Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Main Thing
What is most important to you? What is it that makes you happy? What fills most of your waking thoughts? What do you think about when you go to bed at night? These are some questions I've been asking myself lately. I have a lot of interests and hobbies, and I have friends and family members that I love. Often enough, I go to bed thinking about everything that must be done tomorrow, or about that new book I've been wanting to read. Sometimes, I think about what I'll be doing on the weekend with friends. But how often, I ask, do my thoughts turn toward the Saviour of my soul? How often do I think about Jesus and his love as I drift of to sleep? As a Christian, He is the one who should fill my every waking thought. I should find peace and rest in His presence. Jesus Christ and Him glorified is what should be most important to me. But all too often, the desires of this world and the thoughts of the sinful nature make up the majority of what I care about. The real reason why I hardly ever find my perfect peace in His presence is because I do not enter into His presence. When I come before my Lord, and lay my burdens at His feet, He gives me the peace I need to get through the day. When I am willing to put aside all that so easily besets me, and simply be still and know that He is God, all the disorder and chaos of my life comes to an end. All my confusion and fears and worries and anxiety is handed over to Him, and in return, by his marvelous grace, I am given strength and determination to carry on. Oh Lord, grant that I may remember always to come before you. Give me the grace to lay all of myself, my dreams and hopes, plans and failures, at your feet, and be renewed by the transforming of my mind. Do not leave me where I am, but change me, God of my Salvation!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Worldliness
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does- comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:15-17
How often have you heard a sermon on worldliness? Just think about it for a minute. It's a topic that's not often touched upon by most pastors. I wonder why. I would like to hypothesize that the reason worldliness is not often chosen as the subject for Sunday's sermon is because the spiritual leaders of our churches are often catering to the wishes of their members, as well as themselves, in this area. Let's face it. No one likes to feel convicted, and we certainly don't want to feel convicted about our media and entertainment choices. We enjoy our movies, t.v. shows, music, websites, magazines, books, etc., and we don't want to give them up! All too often, our entertainment choices are a huge area of compromise in our lives. We make decisions about what we will view or listen to or read based on what we think is "the limit". A few swear words are okay, but not a lot; one objectionable scene is okay, but if that is the whole premise of the movie, than it's a definite no. When the reality is, we as Christians should never be okay with viewing or listening to things that glorify the things of this world and the devil rather than the things of God. This week, I've been listening to a great sermon series entitled "In the World but Not of the World". I have been so convicted and encouraged by what I heard, and it is my hope that you will be too. Here's the link for the sermon series: http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=A1170-00-51
I encourage you and challenge you to check it out. Although we may look strange to the rest of the world, and although it might require sacrifice and determination on your part, remember that you are doing it for the Lord, who was willing to give up his only son for you. As Jim Elliot so wisely said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose".
How often have you heard a sermon on worldliness? Just think about it for a minute. It's a topic that's not often touched upon by most pastors. I wonder why. I would like to hypothesize that the reason worldliness is not often chosen as the subject for Sunday's sermon is because the spiritual leaders of our churches are often catering to the wishes of their members, as well as themselves, in this area. Let's face it. No one likes to feel convicted, and we certainly don't want to feel convicted about our media and entertainment choices. We enjoy our movies, t.v. shows, music, websites, magazines, books, etc., and we don't want to give them up! All too often, our entertainment choices are a huge area of compromise in our lives. We make decisions about what we will view or listen to or read based on what we think is "the limit". A few swear words are okay, but not a lot; one objectionable scene is okay, but if that is the whole premise of the movie, than it's a definite no. When the reality is, we as Christians should never be okay with viewing or listening to things that glorify the things of this world and the devil rather than the things of God. This week, I've been listening to a great sermon series entitled "In the World but Not of the World". I have been so convicted and encouraged by what I heard, and it is my hope that you will be too. Here's the link for the sermon series: http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=A1170-00-51
I encourage you and challenge you to check it out. Although we may look strange to the rest of the world, and although it might require sacrifice and determination on your part, remember that you are doing it for the Lord, who was willing to give up his only son for you. As Jim Elliot so wisely said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose".
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Steadfast Love
When I was little, there was one particular song my dad always sang to me when he was tucking me in bed, or comforting me after a bad dream. It was called "Steadfast Love". The lyrics went as follows:
The Steadfast Love of the Lord never ceases.
His mercies, they never come to an end.
They are new every morning, new every morning.
Great is Thy Faithfulness, Oh Lord, great is thy faithfulness.
As a little girl hearing "Steadfast Love", I knew that everything would be all right. Daddy was there, God was with me, and my favorite teddy bear Walden was sleeping at the head of my bed to keep an eye on things. I still think of bedtime when I hear that song, which is rather an awkward feeling when one is standing in church singing it. :-)
This past week, God's amazing, steadfast love has been with me. For several days, my heart was extremely distant from God. I wasn't spending time with him, I wasn't praying, I wasn't doing anything that had to do with God. My heart felt extremely cold, and although I knew what I was doing was wrong, I didn't do anything to change my behavior. I felt extremely depressed and angry, my moods were up and down, I succumbed over and over to temptation and sin. In short, I was an unholy mess. But by the grace of God, I realized my sin, and asked for his forgiveness. And, just like the sunrise, his mercies were new for me that morning. God revealed areas in my heart where I had been giving space to Satan, and living to fulfill my selfish needs and desires rather than following His will for my life and deepening my relationship with Him. Oh, how merciful and gracious is the Lord! His mercies are indeed new every morning. I praise Him for His faithfulness, for His sovreign grace, and for His steadfast love.
The Steadfast Love of the Lord never ceases.
His mercies, they never come to an end.
They are new every morning, new every morning.
Great is Thy Faithfulness, Oh Lord, great is thy faithfulness.
As a little girl hearing "Steadfast Love", I knew that everything would be all right. Daddy was there, God was with me, and my favorite teddy bear Walden was sleeping at the head of my bed to keep an eye on things. I still think of bedtime when I hear that song, which is rather an awkward feeling when one is standing in church singing it. :-)
This past week, God's amazing, steadfast love has been with me. For several days, my heart was extremely distant from God. I wasn't spending time with him, I wasn't praying, I wasn't doing anything that had to do with God. My heart felt extremely cold, and although I knew what I was doing was wrong, I didn't do anything to change my behavior. I felt extremely depressed and angry, my moods were up and down, I succumbed over and over to temptation and sin. In short, I was an unholy mess. But by the grace of God, I realized my sin, and asked for his forgiveness. And, just like the sunrise, his mercies were new for me that morning. God revealed areas in my heart where I had been giving space to Satan, and living to fulfill my selfish needs and desires rather than following His will for my life and deepening my relationship with Him. Oh, how merciful and gracious is the Lord! His mercies are indeed new every morning. I praise Him for His faithfulness, for His sovreign grace, and for His steadfast love.
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