Lately I have been convicted with how I use my free time in regards to my thoughts. This sort of time would include when I am getting ready in the morning, when I am driving, when I am falling asleep, etc. How am I using that time and how am I using my thoughts to honor God and bring ultimate glory to Him?
It is so easy to day dream in those instances and think about how things could be or how I would like things to be in my life. There are many times when I think, “Yes, I know what I am thinking is not reality but it is more fun and more pleasant than thinking about the things that really are and about how life really is.”
There is one particular set of verses that has been really convicting to me and has reminded me that this sort of day dreaming is sinful.
Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Every time I am day dreaming about all the “what if’s,” “could be’s,” and “maybe’s” and I think about the first part of this verse I know that I need to stop my thoughts because they are not “whatever is true.” I have to stop myself and ask, “Is what I am thinking about true?” And when I answer “no,” I have to put on right thinking and think about what is true in my life at that time. I have to think, “It is “true” that God has me in this situation right now, it is “true” that I am not doing that this summer, etc.”
The other day I had the thought, “If I were to die right now and go to Heaven and the Lord was to ask me, ‘Katherine, how did you honor, serve, and glorify Me in your thoughts? Did you serve me to your fullest capability in your life even down to the seemingly smallest things such as what you thought about during the day? How did you use the ‘free’ time I gave you in your thoughts in a glorifying and honoring manner? Did you serve Me in your thoughts or did you waste that time?’ What would I answer Him?” I realized that there are definitely many times when I waste time thinking about myself or waste time thinking about how my life could be.
I am really hoping and praying that instead of wasting this precious time that I would used it to “set [my] mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:2) I want to use this time to pray for people, to pray for my own sanctification, and to contemplate the attributes of God, who He is, and what He has done for me. I am also challenging myself to be more thankful and try to actively think of things throughout my day that I am thankful for and actually write them down.
(Side story: I was challenged with this idea of writing down things I was thankful for at our women’s Bible study last night and I was really excited about doing it. And then at work this morning my boss told us about this great idea she had driving to work this morning and it was to start a list of things we are thankful for throughout our day in the office and to make a collaborative list as an office staff. I know that the Lord was and is working there because those two things corresponded so perfectly. =D Yeah!!! I LOVE when He does that!!!)
Anyways, I pray that my entire life would be honoring to the Lord down to my every thought!!!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Delighting in the Lord & Comforting Others
Another verse that was brought up by a different girl at Bible study was…
Psalm 73:25-26, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. ”
It was really funny because her bringing up this verse brought up a landslide of other verses and lessons girls were learning this past semester. Psalm 73:25-26 reminds us that God gives us strength and that He is there for us no matter what we are going through; He will always be with us and will never forsake us.
This passage sparked one girl talking about her family situation and how it is really tough and definitely a big trial. This led to someone bringing up Psalm 37:5 which was actually one of the verses I thought about sharing. So I was just reading through the chapter and thinking about the different verses I listed below.
Psalm 37:5, 7a, 8b, 23-24, 34, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. […] Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. […] Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. […] The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in His way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. […] Wait for the Lord and keep His way. ”
Now, what I was going to share about how these verses encouraged me were not really along the same lines as the how they encouraged the person who brought up the verse at Bible study. I just love all these verses because they talk about submitting our wills to the Lord and trusting Him. When we submit our wills to Him we need to wait upon Him…and we must wait patiently and without worry. This is not something I am very good at, I will be honest. =P I usually “commit my way” to God and then try to make what I think is best happen. It love that the psalmist says that worrying leads only to evil and sin because that is sooo true! Oftentimes if I would just truly wait upon the Lord and not try to impose my will in situations I would avoid a lot of trouble. Notice how in verse 23 is sort of a cause and effect scenario…when we delight in God’s way He will establish our steps. When we are satisfied in the Lord He will show what His will is and guide us. How else do we delight in the Lord but by waiting on Him and being patient and trusting Him? I also love verse 4 of this psalm:
Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. ”
If we are truly delighting ourselves in the Lord He will give us our desires—Himself! Again, back to what John Piper was talking about in Chapter 1 when he says, “God loves us best by giving us the best to enjoy forever, namely Himself, for He is best.” (p. 35) Wow! I need to make sure that I am delighting myself in the Lord if I am ever going to “expect” (which is dangerous to think I deserve things from God or expect Him to do anything for me) to reveal His will to me. I need to first be obedient to Him and do what He is asking/telling me to do for Him before He will, most times, show me His will. I know that He calls me to be obedient by loving Him, by obeying and honoring my parents, by serving others, by having a joyful attitude, by being faithful to be in His Word, etc. I need to be faithful to be obedient in those things at all times! This is the way that I can delight in the Lord and honor, serve, and glorify Him. I just love when God knits lessons together that He is teaching His children!! =]
Another connect that He showed me was in regards to suffering and reading about suffering in Don’t Waste Your Life. When the girl was talking about the trial she is going through with her family all of these other passages were brought up:
2 Corinthians 1:3-6, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. ”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. ”
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 his, 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 just love how God’s Word tells us why we suffer! It is so that we might comfort others! And, of course, we also suffer to be reminded of what Christ did for us when He suffered ultimately at the Cross. We also suffer so that we might anticipate a greater glory and a better place than this earth—Heaven. I can hardly wait!! =] In Christ’s suffering and in His love and as an act of mercy and grace…
2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor so that you by His poverty might become rich. ”
He gave all so that we might gain all. Now we must give all to Him so that we might gain all in Him. By losing everything we gain everything. This is the way to live an un-wasted life.
