Friday, October 30, 2009

Doing Anything?


"All that is necessary
for evil to triumph

is for good men to do nothing."

- Edmund Burke


HT:WIKIQUOTE

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Combating God-lessness

Al Mohler recently wrote an interesting article about a retired episcopal bishop's statement that the battle is over regarding homosexuality and the church.

I must admit the article made my blood pressure soar to new heights as I considered the heretical positions of this "bishop" who is more an antichrist than a follower of Christ. I am constantly stunned at the level of depravity in our world. This is one more astonishing example of such. It makes me wonder what Luther or Calvin would have done in response to this prominent religious figure. I dare say they would have made the headlines with their intense reactions to the God-lessness of such a one who claims to serve God.

Though we live in an ever increasing God-less society, I am finding that there are still those among us who carry the banners of Luther and of Calvin, of Paul and ultimately of Jesus. I am grateful for the several people that I am aware of (no doubt there are many more as well) who are on the front lines and are pushing back with their entire weight against the flood waters of God-lessness in our day. May there be a great many more who will raise an intense opposition to the rampant wickedness that is overwhelming our country and our world.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Offense & Good Sense

____________________

Good sense
makes one slow to anger,
and it is his glory
to overlook an offense


- Proverbs 19:11
____________________

One who is wise will have control over his temper. Overlooking offenses is an honor to one who possesses wisdom.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

"He turned evil against itself"

"The cross was the worst that human evil and rebellion against God could do. At a purely human level it plumbed the depths of depravity, as the Gospels show with little need to embellish the facts. There were inflamed fanatics, corrupt religious leaders, lying witnesses, political conspiracy, vested interests, nationalist rage, morally bankrupt judicial process, excruciating torture, public shame, and taunting mockery; and even among the friends of Jesus there was treachery, betrayal, denial, and cowardice. At a more profound level, we know that all the powers of evil, satanic allied with human, were ranged against Christ and hurled their worst at him.

But Jesus, the Lamb of God, doing the perfect will of his Father, transformed all this into the triumph of divine love, absorbing and defeating it simultaneously. But the crucial point is this: not only did Jesus defeat all the powers of evil, he made them into the agents of his victory and their own defeat. He turned evil against itself to its own ultimate destruction." (emphasis added)

-Christopher Wright, The GOD i Don't Understand, pg. 67-68

Monday, October 26, 2009

Seems Right Until...

____________________

The one who states his case first
seems right,

until the other comes
and examines him

- Proverbs 18:17
____________________

The first side of the story always sounds right until the other side of the story is heard. The truth of this proverb is often demonstrated in various circumstances at work. For instance when we respond to a domestic violence incident we separate the parties and begin to interview them one at a time. The first to speak always sounds right until the second party speaks. Often times the truth lay somewhere in between the two accounts.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Being Tested?

____________________

The crucible is for silver,
and the furnace is for gold,
and the LORD tests hearts


Proverbs 17:3
____________________

The extreme heat of the fire purifies precious metals, so also the Lord purifies the hearts of those who are His. Considering the context of the rest of the scriptures, this verse does not seem to be saying that He tests a heart as if He does not know what is in the heart to begin with. One example of such is seen in John 2:25 where it is made clear that the Lord does not need the testimony of men, for He knows what is in man. He who sees all need not be informed as to what is in the hearts of men.

The Lord knows us intimately, yet kindly He does not leave us the way we are currently. One of the reasons He orchestrates certain events and allows particular circumstances is to purify the hearts of those who are His. He has purposes in pain - though often we may not know what these purposes are this side of eternity. His all-knowing intentionality and complete sovereignty are massive foundations for us to rest assured that our sufferings are not in vain.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Tremendous Value of Self-Control

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Whoever is slow to anger
is better than the mighty,

and he who rules his spirit
than he who takes a city.

- Proverbs 16:32
____________________

Great strength is not nearly as valuable as a bridled temper. Self-control is more to be desired than great exploits.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Piper's Call to the Ministry

Justin Taylor recently posted on Piper's call to the ministry. It's an inspiring account that is well worth reading.

HT: JT

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The Devastation of Arrogance

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Pride goes before destruction,

and a haughty spirit before a fall.

- Proverbs 16:18
____________________


Ruin and devastation are consequences of egotism and overconfidence. Falling results from thinking you can stand on your own.


