I have again been moved by the words of A.W. Tozer...As usual, his words have rocked me to the core...
Tozer makes the point in "The Pursuit of God", page. 73-74, that during his day and certainly in ours, we live in a secular age. As a result, our thought habits are most similiar to "those of a scientist, not those of a worshipper."
A scientist. Does that describe me? What about you? Do we approach God, this God whom we as Christians say we have a 'personal relationship' with, seeking to examine and find proofs about God in an effort to have an authentic faith. Or do we approach God as people who fall to their knees and "whisper '"God'". Are willing to admit that we are going to have to wait until heaven before we are able to explain God? Is God unknowable? Certainly not, Is He unexplainable? Yes, in a limited manner. We can explain God based upon what we 1). Know of Him from the Word and 2). What nature reveals to us about God? For the worshipper, Knowledge of God revealed in the Scriptures and the Glory of God revealed in nature are enough to spur wonder and awe. To the scientist, more is needed.
Maybe you can see it, there is a large difference between the two.
Truthfully, most scientists find it difficult if not impossible to have much "faith" in anything besides their "science". If science cannot explain, it must not be true and real, and therefore, cannot be a valid, authentic option.
A true worshipper on the other hand has very little need for explanation of their faith. They take faith for what it is, faith. "The certainty of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Too bad, in our secular age, scientists are not the ones leading the charge in providing evidences to the church about our God that would spur us on in our pursuit of the Almighty. Instead, they are apparently enemies.
Tozer went further with his words and stated that as a result of this scientific mindset, "we are more likely to explain than to adore." Again Tozer is right on the money.
We are not called to explain God or to even necessarily demand an explanation from God, rather, we are called to come to his feet and adore.
May I be found at His feet in wonder and awe, not standing in the midst of His glory demanding more proof...
SDG
JW
Monday, December 29, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The night that changed it all..!!!
It has become only recently apparent to me why there was only one 'book on tape" that would remotely interest me that night at the Hastings in Russellville about this time last year...
I was just looking for a little company via a 'book on tape' for the 90 minute ride home...Little did I know that the lack of consumer choice that night would change my life...
After listening to this book in its entirety 3 times, I called a couple of God chasing buddies and discussed the issues contained within...We all agreed that this book would be perfect for us and for our group at church, which was in desperate need of a fresh infusion of spiritual meat to chew on...
The book was Waking the Dead by John Elderdge...I had passed over this book many times in bookstores, but that night in the Hastings, it really was my only choice...NOTE: (I do not include any Word of Faith/Health & Wealth books as spiritual choices to pick from)....
The encounter I had with God through our true exposition of this book I thought would have lasting effects on our group as a whole and only in part for me as it dealt with my involvement with the group: Fighting for one another, building a "redemptive powerhouse" from within our group, guarding and protecting our hearts....We have done a lot of talking and reminding, but it has sort of fissiled a little, as we thought it may...But we have made the effort and fought many battles...
However, little did I know that I was reading that book for me, for this night, as I sit at this computer...My heart is being torn apart at current...Some of the issues that weigh on my heart have been previously discussed in this blog.....People who are making decisions at my church have my heart in their hands and I pray that it is handled well...But past history with church people and my heart have very seldom turned out well...
I do not want to get caught in the middle of the frenzy but I do want the desires that God has placed within me to soar...I also have competing desires within that do not want to go through the pain of my heart ignored, mistreated, misunderstood (as is usual most of the time for me) or broken...And I find myself upon that precipice that brings all of the aforementioned into play and possibility...
Truth is my heart has broken in this manner too many time before and I am not, at this time, willing to take the risk again...May the Lord grant me His peace and wisdom that surpasses all human understanding...May He speak to the deepest parts of my heart has He has done so many times this year...
In recent days, I have drawn from the words of Waking the Dead many times...I have been encouraged, confronted and haunted by them...I fear that I may lose heart...I fear that I will lose heart...I fear that my talent is fading fast...I fear that I have been on a different ride than many of the people within my church...It seems I am hearing a lot of fear right now...
The passions within my heart have been shared by me to whoever would listen this year...Those passions call me to pursue God with all that I am and I want others to come along with me...And I know more than anything that music alone cannot do it...Much more has to be brought to the table, but it seems that music is the only way in the door...
And after 12 months, it hits me, all that has been on my heart these last days, and after all that I have endured in 2008 and after all that we have fought for, who would have known, the book was meant for me the whole time...
