okay, so it is taking me a thousand years to finish this book (Desiring God) because i have not been diligent in reading or to take the time to sit down and finish it but it really is soooo good.
but i wanted to share a little of what i read this weekend from it.
enjoy:
Why not just say "believe"?
"Someone may ask, "if your aim is conversion, why don't you just use the straightforward, biblical command 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved' (Acts 16:31)? Why bring in this new terminology of Christian Hedonism?
My answer has two parts. First, we are surrounded by unconverted people who think they do believe in Jesus. Drunks on the street say they believe. Unmarried couples sleeping together say they believe. Elderly people who haven't sought worship or fellowship for forty years say they believe. All kinds of lukewarm, world-loving church attenders say they believe. The world abounds with millions of unconverted people who say they believe in Jesus.
It does no good to tell these people to believe in the Lord Jesus. The phrase is empty. My responsibility as a preacher of the gospel and a teacher in the church is not to preserve and repeat cherished biblical sentences, but to pierce the heart with Biblical truth. In my neighborhood, every drunk on the street "believes" in Jesus. Drug dealers "believe" in Jesus. Panhandlers who haven't been to church in forty years "believe" in Jesus. So I use different words to unpack what believe means. In recent years I have asked, "Do you receive Jesus as your Treasure?" Not just your Savior (everybody wants out of hell, but not to be with Jesus). Not just Lord (they might submit begrudgingly). The key is: Do you treasure Him more than everything? Converts to Christian Hedonism say with Paul, "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord"(Philippians 3:8)
This leads to the second part of my answer. There are other straightforward biblical commands besides "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." The reason for introducing the idea of Christian Hedonism is to force these commands to our attention.
Could it be that today the most straightforward biblical command for conversion is not, "believe in the Lord," but, Delight yourself in the Lord"? And might not many slumbering hearts be stabbed broad awake by the words "Unless a man be born again into a Christian Hedonist he cannot see the kingdom of God"?"
-John Piper from Desiring God
wow... these are powerful words! sooo true though. this is what Benjamin and i are trying to get across to our youth group.
It is not enough to merely say you believe and go on loving the world. our Christian culture has become much like that of the Romans.
"Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." Rom 1:32
is this you?
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Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
spirit week at work: decades day!
spirit week at cornerstone christian academy where i work :]
i loooove decades day.
i went '80s of course!
and my mom is from the '60s/'70s
sooo fun!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
let peace reign!
husband has let the peace that surpasses all understanding guard his heart and mind.
praise you Jesus.
when we let His peace reign it changes the atmosphere.
in a literal way.
it changes your mood almost instantly.
i always tend to be the one who holds on to my anger/hurt for dear life until i have no energy left and have to give it up.
my husband is so good at just surrendering and seeking forgiveness and always ready to give it if need be.
i love him. i want to be more like him. more like Jesus.
thank you for forgiveness Lord.
Ephesians 4:31-32 "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
Lord help me to always be tenderhearted :]
praise you Jesus.
when we let His peace reign it changes the atmosphere.
in a literal way.
it changes your mood almost instantly.
i always tend to be the one who holds on to my anger/hurt for dear life until i have no energy left and have to give it up.
my husband is so good at just surrendering and seeking forgiveness and always ready to give it if need be.
i love him. i want to be more like him. more like Jesus.
thank you for forgiveness Lord.
Ephesians 4:31-32 "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
Lord help me to always be tenderhearted :]
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
bad morning.
suuuuper bad start to a morning. sick. ughhh.
been sick for 3 days now. i have this nasty dry cough, stuffy nose, plus exhaustion = no fun.
husband is home with me today because it is rainy and he works outside so he can't go in... which equals no funds.
he is stressed, therefore strife and anxiety are here. they are present. why do we do this to ourselves.
Jesus is soooo more than enough for the both of us.
it is hard to rest when you know your husband is overwhelmed and nothing that you can say will help.
that is when it is hard for me to give it to Jesus. to know that He is the one that will speak to his heart and not me.
to relent.
to not have a bad attitude towards him. after all he really is concerned about providing for me. for us.
but you see, i KNOW that my God is faithful. he has NEVER forsaken me, and for me that is easy to rest in because He is constantly reminding me of His faithfulness.
i love it.
He is faithful even when we are not.
so i have to remember that He will be faithful to my husband. to his heart.
thank you Jesus.
been sick for 3 days now. i have this nasty dry cough, stuffy nose, plus exhaustion = no fun.
husband is home with me today because it is rainy and he works outside so he can't go in... which equals no funds.
he is stressed, therefore strife and anxiety are here. they are present. why do we do this to ourselves.
Jesus is soooo more than enough for the both of us.
it is hard to rest when you know your husband is overwhelmed and nothing that you can say will help.
that is when it is hard for me to give it to Jesus. to know that He is the one that will speak to his heart and not me.
to relent.
to not have a bad attitude towards him. after all he really is concerned about providing for me. for us.
but you see, i KNOW that my God is faithful. he has NEVER forsaken me, and for me that is easy to rest in because He is constantly reminding me of His faithfulness.
i love it.
He is faithful even when we are not.
so i have to remember that He will be faithful to my husband. to his heart.
thank you Jesus.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
great friends are like beautiful jems!
have not updated in a while! i was out of the state and didn't get on the internet at all for about a month!
craziness...
though life is full right now, for the first time i truly don't feel overwhelmed or stressed out.
God's grace is abundant in my life.
when you surrender your time to Him, things just start to fall into place.
it is funny to me that i fight to hold on to things in my life, like my time, but every time i choose surrender, order and peace come.
i am constantly relearning this in my walk with Jesus. i guess i am just stubborn and hard headed a LOT of the time.
i got to see a dear friend monday.
i didn't realize how much i missed her until we spent all afternoon just updating each other on life, ministering to one another, eating food, drinking coffee, and of course laughing together :]
she had a baby about 5 months ago, and he is precious.
it was so sweet to see her interact with him.
to be soooo patient with him.
it was incredible :]
our spirits are kindred and i miss her dearly.
i just thank the Lord that He has given me such a friend as this.
someone who can understand what you mean, even if you can't put it into the right words.
someone who if you haven't seen or talked to in foreverrrr, feels like you saw each other the day before.
thank you Lord!! she is a blessing to me and always will be!
ps... i have been eating Christmas cookies for days now :] i just can't stop!! i looove them so much.
i figure it is okay because it is only one time a year :]]
oh and tomorrow is friday! yay!!!
craziness...
though life is full right now, for the first time i truly don't feel overwhelmed or stressed out.
God's grace is abundant in my life.
when you surrender your time to Him, things just start to fall into place.
it is funny to me that i fight to hold on to things in my life, like my time, but every time i choose surrender, order and peace come.
i am constantly relearning this in my walk with Jesus. i guess i am just stubborn and hard headed a LOT of the time.
i got to see a dear friend monday.
i didn't realize how much i missed her until we spent all afternoon just updating each other on life, ministering to one another, eating food, drinking coffee, and of course laughing together :]
she had a baby about 5 months ago, and he is precious.
it was so sweet to see her interact with him.
to be soooo patient with him.
it was incredible :]
our spirits are kindred and i miss her dearly.
i just thank the Lord that He has given me such a friend as this.
someone who can understand what you mean, even if you can't put it into the right words.
someone who if you haven't seen or talked to in foreverrrr, feels like you saw each other the day before.
thank you Lord!! she is a blessing to me and always will be!
ps... i have been eating Christmas cookies for days now :] i just can't stop!! i looove them so much.
i figure it is okay because it is only one time a year :]]
oh and tomorrow is friday! yay!!!
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