Jesus – my Justification May 17, 2009
Posted by jonesy24 in Christianity, God, Re:Hope, Theology.Tags: Jesus, justification, righteousness
add a comment
A few weeks ago at Prayer in Re:hope, I remember sitting there in the middle of the prayer time, adding my ‘amens’ to what people were praying, not particularly feeling ‘led’ to pray… to be honest, I just wasn’t ‘in’ it. Then pretty much at once my thought turned to the people who ‘didn’t believe the Cross was enough’. They KNEW the Cross was enough, but they didn’t believe.
I got this picture of a ball and chain in my head, and felt like people were dragging around a ball and chain (their sin, the sins done against them, hurt, guilt, shame) which Jesus had unlcoked on the cross, but they’d decided to turn around, pick it up, and drag it along anyway.
What do they want? A box of choclates on top?
I can’t sleep either. A conversation last night got me thinking about the whole thing again. People who don’t believe they are worthy. They’re not good enough. They’re not ‘loved’. They don’t ‘deserve’. They’re too ‘bad’. They’re too sinful. etc. etc.UGH.
I’m thinking – you know what, I’ve done some pretty shameful things in the past. I’ve sinned. I’ve fallen short. I sin. I’m a sinner.
In fact, I’ll go even further than that. I’m the worlds worst and not letting go of that sort of thing either. I’ll beat myself up about things in the past, what I could’ve or should’ve done differently, what could have been the result if I had changed back then, etc. Actually, so much so, that recently I was told by someone I barely know, but fully respect to take my journal, either bin it or put it away, and start afresh. To accept fully what Jesus done on the cross, has delt with my sin, and has unlocked the ball and chain, to be dragged around no more.
It angers me to see that people believe Satan’s lies about them. It angers me even more when people refuse to accept that Jesus death on the cross was enough.
Not only did Jesus take the punishment for our sins on the cross as our substitute, and cleanse us from the sins we’ve done, and that have been done against us (and the crap that comes along with that sort of thing i.e. shame), but he also made us righteous. He Justified us.
The basis of our hope for acceptance with God and eternal life is the provision of Christ for both pardon and perfection. That is, he becomes our substitute in two senses: In his suffering and death he becomes our curse and condemnation (Galatians 3:13; Romans 8:3); in his final suffering and death, and in his whole life of suffering and righteousness, he becomes our perfection (2 Corinthians 5:21). His death is the climax of his atoning sufferings, which propitiate the wrath of God against us (Romans 3:24 – 25); and his death is the climax of a perfect life or righteousness – God’s righteousness – imputed to us (2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 4:6, 11 with 3:21-22; 5:18-19). This meets our need for more than forgiveness.
The righteousness we have is not our own, it comes as God’s good gift in Christ. But we will be righteous. Notice that this means more than being pardoned. The pardoned criminal bears no penalty, but he bears a stigma. He is criminal and he is known as a criminal, albeit an unpunished one. The justified sinner not only bears no penalty, he is righteous. He is not a man with his sins still about him.
Not only should Jesus be honoured as the one who died to pardon us, and not only should he be honoured as the one who sovereignly works faith and obedience in us, but he should also be honoured as the one who provided a perfect righteousness for us as the ground of our full acceptance by God.
We should honour Jesus as our Justifier. As our righteousness. But we also need to start accepting it. Believing it. Jesus IS my justification. Therefore, I will no longer be shaped by things of the past. No longer will I be shaped by sin and shame. Nor will I ever believe that I am not worthy, good enough or loved, for I refuse to doubt the work on the cross as being ‘enough’.
To Stand in Awe April 21, 2009
Posted by jonesy24 in Austria, Bible, Christianity, God, Worship.Tags: Austria 09, stand in awe
2 comments
The Israelites have just finished the tabernacle and the alter, they’ve been given all these detailed instructions on various offerings, the priests are good and ready, and in Leviticus 9 we have basically what is the first ‘worship service’. It being the first time, they probably don’t know what’s going to happen, or what to expect. The glory of God appears to all the people, and God consumes the offering with fire. The first ‘service’ ever, and God ‘shows up’, and the people go crazy, start shouting in joy and fall face down in worship.
