We live in an age which confuses activity for fruitfulness.
Christians can import that confusion into the way they follow Jesus.
Part of the discernment process of wisdom is not to simply know right from wrong, but to also know which is best from among a range of worthy opportunities.
HT: Z
The hardest lesson we learned in our first twenty years of marriage was this: life is full of good, worthwhile, and meaningful programs, activities, organizations, causes, and ministry opportunities — the vast majority of which we cannot and should not be involved with! It is not sufficient that something be good or important. It must be the best and most important for me, and God must show me that. Why? For the same reason that if I have a hundred dollars to spend on groceries this month, I should buy meat and milk and fruit…
I’m sharing today something encouraging I found over at the Blazing Centerblog. If you want to read the whole post you can visit there, but this is the heart of it:
“God often does his most powerful work through those who are weak and unimpressive.
John Flavel says:
How the weak have been used for the good of the church! Christ did not choose eloquent orators, or men of authority in the courts of kings and emperors, but twelve poor labourers, and fishermen. This is the most ridiculous course that can be imagined, in appearance, for such a design. And yet, in how short a time was the gospel spread in all the kingdoms of the world.(Voices From the Past, 140)
Jesus established his kingdom on the shoulders of fishermen, tax collectors, and prostitutes. He chose Peter to lead the charge out of Jerusalem. Peter, the guy who denied Jesus three times. Peter, the guy who gave up gospel ground to the Judaizers. Peter, the guy whose mouth seemed to always run ahead of his brain.
Jesus could have chosen the most articulate orators as his spokesman. He could have chosen great war heroes, or political superstars. He could have built a campaign of shock and awe and power. Instead he chose fisherman. Guys with cracked hands, plain speech, minimal learning, and the constant aroma of raw fish. The disciples were not power players in the Roman world.
God will not allow us to receive any of the glory, so he builds his kingdom through and in spite of our weakness. If your worship team is mediocre, don’t freak out. Instead, work toward excellence and trust that God will use your weak, halting efforts for his glory. If you stutter and stammer when sharing the gospel, don’t get discouraged! Seek to improve your gospel communication, but more importantly, trust God to use your stutters and stammers to bring salvation to the lost. If your sermons feel like duds, don’t sink into despair. Improve your sermons and improve your confidence in God. If you feel like a constant parenting trainwreck, seek to grow in your parenting and trust God to use your trainwreck efforts to work in your children.”
How do you feel when you’re given good advice on how to live? Someone says “Here’s the love you ought to have, or the integrity you ought to have,” and maybe they illustrate high moral standards by telling a story of some great hero. But when you hear it, how does it make you feel? Inspired, sure, but . . . do you feel your burdens have fallen off? Do you feel as if something great has been done for you and you’re not a slave anymore? Of course you don’t. It weighs you down: This is how I have to live. It’s not a gospel. The gospel is that God connects to you not on the basis of what you’ve done (or haven’t done) but on the basis of what Jesus has done, in history, for you. And that makes it absolutely different from every other religion or philosophy.
from Tim Keller “King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus” (2011) For my first post on this book click HERE
This song from Garage Hymnal is one that has been really encouraging to our church family. It speaks with such certainty of the secure salvation we have in Christ.
We first came across it about 5 years ago, but it is the truth of Romans 8:28-39 that makes it lasting. Our heavenly Father is holding us. He is mighty to save, mighty and strong enough to keep hold of us even when we are on a slippery slope. He can lift us up, gently restore us, and he won’t let go. He is our Sovereign Lord!
This is the promise we find in Philippians 1:4-6. “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Though we are forgiven in Christ, raised to new life by Christ’s death and resurrection, we are still frustrated by our sinful nature at times: “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (Romans 7:24). This comes after Paul has been wrestling with the fact that he finds himself doing the very sin he hates!
At such times it is great to contemplate the time when our Christlikeness will no longer be a dim reflection, but a complete replication of the perfection and glory of Christ! We will awake in His likeness. Since Jesus has been raised, sin has been conquered and we will be completed in him.
For now we wait, and hope and pray that we will see more of him and less of ourselves in the unique creation he has made us to be. Many blessings to you this Easter Sunday!
