I Love Theology!

So, I really like theology. An especially good bit of theology can be found right here at HeartCry Missionary Society. Check out this snapshot of God: "There is but one God, the Maker, Preserver and Ruler of all things, having in and of Himself all perfections, and being infinite in them all; and to Him all creatures owe the highest love, reverence and obedience. "

It really is refreshing to read good, solid theology. It is good to be reminded of the nature of God and the nature of man. Our own thoughts so often deceive.

I see theology as an overview and compilation of all that is in the Bible. The theological statement I linked to above is something that we should all be reminded of daily. Since we can't read the whole Bible every day, it's good to study snippets theology so that our view of God and His Word will continue to be enlarged and not limited to the experiences of our day or the few chapters we've read in the Bible.

I just ordered Bitesize Theology: An ABC of the Christian Faith by Peter Jeffrey. I'm looking forward to reading it! If you want a more extensive, systematic study, I think the best thing out there is Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology. It is really formatted well and includes a hymn after every chapter that relates to the theological point just made. It's an excellent reference to have!

"Theology announces not just what the Bible says but what it means." ~J. Kenneth Grider

To Be My 'For As Long As It Works Out' Cohabitant...

Interposed His Precious Blood

This is one of my all-time favorite hymns. Aren't the words so rich! All of the lyrics are beautiful, but my favorite stanza is highlighted. The verses before and after the highlighted part are a close second.

I think it's so exciting to sing words that have been sung for 100 of years--it makes me feel connected to the history of faith and perseverance of God's people!! I think a hymn should be sung at every church service!

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
by Robert Robinson, 1758

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

Another neat story!

I found out about this neat story on NPR through a blog called Desiring God. It's like the one about the lady robbed at gunpoint that I posted a couple days ago. I love these kinds of stories! This one is called, A Victim Treats His Mugger Right. Hope you like it!

Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.

But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.

"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm." Read the rest here.

What is NPR?

God's Central Attribute

I was reading this post at Pyromaniacs which is a pretty darn good post in itself. But then, as I was reading the comments that followed, I found this comment (it's the second one down by Johnny Dialectic):

I do think God's holiness is his central attribute, of which all others are inextricably a part. The Bible does not say God is "love, love, love." It does say, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty."

Unless and until we understand, accept and bow to that truth, our church life and personal life in Christ will certainly NOT be "our best life now."

I love it! Most people always emphasize God's love and they try to love Him. But, what about holiness? I think it's interesting in Ephesians 5:1-10 that there is just one sentence on how we should be like Christ in our love, but then there are many sentences, almost a whole paragraph, on how God's people need to be holy. God does say "Be holy, because I am holy." God's people must be holy! Because GOD IS HOLY.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person–such a man is an idolater–has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.

May we all grow in holiness and do the things that please the Lord! And may we all understand God's holiness and have a proper respect and awe for Him and His Word.

Planning To Read

So this is the next book I'm going to read. It's called Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) by Kevin DeYoung & Ted Kluck. The title is referring to the Emerging Church movement. Wikipedia has some good information on this movement.

I plan to write some of my thoughts on the book once I'm finished. Also, I did finish reading Doing Things Right In Matters of The Heart and it was really good! I'm planning to write some of my thoughts. I definitely recommend it!!

You can also read a review of this book here at Discerning Reader. In their own words, "Discerning Reader is a site dedicated to promoting good books--books that bring honor to God. At the same time, we hope to help Christians avoid being unduly influenced by books and teachers that are not honoring to God".

Happy Resurrection Sunday!