For His Name's Sake

Blindness

2009-08-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

Last week was difficult. There were transitions that perhaps I wasn't ready for, along with the fact that I was hit with the reality of lostness. Combined with other emotions, it proved to be a somewhat trying week. It wasn't all bad. I think the combination of these events allowed for a time of deeper reflection on the truth of God's Word. I have continually thought on the passage in 2 Corinthians 4:3-6.

"3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

The Gospel is Truth, but without the work of God's gracious revelation it is folly to those who don't believe. The contrast between a believer and nonbeliever is clear: blindness vs. walking in the light. A blind person cannot see Christ as God and as good. Only his children are able to love Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and to see the beauty in the cross of Christ. I long for others to see Him...

Thank You, Father, for revealing to me the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ. I long for the salvation of my friends and family. You are just in Your ways, Lord. May my desire be Your glory.

P.S.

2008-07-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

So, I was thinking about my motives for writing these blogs, and I think they are not always pure. Sometimes I guess I feel like I'm supposed to have something "deep" to say, and that's not always the case...so, I may just write about what's going on in my life, and if God is teaching me something then I may share that as well. I guess my motives sometimes truly are not "For His Name's Sake" but for mine, and I don't want that to be the reason I post on here...so I guess I felt like saying that, and I also feel accountable for what I write on here. I don't want to be responsible for saying anything that would be contradictory to Scripture, not here or anywhere. Anyway, just wanted to say that I guess...may God be glorified, not me (despite my inadequacies and impure motives!)

Why We Must Think Rightly About God

2008-07-05T18:43:00.000-07:00

So, I kind of stole this title from A.W. Tozer, but I read an article by him about this very subject that made a lot of sense to me. He argued that there is a very great need for us to have a right idea of God, who He is and His character. To find this truth about God, we must go to the Word...our view of the Holy One must be consistent with His character as presented in the very Word that He breathed. To think wrongly of Him is not only detrimental to our growth and understanding of truth, but also it is sin.

When we worship something other than God, we are worshipping an idol. That, according to Tozer, is precisely what happens when we worship God believing our own false ideas of who He is. He becomes not the infinite God of the universe, but our own personal god instead. Although this may seem simple in theory, it may be challenging in application. For instance, how hard is it for us to separate truth from fiction in our mind when, for perhaps years, we've trusted in lies? This may not, and hopefully is not the case, with most believers, but I think subtle ideas from our culture or our own concoction can creep in and dwell within our hearts. How, then, do we change this? I am speaking to myself as well when I say that we must use the Word of God...

I have not practically tried to apply this, but I think this can be a continual process. Obviously if God reveals to us that we are believing falsely about Him, then we must repent and believe the truth. As we seek Him through His Word throughout our life, hopefully He will continue to reveal Himself to us through it, ever-growing in our knowledge and trust in Him because of His grace alone.

I'm sure Tozer probably did this topic a lot more justice than I did, but hopefully it is a decent summary of the idea anyway. I also want to encourage anyone who may read this to click on the link on my page to Ryan's blog to especially read the posts about Meditations on the Cross, parts 1-3. They are a great reminder and tool for pondering what Christ did...the Gospel.

Pride...

2008-06-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well, this summer has been so great thus far! Everyone here seems to be growing in some way or another! It's so great to be in an environment like this...

Toward the beginning of the summer, one of the students asked me something God had been teaching me. I didn't really know what to say at the time, but one thing I continually struggle with is my pride. I told him about how selfish I can be and just continued to talk some about my sin. Finally, he said one thing that I think was very wise...He reminded me to just stop focusing on my sin. Instead, focus on God. Even when I look at my own failures, the object is me. It is good to recognize sin, but I think dwelling on it can be detrimental to growth. When we fix our eyes on Christ, on what He's done and who He is, then He gets the glory. How better to strip away my pride than to have, and be humbled by, a deeper understanding of the Creator of the universe, who is my Father?!

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Psalm 73:25-26

Hilton Head

2008-06-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

So, this is the first blog I have written since we have gotten to Hilton Head! This place is so exciting for so many reasons! The group here is an awesome...including my GREAT roommates!!!! I love those girls...we get along so well already! The leaders here are so passionate about Christ, and it is so evident in their lives. The discipline here points us to Christ and getting to know Him more. There is encouragement to spread the Name of Christ to others through relationships we build. The beach isn't such a bad thing either....

Tonight, we had the men's/women's night, and the girls had an awesome time together! Liz spoke to us about modesty, and she focused mainly on the heart of it as opposed to rules about what not to wear. It was so amazing to see her sincerity as she spoke to us about the struggles that godly guys have to go through every day in order to fight temptation and sin. I know I do not want to be responsible for causing one of my brothers to stumble.

I'm still in the job search process...hopefully I'll be able to update the blog if/when I get one!

A Poem About the Moon...After Witnessing it's Beauty Last Night!

2008-05-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

We are the moon
Whose purpose is but one
With all its dents and craters
Can still reflect the sun.

No, 'tis no good on its own,
But when the source is hidden,
It's brilliance does not go away
But through the moon looks bigger.

Oh, how unpredictable the moon,
With it's waxing and waning shapes!
It's reliance on the sun
Can never be erased.

For without it's glow,
The moon lacks beauty.
Thankfully the sun shines bright enough
To fulfill this night-light's duty!

Valuing the Word

2008-05-19T19:42:00.001-07:00

In reading and learning both from the John Piper's book and in my own life, I am realizing more and more how important the Word of God is in fighting against sin and renewing your mind constantly. Without the truth of the Word to set us free from the power of sin and temptation, we would be hopeless in the fight for joy in our Lord Jesus Christ. Memorizing Scripture, something I have not done nearly enough, gives us a powerful weapon we need to sever the sinful desires that pull at our souls.

