CHRIST, THE GLORY OF GOD
The three days have ended.
Two of the people I expected to join us couldn't make it, for their own reasons.
During these three days, the three of us spent almost all of our time contemplating things in relation to the Word of God. Each morning till evening we would jot down some important information about books of the Bible, and each night we would go for Samuel Ling's apologetics class.
I suppose that my greatest benefit from our three-day search was seeing for myself that the glory of God is found throughout the entire Bible.
I have already been taught long ago that the second person of the Trinity is the glory of God manifested to mankind. God is Spirit, invisible to our eyes, but in eternity God will live among us through Christ, and the invisible qualities of God will be made manifest to us through Him.
I was always so frustrated when reading the Scriptures because I only pictured glory as an abstract quality. The more I simplified things into words like "justice", "holiness", "faithfulness", the less glorious it became.
But thanks to the guidance of God throughout these few days, I find that I've been going in the wrong direction, pursuing abstractness instead of a clear, understandable manifestation of the qualities of God in Christ.
And also thanks to the work of other saints, I was taught how to find Christ from the very beginning of the Bible's books and onwards. At some point, I found out what it meant for me; it meant that in the things that typify Christ, all the great, glorious qualities are God's. And I can understand them.
I am hopeful of my future Scripture readings. I am hopeful that I will actually be able to produce worship in response to the beauty I will find.
I am hopeful that God's glory will fill my heart and replace all those deceptive desires.
There's a song that we sung at the apologetics class, and the lyrics are beautiful. The song is called "O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go".
Thank You, thank You, thank You for loving me and not letting me go.
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O Light that foll'west all my way,
I yield my flick'ring torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine's blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me thru pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow thru the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
25/3/13
The holidays are here, and today is Monday.
Starting from tomorrow, I and four other people will start a three-day Bible study. I'm not sure how exactly it's going to turn out, and I haven't planned it thoroughly.
Reason? I figured I could not really change the rate of my growth in the Spirit until I change the rate of my contact with the Word of God.
What I have in mind is to attempt to have a general understanding of each of the books of the Bible so that we know what it is for, what it is about, etc. This is so that I would be able to read each of the books in such contexts later on.
It's late. Tomorrow's the big day.
God help us.
Starting from tomorrow, I and four other people will start a three-day Bible study. I'm not sure how exactly it's going to turn out, and I haven't planned it thoroughly.
Reason? I figured I could not really change the rate of my growth in the Spirit until I change the rate of my contact with the Word of God.
What I have in mind is to attempt to have a general understanding of each of the books of the Bible so that we know what it is for, what it is about, etc. This is so that I would be able to read each of the books in such contexts later on.
It's late. Tomorrow's the big day.
God help us.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Creation
KNOWING WHO GOD IS THROUGH HIS CREATION
If God is the God who created the universe, then how great it is to know that He is our Redeemer. Whoever He sets out to save, He will not fail in saving.
Look at these galaxies out there in the universe! Can anybody stay His hand when He sets Himself to save you? What enemy is greater? Who is going to separate you from the love of Christ?
Who is going to do it?
Be comforted and encouraged.
Walk in the righteous way with hope because you know that the very person of God is within you to empower you.
However, fear and despair greatly if you walk the path of the wicked. God is not on your side, and when He chooses to cut off His grace for you and judge you for your sins, the very God who formed the countless galaxies out of nothing will crush you in His wrath. Run to Him for grace, while you can, because He is gracious.
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
(Psalm 1)
If God is the God who created the universe, then how great it is to know that He is our Redeemer. Whoever He sets out to save, He will not fail in saving.
Look at these galaxies out there in the universe! Can anybody stay His hand when He sets Himself to save you? What enemy is greater? Who is going to separate you from the love of Christ?
Who is going to do it?
Be comforted and encouraged.
Walk in the righteous way with hope because you know that the very person of God is within you to empower you.
However, fear and despair greatly if you walk the path of the wicked. God is not on your side, and when He chooses to cut off His grace for you and judge you for your sins, the very God who formed the countless galaxies out of nothing will crush you in His wrath. Run to Him for grace, while you can, because He is gracious.
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
(Psalm 1)
Monday, March 18, 2013
Examine Yourself; The Search
EXAMINE YOURSELF
Some questions useful for self-examination. Credits go to whoever credits are due (duh).
1) What do you love? Is there something you love more than God or your neighbor?
