Imaging God is not a Broken Record

Thank goodness God is not a broken record. Although God is unchanging, it doesn't mean that God becomes a stale mundane repetitive God. No, God is far from "old hat" from the human finite point of view. He wants to teach us each day. If God didn't want to teach us a certain day, it would certainly be a waste that day. His voice constantly rejuvenates the soul. His word provides us our daily bread. Each day God desires to make a profound impact and deep impression upon human clay.

The Planter plants and the Gardener tills our hearts. New fruit is produced and picked, and the leaves are pruned. The field of crops of our lives burst open and overflow into the hearts that surround us.

We are to image the Potter, for we are His clay. We are to image our Farmer, for in us He has planted His fruit bearing seed. We are to bear the image of the invisible God to a world that does not know God. We are to testify by our lives the glorious news of the resurrected Messiah. We are not be unimaginative stale broken records witnessing a God that is outmoded. God is not old and boring. God has not gone out of fashion. We need God more than ever before. Don't image a broken record today, rather, image God.

Superb Evangelism Advice

My friend of many years posted great insight in his blog. I don't know why, maybe it's because it's directly up the alley of what I've currently been poking around at, but it definitely speaks. Check it out below.

http://everlastingworth.blogspot.com/
Feb. 7th, "Heart of a Farmer"

Below is my comment to Drew's post:
This would be a great sermon. I have never thought of using 1 Cor 3 in this manner, but you are absolutely correct, and my heart leaps from within testifying that you have correctly handled the Word of God. Linking evangelism to an idea of listening to seeing what a human/plant/seed currently needs at that particular time is very insightful and a brilliant theological pull out from this passage. We all are to do our part, however, we must be finely tuned into God to hear if he has called us now to plant, water, till soil, pull weeds, add fertilizer, reap harvest, etc.

Thirsty?

Evangelism vid 2

Evangelism vid

Ben Stein's Movie

Because I feel compelled to because of my undergrad degree. I must throw this in here. He raises the issue and articulates it in a way that I can learn from in approaching this topic. Enjoy!!!

Revisiting Intelligent Design, and talking about it intelligently!! Finally someone well-known can help build better dialogue between two sides that hate each others guts. Feel free to comment!!

Jonah Video

Often times we think the Christian life is about the Nike slogan, "just do it." In actuality the Christian life is about not being able to do it, but rather letting Christ do it through you. Getting burned out, bummed out, and flat out disgusted with yourself with your half-hearted repentance would send anyone into a talespin and dump their faith. Experience the joy once again today in knowing that it's not about us "doing it," it's rather about Jesus saying, "it's done." I pray that you know the mercy of God, and that it's His grace that sustains you. Because of Christian experience the empowering presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can repent a little bit more sincere today than we did yesterday. It's not about is "doing anything," it's about God "doing everything" through us. Cry out to God for mercy and brokenness, so that by His strength you may start to understand what true authentic repentance is all about.

Religious Affections, Edwards 4

Last installment of notes. I continue to be taught difficult lessons from these words which are hard to hear.

Saints tend also to emphasize their sinfulness as over any goodness they have. They see the least sin against an infinite God as an infinite perversion. They feel that the highest degree of their holiness does not have infinite loveliness. Therefore its loveliness is nothing in comparison with the ugliness of the least sin. The more spiritual light a person has, the more this attitude is intensified.” -133, 134

-The truly humble are the most freed of self.

-“They actually trust in Christ to allow them to quietly enjoy their sins and to defend them from God’s displeasure.” -153

-concerning a true saint…”His uneasiness concerning his lack of love for God will increase. The more he hates sin, the more he will want to hate it. He will regret that he still has so much remaining love for it. The more his heart is broken, the more he will want it to be broken further. The more he thirsts and longs after God and His holiness, the more he will long and breathe out his very soul in more longings after God. Like a kindled flame that rises higher, the more ardently it burns, the more it will continue to burn.” -163