Psalm 73:25-26, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. ”
It was really funny because her bringing up this verse brought up a landslide of other verses and lessons girls were learning this past semester. Psalm 73:25-26 reminds us that God gives us strength and that He is there for us no matter what we are going through; He will always be with us and will never forsake us.
This passage sparked one girl talking about her family situation and how it is really tough and definitely a big trial. This led to someone bringing up Psalm 37:5 which was actually one of the verses I thought about sharing. So I was just reading through the chapter and thinking about the different verses I listed below.
Psalm 37:5, 7a, 8b, 23-24, 34, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. […] Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. […] Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. […] The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in His way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. […] Wait for the Lord and keep His way. ”
Now, what I was going to share about how these verses encouraged me were not really along the same lines as the how they encouraged the person who brought up the verse at Bible study. I just love all these verses because they talk about submitting our wills to the Lord and trusting Him. When we submit our wills to Him we need to wait upon Him…and we must wait patiently and without worry. This is not something I am very good at, I will be honest. =P I usually “commit my way” to God and then try to make what I think is best happen. It love that the psalmist says that worrying leads only to evil and sin because that is sooo true! Oftentimes if I would just truly wait upon the Lord and not try to impose my will in situations I would avoid a lot of trouble. Notice how in verse 23 is sort of a cause and effect scenario…when we delight in God’s way He will establish our steps. When we are satisfied in the Lord He will show what His will is and guide us. How else do we delight in the Lord but by waiting on Him and being patient and trusting Him? I also love verse 4 of this psalm:
Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. ”
If we are truly delighting ourselves in the Lord He will give us our desires—Himself! Again, back to what John Piper was talking about in Chapter 1 when he says, “God loves us best by giving us the best to enjoy forever, namely Himself, for He is best.” (p. 35) Wow! I need to make sure that I am delighting myself in the Lord if I am ever going to “expect” (which is dangerous to think I deserve things from God or expect Him to do anything for me) to reveal His will to me. I need to first be obedient to Him and do what He is asking/telling me to do for Him before He will, most times, show me His will. I know that He calls me to be obedient by loving Him, by obeying and honoring my parents, by serving others, by having a joyful attitude, by being faithful to be in His Word, etc. I need to be faithful to be obedient in those things at all times! This is the way that I can delight in the Lord and honor, serve, and glorify Him. I just love when God knits lessons together that He is teaching His children!! =]
Another connect that He showed me was in regards to suffering and reading about suffering in Don’t Waste Your Life. When the girl was talking about the trial she is going through with her family all of these other passages were brought up:
2 Corinthians 1:3-6, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. ”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. ”
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 his, 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 just love how God’s Word tells us why we suffer! It is so that we might comfort others! And, of course, we also suffer to be reminded of what Christ did for us when He suffered ultimately at the Cross. We also suffer so that we might anticipate a greater glory and a better place than this earth—Heaven. I can hardly wait!! =] In Christ’s suffering and in His love and as an act of mercy and grace…
2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor so that you by His poverty might become rich. ”
He gave all so that we might gain all. Now we must give all to Him so that we might gain all in Him. By losing everything we gain everything. This is the way to live an un-wasted life.
Ambassadors for Christ
So last night at Bible study we did something a little different because it was the final all-girl’s Bible study for the summer due to the fact that we will be meeting as a whole college group for the rest of the summer. We were supposed to come with a verse that had been encouraging to us or really spoke to us during this past semester of life.
Well the girl who went first read through the whole chapter of 2 Corinthians 5 and then talked through parts of it. Here are different verses that stood out to me and thoughts I had about them as well as some truths the girl pointed out to the rest of us.
2 Corinthians 5:9, “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him. ”
This verse reminded me of what I have been reading in Don’t Waste Your Life and how are whole lives are to be dedicated to bringing God honor and glory. When we are home—in heaven—we will be pleasing Him through our worship and when we are not in our eternal home—when we are here on this earth—it should be our goal to please God. Wherever we are this is to be the goal and mission of the believer.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised. ”
Our lives are to be directed by the love of Christ. His love for us and what He did at the Cross should motivate us to live for Him and our love and gratefulness for Him for what He did for us. Christ died for us and if we are one with Him, we have died too and because He died for us and raised us with new life we are to no longer live to serve ourselves but to live for Christ and to serve Him and let our lives be His to use for His glory. Again…this was totally along the lines of what I have been reading/learning in Don’t Waste Your Life.
