God-centered or Self-centered

"It's very easy for all of us if we're not careful to give lip service to the fact that God in his glory is first in our lives and for that not to be true at all."

This clip offers a nine question self-test to help determine whether you are really God-centered or man-centered.



Question #8 is my favorite: "Do you feel most loved by God because He makes much of you OR because He frees you to make much of Him (so that you can enjoy Him forever!)."

If we are God-centered, "we will have the ability to see that the problems of life are opportunities and blessings that give us a chance to do what we were created to do. To glorify God in the midst of our problems."

"So the key question here to day is: Do I feel most loved by God because he is making much of me or because he's doing whatever must be done in my life including bringing problems and trials into my life in order to change me so that I can make much of Him."

Praise to David's Rock: BBC Sermon

I went to Bethlehem Bible Church (BBC) last evening with my brother. I love this church for the expository preaching and the hymns. : ) If I could blend this church with the church I attend I think it would be a perfect church!! But that's just wishful thinking because no church will ever be perfect. The message at BBC was entitled Praise to David's Rock and it was an exposition of Psalm 18. I'll just highlight some of the main ideas.

A Rock. There really is something special, comforting, and powerful in thinking about God as my rock. I love the Shane & Shane song Psalm 62. I love the chorus: "On God I rest, my salvation, my fortress shall not be shaken, my mighty rock and my glorious, I lay my head upon His chest". The preacher spoke about a rock being a shelter and a shade from the heat and sun in the desert. He spoke about how David was well aware of the power and protection of a rock. A rock is also foundational. It is strong and cannot be moved.

Thanksgiving. The preacher comments about David's thankful heart and dependence on God for protection. He mentioned that one of Paul's criticisms of the world is that they are unthankful. Being thankful admits that we lack something. It admits that we have received something we couldn't have obtained on our own.

Righteousness. Psalm 18:20-24 was interesting because David speaks of being blameless and clean. The preacher said it was a possibility that David understood imputed righteousness and that someday, sin will be completely taken away. David also said that he had not 'wickedly departed' from God and the preacher emphasized that stumbling is not departure. "[T]hough he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand". What a comfort for those who've stumbled!

Equipping. One of the last points the preacher made was that God will not send you to a place for which you are not equipped. Psalm 18:30-36 speaks about God equipping David. I like the end of verse 35: "[Y]our gentleness made me great". I find it so comforting that God trains in gentleness and it is His gentleness that makes us great. We would do well to copy the Lord in this when we are training and equipping others.

A Rock. How fitting that David would end a begin this Psalm with praising God His Rock. We are 'hemmed in, behind and before' and sheltered by God our Rock.

The thing I like most about expository preaching is that it is multi-topical. Some preachers will speak on a topic and it seems to have one main point and application but often expository preaching has multiple sub-points and topics and many applications. Like for instance, in this message, I got to rejoice in God as my rock, be reminded to give thanks, be comforted that God puts 100% of his attention on each of his children, be amazed that David may have possibly had a revelation of imputed righteousness, be encouraged that God will equip you for the place He is going to send you, and rejoice once more that God is my rock, a fortress and my great Savior.

I'll leave you with a couple of funny quotes I liked:

God is not our cosmic bellhop. Picturing that just made me laugh. But isn't it true? We get in a bind or we need some help and we ring our little bell and expect God to jump to our aide.

God doesn't need a Plan B because He's always on Plan A. Nothing surprises Him.

The Gospel Transforms Absolutely Everything.

"...Every kind of character flaw comes from this natural impulse to be our own savior through our performance and achievement. On the one hand, proud and disdainful personalities come from basing your identity on your performance and thinking you are succeeding. But on the other hand, discouraged and self-loathing personalities also come from basing your identity on your performance and thinking you are failing....

The gospel is the way that anything is renewed and transformed by Christ — whether a heart, a relationship, a church, or a community. All our problems come from a lack of orientation to the gospel. Put positively, the gospel transforms our hearts, our thinking and our approach to absolutely everything." ~Timothy Keller, Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: Living in Line with the Truth of the Gospel (Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2003), 2.

(HT: Of First Importance)

Promised Book Reviews

A while back I had promised to give book reviews on both Doing Things Right In Matters of the Heart & Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be). Well, I'm probably not going to ever get to write a full review on either but I thought I'd just share a few thoughts on each.

To let you know, I have not read either book from cover to cover, but I have skimmed Doing Things Right In Matters of the Heart and have read several chapter from Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be). Well, here goes...

