Here's a great Piper quote for today. ~Jon
"Often we feel today like our reservoir of strength is not going to last for another day. The fact is, it won't. Today's resources are for today, and part of those resources is the confidence that new resources will be given tomorrow."—John Piper, A Godward Life, p. 25.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Keys To Lasting Change
I read an article this morning in Billy Graham's Decision Magazine that intrigued me. It's called "Keys To Lasting Change" by Chip Ingram. It is an article written to help individuals who know God and love God, but have not been able to gain ground in overcoming sinful patterns in their lives. It is a great article and very helpful for individuals. But as I read, I realized that it is not only applicable to individuals, but churches, too. I think many local churches realize that they are not fulfilling God's design for them, just like many believers know this about their personal lives. The thing that hit me here is that it is not a quick fix, but a process that God leads us through. Be encouraged that the Holy Spirit will lead us into Christlike obedience and that obedience will be accompanied by the power necessary to accomplish all that God has planned for us. Hallelujah!
Praying for healing in Christ's Church,
~Jon
Here's the article link:
http://www.billygraham.org/DMag_article.asp?ArticleID=973
Praying for healing in Christ's Church,
~Jon
Here's the article link:
http://www.billygraham.org/DMag_article.asp?ArticleID=973
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Romans 12
Romans 12 (The Message)
Place Your Life Before God
1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
3I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
4-6In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
6-8If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.
9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
11-13 Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
14-16 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody.
17-19Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it."
20-21Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
Place Your Life Before God
1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
3I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
4-6In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
6-8If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.
9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
11-13 Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
14-16 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody.
17-19Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it."
20-21Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
To Obey
Tonight, I think I ignored God's voice.
On my way home from choir rehearsal, I had to wait at a stop light for two fire engines, an ambulance, and a few seconds later, two police cars to pass. They turned toward my house and I was wondering where they were headed. I very quickly knew. As I topped a hill, still a couple of miles from home, I saw the fire engines blocking the right lane of traffic and the access to a side street. Driving by, I saw the emergency workers all hovered around a person on the pavement. There was a car stopped in the middle of the intersection and a bicycle laying a little bit to the side. My assumption is that the car hit the bike. I immediately thanked the Lord that He kept me from being in the accident and began to pray for those involved. I turned toward home and as I prayed for the situation began to wonder if I should go back to the scene and attempt to minister in some way. It was late. I was tired. Suzanne and the boys were already at home getting ready for bed. I did the whole mental argument thing all the way home. "God, surely You don't want me to go back there...What could I do?...They probably wouldn't let me talk to anyone anyway...God, you know I need to get home..." and it just went on and on in my head. I think, deep down I knew God was speaking, but I just didn't obey. Why? Honestly, it just didn't make sense. It really felt a little crazy.
I don't know for sure what God wanted me to do at that accident scene tonight. But I know I want to obey Him next time. At choir tonight, I spoke about hearing and obeying The Good Shepherd's voice (John 10) and on the way home, I heard and disobeyed that very voice.
Lord, forgive my trusting my reason more than Your voice. Give me a sensitive heart to hear You and a willing heart to fully obey You. In Jesus Name, Amen.
~Jon
On my way home from choir rehearsal, I had to wait at a stop light for two fire engines, an ambulance, and a few seconds later, two police cars to pass. They turned toward my house and I was wondering where they were headed. I very quickly knew. As I topped a hill, still a couple of miles from home, I saw the fire engines blocking the right lane of traffic and the access to a side street. Driving by, I saw the emergency workers all hovered around a person on the pavement. There was a car stopped in the middle of the intersection and a bicycle laying a little bit to the side. My assumption is that the car hit the bike. I immediately thanked the Lord that He kept me from being in the accident and began to pray for those involved. I turned toward home and as I prayed for the situation began to wonder if I should go back to the scene and attempt to minister in some way. It was late. I was tired. Suzanne and the boys were already at home getting ready for bed. I did the whole mental argument thing all the way home. "God, surely You don't want me to go back there...What could I do?...They probably wouldn't let me talk to anyone anyway...God, you know I need to get home..." and it just went on and on in my head. I think, deep down I knew God was speaking, but I just didn't obey. Why? Honestly, it just didn't make sense. It really felt a little crazy.
I don't know for sure what God wanted me to do at that accident scene tonight. But I know I want to obey Him next time. At choir tonight, I spoke about hearing and obeying The Good Shepherd's voice (John 10) and on the way home, I heard and disobeyed that very voice.
Lord, forgive my trusting my reason more than Your voice. Give me a sensitive heart to hear You and a willing heart to fully obey You. In Jesus Name, Amen.
~Jon
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Love
I came across a great definition of love in a book called, "Family Driven Faith," by Voddie Baucham.
"Love is an act of the will accompanied by emotion that leads to action on behalf of its object." (pg 57)
I love this definition because it flies in the face of the idea that we fall in and out of love, or that we can just choose to love and feel nothing, or that we can feel love and not act. Jesus said that the world would know that we follow Him because of our love. (John 13:35) When you use Voddie's definition for love, here, you realize how radical Jesus' command is and how we have not fulfilled this well in our day. The church tends to get off on so many tangents, but continually misses the point.
Mark Dever addresses this in his book, Twelve Challenges Churches Face, as well.
"As a church, we want to pray to have a culture of humble, self-giving, encouraging love. We want to have leaders who are pronounced in laying aside selfish considerations for the good of others. We want to follow Paul's example in inconveniencing ourselves to make the gospel known to others. We want to go to places we otherwise wouldn't go. We want to learn things we wouldn't learn, and meet people we otherwise might not meet. This is why we do small-group Bible studies with people, and get to know folks at restaurants, and strike up conversations on airplanes, and have talks at Starbucks.