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ”
Since we have been raised with Christ we have a new life, a new spirit, and a new purpose to live our lives! It is only through this new life and being totally made new that we can have true joy because our joy will be found in the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ”
This verse just totally exudes the Gospel! “All this” refers to the old creation passing away and the new one coming. The reality of us being made new creations was brought about by God through the work of Christ. God ministered to us by reconciling us to Himself even though we did not deserve to receive His grace. God reconciles sinners to Himself because of Christ and the result of this is that we are not condemned by our sins.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. ”
Because of being reconciled to Christ (that is what the “therefore” is there for) we are ambassadors or messengers for Christ and it is our job to share with others what Christ did for us on the cross to reconcile us to God. It was for us that Christ allowed Himself to die in the place of us instead of making us die the deaths to pay the blood sacrifice for our guilt. He did this so that we might become righteous in the sight of God. Christ paid our debt because there was no way that we would/will/or could be able to make ourselves guilt-free before a holy and righteous God.
This love that God showed us through Christ should control our very lives and it should cause us to want to tell others that they are sinners and yet there is a way that they can be saved through faith in Christ. This love of God should also control us in that it then causes us to long to dedicate our lives to serving God and honoring Him. We can only live for the purpose of pleasing God. Ultimately, all we have to offer people is Christ and the message of salvation.
It was interesting thinking about all of this and thinking about the people we will be dealing with at my work this summer. It is so cool because my boss is a believer and the two other girls I am also working with right now are believers too. So before we start work each day we have a little devotional and pray which is so cool! My boss brought up the following passage to us.
Psalm 67, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations. Let the people praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise You! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God; shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear Him! ”
This was just such a neat psalm to read through! We were asking God to bless us so that we might show His love to the unbelieving families we come in contact with this summer. We want families to see that we are different and we want them to ask us why we are different. My boss brought up the fact that we are dealing with a lot of families of many different ethnic backgrounds and we want to make known His saving power to these people. Essentially, we want to make known His saving power “among all nations.” We will be in contact with many Caucasian families, yes, but we will also be around many Jewish, Armenian, Korean, and Indian people as well. It is especially cool that we will be around so many Jewish people our God—at least the God of the Old Testament that the Jews today “believe” it—is the exact same God! We are just praying that we have opportunities to share Christ with the people around us. We are God’s ambassadors to these people. We can live our lives as new creatures and tell of the reconciliation that Christ has brought to us. Our knowledge of this reconciliation and act of love should control our very lives and cause us to point people to the Cross. It should cause us to point people to the ultimate display of God’s glory in His work on the Cross.
I just love that what I was reading in Don’t Waste Your Life corresponded with what my boss talked about Monday morning at work which corresponded with one thing we were talking about at Bible study last night!!!! God is definitely at work in my life and it is evident that He is wanting me to learn something about serving Him with my whole life. Praise the Lord!!!
Well the girl who went first read through the whole chapter of 2 Corinthians 5 and then talked through parts of it. Here are different verses that stood out to me and thoughts I had about them as well as some truths the girl pointed out to the rest of us.
2 Corinthians 5:9, “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him. ”
This verse reminded me of what I have been reading in Don’t Waste Your Life and how are whole lives are to be dedicated to bringing God honor and glory. When we are home—in heaven—we will be pleasing Him through our worship and when we are not in our eternal home—when we are here on this earth—it should be our goal to please God. Wherever we are this is to be the goal and mission of the believer.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised. ”
Our lives are to be directed by the love of Christ. His love for us and what He did at the Cross should motivate us to live for Him and our love and gratefulness for Him for what He did for us. Christ died for us and if we are one with Him, we have died too and because He died for us and raised us with new life we are to no longer live to serve ourselves but to live for Christ and to serve Him and let our lives be His to use for His glory. Again…this was totally along the lines of what I have been reading/learning in Don’t Waste Your Life.
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ”
Since we have been raised with Christ we have a new life, a new spirit, and a new purpose to live our lives! It is only through this new life and being totally made new that we can have true joy because our joy will be found in the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ”
This verse just totally exudes the Gospel! “All this” refers to the old creation passing away and the new one coming. The reality of us being made new creations was brought about by God through the work of Christ. God ministered to us by reconciling us to Himself even though we did not deserve to receive His grace. God reconciles sinners to Himself because of Christ and the result of this is that we are not condemned by our sins.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. ”
Because of being reconciled to Christ (that is what the “therefore” is there for) we are ambassadors or messengers for Christ and it is our job to share with others what Christ did for us on the cross to reconcile us to God. It was for us that Christ allowed Himself to die in the place of us instead of making us die the deaths to pay the blood sacrifice for our guilt. He did this so that we might become righteous in the sight of God. Christ paid our debt because there was no way that we would/will/or could be able to make ourselves guilt-free before a holy and righteous God.
This love that God showed us through Christ should control our very lives and it should cause us to want to tell others that they are sinners and yet there is a way that they can be saved through faith in Christ. This love of God should also control us in that it then causes us to long to dedicate our lives to serving God and honoring Him. We can only live for the purpose of pleasing God. Ultimately, all we have to offer people is Christ and the message of salvation.
It was interesting thinking about all of this and thinking about the people we will be dealing with at my work this summer. It is so cool because my boss is a believer and the two other girls I am also working with right now are believers too. So before we start work each day we have a little devotional and pray which is so cool! My boss brought up the following passage to us.
