Are We Interpreting God Correctly?

I recently discovered Alabaster Box and Cross-Eyed (both blogs by the same author) and really find the content to be helpful and insightful. I enjoyed this recent post on Alabaster Box, Sending the Correct Message:

I was recently listening to a man who was preaching overseas to a large crowd using an interpreter. While he was speaking, the thought crossed his mind that the interpreter could (at any time) interpret his sermon incorrectly or misrepresent what he was trying to say. Although this thought was uncomfortable he continued on in faith and the crowd was blessed by his sermon.

Just like this preacher, God is speaking a message to the lost world through us. “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God was making an appeal through us.” (2 Cor. 5:20) But are we interpreting God’s message correctly? Are we accurately representing His truth, grace, and character to others? Are our lives an appeal from God to a desperate world?

Read the rest of the article here; it includes some really helpful practical applications.

All Of Life Is Repentance

I enjoyed reading this essay by Rev. Tim Keller. I especially liked the 'practical application' section, The Disciplines of Gospel-Repentance.

The Cheering Presence of Thy Spirit

...."I thank Thee for the temporal blessings of this world—the refreshing air, the light of the sun, the food that renews strength, the raiment that clothes, the dwelling that shelters, the sleep that gives rest, the starry canopy of night, the summer breeze, the flowers' sweetness, the music of flowing streams, the happy endearments of family, kindred, friends. Things animate, things inanimate, minister to my comfort. My cup runs over. Suffer me not to be insensible to these daily mercies. Thy hand bestows blessings: Thy power averts evil. I bring my tribute of thanks for spiritual graces, the full warmth of faith, the cheering presence of Thy Spirit, the strength of Thy restraining will, Thy spiking of hell's artillery. Blessed be my sovereign Lord!"

Puritan Prayers-Evening Praise

Jeremiah, The Intercessor

I've been reading through the book of Jeremiah lately. This is the first time that I will have (hopefully) read through an entire major prophet. I'm doing my reading in The Reformation Study Bible. I've always found the major prophets to be really confusing, but I've found that it is really helpful to reference an outline to understand the themes of each section of reading. I'm really hoping the themes and meanings will be alive and real (or at least make sense) to me.

One particular thing that sticks out to me in Jeremiah is that he is always pleading for the people and begging God to turn away His wrath. He acted as an intercessor for the people, but at the same time he had to bring them really harsh and serious messages. Nobody wanted to hear him--his life was often threatened. In spite of all this and in light of people's obvious wickedness, Jeremiah still pleaded for God to turn away his wrath.

I want to be like that. I want speak God's truth--the whole truth, but at the same time have such a heart for people that I cry for them for God to save them. I find it's so difficult to attain balance in life. In my impatience and imbalance, I often want to speak the truth just one time to a person and then if they don't change, I often get angry or just give up--if I have the courage to say anything in the first place.

I want to speak the truth with a compassionate, 'slow to anger' heart. I want to fear God and not fear man. Thank God that He was (and is) compassionate and slow to anger to me!

Paul Washer: You Are Loved

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:23-26

The Law

"[W]e are saved from the punishment of breaking the law and the burden of the law, but not necessarily the law itself."(Comment by Longing for a Holiday at Sea)

I like this because I'm always trying to explain (mostly to myself, for the purposes of explaining to others) how the law is still applicable to us. I guess it means that we are not saved from the law (as in, it still applies and we still need to obey it), but that we are saved from the punishment of breaking the law and the burden of having to follow the law. The law is no longer a burden, yet we still have a responsibility to follow it.

Hmm. I wonder if that makes any sense at all.

Check out Longing for a Holiday at Sea's Blog--it looks really good!

Beautiful Puritan Prayer of Refuge

This is such an articulate, beautiful prayer! I've highlighted some of my favorite parts!

"O Lord, Whose power is infinite and wisdom infallible, order things that they may neither hinder, nor discourage me, nor prove obstacles to the progress of Thy cause. Stand between me and all strife, that no evil befall, no sin corrupt my gifts, zeal, attainments. May I follow duty and not any foolish device of my own. Permit me not to labour at work which Thou wilt not bless, that I may serve thee without disgrace or debt. Let me dwell in Thy most secret place under thy shadow, where is safe impenetrable protection from the arrow that flieth by day, the pestilence that walketh in darkness, the strife of tongues, the malice of ill-will, the hurt of unkind talk, the snares of company, the perils of youth, the temptations of middle life, the moumings of old age, the fear of death. I am entirely dependent upon Thee for support, counsel, consolation. Uphold me by Thy free Spirit, and may I not think it enough to be preserved from falling, but may I always go forward, always abounding in the work Thou givest me to do. Strengthen me by Thy Spirit in my inner self for every purpose of my Christian life. All my jewels I give to the shadow of the safety that is in Thee—my name anew in Christ, my body, soul, talents, character, my success, wife, children, friends, work, my present, my future, my end. Take them, they are Thine, and I am thine, now and for ever."

