Quotes from C. S. Lewis:
"Dozens of people go to Him to be cured of some particular sin which they are ashamed of or which is obviously spoiling daily life (like bad temper, drunkenness). Well, He will cure it all right: but He will not stop there. That may be what you asked, but if you once call Him in, He will give you the full treatment....
"He didn't come to change us into nice people, but new people. He is the painter and we are the painting. He is the inventor, we are only the invention. He knows what we can be and has given His Son to make our transformation possible. His goal for us is higher than we can imagine for ourselves. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage; but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.....
"Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who needs to lay down his arms....
"For mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always improves people here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and higher, but like turning a horse into a winged creature."
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Journal Entries
1st Day. Monday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the middle of the road. I fell into it. I cried out, "Please help me, God. I didn't know the hole was there." He helped me find the way out.
2nd Day. Tuesday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the middle of the road. I fell into it. I
cried out, "Please help me. God. I didn't realize the hole was still there. Somebody should have repaired it. So it's not my fault!" He helped me find the way out.
3rd Day. Wednesday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the the middle of the road. I fell into it. I cried out, "Please help me, God. This is all my fault. I knew it was there, but I fell into it anyway." He helped me find the way out.
4th Day. Thursday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the middle of the road. I squeezed around it and went on into town praising God!
5th Day. Friday. I went to town. I took another road.
2nd Day. Tuesday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the middle of the road. I fell into it. I
cried out, "Please help me. God. I didn't realize the hole was still there. Somebody should have repaired it. So it's not my fault!" He helped me find the way out.
3rd Day. Wednesday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the the middle of the road. I fell into it. I cried out, "Please help me, God. This is all my fault. I knew it was there, but I fell into it anyway." He helped me find the way out.
4th Day. Thursday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the middle of the road. I squeezed around it and went on into town praising God!
5th Day. Friday. I went to town. I took another road.
Holiness
I've just noticed how Psalm 111 and Psalm 112 relate to each other. What a blessing this is!
Look at how the attributes of God listed in Psalm 111 are also listed as the attributes of righteousness people in Psalm 112!
I especially love verse 2 of 111: "Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them."
I am going to ponder more these days -- I do take great delight in them --
This morning's sunrise was another glorious expression of His beautiful works -- It reminded me of Emily Dickinson's poem:
"I'll tell you how the sun rose,--
A ribbon at a time,
The steeples swam in amethyst,
The news like squirrels ran.
The hills untied their bonnets,
The bobolinks began.
Then I said softly to myself,
'That must have been the sun!'"
The birds were so joyous this morning. They were heralding the new day, too! I think God notices how much we need a new leaf, a clean slate, a new beginning-- each day.
And I remember the saying from my younger years, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life!"
Thank you, LORD, for this new day! I really needed it!
Look at how the attributes of God listed in Psalm 111 are also listed as the attributes of righteousness people in Psalm 112!
I especially love verse 2 of 111: "Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them."
I am going to ponder more these days -- I do take great delight in them --
This morning's sunrise was another glorious expression of His beautiful works -- It reminded me of Emily Dickinson's poem:
"I'll tell you how the sun rose,--
A ribbon at a time,
The steeples swam in amethyst,
The news like squirrels ran.
The hills untied their bonnets,
The bobolinks began.
Then I said softly to myself,
'That must have been the sun!'"
The birds were so joyous this morning. They were heralding the new day, too! I think God notices how much we need a new leaf, a clean slate, a new beginning-- each day.
And I remember the saying from my younger years, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life!"
Thank you, LORD, for this new day! I really needed it!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Obedience
From Moby Dick, by Melville:
Before Ishmael leaves for his voyage, he hears a sermon on Jonah. In words full of foreboding,
Father Maple warns, "And if we obey God, we must disobey ourselves; and it is in this disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists."
Before Ishmael leaves for his voyage, he hears a sermon on Jonah. In words full of foreboding,
Father Maple warns, "And if we obey God, we must disobey ourselves; and it is in this disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists."
Holiness
"As a young Christian I had the idea that all I had to do to live a holy life was to find out from the Bible what God wanted me to do and go do it. Christians with maturity will smile at this naive assumption, but I see younger Christians starting off with the same air of self-confidence. We have to learn that we are dependent upon the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to attain any degree of holiness. Then, as we look at Him, we will see Him working in us--revealing our sin, creating a desire for holiness, and giving us the strength to respond to Him in obedience."
--From The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
--From The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
Holiness
"We are often drawn away from obedience by the abuse of grace. Jude speaks of 'certain men who change the grace of God into a license for immorality' (Jude 4). We abuse grace when, after sinning, we dwell on the mercy and compassion of God to the exclusion of His holiness and hatred of sin." -- From The Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges
Rights and wrongs
From Chuck Colson's Breakpoint on Nov 6, 2009
"....now we learn that the President has been quietly cutting off aid to groups that monitor human rights abuses and fight on behalf of human freedom--especially in Iran.
"...these actions go against everything America stands for. Our worldview is largely formed by our Christian heritage--one that puts human dignity first. Has this administration forgotten that human rights have always been America's greatest export?
"...We believe that all humans are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, as our Declaration of Independence says.
"I knew this before I became a Christian. In 1973 President Nixon sent me to Moscow to negotiate for the release of Soviet Jews. I told the hand-line Soviet negotiator, that if the Soviets did not loosen their restrictions, Congress would not pass the trade treaty, which the Soviets desperately needed. Release the Jews, I said--or kiss American grain goodbye.
"He pounded on the table and shouted "You have no right to interfere in our internal affairs!"
"'Those aren't your internal affairs,' I replied. 'Human rights are not conferred by government;
they cannot be denied by government. They are God-given. We call them inalienable.'
"He agreed to free the Jews--and America shipped its grain.
"I can't take credit for that; it was the U.S. Congress and the American people who freed those captives. And it will take the same pressure from Congress and the American people to free the captives in China, Iran, North Korea and everywhere else people are denied their God-given rights."
"....now we learn that the President has been quietly cutting off aid to groups that monitor human rights abuses and fight on behalf of human freedom--especially in Iran.
"...these actions go against everything America stands for. Our worldview is largely formed by our Christian heritage--one that puts human dignity first. Has this administration forgotten that human rights have always been America's greatest export?
"...We believe that all humans are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, as our Declaration of Independence says.
"I knew this before I became a Christian. In 1973 President Nixon sent me to Moscow to negotiate for the release of Soviet Jews. I told the hand-line Soviet negotiator, that if the Soviets did not loosen their restrictions, Congress would not pass the trade treaty, which the Soviets desperately needed. Release the Jews, I said--or kiss American grain goodbye.
"He pounded on the table and shouted "You have no right to interfere in our internal affairs!"
"'Those aren't your internal affairs,' I replied. 'Human rights are not conferred by government;
they cannot be denied by government. They are God-given. We call them inalienable.'
"He agreed to free the Jews--and America shipped its grain.
"I can't take credit for that; it was the U.S. Congress and the American people who freed those captives. And it will take the same pressure from Congress and the American people to free the captives in China, Iran, North Korea and everywhere else people are denied their God-given rights."
Monday, November 23, 2009
Holiness
Holiness is not a series of do's and don'ts, but conformity to the character of God and obedience to the will of God. -- From The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
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