2) What do you want? What do you desire? What do you crave, long for, wish? Whose desires do you obey?
3) What do you seek? What are your personal expectations and goals? What are your intentions? What are you working for?
4) Where do you bank your hopes? What hope are you working toward or building your life around?
5) What do you fear? Fear is the flip side of desire. For example, if I desire your acceptance, then I fear your rejection.
6) What do you feel like doing? This is a synonym for desire. Sometimes we feel like eating a gallon of ice cream, or staying in bed, or refusing to talk, etc.
7) What do you think you need? In most cases a person's felt needs picture his or her idol cravings. Often what we have called necessities are actually deceptive masters that rule our hearts. They control us because they seem plausible. They don't seem so bad on the surface and it isn't sin to want them. However, I must not be ruled by the "need" to feel good about myself, to feel loved and accepted, to feel some sense of accomplishment, to have financial security, to experience good health, to live a life that is organized, pain-free, and happy.
8) What are your plans, agendas, strategies, and intentions designed to accomplish? What are you really going after in the situations and relationships of life? What are you really working to get?
9) What makes you tick? What sun does your planet revolve around? Where do you find your garden of delight? What lights up your world? What food sustains your life? What really matters to you? What are you living for?
10) Where do you find refuge, safety, comfort, and escape? When you are fearful, discouraged, and upset, where do you run? Do you run to God for comfort and safety or to something else? (To food, to others, to work, to solitude?)
11) What do you trust? Do you functionally rest in the Lord? Do you find your sense of well-being in His presence and promises? Or do you rest in something or someone else?
12) Whose performance matters to you? This question digs out self-reliance or self-righteousness. It digs out living through another. Do you get depressed when you are wrong or when you fail? Have you pinned your hopes on another person? Are you too dependent on the performance of your husband, wife, children or friends?
13) Whom must you please? Whose opinion counts? From whom do you desire approval or fear rejection? Whose value system do you measure yourself against? In whose eyes are you living?
14) Who are your role models? Who are the people you respect? Who do you want to be like? Who is your "idol"? (In our culture, this word is used for role model.)
15) What do you desperately hope will last in your life? What do you feel must always be there? What can't you live without?
16) How do you define success or failure in any particular situation? Are your standards God's standards? Do you define success as the ability to reach your goals? The respect and approval of others? Is it defined by a certain position or the ability to maintain a certain lifestyle? By affluence? By appearance? By acceptance? By location? By accomplishment?
17) What makes you feel rich, secure, and prosperous? The possession, experience, and enjoyment of what would make you happy? The Bible uses the metaphor of treasure here.
18) What would bring you the greatest pleasure? The greatest misery?
19) Whose political power would make everything better for you? Don't just think in a national sense. Think about the workplace and the church. Whose agenda would you like to see succeed and why?
20) Whose victory and success would make your life happy? How do you define victory and success?
21) What do you see as your rights? What do you feel entitled to? What do you feel is your right to expect, seek, require, or demand?
22) In what situations do you feel pressured or tense? When do you feel confident and relaxed? When you are pressured, where do you turn? What do you think about? What do you fear? What do you seek to escape from? What do you escape to?
23) What do you really want out of life? What payoff are you seeking from the things you do? What is the return you are working for?
24) What do you pray for? The fact that we pray does not necessarily mean we are where we should be spiritually. On the contrary, prayer can be a key revealer of the idols of our hearts. Prayer can reveal patterns of self-centeredness, self-righteousness, materialism, fear of man, etc.
25) What do you think about most often? In the morning, to what does your mind drift instinctively? When you are doing a menial task or driving alone in your car, what captures your mind? What is your mindset?
26) What do you talk about? What occupies your conversations with others? What subjects do you tend to discuss over and over with your friends? The Bible says it is out of the heart that our mouths speak.
27) How do you spend your time? What are your daily priorities? What things do you invest time in every day?
28) What are your fantasies? What are your dreams at night? What do you daydream about?
29) What is your belief system? What beliefs do you hold about life, God, yourself, others? What is your worldview? What is the personal "mythology" that structures the way you interpret things? What are your specific beliefs about your present situation? What do you value?
30) What are your idols or false gods? In what do you place your trust or set your hopes? What do you consistently turn to or regularly seek? Where do you take refuge? Who is the savior, judge, controller of your world? Whom do you serve? What voice controls you?
31) In what ways do you live for yourself?