Puritan Prayer of Refuge

Talk to Yourself

Check out this liveblog synopsis of a message called The Troubled Soul: God’s Word and Our Feelings by CJ Mahaney. Here's a brief synopsis of the synopsis. : )

"C.J. highlighted that Psalm 42 is an opportunity to listen in on the internal conversation of the psalmist and to evaluate the content of the ongoing conversation we have with ourselves. This is critical to do, for, “You are more influenced by your internal conversation than anything else” and, “There is a direct relationship between this unending internal conversation and the state of your soul every day.”"

I actually do this when my soul is 'troubled' and it really helps! It really helps for me to talk to myself and remind myself of the promises and comfort of God. A lot of times, though, I let my 'troubled' soul take over. I have to make it a discipline to tell my 'troubled' soul to "hope in God" like the psalmist did.

FYI: There is a link on the liveblog to listen to the entire message.

O God of love, I approach thee

Tim at Challies.com posted the following prayer from The Valley of Vision. I thought it was so beautiful expression of God's greatness and truthful expression of man's inadequacy.

O God of love,
I approach thee with encouragements derived from thy character,
for I am not left to feel after thee in the darkness of my nature,
nor to worship thee as the unknown God.
I cannot find out thy perfections,
but I know thou art good,
ready to forgive, plenteous in mercy.
Thou hast displayed thy wisdom, power, and goodness in all thy works,
and hast revealed thy will in the Scripture of truth.
Thou hast caused it to be preserved, translated, published, multiplied,
so that all men may possess it and find thee in it.
Here I see thy greatness and thy grace,
thy pity and thy rectitude,
thy mercy and thy truth,
thy being and men’s hearts;
Through it thou hast magnified thy name,
and favoured mankind with the gospel.
Have mercy on me,
for I have ungratefully received thy benefits,
little improved my privileges,
made light of spiritual things,
disregarded thy messages,
contended with examples of the good,
rebukes of conscience, admonitions of friends, leadings of providence.
I deserve that thy kingdom be taken away from me.
Lord, I confess my sin with feeling, lamentation, a broken heart,
a contrite spirit, self-abhorrence, self-condemnation, self-despair.
Give me relief by Jesus my hope,
faith in his name of Saviour,
forgiveness by his blood,
strength by his presence,
holiness by his Spirit:
And let me love thee with all my heart.

If you don't know, The Valley of Vision is a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions. Sovereign Grace Ministries makes a worship CD based on the prayers and I really enjoy the rich lyrics. I also found some Puritan prayers here and really liked the prayer of purification.

Wish I Could Be There

New Attitude Conference 2008... Wish I could be there! This year's focus centers on the Word of God. I found a summary for the theme (that's in the conference handbook) from this post, and here it is:

“If the Bible really is God’s Word, Then we’re called to delight in it and obey it.”

“For the next four days we’ll explore the certainty, sufficiency, and relevance of Scripture by letting Scripture speak for itself. Our hope and prayer is that after this encounter with God’s Word, we’ll never read our Bibles the same way again.

“We want to come face to face with the words of God, dig into them, be humbled by them, and let them become our joy and delight. And when we leave here we want to take what we’ve learned back to our local churches.”

Since I couldn't make it, I guess I'll just have to make do with the liveblogging.

If you want to know more about New Attitude conference click here.

When Deaths Outnumber Births

...Americans should take a close look at the fact that in a handful of major metropolitan areas, deaths now outnumber births. In times past, this would have indicated a major catastrophe such as famine, plague, or war. But with regard to these cities, the causes include nothing to do with famine, plague, or war.... Read more at Albert Mohler's Blog.

Love this Blog

Check out Of First Importance, it's definitely worth a daily read. In their own words: 'Each day this blog will provide a thoughtful quote to help you remember what's "of first importance": the gospel of Jesus Christ.'

Blessed are the Merciful

Thanks to Josh Harris' blog for linking to this excellent post at Ordinary Mother (I've never read this blog before and it definitely looks worthy of being added to my blog-reading list). The post is called Merciful Mom and it's definitely worth a read! It's one those that you can really sink your teeth into. : ) Love the quote by D Martin Lloyd-Jones too. What great insights in to mercy!