Monday, October 12, 2009

You Buy a Pair - They Give a Pair

An idea so great that I'm going to have to order a pair!



Find out more at TOMS Shoes.

Steven Curtis Chapman: Heaven is the Face

Steven Curtis shares about loss, heaven, and a song birthed in the midst of the storm:



Saturday, October 10, 2009

The Malignant Myopia of Isolation

How myopic is the vision of he who walks alone. In contrast, he who walks with many friends will benefit from their expanded vision.

He who walks alone is able to see some things and thereby imagines that he is able to see everything. However, when confronted with the increased vision of those who have walked with many from the broader expanse of the Body of Christ, he will see that he has been quite shortsighted.

He who walks with few will see better than he who walks alone, but not as clearly as he who walks with many.

He who has access to a broad array of the divinely designed diversity in the Body of Christ will see more clearly, hear more clearly, move in a more purposeful way, and be enabled to engage more effectively in ministry than He who does not. For the Body of Christ is divinely diverse, having hands and arms, feet and legs, eyes and ears, a nose and a mouth, a heart and a brain. He who neglects this divine diversity hinders both himself and the Body of Christ as he fails to benefit from the multifaceted graces within the Body and as he fails to fulfill his designed roll in it.

Friday, October 9, 2009

The Contagion of Reconciliation

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When a man's ways please the LORD,

He makes
even his enemies

to be at peace with him.

- Solomon, Proverbs 16:7
____________________

Peace with men, even enemies, is a result of peace with God.


Monday, October 5, 2009

"The Threat of Grace"

Here are a few paragraphs that were highlighted in my copy of Keller's book, The Reason For God. These paragraphs fall under Keller's heading, "The Threat of Grace":

Some years ago I met with a woman who began coming to church at Redeemer. She said that she had gone to church growing up and had never before heard a distinction drawn between the gospel and religion. She had always heard that God accepts us only if we are good enough. She said that the new message was scary. I asked her why it was scary, and she replied:

"If I was saved by my good works then there would be a limit to what God could ask of me or put me through. I would be like a taxpayer with "rights" - I would have done my duty and now I would deserve a certain quality of life. But if I am a sinner saved by sheer grace - then there's nothing he cannot ask of me."

She understood the dynamic of grace and gratitude. If when you have lost all fear of punishment you also lose all incentive to live a good, unselfish life, then the only incentive you ever had to live a decent life was fear. This woman could see immediately that the wonderful-beyond-belief teaching of salvation by sheer grace had an edge to it. She knew that if she was a sinner saved by grace, she was (if anything) more subject to the sovereign Lordship of God. She knew that if Jesus really had done all this for her, she would not be her own. She would joyfully, gratefully belong to Jesus, who provided all this for her at infinite cost to himself.

From the outside that might sound coercive, like a grinding obligation. From the inside the motivation is all joy. Think of what happens when you fall in love. Your love makes you eager for acceptance from the beloved. You ask, "Do you want to go out?" or maybe even, "Will you marry me?" What happens when the answer is "Yes"? Do you say, "Great! I'm in! Now I can act any way I want"? Of course not. No you don't even wait for the object of your affection to directly ask you do do something for them. You anticipate whatever pleases and delights them. There's no coercion or sense of obligation, yet your behavior has been radically changed by the mind and heart of the person you love.

- Tim Keller, The Reason For God, pg. 182-183

Friday, October 2, 2009

Destination Consideration

____________________

There is a way

that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death.

- Solomon, Proverbs 14:12
____________________


Who walks a path, and delights in it, knowing all the while that the path is heading in the direction of certain death? A great multitude imagine that the path they are on is correct, but they fail to comprehend its final destination.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Hearts & Contagiousness

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The heart knows its own bitterness,

and no stranger shares its joy.

- Solomon, Proverbs 14:10

____________________


Those who are bitter in heart feel it, they are very familiar with the taste and smell of their own sourness. Everyone around will notice the pungent odor of a bitter heart.

In contrast one whose heart is filled with joy delights intensely, and though strangers will miss it, his friends and family will enjoy the refreshing fragrances of joy emitting from him.

Give.

____________________

Give to the one

who begs from you,

and do not refuse the one

who would borrow from you

- Jesus, Matthew 5:42
____________________


John Bloom at Desiring God has recently written two helpful posts on this verse here and here.