This afternoon I sat under a big, beautiful tree. It was an old tree. I could tell by its height and strong trunk. But it was a very lovely tree, as it's branches intertwined in such an interesting way, so that the sunlight peeked through and kissed my skin warmly. I was enjoying the bliss of it all, thinking about the Majestic Creator who was the Architect of the grand trunk and Designer of the twisting branches. He even tastefully decorated it with green leaves. He even gave me the senses to take it all in.
He didn't have to do that, as my professor reminded me in class today, but He did. And it causes me to praise Him all the more!
Now as I was sitting there, certain concerns sought to tiptoe into the back of my brain. There I was, enjoying moments of pure delight, and Worry the Weasel (as I have so named him) was threatening to ruin those moments. How dare he? He brought with him fear and reminded me of the question marks dotting my looming future. In just a matter of seconds, he distracted me from the Creator that moments earlier I was praising and enjoying.
And then, as it was raining leaves around me, it was like the Lord cued the birds to start chirping. It was His way of reminding me not to worry, Angela, not to worry. Jesus said, "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?"
And that was the end of Worry the Weasel. Thank you Lord!
Jesus said, "I AM the door."
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
God is real,
so live like it.
It is astonishing how many people nowadays give little to no thought at all about God. They go on with their lives, maybe dabbling in a bit of religion here and a little philosophy there, just enough to fill their fancy. They attribute the beauty of this world to 'mother nature' (whoever the heck she is) and disregard the complexity, order, and design of the universe as pure chance (like that's somehow rational?). They have no adequate answers for evil and can't even explain the moral 'ought' they know to be true within themselves. They focus on life and forget about the fact that they will die. As my grandfather says, "Statistics show that ten out of ten people die." Frankly, people just don't care. But they should care. They need to care. Because God is real. He has revealed Himself in creation and His Word!
Perhaps the more sobering thought, though, is for those of us who do believe in this reality of God. We should care far more about these things! Many of us claim God to be true and 'worship' Him on Sundays, but then operate like practical atheists every other day of the week - worrying and whining, bored and bewildered, sorrowful and selfish. Such living is unacceptable. It is incongruent. It will not do because it is a failure to understand that His reality informs and infuses life with meaning. It's about time that people, who claim Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord, start being consistent with that claim. What I mean is - what we know to be true about God in His Word needs to influence how we deal with every issue of life. If we believe God to be merciful, we should be merciful. If we believe God to be slow to anger, we should be slow to anger. If we believe God to be holy and just, we ought to be holy and just. If we believe God to be all-knowing and all-powerful, we ought to be free of anxiety. If we believe God to be gracious and good, why then are we not rejoicing always?
May we who know God, through Jesus Christ, rely on His Holy Spirit to help us apply His real truth to our real lives, to practice what we preach. Because then, and only then, God is glorified and people are influenced.
It is astonishing how many people nowadays give little to no thought at all about God. They go on with their lives, maybe dabbling in a bit of religion here and a little philosophy there, just enough to fill their fancy. They attribute the beauty of this world to 'mother nature' (whoever the heck she is) and disregard the complexity, order, and design of the universe as pure chance (like that's somehow rational?). They have no adequate answers for evil and can't even explain the moral 'ought' they know to be true within themselves. They focus on life and forget about the fact that they will die. As my grandfather says, "Statistics show that ten out of ten people die." Frankly, people just don't care. But they should care. They need to care. Because God is real. He has revealed Himself in creation and His Word!
Perhaps the more sobering thought, though, is for those of us who do believe in this reality of God. We should care far more about these things! Many of us claim God to be true and 'worship' Him on Sundays, but then operate like practical atheists every other day of the week - worrying and whining, bored and bewildered, sorrowful and selfish. Such living is unacceptable. It is incongruent. It will not do because it is a failure to understand that His reality informs and infuses life with meaning. It's about time that people, who claim Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord, start being consistent with that claim. What I mean is - what we know to be true about God in His Word needs to influence how we deal with every issue of life. If we believe God to be merciful, we should be merciful. If we believe God to be slow to anger, we should be slow to anger. If we believe God to be holy and just, we ought to be holy and just. If we believe God to be all-knowing and all-powerful, we ought to be free of anxiety. If we believe God to be gracious and good, why then are we not rejoicing always?
May we who know God, through Jesus Christ, rely on His Holy Spirit to help us apply His real truth to our real lives, to practice what we preach. Because then, and only then, God is glorified and people are influenced.
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
alive
A friend and I were enjoying some sunshine today. Ah, it was glorious. As we were chatting, an old man walked by and said hello. We asked him how he was doing, and you know what he said? He said, "Well, I'm still vertical, so that's good." I chuckled at his clever response and that was that. Later on, God brought it back to mind, and I realized how I was taking for-granted being alive today. Some would disregard that thirty-second conversation today as random, but I love knowing that God purposely arranged it, in order that I might be grateful, for being vertical.
... "for in Him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28)
... "for in Him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28)
Monday, 4 January 2010
it's time
Don't you love how delicious Christmastime is? I do! And if you're anything like me, you have consumed ridiculous amounts of sweets this holiday. Chocolate. Cake. Cookies. Pie. You name it, I ate it, and loved every bite of it! You know how it is... between the parties and presents, your sweet tooth is satisfied more in the course of a few weeks than it is all year!
It therefore comes as no shock when the pants seem to have shrunk a bit, as soon as January rolls around, or when the dentist finds a cavity or cavities. Leftovers are still around at the beginning of January and you find yourself postponing your new year's resolution to lose the holiday pounds. Tomorrow becomes the word of the day.
