Isaiah 54:11-12:
"O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of ruby, your gates of crystal, and all your wall of precious stones."
Isaiah 54:17:
"This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness from Me, declares the Lord."
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Hard to Focus
Today is one of those days where it is hard to keep my focus. I would like to pray, but I just can't calm myself down. If that makes sense. Then that feeling of unworthiness wants to prolong the lack of prayer. Ugh.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Light of Grace
I want to elaborate more on John 3:16-21
"For God so loved the world, the He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it maybe clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God."
This was so clear to me as I was reading over it and talking myself through it today.
I was thinking of how people are afraid that pure grace would cause them to sin, and I guess Rob Rufus' idea that grace only reveals what is already there made a light bulb go off in my head. "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."
Jesus, I think, was telling Nicodemus that He is grace and truth (the light). I believe He was showing how people, who know they are evil, want to stay in the dark, lest their deeds should be exposed or made manifest. I have definitely noticed a change in my behavior since coming to grace, and some of it hasn't been good. But, just as Rob said, grace is only revealing what is already there. People are so afraid and trapped in a religious mindset that God will condemn them for their sin, that they're terrified of coming to the light. They don't want to sin, because it will leave them broken, with no one but Jesus to trust in. And when they do that, they're automatically forgetting what Jesus said just a few sentences before, which is: "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him."
It's all a fear of grace, running to the law for comfort and assurance. Which is self-righteousness and darkness.
It all makes me think of a kid who has a cut or a scrape or something, who, when their parents get out the stinging medicine to keep it from getting infected yell, "No, no!! It will hurt too much!" Then the parents reply, "It has to hurt if it's to heal". A doctor, when checking a broken bone, has to first expose the pain.
It makes me think about the verse "Even though the outer man is perishing, the inner man is being renewed day by day". God cares nothing for appearances. He wants to expose the root of the problem, which hurts.
"For God so loved the world, the He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it maybe clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God."
This was so clear to me as I was reading over it and talking myself through it today.
I was thinking of how people are afraid that pure grace would cause them to sin, and I guess Rob Rufus' idea that grace only reveals what is already there made a light bulb go off in my head. "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."
Jesus, I think, was telling Nicodemus that He is grace and truth (the light). I believe He was showing how people, who know they are evil, want to stay in the dark, lest their deeds should be exposed or made manifest. I have definitely noticed a change in my behavior since coming to grace, and some of it hasn't been good. But, just as Rob said, grace is only revealing what is already there. People are so afraid and trapped in a religious mindset that God will condemn them for their sin, that they're terrified of coming to the light. They don't want to sin, because it will leave them broken, with no one but Jesus to trust in. And when they do that, they're automatically forgetting what Jesus said just a few sentences before, which is: "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him."
It's all a fear of grace, running to the law for comfort and assurance. Which is self-righteousness and darkness.
It all makes me think of a kid who has a cut or a scrape or something, who, when their parents get out the stinging medicine to keep it from getting infected yell, "No, no!! It will hurt too much!" Then the parents reply, "It has to hurt if it's to heal". A doctor, when checking a broken bone, has to first expose the pain.
It makes me think about the verse "Even though the outer man is perishing, the inner man is being renewed day by day". God cares nothing for appearances. He wants to expose the root of the problem, which hurts.
Lifehouse - Hanging By A Moment (Music Video)
I think this describes some of how I feel living in the grace and love of God.
Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after you
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
Forgetting all I'm lacking
Completely incomplete
I'll take your invitation
You take all of me now...
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with you
There's nothing else to lose
There's nothing else to find
There's nothing in the world
That can change my mind
There is nothing else
There is nothing else
There is nothing else
Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after you....
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with you
Just hanging by a moment (here with you)
Hanging by a moment (here with you)
Hanging by a moment here with you
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Messy Spirituality
I was watching TV with my mom this afternoon. A show called "According to Jim".
I think about how much Christians say there is too much grace in the church these days. The idea that there is need for stronger laws and cracking down on sin. Excuse me, but I see this Old Covenant stuff on TV everyday! I see it on every book shelf. Preachers preaching against everything under the sun. No Harry Potter, no video games, quit cussing, quit gossiping, don't covet, don't commit adultery, stay away from bars.
Anyway, in this episode, the guy Jim calls the Bible the "rule book". And all throughout the show, they make jokes at how the Bible and God is all about keeping laws. I see it all the time. Everyone thinks Christianity is just another religion to add to the pile of the others. It's just another set of rules to live by. So, if we're preaching so much grace, then why doesn't the world see it? Why am I not seeing it? Why do they still see Christians as hypocrites? Because the majority of them are acting like hypocrites by preaching law, but breaking the law. If you've broken one law, you've broken them all James says. So if you can't keep them all, then why try and keep them at all? Why not just trust in Jesus and receive the abundance of grace? You can't love God unless you first let Him love you.
