A God Who Comes.

One of my favorite books that I have read since being in Louisville is The Message of the Old Testament by Mark Dever.  I seriously have a hard time putting it down every time I read it.  I am always encouraged and spurred on.  Tonight I was reading and I felt as though he was speaking directly to what I have experienced in the past and what even the people around me have experienced.  On the Chapter concerning Ezekiel he writes

     "Maybe there was a time when you felt especially close to God... But now you are troubled, uncertain, afraid you have lost the ability to be near Him because the circumstances have changed. Well just as God showed Ezekiel and his Old Testament people, he shows that he is not limited by circumstances... He is the God of this Universe."

I have experienced these very feelings.  Sometimes it even changes from week to week.  there are some days were I feel so close to God and there are others where I have no desire to pray, read, or even worship.  I know that during those times satan will take that and create doubts within me.  This spiritual battle even effects me physically.  When I go through these dry seasons I become slothful and am filled with a negative outlook on all things.  My attitude even suffers.  But I have a great hope because of the very next thing that Dever says.

In the next paragraph Dever reminds us that "This God takes the initiative. He comes to us."  Yes!  God's love is not dependent upon me.  When I did not desire him he came after me, and that is true even for today.  The seasons of life when I do not desire God he still pursues me.  What a great promise to remember.

Also, I must remember the words of my pastor Kevin Jamison from Sojourn.  A few weeks ago he talked about a similar season and he encouraged us not to sit in our despair, but to stand up and fight.  when I do not desire God I must not turn on the TV and hope that one day I will feel better.  I must fight through these seasons.

Today I am going to meditate upon Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Making Do.

Sometimes when you don't have wrapping paper you have to make do.  It isn't perfect but it will work. I think it has a lot of Character.

Idols.

       Recently I have been reading back through the psalms. I always forget what an encouragement and comfort these 150 chapters are to me. Though they can speak to all parts of my life, during this read through I have been pointed to the idolatry that is apart of my life. I often forget how many idols are all around me and how even good blessings from the Lord can quickly play the idol. David says “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless”( ps. 101:3). Later on in Ps. 115:8 we are told that we become like our idols. We become what we worship. There is a fear here and a great hope. My fear is that I quickly fall into the worship of idols around me, but my great hope is that in the worship of Jesus I become more like him. 
       Another great comfort that comes from my recent study is that “He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things” (Ps, 107:9). We are hungry and many times we look to the things of this world to fill us and satisfy us, but the fact is those things do not give life. Only Jesus can give us a satisfaction that is lasting and filling. No worldly thing can do that for us.

       We all need to take the time to examine our lives and see if there is anything that we are becoming like. Is it TV, music, media in general, relationships (good or bad),hobbies or even ministry? There are thousands more, but those are the few that I have been thinking through.

Waffle House

Sometimes you just have an overwhelming craving for something. 

Today that was waffle house.

Oh yeah, and a salad.

What I am Learning

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Cor. 5:17-19

What a beautiful picture we have here, a picture of reconciliation. Reconciliation is something that I think has been difficult for me to grasp in the past. When someone hurts me in some way, my first reaction is usually “I should not continue to be friends with them or be around them.” My thought process is usually “well this is just a Paul and Barnabas situation.”

What a dangerous way to think... 1 John 3:16 says “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” Jesus came to earth, lived and was crucified. He bore the wrath of God that was deserved only by us. He did this in order that we believers could be reconciled to the Father. This is love, a great love.

We must love like Jesus loved. If we say that we love the Gospel then we must love what the Gospel is and that is reconciliation. If we do not long for reconciliation then maybe we are not really living out the Gospel as we claim we are doing.

Now, I understand that not every broken relationship will be mended... and in some cases that is not a bad thing. But most times, it seems that broken relationships are because of sin. We must humble ourselves, confess our sin, and desire to be reconciled to our brother or sister. After all, Jesus humbled himself and brought reconciliation to those who in no way deserved it. Let us do the same for our brothers and sisters. We must love this way... it is required of us.

We are one body so let us seek to build up the church and not tear it down.

Grace and Peace

Baptism

I think I could as soon doubt that the deity of Christ is declared as doubt that the baptism of believers is enjoined,for the one thing appears to me as plainly revealed in Scripture as the other. -Spurgeon