Thought for the day: Jesus toiled up the hill under the burden of the cross so that we might dance through this life free from the burden of sin.

"It is by beholding the glory of Christ by faith that we are spiritually edified and built up in this world, for as we behold His glory, the life and power of faith grow strong and stronger. It is by faith that we grow to love Christ. So if we desire strong faith and powerful love, which give us rest, peace and satisfaction, we must seek them by diligently beholding the glory of Christ by faith. In this duty I desire to live and die. On Christ's glory I would forever fix all my thoughts and desires, and the more I see of the glory of Christ, the more the painted beauties of the world will wither in my eyes and I will be more and more crucified to this world. It will become to me like something dead and putrid, impossible for me to enjoy."

-John Owen

Running With the World

It's so easy for me to get caught up in the immediate present. When there is a demand, I must do it then and there, and I do not think about what is really important. The result is that I find myself going at top speed through life when all I really want to do is sit back and enjoy what God has given me.

I mean, think about it: Who today has the time to sit and watch the sun set? Who goes for walks in search of wild flowers? Who gets down on their hands and knees to examine a frog? I mean, besides me? People today just "don't have the time." Should we, as Christians, have the same outlook on life? The straight answer: No.

There are several reasons why I think people today take life at so fast a pace. First, they're afraid of death. Death is fearful to them, because after they die everything stops. They won't exist anymore. So they have to pack everything into their lives right now so that when they die they can look back and say that they lived a good, full life. Second, they don't want to think about the big questions, like where they're going after they die. Or how futile their life is. How empty they feel. It's a lot easier filling one's mind with the daily routine, what one must do next. No one wants to sit and think because they're afraid of where their thoughts will lead. It's understandable when you remember how empty their lives really are. They have no hope as we do. Their lives consist only of despair.

Why are Christians tempted to live the same way? This is a bit harder to answer. Why do we live like this? I am guilty of this, probably more so than a lot of people. Sometimes even I do not understand why I live this way. There really is no reason to fill myself up on empty promises and success, but that does not keep me from doing it. In the end I just find myself missing the things that matter, and feeling discontent with the empty, fast-paced life I've set up for myself. I do not think we need to spend too much time wondering why we do it. The world sells it's products well. What we need to spend time doing is fixing it - fixing our minds to remember that our time on this earth should be spent in such a way that glorifies God and not ourselves; in such a way that puts what is important - the study of His Word, our relationship with others, etc. - first, and let everything else follow. Our work should not be the highest priority for us. His work must. We must live everyday with the question, "Does this glorify God?" forever in our minds.

Passage of the Day, Month, Year, Lifetime

I wanted to put a verse up that has touched my heart and continues to do so. It has been about two years since I first stumbled upon it, but I keep coming back to it. It continues to speak to me even after all this time. It will probably continue to do so for the rest of my life (hence the title).

"Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in HIs sight." - Hosea 6:1-2

Christ, the Sustainer

"Let me do it." "I can do it myself!" Little children say phrases like these very often. We chuckle at their want of independence at a very dependent age. Christians are often like that. Especially "old" Christians - the ones who have believed the scriptures all their life, gone to church, and read the Bible over and over again. You get caught up in what you are doing and so lose sight of what Christ is doing. We want to fling our actions back in God's face and say, "See? I'm righteous! I did it, and I did it without your help. I've become independent!" In reality we're quite the opposite. As sinners we cannot hope to ever become independent. To say we are is to contradict all that the Bible says about us and our nature. If we could somehow make ourselves look good in the eyes of God, if we could fix all of our sins and brokenness, why do we need Christ? If we can somehow make it right, why did He die? It twists the gospel to say that we can somehow save ourselves through our works.

All we need to do is look at the world to see that this is not the case. We see our failures played out in our lives so vividly it hurts. Our sin pushes itself to the forefront of our minds as we watch ourselves hurt our siblings and friends, dishonor our parents, shirk our duties. People are not perfect. They can never attain perfection by themselves. If they could they would not need Christ. Adam would not have succumbed to temptation. Jesus Christ would not have to have died.

He did die. He needed to die, because we are wretchedly sinful beings. We fail every day. We look at our lives and are filled with despair because we cannot do it alone. We feel inadequate, full of despair, because we cannot fix it. We feel useless. That is right where we need to be in order to receive the gospel. The Bible isn't about us - if anything it shows us our failings - it is about Christ. It is through His work and sacrifice that we do anything right.