Submit Your Thinking

"Submit your thinking to your spiritual authority." ~Manny Onos

A wise man in my church mentioned this in a Sunday School lesson once. I believe this is so important. Most sinful or erroneous actions, begin with sinful or erroneous thinking. Submitting your thinking to your spiritual authorities (parents, spouse's, pastors) can really help to stop sinful thinking before it becomes sinful action.

In my case whenever I think something, I always run it past my spiritual authorities to make sure I am having the right of the understanding of the situation. It provides me with a safety against making foolish or rash decisions.

Most Satisfied in Him

God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him. ~John Piper

I've read this a few times before, but the truth of it really struck me tonight. John Piper calls it Christian Hedonism. It's a great quote to think about... just being satisfied entirely in Him can bring God glory. May I be 'most satisified in Him'!

Human Will Liberated

I really enjoy the book reviews over at Discerning Reader and I enjoyed their review on Evangelistic Calvinism: Why the Doctrines of Grace Are Good News. I know it's kind of silly to quote from a review of a book without having read the book, but I thought this was a great a explanation of free will, evangelistic Calvinism and the doctrine of irresistible grace:

"....“God’s grace works in such a way as to guarantee the required response to the gospel’s call,” explains Benton. “The purpose of God’s irresistible grace is not to violate the human will but to liberate it from its bondage to sin…Indeed, no violence is done to the will at all. Rather, the moral direction of the sinner’s will is changed as a result of the new birth.” Some of the strongest practical applications of TULIP to evangelism arise from this doctrine, as difficult as that may be to fathom: “To the person who says, ‘I would love to have your faith – but I just can’t believe,’ encourage them to go to God and ask him to help them.” Supply them with the words of Mark 9:24, for a “sincere desire for faith is the beginning of faith.” The initiator of faith is, of course, the Holy Spirit, who provides an object of faith, Jesus Christ, for whom those who hear and respond to the gospel find themselves yearning."

(HT: Discerning Reader: A Review of Evangelistic Calvinism: Why the Doctrines of Grace are Good News)

Gospel-Hardened

“If I had my way, I would declare a moratorium on public preaching of ‘the plan of salvation’ in America for one to two years. Then I would call on everyone who has use of the airways and the pulpits to preach the holiness of God, the righteousness of God and the law of God, until sinners would cry out, ‘What must we do to be saved?’ Then I would take them off in a corner and whisper the gospel to them. Such drastic action is needed because we have gospel-hardened a generation of sinners by telling them how to be saved before they have any understanding why they need to be saved.” ~Paris Reidhead

(HT: Thideology)

Charity:water

"1.1 billion people don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water. That’s 1 in 6 people alive today. Jesus said, “Whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward” (Matt. 10:42). These folks don’t have clean water, much less cold water."

I just found neat charity called Charity:water at DesiringGod.org. "Going overseas and personally handing out cups of clean water is not practical for most of us. It’s also not very efficient compared with digging wells and teaching sanitation and ecological techniques. But one thing we can all do is give a $20 bottle of charity. A $20 bottle of charity water can give a person in Africa clean, safe drinking water for 20 years. 100% goes to direct project costs."

(HT: DesiringGod.org)

Simultaneously Criticized and Affirmed

I think this is such a beautiful and true statement of the cross:

"The cross of Christ is simultaneously the greatest criticism and the greatest affirmation you could ever receive. The great criticism of the cross is that you are so sinful that God had to sacrifice his Son on the cross for your sins. The great affirmation of the cross is that you are so loved that God sacrificed his Son on the cross for your sins. The cross criticizes you, it reveals the extent of your sin. The cross simultaneously affirms you, it reveals the extent of God's sacrificial love for you through Jesus."

And, from the same author... This is why I don't like some emerging, seeker-sensitive churches. They lean to much in the direction of the following (insert emerging, seeker-senstive church leader in the blank):

"The cross that I heard ___ ____ speak of on Monday night was a cross full of affirmation, but void of criticism. My conviction is that you don't have a true cross unless you hold together the paradox of the cross--that what Jesus did on the cross is simultaneously a radical criticism of your sinfulness and a radical affirmation of your value to God. ___'s message left me with a lot of affirmation, but no criticism. ___ message left me with a big vision of myself and a small vision of God.

The gospel is BOTH criticism and affirmation. It makes God big and man small. The author continues...

"But when I survey the wondrous cross of the Bible I'm simultaneously criticized and affirmed, giving me a big vision of a very big, very good God and small vision of myself, a sinner saved by amazing grace. I experience joy, I give glory to God, and I am of help to my neighbor and my city when I have such a perspective."

I love his comment on the paradox of the cross. A paradox is "a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth". That's so neat!

(HT: Buzzard Blog)