SDG
JW
I was just looking for a little company via a 'book on tape' for the 90 minute ride home...Little did I know that the lack of consumer choice that night would change my life...
After listening to this book in its entirety 3 times, I called a couple of God chasing buddies and discussed the issues contained within...We all agreed that this book would be perfect for us and for our group at church, which was in desperate need of a fresh infusion of spiritual meat to chew on...
The book was Waking the Dead by John Elderdge...I had passed over this book many times in bookstores, but that night in the Hastings, it really was my only choice...NOTE: (I do not include any Word of Faith/Health & Wealth books as spiritual choices to pick from)....
The encounter I had with God through our true exposition of this book I thought would have lasting effects on our group as a whole and only in part for me as it dealt with my involvement with the group: Fighting for one another, building a "redemptive powerhouse" from within our group, guarding and protecting our hearts....We have done a lot of talking and reminding, but it has sort of fissiled a little, as we thought it may...But we have made the effort and fought many battles...
However, little did I know that I was reading that book for me, for this night, as I sit at this computer...My heart is being torn apart at current...Some of the issues that weigh on my heart have been previously discussed in this blog.....People who are making decisions at my church have my heart in their hands and I pray that it is handled well...But past history with church people and my heart have very seldom turned out well...
I do not want to get caught in the middle of the frenzy but I do want the desires that God has placed within me to soar...I also have competing desires within that do not want to go through the pain of my heart ignored, mistreated, misunderstood (as is usual most of the time for me) or broken...And I find myself upon that precipice that brings all of the aforementioned into play and possibility...
Truth is my heart has broken in this manner too many time before and I am not, at this time, willing to take the risk again...May the Lord grant me His peace and wisdom that surpasses all human understanding...May He speak to the deepest parts of my heart has He has done so many times this year...
In recent days, I have drawn from the words of Waking the Dead many times...I have been encouraged, confronted and haunted by them...I fear that I may lose heart...I fear that I will lose heart...I fear that my talent is fading fast...I fear that I have been on a different ride than many of the people within my church...It seems I am hearing a lot of fear right now...
The passions within my heart have been shared by me to whoever would listen this year...Those passions call me to pursue God with all that I am and I want others to come along with me...And I know more than anything that music alone cannot do it...Much more has to be brought to the table, but it seems that music is the only way in the door...
And after 12 months, it hits me, all that has been on my heart these last days, and after all that I have endured in 2008 and after all that we have fought for, who would have known, the book was meant for me the whole time...
SDG
JW
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Thirst that leads to Aching
I have been struck this week by a quote I read in John Eldredge's book, The Journey of Desire. Eldredge's basic thesis of this book is that God has placed within each one of us a specific set of desires that are unique to us and therefore compel us. Some of us pursue these desires; others pull a Jonah and try to run from them, but find that they cannot because these desires are the basic fabric of who they are...And it results in several troubles.
In Chapter 11, Eldredge is talking about recovering and living with thrist and hunger as the M.O. of our lives. He makes this statement that I understood immediately when I read it for the first time. He said "To live thirsty is to live with an ache." Let those words sink in for a moment. Eldredge makes direct application of this statement in both physical and spiritual contexts. I will comment on it from the spiritual context. I have read similar statements from many others including, Augustine, Tozer, Gary Thomas, Pascal, Piper, to name a few. But Eldredge's combining of thirsting and aching are spot on.
As a man efforting to live a life that authenticly pursues the glory of God in my life, thirsting should be the hallmark of my life and the cry of my heart. And having my thirst quenched by an eternal being leaves my heart aching for eternity itself. My heart will ache because it knows that it was meant for another place and another time and because of Jesus, my heart knows it is going to be made whole and complete some day, which is satisfying and dehydrating at the same time.
The point is that Jesus has promised (Matt. 5) that those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled." Our thirst and hunger must be at the forefront of our lives. We must pursue satisfaction from eternal sources and not from sources that this temporal world offers. Jesus has promised to hear us and fill us.
Therefore, we are to live our lives in constant pursuit of the fulfiller of our hunger and thirst. We are to live being: Always Hungry. Always Satisfied.