Psalm 67, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations. Let the people praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise You! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God; shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear Him! ”
This was just such a neat psalm to read through! We were asking God to bless us so that we might show His love to the unbelieving families we come in contact with this summer. We want families to see that we are different and we want them to ask us why we are different. My boss brought up the fact that we are dealing with a lot of families of many different ethnic backgrounds and we want to make known His saving power to these people. Essentially, we want to make known His saving power “among all nations.” We will be in contact with many Caucasian families, yes, but we will also be around many Jewish, Armenian, Korean, and Indian people as well. It is especially cool that we will be around so many Jewish people our God—at least the God of the Old Testament that the Jews today “believe” it—is the exact same God! We are just praying that we have opportunities to share Christ with the people around us. We are God’s ambassadors to these people. We can live our lives as new creatures and tell of the reconciliation that Christ has brought to us. Our knowledge of this reconciliation and act of love should control our very lives and cause us to point people to the Cross. It should cause us to point people to the ultimate display of God’s glory in His work on the Cross.
I just love that what I was reading in Don’t Waste Your Life corresponded with what my boss talked about Monday morning at work which corresponded with one thing we were talking about at Bible study last night!!!! God is definitely at work in my life and it is evident that He is wanting me to learn something about serving Him with my whole life. Praise the Lord!!!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Boasting in the Cross
I have decided that I fail to think long and hard about things. A lot of times I’ll think about something for a little bit and then promptly move on to the “next thing”—whatever that may be. Today in reading Don’t Waste Your Life, I was really struck by the first three pages of fourth chapter entitled “Magnifying Christ Through Pain and Death.” Now, I did not get very far because I was really challenged by what Piper had to say. So I decided to not finish the chapter and to just think about the contents of the pages I trudged through.
Piper begins the chapter talking about how “living to magnify Christ is costly.” (pg. 61) The reason it is costly is because like Mark 8:34 talks about, believers are to follow Christ and pick up their crosses. Jesus had to die on the cross—one of the most cruel and horrible forms of death ever invented by mankind; He gave up His very own life and calls us to do the same…that is why “living to magnify Christ is costly.” We are called to suffer alongside of Jesus. Why? We know that the cross is the ultimate picture and display of God’s glory because His Son, the perfect sacrifice, willing chose to die so that He might redeem sinners and pay the price they owed for the guilt of violating God’s law through sin. Piper says, “Suffering with Jesus on the Calvary road of love is not merely the result of magnifying Christ; it is also the means.” (pg. 61) In other words, we do not only suffer because we magnify and glorify Christ; suffering ourselves like Christ did is also a way that we can magnify and glorify Him. It took me a while for me to really grasp what Piper was saying…I’m not quite sure why, but my brain definitely got a mental workout today. =P
Piper continues talking about boasting in the cross when we bear suffering. This also made my mind spin and took me awhile to wade through. I have always known the concept of fully devoting one’s life to serving God after salvation and that the believer’s life would then be full of suffering because Christ suffered first, but I think Piper explained it in such a way that I was fully able to grasp why we suffer as believers. I always, I guess, just assumed we suffered because Christ suffered and that was all there was to the story. Let me go on to type the section where Piper elaborates. He says…
“The normal Christian life is one that boasts only in the cross—the blazing center of God’s glory—and does it while bearing the cross. ‘Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple’ (Luke 14:27). Bearing the cross is the means by which we are increasingly liberated to boast in the cross. Suffering [or the reality and occurrence of Christ’s suffering at “the Cross”] is God’s design in this sin-soaked world. It [I believe Piper means “it” to take the place of “suffering” or more specifically “the cross”…so…The Cross] portrays sin’s horror for the world to see.” (pg. 62)
Now, here it would seem that “sin’s horror” is the incredible debt owed by the sinner for his sins that could only be repaid by a holy and blameless, innocent sacrifice; the horror is the reality of the vastness and depth of sin’s debt and the fact that man can never repay a just God. Because of not being able to repay God, man would then face the horrors of spending eternity in Hell separated from his Creator. The Cross shows the world this reality and how it would truly be a hopeless situation except for the fact that Jesus—our perfect sacrifice and propitiation—hung on the cross and died in the place where we should have hung and died for our sins.
Piper continues… “It [Suffering] punishes sin’s guilt for those who do not believe in Christ.” (pg. 62) So unbelievers suffer in this world and in Hell because it is punishment for the sins they have committed. Continuing, Piper presents the hope and joy of the believer who has been justified by grace through faith…
“It [The Cross and suffering of Christ] breaks sin’s power for those who take up their cross and follow Jesus. And because sin is the belittling of the all-satisfying glory of God, the suffering [of Christ at the Cross] that breaks its [sin’s] power is a severe mercy.” (pg. 62) YEAH!! =]
“Whatever makes us more and more able to enjoy making much of God is a mercy.” (pg. 62) Again, we must keep in mind that God wants to give His children the best thing He can and so He gives us Himself—the best thing. So whatever things He gives us as a means to enjoy Him is a merciful act on His part because He loves us enough to give us what is best for us.
