sIn my Sunday School glass with the 5th grade girls today, we were talking about the story of Jesus being tempted in the desert. He had to have been physically exhausted after fasting for 40 days, and yet when tempted multiple times by Satan, he was equipped with Scripture to rebuke the devil. What a perfect, literally, example for us!
God has been convicting me that it is not enough to just get frustrated my by continual sins, ask for forgiveness, and think that I am done with it. Sanctification is a continual process. Jerry Bridges offers a great way to ward off complacency:
-Apply the Gospel
-Depend on the Holy Spirit
-Recongize your responsibility
-Identify specific respectable sins
-Memorize and apply appropriate Sciptures
-Cultivate the practive of prayer
-Involve one or a few other believers with you
I have been most convicted lately about relinquishing my control over my sanctification. I need to let go - I need to completely trust in Christ's power to give me victory over my sin nature. No worldy self-help book will accomplish that.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Discontentment, Worry, and Thankfulness
Our latest study centered around discontentment, worry/anxiety, and unthankfulness. I have the tendency to let worry eat me up, but I know it is sin. But God is gracious through his santification. This past we were going through an awful experience at work. It seemed devastating to my perspective, but through prayer, and the Holy Spirit constantly reasurring me that everything would be okay, I was able to have a sense of peace - praise God! I certainly had my moments of "freak-out", but overall the Lord reminded my of his promise in Proverbs - that if I trust in the Lord and don't lean on my own understanding, he will direct mine, and my fiance's path :) Below is a great devotional on this, that I just had to repost. Would love your thoughts!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
God’s desire is that our faith grow continuously as we walk with Him. He never intended belief to be a one-time event with a single purpose of ushering us into salvation. The older we get, the greater our trust should become. Yet I’ve met some Christians who have stayed at the same level of faith throughout life.
We need to realize that our willingness to trust the Lord affects every area of our lives—how we feel, what we do, the way He blesses us, and whether our prayers are answered. It all begins with our focus. When you face difficulties or heartbreak, do you notice only the impossibility of the circumstances, or do you see the greatness of our Father? To whose voice are you listening—the skeptical advice of others, the lies of Satan, or the Word of God?
Our focus in turn affects our emotions. Those who choose to believe what God says experience the peace and joy of knowing He has everything under His control. Because they trust Him, fewer situations bother them. But if our minds are filled with doubts, anxiety and fear rush in—then, we’re just not sure if the Lord is going to help us or not. Instead of resting in Christ, we fuss and fume, trying to anticipate all possible outcomes and solve every problem in our own strength.
I don’t think we realize how important faith is to God. He delights in us when we choose to believe Him; He will also move heaven and earth to act on our behalf and answer our prayers. By trusting Him, we’ll discover new excitement and adventure in life and find that He is always faithful.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
God’s desire is that our faith grow continuously as we walk with Him. He never intended belief to be a one-time event with a single purpose of ushering us into salvation. The older we get, the greater our trust should become. Yet I’ve met some Christians who have stayed at the same level of faith throughout life.
We need to realize that our willingness to trust the Lord affects every area of our lives—how we feel, what we do, the way He blesses us, and whether our prayers are answered. It all begins with our focus. When you face difficulties or heartbreak, do you notice only the impossibility of the circumstances, or do you see the greatness of our Father? To whose voice are you listening—the skeptical advice of others, the lies of Satan, or the Word of God?
Our focus in turn affects our emotions. Those who choose to believe what God says experience the peace and joy of knowing He has everything under His control. Because they trust Him, fewer situations bother them. But if our minds are filled with doubts, anxiety and fear rush in—then, we’re just not sure if the Lord is going to help us or not. Instead of resting in Christ, we fuss and fume, trying to anticipate all possible outcomes and solve every problem in our own strength.
I don’t think we realize how important faith is to God. He delights in us when we choose to believe Him; He will also move heaven and earth to act on our behalf and answer our prayers. By trusting Him, we’ll discover new excitement and adventure in life and find that He is always faithful.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Respectable Sins: Ungodliness
Jerry Bridges' Respectable Sins is the anti-page turner - I hesitate turning to the next page because I know the Holy Spirit will convict me yet again through Bridges' words. But I LOVE the concept of his book - we so often tend to overlook the "seemingly less egregious sins" such as impatience, anxiety, discontentment, while pointing out the ills of society. As someone who tends to be a cultural critic, I guilty as charged. We all remember the parable Jesus tells about pointing out the speck in your neighbor's eye, while ignoring the plank in your own eye...but that's just a nice story to remind children to be nice to each other, right? NO!
Christ is teaching us that it doesn't matter if I haven't gone out and murdered someone, my sin, no matter what it is, needs to be dealt with in my life. And it all goes back to ungodliness - the mindset that things I do not need God in my life, whether through deliberate actions or a subconscious lifestyle.
One of my favorite lines from Oswald Chambers:
"Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for otheres, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind."
Nothing should go unchecked. Which means I need to rely upon the Holy Spirit to bring certain sins and behavior to light in my life. THE GOOD NEWS IS - Christ died to rescue me from those sins once and for all and we can rejoice in that gift of grace.
But, the process of sanctification continues. More thoughts on Respectable Sins forthcoming...
Christ is teaching us that it doesn't matter if I haven't gone out and murdered someone, my sin, no matter what it is, needs to be dealt with in my life. And it all goes back to ungodliness - the mindset that things I do not need God in my life, whether through deliberate actions or a subconscious lifestyle.
One of my favorite lines from Oswald Chambers:
"Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for otheres, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind."
Nothing should go unchecked. Which means I need to rely upon the Holy Spirit to bring certain sins and behavior to light in my life. THE GOOD NEWS IS - Christ died to rescue me from those sins once and for all and we can rejoice in that gift of grace.
But, the process of sanctification continues. More thoughts on Respectable Sins forthcoming...
Saturday, June 4, 2011
First cookout of the summer
Roomates and I had our first cookout of the summer! One week after Memorial Day so were close to being on time :) It was a beautiful evening spent outside, and capped with a visit to a friend's rooftop deck. What a reminder that I have a blesses life and want to use my resources/time/blessing to give back to the Lord!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Thinking of Japan
99 years after the first gift of cherry blossoms to the U.S. from Japan, they are still beautiful! Despite very low temperatures this weekend, the blossoms have survived and when the sun came out this Sunday afternoon, the pink tree flowers looked beautiful with the backdrop of a crystal blue sky. One of my favorite views is from Ohio Drive, with cherry blossoms aligned next to budding weeping willow trees, and the Potomac shimmering in the background.
The blossoms elicit feelings of happiness, peace and joy, all of which the Japanese people so desparately need in the aftermath of this current earthquake/tsunami/nuclear crisis. May God heal their land and rescue their people. The earth really does seem to be groaning these days, does it not?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)