Today's "Grace Gem"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
There is no one on earth like him!
(Joseph Caryl, "Practical Observations on the Book of Job")
"Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him! He is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." Job 1:8
We ought not to be satisfied with low degrees of grace; or content ourselves to be like others in grace. We should labor (if it is possible) to go beyond all others in grace. It did not satisfy Job that he had gotten to such a degree, to such a frame and temper of heart, to such a course of holiness--as his neighbors or brethren had attained unto; but he labored to go beyond them all, "There is no one on earth like him!"
It is a holy ambition--to labor to exceed all others in grace and godliness.
We have a great many in the world who desire to be so rich--as none should be like them; to be so luxurious in their apparel--as none should be like them; or to be so beautiful--as none should be like them. But where are those who desire and endeavor to have such a portion or stock of grace--that none should be like them; to be above others in holiness--as Job was?
True grace never rests in any degrees or measures of grace--but labors to increase. He who has any grace--always desires to have more grace. Do not think it enough when you are like others in holiness--you ought to labor to be beyond others!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
For more like the above - visit www.gracegems.org!
23 April, 2010
13 April, 2010
LCM - CH. 9 (final in this series): Being Salt and Light in this world....
*NOTE: Click on GCC - LCM tag at end of this post to see others in this series.
Blog entry LCM - CH. 9 (final in this series): Being Salt and Light in this world....
Submitted by Leah Page on Tue, 04/13/2010 - 9:42am LCM010 Sermon on the Mount
LCM - CH 9: Being Salt and Light in this world…
~GCC WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY (final in this series)
Sorry for the overdue posting! I hope you will find this a helpful reminder of our last week together, as well as thought-provoking with respect to an increasing appreciation for the various nuances of what Jesus meant in his Sermon on the Mount concerning the fact that his followers are the “salt” and the “light” of the world.
Matthew 5:13-16 (Amplified Bible)
13You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality), how can its saltness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men.
14You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck measure, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16Let your light so shine before men that they may see your [a]moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and [b]recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.
YOU ARE SALT
Characteristics/uses of salt – preserves against decay, acts as an antibiotic, adds flavor, creates thirst, was used as a means to destroy the ground to prevent an enemy’s land from producing crops (from where we get the word “assaulted”)....
We talked about how “saltness” can be lost – for example, if something isn’t salt to begin with but only has a bit of salt “mixed in” it could be sold by a merchant as salt, but in fact was mixed with another “filler” compound that only mimicked the appearance of salt, and in fact would not hold its value or be effective as salt.
YOU ARE LIGHT
Characteristics/uses of light – dispels darkness, exposes what is hidden, gives direction – showing where the next footfall should be, provides warning of coming danger – like a lighthouse to unwitting ships as they approach the crushing rocks, causes critters who hate the light to scurry – like cockroaches scampering to shadowy cracks and crevices....
Among other things, we talked about how “Lightness” is a means by which others see what IS, that light exposes our self-deceptions.
BE WHAT YOU ALREADY ARE
I shared a story of my experience at work – When I first started working for the company by which I am now employed, the environment was very NOT “Christian friendly.” It was commonplace for the profanity to reach and sustain a “rated R” level for the entirety of any given work day, and it was also commonplace for my coworkers to YELL and SCREAM out their differences all about the halls of the offices and the plant. Not only was the newness of the job wearisome, but I also was ushered into a difficult situation concerning how the Customer Service office was being run, and I felt VERY keenly my inability to do anything apart from the empowering of the Lord’s spirit.
It was commonplace for me to spend several minutes every morning sitting in my car before I would go in to the building just BEGGING God to make me to be salt and light in this environment. I don’t now recall how many times I had prayed this way before I felt the Lord answered me in my spirit. It was as if he was saying, “I don’t need to make you salt and light, here. I already made you salt and light – now you just need to BE what you already ARE.”
It was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and I could “rest” in my dependence on his spirit. I didn’t have to “try” so hard to say the right things, to confront “evil” at just the right time, or to perform in that perfectly admirable way, etc. This is not to say I ceased to be strategic in my approach, or that I somehow STOPPED doing and saying the right thing. But my focus shifted – and I was able to just ... Be what I already was. A child of my heavenly Father, being conformed to the likeness of Christ, dependent on his Holy Spirit to walk faithfully, day in and day out.
I do not know – perhaps I’ll never know – to what extent my being here has made any difference. Only the Lord knows! But today’s environment at work is no longer characterized by the crazy extremes that were normative when I started. People still have their outbursts to be sure. But the profanity has significantly diminished so that the occasional “F-bomb” is the RARITY, and the yelling – if it occurs, and that is also now more rare – is typically behind closed doors, and only between the two or three persons arguing.