Can you imagine? How awesome must that have been? The priests, Aaron, Moses and the people doing this for the first time the way God has told them exactly how he wants to be worshipped, not knowing what to expect, not sure what exactly is going to happen, and God shows up, and is seen in all of his glory!
But then in chapter 10:
“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.”
Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, after just having seen the glory of God, being all fired up and excited (no doubt about it) after just having seen God’s glory and fire come out from the presence of the Lord to consume the offering, offer unauthorised fire before God – contrary to how he’s said how it’s to be done. Bad idea! If God gives you instructions on how to do something, you stick to them. Otherwise, there’s serious consequences.
So, having done different to what God has told them to do, despite their hearts being in the right place, being fired up and excited about worshipping God, fire comes out from the presence of God, consuming them and killing them.
What’s interesting here is that they’re hearts are in it – they’re trying to worship God, but the way they do it isn’t right. It matters how we worship God. Our hearts have to be in it, but our actions – which reflect what’s going on inside have to be in line with how God wants to be worshipped. It’s not about how WE want to worship God – it’s how HE wants to be worshipped.
So, you’re thinking: Slaughtering animals, burning stuff, etc… that’s Old Testament, right? That’s old school? We don’t do that anymore, right? But the theory still applies today because God still cares how he is worshipped. Worship is an offering before God. We do need to follow the examples in the bible of how God wants to be worshipped. If we get mixed up in that, and worship God how WE want to, even with good hearts, like Nadab and Abihu – our good hearted worship offering can be offensive to God.
We were saved, not to be slaves to God, because that would imply he needs us, but to be sons and daughters, to worship God, our father, and to live lives that glorify him. We are all called to worship God. We are called to stand in awe.
Jesus talks about worshipping what we do not know. He follows on by saying (John 4:23-24) that “true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks (again – what God wants, what God is looking for). God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
Worship in spirit and in truth? What is that?
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12: 1-2)
Worship is a sacrifice. An offering. Similar to the offerings in the Old Testament, here Paul talks about offering ourselves, our very lives as a worship sacrifice to God. Being a Christian is sacrificing your life to God – and that’s worship. Living a life of worship.
Spiritual worship is praising and worshipping a God who requires you to be all in, giving up the things of the world, and becoming more like Jesus daily. That involves sacrifice. That involves taking up our crosses daily.
Part of worshipping in truth is simply worshipping God in the way that he wants to be worshipped. With all your heart, soul, mind and strength, in accordance with what the bible says about how God wants to be worshipped.
We see plenty of examples of worship throughout the bible. We read the Psalms which teaches us how to worship God by singing. There’s examples of physical acts of worship (raising hands, facedown worship, kneeling, dancing, etc) as well, practised by people like Abram, Moses, Aaron, King David, Peter, James, John, etc. Taking a closer look at some of these people allows us to see the heart behind their physical acts of worship.
Every posture in worship says something of both the worshipper and the one being gloried in. The raising of hands tells of a soul stretched out high in praise and the worth of the one being exalted. Joyful dancing (like David) interprets a grateful heart and points in adoration to the lovable gracious God – the source of that joy. Worshipping facedown tells of a soul so captivated by God that to prostrate your self before God in true and total surrender seems the only appropriate response (and is probably the ultimate act of reverence) to our God, our high and exalted master.
What I’ve learned is that all these physical acts or postures begin as a posture of the heart. So it’s important to spend a short time before or just at the start of worship, readying your heart, focusing on God, asking for forgiveness, focussing on something that God has done, or that you long for him to do. I believe if you sort out your heart, and your head before you enter a time of worship, the prospect of raising your hands in a physical act of worship doesn’t seem a scary thing at all. When you truly focus on God, the people around you, which can make you feel uncomfortable and not confident in worshipping outwardly, become less of an issue.
Ultimately, who’s bigger? We’re concerned about the person to the right and left of us? Maybe they’re concerned about you? What will they think if I raise my hands and actually worship God in the way my heart wants to, in a response to who God is and what he has done for me? And I get it. I understand. Half the time, I struggle with it myself. Half the time I don’t do what my heart wants to do. It’s difficult sometimes.