-… “he places holy living above everything else. This is his main preoccupation; he is devoted to it with the greatest diligence and earnestness. It can be said he makes his practice of true religion eminently his work and business…he persists in it to the end of his life. He never takes a holiday from it, nor does he practice it only at certain times. It is the constant business of his life and he perseveres through all vicissitudes and under all the trials as long as he lives. The necessity of each of these traits in all true Christians is clearly and fully taught in the Word of God.” -167

-“But a man’s actions are the proper test of his heart. If, for example, when God and other things, whether worldly interests or pleasures, are in competition with each other, a man’s behavior will be tested by what he actually prefers and cleaves to, and what he forsakes. Sincerity consists then in forsaking all for Christ in the heart, and in forsaking all for Christ when called on. Doing this is the test. So godliness consists not merely in having a heart intent on doing the will of God, but having a heart that actually does it.” -180

-“It is absurd then to pretend to have a good heart while living a wicked life.” -180

-“This great evidence of holy practice will be used before the judgment seat of God.” -183

-In the Day of Judgment practice will be the evidence.

-Practice is the evidence of repentance, saving faith, and Christ’s presence.

-Is it legalism to emphasize need of outward practice?

-Practice and works do not exalt self-effort, or subtract or take away the attention which should be given to free grace, rather it points to it because it is God’s enabling power and free grace which only made it possible for the practice of faith and works to take place.

Religious Affections, Edwards 3

Third installment of notes from this book.

-“Again, others develop a high affection for God as a result of their fears of hellfire which are followed by some assuring text of Scripture that persuades them they are safe and that God has forgiven them and made them His children. But their perspective is distorted, and because of their selfish pride they may even continue to have false notions of their communion with God, believing it is carried on by impulses and whispers and other external manifestations that really come from their own imagination.” -92, 93

-“Some people, emotionally and self-confidently excited, speak ignorantly of seeing the truth of the Word of God. They are, in fact, very far away from it. Some text of Scripture comes to their mind in a sudden and extraordinary manner and they think it declares immediately to them that their sins are forgiven, or that God loves them or that he will save them, In their excitement they call this “seeing the truth of the Word of God.” But it is nothing but a delusion. To truly see the truth of the Word of God is to see the truth of the gospel, not a revelation that such and such persons shall go to heaven.” -119

-“So when they hear of the great and glorious things of religion, they have the notion that all these things belong to them. They readily become over confident that they are true. Hell is for other people, and heaven is certainly theirs. Confident that they are children of God and that God has promised heaven to them, they appear strong in the faith of their reality. They may even have great zeal against unbelief, yet the basis of their zeal is false.” -126

-“The great Christian duty is self-denial. This duty consists of two things: first, in denying worldly inclinations and its enjoyments, and second, in denying self-exultation and renouncing one’s self-significance by being empty of self. Self-renunciation must be done freely, from the heart.” -129

-The truly humble lament their own sinfulness.

-“When the saint compares his love with his obligations, he realizes how far short his love falls. He also sees not only how little he loves, but also how great is the corruption remaining within him. For sin is falling short of God’s demands of us. The more the saints realize their inadequacy, the more they see how vile they are. Thus it appears to them that they are full of sin in not loving Christ enough. Before their eyes this is the most hateful ingratitude.

Religious Affections, Edwards 2

Second installment of notes from this all time classic.

-The Devil can counterfeit all emotions.

-“Emotional reactions to the Scriptures, whether of fear, hope, joy, sorrow, or any other may not themselves be evidence of a genuine experience. There are some who think that their emotions have saving value, especially if these emotions move them to have hope or joy or to enjoy anything else that is pleasurable or delightful. They will cite this as evidence that all is well, and that their experience must have come from the Word.” -44

-“On the other hand, their affections are not necessarily true just because they have boundless confidence that they are all right and that their affections are divinely inspired. Nothing certain can be argued from their confidence, however great and strong it appears to be. Just because a man fearlessly calls God His Father, and prays often in the most intimate, bold, and appropriate language, it does not necessarily follow that his confidence rings true.
Indeed, such an overbearing, highhanded, and violent sort of confidence as this may not be evidence of true Christian assurance. For this may savor more of the spirit of the Pharisees who never doubted that they were saints.” -62

-Many non-Christians have false hope, and are under the dominance of self-exaltation and self-confidence. They lie in a sess-pool, relaxing in the massaging waters of self-deception. The true saint may doubt their salvation.

