Archive for the ‘Spiritual Disciplines’ Category
This is my Bible
Happy New Year! I just preached the first message of 2010 from Exodus 16. I challenged our church family to make a plan and spend time in God’s Word every day this year. I made a commitment to read through the whole Bible this year. And by God’s grace, I will!
We need God’s Word in our hearts, minds, and lives every day. Why? Here’s a resource that I have shared with our church family. I hope it’s helpful to you as we start 2010.
This is my Bible.
I am who it says I am. Matthew 5:16
I can do what it says I can do. Philippians 4:13
I am going where it says I will go. John 14:3
God’s Word is milk for my soul. 1 Peter 2:2
God’s Word is seed for my faith. Luke 8:11
God’s Word is light for my path. Psalm 119:105
God’s Word is power for my victory. Hebrews 4:12
God’s Word is freedom for my life. John 8:32
When I read God’s Word it brings me joy. Jeremiah 15:16
When I study God’s Word, it keeps me from shame. 2 Timothy 2:15
When I memorize God’s Word, it purifies my heart. Psalm 119:11
When I quote God’s Word, it defeats my enemies. Ephesians 6:10, 17
When I meditate on God’s Word, it brings me success. Joshua 1:8
When I abide in God’s Word, it gives me confidence. John 15:7
I am a Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ!
P.S. There are many ways to read through the Bible—many of them are online. One source is esv.org/biblereadingplans. Let me encourage you to check it out.
Praying According to the Will of God
We had a church-wide prayer meeting this past Sunday evening. James mentioned a couple of things that resonated strongly with me, particularly as it relates the Lord’s will. His point, at least as I remember it, was that we too often couch our prayers with a “thy will be done” exit strategy. I’m not sure I remember his exact application, but it made me think of a time when I—along with a number of others—prayed for the healing of a friend. During our time of prayer, most of us prayed preemptively, as though preparing ourselves for the “No” answer. Things such “but not what we want, Lord,” and “but most importantly, be glorified in all of this,” and “even if you choose not to heal . . .” etc. And I wondered then, and still do, how much of this prayerful submission to God’s will was perhaps also a form of self-protection—an insulation from the disappointment that would come to us if God chose not to answer our request for healing.
I’m increasingly inclined to think our customary use of “thy will be done” is not consistent with it’s use in Scripture. What is the “will” that we are asking to be done here? To make my point, it will be helpful to distinguish between the two “wills” of God (a distinction made by many theologians, self included). The first is God’s ordained will, that which he has sovereignly ordained from the foundation of the world and which infallibly comes to pass. This aspect of God’s will cannot be known by mere mortals except in hindsight, or divine revelation. The second aspect of God’s will is his moral will, that which is in line with his character and heart. At times, there is tension between these two wills, for not everything that God has ordained via his ordained will is in immediate harmony with his moral will. The death of his Son would be a fine example. In and of itself, the death of Christ is not in keeping with God’s moral will. The Father takes no immediate pleasure in the death of his Son. Yet the Father set aside his moral will (for a season) in order to further his ordained will (which in turn ultimately furthered his moral will). So a certain event may be in keeping with God’s ordained will, but contrary to his moral will.
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Some Thoughts on Fasting
“Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer.” 1 Corinthians 7:5
For many of us, fasting is a foreign—and perhaps uncomfortable—experience. Consequently, while we recognize its place within Scripture, we often find ourselves unable to makes sense of why we are called to do it. Are we trying to impress God? Restrain the flesh? Focus our thoughts? In as much as the mandate to “fast and pray” is a biblical one, I offer the following thoughts.
Fasting in Scripture is typically associated with great need. We fast because we have a desperate desire to hear from God in this matter, at this time. It is the natural expression of our soul-hunger for God. We fast because our circumstances, whether personal or corporate, have grown beyond us. We fast because we need the grace of God to shower upon us in fresh new ways.
It seems to me that fasting is not a direct means of igniting spiritual hunger, but rather of paving the way for, and preserving, an already present spiritual hunger. Fasting is a form of preparation, an intentional cleansing of all distractions that would come between the believer and the God whom he desperately seeks to lay hold of. It is David laying aside Saul’s armor in preparation for the giant. It is Elijah girding his loins before his desert flight. It is the man rushing into a room with the long sought treasure map and, with the sweep of his arm, clearing the table in order that he might make undistracted use of the map. We fast because we want nothing—not even food—to distract us from our desperate desire to encounter God.
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