32) In what ways do you live as a slave to the Devil? Where are you susceptible to his lies? Where do you give in to deceit?
33) When do you say, "If only..."? Our "if onlys" actually define our vision of paradise. They picture our biggest fears and greatest disappointments. They can reveal where we tend to envy others. They picture where we wish we could rewrite our life story. They picture where we are dissatisfied and what we crave.
34) What instinctively feels right to you? What are your opinions -- those things that you feel are true?
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
(2 Corinthians 13:5)
* * * * *
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
(Acts 17:11)
I get frustrated very quickly when reading the Bible, when I don't find what I expect to find.
But perhaps I have forgotten that the Scriptures are meant to be searched. I am meant to study it diligently. Just because the riches need unearthing doesn't mean they aren't there. They're just yet to be unlocked. I must unlock it.
My only hope for sanctification, the Word of God.
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
(Joshua 1:8)
Some questions useful for self-examination. Credits go to whoever credits are due (duh).
1) What do you love? Is there something you love more than God or your neighbor?
2) What do you want? What do you desire? What do you crave, long for, wish? Whose desires do you obey?
3) What do you seek? What are your personal expectations and goals? What are your intentions? What are you working for?
4) Where do you bank your hopes? What hope are you working toward or building your life around?
5) What do you fear? Fear is the flip side of desire. For example, if I desire your acceptance, then I fear your rejection.
6) What do you feel like doing? This is a synonym for desire. Sometimes we feel like eating a gallon of ice cream, or staying in bed, or refusing to talk, etc.
7) What do you think you need? In most cases a person's felt needs picture his or her idol cravings. Often what we have called necessities are actually deceptive masters that rule our hearts. They control us because they seem plausible. They don't seem so bad on the surface and it isn't sin to want them. However, I must not be ruled by the "need" to feel good about myself, to feel loved and accepted, to feel some sense of accomplishment, to have financial security, to experience good health, to live a life that is organized, pain-free, and happy.
8) What are your plans, agendas, strategies, and intentions designed to accomplish? What are you really going after in the situations and relationships of life? What are you really working to get?
9) What makes you tick? What sun does your planet revolve around? Where do you find your garden of delight? What lights up your world? What food sustains your life? What really matters to you? What are you living for?
10) Where do you find refuge, safety, comfort, and escape? When you are fearful, discouraged, and upset, where do you run? Do you run to God for comfort and safety or to something else? (To food, to others, to work, to solitude?)
11) What do you trust? Do you functionally rest in the Lord? Do you find your sense of well-being in His presence and promises? Or do you rest in something or someone else?
12) Whose performance matters to you? This question digs out self-reliance or self-righteousness. It digs out living through another. Do you get depressed when you are wrong or when you fail? Have you pinned your hopes on another person? Are you too dependent on the performance of your husband, wife, children or friends?
13) Whom must you please? Whose opinion counts? From whom do you desire approval or fear rejection? Whose value system do you measure yourself against? In whose eyes are you living?
14) Who are your role models? Who are the people you respect? Who do you want to be like? Who is your "idol"? (In our culture, this word is used for role model.)
15) What do you desperately hope will last in your life? What do you feel must always be there? What can't you live without?
16) How do you define success or failure in any particular situation? Are your standards God's standards? Do you define success as the ability to reach your goals? The respect and approval of others? Is it defined by a certain position or the ability to maintain a certain lifestyle? By affluence? By appearance? By acceptance? By location? By accomplishment?
17) What makes you feel rich, secure, and prosperous? The possession, experience, and enjoyment of what would make you happy? The Bible uses the metaphor of treasure here.
18) What would bring you the greatest pleasure? The greatest misery?
19) Whose political power would make everything better for you? Don't just think in a national sense. Think about the workplace and the church. Whose agenda would you like to see succeed and why?
20) Whose victory and success would make your life happy? How do you define victory and success?
21) What do you see as your rights? What do you feel entitled to? What do you feel is your right to expect, seek, require, or demand?
22) In what situations do you feel pressured or tense? When do you feel confident and relaxed? When you are pressured, where do you turn? What do you think about? What do you fear? What do you seek to escape from? What do you escape to?
23) What do you really want out of life? What payoff are you seeking from the things you do? What is the return you are working for?
24) What do you pray for? The fact that we pray does not necessarily mean we are where we should be spiritually. On the contrary, prayer can be a key revealer of the idols of our hearts. Prayer can reveal patterns of self-centeredness, self-righteousness, materialism, fear of man, etc.
