Order

"It is ill to offer God one duty stained with the blood of another."

Another good devotion from Morning and Evening over at CCEL.

Building the Forms of Holiness

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16 (NASB)

Have you ever tried to make yourself more loving towards others? How about more patient? How successful have you been? Have you grown frustrated fighting against the flesh? Why is it so hard? Who is responsible for your growth as a Christian?

“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-13 (NASB)

Christian growth is a cooperative work between the believer and God. So, what is our part and what is God’s?

“Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.” Psalm 51:6-8 (NASB)

“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.” Psalm 51:10-12 (NASB)

Who acts here, who is acted upon? God purifies and washes, restores and sustains. Whatever change takes place in your heart is His work.

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Colossians 3:12-14 (NASB)

Who acts here? The outward, visible work of “putting on” is the work of the believer.

Sanctification is like building with concrete. When working with concrete, a form must be constructed to hold the concrete while it cures. Our work of “putting on” makes the form that God pours His enduring work of holiness into. Forms are not often much to look at. The boards are scratched and gouged and of differing sizes. But after the concrete hardens the boards are removed and thrown away. The forms are temporary, the concrete endures.

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NASB)

Faith is the final ingredient here. Building forms is pointless if no concrete will be poured into them. God does not pour out His grace where there is no faith to receive it.

But doesn’t it make us hypocrites to put on these behaviors when we feel the opposite? No, it does not because:
1. There is no hypocrisy in presenting these forms to others as if we really mean them, because we do.
2. We remember that these forms present the opportunity for God to do His work in us, they are not the work itself. We do not mistake our small attempts for true holiness.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)

Notes based on The Renewed Mind by Larry Christenson.

Quotable

"Standing in a garage doesn't make you a car."

My pastor has said that the previous two weeks. I'll leave you to contemplate the possible implications.

The Tests Are Going To Come

June 24, 2007

Sunday School Lesson: God Is In Control

We've been studying the last few weeks the Old Testament and stories where God was always in control but we keep asking the same question, "Why does God allow it to happen?" For instance, we studied the book of Job for 3 weeks and how Job never questioned God no matter what was happening. In fact, his mindset was always to praise God because he never doubted God was in control.

Here's what I was wondering: We believe God is always in control and we all could point to times in our life where God bailed us out when there was nothing we could do in the situation. But why is it so hard for us to let go of stressors or anything that we are afraid to hand over to Jesus when we know it's the ONLY thing to do and that it's the RIGHT thing to do? We know He's in control, yet we have this pride that we can't let someone else be in control of our life.

So, here's what I came up with: The Bible is full of God's promises for our life. God has never broken those promises and never will. But I think we struggle with relating to the difference between a Godly promise and a human promise. Let's face it, human's can't keep promises. I can't, you can't, none of us can. So, when we think of God keeping a promise to never leave us or forsake us, I think we treat that promise like it's coming from a human. And since we know human promises can't hold water, that God's promise is going to fail as well. And that false thinking is the same as knowing a human is in control of a situation. If I can't trust myself to get through a situation, I'm certainly not going to put it in the hands of another human being for two reasons. 1) I have a better chance of handling it than someone else. 2) If I think I will fail, then I'll really think someone else will fail quicker giving them the situation. If we believe those two scary thoughts, then we hesitate to trust God will be in control of the situation. We put God in a human box that He can only do so much.


Anyway, Pastor was speaking yesterday on the "tests" we will all face in life. But we've never been tested like Abraham, especially in this story.

Genesis 22: 1-19
Abraham was asked to use his son Isaac as the sacrifice.

Notes:

Temptations are satan's way. God doesn't tempt us. He's not trying to "trip us up." God uses tests and trials. In this case, Abraham's loyalty was tested.

Isaac was old and strong enough to carry enough of the needed wood to build an alter. He was also old enough to understand how sacrifices went.

Abraham knew God's promises and had been standing on them.

v. 14: "The Lord will provide."
v. 18: "...because you have obeyed my (voice) promises."

If we haven't been standing on God's promises, we will not pass the test.

Application: Here is what God is asking you: When things get really tough, is he going to stand on those promises? And how long will he obey? How far can I test him?

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Soul Care: The Spiritual value of sharing "Fish"

June 17, 2007

John 6: 1-15
Jesus Feeds 5,000

Pastor Bob was talking about what it takes to share our "fish" like the "lad" did in the incredible story of the 2 loaves of bread and 5 little fish. The little boy shared the fish with Jesus not really knowing what impact it would have.

Notes:

To share our "fish"...

I. Involves our cooperation

• We all have something to share
• We need the mindset to make ourselves available to Him
• The little boy hands it over to Jesus and trusts Him
• God can do it!
• He wants us to participate

II. It was all planned to begin with

"Fish" = an avenue God has placed you with or in that you can use for ministry

• Workplace, golfcourse, coaching, classroom, restaurant, etc.
• A platform to use to minister to other people
• Our mindset, Matthew 6, is seeking first His kingdom. Then He blesses us to do more and more
• He wants to use us to bless other people

Everything is an opportunity for ministry.

Application: Ask God to show you your "fish" this week. Who will you share with?

That fatal to-morrow...

I've started reading Morning and Evening: Daily Readings by Charles Spurgeon online over at Christian Classics Ethereal Library. A quote from tonight's reading caught my attention:

That fatal to-morrow is blood-red with the murder of fair resolutions; it is the slaughter-house of the innocents.

Read the whole thing here.

When I Remember

I was listening to my favorite song this morning and thought I'd share it (again).



Lyrics (from Christian Music Lyrics)

That boy is gone
Sometimes I miss the way he wept at night
To be still and not run
To be rocked to sleep in Your light
These days there is not much that will bring tears to my eyes
But when I remember who I am and who You are
When I remember

A cloud moves in, rain falls, thunder strikes
And sunshine breaks through the clouds

I am walking blind
So distracted that I don't even feel when You hold me
When did I grow such thick skin
You are my sunshine and rain
My joy and sweet pain
I'm a spotless stain
That boy is gone
But nobody moves me like You do
When I remember

A cloud moves in, rain falls, thunder strikes
And sunshine breaks through the clouds
I can cry out of sorrow and joy
Every drop of rain turns into a crystal in the sun
So wash my eyes, my clothes, my skin, my bones, my soul
My feet, my love
I'm not forgotten
I'm in your thoughts cause I feel sunshine in the rain

To this day nobody moves
Nobody
Nobody moves me like You