how discontent I was. Now I am sad that I won't be seeing my best friends for more than 3 months. Once again, the Lord is teaching me the lesson of contentment--something I have been learning for years and years. This lesson is often painful and at times I feel like I am actually regressing, but God is so good, so gentle, and so patient with me for which I am so grateful. =]
Yesterday I spent most of my day chipping away at the absolute disaster which is otherwise known as: my room. For a few hours it looked as if a tornado had raged through my room, and then someone had set off a bomb in there, which was then followed by a massive earthquake which shook everything up. As I waded through my mess, I was thinking about school and life and I came to a very odd realization which was quite contradictory to something I had thought earlier in the week. I was talking to my friend and I told her that right now, for college students, summer tends to be a break in the "reality of life." But I realized that this thinking was quite wrong when all of life is taken into consideration. Essentially, summer is what "real life" will be like once I graduate college. The people I go to church with, those people who live in my home town, are those people who I will be (most likely unless I move) interacting with after college. Goodbyes to close college friends will become an even greater reality because I will not just see them again in the Fall. Although I might see friends at some point in life again, most of my goodbyes will be final until Heaven. This thought shocked me; I had never thought about life like this before. It made me really sad and, in some senses, almost made me panic. But I had to remind myself that God is sovereign and that He knows what is best for me. If He wants me to cross paths with my close friends often, He will orchestrate that. I must rest and take comfort in that knowledge.
Yesterday I spent most of my day chipping away at the absolute disaster which is otherwise known as: my room. For a few hours it looked as if a tornado had raged through my room, and then someone had set off a bomb in there, which was then followed by a massive earthquake which shook everything up. As I waded through my mess, I was thinking about school and life and I came to a very odd realization which was quite contradictory to something I had thought earlier in the week. I was talking to my friend and I told her that right now, for college students, summer tends to be a break in the "reality of life." But I realized that this thinking was quite wrong when all of life is taken into consideration. Essentially, summer is what "real life" will be like once I graduate college. The people I go to church with, those people who live in my home town, are those people who I will be (most likely unless I move) interacting with after college. Goodbyes to close college friends will become an even greater reality because I will not just see them again in the Fall. Although I might see friends at some point in life again, most of my goodbyes will be final until Heaven. This thought shocked me; I had never thought about life like this before. It made me really sad and, in some senses, almost made me panic. But I had to remind myself that God is sovereign and that He knows what is best for me. If He wants me to cross paths with my close friends often, He will orchestrate that. I must rest and take comfort in that knowledge.
All For God's Glory
So I've never actually had a blog before, but seeing how I tend to write a lot of notes on Facebook with thoughts of mine, I decided that it was maybe time to begin one. Now, I don't want to be one of those people who update their blog every 5 minutes so I'm going to try not to post all that often. I more want to use this blog as a tool to share things that God has been teaching me or things He has been revealing to me through His Word, through life, through relationships with people, etc. Ultimately, I pray this will bring Him glory and honor and spark people's minds to think more about the things of the Lord. I pray that God would use these lessons He is teaching me to impact others.
So please join me on this journey if you would like to...I have no idea where it will go, but I pray that it will be directed and guided by the Lord. =]
So please join me on this journey if you would like to...I have no idea where it will go, but I pray that it will be directed and guided by the Lord. =]
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