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Keeping things in focus, here’s an email I received back in March.
1. Give God what’s right – not what’s left.
2. Man’s way leads to a hopeless end – God’s way leads to an endless hope.
3. A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.
4. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.
5. In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma – but never let him be the full-stop.
6. Don’t put a question mark where God puts a full-stop.
7. Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the church for a face-lift.
8. When praying, don’t give God instructions – just report for duty.
9. Don’t wait for six strong men to take you to church.
10. We don’t change God’s message – His message changes us.
11. The church is prayer-conditioned.
12. When God ordains, He sustains.
13. WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning.
14. Plan ahead – It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.
15. Most people want to serve God! But only in an advisory position.
16. Suffering from truth decay? Brush up with your Bible.
17. Exercise daily – walk with the Lord.
18. Never give the devil a ride – he will always want to drive.
19. Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it.
20. Compassion is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.
21. He who angers you controls you.
22. Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop.
23. Give Satan an inch & he’ll be a ruler.
24. God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
25. Read the Bible – It will scare the hell out of you.
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The photo is from the walk Sam and I took on Saturday. I had planned a nice walk in the hills around Llanrhaeadr, without bargaining on it turning out to be a 12.5 mile slog on one of the hottest days of the year. Despite our tiredness at the end of the day, I think we all (dog included) enjoyed it.
Thought I might canvass some opinion while I’m on here too. This morning I was reading from Hebrews 12 – here’s verses 28 and 29:
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
How would you say our worship of God is worked out in reverence and awe? And not just on a Sunday, but in our lives day to day?
Furthermore, how would you say this is worked out in the worship life of the church? And can you see evidence of this on a Sunday, or are we in danger of becoming ‘glib’ in our worship?
I don’t want this to become all about the songs we sing (despite the temptation), but about how we live out lives of worship that exercise both reverence and awe… so, what’s the answer?
It’s only when we’re on our knees that we can hope to stand firmly on our feet.
Raymond Brown, The Message of Hebrews – IVP
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I’ve come across two blog posts recently that got me thinking, so I thought I’d share them with you to gauge your thoughts.
Firstly, Jon Dale writes that, according to Business Week, American “Evangelical churches are taking a lesson from big business, expanding both their reach and influence through niche marketing, brand management, multimedia campaigns, capital investments and political networking.”
To what extent do you see this as a good and right thing, or wrong and dangerous thing to do? Or is there some middle but cautious ground? Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.
And secondly, as my appreciation for the ministry of John Piper increases, so to does my desire to become a true, self-confessed Christian Hedonist (such as was Jonathan Edwards, and as is John Piper); recognising my need to grow in my love and passion for Christ in my daily living, for the primary purpose of bringing Him the glory He deserves.
Dave Bish quotes John Piper as saying:
“Salvation is not mainly the forgiveness of sins, but mainly the fellowship of Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:9). Forgiveness gets everything out of the way so this can happen. If this fellowship is not all-satisfying, there is no great salvation. If Christ is gloomy, or even calmly stoical, eternity will be a long, long sigh.” – Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, page 41, John Piper.
Does my life inspire people to see Christ and the salvation He offers as being the all-important purpose to live for; or do I contribute to their fears that eternity with the Christ I serve might be nothing more than a long sigh?
The founding principle behind the Desiring God ministry is that: God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him.
In what areas of your life have you found most satisfaction in Christ? Please encourage others by leaving your answers as a comment to this post.
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Purple Hibiscus
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
"Perceptive characterisation and an evocative portrayal of a fast-changing country, mark this Orange-shortlisted novel out from the crowd."
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