25) What do you think about most often? In the morning, to what does your mind drift instinctively? When you are doing a menial task or driving alone in your car, what captures your mind? What is your mindset?
26) What do you talk about? What occupies your conversations with others? What subjects do you tend to discuss over and over with your friends? The Bible says it is out of the heart that our mouths speak.
27) How do you spend your time? What are your daily priorities? What things do you invest time in every day?
28) What are your fantasies? What are your dreams at night? What do you daydream about?
29) What is your belief system? What beliefs do you hold about life, God, yourself, others? What is your worldview? What is the personal "mythology" that structures the way you interpret things? What are your specific beliefs about your present situation? What do you value?
30) What are your idols or false gods? In what do you place your trust or set your hopes? What do you consistently turn to or regularly seek? Where do you take refuge? Who is the savior, judge, controller of your world? Whom do you serve? What voice controls you?
31) In what ways do you live for yourself?
32) In what ways do you live as a slave to the Devil? Where are you susceptible to his lies? Where do you give in to deceit?
33) When do you say, "If only..."? Our "if onlys" actually define our vision of paradise. They picture our biggest fears and greatest disappointments. They can reveal where we tend to envy others. They picture where we wish we could rewrite our life story. They picture where we are dissatisfied and what we crave.
34) What instinctively feels right to you? What are your opinions -- those things that you feel are true?
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
(2 Corinthians 13:5)
* * * * *
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
(Acts 17:11)
I get frustrated very quickly when reading the Bible, when I don't find what I expect to find.
But perhaps I have forgotten that the Scriptures are meant to be searched. I am meant to study it diligently. Just because the riches need unearthing doesn't mean they aren't there. They're just yet to be unlocked. I must unlock it.
My only hope for sanctification, the Word of God.
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
(Joshua 1:8)
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Social Interaction
HOW TO APPROACH PEOPLE
It's just not my thing.
Or is it some sin in me that hinders me?
Maybe I just don't care for people other than myself.
That's something to deal with.
It's just not my thing.
Or is it some sin in me that hinders me?
Maybe I just don't care for people other than myself.
That's something to deal with.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
If He Doesn't Exist; Christian Ambition; Spirit of His Son; Video Games
Today is one of those Saturdays where I have little to do. And so, I've spent most of my time reading and thinking, which resulted in a little more to write about today.
Thank God for a day's quiet pursuit of glory.
* * * * *
IF I FOUND OUT THAT GOD DID NOT EXIST
What would be my response?
Of course, this is something that will never happen, because He most surely does exist.
But for the sake of discussion, let's just say that if, one day, I found out that God didn't exist, I would be devastated. Are you kidding me? All my hope and purpose is in Him. If He didn't exist, it would all be in vain. I would've wasted my life on something non-existent. I've lost everything I've committed my life to.
But then it would be hard to put a meaning on words like "wasted" or "value" by then. What is relative value? There is no such thing, is there?
This is a question I consider useful for the Christian's self-examination. Can you live without God? How much do you lose if you find out He doesn't exist?
If you think that you could still move on from that, then can you honestly say that your ultimate commitment is God? How deeply rooted are you in Him? Can you say that by losing Him, you lose yourself too?
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
(1 Corinthians 15:17-19)
* * * * *
AMBITION OF A CHRISTIAN
I perceive that many Christian teenagers separate their faith from their preference of work. There seems to be a lack of understanding that all (true) knowledge is dependent upon God.
How can one truly understand science, but by the Word of God? How does one understand aesthetics? How does one understand history?
And what about psychology, language, philosophy, politics, economics, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, etc.? Which of these is Christ not supreme over? Isn't all of creation supposed to glorify God?
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
(Psalm 19:1-2)
And yet we don't choose the work that we expect to be doing for the rest of our lives on the basis of what God's Word has to say about it. Don't we understand that as children of light, we're supposed to bring the Word of God with us as we step into an area of work?
Are we so shallow that we consider what we want to work as based on interests that we can't really relate to God's glory? Be warned; if your interest in something is not, at the same time, an enjoyment of God's glory, then it is most likely sin. I don't think I have found any exceptions.
When we view the subject that we study in the way that God views it, you will find its true purpose. And your work will be fruitful because you're guided by the infallible Word of God.