SDG
JW
In Chapter 11, Eldredge is talking about recovering and living with thrist and hunger as the M.O. of our lives. He makes this statement that I understood immediately when I read it for the first time. He said "To live thirsty is to live with an ache." Let those words sink in for a moment. Eldredge makes direct application of this statement in both physical and spiritual contexts. I will comment on it from the spiritual context. I have read similar statements from many others including, Augustine, Tozer, Gary Thomas, Pascal, Piper, to name a few. But Eldredge's combining of thirsting and aching are spot on.
As a man efforting to live a life that authenticly pursues the glory of God in my life, thirsting should be the hallmark of my life and the cry of my heart. And having my thirst quenched by an eternal being leaves my heart aching for eternity itself. My heart will ache because it knows that it was meant for another place and another time and because of Jesus, my heart knows it is going to be made whole and complete some day, which is satisfying and dehydrating at the same time.
The point is that Jesus has promised (Matt. 5) that those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled." Our thirst and hunger must be at the forefront of our lives. We must pursue satisfaction from eternal sources and not from sources that this temporal world offers. Jesus has promised to hear us and fill us.
Therefore, we are to live our lives in constant pursuit of the fulfiller of our hunger and thirst. We are to live being: Always Hungry. Always Satisfied.
SDG
JW
Friday, December 12, 2008
Maybe Plato was right afterall ?!?!?!
I have a quote from Plato on my desk at work that reads, "Old age has a great sense of calm and freedom when the passions have relaxed their hold and you have escaped, not from one master, but from many."
Are Plato's words as much of a description of your Christian life as they are mine??? How I long for the calm and freedom of having only one passion that masters my life...
I have recently been struck by this song, Reign in Us, by Starfield...The musical aspects of the song are nice and catchy, but as is always important with me, the words always mean more than the tune...The words in this song that are compelling are as follows: "O Great and Mighty One, with one desire we have come: that You would reign, You would reign in us." Notice this over-used phrase in churchianity today, "ONE DESIRE WE HAVE COME"... Come on, really??? One, single, solitary desire. Sounds easier than it lives.
I have become convinced of many things over the years, but there is one thing I have become convinced of out of mere frustrated experience. It is the idea that living the Christian life would theoretically be easier to live if I could indeed reduce all of my passions and desires down ONE thing. Whether it be the Lord reigning in me, or that I would "know and follow hard after " Him, or that I would "come and die"; having one single minded passion would be a much better barometer for me to use to evaluate where I am when compared to this kaleidoscope of perspective I usually draw from. But the focus needed....
Without a doubt, I want to have ONE "pure and Holy passion". I would love to have ONE "magnificent obsession", one "glorious ambition" for my life, but honestly, what a struggle that is. Seems like it takes too much time and effort to narrow down all desires into one. But, I am convinced that it is a noble and worthy road for us travel. It is narrow, lonely, confusing, and difficult, but worth every step and stride.
May God help in this pursuit. May He make it clear what ONE passion He has laid on our hearts and may we pursue His passion for our lives with all that we are.
SDG
JW
Are Plato's words as much of a description of your Christian life as they are mine??? How I long for the calm and freedom of having only one passion that masters my life...
I have recently been struck by this song, Reign in Us, by Starfield...The musical aspects of the song are nice and catchy, but as is always important with me, the words always mean more than the tune...The words in this song that are compelling are as follows: "O Great and Mighty One, with one desire we have come: that You would reign, You would reign in us." Notice this over-used phrase in churchianity today, "ONE DESIRE WE HAVE COME"... Come on, really??? One, single, solitary desire. Sounds easier than it lives.
I have become convinced of many things over the years, but there is one thing I have become convinced of out of mere frustrated experience. It is the idea that living the Christian life would theoretically be easier to live if I could indeed reduce all of my passions and desires down ONE thing. Whether it be the Lord reigning in me, or that I would "know and follow hard after " Him, or that I would "come and die"; having one single minded passion would be a much better barometer for me to use to evaluate where I am when compared to this kaleidoscope of perspective I usually draw from. But the focus needed....
Without a doubt, I want to have ONE "pure and Holy passion". I would love to have ONE "magnificent obsession", one "glorious ambition" for my life, but honestly, what a struggle that is. Seems like it takes too much time and effort to narrow down all desires into one. But, I am convinced that it is a noble and worthy road for us travel. It is narrow, lonely, confusing, and difficult, but worth every step and stride.
May God help in this pursuit. May He make it clear what ONE passion He has laid on our hearts and may we pursue His passion for our lives with all that we are.