Sunday mornings are not particularly the time to be seeker sensitive. Sundays are the time to gather as a family, a body, though visitors are certainly welcome. But our lives should be seeker sensitive, not wanting to give unnecessary offense, desiring to be winsome in our lives and witness and testimony....Brothers and sisters, arrange your life to share the gospel, and enjoy the freedom that comes to you as you watch others being freed from the penalty of their sins and reconciled to God." (pg 91-92)
As I read this, my prayer is let us BE the Church, not just DO church.
~Jon
"Love is an act of the will accompanied by emotion that leads to action on behalf of its object." (pg 57)
I love this definition because it flies in the face of the idea that we fall in and out of love, or that we can just choose to love and feel nothing, or that we can feel love and not act. Jesus said that the world would know that we follow Him because of our love. (John 13:35) When you use Voddie's definition for love, here, you realize how radical Jesus' command is and how we have not fulfilled this well in our day. The church tends to get off on so many tangents, but continually misses the point.
Mark Dever addresses this in his book, Twelve Challenges Churches Face, as well.
"As a church, we want to pray to have a culture of humble, self-giving, encouraging love. We want to have leaders who are pronounced in laying aside selfish considerations for the good of others. We want to follow Paul's example in inconveniencing ourselves to make the gospel known to others. We want to go to places we otherwise wouldn't go. We want to learn things we wouldn't learn, and meet people we otherwise might not meet. This is why we do small-group Bible studies with people, and get to know folks at restaurants, and strike up conversations on airplanes, and have talks at Starbucks.
Sunday mornings are not particularly the time to be seeker sensitive. Sundays are the time to gather as a family, a body, though visitors are certainly welcome. But our lives should be seeker sensitive, not wanting to give unnecessary offense, desiring to be winsome in our lives and witness and testimony....Brothers and sisters, arrange your life to share the gospel, and enjoy the freedom that comes to you as you watch others being freed from the penalty of their sins and reconciled to God." (pg 91-92)
As I read this, my prayer is let us BE the Church, not just DO church.
~Jon
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Pride
I have been slowly studying through the book of 1 Corinthians. At the end of the first chapter is this very direct command.
"Let the one who boasts, boast in the LORD." (1 Corinthians 1:31b)
The link below is to a message on pride with this verse as it's text. It is insightful and convicting.
God, remove pride from Your people, I pray. In Jesus Name, Amen.
~Jon
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByScripture/19/625_Let_Him_Who_Boasts_Boast_in_the_Lord/
"Let the one who boasts, boast in the LORD." (1 Corinthians 1:31b)
The link below is to a message on pride with this verse as it's text. It is insightful and convicting.
God, remove pride from Your people, I pray. In Jesus Name, Amen.
~Jon
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByScripture/19/625_Let_Him_Who_Boasts_Boast_in_the_Lord/
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Psalm 36: Prayer Guide For Tough Times
I recently encountered this Psalm in the midst of a difficult season and the Lord let me see a pattern in this ancient prayer song that is a good one for us to use, as well.
Psalm 36 (English Standard Version)
How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love
To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the LORD.
1Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart; there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.
David, in no way ignores evil, here. He begins His quiet time, if you will, by recognizing the evil that he sees with his eyes. But watch where he looks next...
5Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O LORD.
He consciously looks up! He begins to declare who God is and what His heart is. This is praise.
7How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.
Once David begins to form a picture of God in his minds eye, his reaction begins to turn from praise to thanksgiving. As we read this thanksgiving, we realize just how much joy there is in living under the authority and protection of our great God.
10Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
11Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12There the evildoers lie fallen;
they are thrust down, unable to rise.
It is here that David begins to intercede. He started out with his own viewpoint in full view, but when He began to focus on God, his viewpoint changed. How many times have we prayed and never left the complaints of verses 1-4? It is no wonder that our prayers are not full of power. If they are only our opinions spoken to God, how do we expect that we will see them answered? Notice that the intercession found here at the conclusion is not devoid of the reality of evil that was in full focus at the beginning...it is just in the right context, now.
Oh God, give us a clear revelation of who You are so we will know how to respond with Your heart in the midst of tough times. Let us always remember to cling to Your promises with all the strength afforded to us by Your grace.
Praying Through,
~Jon
Psalm 36 (English Standard Version)
How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love
To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the LORD.
1Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart; there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.
David, in no way ignores evil, here. He begins His quiet time, if you will, by recognizing the evil that he sees with his eyes. But watch where he looks next...
5Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O LORD.
He consciously looks up! He begins to declare who God is and what His heart is. This is praise.
7How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.
Once David begins to form a picture of God in his minds eye, his reaction begins to turn from praise to thanksgiving. As we read this thanksgiving, we realize just how much joy there is in living under the authority and protection of our great God.
10Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
11Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12There the evildoers lie fallen;
they are thrust down, unable to rise.
It is here that David begins to intercede. He started out with his own viewpoint in full view, but when He began to focus on God, his viewpoint changed. How many times have we prayed and never left the complaints of verses 1-4? It is no wonder that our prayers are not full of power. If they are only our opinions spoken to God, how do we expect that we will see them answered? Notice that the intercession found here at the conclusion is not devoid of the reality of evil that was in full focus at the beginning...it is just in the right context, now.
Oh God, give us a clear revelation of who You are so we will know how to respond with Your heart in the midst of tough times. Let us always remember to cling to Your promises with all the strength afforded to us by Your grace.
Praying Through,
~Jon
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