IN THE LIKENESS OF YOU Sung by PETRA: Words and music by John Lawry and John Elefante CD UNSEEN POWER (1991) – Based on Psalm 17:15
In the likeness of You Recreated, renewed Let me awake forever In the likeness In the likeness of You
Now I lay me down to sleep, my heart and soul are Yours to keep
I close my eyes and try to see more of You and less of me
Jesus, I’m trusting in You
So while I’m sleeping keep me dreaming of when I will awake
In the likeness of You Recreated, renewed Let me awake forever In the likeness In the likeness of You
Men dream of fortune and fame, making the rules, naming the game
And men dream of things they can hold: money and power, silver and gold
Jesus, I’m dreaming of You
Take me and melt me, mold me until I am complete
In the likeness of You Recreated, renewed Resurrected by Your righteousness In the likeness of You In the likeness of You So faithful and true Let me awake forever in the likeness of You The likeness of You I want to be I want to be like You In all I say In all I do
Today we have arrived at Philippians 3:16 in the Three Sixteens series. Let’s start by looking at the verse in a few different versions: But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. NLT Only let us live up to what we have already attained. NIV In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. Holman
At first glance it seems this 3:16 has little content to grab hold of and provides little encouragement. But if you think on it a while, possibly the reverse is true! There is huge encouragement here, as Paul points us to what we already have in Christ, urges us to keep hold of it – and live up to it!
So what have we already attained?
In verses 8-11 we find out what Paul is referring to as he urges us to “hold on” and “live up to” the privileges we have IN Christ: “. . . I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Knowing Christ surpasses all else. If we are in Christ we are secure, we are united with Him in his sufferings, death and resurrection. We are not self-righteous, but we have the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith! We are right with God, we are holy and acceptable to Him because we are IN Christ. A great analogy for this is being clothed in Christ’s “robes of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10, Revelation). We are wrapped up in Christ’s perfection, our sins are completely covered. When God the Father looks at us He sees the righteousness of Christ his perfect Son.
What great progress we have made – if we are found IN Christ. Let’s live up to it! We don’t have to attain or achieve anything. This is pure grace! I love what the Holman translators have done with the verse: we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. We should live up to the truth that we have the righteousness that comes from God – so let’s live in a manner worthy of what we have attained. Let’s be “killing sin” as John Piper puts it, by the sword of the Spirit (God’s Word).
Blessings to you as you seek to live up to Christ’s righteousness today. How will you go about that?
“Come as you are and He will cleanse you. You are guilty; your pardon is of God” –Charles H. Spurgeon
Over the holidays I chatted with a friend who was reading a great book by a favourite author of mine, Christian psychologist and all round smart guy, Dr. Larry Crabb. The theme is living by grace, and avoiding an attitude of works-based performance and perfectionism in our Christian walk. I would love to say I have read it, but only had a quick flick. Instead I will share a review from someone else. The book is definitely on my reading list this year. It would be great for any of your friends who struggle in this area. Praise be to God for his glorious grace!
Here’s the opening of the review. Click the link below to continue reading. “Where the Protestant reformers sought to live for the glory of God, Larry Crabb contends American Christians of today seek to be blessed by God. The result is a performance based pursuit of God’s blessing that leaves the pressure on where God never intended there to be pressure in a relationship with Him. Larry Crabb suggests there is a better way, a way that leaves as his new books says, The Pressure Off.”
Enjoying a break away with our family, and two other ministry families, on my parents’ farm near Mount Warning, northern NSW. (For my international readers, try google maps.) Mia our Maremma dog is enjoying being in the thick of our community, and is a perfect model of the relaxing rejuvenating experience of camping. I’m reminded, as I keep my feet up as much as possible, how important it is to recreate yourself. It’s only when you stop that you realise the pace you have been keeping up. You also realise how important it is to be refreshed and restored. We have been reading each night through 1John and John Piper’s Pierced by the Word. And along with the rib fillet steak, this has produced great encouragement and discussion. Eternal life is ours now, in Christ, but we will have to wait for the end of this life to be fully restored and re-created as we enjoy the rest God has planned for us. Our rest now is but a foreshadowing of the Rest we wait for, in hope. Praise be to God for the gift of rest and relaxing as we rest in Him for the hope of salvation.