SDG
JW
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Evidence of Transformation and the Assurance Thereof
It is safe to say that for the last few days I have been 'haunted' by a statement that I heard posed by Dr. Ravi Zacharias during one his podcasts that I had recently downloaded. His statement went something like this. He said that there is one apologetic question that he is asked from time to time and that he asks himself in return that he has not been able to reconcile and/or provide much of an answer to in his years of defending the Christian faith. The question pertained to the possibility of someone claiming to have had a supernatural transformation resulting from an encounter with God and yet show so little evidence of the transformation in their lives...
His following point was well made before he made it. If our lives do not show the evidence of this transformation or change, then what is it that we claim to have??? Paul Washer separately comments that this claim to redemption by many would be comparable to someone's being hit by a 130-ton log truck while walking across a street and not showing any ill-effects to the impact of the log truck on their bodies. Washer comments that this is a near impossibility.
The overarching schematic to this concern is that the implications are staggering. Although the way we live our lives may certainly affect the way the gospel radiates from our lives, we should not be surprised that we may know many that would fall into the area that Zacharias and Washer illustrate. Maybe even we fall into this...
Jesus said very plainly in Matthew 7, that the road that leads to life is narrow and only a FEW would find it. I think there is a strong possibility that we should not expect to see a bunch of goats walking on this narrow road. The narrow road is reserved for the sheep that can hear his voice and follow his voice.
The transformation that is necessary to make a goat into sheep is supernatural and can only be done by the Holy Spirit Himself...Maybe it is time to start separating the sheep from the goats.
As I write this, I have paused a song that was playing. It is on Hillsong's new album "This is our God"...I paused it in the chorus which says, "The same power that conquered the grave lives in me. Lives in me." Wow! That power is transforming. If I have been transformed by the power of God, that power lives in me. The power should produce some effects.
So what about those of us who have church roots in our blood...Do I display this power in my life? After all, I cannot offer (nor do I wish I could offer) a testimony similar to Paul's Damascus Road or Mary Magdalene. However, these questions/doubts about our conversions do come and thankfully are readily answerable by the Holy Spirit to help those like me KNOW that we have eternal life...
Maybe it does all boil down to simply asking, where do my passions lie? What am I pursuing? Do I look forward to heaven or am I striving to Live my best life now? Am I being conformed into the image of Christ? Or is the answer to all of these questions, No.! God save me if the answer is no.
Resolved to live, believe and radiate "The same power that conquered the grave" that lives in me!!!!
Soli Deo Gloria
JW
His following point was well made before he made it. If our lives do not show the evidence of this transformation or change, then what is it that we claim to have??? Paul Washer separately comments that this claim to redemption by many would be comparable to someone's being hit by a 130-ton log truck while walking across a street and not showing any ill-effects to the impact of the log truck on their bodies. Washer comments that this is a near impossibility.
The overarching schematic to this concern is that the implications are staggering. Although the way we live our lives may certainly affect the way the gospel radiates from our lives, we should not be surprised that we may know many that would fall into the area that Zacharias and Washer illustrate. Maybe even we fall into this...
Jesus said very plainly in Matthew 7, that the road that leads to life is narrow and only a FEW would find it. I think there is a strong possibility that we should not expect to see a bunch of goats walking on this narrow road. The narrow road is reserved for the sheep that can hear his voice and follow his voice.
The transformation that is necessary to make a goat into sheep is supernatural and can only be done by the Holy Spirit Himself...Maybe it is time to start separating the sheep from the goats.
As I write this, I have paused a song that was playing. It is on Hillsong's new album "This is our God"...I paused it in the chorus which says, "The same power that conquered the grave lives in me. Lives in me." Wow! That power is transforming. If I have been transformed by the power of God, that power lives in me. The power should produce some effects.
So what about those of us who have church roots in our blood...Do I display this power in my life? After all, I cannot offer (nor do I wish I could offer) a testimony similar to Paul's Damascus Road or Mary Magdalene. However, these questions/doubts about our conversions do come and thankfully are readily answerable by the Holy Spirit to help those like me KNOW that we have eternal life...
Maybe it does all boil down to simply asking, where do my passions lie? What am I pursuing? Do I look forward to heaven or am I striving to Live my best life now? Am I being conformed into the image of Christ? Or is the answer to all of these questions, No.! God save me if the answer is no.
Resolved to live, believe and radiate "The same power that conquered the grave" that lives in me!!!!
Soli Deo Gloria
JW
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