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Thursday, 27 September 2007
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St. Frank and His Gospeless Motto
"Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary use words."
Sounds pretty spiritual I guess. Actually there are no historical records of Francis of Assisi making this statement. And knowing about a man who was so passionate about preaching the Gospel that he even preached it to animals--taking very literally, too literally, Jesus' command to preach the gospel to all creatures--I'm fairly confident that he would be disturbed that such a nonsensical statement is attributed to him.
Try this one on for size: "Feed starving children everywhere. When necessary use food."
Of course you must use words when preaching the gospel! Preach it loud and courageous! In Romans ch10 Paul taught that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God! How can they hear if someone doesn't preach to them?
Don't be ashamed of the Gospel!
Thursday, 21 June 2007
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Turkish Delight
The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20).
John Piper: A Hunger for God; intro p14.
Tuesday, 19 June 2007
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No Longer at Wal Mart
June 15th was my last day of working for Wal Mart. I'm pursuing full time ministry in order to devote my time to study of the Bible. It's kind of exciting and scary at the same time. I'm gonna have to have a lot of discipline...no forget that, I'm desperate for God's grace and strength for this. Discipline will just make me a religious person; though I'm not saying that it won't take a lot of work, but rather, the work will have to be done by the Lord in and through me or else it's all wood, hay, and stubble.
I don't have anything spiritual to say other than pray for me. Thanks.
Tuesday, 21 February 2006
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Psalm 34
A Psalm of David when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed. I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul will make its boast in the LORD; The humble will hear it and rejoice.
O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.
I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.
O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.
Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry.
The face of the LORD is against evildoers, To cut off the memory of them from the earth.
The righteous cry, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
He keeps all his bones, Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.
Tuesday, 14 February 2006
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Humility
To be humble is to have a low estimate of one’s self. It is to be modest, lowly, with a disposition to seek obscurity. Humility retires itself from the public gaze. It does not seek publicity nor hunt for high places, neither does it care for prominence. Humility is retiring in its nature. Self-abasement belongs to humility. It is given to self-depreciation. It never exalts itself in the eyes of others nor even in the eyes of itself. Modesty is one of its most prominent characteristics.
In humility there is the total absence of pride, and it is at the very farthest distance from anything like self-conceit. There is no self-praise in humility, rather it has the disposition to praise others. “In honor preferring one another.” It is not given to self-exaltation. Humility does not love the uppermost seats and aspire to the high places. It is willing to take the lowliest seat and prefers those places where it will be unnoticed. The prayer of humility is after this fasion:
Never let the world break in
Fix a mighty gulf between.
Keep me humble and unknown,
Prized and loved by God alone.
Humility does not have its eyes on self, but rather on God and others. It is poor in spirit, meek in behavior, lowly in heart. “With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love.”
Humility is the first and last attribute of Christlike religion, and the first and last attribute of Christlike praying. There is no Christ without humility. There is no praying without humility. If you would learn well the art of praying, then learn well the lesson of humility.
How graceful and imperative does the attitude of humility become to us! Humility is one of the unchanging and exacting attitudes of prayer. Dust, ashes, earth upon the head, sackcloth for the body, and fasting for the appetites, were the symbols of humility for the Old Testament saints. Sackcloth, fasting and ashes brought Daniel a lowliness before God, and brought Gabriel to him. The angels are fond of sackcloth-and-ashes men.
How lowly the attitude of Abraham, the friend of God, when pleading for God to stay his wrath against
The pride of doing sends its poison all through our praying The same pride of being infects our prayers, no matter how well-worded they may be. It was this lack of humility, this self-applauding, this self-exaltation, which kept the most religious man of Christ’s day from being accepted of God. And the same thing will keep us in this day from being accepted of him.
O that now I might decrease!
O that all I am might cease!
Let me into nothing fall!
Let my Lord be all in all.
E. M. Bounds
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