The point is this – yes, salt needs to “get out of the salt-shaker” to be effective. But you’re STILL just salt in the LORD’S hand – be obedient, be faithful, but let HIM place you where you’re needed, trust HIM to empower you, to MAKE you salt (to make you REAL) and thus genuinely effective, and just be what you already ARE because you are in CHRIST. Follow hard after HIM, and the “natural result” will be that you will have that “salt and light effect” in the world. You won’t be able to help it any more than the full moon can help reflecting the sun when it has “fixed its gaze” upon it!
***
Our study through the Beatitudes and our study guide, “Lord, Only You Can Change Me,” has come to an end. BUT! We will be back – first this week starts the next Wednesday night adventure with “GIRL TALK” – a study in biblical womanhood for girls 6th grade on up through ladies of all ages! – and next fall we will pick up with more studies of varying kinds, including a study on the biblical theme of “Covenant,” Lord willing.
Ladies, I thank the Lord for your desire to know him more intimately through his Word! I hope and pray this study has been a helpful tool in your quiet times, as you learn more about him and abide IN his word and in prayer and fellowship with him.
One last word: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in HIS wonderful face! And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of HIS glory and grace.”
Blessings,
Leah
*a partial interview with Kay Arthur, below*
...
Do you feel like the Christian community
has lost their fear of the Lord?
KAY ARTHUR: Yes. I feel that the Christian community has lost the fear of the Lord, and because we have lost it, the world has lost it. We are salt and light. When I have a fear and a reverence for the Lord, then it spills over on people. I think that we have greatly lost it, and I think we have lost it because I don't think we are people of the Book. We don't have a biblical concept of God.
Why aren't people reading their Bibles?
KAY ARTHUR: I think because we are so busy, and I think it is because we have so many Christian books and so many Christian novels and that the enemy is going to do everything He can to keep us away from the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, which is the One and Only offensive weapon of the Christian. Everything about the armor in Ephesians 6 is connected with the Word, so he wants us to be standing there, spiritually buck-naked, so to speak, with no armor, not dressed for war, no Sword in our hands. He succeeded by deceiving us. Everything has been substituted for the Word, yet prayer is based on the Word: 'If you abide in Me and My Word abides in you'; revival -- 'Revive me according to Your Word'; evangelism -- 'Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God'; reconciliation -- 'Be reconciled to God.' It is all based on the Word. It is the foundation.
(taken in part from interview located at: http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/biblestudyandtheology/perspectives/bagby-kay_arthur_0404.aspx)
Blog entry LCM - CH. 9 (final in this series): Being Salt and Light in this world....
Submitted by Leah Page on Tue, 04/13/2010 - 9:42am LCM010 Sermon on the Mount
LCM - CH 9: Being Salt and Light in this world…
~GCC WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY (final in this series)
Sorry for the overdue posting! I hope you will find this a helpful reminder of our last week together, as well as thought-provoking with respect to an increasing appreciation for the various nuances of what Jesus meant in his Sermon on the Mount concerning the fact that his followers are the “salt” and the “light” of the world.
Matthew 5:13-16 (Amplified Bible)
13You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality), how can its saltness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men.
14You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck measure, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16Let your light so shine before men that they may see your [a]moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and [b]recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.
YOU ARE SALT
Characteristics/uses of salt – preserves against decay, acts as an antibiotic, adds flavor, creates thirst, was used as a means to destroy the ground to prevent an enemy’s land from producing crops (from where we get the word “assaulted”)....
We talked about how “saltness” can be lost – for example, if something isn’t salt to begin with but only has a bit of salt “mixed in” it could be sold by a merchant as salt, but in fact was mixed with another “filler” compound that only mimicked the appearance of salt, and in fact would not hold its value or be effective as salt.
YOU ARE LIGHT
Characteristics/uses of light – dispels darkness, exposes what is hidden, gives direction – showing where the next footfall should be, provides warning of coming danger – like a lighthouse to unwitting ships as they approach the crushing rocks, causes critters who hate the light to scurry – like cockroaches scampering to shadowy cracks and crevices....
Among other things, we talked about how “Lightness” is a means by which others see what IS, that light exposes our self-deceptions.
BE WHAT YOU ALREADY ARE
I shared a story of my experience at work – When I first started working for the company by which I am now employed, the environment was very NOT “Christian friendly.” It was commonplace for the profanity to reach and sustain a “rated R” level for the entirety of any given work day, and it was also commonplace for my coworkers to YELL and SCREAM out their differences all about the halls of the offices and the plant. Not only was the newness of the job wearisome, but I also was ushered into a difficult situation concerning how the Customer Service office was being run, and I felt VERY keenly my inability to do anything apart from the empowering of the Lord’s spirit.