-“First of all, the hypocrite does not have that cautious spirit, that great sense of the vast importance of a sure foundation, not the dread of being deceived. The comforts of true saints will increase caution and a lively sense of how great and awful it must be to appear before the infinitely holy, just, and omniscient Judge. False comforts put an end to those things and dreadfully stupefy the mind.” -63

-“Second, the hypocrite has no knowledge of his own blindness, nor of the deceitfulness of his heart, nor the mean opinion of his own understanding such as the true saint has. Those that are deluded with false discoveries and affections are always highly conceited of their own light and understanding.” -63

-“Third, the devil does not assault the hope of the hypocrite, as he does the hope of a true Christian. The devil is a great enemy to the true Christian hope, not only because hope tends greatly to comfort, but also because hope is of a holy, heavenly nature. It greatly tends to promote and to cherish grace in the heart; it is a great incentive to strictness and diligence in the Christian life. But the devil is no enemy to the hope of the hypocrite, which above all things establishes his self-interest.” -63

-“Fourth, he who has a false hope is not aware of his own corruptions. A saint is. A true Christian is ten times more aware of his heart and his corruptions than is a hypocrite. Therefore his sins and practice will look dreadful to him. But it is a false hope that hides corruption, covering it up so that the hypocrite looks clean and bright in his own eyes.”

-“True saints do not have the discernment to determine who are godly and who are not. For although they may know experientially what true religion is in the internal exercises of it, they cannot feel or see into the heart of another person. They can only see outward appearances. But the Scripture plainly intimates that this way of judging by outward appearances is at best uncertain and is liable to deceive.” -67

-We can never know how defective we can afford to be as Christians.

-“When Christians are in a poor condition, guilt lies on the conscience, and this brings fear and so prevents the peace and joy of an assured hope.” -74

-Being spiritual is having a wholly new life.

-“Love which arises from self-interest is worthless in the sight of God.” -91

-We love God because:
1)We escape from Hell
2)Purely because of how he benefits us.
3)Because of what he does for us.
4)We love solely because of what is in it for us, how God benefits us. We are in it for our own self-interests.

Religious Affections, Edwards 1

My first installment of notes from this book. (I did this in honor of you Brandon, oh famous Middle School Pastor)

Religious Affections
How Man’s Will Affects His Character Before God
Jonathan Edwards

-We have a tendency to live for nothing, care for nothing, believe in nothing as is evidenced by our actions, seek to know nothing, enjoy nothing, find purpose in nothing, and remain alive because there is nothing worth dying for.

-“The assistant to one renowned media pastor told me when I asked him the key to this man’s success: “We give the people what they want.” That, too, is heresy. Heresy is at the very root of the “what’s-in-it-for-me” mentality so prevalent in the west today, a mentality born from the seeds of materialism planted even in Edward’s day.” (introduction xxx)

-“Loving God calls for more than gushing sentimentalities or pious mouthings: Loving God demands obedience to Him in every aspect of our lives and calling others to obedience—whether that message is popular or not.” (intro xxx)

-“Edwards stressed that we can never cultivate true religious affection without a deepened sense of sin. It is the very heart of a Christian to confront one’s own sin and to desperately desire deliverance from it. And once we’ve seen our sin, we can only live in gratitude for God’s amazing grace.” (intro xxxi)

-“I have had a vastly greater sense of my own wickedness and the badness of my heart than ever I had before my conversion…It is affecting to think how ignorant I was, when a young Christian, of the bottomless, infinite depths of wickedness, pride, hypocrisy, and deceit left in my heart.” (Edwards himself xxxii)

-“Yet we find that people exercise the affections in everything else but religion! When it comes to their worldly interest, their outward delights, their honor and reputation, and their natural relations, they have warm affection and ardent zeal. In these things their hearts are tender and sensitive, easily moved, deeply impressed, much concerned, and much engrossed.” -27

Winter Retreat

Broken Today?