Doing Things Right In Matters of the Heart. This book presents a complementarian view of men and women as it relates to pre-marriage and marriage relationships. The book is split into two sections: Matters of the Heart (Theory) & Doing Things Right (Practice). If you've done any study at all into biblical manhood and womanhood and relationships then Matters of the Heart will be an excellent review. I mostly enjoyed the 'Doing Things Right' section of the book. I loved the short chapters and the chapter titles in this section are actually really helpful in themselves. A few examples of chapter titles: 'He Leads...She Guides', 'His Unmet Desire Drives Him toward Marriage...Hers Is Rewarded With Marriage', and 'He Loves By Sacrificing...She, by Submitting'. You could learn a lot just contemplating those short chapter titles! I think it is definitely a 'must own' book as it is an excellent resource on it's subject matter.

Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be). This review is going to be very short, but what I liked most about this book was it's simple, matter-of-fact language. These guys aren't trying to start a fight or prove that their way is better. They give credit to the movement where credit is due and yet definitely maintain their separation from the movement. I enjoyed the footnotes and I think they present a lot of useful research and information for their readers. I'll definitely keep this on my shelf to read or reread a chapter here and there and use it as reference as needed.

If you're looking for full reviews, I'd recommend checking out Discerning Reader's reviews on both books, Doing Things Right In Matters of the Heart & Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be).

More Wordles

These Wordles are really addicting! Here's a few I made from Heart Cry Missionary Society's Statement of Faith. The first is the doctrinal statement and the second is their essential convitions.

Good Enough?

I wasn't too sure about the following because I don't think that Judgement Day is a laughing matter. But the end was so good, it made me cry. I'm so grateful that I won't be judged by my deeds. I'm humbled too because I really don't deserve the grace God has given me!



(HT: Way of the Master Radio)

Theology Rapped

Watch Out! As Todd Friel puts it: 'You're about to get ripped through a catechism' rap style. Definitely worth a listen and I like Todd's commentary throughout. : ) The song is written Shai Linne.



Please go to Symphony of Scripture for the lyrics. The lyrics under the heading adoption are kind of neat--Romans 8:15 in the Paraphrased Rap Version. : )

Phil Found The Lettuce Garden

Well, the inevitable has happened. The ground hog (affectionately named 'Phil' or if it's a girl, 'Phyllis') living underneath our shed has found the lettuce and helped himself to a tasty bunch of romaine. We're not sure what we're going to do but we do have a very helpful cat who was perched on top of the shed today in lookout position. Phil, though he is a bit larger than my cat, seems a bit skittish and my cat a terrific death stare. Hopefully they can make some arrangements. We're fine with Phil eating the grass weeds, but if he continues to help himself to the lettuce we may have to take more serious measures to control his behavior.

Honor Marriage

My pastor gave a great message this past week called Honor Marriage. He had his wife come up and speak for the parts that pertained to women. I especially liked the following part where he talks of the responsibilities of wives and husbands according to the Word and God's design for men and women. I thought it seemed to express a complementarian view nicely.

Wives are responsible to:

Respect Him. Ephesians 5:33b says, “and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” It was also suggested that you respect your husband by asking him your spiritual questions and by realizing that God will use him (saved or unsaved) to give you guidance. (1 Cor. 14:35)

Accept Him. Have confidence that God is working through him (Romans 8:28).

Be Grateful for Him. 1 Thess. 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”) Wives should try to give their expectations to God and take them off your husband. It will also be helpful for the wife to grow in 'godliness with contentment' (Colossians 3:1).

Influence Him (for good). Wives can gain influence by not rehearsing past failures but by demonstrating present faithfulness in showing genuine love, loyalty, a servant’s heart and by asking forgiveness.

Husbands are responsible to:

Look to Christ. Husbands need to understand that they are not on the top of the chain of command. As the wife is under the husband, so is the husband under Christ. Husbands need to spend more time looking up for our direction & answers, rather than down on their wives shortcomings.

Be a Spiritual Leader. Wives need to experience us actually leading spiritually. This means leading in such ways as regular times in God’s Word, faithfulness in prayer, regular church attendance, and discussion of spiritual matters, followed by searching the scriptures for God’s answer.

Share Vital Needs. Wives need to know that they are meeting vital needs in our lives that no one else can meet. This means the husband must share his fears, goals, and heart with his wife.