Search the Scriptures to truly understand your work, and be not deceived by secular interpretations of it.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17)
* * * * *
THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON
I've been reading the Bible commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians today. A few words found at the beginning of the fourth chapter of Galatians struck me like it never did before. I was truly touched.
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
(Galatians 4:6)
I knew before this that it was speaking of the Holy Spirit, but perhaps I was still quite unable to replace the impersonal impression of Him in my mind.
This passage purged me of this.
The verse says it such a way that you can understand that a Christian's cry for the Father is just like Christ's. Because here the Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of his Son". It's as if we have the very person of Christ within us, crying out to God through our mouths. And I must say, we have nothing inferior, because the Holy Spirit shares all the attributes of Christ.
It is a very comforting thing to know. Because if you're convinced that you have the Holy Spirit working within you, you can be sure that God hears your cries as much as He hears the cries of His only begotten Son. We do not have to rely on how sincere we are, but upon the assurance that we have the Holy Spirit.
* * * * *
VIDEO GAMES
Most people probably think that I'm not tempted by these anymore.
Truth be told, I still am. I've played DotA a few times, secretly, several weeks ago.
And right before I wrote this, I walked downstairs to the computer from my bedroom, planning to have another game of DotA.
Of course, I had to have a cover up. I opened the internet browser and set tabs on Facebook, Blogger, and Biblegateway (terrible, I know). I wanted to edit this particular post just before I went on the game, but then I saw the things that I wrote, what I wrote about committing my life wholly to God.
You see, I am a hypocrite. I don't deny it, because I can't.
And the perhaps the posts that I write might make me seem like I'm some kind of saintly boy who thinks about these stuff and contemplates on God's glory all the time. But truth be told, this makes up the minority of my thoughts. That's why I put Bible verses in every post. I'm not authoritative.
But in times like this, I wish, so very much, that I could be the facade that I put on, that my life is actually wholly committed to obeying Him.
Reading my own blog post caused the struggle within me to be even greater. Then I was reminded of the times when I committed a particular sin for the umpteenth time, when I would strike my forehead with my hand in extreme frustration, and think that I would never do it again. I remember that feeling. And I knew that the hopes of that frustrated Joshua in the past were in my hands. The choice was mine.
I turned the game off. No big deal, I know. But for a weakling like me, it is. I've had a history of game addiction, and thus the draw is even more powerful.
I remembered the command to cut off that which tempts you. I deleted it. I know I wouldn't ask it from anyone either, since I'm outwardly a staunch advocate of anti-gaming.
And then I started writing this, to dispel the lies.
What is it about video games that draw me? Well, there's that point I've thought about before, which is that I am drawn to the gaming world because God isn't there. He does not control my destiny. I control my destiny. I can become powerful all on my own.
But then there's the excuse that it's just for leisure, when I'm too tired for other (serious) stuff. But that's just ridiculous. If it's just something of that nature, how can it exert such an incredible pull on me? It's just a leisurely activity, man, you can live without it!
There's almost no need to argue any further, the conclusion that I play DotA out of sinful desires is final. For years, there has been absolutely no exception.
Still, I remember something else, something about self identity. I've never really analyzed the desire everybody has to find "who they are". But I'm sure that this is related to my gaming, since I find myself searching for the in-game character that most resembles my personality. Is it because I want to feel special? Is it that I want to stand out from the crowd? Why so?
The only possible answer in my head is because, like Lucifer right before he fell, I want to be God. I want to be special, to be rare, supposedly so that I have more value, more glory. This is likely a twisted imitation of God's unique, intrinsically glorious, uncreated existence.
So perhaps I delve into games because that's the only place I can express this evil desire. In the real world, I believe in God and that everything I have comes from Him, but in the gaming world, temporarily, I don't have to believe that. I pave my own way. I create who I am.
This concludes my most disorganized post so far. I'm going to sleep.
Thank God for this, whatever it may come to mean for me.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
(1 Corinthians 10:31)
Thank God for a day's quiet pursuit of glory.
* * * * *
IF I FOUND OUT THAT GOD DID NOT EXIST
What would be my response?
Of course, this is something that will never happen, because He most surely does exist.
But for the sake of discussion, let's just say that if, one day, I found out that God didn't exist, I would be devastated. Are you kidding me? All my hope and purpose is in Him. If He didn't exist, it would all be in vain. I would've wasted my life on something non-existent. I've lost everything I've committed my life to.
But then it would be hard to put a meaning on words like "wasted" or "value" by then. What is relative value? There is no such thing, is there?