Continuing…“For there is no greater joy than joy in the greatness of God. And if we must suffer to see this [aka: “this” being the joy found in seeing and knowing the greatness of God] and savor it [aka: “it” being the joy found in seeing and knowing the greatness of God] most deeply, then suffering is a mercy. And Christ’s call to take up our cross and join Him on the Calvary road is love.” (pg. 62)
If the only way God is going to show us His greatness—which is our ultimate and highest joy—is through having us suffer, then He is being merciful to put us through suffering to see our ultimate and highest joy—God. Christ is being loving because of calling us to follow Him in His suffering. Suffering as Christ did reminds us of His suffering on the Cross…suffering as Christ did reminds us what His pain and agony—not only physically but also by being separated from His Father—did for us…Christ’s suffering made it possible for our broken fellowship with God to be restored. Because of the Cross and Christ’s suffering there, God looks at us as pure and holy as if we had never sinned; all of this is made possible because Christ died the death we should have died. Anytime we suffer or go through a trial, we can remember with great hope and joy that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ also suffered…the God of the universe also suffered for us so that we might be reunited with our Heavenly Father and Creator. We can take hope in that even though trials and sufferings might end our lives, there is nothing that can ever separate us or take away our salvation in Christ because His suffering broke the bondage of sin and death. “[The Cross and Christ’s sufferings there] breaks sins’ power for those who take up their cross and follow Jesus.” (pg. 62)
Wow. When I suffer or go through trials, God reminds me of the hope that I have in Him. I suffer so that I might remember that Christ suffered to break the bond of sin over me…that nothing I go through can ever separate me from His love…that even if my life ends during a trial that I will live in paradise with Him because Christ made it possible. That is a reason to find joy in trials…that is a reason to rejoice in the Cross and to glorify my God! Suffering points us to the Cross…suffering points us to God and His greatness. That is the reason I cannot ignore the glory of the Cross and the reason I need to boast only in the Cross so that I might not live a wasted life. That is something I should think long and hard about every day.
Piper begins the chapter talking about how “living to magnify Christ is costly.” (pg. 61) The reason it is costly is because like Mark 8:34 talks about, believers are to follow Christ and pick up their crosses. Jesus had to die on the cross—one of the most cruel and horrible forms of death ever invented by mankind; He gave up His very own life and calls us to do the same…that is why “living to magnify Christ is costly.” We are called to suffer alongside of Jesus. Why? We know that the cross is the ultimate picture and display of God’s glory because His Son, the perfect sacrifice, willing chose to die so that He might redeem sinners and pay the price they owed for the guilt of violating God’s law through sin. Piper says, “Suffering with Jesus on the Calvary road of love is not merely the result of magnifying Christ; it is also the means.” (pg. 61) In other words, we do not only suffer because we magnify and glorify Christ; suffering ourselves like Christ did is also a way that we can magnify and glorify Him. It took me a while for me to really grasp what Piper was saying…I’m not quite sure why, but my brain definitely got a mental workout today. =P
Piper continues talking about boasting in the cross when we bear suffering. This also made my mind spin and took me awhile to wade through. I have always known the concept of fully devoting one’s life to serving God after salvation and that the believer’s life would then be full of suffering because Christ suffered first, but I think Piper explained it in such a way that I was fully able to grasp why we suffer as believers. I always, I guess, just assumed we suffered because Christ suffered and that was all there was to the story. Let me go on to type the section where Piper elaborates. He says…
“The normal Christian life is one that boasts only in the cross—the blazing center of God’s glory—and does it while bearing the cross. ‘Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple’ (Luke 14:27). Bearing the cross is the means by which we are increasingly liberated to boast in the cross. Suffering [or the reality and occurrence of Christ’s suffering at “the Cross”] is God’s design in this sin-soaked world. It [I believe Piper means “it” to take the place of “suffering” or more specifically “the cross”…so…The Cross] portrays sin’s horror for the world to see.” (pg. 62)
Now, here it would seem that “sin’s horror” is the incredible debt owed by the sinner for his sins that could only be repaid by a holy and blameless, innocent sacrifice; the horror is the reality of the vastness and depth of sin’s debt and the fact that man can never repay a just God. Because of not being able to repay God, man would then face the horrors of spending eternity in Hell separated from his Creator. The Cross shows the world this reality and how it would truly be a hopeless situation except for the fact that Jesus—our perfect sacrifice and propitiation—hung on the cross and died in the place where we should have hung and died for our sins.
Piper continues… “It [Suffering] punishes sin’s guilt for those who do not believe in Christ.” (pg. 62) So unbelievers suffer in this world and in Hell because it is punishment for the sins they have committed. Continuing, Piper presents the hope and joy of the believer who has been justified by grace through faith…
“It [The Cross and suffering of Christ] breaks sin’s power for those who take up their cross and follow Jesus. And because sin is the belittling of the all-satisfying glory of God, the suffering [of Christ at the Cross] that breaks its [sin’s] power is a severe mercy.” (pg. 62) YEAH!! =]
“Whatever makes us more and more able to enjoy making much of God is a mercy.” (pg. 62) Again, we must keep in mind that God wants to give His children the best thing He can and so He gives us Himself—the best thing. So whatever things He gives us as a means to enjoy Him is a merciful act on His part because He loves us enough to give us what is best for us.