It was commonplace for me to spend several minutes every morning sitting in my car before I would go in to the building just BEGGING God to make me to be salt and light in this environment. I don’t now recall how many times I had prayed this way before I felt the Lord answered me in my spirit. It was as if he was saying, “I don’t need to make you salt and light, here. I already made you salt and light – now you just need to BE what you already ARE.”
It was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and I could “rest” in my dependence on his spirit. I didn’t have to “try” so hard to say the right things, to confront “evil” at just the right time, or to perform in that perfectly admirable way, etc. This is not to say I ceased to be strategic in my approach, or that I somehow STOPPED doing and saying the right thing. But my focus shifted – and I was able to just ... Be what I already was. A child of my heavenly Father, being conformed to the likeness of Christ, dependent on his Holy Spirit to walk faithfully, day in and day out.
I do not know – perhaps I’ll never know – to what extent my being here has made any difference. Only the Lord knows! But today’s environment at work is no longer characterized by the crazy extremes that were normative when I started. People still have their outbursts to be sure. But the profanity has significantly diminished so that the occasional “F-bomb” is the RARITY, and the yelling – if it occurs, and that is also now more rare – is typically behind closed doors, and only between the two or three persons arguing.
The point is this – yes, salt needs to “get out of the salt-shaker” to be effective. But you’re STILL just salt in the LORD’S hand – be obedient, be faithful, but let HIM place you where you’re needed, trust HIM to empower you, to MAKE you salt (to make you REAL) and thus genuinely effective, and just be what you already ARE because you are in CHRIST. Follow hard after HIM, and the “natural result” will be that you will have that “salt and light effect” in the world. You won’t be able to help it any more than the full moon can help reflecting the sun when it has “fixed its gaze” upon it!
***
Our study through the Beatitudes and our study guide, “Lord, Only You Can Change Me,” has come to an end. BUT! We will be back – first this week starts the next Wednesday night adventure with “GIRL TALK” – a study in biblical womanhood for girls 6th grade on up through ladies of all ages! – and next fall we will pick up with more studies of varying kinds, including a study on the biblical theme of “Covenant,” Lord willing.
Ladies, I thank the Lord for your desire to know him more intimately through his Word! I hope and pray this study has been a helpful tool in your quiet times, as you learn more about him and abide IN his word and in prayer and fellowship with him.
One last word: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in HIS wonderful face! And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of HIS glory and grace.”
Blessings,
Leah
*a partial interview with Kay Arthur, below*
...
Do you feel like the Christian community
has lost their fear of the Lord?
KAY ARTHUR: Yes. I feel that the Christian community has lost the fear of the Lord, and because we have lost it, the world has lost it. We are salt and light. When I have a fear and a reverence for the Lord, then it spills over on people. I think that we have greatly lost it, and I think we have lost it because I don't think we are people of the Book. We don't have a biblical concept of God.
Why aren't people reading their Bibles?
KAY ARTHUR: I think because we are so busy, and I think it is because we have so many Christian books and so many Christian novels and that the enemy is going to do everything He can to keep us away from the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, which is the One and Only offensive weapon of the Christian. Everything about the armor in Ephesians 6 is connected with the Word, so he wants us to be standing there, spiritually buck-naked, so to speak, with no armor, not dressed for war, no Sword in our hands. He succeeded by deceiving us. Everything has been substituted for the Word, yet prayer is based on the Word: 'If you abide in Me and My Word abides in you'; revival -- 'Revive me according to Your Word'; evangelism -- 'Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God'; reconciliation -- 'Be reconciled to God.' It is all based on the Word. It is the foundation.
(taken in part from interview located at: http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/biblestudyandtheology/perspectives/bagby-kay_arthur_0404.aspx)
09 March, 2010
LCM - CH8: "Peacemakers...But Persecuted" ~ GCC Women's Bible Study
Submitted by Leah Page on Tue, 03/09/2010 - 10:13pm Blessed AreLCM010Sermon on the Mount
"Peace" is a very significant theme throughout Scripture - namely, the purchasing of our peace with God is THE theme of God's Scriptures! So there is this running picture of how God pursued us and gave his Son to die for us and purchase our reconciliation when we were yet ENEMIES of God (see Colossians 1:19-22 and Romans 5:10-11).
But this is not to say that God merely obliterated the punishment for our sins, as if to merely call a "cease fire" - rather God has, for as many as have received Christ, given us the right to be called CHILDREN of God!!
"The Greek word for peace signifies a harmonious relationship. This is important because it shows that peace is not merely the absence of war; peace is harmony. It's not a 'cold war.' It's not 'an uneasy truce.' It's not two frowning parties sitting back to back with their arms folded in stony silence. No, peace signifies a willingness to turn toward each other and embrace one another -- in spite of differences of opinion." (LCM p. 192)
So fundamentally, "peace" is reconciliation for relationship/intimacy/communion - and peace-MAKING, then, is a MINISTRY of reconciliation. (see 2 Corinthians 5:14-21)
For the sake of brevity - I broke down the application of this in the following way:
1) PEACE WITH GOD = RECONCILIATION; so our ROLE as concerns "making peace" with those outside of fellowship with Christ is to proclaim to them the Gospel - to seek their reconciliation with God.