This is a question I consider useful for the Christian's self-examination. Can you live without God? How much do you lose if you find out He doesn't exist?
If you think that you could still move on from that, then can you honestly say that your ultimate commitment is God? How deeply rooted are you in Him? Can you say that by losing Him, you lose yourself too?
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
(1 Corinthians 15:17-19)
* * * * *
AMBITION OF A CHRISTIAN
I perceive that many Christian teenagers separate their faith from their preference of work. There seems to be a lack of understanding that all (true) knowledge is dependent upon God.
How can one truly understand science, but by the Word of God? How does one understand aesthetics? How does one understand history?
And what about psychology, language, philosophy, politics, economics, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, etc.? Which of these is Christ not supreme over? Isn't all of creation supposed to glorify God?
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
(Psalm 19:1-2)
And yet we don't choose the work that we expect to be doing for the rest of our lives on the basis of what God's Word has to say about it. Don't we understand that as children of light, we're supposed to bring the Word of God with us as we step into an area of work?
Are we so shallow that we consider what we want to work as based on interests that we can't really relate to God's glory? Be warned; if your interest in something is not, at the same time, an enjoyment of God's glory, then it is most likely sin. I don't think I have found any exceptions.
When we view the subject that we study in the way that God views it, you will find its true purpose. And your work will be fruitful because you're guided by the infallible Word of God.
Search the Scriptures to truly understand your work, and be not deceived by secular interpretations of it.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17)
* * * * *
THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON
I've been reading the Bible commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians today. A few words found at the beginning of the fourth chapter of Galatians struck me like it never did before. I was truly touched.
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
(Galatians 4:6)
I knew before this that it was speaking of the Holy Spirit, but perhaps I was still quite unable to replace the impersonal impression of Him in my mind.
This passage purged me of this.
The verse says it such a way that you can understand that a Christian's cry for the Father is just like Christ's. Because here the Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of his Son". It's as if we have the very person of Christ within us, crying out to God through our mouths. And I must say, we have nothing inferior, because the Holy Spirit shares all the attributes of Christ.
It is a very comforting thing to know. Because if you're convinced that you have the Holy Spirit working within you, you can be sure that God hears your cries as much as He hears the cries of His only begotten Son. We do not have to rely on how sincere we are, but upon the assurance that we have the Holy Spirit.
* * * * *
VIDEO GAMES
Most people probably think that I'm not tempted by these anymore.
Truth be told, I still am. I've played DotA a few times, secretly, several weeks ago.
And right before I wrote this, I walked downstairs to the computer from my bedroom, planning to have another game of DotA.
Of course, I had to have a cover up. I opened the internet browser and set tabs on Facebook, Blogger, and Biblegateway (terrible, I know). I wanted to edit this particular post just before I went on the game, but then I saw the things that I wrote, what I wrote about committing my life wholly to God.
You see, I am a hypocrite. I don't deny it, because I can't.
And the perhaps the posts that I write might make me seem like I'm some kind of saintly boy who thinks about these stuff and contemplates on God's glory all the time. But truth be told, this makes up the minority of my thoughts. That's why I put Bible verses in every post. I'm not authoritative.
But in times like this, I wish, so very much, that I could be the facade that I put on, that my life is actually wholly committed to obeying Him.
Reading my own blog post caused the struggle within me to be even greater. Then I was reminded of the times when I committed a particular sin for the umpteenth time, when I would strike my forehead with my hand in extreme frustration, and think that I would never do it again. I remember that feeling. And I knew that the hopes of that frustrated Joshua in the past were in my hands. The choice was mine.
I turned the game off. No big deal, I know. But for a weakling like me, it is. I've had a history of game addiction, and thus the draw is even more powerful.
I remembered the command to cut off that which tempts you. I deleted it. I know I wouldn't ask it from anyone either, since I'm outwardly a staunch advocate of anti-gaming.
And then I started writing this, to dispel the lies.
What is it about video games that draw me? Well, there's that point I've thought about before, which is that I am drawn to the gaming world because God isn't there. He does not control my destiny. I control my destiny. I can become powerful all on my own.
But then there's the excuse that it's just for leisure, when I'm too tired for other (serious) stuff. But that's just ridiculous. If it's just something of that nature, how can it exert such an incredible pull on me? It's just a leisurely activity, man, you can live without it!