When I think about repentance I also think about brokenness. They really fit alongside each other quite nicely. Corporate repentance happens when we are corporately broken. It is a dynamic not often experienced today among the body of believers. I have never actually seen this happen. Because this is rarely experienced collectively, I am afraid to say that the body of believers is missing out on the great treasures and riches that are found in Messiah Jesus. This leaves me in a perpetual state of grief. It is a grief right now that I believe the Lord wishes to let me rest in, to let me feel the weight of, to allow me the burden to experience. Brothers in sisters out there, I pray that our hearts might be united. We need to recapture again the idea of corporate brokenness and corporate repentance.

Sometimes I think it is as if we are so in the dark, that we can't even see the mirror any longer, much less spend the necessary sober introspection time required for us to look in it, thus allowing God the time to speak piercing messages to our heart.

We can be quick with our prayers. Quick prayers are dangerous prayers. When invoking God we invoke the One with the power to give and take away. We toy with fire when we try to pawn off wearing a mask before the Holy One. I have never once prayed a haphazard prayer that amounted to anything. The truth is, prayer without reflection, weight, and contemplation mean very little to us, and dare I say, mean very little to God. A haphazard prayer which is purely surface level, only has the option of being shallow. Depth is not an option, because it merely comes from the lips and not from the heart.

We can suffer the unwelcomed tendency to be absent in our prayers. Our lips move, but our hearts can remain unmoved. We can pray prayers that do not even resonate in our hearts anymore. We can become prayer drones, and thus sever ourselves with the reality of the darkness of our heart. When darkness looms long enough we can chuck the idea of God's presence into distant oblivion. We can be so quick in our prayers that we can shoot out the traditional opening line, "God we thank you for your presence," while at the same time, wishing we were very absent from the Lord's presence. The mouth can thank God for His presence, while the heart craves to flee God's presence.

Let us return now to the idea of brokenness. It's good if the last two paragraphs have led you to personal brokenness already. They just took me about thirty minutes to write because the message stirs me so powerfully. Individual brokenness produces individual repentance. This phenomenon is far more commonplace than corporate brokenness, but is still not common enough. Unfortunately, I am ashamed to say, it hasn't found a habitual home in this author's life.

Why do we need more of brokenness? Because we need more growth and more closeness in fellowship with our Lord. When we are broken and beside ourselves we are more susceptible to be transformed in mighty ways by God's voice. In weakness and brokenness we are susceptible to the Lord's breaking into our lives.

Brokenness occurs when God breaks us and breaks in. When God's voice intervenes and interrupts our shallow existence we become shattered, we become broken. And I think that's the point. The Lord enters in the brokenness. Be broken, be transformed into God's glorious image.

My first youtube video!

Groovy Sounds

Prayer Regarding God's Presence

Spurred by continued reflection of Jonah 1 and 2. 1/29/08

God's Presence
Tonight Lord we want to pray and thank you for your presence,
But first we have something to confess,
You see, we are very much like Jonah,
Our confession is not us harboring an ungrateful heart or an unappreciative attitude towards your presence,
No, our confession is much more scandalous than that,
Our confession is us not wanting you present,
Our confession is us not wanting you near us,
We are like Jonah,
When You are with us,
When You speak to us,
We, like Jonah run,
We try to flee from You,
We attempt to escape Your presence,
We wish we were absent from You,
So today help us to take the first step of genuine thankfulness for your presence by no longer running from our presence
We need You,
We need You present with us,
Help us to come and be present with You,
Help us to talk to You honestly,
There is no use in carrying on this masquerade of insincerity,
You are present with us,
Help us to be present with You,
Finally Lord, as contradictory as it may appear in light of our endless efforts to run and hide,
We thank You for chasing us,
We thank You for pursuing us,
We thank You for finding us here tonight,
We thank You for Your presence.