As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“We’ve been warned not to let our feelings define our faith. And fair enough—emotions are fickle. They’re shaped by bad sleep, awkward conversations and existential dread at 2 a.m. … But in the process of keeping our feelings from running the show, many of us learned to shut them out entirely.” - Relevant
From Voice, Mar/Apr 2014. Used by permission.
Recently I read an article which began with these words:
Some time ago a man said to me, “I drink beer in the pub in my spare time. Some guys I know go out chasing women. So what’s the difference? Your hobby is Christianity.” To think that a man could look at me and say that Christianity was just a pleasant spare time occupation like collecting stamps or yachting. Is that my definition of Christianity? Do I put it second, or do I put it first?
This quotation points out the fact that if our faith does not change our lives, even the world questions the genuineness of our profession.
“What’s the point of such discipline? Four verses later, we get the answer to that question. It says, ‘[God] disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.’” - John Piper
“How often do we take time to pay attention to our surroundings and look closely at the intricacies and beauty of God’s creation? Do we know the plants and animals that inhabit our backyards or our local parks?… Do we view them with a sense of wonder? Does it even matter if we don’t?” - By Faith
We’re looking at God’s speech as a model for our own. The previous post ended with God speaking of delivering his people Israel from their Egyptian taskmasters, and of his keeping that promise through the plagues.
After crossing the Red Sea—miraculously—Israel travels to Mount Sinai, where they will meet God and receive the Law of Moses.
And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage (Ex 20.1-2).
“Grief comes easily to me. The furnace of my many afflictions—stoked by painful bone disease, stage 4 cancer, advancing arthritis, perpetual 35-year-long head pain…. When you grieve as much as I have, you sometimes wonder what the Lord thinks of it. Is my grief permissible, or have I fallen into grieving doubt and self-pitying discontent?” - TGC
I remember my mother once saying—quoting her father—that Easter Sunday is a lot like heaven. Perhaps it is the closest thing to it that we will ever experience here upon the Earth.
I cannot prove that statement Biblically, but I have attempted to meditate upon it through the years, and I think there is much truth in it.
Of course there will be hard places. What of it? To choose ease rather than effort is to choose slow decay. (Isobel Kuhn, missionary to China and Thailand, 1901–1957)
Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. (Hebrews 12:1)
As Easter draws near, the Christian calendar presents us with a sequence of world-altering events—Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and later Pentecost. Each day tells a part of the greatest story ever told, and it begins with Palm Sunday: the moment Jesus Christ enters Jerusalem, hailed as a king, setting into motion the fulfillment of divine promises.
In Luke 19:28–44, we find the account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. But to fully grasp what’s happening, we need to step back and understand the broader picture.
Do you have trouble with your mouth?
I do. And I always have. Since birth.
Really.
There are few things worse than saying something that you regret, whether immediately or eventually.
How should we then speak?
I’d like to take a few posts to meditate on that.
And I’d like to begin by considering someone who speaks, and who speaks well.
The Bible begins with a speech act:
Discussion