There's almost no need to argue any further, the conclusion that I play DotA out of sinful desires is final. For years, there has been absolutely no exception.
Still, I remember something else, something about self identity. I've never really analyzed the desire everybody has to find "who they are". But I'm sure that this is related to my gaming, since I find myself searching for the in-game character that most resembles my personality. Is it because I want to feel special? Is it that I want to stand out from the crowd? Why so?
The only possible answer in my head is because, like Lucifer right before he fell, I want to be God. I want to be special, to be rare, supposedly so that I have more value, more glory. This is likely a twisted imitation of God's unique, intrinsically glorious, uncreated existence.
So perhaps I delve into games because that's the only place I can express this evil desire. In the real world, I believe in God and that everything I have comes from Him, but in the gaming world, temporarily, I don't have to believe that. I pave my own way. I create who I am.
This concludes my most disorganized post so far. I'm going to sleep.
Thank God for this, whatever it may come to mean for me.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
(1 Corinthians 10:31)
Friday, March 15, 2013
A Dream; Justice
ONE OF THOSE METAPHORS
My brother told me this morning that he dreamed about me falling into a pit.
"It's true," I thought.
"I did fall into a pit."
I find no desperate hunger for God's glory within me, but shameful passions. Passions that mesmerize me, deceive me, and leave me feeling like I'm going to implode with emptiness and shame and despair.
But I will get out of this pit. I know it.
Not because I can climb out, but because a rope will be lowered down.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
(Psalm 23)
* * * * *
JUSTICE
A definition of the word that I have in my mind is: "Giving to each person what he is worthy of".
Justice is to give somebody what he deserves.
I find that, to me, this completely beats out the notion that oh, God is so vain, so narcissistic, and so selfish that everything is supposed to be about Him, and humans have to suffer so much while He sits all high and haughty on His comfy throne.
No, God is just. He commands worship because He is worthy of it, He deserves it. This is justice. This is fair.
What about man? Well, man never deserved anything. We never deserved the joy of worship in the first place, and so even less do we deserve salvation, and yet God offers it to us.
And it throws so much guilt on me to think about what God deserves from me. He doesn't deserve the kind of treatment that I give Him. He deserves every second of my life, every drop of my blood. It is a disgrace to put Him on another side of the scale in comparison to some sin, and in the end still choose to sin. It is a terrible injustice deserving of hellfire.
In contemplation of this, I see Your great mercy for me, that you have not slain me in my pride. Guide me that I may be able to imitate the justice of Christ.
My brother told me this morning that he dreamed about me falling into a pit.
"It's true," I thought.
"I did fall into a pit."
I find no desperate hunger for God's glory within me, but shameful passions. Passions that mesmerize me, deceive me, and leave me feeling like I'm going to implode with emptiness and shame and despair.
But I will get out of this pit. I know it.
Not because I can climb out, but because a rope will be lowered down.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
(Psalm 23)
* * * * *
JUSTICE
A definition of the word that I have in my mind is: "Giving to each person what he is worthy of".
Justice is to give somebody what he deserves.
I find that, to me, this completely beats out the notion that oh, God is so vain, so narcissistic, and so selfish that everything is supposed to be about Him, and humans have to suffer so much while He sits all high and haughty on His comfy throne.
No, God is just. He commands worship because He is worthy of it, He deserves it. This is justice. This is fair.
What about man? Well, man never deserved anything. We never deserved the joy of worship in the first place, and so even less do we deserve salvation, and yet God offers it to us.
And it throws so much guilt on me to think about what God deserves from me. He doesn't deserve the kind of treatment that I give Him. He deserves every second of my life, every drop of my blood. It is a disgrace to put Him on another side of the scale in comparison to some sin, and in the end still choose to sin. It is a terrible injustice deserving of hellfire.
In contemplation of this, I see Your great mercy for me, that you have not slain me in my pride. Guide me that I may be able to imitate the justice of Christ.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Guilt; The Word
GUILT
Fight sin, not guilt. It's not the same thing. Anyone can fight guilt.
Anyone can wrestle down his guilt by changing his actions and making himself feel as if he were actually righteous deep inside. You just have to be proud enough to think that you're not actually evil.
But you, O Christian, have the power of Christ's Resurrection in you. Let not your fight be self-deception.
"But I'm not sure if I'm saved," squeaks a little voice in my head as I write this. "How can I know if I have power over sin?"
Prove to yourself your election instead of waiting for it. What else can you do?