One example of facedown worship is when the Ark of the Covenant has been taken by the Philistines in 1 Samuel 5, they take it a temple and they place it before their ‘god’ Dagon. The Ark of the Covenant was God’s presence. They come into find their ‘god’ (a statue) Dagon facedown before the Ark of the Covenant. Even supposed gods end up facedown in the presence of God.
Then there’s David. Shortly after the Dagon incident, the Ark of the Covenant is brought back to it’s rightful place. David is so overjoyed, that he dances with all his might in worship of God, in an undignified way. Sometimes when we God ‘gets’ us, we get ‘it’, which is to say we tend to throw off the concerns about what people may think, like David did… and go a little bit crazy and worship God in an undignified way.
This leads to my final point. Worship is a response. It’s a response to who God is. It’s a response to what he’s done, and what he’s going to do. We get so wrapped up in what we want from worship. We base our judgement on how good worship was depending on how ‘hyped up’ and spiritual we feel afterwards. Coming back to what I said at the beginning, it’s about God. Not us.
First and foremost, worship is to God. Secondly, it’s us. God can and does minister to us through the Holy Spirit in worship. It’s communion with God. It’s a two-way thing. That is also why we can (like David does in the Psalms) cry out desperately for God in worship, in our pain and hurting, in the midst of some of the craziness in this world, but still ultimately put our hope and our trust in the God who is in control of everything.
Worship is also a choice. It’s not something we always feel drawn into. Sometimes I’m just not in the mood to get down on my knees and worship God. Just like sometimes the last thing I feel like doing is reading my bible or praying. We don’t just pray to God when we feel like it; otherwise it’s just a take, take, take, relationship. In the same way, we need to make the choice of worshipping God in the midst of suffering. We need to step into worship even when we don’t feel like it, which is basically saying, “God, even though I feel miserable right now, you’re still worthy and I’m going to worship you despite…”
In Habakkuk, the prophet Habakkuk is crying out to God. He’s asking for help. His people are screwing up big time. They’re not living the lives God called them to live. Habakkuk talks about all the destruction and violence and strife and conflict. He wants to know why God isn’t moving when there’s so much wrong going on. He wants to know how God can watch this and do nothing.
God tells Habakkuk that he’s raising up the Babylonians to sort things out. He’s raising up an even worse ungodly nation, to take over the currently ungodly nation of Israel. Ouch. Basically, Habakkuk is in a bad situation, and it’s only going to get worse, and then he prays this:
“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.” (Habakkuk 3:2)
It’s amazing. Despite the fact that Habakkuk is in a crappy situation, and he knows it’s only going to get worse because God is raising up the Babylonians, he still worships God. He still, in the midst of suffering, in the knowledge that it’s only going to get worse, trusts God and puts his hope in him.
Habakkuk standing in awe of God’s deeds? What? Even in a bad situation?
There’s so MUCH to stand in awe of. So much that God has done in the bible which should have us fall flat on our face (like Dagon) in worship to God. How can we even find it ‘hard’ or ‘awkward’ to worship?
Austria ‘09 April 18, 2009
Posted by jonesy24 in Austria, God, What's happening with me....add a comment
So, last Saturday I got back from the 2009 Scripture Union Austria camp. I have to say, it was a lot of fun.
This year there were a lot of changes. First off, we weren’t staying at the place we usually stay at – a huge Castle run by and for Christians, who accomidated us for as long as I can remember. This proved difficult because where we had what was pretty much a conference room in the ‘Castle’, we were now in a hotel, using the dining room for meetings and worship, not to mention food!
We also had a lot of new leaders. My cousin Stephen was the main man for the trip this year, with my brother Gareth being his right hand man. All the old (literally old) ski instructors had decided last year was their last year. It worked out as Stephen, Gareth, Linny (another cousin), and Andy taking the classes, and me at least putting my name to the ‘Free skiers’ – I was responsible in a very informal way. EEK.
