So I'm reading Romans and "When I don't desire God" by John Piper because...well basically, I don't.
-James
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
What God used to do.
I love my pastor. I don't know him on a personal level, but his teaching, faithfulness to the scriptures, and passion for all people of the earth has greatly impacted me in very personal ways.
In one of his sermons he said something that has stuck with me. God never intended the Church to be a museum. A place where we gather and only talk about what God USED to do.
Now, my pastor rightly understands that we DO need to remember God's works, and not forget his everlasting love for us. The scriptures teach us to remember what God USED to do. I also believe they teach us to seek what God is DOING today.
Habakkuk 3:1-2
A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.
LORD, I have heard of your fame;
At the beginning of this summer I sat down in a burger king with a good friend of mine who I hadn't talked to in awhile. All I simply asked him was "So what have you been up to?". His story is amazing. I found myself frustrated when he finished because it ended so abruptly. It's like watching a movie and stopping it half way through. It is undoubtedly NOT over yet.
We all have a story. Today I thought of my parents stories. How they became Christians. My parents are walking miracles.
I thought of my brothers and sisters. I have been privileged to experience much of their stories first hand.
I thought about me...and I trembled. I trembled because I thought of who I might I have been had Christ never saved me. I am a trophy of grace. Not that I stand behind some glass case, shiny and polished. Rather, when God saved me, he saved me so I could be an example to other people that God's grace can reach into the depths of the most wretched of hearts.
In light of all this, here's what I what I want to think about right now. What does God have planned for me today? I've got a story, I know when I was saved, I think it's pretty cool, maybe I'll tell it to you sometime, but...today...today...I want to be about what God is doing today. God hasn't saved us so we can piddle around in our comfortable pools of grace and salvation, while the rest of the world is cracked and dry on broken knees. Having this treasure of Jesus, and not sharing it makes about as much sense as keeping a way of escape secret during a holocaust.
The infinite possibilities each day holds should stagger the mind. The sheer number of experiences one could have is uncountable, breathtaking, and and yet many people spend their spare time refreshing their inbox. We live trapped in loops. Reliving a few days over and over, and we envision only a handful of paths laid out ahead of us. We see the same things each day we respond the same way, we think the same thoughts, each day a slight variation on the last, every moment smoothly following the gentle curves of societal norms. We act like if we just get through today, tomorrow our dreams will come back to us.
-James
In one of his sermons he said something that has stuck with me. God never intended the Church to be a museum. A place where we gather and only talk about what God USED to do.
Now, my pastor rightly understands that we DO need to remember God's works, and not forget his everlasting love for us. The scriptures teach us to remember what God USED to do. I also believe they teach us to seek what God is DOING today.
Habakkuk 3:1-2
A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.
LORD, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.
At the beginning of this summer I sat down in a burger king with a good friend of mine who I hadn't talked to in awhile. All I simply asked him was "So what have you been up to?". His story is amazing. I found myself frustrated when he finished because it ended so abruptly. It's like watching a movie and stopping it half way through. It is undoubtedly NOT over yet.We all have a story. Today I thought of my parents stories. How they became Christians. My parents are walking miracles.
I thought of my brothers and sisters. I have been privileged to experience much of their stories first hand.
I thought about me...and I trembled. I trembled because I thought of who I might I have been had Christ never saved me. I am a trophy of grace. Not that I stand behind some glass case, shiny and polished. Rather, when God saved me, he saved me so I could be an example to other people that God's grace can reach into the depths of the most wretched of hearts.
In light of all this, here's what I what I want to think about right now. What does God have planned for me today? I've got a story, I know when I was saved, I think it's pretty cool, maybe I'll tell it to you sometime, but...today...today...I want to be about what God is doing today. God hasn't saved us so we can piddle around in our comfortable pools of grace and salvation, while the rest of the world is cracked and dry on broken knees. Having this treasure of Jesus, and not sharing it makes about as much sense as keeping a way of escape secret during a holocaust.
The infinite possibilities each day holds should stagger the mind. The sheer number of experiences one could have is uncountable, breathtaking, and and yet many people spend their spare time refreshing their inbox. We live trapped in loops. Reliving a few days over and over, and we envision only a handful of paths laid out ahead of us. We see the same things each day we respond the same way, we think the same thoughts, each day a slight variation on the last, every moment smoothly following the gentle curves of societal norms. We act like if we just get through today, tomorrow our dreams will come back to us.
"Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that all was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible." -T. E. Lawrence
-James
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