Don't strive to prove that you're not as evil as your guilt declares you to be. Don't let your struggle be to sweep everything under the rug.
Face it. Face the reality of your ugliness. Because only then will you deal with it as it is, as you should. Only then will you give up on what you call your own righteousness and look to what is done on the cross.
I have been given a new heart at my rebirth. I can love justice, and choose what is right. I will fight my sin because I have been given the power to.
God help me.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
(Galatians 2:20)
* * * * *
THE WORD OF GOD
It is so simple, and yet so unacceptable for some reason. Can this be it?
Still, it's not like I'm completely without His Word; many verses and doctrines are already in my head.
I think, however, that I might be so occupied with trivial, complex issues that I forget the simple truths that are for the fool. I think. I think...
And that's why I can't be sure. I'm just thinking. But my mind isn't God's mind. This might just be one of those trivial things.
One thing is for sure, though. I've been in great lack of the glory of God. When was the last time I feasted? I must immerse myself in the Bible. I need it. I need worship.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
(Psalm 119:105)
Fight sin, not guilt. It's not the same thing. Anyone can fight guilt.
Anyone can wrestle down his guilt by changing his actions and making himself feel as if he were actually righteous deep inside. You just have to be proud enough to think that you're not actually evil.
But you, O Christian, have the power of Christ's Resurrection in you. Let not your fight be self-deception.
"But I'm not sure if I'm saved," squeaks a little voice in my head as I write this. "How can I know if I have power over sin?"
Prove to yourself your election instead of waiting for it. What else can you do?
Don't strive to prove that you're not as evil as your guilt declares you to be. Don't let your struggle be to sweep everything under the rug.
Face it. Face the reality of your ugliness. Because only then will you deal with it as it is, as you should. Only then will you give up on what you call your own righteousness and look to what is done on the cross.
I have been given a new heart at my rebirth. I can love justice, and choose what is right. I will fight my sin because I have been given the power to.
God help me.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
(Galatians 2:20)
* * * * *
THE WORD OF GOD
It is so simple, and yet so unacceptable for some reason. Can this be it?
Still, it's not like I'm completely without His Word; many verses and doctrines are already in my head.
I think, however, that I might be so occupied with trivial, complex issues that I forget the simple truths that are for the fool. I think. I think...
And that's why I can't be sure. I'm just thinking. But my mind isn't God's mind. This might just be one of those trivial things.
One thing is for sure, though. I've been in great lack of the glory of God. When was the last time I feasted? I must immerse myself in the Bible. I need it. I need worship.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
(Psalm 119:105)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
My Arch-Nemesis; Why We Tell Stories
WHERE IS MY ARCH-NEMESIS?
Where is sin?
Does it only appear when I commit a visible transgression? Or before that, the moment I am tempted?
Sin is in me. It is a law at work. Present tense.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
(Romans 7:21-23)
Even in my wariness toward my sin, I could find sin embedded. Even as a take another step back to examine my precautions against sin, I might be found guilty. In every move I make, the sin that dwells within me, dwells. How can one ever be sure of his genuineness? How can I ever be sure that when I tell myself that I will do what is right, I will do it?
In all of this despair, I find my only hope in Christ, who intercedes for me at the right hand of God.
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
(Romans 8:34)
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
(Hebrews 7:25)
* * * * *
WHY WE TELL STORIES
We tell stories because of the beauty of all the little bits and pieces coming together to form something meaningful. Each part of a story matters, and thus, is meaningful. We find beauty in purpose.
Because of this, memories usually seem better than the moment itself. During the moment itself, we do not always fully see the beauty of it, because the story isn't complete; we see it even more beautifully in retrospect when we come to an understanding of how much it meant for us.
Perhaps this is why music brings about a special feeling, a certain aesthetic. Music speaks, wordlessly, of purpose, of why's that might be too deep to be expressed in words. From my perspective, music always seems to express a sense of purpose, or at least a lack of it.
Perhaps other arts have such effects on people for the same reason. They satisfy, even temporarily, a deep longing within the soul of mankind, one that is tended to pursuing purpose, chasing meaning. Some people, so desperate and pained with emptiness, even try to rid themselves of this desire, denying it, only to find that they couldn't ever really do so.
And finally, perhaps, I infer, the origin of this is the very glory of God.
He is infinitely beautiful because he has all purpose within Himself.
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
(Colossians 1:16-20)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)