So, leading worship this year was different. I didn’t have a sound man. I didn’t have a PA or a sound desk. I was working with Me on guitar and vocals – through a huge marshall amp, Gil on Piano and vocals – through another acoustic amp, and a last minute addition of a cracking wee musician called dean, who brought his bass guitar and amp along. The sound mix was probably awful. And the dynamics of the room were dreadful, with me not being able to see what seemed like half the campers. It was hard for me to get over the things I could control being far from ideal and trusting God that he’d move regardless.
Then the powerpoint! AGHHHHHHHHHHH! I had also organised powerpoint, meaning I brought a projector, and a laptop, and ‘borrowed’ the church lyrics and what not. It was a disaster. Something seemed to change/go wrong every single night. Plus, I was speaking the first night on congregational worship, and pretty much forgot about powerpoint entirely.
And my ‘talk’, or message. Having worked on it in advance of Austria (something other leaders clearly didn’t do – something I realized when they were taking afternoons of skiing to work on it! ;-p. (I only mention it because it makes me look organised for the first time in my life!). But yea, the message went pretty alright. I’d threw it (emailed) to my pastor Brian Ingraham to have a looky at and give me a few pointers, and suprisingly it wasn’t ‘crap’ like I though it’d be. At least that’s what he SAID.
There seemed to be a good response. People definately took the things I’d challenged them with and tried out a few things during the week relating to what was being talked about. Although writing was one thing, I definately need to work on my communication.
OVER ALL… I loved it. It was good to be more organised BEFORE I went this year, which meant it was less rushing, etc. Worship went good – because God moved, and it had nothing to do with me. The talks rocked, even the badly communicated, lack of powerpoint ones (mine) – not because anything I had done, but because God intervened. Skiing was amazing, not just because it was skiing, but because I spent a bit of time just relaxing and standing in awe of God’s Creation.
Redemption March 25, 2009
Posted by jonesy24 in Christianity, God, Theology.Tags: Jesus Christ, Redemption, the cross
add a comment
Redemption is synonymous with being liberated, freed, or rescued from bondage and slavery to a person or thing.
In Exodus, God’s people (the Israelites) were enslaved to Pharaoh (which I’m assuming is a fancy Egyptian word for ‘king’), who rules over the most powerful nation on earth, Egypt. He was worshipped as a god, and he didn’t exactly treat his slaves very well. The slaves cried out to the one true God, and he heard their pleas. God raised up Moses to speak on his behalf to Pharaoh, demanding that the slaves be set free in order to worship the true God. God nicely but authoritatively called Pharaoh to righteousness, but Pharaoh became hard hearted (just as God said he would!), and he refused to let the slaves go free. Big mistake. God sent a bunch of plagues as judgements and warnings upon Pharaoh, giving him more than a few opportunities to repent and do what God demanded.
Pharaoh repeatedly refused to repent, and release the slaves, so God sent a series of pretty awful judgements upon the entire nation of Egypt. The wrath of God was eventually poured out on the firstborn son of every household, who were all killed in one night. The only families that were spared were those who took a lamb without defect, (sorry vegans!) killed it as a substitute, and used it’s blood to cover the door posts of the entry of their homes. Because they done this, the wrath of God skipped them out.
God redeemed his people. He set them free. Whatever you want to call it.
The interesting thing about this is that we see a theme of ‘redemption’ throughout the bible. God ‘redeeming’ his people a bunch of times in the old testament. Then in the new testament Paul talks about Jesus being our redeemer (Rom 3:24, 1 Cor 1:30, Gal 3:13 etc).
Before I was ’saved’, I was a slave to sin.
But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. (Romans 6:17)
Jesus Christ is MY redemption. Not only did he take the punishment for our sins, and cleanse us from our sins and the sins done against us like I talked about in my previous blog, but he also set us free from the slavery to sin!Just as he freed the Israelites from their slavery, he freed me from my slavery to sin through death on the cross.
Jesus Christ – My Redemption.