Understand their Wife. Our wives need to know that we will listen to hear their heart. They need to know that we are making efforts to understand them.

They also shared a funny personal story at the end to illustrate their message called The Beach Story. The audio is not yet available for this message but I'll add it when it is. Here's the audio--The Beach Story is at the end.

Complementarianism

"Complementarianism is the theological view that although men and women are created equal in their being and personhood, yet they are created to complement each other via different roles in life and in the church. It is rooted in a literal interpretation of the creation account and the roles of men and women presented in Scripture....

The opposing view to Complementarianism is Egalitarianism which maintains that the patriarchal patterns in the Bible are culturally bound and that there no inherent distinction in roles between men and women to be maintained today. Egalitarianism sees no acceptable equality in a hierarchy of roles between men and women." (Theopedia.com)

Groundhog!

There is a ground hog living underneath our shed confirmed by several extended sightings. So far he's just eating up the leafy grass weeds and he's pretty cute! Of course, he's not going to be so cute if he finds way to the lettuce garden and decides to have himself a salad.


(This picture is not the actual ground hog but it looks just like him. I'm still in the dark ages and do not actually own (gasp!) a digital camera.)

Wordles!? Warning: ADDICTING!!

Wordles: "“[W]ord clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. "

What you do is you go this site and paste a large block of text into the program and it generates a word picture. It's really neat!!

(You can click on the images to make the pictures larger)

I put in the text of Psalm 145 and came out with this:

Someone put in Sinner's in the Hands of an Angry God and got this:

Yipeng 'wordled' the book of Matthew and each separate book of the entire New Testament. It's so neat to pick out the main themes of each book! Here's the book of Matthew:



And, lastly, a wordle of my all-time favorite scripture passage, Psalm 103:

HT: Justin Taylor & Wordle

Giving Wisdom: Alabaster Box

OK. So this is the third time I've quoted from the blog Alabaster Box. But this entry on receiving wisdom from God and sharing wisdom with others is so SO good!!

... James says, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (1:5)

In those moments when we ourselves need wisdom for life, or wisdom to share with others, we must first go before God who is Wise and also gives wisdom to the asking. Believe the character of God in that verse: He is generous with His wisdom and is not disappointed because we don’t know it all. He gives without reproach. The promise at the end of the verse is amazing. Wisdom will be given. (Bold added, Italics original)

James goes even further: “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” (3:17)

This is a test for all wisdom. Is the wisdom we receive and give pure? Peaceable? Full of mercy? Shared without hypocrisy? Gentle? All of these are the character of Godly wisdom....

Now, I've read James many, many times but have never put James 1:5 with James 3:17. But the two together are truly a beautiful insight into wisdom from God. I want the wisdom I give out to be given generously without reproach and to be pure, peaceable, full of mercy and good fruits, gentle, and without hypocrisy!

By the way, I check Alabaster Box daily and it is DEFINITELY worth it and you should definitely subscribe to the RSS feed. : )

Jesus and Buddha on Happiness: DesiringGod.org

I enjoyed this article comparing Jesus' and Buddha's views on lasting happiness at Desiring God. I'd definitely recommend reading the whole article, but here are a few of my favorite comparisons.

"The Buddha taught that nothing lasts, so be attached to nothing. Jesus taught that One Thing lasts, so at all cost, be attached to that!"

"Jesus knows that our desire for happiness is designed by God and so is our desire for permanence.... We are designed to be satisfied with the one eternal, permanent God."

"Jesus and the Buddha agree that pursuing happiness in transient things is futile, but they direct us to opposite solutions. The Buddha says satisfaction is treasuring nothing. Jesus says it is treasuring God...."

"Evil is when we believe that God will not satisfy us and therefore pursue happiness in transient things. That’s the essence of sin."

Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:12-13)

I want to pursue happiness in God. I don't want to 'hew out' my own 'cisterns' to try to satisfy my desires. I want to be entirely satisfied and find my treasure in Him, 'the fountain of living waters'.

Tips for Self-Discipline: Truth Matters, Inc.

I thought this was very helpful and practical!