In some ways the start of a New Year brings with it a sinking feeling, a feeling that although we have successfully negotiated our way through a full year plus the hectic Christmas period, now we have to do it all again! And then there are the New Year resolutions that everyone else seems to be making. Where do we put God in all this, the God who sits outside the passing of months and years, and controls the changing seasons? He does not change from year to year. How do we look at the road which stretches ahead with optimism, with joy, and our eyes firmly on Christ?
At the New Year’s Sunday service last year our pastor shared an alternative to New Year’s resolutions (which are usually broken by mid-January and forgotten mid-February). These New Life Resolutions apply every day in every season as we seek to follow Christ. We need not feel frustrated with these or give up when we fail. . . because, yes, we will all inevitably fail! For this is the reason Christ died. . . because we could never “make it” on our own. “But God gives us more grace”. Here are some guiding principles to hold on to each day as we seek to live in the freedom of the new life Christ has won for us: (from Luke 12)
1. Resolve to live by GRACE not WORKS. If we are in Christ it is His works which we are judged on, and He is perfect! Have confidence in this, and extend this grace to others. (verses 1-3) 2. Resolve in your thoughts to TRUST GOD. Don’t allow our minds to entertain thoughts that are fearful of man, the future, anything! (v 4-8) 3. Resolve in your words to PROCLAIM CHRIST. The promise is that if we acknowledge Christ before men He will acknowledge us before His Father! Be proactive and speak up, tell others you are a Christian, ask what they know about Jesus. He promises to give us the words. (v 8-12) 4. Resolve in your actions to IMITATE GOD.
The aim is to transform our walk, our talk, our thoughts to those of Jesus. Be rich toward God! Rely on the power of His Spirit in you to transform you (v13-21).
Old Testament 1 exam now completed. Very thankful for what I’ve learned; also thankful for the break from study. Now I can get back to the blogging!
Just sharing today a short list of 5 benefits of gratitude, which a fellow blogger posted over at “Revelling in the Overflowing Grace of God”. While most Americans are celebrating their Thanksgiving Day it is worth stopping to consider why we should build gratitude into our lives every day.
“Gratitude, the act of giving thanks, can: 1. Refocus our attention… Our lives are filled with distractions. Perhaps if we began our day with gratitude, we would not get up with the weight of the world on our shoulders. 2. Relieve anxiety… Most of us know Philippians 4:6-7. … do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Thanksgiving shoves aside anxiety and replaces it with peace, not just any peace, but the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding!” 3. Refresh our relationship… When I’m showing gratitude, it keeps me from thinking that it’s all about me and my needs. I’m focused on God instead of me. That one’s a little tricky, because I’m giving thanks for things that are important to me. Still, I’m giving glory to God for those things. 4. Reinforce our faith… Remembering God’s past faithfulness boosts confidence in his present and future grace. 5. Rejoice our spirit… “Thanksgiving is the best way to dig ourselves out of the doldrums of discouragement.”
Colossians 2:6-7 has some relevant words of encouragement to add here on the source of thankfulness:
6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. (NLT)
Happy Thanksgiving! (I’ve never said that before.)
I'm Ash. I love Jesus. I'm a wife and a mum. I'm a teacher. I'm also studying my Masters of Counselling. I started studying a few years after started the very hard work of engaging my own story of harm and trauma. This is a place where you'll hear my stories, as well as the stories of others. I'll also reflect on faith, healing and walking with Jesus. I pray that these words might encourage you to do your own painful but life-bringing work of examining your own stories, and allowing Jesus to heal the parts of you still locked in shame. For He came that we might have life, and have it to the full. Welcome, fellow traveller.
Words, words, words... well said Hamlet! A little blog to go off on tangents within the worlds of history, literature, TV and film that interest me. From the Tudors to Tom Hardy's Tess, the Boleyns to Bollywood or from the Wars of the Roses to Wuthering Heights, feel free to browse through my musings to pick up extra ideas and points for discussion!
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