Truth from Piper

"The quest for holiness is the quest for satisfaction in God. And satisfaction in God is a divine gift of sovereign joy. It is sovereign because, in its fullness, it triumphs over all contestants for the heart." - Dr. John Piper

Deuteronomy 9:4

"Do not say in your heart when the Lord your God ahs driven them out before you, 'Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you."

This verse speaks much truth into my life because it shows that we should not believe ourselves to be righteous in anything except that through which Christ has done in us. While the verse does talk about the Lord driving out the other nations for Israel this was still in the midst where Israel was still disobeying God. All cultures are broken and God redeems those and chooses to use those according to His will. Let us all not seek our own righteousness but God's.

Article on Sharing Christ

I was browsing articles on The Resurgence website and read this interesting one about sharing Christ with people written by Ed Stetzer. The article is here, but here is one passage that I found particularly profound:

"Yes, scripture shows that we share Christ, starting with people's understanding, interests, and needs. But we cannot and must not end there, for their needs can only really be met (whether they realize it or not) by meeting Jesus.

Many seem to have lost confidence in that gospel. It is easier to tell people to come to church and live a good life, but that is not the gospel. The gospel is about words that can make us uncomfortable: creation, Jesus, sin, repentance, forgiveness, and transformation, to name just a few. Hard words, but harder still to forget them. To share Christ, we have to go beyond formulas that fit on napkins. The Gospel is not a doodle. Isn't God's story of redemption and reconciliation for His creation bigger than what can fit on a napkin? People are searching—but they are searching for something more than fire insurance or "five steps to financial freedom."

In reading this passage it highlights the fact that we as Christians do not realize how desperate people are to have a purpose in life. In this we sometimes foolishly fail to present the whole gospel to people and and instead only present a quick fix or even a false gospel. We must never fail in presenting the whole gospel to the world. In doing so we glorify God and will constantly be focused on His gospel (which is never a bad thing).

Growing Up

This summer has been very challenging to me in many aspects. I feel that I am learning things (sometime the hard way) and getting glimpses of what life will be like once I am done being a full-time student (which that time is rapidly approaching more and more).

One thing that has started becoming more and more apparent as life continues is that one's group of friends starts to dwindle, but also becomes closer. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but something that seems to happen as everyone grows busier and busier. However, I still feel that the Lord has blessed me with some great mentors and people to run alongside with in the faith.

Secondly the Lord has been revealing to me what life as a Christian will look like once I am out in the real world and probably have an 8 or 8 to 5 job. He has shown that He will have to take precedent in my Life and I will have to set aside specific amounts of time to spend with Him daily. This hasn't been easy for me and at some points I have definitely found my relationship with Him to be taking a hit.

Third, I need to pray more and be constantly bowing before the Lord in humble submission. Leader weekend was a great example of this for me.

Lastly, I feel that the topic of being a man of the Lord has been almost an hourly thought on my mind. While I am still learning a great deal about what God calls men to be in terms of their relationships to women, the world, and the church I feel confident that God will teach me and work in me to form me to the man He wants me to be.

I guess this has been a season for learning (whether willingly or not). I just need to take refuge in God and know that He is in control. The other day I "randomly" turned to Psalm 62 and found much comfort in what David writes in verses 5-8,

"My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuges is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us."

Wise Words From A Wise Man

I was reading in book I got through Desiring God's 5 dollar book sale called the The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God's Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin. It details the lives of three of the most influential men in Church history. I came across a quote by John Calvin that he recorded about a month before he died when he was looking back at his life and reflecting on some of his sins (many believe it was his response to his role in the death of Michael Servetus). It reads:

"With my whole soul I embrace the mercy which [God] has exercised towards me through Jesus Christ, atoning for my sins with the merits of his death and passion, that in this way he might satisfy for all my crimes and faults, and blot them from his remembrance.... I confess I have failed innumerable times to execute my office properly, and had not He, of His boundless goodness, assisted me, all that zeal had been fleeting and vain.... For all these reasons, I testify and declare that I trust to no other security for my salvation than this, and this only, viz., that as God is the Father of mercy, he will show himself such a Father to me, who acknowledge myself to be a miserable sinner."

Calvin knew that only in Christ could He find forgiveness and life. He had a big view of God and small view of man. I pray that my view of God would be ever increasing and my view of myself would continuously decrease.