a little sobered

"Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts."
- Psalm 28:3
There's enough "nice" people in the world. Are Christians going to be set apart because we are "nice people" or because we know God?

I'm reminded of this because of reading the Desiring God Blog today and seeing a Francis Chan quote:
"Try to put yourself in the shoes of an unbeliever who is seeking and comes into your church service. What is that person looking for? What does he want to see from the stage? Does he want to see a polished speech? Does he want to see a brainiac who knows more than him? Does he want to see a comedian who makes him laugh? Doesn't that person want to walk in and see that you are connected with God? They want to be able to say, "I don't understand it, but that guy knows God and I want that, too!" When they hear you teaching, is that what they see? Are they jealous for what you have? Are you connected to God in prayer?"
And it's sobering, because if the world ended today, will I meet God and say that I was willing to be used for Him however he wanted, even if it meant I wasn't the "nicest" person in the world, or will I meet Him and remember so many missed opportunities because I wasn't willing to say something uncomfortable? No one knows the time.
"Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left."
- Matthew 24:41
God, help us follow after You every moment, to take every open door You offer. The spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.

Chris

yeah

A thought I had:

We bounce one-dimensionally between point A and point B.

Point A is a place where we find self-sufficient confidence in what we can do and where we can go.
Point B is a place where we have absolutely no confidence in ourselves or anything else for that matter.

But when you add a second dimension of confidence in Christ, things change.

Hope is found in places where there was no hope. Where you could do nothing, Christ made a way.

And where you could find no confidence or hope or assurance that you knew God, Jesus said you do - because he holds the keys to heaven and hell and all authority on heaven and earth belongs to him.

I cringe usually, when someone says, "I know God exists; I know He is faithful." Because I say - well how do you know for sure? You really don't.

But the truth is, you really can. Reading Psalm 18, David concludes by saying:
He gives his king great victories; he shows his unfailing love to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.
And I am tempted to ask, David, how do you know that, oh murderer of Uriah and sinful wreck? How do you know God will give you a victory and show His love to you forever?

David's at point C. He's confident in Christ. He is a man after God's own heart, after all, because He places His confidence in God and who God is in His promises. It is not that David knows for sure that he will be safe and well off, it is that he knows for sure that God loves him and is faithful.

So while we're bouncing between the A and the B, one day we need to find the C. We're living in a sea of blacks and grays when the white is somewhere completely different.

I am confident I am going to heaven. Not because I have lived a good life, not because I have the best faith, not because I always live for God, not because of any intellectual hope or argument or proof I hold to. I simply am confident because Jesus died for me and that was enough. And because God is the one who loves me and gives me a new heart and turns me to live for Him. That is confidence of the best kind.

Chris

all for the glory of God

That is why we live. For His glory.

And it bothered me so much before, why would God love us just so we could love Him and glorify His name? Isn't that selfish? Is God selfish? Why isn't it about me?

But God's heart is this:

"God's love for you, in such a way that makes Him your supreme treasure, is a greater love for you than if He loved you in such a way to make yourself your supreme treasure.

Why?

Because a selfless love is so much greater than a selfish love."

"I love you, and you are precious, but you are so precious that I will not let your preciousness become your god."
- John Piper at Passion 2011, "Getting to the Bottom of Your Joy"

God is allowing us to experience a selfless love that we couldn't otherwise.

Chris

two lies

Satan is crafty. There are a couple lies I see - evident in my own life all the time - that were in the passages I was reading:

1) "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden"?'"
- Genesis 3:1

I hear this voice all the time. Rationalizing sin - thinking to myself, "did God really say that? Do I really need to do that? Where does it say that?", when I know clearly in my conscience the truth.

2) "'If you are the Son of God,' [the devil] said, 'throw yourself down. For it is written: "He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."' Jesus answered him, 'It is also written, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."'"
- Matthew 4:6-7

This is why we need to know the Word. Not just some out-of-context verse, but the whole thing. Even Satan knows what's written in it, and he will use it against us... half-truths are more dangerous than flat out lies. The deceiver knows that.

Chris

random thoughts

I had a good day.

God's letting me know that I need to let go and follow.

God's teaching me that there is no greater thing than to know Him and desire Him over anything.

Man doesn't live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. I spent a lot of time reading today. And it feels good to forget about the to-dos and just rest in God's hands. That was my prayer from the past week, and I experienced what that's like today. God is so good.

I love the best seats in the synagogue, because I'm a Pharisee. And I pray that that will change.

Chris

the ever-unfinished task

1) Perhaps the most personally frustrating thing about life is that it's a journey and not a destination. You can't ever be finished with life (at least I guess not until it's actually over). You can't ever be perfect.

I like five-minute tasks. I like things you can finish. I don't like things that don't end and get tidied up cleanly. Life is messy.

I spend my day sorting my tasks out for the day from easiest-to-complete to hardest. Then I go about them and thrive on the satisfaction of finished tasks. And I've written about this before. Checking off a box on my to-do list is as satisfying as ripping off a scab.

Life doesn't resolve. Donald Miller wrote about that, and I forgot he did. I love that book - Blue Like Jazz. He says jazz never resolves. It's like life.

I want to just sit and smell the roses and enjoy all of creation. The current moment, what I've been given. To just be. Isn't that the point?

"We aren't human doings, we're human beings."
- Jaeson Ma (or some other clever person)

2) "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
- Philippians 4:6-9

3) "In the morning, oh Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."
- Psalm 5:3

4) I'm about to change my blog title. Thinking about it intently.

Chris

the change inside of me

"Consider your own life for just a moment. Where would you be today if He hadn't ransomed you, if He hadn't liberated you? I'll tell you where. You would be self-sufficient, seeking to cultivate self-confidence for the purpose of self-glorification.

But what has happened to you? If you've been genuinely converted, you've been forgiven and transformed. And though for now there remains in you a temptation and tendency to sin, a fundamental and radical change has occurred so that you have the desire to serve others and to see God glorified. We know the inner call to lay down our lives for one another because He laid down His life for us.

What a powerful death! The cross ransoms, the cross liberates, the cross transforms! So make it your aim and lifelong habit, when you see someone who's serving, to be reminded of the sacrifice of the Savior, for apart from His sacrifice there is no serving. True greatness is attained only by emulating the Savior's example - and made possible only by the Savior's sacrifice."
- p. 58, Humility by C. J. Mahaney

I look back and seldom remember God's grace in bringing me where I am today, taking me faithfully from day one to day two thousand, one hundred and eighty-six. But God's been so faithful. It's not about how hard you try, it's about who you know.

I really like this song below... and they say it's about their wives, but since I'm not married, I can just sing it to God. :)

Chris

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