Substitutionary Atonement March 12, 2009
Posted by jonesy24 in Christianity, God, Theology.Tags: Jesus Christ, Substitutionary atonement, the cross
add a comment
The most famous symbol in all of history is the cross. The cross represents symbolizes the believer’s connection with the death of Jesus. What’s amazing about this is, back in the days of Jesus, the cross wasn’t a ‘pretty little symbol’, but a shameful, excruciating (which literally means “from the cross”), horiffic mode of death. The ancient Jewish historian Josephus called crucifixion “the most wretched of deaths”. Cicero – an ancient Roman philosopher – asked decent Roman citizens not even to speak of the cross because it was such a disgraceful subject.
Paul talks about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as the most important event in all history, and the verification of the truthfulness of all Scripture. (That’s right… the Old Testament is all about Jesus too!). He then talks about this being the ‘good news’ – that Jesus died because of our sins. It was our sins, but his death.
From pretty much the beginning of Scripture (Genisis 2:17) to the end (Revelations 21:8), the penalty for sin is death. In other words, if we sin – we should die. But it was Jesus, the son of God, sinless, who died in our place for our sins – He took the penalty for our sin.
This means that Jesus’ death was substitutionary.
In good old Leviticus (one of my favourite books), we read about the day of atonement – which was the most important day of the year – the day in which the ’sin problem’ between humanity and God was ‘dealt’ with. On the day of atonement, two goats without defect (perfect little hooves shining) were selected to represent sinless perfection.
The first goat was a sin offering. The first goat got slaughtered (sorry vegans!), which acted as a substitute for the sinners who, according to what we see all throughout scripture, deserved to die. The head priest (who had the joy of slaughtering goat number 1) then sprinkled some of it’s blood on the seat ontop of the Ark of the Covenant inside the most holy place. The goat was no longer innocent when it took the guilt of the people’s sin, and it was a sin offering for the people (Lev 16:15). The goat’s blood represented life given as payment for sin. The dwelling place of God was thus cleansed, and God’s just and holy wrath was satisfied.
The high priest, acting as a mediator between the sinfil people and God would take the second goat (drum role please for goat number 2), lay his hands on it and confess the sins of the people. Goat number 2 (called the scapegoat) would then be sent away to run free in the wild (no doubt to be eaten by a lion or something) away from the sinners, symbolically taking their sin with it.
This is like one giant foreshadowing of the coming of Jesus, our High Priest who mediates between us and God, the sinless substitute who died in our place for our sins, and the scapegoat who cleanses us of our sin to be remembered by God no more.
You have to understand the function of the two goats in order to appreciate the atonement.
“The concept of substitution may be said, then, to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives which belong to God alone; God accepts penalties which belong to man alone.” – John Stott
Substitutionary Atonement is Jesus taking our place on the cross, cleansing us from our sin, and restoring the relationship between God and man.
A multi-faceted jewel March 10, 2009
Posted by jonesy24 in Books, Christianity, God.Tags: Christ, Jesus, the cross
2 comments
“One theologian has called the cross the great jewel of the Christian faith, and like every great jewel it has many precious facets that are each worthy of examining for their brilliance and beauty. Therefore, you will be well served to see each side of this jewel shining together for the glory of God in complimentary and not contradictory fashion.”
After reading a book called ‘Death by Love’ (Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears) I realized that I had managed to walk into something I’ve been determined to avoid. I ‘forgot’ the cross. To explain, what I mean is as I was reading this book, which focuses on the different aspects of the cross, I was thinking ‘I know this, but I had clearly forgotten this aspect of the cross’.
My point is… we forget that Jesus was our Substitutionary Atonement, our Christus Victor, our redemption, our New Covenant Sacrifice, our gift righteousness, our justification, propiation, expiation, our unlimited limited atonement, our ransom, our Christus Exemplar, our reconciliation, and our revelation.
I’m probably going to do a blog on each of these, part because up until recently I hadn’t fully understood some of these and think it important to explain them if i’m going to throw them in a blog like I’ve just done, and partly because It’ll help me go over and remember the final details of each of these.
What I realized after reading this book, and thinking about it A LOT, is that many of the people I know understand and know most of these to varying degrees. But in certain aspects of their life, you don’t see it. Jesus as our expiation, meaning he cleansed us from the defilement of our sins and the sins done against us, means that we shouldn’t be hiding in shame, or be being shaped by things in the past – why? Because we were made new in Christ, and he dealt with our sin and our shame on the cross.
