I have been reading Romans as part of my daily devotional for some time now.
I do a sort of take off of an idea I read in a book by John MacArthur. He recommends reading the same book of the Bible in it entirety (except where it is HUGE, as in Luke: where you read 1/3 of the book at a time) for a month. The idea is that you sort of memorise the book and are able to identify and know roughly where to find a quote taken from the book when you read it in books, hear it in sermons or songs.
But, as I said, I am only doing a take off. Instead of the entire book, I read one chapter. In my hectic life I find that one chapter is a realistic goal. And, on the bright side, I may finish the ENTIRE book before I am 30! Something to look forward to : )
At the moment, I am reading chapter 3, and I thought I might share with you some thoughts that I had while reading it tonight.
God's faithfulness is confirmed with zeal early on:
"For what if some of them [those who had the 'oracles' of God committed to them] did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? God forbid! Let God be true but everyman a liar. As it is written: That you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge."
It has just struck me that I often take this portion of scripture for granted. I have read it many times and it is one of those foundation stones of theology, but I tend tread disregard it. But is IS foundational to theology. Even to putting one's faith in God. How could we have faith if we were not first assured of the faithfulness of the One we must trust?
The thing that most often strikes me though, in reading this chapter, is that we must not be comfortable in our position of being God's children. I do not mean to say that we might lose our faith, but that others may never gain theirs. The lost are condemned as sinners, but we are no better......" For all have sinned an fall short of the glory of God." We have been "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came through Christ Jesus." Many have not. Many never will be.
One part of the passage jumps out at me. The words are: "God presented him [Christ Jesus] as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished...." Now I am not implying God's injustice through his never calling the sins of the wicked to account. What I want to get at is this......God was forbearing toward those who sinned for a time. Earlier in the book of Romans (2:4) Paul says that God's kindness lead us to repentance. How would it be if we were kind and forbearing? What miracles could be wrought in the human race?
A Casting Crowns song: Does anybody hear her? demonstrates this point well I think. It speaks about someone "searching for the hope that is tucked away in you and me." And I have to ask why is that we do tuck our faith away?
I must confirm here though that I am a firm believer in witnessing through a life lived for God; as opposed to Bible bashing every person you meet on the side of the road or in shopping malls. But that brings me to another point. Do we live like Christians or like those of the world? Can we be confident that we are witnesses for Christ?
We ought to be kind and forbearing, as he is kind and forbearing. Give the unrighteous an example, time to change, love and compassion. Sometimes that is all it takes. Sometimes when we do not do those things we are driving away the lost.
Great is God's faithfulness
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Chivalry Is Dead (but only in the mornings)
I was flicking through some "blogs of note" today when I came across this post:
Working Girl: Chivalry Is Dead (But Only in the Mornings)
It seems me to be slightly contradictory in that this woman embraces feminism but demands the "respect" due to women, and other "traditional" things like that. There is no logic in having your cake and eating it too. I believe that in many ways women have brought about this lack of respect themselves through their demands for "equal" treatment and status.....but that is no excuse for cowardly men who are afraid to cop the title "chauvinist" simply because they open a door for a woman. I suppose the issue should be considered from both perspectives.
An interesting topic for discussion anyway!
Working Girl: Chivalry Is Dead (But Only in the Mornings)
It seems me to be slightly contradictory in that this woman embraces feminism but demands the "respect" due to women, and other "traditional" things like that. There is no logic in having your cake and eating it too. I believe that in many ways women have brought about this lack of respect themselves through their demands for "equal" treatment and status.....but that is no excuse for cowardly men who are afraid to cop the title "chauvinist" simply because they open a door for a woman. I suppose the issue should be considered from both perspectives.
An interesting topic for discussion anyway!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Hope of Holiness
Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Source: A Lamp For My Feet
Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 13:6 Psalm 51:10
The "openness" that is often praised among Christians as a sign of true humility may sometimes be an oblique effort to prove that there is no such thing as a saint after all, and that those who believe that it is possible in the twentieth century to live a holy life are only deceiving themselves. When we enjoy listening to some Christian confess his weaknesses and failures, we may be eager only to convince ourselves that we are not so bad after all. We sit on the edge of our chairs waiting to grasp at an excuse for continuing to do what we have made up our minds long ago to do anyway. The Lord is ready to forgive sin at any moment and to make strong servants out of the worst of us. But we must believe it; we must come to Him in faith for forgiveness and deliverance and then go out to do the work He has given us to do.
"Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity" (1 Cor 13:6 AV). Let us be willing to call iniquity what is really iniquity, rather than to call it weakness, temperament, failure, hangups, or to fall back on the tired excuse, "It's just the way I am."
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right spirit within me. (Ps 51:10 AV)
Source: A Lamp For My Feet
Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 13:6 Psalm 51:10
The "openness" that is often praised among Christians as a sign of true humility may sometimes be an oblique effort to prove that there is no such thing as a saint after all, and that those who believe that it is possible in the twentieth century to live a holy life are only deceiving themselves. When we enjoy listening to some Christian confess his weaknesses and failures, we may be eager only to convince ourselves that we are not so bad after all. We sit on the edge of our chairs waiting to grasp at an excuse for continuing to do what we have made up our minds long ago to do anyway. The Lord is ready to forgive sin at any moment and to make strong servants out of the worst of us. But we must believe it; we must come to Him in faith for forgiveness and deliverance and then go out to do the work He has given us to do.
"Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity" (1 Cor 13:6 AV). Let us be willing to call iniquity what is really iniquity, rather than to call it weakness, temperament, failure, hangups, or to fall back on the tired excuse, "It's just the way I am."
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right spirit within me. (Ps 51:10 AV)
Monday, July 14, 2008
Thoughts on Literature
Literature enlarges our being by admitting us to experiences not our own. They may be beautiful, terrible, awe-inspiring, exhilarating, pathetic, comic or merely piquant. Literature gives the entree to them all. Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom realise the enormous extension of our being that we owe to authors. We realise it best when we
talk to an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. My own eyes are not enough for me. Even the eyes of all humanity are not enough. Very gladly would I learn what face things present to a mouse or bee.
In reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in a Greek poem, I see with a thousand eyes, but it is still I who see. Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do.
Quote taken from: "An Experiment in Criticism"
Author C. S. Lewis
Pages 140-141
Cambridge University Press, 1961
talk to an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. My own eyes are not enough for me. Even the eyes of all humanity are not enough. Very gladly would I learn what face things present to a mouse or bee.
In reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in a Greek poem, I see with a thousand eyes, but it is still I who see. Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do.
Quote taken from: "An Experiment in Criticism"
Author C. S. Lewis
Pages 140-141
Cambridge University Press, 1961
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Submission and Independence
Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Source: A Lamp For My Feet
Scripture Reference: James 1:4
Paul tells us to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, and James tells us we ought to have "the right sort of independence" (Jas 1:4 JBP). Can the same person obey both commands? The answer is yes, for in both he is being obedient to Christ. Submission is the recognition of and obligation to authority. An independence that refuses all accountability to those assigned by God to exercise authority--parents, husbands, employers, teachers, government--is the wrong sort. The right sort, according to James, begins with the acceptance of adversity. That in itself indicates a measure of maturity. One who has not attained that maturity but tries to achieve independence will certainly have the wrong sort.
To accept adversity, obviously, goes against the grain of all of us. We don't like adversity. Acceptance takes fortitude and faith--faith that Somebody knows what this trouble is all about and has the situation well in hand. In other words, acceptance is submission to God Himself. Often the real proof of our obedience is the willingness to submit, not only to adversity, but also to the specific individuals whom God has put over us (and sometimes this comes to the same thing--those individuals spell "adversity!"). Take a close look at what James says: whatever tests our faith leads in the end to the right sort of independence.
Source: A Lamp For My Feet
Scripture Reference: James 1:4
Paul tells us to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, and James tells us we ought to have "the right sort of independence" (Jas 1:4 JBP). Can the same person obey both commands? The answer is yes, for in both he is being obedient to Christ. Submission is the recognition of and obligation to authority. An independence that refuses all accountability to those assigned by God to exercise authority--parents, husbands, employers, teachers, government--is the wrong sort. The right sort, according to James, begins with the acceptance of adversity. That in itself indicates a measure of maturity. One who has not attained that maturity but tries to achieve independence will certainly have the wrong sort.
To accept adversity, obviously, goes against the grain of all of us. We don't like adversity. Acceptance takes fortitude and faith--faith that Somebody knows what this trouble is all about and has the situation well in hand. In other words, acceptance is submission to God Himself. Often the real proof of our obedience is the willingness to submit, not only to adversity, but also to the specific individuals whom God has put over us (and sometimes this comes to the same thing--those individuals spell "adversity!"). Take a close look at what James says: whatever tests our faith leads in the end to the right sort of independence.
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