1. Start Small. Start with your room. Clean it, then keep it clean. When something is out of place, train yourself to put it where it belongs. Then extend the discipline of neatness to the rest of your home.
2. Be on time. That may not seem very spiritual, but it’s important. If you’re supposed to be somewhere at a specific time, be there on time. Develop the ability to discipline your desires, activities, and demands so that you can arrive on time.
3. Do the hardest job first. When you do that, you will find it easier to do the simpler tasks.
4. Organize your life. Plan the use of your time; don’t just react to circumstances. Use a calendar and make a daily list of things you need to accomplish. If you don’t control your time, everything else will.
5. Accept correction. Correction helps make you more disciplined because it shows you what you need to avoid. Don’t avoid criticism; accept it gladly.
6. Practice self-denial. Learn to say no to your feelings. Learn to do what you know to be right even if you don’t feel like doing it. Sometimes it’s even beneficial to deny yourself things that are acceptable to have, like a doughnut in the morning or dessert after dinner. Exercising such self-restraint helps you develop the habit of keeping other things under control. Cultivating discipline in the physical realm will help you become disciplined in your spiritual life.
7. Welcome responsibility. When you have an opportunity to do something that needs to be done, volunteer for it if you have talent in that area. Accepting responsibility can force you to organize yourself.

(HT: Truth Matter, Inc.)

Blessed Are The Merciful

I need to be more merciful. God has been so merciful to me and because of His great love and mercy towards me, I should, in turn, be merciful and loving to others.

Mercy is: kindness, compassion, charity, leniency. Mercy is not: cruelty, intolerance, meanness, ruthlessness, uncompassion. (Answers.com)

John Piper on Blessed Are The Merciful (this was so helpful!):

... [T]he first three beatitudes in verses 3–5 describ[e] the emptiness of the blessed person: verse 3: poverty-stricken in spirit, verse 4: grieving over the sin and misery of his condition, and verse 5: accepting the hardships and accusations of life in meekness without defensiveness.

This condition of blessed emptiness is followed in verse 6 by a hunger and thirst for the fullness of righteousness. Then come three descriptions of how righteousness abounds in the heart of the hungry. Mercy in verse 7, purity in verse 8, and peacemaking in verse 9.

So the answer to the first question is that mercy comes from a heart that has first felt its spiritual bankruptcy, and has come to grief over its sin, and has learned to wait meekly for the timing of the Lord, and to cry out in hunger for the work of his mercy to satisfy us with the righteousness we need.

The mercy that God blesses is itself the blessing of God. It grows up like fruit in a broken heart and a meek spirit and a soul that hungers and thirsts for God to be merciful. Mercy comes from mercy. Our mercy to each other comes from God's mercy to us.

The key to becoming a merciful person is to become a broken person. You get the power to show mercy from the real feeling in your heart that you owe everything you are and have to sheer divine mercy. Therefore, if we want to become merciful people, it is imperative that we cultivate a view of God and ourselves that helps us to say with all our heart that every joy and virtue and distress of our lives is owing to the free and undeserved mercy of God....

This part rung true with me. Often I am impatient with imperfection in the church. Oh, how prideful I am!

....And a biblical Deacon will call public sin in the church to account and exercise discipline and even exclusion from the fellowship (1 Corinthians 5:1–13), but will also remember the parable of the wheat and the tares that teaches patience with the imperfection of the church till the end of the age (Matthew 13:24–30).

The message also comments on the question: Should a merciful person always show mercy? Here is only a part of the response.

"The beatitude says, "Blessed are the merciful," not, "Blessed are those who know exactly when and how to show mercy in all circumstances." We must be merciful people even when we act with severity in the service of justice. That is, we must be

• poor in spirit,
• sorrowful for our own sin,
• meekly free from defensiveness and self-exaltation,
• hungering and thirsting for all that is right to be done,
• perceptive of a person's distress and misery,
• feeling pity for his pain,
• and making every effort to see the greatest good done for the greatest number.

So the answer to our third question (Should a merciful person always show mercy?) is a qualified "no." No, you will often support the claims of justice and recompense a person the way he deserves, in order to bear witness to the truth of God's justice and to accomplish a greater good for greater numbers of people."

I think I will read and meditate on the Beatitudes. I want to become a person who understands my spiritual bankruptcy. I am far too often prideful and self righteous.

Using the Thoughts of Other Men's Brains

So... most of my posts are not my own words. At first I felt kind of stupid for not being able to say what I want to say in my own words. For now, though, it's easier for me to communicate through other men's words. I will learn (hopefully) someday, through Bible reading and the reading of other men's thoughts, to communicate well on my own.

