In John 15, Jesus is talking with his disciples and tells them the humbling (yet freeing) truth that apart from him they can do nothing. Often, when I have heard sermons preached on this passage, the word “good” is added to the end of that statement – “apart from me you can do nothing good.” This is certainly a true statement, for any good that I do always flows from what God is doing in me and through me. I am entirely dependent on Him to bear good fruit. What humbled me this week, is the thought that it would be equally true (in a different sense) if I added the word “bad” to the end of the statement – “apart from him I can do nothing bad.” The very breath that I use to speak words that dishonor God, and the very strength that I use to turn away from Him and go my own way are supplied by Him. What an amazingly merciful God, who moment by moment sustains my life knowing full well how often I will abuse His grace. Apart from Him I can do NOTHING – may this truth help me to become a humble worshipper of the God of whom I am dependent on for all things.
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Verse of the Week: “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?” (Isaiah 40:12-14)
Truth of the Week: God does not need us. I know that this is an obvious truth, but sometimes it bears repeating. God does not need our advice; God does not need our strength; God does not need our wisdom; God does not need our help in any manner. Although this may deal a blow to our pride, it should bring a lift to our praise. Our God is absolutely self-sufficient. He is full and contains in Himself all that He needs for life and all that we need for life.
While it is wonderfully true that we do not have a needy God, it is equally true that we are a needy people. And yet, God is not discouraged or disillusioned by our neediness – He created us this way. Our emptiness is an arena for the display of His fullness. Our weakness highlights His strength. Our helplessness gives Him the glory of being the Helper. Our insufficiency magnifies His all-sufficiency.
God needs nothing from us. We need everything from Him. May this cause us to faithfully run to His fullness, for in this we are deeply satisfied and He is greatly glorified.
Quote of the Week: “Need is a creature-word and cannot be spoken of the Creator.” (Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy)
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When my daughter was three or four years old, she loved to “help” me in the kitchen. If I announced that I was making cookies, she would get a chair and push it over to the countertop, ready to join me in the process. She loved measuring flour, cracking eggs (always an adventure) and stirring the ingredients. Although at times it seemed that more of the dough ended up on her clothes than on the cookie sheet, the whole experience filled her with both pride and pleasure. When we would share our cookies with the rest of the family, she loved to announce, “I made these!”
Did I need my daughter’s “help” in the kitchen? Of course not. On my own, I could have baked the cookies a lot faster and with a lot less mess. But I loved her desire to be with me. It made my heart glad for her to join me and for us to share this time together.
When I look back on these cookie making memories it helps me to understand how I “help” my heavenly Father in ministry and missions. He does not in any way need me. He could accomplish things faster and with less mess without me. And yet, He delights for me to join Him in His kingdom work. He allows me the joy of laboring alongside Him. He knows that being a part of the process will bring me a sense of purpose and pleasure. As Tozer said, “He needs no one, but when faith is present He works through anyone.”
Posted in Everday Life | Tagged helping God, ministry and missions | Leave a Comment »
Verse of the Week: “Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will lead his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” (Isaiah 40:10-11)
Truth of the Week: The prophet Isaiah is delivering this message to God’s people who are in exile in Babylon. It is a message of hope to those who are hurting; who feel defeated, discouraged and weighed down by life’s circumstances. It is a call to lift their eyes off of the chaos and uncertainty that surrounds them and to remember the truth of who God is. Isaiah calls the people (and he calls us) to behold and believe that –
1) God is always, absolutely in control. He is strong and powerful and more than able to conquer that which holds us captive. Nothing is too hard for Him. All authority is His, and He does as He pleases. He never steps off of His throne, not even for a moment. God is sovereign over every circumstance of life.
2) God is not a withholder of good. He is a generous God who delights to bless His people. He is does not hold back reward, which is another way of saying that He does not hold back Himself from us. He freely offers us to come and find in Him all that we need and more than we long for.
3) God is a tender, gracious, compassionate God who is not a distant deity. He is right there with us in the midst of our everyday life. He is intimately acquainted with us. He is gentle with us. He carries us close to His heart. He never abandons us or leaves us on our own.
The truths that the prophet proclaimed to God’s people of old are truths that we need to cling to today. We too are exiles in this world, and every moment of every day is a battle to behold God and to believe His promises. He is strong…He is good…He is near…may these thoughts nourish our souls and give us the strength and encouragement we need for the journey.
Quote of the Week: “The inspired writers were men of like passion with us, dwelling in the midst of life. What they learned about God became to them a sword, a shield, a hammer; it became their life motivation, their hope, and their confident expectation.” (Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy)
Posted in Truth of the Week | Tagged God is gently, God is near, God is sovereign, good shepherd, Isaiah 40, what is God like? | Leave a Comment »
Verse of the Week: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1,14)
Truth of the Week: Our words reveal to others who we really are. With our words we share the stories of where we have been and of where we are going. Our words convey our thoughts, our plans, and our desires. They communicate what we love and what we hate, what we find pleasure in and what brings us no pleasure at all. Our words convey our true character and demonstrate whether we are kind or rude, patient or quick-tempered, generous or greedy, deceitful or trustworthy, faithful or fickle, gentle or harsh, loving or selfish. Indeed, we are known by our words.