Ye Ould Wilde Garlick

I went for a walk today in search of some indian paintbrush. This flower is a quite beautiful red color, and I fancied a little to brighten my desk. Unfortunately, they have all gone into hiding and I could find none. As I was walking I came upon several small patches of small, white, star-shaped flowers. They're commonly known as wild garlic, but unless you crush the stems they smell nothing like garlic. They were everywhere, even where the road-construction crew had torn up the side of the road. I wondered at how fast these little flowers sprang up. They provided simple beauty to the landscape, and they smelled heavenly (when the stems aren't crushed). These sturdy flowers weren't there the year before, but over the course of the past twelve months they've taken over the neighborhood. It reminded me of the gospel. When we're first open to it, it doesn't seem very big. It wriggles into our hearts and minds in a very small way. We begin to change the way we live and act, but nothing drastic. As the years go by, however, it continues to multiply and grow inside us. Our beings are filled with the wonder of it, and before long it has taken over our minds and souls, our lifestyles and tastes.
I am speaking primarily of those who grow up with the gospel. They hear it every day, and it is always there in the backs of their minds growing steadily larger, until one day they see for the first time just how big it is - how much it has really taken over them. I am quite aware that there are those who do not grow up in the church and whose confrontation with the gospel is big and dramatic - Luther, for instance.
My life, however, very much reflects the flower illustration. It has taken me seventeen years to finally look around and see just how much of an impact the gospel really has on my life - how much it has really changed how I think, what I like, what I wear. They are all very tiny things - mere drops of water in a bucket - but I have learned, as Zechariah did, not to despise the day of small things. It is through small things that God does His most glorious work. It is through the fools, the weak, the poor, the inadequate, that His power shines through. For, as Paul says, "when I am weak, then I am strong."

New Year, New Post

I know - before you begin scolding me- I'm terrible at maintaining this blog. My apologizing, though, must be even more irritating than my blog, so I will refrain from apologizing again should I wait a good six months before updating it again.

Since I am already four months into the new year, my title seems a bit obsolete. Titles seldom tell what actually happens in a story, though, and mine is no exception. I have learned quite a bit over these four months. It often happens that, when one learns new things, he must continue relearning them for a good while afterwards in order to keep them in mind. So, although I say I have learned a lot, I am still in the process of learning them still.
I have learned to say good-bye. No, not in the way most people think of it. It includes actual farewells to people, but that is not the only thing. I am learning to say good-bye to old habits and ancient sins. I have learned to part with people. It is painful; it hurts. Sometimes you feel like your heart is about to rip out by the seams, but you can do it. Your heart doesn't break and you're still standing on your feet in the end, even with all the pain that's rushing around inside you. I am not saying that I relish the idea of saying farewell again, but I am saying that I have, and I have learned the pain that comes of doing it.
As to saying farewell to old habits and sins - well, I'm still in the process of figuring that one out. God promises, though, that He will cleanse His people, and He will. That's what sanctification is all about. He never promised it would be easy. More times than not, I find myself failing. Those are the times when I must remind myself that it is the Holy Spirit that sanctifies. I do not. I cannot. God can, and He will.
This leads to another lesson I have learned: Never to trust in my own strength. This one is tough. A lot of times we pretend that we don't when really we do. We'd like to think we're trusting God. Phrases such as "God-willing," "If God wants to," and the like pass our lips when in our hearts we don't really mean it. In reality we mean, "God better want it because I want it." Then we accuse Him of being unfair when He changes our plans, when all along it was we who had strayed from His will.
Another lesson I have learned is to never doubt God's work in my life. My life is so easy and cushioned that He doesn't work in obvious ways, but He works in little ways, and those ways are just as awe-inspiring as the obvious ones. What do I mean by little ways? I mean having my sister say something to me and then reading it in my devotions the very next day. I mean being tired and worn out when taking a test and still passing it in the end. I mean the energy He gives so that I can complete just one more labor of love for my family. I mean the strength He gives me to press on even when I feel angry, worthless, and inadequate. There is nothing little about grace. There is only the way we see it. Do we see God's grace as something small and insignificant? Or is it something great and glorious that we cannot get enough of?
That is what I've learned over the past month, year, lifetime. I'm a rather poor student, but God is a most patient and longsuffering teacher.