I see how to books everywhere. It's all crap. Pray more, do more, study more, abstain from this, don't touch that, and for heaven sake, stay way from sinners!
I love the church...or rather I want to love them, but I can't stand being around them sometimes with all this religious nonsense.
All the while forgetting that the bible says that the power of sin is the law. So then what do they to solve that problem? "You gotta put the fear of God in 'em!" So then you muzzle the sin problem with fear, rather than going to the Physician. Fear of letting go and trusting God to sanctify you. Fearing that if you sin, God will be angry with you and you will be in danger of the flames of hell.
You know what that sounds like to me? Religion. Old Covenant. Cleaning the outside and forgetting the inside.
You're not preaching grace at all if it isn't all grace. You're not preaching faith at all if you're preaching the slightest hint of law.
I think about how much Christians say there is too much grace in the church these days. The idea that there is need for stronger laws and cracking down on sin. Excuse me, but I see this Old Covenant stuff on TV everyday! I see it on every book shelf. Preachers preaching against everything under the sun. No Harry Potter, no video games, quit cussing, quit gossiping, don't covet, don't commit adultery, stay away from bars.
Anyway, in this episode, the guy Jim calls the Bible the "rule book". And all throughout the show, they make jokes at how the Bible and God is all about keeping laws. I see it all the time. Everyone thinks Christianity is just another religion to add to the pile of the others. It's just another set of rules to live by. So, if we're preaching so much grace, then why doesn't the world see it? Why am I not seeing it? Why do they still see Christians as hypocrites? Because the majority of them are acting like hypocrites by preaching law, but breaking the law. If you've broken one law, you've broken them all James says. So if you can't keep them all, then why try and keep them at all? Why not just trust in Jesus and receive the abundance of grace? You can't love God unless you first let Him love you.
I see how to books everywhere. It's all crap. Pray more, do more, study more, abstain from this, don't touch that, and for heaven sake, stay way from sinners!
I love the church...or rather I want to love them, but I can't stand being around them sometimes with all this religious nonsense.
All the while forgetting that the bible says that the power of sin is the law. So then what do they to solve that problem? "You gotta put the fear of God in 'em!" So then you muzzle the sin problem with fear, rather than going to the Physician. Fear of letting go and trusting God to sanctify you. Fearing that if you sin, God will be angry with you and you will be in danger of the flames of hell.
You know what that sounds like to me? Religion. Old Covenant. Cleaning the outside and forgetting the inside.
You're not preaching grace at all if it isn't all grace. You're not preaching faith at all if you're preaching the slightest hint of law.
Bonsai!
I got my copy of the Bonsai Conspiracy in the mail today. I'm so excited!
I'll likely be posting stuff I get from it the next few days. =)
I'll likely be posting stuff I get from it the next few days. =)
Parable of the Ten Minas
I feel like maybe I had stumbled on something this morning while reading something by Sir Robert Anderson.
The thought came to me concerning the Parable of the Talents, or the Parable of the Ten Minas.
The idea came to me that maybe this servant who did nothing with his mina portrays someone who knows the gospel, but doesn't trust in its purity, thus taking away it's power. The man in the parable buried the talent given him, because he was afraid his master was a severe man.
The reason people revert back to law and rules comes from a fear that Christ doesn't accept them just as they are, and so if He does require good works, then they will have a safety net to fall back on. Or if grace doesn't work, they will have their own works as insurance. Which is really no faith at all. It's saying one thing, and living another. Forced worship, forced love, forced devotion. It all amounts to a pile of stinking religion if you break it down.
I'm not at all sure how exactly to interpret this, but I think I may have gotten a start? Of course I could just be mistaken. But God's grace allows me to be messy. =)
The thought came to me concerning the Parable of the Talents, or the Parable of the Ten Minas.
The idea came to me that maybe this servant who did nothing with his mina portrays someone who knows the gospel, but doesn't trust in its purity, thus taking away it's power. The man in the parable buried the talent given him, because he was afraid his master was a severe man.
The reason people revert back to law and rules comes from a fear that Christ doesn't accept them just as they are, and so if He does require good works, then they will have a safety net to fall back on. Or if grace doesn't work, they will have their own works as insurance. Which is really no faith at all. It's saying one thing, and living another. Forced worship, forced love, forced devotion. It all amounts to a pile of stinking religion if you break it down.
I'm not at all sure how exactly to interpret this, but I think I may have gotten a start? Of course I could just be mistaken. But God's grace allows me to be messy. =)
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