“God, make me like Peter…” January 19, 2009
Posted by jonesy24 in Christianity, God, What's happening with me....Tags: boldness, initiative, Peter
4 comments
I think Peter rocks.
I think I’ve got a bad impression of the guy somewhere along the line (I’m thinking Sunday school). You know… the guy who denied Christ. The guy who sank when he tried to walk on water, etc, etc.
Scripture covers the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to Peter.
I guess there’s a few things in Peter’s life I’d probably like to avoid, but at the same time there’s a lot I admire.
Just as I aspire to be like David with his faith-based optimism, I love the idea of Peter’s willingness to step out and take action.
Even though Peter gets a bit of heat for sinking when he tried to walk on water, shouldn’t he get some credit for being the only disciple who actually got out of the boat? That took initiative.
And Peter made some commitments he couldn’t keep. But I respect the fact that he was the only disciple out of the twelve to man up and speak up. He was the first to publicly identify Jesus as the Messiah.
And THEN… we see Peter chop some guy’s ear off, when they came to arrest Jesus. He couldn’t sit there and let them drag Jesus off. He felt he had to do something!
I can be pretty bold some of the times (which can get me into trouble occasionally too!), but there’s a bunch of times I’ve chickened out of decisions, etc… because I’ve lacked the ‘initiative-taking boldness’ of Peter. Decisions that require boldness. Being a Christian – truly seeking to follow God’s plan… can often require bold decisions that have associated risk.
G0d, make me like Peter.
Prosperity Gospel January 13, 2009
Posted by jonesy24 in Bible, Christianity, God, The Bible - it's quality stuff!.Tags: Joel Osteen, Prosperity Gospel, Prosperity theology
add a comment
Maybe it’s a bit unfair that Joel Osteen got the brunt of my blogging wrath. Maybe not. I’ve decided to tackle the broader subject behind my displeasure over Joel Osteen and some of the stuff he teaches – seeing as he’s definitely not the only one who teaches what is known as… *cue dramatic music*…
Prosperity Gospel!!!
So… Allow me to explain what Prosperity Theology is. Prosperity Theology is “teaching that God desires the material prosperity of those He favours”.
Now, by ‘material prosperity’… that’s not just financial prosperity, but success in relationships and good health.
This theology and teaching promotes the idea that God wants Christians to be ‘abundantly’ successful in every way. Especially financially.
*Deep Breath*
Now… apparently there’s a biblical basis for this. It’s bible verses such as Deuteronomy 8:18, Malachi 3:10, John 10:10, and 3 John 2-4. As farm as I’m concerned, they’re taken out of context.
I do believe that God blesses us with regards to finances (but we still have to be responsible), realtionships and health. But there’s a bigger picture.
Prosperity teachers are making it out to be as if we’re still living in Genesis 2.
I also know that being a Christian isn’t plain sailing. It’s not an easy thing. I don’t think it’s fair, or biblical to say that if you’re not healthy then clearly you’ve done something wrong, which is what prosperity gospel suggests. I don’t think God wants us to be the elite super rich Christians, with the giant houses and fancy sports cars… after all, Jesus himself was a carpenter. Not exactly huge income.
Anyway, I’m mincing words.
When someone teaches solely prosperity theology, and doesn’t look at the bible in it’s full context, selecting the fluffy-nice-to-hear sections, they’re only revealing a tiny part of a big picture.
I’ve seen a bunch of people who’ve been damaged by prosperity theology teaching churches. Why? Because they’re only getting a tiny part of the big picture. And it upsets me to see people questioning their faith in God, because they were misled by a leader/teacher that isn’t teaching the true gospel, the whole bible… but a Genesis 2 – before the fall of man fairytale.
“Any Gospel that cannot be preached in a Third-World country is not the True Gospel of Jesus Christ” — Dr. David Jeremiah
P.s. Here’s a few verses that counter the prosperity theology idea – 1 Timothy 6:7-10, Matthew 6:19-21, 24; Luke 16:13, Luke 18:22-25, 1 John 2:15, 1 Timothy 6:3-5, Matthew 19:21, 1 Timothy 2:9, Proverbs 22:16.