Continuing…“For there is no greater joy than joy in the greatness of God. And if we must suffer to see this [aka: “this” being the joy found in seeing and knowing the greatness of God] and savor it [aka: “it” being the joy found in seeing and knowing the greatness of God] most deeply, then suffering is a mercy. And Christ’s call to take up our cross and join Him on the Calvary road is love.” (pg. 62)
If the only way God is going to show us His greatness—which is our ultimate and highest joy—is through having us suffer, then He is being merciful to put us through suffering to see our ultimate and highest joy—God. Christ is being loving because of calling us to follow Him in His suffering. Suffering as Christ did reminds us of His suffering on the Cross…suffering as Christ did reminds us what His pain and agony—not only physically but also by being separated from His Father—did for us…Christ’s suffering made it possible for our broken fellowship with God to be restored. Because of the Cross and Christ’s suffering there, God looks at us as pure and holy as if we had never sinned; all of this is made possible because Christ died the death we should have died. Anytime we suffer or go through a trial, we can remember with great hope and joy that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ also suffered…the God of the universe also suffered for us so that we might be reunited with our Heavenly Father and Creator. We can take hope in that even though trials and sufferings might end our lives, there is nothing that can ever separate us or take away our salvation in Christ because His suffering broke the bondage of sin and death. “[The Cross and Christ’s sufferings there] breaks sins’ power for those who take up their cross and follow Jesus.” (pg. 62)
Wow. When I suffer or go through trials, God reminds me of the hope that I have in Him. I suffer so that I might remember that Christ suffered to break the bond of sin over me…that nothing I go through can ever separate me from His love…that even if my life ends during a trial that I will live in paradise with Him because Christ made it possible. That is a reason to find joy in trials…that is a reason to rejoice in the Cross and to glorify my God! Suffering points us to the Cross…suffering points us to God and His greatness. That is the reason I cannot ignore the glory of the Cross and the reason I need to boast only in the Cross so that I might not live a wasted life. That is something I should think long and hard about every day.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Heading Back to the Grind
So tomorrow I have the privilege of starting work for the summer. Yeah! =] Actually, I am very excited; it will be a nice change of pace from the last three weeks.
A big part of the reason I am excited to start work is because of the people I am getting to work with. I had this same job last summer and absolutely loved it because of who I got to work with. I was greatly blessed to be around a lot of believers as well as nonbelievers. The director of the summer school program is a believer and his son and I went to the same high school. (His son was 3 years ahead of me.) The office director used to work at my old high school and I had her husband as my health teacher sophomore year; she is a wonderful, sweet lady! One of the girls that worked in the office I went to high school with for two years; she was a freshmen when I was a junior. She also got to go to Master’s this past Fall and we were in the same dorm which was really fun. Three of the people I was most excited to work with were a mom and her two daughters. I have known this family since I was 2 years old. The younger daughter, Elisabeth, is just a year older than me and we are childhood best friends. So, needless to say, I was stoked to get to work with all of them!!! =] I will be working with almost all of those wonderful people again so I am again excited to work with them.
For the month of June we will just be doing office work before the school program starts. Once the students arrive (they are in grades 6th-12th) in July, I believe I will be moving from working in the office to being a TA. I am really excited because I think I get to work with one of the same teachers I TA-ed for last year; she actually asked me if I wanted to be her TA again. I saw this as potentially a really good opportunity to build a relationship there and to maybe have the opportunity to be a light to her. Hopefully we will be afforded some good conversation opportunities during the 5 weeks we are working together.
So I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for me! I am sure I will have some funny stories of the kids as the summer progresses. =]
A big part of the reason I am excited to start work is because of the people I am getting to work with. I had this same job last summer and absolutely loved it because of who I got to work with. I was greatly blessed to be around a lot of believers as well as nonbelievers. The director of the summer school program is a believer and his son and I went to the same high school. (His son was 3 years ahead of me.) The office director used to work at my old high school and I had her husband as my health teacher sophomore year; she is a wonderful, sweet lady! One of the girls that worked in the office I went to high school with for two years; she was a freshmen when I was a junior. She also got to go to Master’s this past Fall and we were in the same dorm which was really fun. Three of the people I was most excited to work with were a mom and her two daughters. I have known this family since I was 2 years old. The younger daughter, Elisabeth, is just a year older than me and we are childhood best friends. So, needless to say, I was stoked to get to work with all of them!!! =] I will be working with almost all of those wonderful people again so I am again excited to work with them.
For the month of June we will just be doing office work before the school program starts. Once the students arrive (they are in grades 6th-12th) in July, I believe I will be moving from working in the office to being a TA. I am really excited because I think I get to work with one of the same teachers I TA-ed for last year; she actually asked me if I wanted to be her TA again. I saw this as potentially a really good opportunity to build a relationship there and to maybe have the opportunity to be a light to her. Hopefully we will be afforded some good conversation opportunities during the 5 weeks we are working together.