I was encouraged by this quote: "The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains, proves that he has no brains of his own."(Charles Spurgeon, Sermon: Paul, His Cloak And His Books)

(HT: Buzzard Blog)

The 57-to-1 Ratio

As an application point in his sermon from Sunday Justin Buzzard (Buzzard Blog) asked everyone in the congregation to think about one area of their walk with Christ where they're presently experiencing failure/guilt/shame/lack of progress. He asked the questions:

• In that area of life, are you more aware of your failure/guilt than you are of God's love and grace for you?

• Do you know that God wants you to be more aware of the work he's already accomplished on your behalf than of the work you have yet to do for him?

..."1 Corinthians 15 is made up of 58 verses. The final verse, verse 58, is a verse that deals with our work as Christians, a big umbrella command to "be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord..." ... this verse about our work only comes after 57 verses about Christ's work--57 verses that explore in rich detail the life, death, and resurrection work that Christ accomplished on our behalf. It's as if the message the apostle Paul is trying to get across is that for every hour of our day we ought to spend 57 minutes aware of the gospel-work Jesus has accomplished and spend only 1 minute or so thinking about our work. Unfortunately, most of us have this ratio backwards. If we were to adopt this 57-to-1 ratio in our thought life/our pursuit of sanctification, I think we'd observe and experience some wonderful changes." Read the full post here.

Source: Buzzard Blog

No Autonomy in the Fallen World

“The ultimate question is not who you are but whose you are. Of course, many people think they are nobody’s slave. They dream of total independence. Like a jellyfish carried by the tides feels free because it isn’t fastened down with the bondage of barnacles. . . . The Bible gives no reality to fallen humans who are ultimately self-determining. There is no autonomy in the fallen world. We are governed by sin or governed by God.” ~John Piper

Source: Defending. Contending. & Symphony of Scripture

Rejoice, Soul!

I posted here and here on the idea of talking to yourself, like the Psalmist did in Psalm 42 and in Psalm 103. Well, I think I just completely failed the test these past few days! On Tuesday, I started feeling somewhat sad and 'low' (it happens to me here and there and is generally unexpected and not really related to anything) but instead of telling my soul to rejoice and to be glad, I just sort of agreed with my soul and listened to my feelings of sadness. May God help me! I want to tell my spirit to tell my soul the good news. I want my spirit to be boss over my soul!

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Psalm 42:11

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 103:1-5

My spirit will now attempt to give my soul a good talking to. : ) Soul, rejoice! Put your hope in God and remember all the good things that He is and has done. He is good and His love endures forever. He is merciful and gracious and abounding in steadfast love. He is good. Hope in Him.

Preaching the Good News to Yourself

"...The end of Psalm 42 isn't happy, but it is hopeful. The psalmist is in duress. There are tears and turmoil. His soul is downcast, and he asks God Why?

He's fighting for hope. He thirsts for God and affirms God's love and preaches good news to himself. And even in the midst of his great discouragement, he has the wherewithal to sing."

(HT:Desiring God)

The Most Important "Ology"

I found this article 'Living Theology' at the New Attitude blog. Check out the whole article here. It's good stuff. Here are a few parts I liked:

"I have read about and heard of people who cringe at the idea of ‘studying’ God, as if learning theology is clinical, like some kind of divine autopsy. But Scripture consistently calls us to grow in our study and knowledge of God and says there is an important connection between what we know about God and how we should live.

....God is the most important thing we can study, the most important “ology”. In 2 Timothy 4, Paul presents this as he talks about the importance of “being trained” in “good doctrine.” He directly connects theology to growing in godliness. Theology is not just book knowledge or head knowledge, it is heart and life knowledge. It is not just about what you know about God, but living in a way that is dictated by what you know. In their book, Let the Reader Understand, Dan McCartney and Charles Clayton say, “Doctrine has not been known properly until it has been lived out.” Wayne Grudem agrees in his definition of Systematic Theology when he says, “Defining Systematic Theology to include ‘what the whole Bible teaches us today’ implies that application to life is a necessary part of the proper pursuit of systematic theology (emphasis mine).” For Paul, having “good doctrine” is important because it causes us to grow in godliness – it affects the way we live....

The same needs to be true in every area of our lives: the way we run after godliness, the way we choose entertainment, the way we serve a friend, the things we say or don’t say, the way we give money or time to help those who are hungry, or sick or in need. How we live must be rooted in what we know about God. Knowing God will affect the way we live. Getting to know God is not about performing a divine autopsy; rather, it is the Living God making Himself known to us and then changing us by his grace to live out what we know. Study hard."