It's also becoming more apparent, though possibly harder to accept, that in order to know Christ more, much work is required. Scripture memory, meditation, time out of our day, intentional conversations, denial of self....all require effort, effort that I often fail to put forth. Not only do I fail to do so in my laziness, but also in my pride. In my attempt to please man, I in my pride, many times do not humble myself enough to be taught well. Instead, I pretentiously seek to show my own knowledge to others. This type of action itself displays my actual lack of knowledge and great need for teaching...

Conviction

2008-05-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

I think this blogging thing really helps me in some ways...It challenges me to reflect on things I've learned and be able to communicate them to others, which is a good thing I think!

My friend Krystal wrote an email today to send to her friends as an encouragement, and not only was it encouraging, but also convicting for me. As she shared about how God had been showing her some sin in her life, He also revealed some in mine. I am such a selfish person. I thought I had somewhat learned this lesson before, but I think the battle against my selfish nature is going to be a lifelong fight. So much of what I do is motivated by what I can gain...instead of how I can bring glory to my Savior. This sin of selfishness seems to be the hub for other sins as well. My purpose is not to bring glory to myself, but to my God.

This, I think, is such a hard concept not only in today's society, but also in the fallen world we live in. We are taught to glorify ourselves, and we also must fight against the sin nature that we have from birth. Nearly everything is pulling us in the direction of self-glorification, but we must fight against it with the Word. How humbling it is to learn that "it's not about us" and to begin to understand the depth to which the sin of selfishness has penetrated our hearts. May my desire, and may the desire of all, be to bring glory to our God...may Satan not be successful in blocking from us the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ! May our Father gives us eyes to see the truth of His Word, and in through this gift of seeing, may the things of this world be so unattractive in comparison to the magnificent glory of Christ!

Deceitful Desires and Taking Them Captive

2008-05-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

So I had a little bit of time to myself today while driving (not too long though), but it was a good time for me to spend in prayer and thinking. Going back two posts ago, I was thinking again about those "deceitful desires" that so often distract and pull us away from the only One who can give us true joy. I think more and more I am finding how important it is to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ in the fight against sin. I suppose the main reason that I get so caught up in the things of this world sometimes is that I temporarily fall into the trap of believing they can bring me more joy than spending time with my Father. However, when these deceptive thoughts come up, it would be a good time for me to quote Scripture. For example, part of Psalm 19 says "In your presence there is fullness of joy." Focusing my attention on God's Word, it's easier (not easy) to fight the battle of what the world considers to bring joy to us.

Just because I quote Scripture, though, does not mean that I automatically loose the grip these desires have on my mind and even my heart. It's a fight against sin, not a one time shot to the head. The battle is ongoing and continuous, but in Christ, we know our victory has already been won. Therefore, we must persevere until the end! Sometimes I quote Scripture, and I still doubt it or fail to trust in God's Word. How ignorant of me to doubt our faithful Father! But that is when I need Scripture...I need to pray it so that my heart will be transformed by it, not in my own power but through the grace of God. If His Word says there is fullness of joy in His presence and I still do not trust it, then I must pray it until I believe it. God's Word is the truth, and that is what will set us free in the fight against sin....not our own willpower and human effort, but the truth of God's Word.

Just for Fun

2008-05-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I don't have any good reflections or thoughts right now to post. I would like to challenge myself to be able to do that each day. I think everyday should be more than just going through the motions, but yeah it's easy to get caught up in going with the flow...Guess that was my thought of the day actually.

So, today I went to graduation to see good old Rachel get her diploma. That was a long ceremony, and although it seemed like a waste of time at some point, I think it was worthwhile to see her graduate...She means a lot to me, and I wouldn't want to miss it! We ate at Romano's afterwards and the Lobster bisque was sooo good!!!

Anyway, I think as I am typing this Rachel is working on a really embarrassing email about me to send out to the Bluffton group this summer! Despite this, I really appreciate her friendship and getting to know her heart over the past couple of years or so. I'm also really grateful for Krystal's friendship and her dedication to this blog because as far as I know, she is the only one that reads it! haha I love you Krystal! lol So i guess that's enough silliness for tonight. That was my day, and hopefully I'll have a more interesting post soon!

Numero Uno

2008-05-07T19:06:00.003-07:00

I'm not really sure where this blog will go, so here goes...

So I read a little more of the book "When I Don't Desire God" tonight by John Piper. His thoughts are so profound sometimes that I only feel like I can retain a portion of them at a time. I suppose it should be stated that the reason for there profundity does not lie in the fact in Piper's own brilliance but in the gracious understanding given to Him through the Word of God.

The chapter I am on is focusing on the role that the Word plays in the fight for joy. One of the main things I read tonight addressed the fact that the Word helps make the "deceitful desires" of the flesh undesirable to the one who belongs to Christ. This is a way that "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). By reading the Word and through the Spirit of God, we are able to put to death these deceitful desires in us to fight for a greater prize in Christ Himself. Piper emphasizes that Christianity is a fight...it is a war against sin, and only through the Word can we be victorious. Through the truth of the Word only, we are able to put out the desires of lust, money, power, illusions of earthly pleasures, and ultimately the adulterous dissatisfaction in our good God. This is much easier to say than to put to practice and has given me a challenge in my own life.

I have really enjoyed the spiritual conversations I have had with my friends and brothers/sisters the last few days. From Calvinisim, to relationships, to Revelation, the fellowship was good. I am thankful for these people in my life.