Hope that backs up what I was saying before.
“God, make me like David…” January 12, 2009
Posted by jonesy24 in Books, Christianity, God, Internship.1 comment so far
David rocks. It’s official.
I’ve been reading a book called ‘Courageous Leadership’ by Bill Hybels… (just finished it actually) and he briefly talks about David’s faith-based optimism.
David believed so deeply in the pwer of God that a giant could not intimidate him, a murderous king could not paralyze him, and genocidal enemies could not defeat him. With complete confidence, David marched in whatever direction God pointed him, fully expecting grace and power to be revealed along the way.
Even at David’s lowest point, his ‘optimism’ was strong. When he failed morally with Bathsheba and God struck their firstborn son with illness (I’m pretty ill at the moment too… swollen uvula! Eeeeek), David did not give up his optimism. Even though God said that the child’s life would be required for the father’s sins, David clung to hope. He fell on his face. He fasted and prayed for six days and nights. He could not let go of the slight possibility hat God might spare his newborn son.
We know David’s son died though.
Later, when David was asked why he’d fasted and prayed, he said “I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live’” (2 Samuel 12:22)
Over the last year I’ve seen a lot of hopelessness. I’ve seen people who have long term illness struggling to understand why, despite prayer (and fasting?) they won’t be healed. I talked to an orphaned boy who’s hurt, hopelessness, and just plain confusion over ‘why he lost his parents’, turn to anger directed at God. I’ve had a close friend die, and I myself in that point in time lost hope. I’ve seen the homeless and addicts in complete hopelessness. I’ve had conversations with some of those people, who are desperately trying to escape reality – where they feel completely hopeless – through their addictions. I’m aware of people, who’s circumstances have wore them down to the point – in their hopelessness, that they’re ready to give up.
I think David’s got it right. He faces his share of the bad stuff, and has to do some pretty bold stuff – but he has complete hope in God. Complete optimism.
Regarding Hope… (haha… that joke will never get old)… I think for me there’s going to be circumstances and things that happen that I won’t understand. There’s going to be points where I’m going to have to either chicken out, or step forward in faith-based optimism. I think there’s going to be circumstances that are going to test me, that will most definately be some of the hardest stuff that can get thrown at me, where I’m going to have to do a David… cling to hope, trust in the fact that God is ultimately always in control, that he does have a plan.
God, make me like David.
Courageous Leadership – The ultimate supplier December 9, 2008
Posted by jonesy24 in Books, Christianity, Church, Glasgow, God, Internship, Re:Hope, What's happening with me....Tags: Bill Hybels, Courageous Leadership
add a comment
Another book that I’m in the middle of reading as part of my internship is Courageous leadership by Bill Hybels. I’ve just about finished reading a chapter called ‘The resource challenge’ which talks about the challenge of funding, resources, etc… and how without proper resources… the local church can and does starve to death.
Again, I find myself thinking about the current situation with Re:Hope (see previous blogs).
Bill Hybels talks about his vision of an ‘Acts 2′ church, and facing the harsh reality (when first starting out with Willow Creek) of ‘trying’ to fund one.
In Psalm 50:12 God Himself hits this theme when he says “the world is mine, and all that is in it”. In a nutshell, God’s resources are unlimited.
I think (this isn’t the case with Re:Hope, but I’ve certainly been there with my own personal financial support) that we can rely too much on people… when in fact, “God alone controls the flow of the financial river we (I) need.”
He hits it right on the head when talking about people giving, not as the suppliers, but the ‘conduits’ through which God supplies.
God is not just able to help, He’s eager to help. Especially with regards to the local church – His bride. No one wants to see the church appropriately resourced more than God does.
Re:hope is in the thick of it. The owners of our building want to sell it, and scoff at what we offer. We don’t have the ‘finances’. BUT… God is still the ultimate supplier, the God who I firmly believe will finish what He CLEARLY begun. We just have to keep on moving forward in faith.
“The ultimate supplier for the resources (and buildings/finances) we need is the God who wants to see HIS church built even more than we do. And He has plenty.”
