As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“…our culture and our technology all work against waiting. We demand immediacy. And our technology provides it. ‘We have not quite reached instant gratification here…but we are getting close.’” - Gene Veith
“Christmas is just around the corner. Are you ready? If you’re anything like me, this question might induce a strange mix of emotions: something between wonder and worry, warm fuzzies and total panic.” - TGC
“What are we to do when we don’t feel grateful but know we ought to be? Is gratitude duty or an emotional response?” - CToday
Read Part 1.
I’ve suggested that our lives ought to be oriented around the work God is doing in his people to make them—us—more like his Son. I’ve also suggested that this work can be compared to an exercise program.
Although I think the analogy is helpful, I also recognize that it isn’t really useful unless the Scripture gives us reason to think that the sanctification process is in some ways similar to physical exercise.
Preached January 15th, 1860 by C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. (KJV, Colossians 1:12-13)
This passage is a mine of riches. I can anticipate the difficulty in preaching and the regret in concluding we shall experience this evening because we are not able to dig out all the gold which lies in this precious vein. We lack the power to grasp and the time to expatiate upon that volume of truths which is here condensed into a few short sentences.
We are exhorted to “give thanks unto the Father.” This counsel is at once needful and salutary. I think, my brethren, we scarcely need to be told to give thanks unto the Son. The remembrance of that bleeding body hanging upon the cross is ever present to our faith. The nails and the spear, his griefs, the anguish of his soul, and his sweat of agony, make such tender touching appeals to our gratitude—these will prevent us always from ceasing our songs, and sometimes fire our hearts with rekindling rapture in praise of the man Christ Jesus. Yes we will bless thee, dearest Lord; our souls are all on fire. As we survey the, wondrous cross, we cannot but shout—
O for this love let rocks and hills
Their lasting silence break,
And all harmonious human tongues
The Savior’s praises speak.
“The human impulse to rush to judgment has always existed, but now it is common to believe whatever we hear and then post outrage using social media. But what if in our use of social media we applied the concepts of innocent until proven guilty, and from the mouth of Jesus, ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you’?” - Randy Alcorn
“Jesus’s pronouncement in the second beatitude stands in surprising contrast to our tendency: ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted’ (Matt. 5:4). For the believer, there’s blessing to be found even in our tears, a blessing that invites us to reevaluate our understanding of sorrow.” - TGC
“Robin C. John challenges the idea that investing is only about increasing wealth. John, the cofounder and CEO of Eventide Asset Management, believes investing can be a faithful response to God’s call to work.” - IFWE
What’s the most important question in the world?
I think my fellow Christians would agree with me that it’s the question of where you’re going to spend eternity. If there’s life after death, and if that life is eternal, and if there are different possibilities for the nature of that life, then it’s hard to imagine any question more important than that one.
Life and death. Heaven and hell. It doesn’t get any more consequential than that.
As the Philippian jailer put it so clearly and succinctly all those years ago, “What must I do to be saved?” (Ac 16.30).
Discussion