So I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for me! I am sure I will have some funny stories of the kids as the summer progresses. =]
What Are We Living For? (Part 2)
I had actually started Chapter 3 in Don’t Waste Your Life last week and finished it yesterday. I know I have been writing about each chapter I read anyways, but I especially wanted to write about this last chapter because of some news we received today.
My grandpa called today to let us know that his brother (my great uncle), Max, passed away this morning. Now I was not very close with my Uncle Max. Actually, I was sort of intimidated/scared of him when I was little because he smoked. (Dumb, I know, but as a little kid I was not used to that.) I did not think he was, but I asked my mom if Uncle Max was saved; she was not totally sure because he did not live a life characterized by the fruit of a believer. My great uncle was a truck driver, smoked, drank, and just did not lead a very good life. I do not know much about him, but I never got the impression he was saved. Now, we know he had heard the Gospel many times and probably would have said he believed in God, but only the Lord knows if he was ushered into glory this morning.
So in conjunction with my great uncle’s passing away, I thought Chapter 3 came at a very good timing. Now I do not know for sure, but I am guessing that my uncle was one of those people who lived life and took for granted the blessings God gave him of life and breath. Maybe he was one of those people who had these blessings used against him as “evidence of ingratitude” and failing to submit his life to the honor and glory of God, but maybe he did. Whatever the outcome, we need to remember that we need to be living for the sole goal and focus of honoring and glorifying God. A life lived for anything else, a life lived for the glorification and satisfaction of self, is a life lived in utter and complete waste. We need to remember that the life lived for the Gospel and in pursuit of glorifying God and living for Him will not go unwasted.
I wonder…did my great uncle stand before God today and realize that he had wasted his life living for himself? Or did he stand before God and was he commended for living for God?
If that had been me instead of my great uncle who stood before God what would my answer have been? Would God have said “Well done, good and faithful servant”? Or would I have hung my head in shame because of knowing I had not lived my life fully for the Lord and because I had lived in mediocrity? I pray that I would have been confident of living for God’s glory and not my own.
What would your answer have been? Remember…live for Christ with all that is in you. To use the title of Piper's book...Don’t waste your life.
My grandpa called today to let us know that his brother (my great uncle), Max, passed away this morning. Now I was not very close with my Uncle Max. Actually, I was sort of intimidated/scared of him when I was little because he smoked. (Dumb, I know, but as a little kid I was not used to that.) I did not think he was, but I asked my mom if Uncle Max was saved; she was not totally sure because he did not live a life characterized by the fruit of a believer. My great uncle was a truck driver, smoked, drank, and just did not lead a very good life. I do not know much about him, but I never got the impression he was saved. Now, we know he had heard the Gospel many times and probably would have said he believed in God, but only the Lord knows if he was ushered into glory this morning.
So in conjunction with my great uncle’s passing away, I thought Chapter 3 came at a very good timing. Now I do not know for sure, but I am guessing that my uncle was one of those people who lived life and took for granted the blessings God gave him of life and breath. Maybe he was one of those people who had these blessings used against him as “evidence of ingratitude” and failing to submit his life to the honor and glory of God, but maybe he did. Whatever the outcome, we need to remember that we need to be living for the sole goal and focus of honoring and glorifying God. A life lived for anything else, a life lived for the glorification and satisfaction of self, is a life lived in utter and complete waste. We need to remember that the life lived for the Gospel and in pursuit of glorifying God and living for Him will not go unwasted.
I wonder…did my great uncle stand before God today and realize that he had wasted his life living for himself? Or did he stand before God and was he commended for living for God?
If that had been me instead of my great uncle who stood before God what would my answer have been? Would God have said “Well done, good and faithful servant”? Or would I have hung my head in shame because of knowing I had not lived my life fully for the Lord and because I had lived in mediocrity? I pray that I would have been confident of living for God’s glory and not my own.
What would your answer have been? Remember…live for Christ with all that is in you. To use the title of Piper's book...Don’t waste your life.
What Are We Living For?
Philippians 3:7-9a says, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him.”
According to this passage, all that we as Christians should be living for is to know Christ and to gain Him. In chapter 3 of Don’t Waste Your Life, Piper reminds us that before salvation the cross was total foolishness to us but after salvation it is our wisdom, power, and sole boast here on earth. The only reason we experience and can enjoy life and breath is because God is merciful and gracious to us. Piper also reminds us that, “Everything good, and everything bad that God turns for the good of His redeemed children—was purchased by the death of Christ for us.” (pg. 51) We do not deserve the life or breath we have for two reason: because we are the creation of God and He made us and because we are sinners before a holy and righteous Creator. God does not have to show us mercy; He does not have to give us sunlight, food, water, good health, family, etc. but He chooses to bestow these things on His creation because He loves us.
