God's Plans will be Fulfilled

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (NIV, Is 55:10-11).

This isn't about sending a scripture passage on a piece of paper in a lunch box. It says that "God’s word is as sure of fulfillment as are the rain and the snow that water the land and make cultivation possible." (John D. W. Watts, Word Biblical Commentary: Isaiah 34-66). In this passage, it concerns God's announcement of his plans to appoint Darius but it applies to all of God's plans and purposes.

Our Experience of Abba

Jesus teaches that when we pray, we are to pray to Abba - to the God who is leaning over us like the most tender of parents. According to Jesus' teaching, God's relationship to us is characterized by immense and continuous concern, care and tenderness, and by an all-inclusive forgiveness that extends to everything in our lives, from the moment of our conception until our death. (Taken from Manifesting God by Thomas Keating.)

Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are Jesus' gifts

Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are not gifts given to individuals like the gifts for individuals mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 but are Jesus' gifts to the church. As Andrew T. Lincoln writes (in his commentary on Ephesians in Word Biblical Commentary), "The difference in emphasis between v 7 and v 11 is not to be ignored. In the former, grace is said to be given by Christ to each; in the latter, those named are themselves Christ’s gifts to the Church."

God can really get to work after we make two discoveries

When a man has made two discoveries, God can really get to work. It is after this that real life begins. The man is awake now.

The first discovery is when you realize that the idea that God had set us a sort of exam and that we might get good marks by deserving them has to be wiped out: the idea that we could perform our side of the contract and thus put God in our debt has to be wiped out.

The second discovery is when you realize that every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already.

The first discover is made when someone tries his level best to practice the Christian virtues and finds that he cannot. In other words, he discovers his bankruptcy. All this trying leads up to the vital moment at which you turn to God and say, 'You must do this. I can't.' God has been waiting for the moment at which you discover that there is no question of earning a pass mark in this exam or putting Him in your debt.

Concerning the second discovery: when we talk of a man doing anything for God or giving anything to God, I will tell you what it is really like. It is like a small child going to its father and saying, 'Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present.' Of course, the father does, and he is pleased with the child's present. It is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction.

[From C.S. Lewis, Chapter 21, Mere Christianity]

How do we love the Lord our God?

Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul and your whole strength and your whole mind (or all your thoughts). How do we love God? A common answer is that we love God by obeying him. Francis Schaeffer, in his book True Spirituality, says that we love God by being content.

He arrives at this by saying that the opposite of love is covet. "Coveting is the negative side of the positive commands [to love God and to love man]."

When we are content with our circumstances, no matter what they are, we are loving God according to Schaeffer.

What do you think?

Giving Principles

From Paul's second letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 9:6-15), the following principles emerge.

1. You will reap in accordance with how you sow.

2. When you make a decision to give and/or are convicted to give, carry out that decision regardless of changes in circumstance. God will make sure you have enough.

3. When you give, enjoy it, knowing that it will:

• produce for you just as seed, which is sown, produces for a farmer and
• produce an overflow of thanksgiving to God.

The harvest you'll receive includes enough resources from God to overflow in good works and thanksgiving to God.

Because you should enjoy giving, you should not give reluctantly or under compulsion.

Can every passage be understood well enough to be applied?

One thing I've liked about my preaching pastor is that he uses much of his limited amount of time preaching to apply the passage rather than spending the majority of the time on exegesis (critical explanation) of the passage. I generally have felt that the exegesis task, which is essential, has been done by my pastor, leading to well done application of the passage. However, recently I've begun to question whether every passage can be adequately understood to be applied. Perhaps some passages are just not clear enough to be understood and therefore not able to be applied.

In politics, I have adopted an idea that I believe everyone should adopt: don't vote if you don't know. I'm moving towards a similar idea in homiletics (the art of preaching), don't apply it if you aren't sure what it means.