17 days ago
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If you’re like me, you grew up in the church. You learned Christianese as your second language, you have the “good kid” routine down to a science, and somewhere along the line, you displaced heart with action. This wasn’t something that happened overnight and it wasn’t even necessarily intentional or malicious – you may have just had the desire to be close to God, saw other folks who were, and rather than develop an intimate relationship with Him, just started acting like they did, hoping one day you would arrive on the same plane.
Well as we now know, it just doesn’t work that way – action apart from heart is meaningless, and in this case, quite harmful. The dilemma, though, is that we now have these negative habits and motivations ingrained. These suckers hold on, too. And in my experience, change starts not by sitting there and muttering “no, no, no”, but by marinating in the sweet basic truths of the gospel.
To that end, a friend just directed me to an incredible article that I would recommend to you, as well. Come with me as we toss the guilt of our sin aside, rest in Jesus’ work on the cross, and live radically committed lives for Him as a result.
19 days ago
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From his book, Neither Poverty Nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions, Craig Blomberg concludes his chapter on Jesus’ teaching in the synoptic gospels with the following (from pgs. 145-6). It would do you well to read it slowly, thoughtfully, and personally.
It goes too far to say that one cannot be rich and be a disciple of Jesus, but what never appears in the Gospels are well-to-do followers of Jesus who are not simultaneously generous in almsgiving and in divesting themselves of surplus wealth for the sake of those in need. ‘This free attitude to possessions may be expressed in a disposal of private property, though this is not mandatory. It will certainly find expression in an almost reckless generosity, motivated not by a dour sense of obligation but by a warm and unselfish compassion’ (France 1979:18). There is room for the periodic celebration of God’s good, material gifts, even at times to a lavish extent. But these celebrations will be the exception, not the norm. The covenant model that assumes material reward for piety never reappears in Jesus’ teaching, and is explicitly contradicted throughout. As in Proverbs 30:8-9, Jesus is concerned to moderate extremes. But the main focus of his ministry, the road to the cross, and this call to disciples to imitate him in similar self-denying sacrifice rather than basking in glory, suggests the overarching paradigm of generous giving, rather than ‘godly materialism’, for the one who would faithfully follow Christ.
61 days ago
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I can't say it better, so here's a convicting and moving excerpt from John Piper's message at the 2008 T4G conference (catch the MP3s if you get a chance):
My desire and my prayer for you is that your life and your ministry will have a radical flavor. And I say this for the glory of Christ - the world is not going to glorify Christ because they see that Christians are wealthy and healthy and prosperous.
Very simple reason why - that's what they live for! So you use Jesus to get it? They use other means to get it. They're not impressed. Jesus is the ticket. When the show starts, you throw the ticket away. They don't need your ticket - they're not impressed. I'm saying what I'm saying because I want them to be impressed. They're not impressed with us - prosperous, wealthy, safe, middle-class, do-what-everybody-else-does people. Don't build a church like that! Don't go there - don't spend your life like that. It will be wasted. You will have lived it.
My desire in prayer for you is that your life has a radical flavor. Some extraordinary love - something risky - some crazy sacrifice that nobody can understand, including mom - something salty and bright.
451 days ago
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In case you missed it, or are otherwise looking for the Good Friday and Easter designs I put together this year, now you have them.
He is risen!
657 days ago
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It was recently asked of me, “how are you?” (in that real way, not in the precursor-to-asking-you-my-real-question way). So here’s my answer…
I’m doing okay – although in a bit of a malaise, I guess. I think I’m just trying to get a bearing on where I am in life and where I want to be – it’s something I haven’t ever taken much time to do. So yeah, it’s hard. And honestly, it’s pretty scary.
Figuring out my own life apart from all the things I have always expected and imagined is more confusing and a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. On a lot of levels. One of the only things I know for sure is that I must continue clinging to the elementary truths of faith and God’s nature – without them, I’m lost. Beyond that, I think my life, my future, and at the core, myself, can be summarized in a single symbol:
?
So keep praying for me as you think of it – God has His work to complete in me and I fear that I will miss it by grasping for petty pain-numbing pursuits of this world. I’m relying wholly on His faithful character to guide me through this life – God knows I can’t do it myself.
667 days ago
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In reading a friend’s e-mail, I was reminded of a sweet hymn, by Frances R. Havergal. Although I’ve sung it many times, I don’t think I’ve meditated on the words much:
Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise…
Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.
It’s all yours, Lord, all yours.