The same is true of God…He reveals Himself to us through His living Word…Jesus. When the Son of God wrapped Himself in human flesh and walked upon this earth, He provided us with a perfect revelation of the Father. When we listen to what Jesus said and look at how He lived, we are able to clearly see God’s purposes and plans and desires. Jesus provides us with an unblemished picture of the mind, the heart, and character of the One whose glory would otherwise be veiled to our eyes. Jesus makes visible the invisible. Indeed, God has made Himself known through His Word.
If we want to know the Father, may we gaze intently on the Son – the living Word who is the exact representation of His being.
Quote of the Week: “Nowhere else can we fully see God but in the face of Jesus Christ.” (Roy Hession, We Would See Jesus)
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The walls of my home are adorned with a multitude of paintings. They are special to me because they were gifts from a generous and talented friend who has quite a knack for decorating (and who has mercy on me because I have no knack for decorating!) Each piece of artwork is a thing of beauty that brings joy to my heart. (You can check out her gallery on www.artbysylvia.com)
I also have a lot of windows in my home, especially across the back of the house. As I look out these windows this morning, the ground is covered with a thin blanket of white, a rarity here in the suburbs of Atlanta. The tree leaves have been kissed by snow, and a brilliant male cardinal is greedily and gratefully munching at one of the feeders. Although it is still early, the world is bright. Gazing at this beauty also brings joy to my heart.
Although I love both the paintings and the windows that I am blessed to have in my house, if I had to choose which one I would rather be, I would choose a window. A painting is created to capture your attention. It calls out, “Look at me. Aren’t I beautiful?” A painting is designed to be noticed and admired. A window is the opposite. A window bids you come and see beyond it. It was not meant to stand out, but to allow you to focus your attention elsewhere. A window disappears as you gaze through it to see something else.
Although I love my paintings, I don’t want to be one. I don’t want to live my life hoping to gain the accolades and the approval of those around me. I would much rather be a window that others can see through to get a glimpse of Jesus.
Posted in Everday Life | Tagged approval of man, living for Jesus | Leave a Comment »
Verse of the Week: “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” (John 1:18)
Truth of the Week: God is not aloof. He is not distant and disconnected, nor is He isolated and removed. We can know this for certain by looking at Jesus – who perfectly reveals to us what the Father is like.
When the King of kings robed Himself in flesh and walked upon this earth He chose to engage in relationships. He had a family and friends. He went to weddings and parties and funerals. He ate and drank and enjoyed fellowship with others. He talked to people about their hearts and about His heart. Rather than hiding Himself away from the messiness of mankind, He walked with them through the intimacy of everyday life. He invited people to know Him.
This is the kind of God we have – a God who is involved in our lives and who desires us to experience a rich and real relationship with Him. A God who did not abandon us when we abandoned Him. A God who pursued us and paid the highest price imaginable that we might know and enjoy Him. A God who delights to reveal Himself to us and bids us to find in Him all that are souls are starving for.
May we draw near to our God and find in Him more than we dare to ask or imagine.
Quote of the Week: “However, the glorious, central fact of Christianity is that God has made a full and final revelation of Himself which has made Him understandable, accessible, and desirable to the simplest and most fearful of us. He has done this in a Son…We need to look, then, no farther than the face of Jesus Christ to see God, and to know him as He really is.” (Roy Hession, We Would See Jesus)
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As we ring in the new year, let’s pause and take some time for a little reflection. Regardless of whether or not you are the kind of person who is prone to making resolutions, God calls us to not drift along aimlessly through our days. He tells us to consider our ways (Haggai 1:5) and to ponder our paths (Proverbs 4:26).
I urge you to take some time to consider these ten questions that were posted by Don Whitney in his article “Ten Questions to Ask at the Start of a New Year or on Your Birthday.” (www.biblicalspirituality.org)
1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?
While it is true that self-determination and sheer will-power will never lead to lasting change, for we can do nothing apart from Christ (John 15:5), it is equally true that we can trust God to strengthen us to do His will (Philippians 4:13) and to work in us what is pleasing in His sight (Hebrews 13:21).
In 2010, may we become a pondering people, who lay aside every hindrance and run with endurance the race that is set before us!
Posted in Reflections | Tagged all things through Christ, new year's resolutions, refelcting, stopping to think | 1 Comment »
Verse of the Week: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)
Truth of the Week: This is the last “truth of the week” for 2009, so it seemed fitting to close out the year with a simple reminder of what our lives are all about – the glory of God. His glory is the very reason for our existence. We were created, redeemed and given breath to live another day that we might experience and proclaim the glory of God. As long as we pursue our own glory and insist on striving to achieve our own agenda (whether this be blatantly rebellious or subtly cloaked in a religious veneer) we will never fulfill our purpose for living.
So, as the new year approaches, may we ring it in with the simple truth that you and I exist to exalt the name of Christ. May this be our whole-hearted and single-minded pursuit. And as we engage in this endeavor, to live lives that magnify the name of our Savior, may we find that our pursuit of Him blossoms into a preference for Him. May our lives declare that He is our matchless treasure!
Quote of the Week: John Calvin, in stating that the whole purpose of our lives is to know God said, “that all those who do not direct the whole thoughts and actions of their lives to this end fail to fulfill the law of their being.” (Institutes of the Christian Religion)
Posted in Truth of the Week | Tagged exalting God, knowing God, new years resolution, pursuing God | Leave a Comment »