But, it is the fourth of January, folks, and I think it's about time that I stop having dessert after breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But, it's just so hard. I'm telling you, it's like they call me from the fridge. And the promises of just one more bite dissolve as quickly as the chocolate in my mouth. And their calories don't scare me. No-sir-ee. Doesn't a little exercise take care of those things?
This needs to stop though, lest I become the blimp of 2010... lest I become the dreaded airplane passenger who should have booked two seats... lest I lose all my teeth to sugar rotting... lest people mistake me for a woman pregnant with septuplets! Not to mention, I so do not want to be one of the 'before' images you find on those weight loss commercials.
That said, it is time to back-away-from-the-chocolates for a while. And I will... as soon as I finish this last box of shortbread.
It therefore comes as no shock when the pants seem to have shrunk a bit, as soon as January rolls around, or when the dentist finds a cavity or cavities. Leftovers are still around at the beginning of January and you find yourself postponing your new year's resolution to lose the holiday pounds. Tomorrow becomes the word of the day.
But, it is the fourth of January, folks, and I think it's about time that I stop having dessert after breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But, it's just so hard. I'm telling you, it's like they call me from the fridge. And the promises of just one more bite dissolve as quickly as the chocolate in my mouth. And their calories don't scare me. No-sir-ee. Doesn't a little exercise take care of those things?
This needs to stop though, lest I become the blimp of 2010... lest I become the dreaded airplane passenger who should have booked two seats... lest I lose all my teeth to sugar rotting... lest people mistake me for a woman pregnant with septuplets! Not to mention, I so do not want to be one of the 'before' images you find on those weight loss commercials.
That said, it is time to back-away-from-the-chocolates for a while. And I will... as soon as I finish this last box of shortbread.
Friday, 1 January 2010
hello 2010
I don't know what is going to happen this year. But I do know that God will be faithful. And that is all I need to know.
"It is good to give thanks to the LORD -
to declare Your loving-kindness in the morning,
and Your faithfulness every night." (Psalm 92:1-2)
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
good stuff
I stayed up very late last night reading C.S. Lewis' book Mere Christianity. And... is it a good read, or is it a good read! These lines were particularly good. So good that they are high-lighted, and the page, dog-eared. So good, that they demand to be shared. So, folks, listen up!
"Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. It therefore has nothing to say to people who do not know that they have done anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need any forgiveness. It is after you realised that there is a real Moral Law, and a Power behind the Law, and that you have broken that Law, and put yourself wrong with that Power - it is after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk! When you have realised that our position is desperate you will begin to understand what Christians are talking about."
Another way of putting it would be that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is good news. In fact, it is the best news. However, what makes this good news so good and so necessary is that it is put against the backdrop of very bad news. The bad news is that all have sinned. When the Bible says "all" that includes you, and me. Because we have broken God's law, we deserve punishment in hell. That is fair... because justice must be served... because God is perfectly holy. But God is merciful as well, and so He provides a way of salvation for us through His Son, Jesus Christ, who was the perfect sacrifice, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And then He became alive again, according to the Scriptures, conquering death, so that all who trust in Him can conquer death also. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There is no better news than that!
"I was dead in my transgressions and sins. But because of His great love for me, God, who is rich in mercy, made me alive with Christ even when I was dead in my sins. It is by grace that I have been saved." {Ephesians 2} Sheer grace, folks.
You know how when you pass the jewelers in mall, the diamonds that seem to shine the brightest are the ones on black velvet. Likewise: the gem of the Gospel shines ever-so-gloriously against the ugly reality of my sin.
"Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. It therefore has nothing to say to people who do not know that they have done anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need any forgiveness. It is after you realised that there is a real Moral Law, and a Power behind the Law, and that you have broken that Law, and put yourself wrong with that Power - it is after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk! When you have realised that our position is desperate you will begin to understand what Christians are talking about."
Another way of putting it would be that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is good news. In fact, it is the best news. However, what makes this good news so good and so necessary is that it is put against the backdrop of very bad news. The bad news is that all have sinned. When the Bible says "all" that includes you, and me. Because we have broken God's law, we deserve punishment in hell. That is fair... because justice must be served... because God is perfectly holy. But God is merciful as well, and so He provides a way of salvation for us through His Son, Jesus Christ, who was the perfect sacrifice, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And then He became alive again, according to the Scriptures, conquering death, so that all who trust in Him can conquer death also. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There is no better news than that!
"I was dead in my transgressions and sins. But because of His great love for me, God, who is rich in mercy, made me alive with Christ even when I was dead in my sins. It is by grace that I have been saved." {Ephesians 2} Sheer grace, folks.
You know how when you pass the jewelers in mall, the diamonds that seem to shine the brightest are the ones on black velvet. Likewise: the gem of the Gospel shines ever-so-gloriously against the ugly reality of my sin.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
one step at a time
"Sometimes when we read the words of those who have been more than conquerors,
we feel almost despondent. We say, 'I feel that I shall never be like that.'
But they won through step-by-step,
by little bits of wills,
little denials of self,
little inward victories,
by faithfulness in very little things,
they became what they are.
No one sees these hidden little steps.
They only see the accomplishment,
but even so, those small steps were taken.
There is no sudden triumph, no spiritual maturity.
That is the work of the moment."
(thank you, Amy Carmichael)
we feel almost despondent. We say, 'I feel that I shall never be like that.'
But they won through step-by-step,
by little bits of wills,
little denials of self,
little inward victories,
by faithfulness in very little things,
they became what they are.
No one sees these hidden little steps.
They only see the accomplishment,
but even so, those small steps were taken.
There is no sudden triumph, no spiritual maturity.
That is the work of the moment."
(thank you, Amy Carmichael)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)