In reading this chapter there was a point where Piper said something that confused me a bit at first; he said that all of these free gifts of breath, sight, hearing, speaking, etc. are “for now” gifts to sinners from God. Puzzled by his use of the qualifying phrase “for now,” I kept reading to find his explanation of what he meant. He goes on to say that those who accept the blessings of God on this earth and yet refuse to believe in Him will have all of these blessings and daily mercies used against them one day as “evidence of ingratitude.” (pg. 52) I was greatly sobered when I thought about this because there are so many people who will have these blessings used as evidence against them for not acknowledging the true God. They accept blessings and yet refuse to give glory and honor to God for His kingship. Piper ends this section of chapter by simply phrasing what he means: “Every good thing in life (or bad thing graciously turned for good) is meant to magnify Christ and Him crucified.” (pg. 53) Anything good we experience in life needs to turn our hearts, eyes, and worship to magnifying Christ and what He did for us at the cross.
One might ask, how do we have any gifts for our own good? How do we get them in the first place if we are sinners and creations of God? Piper explains: “Christ died for our sins on the cross and took away the wrath of God from us and secured for us, even though we don’t deserve it, God’s omnipotent grace that works everything together for our good.” (pg. 53) Wow. Think about that. We deserve God’s wrath and judgment for our sin and yet, because Christ loved us and died for our sins, we instead receive grace and mercy from God. Because of Christ’s death we receive blessings and God works all things together for our good. (Romans 8:28) And because of this, it is our duty to live for the glory of God with our whole lives. Our lives must be centered around finding joy in Christ and boasting in Him and His work on the cross. We need to keep in mind, however, that we are admiring and praising God and His glory, not His gifts themselves. If His gifts are merciful and good how much more merciful and good is the giver Himself?! It is the Giver that we must glorify.
To close, Piper wrote this about being people who find our joy in Christ:
“How can we become the kind of people who trace all our joy back to joy in Christ and Him crucified? Answer: The old self that loves to boast and exult and rejoice in other things died. By fiath we are united to Christ. His death becomes the death of our self-exalting life. We are raised with Him to newness of life. What lives is a new creature whose single passion is to exult Christ and His cross.” (pg. 56-57)
I pray that I am a follower of Christ who does just this. I pray that I would exult in the cross and Christ’s saving work and that I would never forget that all of the blessings and mercy I experience on earth are because of that death.
According to this passage, all that we as Christians should be living for is to know Christ and to gain Him. In chapter 3 of Don’t Waste Your Life, Piper reminds us that before salvation the cross was total foolishness to us but after salvation it is our wisdom, power, and sole boast here on earth. The only reason we experience and can enjoy life and breath is because God is merciful and gracious to us. Piper also reminds us that, “Everything good, and everything bad that God turns for the good of His redeemed children—was purchased by the death of Christ for us.” (pg. 51) We do not deserve the life or breath we have for two reason: because we are the creation of God and He made us and because we are sinners before a holy and righteous Creator. God does not have to show us mercy; He does not have to give us sunlight, food, water, good health, family, etc. but He chooses to bestow these things on His creation because He loves us.
In reading this chapter there was a point where Piper said something that confused me a bit at first; he said that all of these free gifts of breath, sight, hearing, speaking, etc. are “for now” gifts to sinners from God. Puzzled by his use of the qualifying phrase “for now,” I kept reading to find his explanation of what he meant. He goes on to say that those who accept the blessings of God on this earth and yet refuse to believe in Him will have all of these blessings and daily mercies used against them one day as “evidence of ingratitude.” (pg. 52) I was greatly sobered when I thought about this because there are so many people who will have these blessings used as evidence against them for not acknowledging the true God. They accept blessings and yet refuse to give glory and honor to God for His kingship. Piper ends this section of chapter by simply phrasing what he means: “Every good thing in life (or bad thing graciously turned for good) is meant to magnify Christ and Him crucified.” (pg. 53) Anything good we experience in life needs to turn our hearts, eyes, and worship to magnifying Christ and what He did for us at the cross.
One might ask, how do we have any gifts for our own good? How do we get them in the first place if we are sinners and creations of God? Piper explains: “Christ died for our sins on the cross and took away the wrath of God from us and secured for us, even though we don’t deserve it, God’s omnipotent grace that works everything together for our good.” (pg. 53) Wow. Think about that. We deserve God’s wrath and judgment for our sin and yet, because Christ loved us and died for our sins, we instead receive grace and mercy from God. Because of Christ’s death we receive blessings and God works all things together for our good. (Romans 8:28) And because of this, it is our duty to live for the glory of God with our whole lives. Our lives must be centered around finding joy in Christ and boasting in Him and His work on the cross. We need to keep in mind, however, that we are admiring and praising God and His glory, not His gifts themselves. If His gifts are merciful and good how much more merciful and good is the giver Himself?! It is the Giver that we must glorify.
To close, Piper wrote this about being people who find our joy in Christ:
“How can we become the kind of people who trace all our joy back to joy in Christ and Him crucified? Answer: The old self that loves to boast and exult and rejoice in other things died. By fiath we are united to Christ. His death becomes the death of our self-exalting life. We are raised with Him to newness of life. What lives is a new creature whose single passion is to exult Christ and His cross.” (pg. 56-57)
I pray that I am a follower of Christ who does just this. I pray that I would exult in the cross and Christ’s saving work and that I would never forget that all of the blessings and mercy I experience on earth are because of that death.
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