2) PEACE WITH OTHERS = FELLOWSHIP/FORGIVENESS; so our ROLE as concerns "making peace" with those in the BODY - those who have already been reconciled to God through Christ - is to be merciful, quick to forgive, patient and longsuffering with each other, etc.
3) PEACE WITHIN OUR OWN SOUL = 1st OUR reconciliation to God and an ONGOING SPEAKING-THE-TRUTH-TO-OURSELVES from God's word so that our hearts are CALM (we likened this to the glassy surface of a calm lake) in our dependence on the Lord's spirit; so our ROLE as concerns "making peace" within ourselves has to do with abiding in the Word, examining ourselves according to God's word and walking by faith not by sight.
[And I daresay (at least this is true for me!), this also involves a continual reminder of the KINDNESS of God, of his AFFECTION and great LOVE for us as his CHILDREN! so that we are able to discern the difference between an assault of the enemy which is for our condemnation versus the loving voice of our Shepherd who, while he may gently convict, NEVER condemns us.....]
The Peace Christ gives us - as both reconciliation with the Father AND as the "calm" over the lake of our soul - is not as the world gives. We need not be afraid. (see John 14:27)
In this way, we can endure much persecution because we have so cultivated our trust in our Father, and our dependence on HIS sovereign hand, we can receive ALL things as GOOD - for our good, and for his glory....
"Peace" is a very significant theme throughout Scripture - namely, the purchasing of our peace with God is THE theme of God's Scriptures! So there is this running picture of how God pursued us and gave his Son to die for us and purchase our reconciliation when we were yet ENEMIES of God (see Colossians 1:19-22 and Romans 5:10-11).
But this is not to say that God merely obliterated the punishment for our sins, as if to merely call a "cease fire" - rather God has, for as many as have received Christ, given us the right to be called CHILDREN of God!!
"The Greek word for peace signifies a harmonious relationship. This is important because it shows that peace is not merely the absence of war; peace is harmony. It's not a 'cold war.' It's not 'an uneasy truce.' It's not two frowning parties sitting back to back with their arms folded in stony silence. No, peace signifies a willingness to turn toward each other and embrace one another -- in spite of differences of opinion." (LCM p. 192)
So fundamentally, "peace" is reconciliation for relationship/intimacy/communion - and peace-MAKING, then, is a MINISTRY of reconciliation. (see 2 Corinthians 5:14-21)
For the sake of brevity - I broke down the application of this in the following way:
1) PEACE WITH GOD = RECONCILIATION; so our ROLE as concerns "making peace" with those outside of fellowship with Christ is to proclaim to them the Gospel - to seek their reconciliation with God.
2) PEACE WITH OTHERS = FELLOWSHIP/FORGIVENESS; so our ROLE as concerns "making peace" with those in the BODY - those who have already been reconciled to God through Christ - is to be merciful, quick to forgive, patient and longsuffering with each other, etc.
3) PEACE WITHIN OUR OWN SOUL = 1st OUR reconciliation to God and an ONGOING SPEAKING-THE-TRUTH-TO-OURSELVES from God's word so that our hearts are CALM (we likened this to the glassy surface of a calm lake) in our dependence on the Lord's spirit; so our ROLE as concerns "making peace" within ourselves has to do with abiding in the Word, examining ourselves according to God's word and walking by faith not by sight.
[And I daresay (at least this is true for me!), this also involves a continual reminder of the KINDNESS of God, of his AFFECTION and great LOVE for us as his CHILDREN! so that we are able to discern the difference between an assault of the enemy which is for our condemnation versus the loving voice of our Shepherd who, while he may gently convict, NEVER condemns us.....]
The Peace Christ gives us - as both reconciliation with the Father AND as the "calm" over the lake of our soul - is not as the world gives. We need not be afraid. (see John 14:27)
In this way, we can endure much persecution because we have so cultivated our trust in our Father, and our dependence on HIS sovereign hand, we can receive ALL things as GOOD - for our good, and for his glory....
LCM - CH7: "How Can I be Merciful?...Pure?" ~ GCC Women's Bible Study
Submitted by Leah Page on Tue, 03/09/2010 - 8:59pm Blessed AreLCM010Sermon on the Mount
Blessed are the Merciful...
One of the definitions of "merciful" in ch. 7 was "actively compassionate" - we talked about how this captures both the notion of the "doing" of mercy - such as offering a cup of water in Jesus' name - and also the more stringent requirement which is the heart "affection" of having compassion as Christ did - which is something we cannot in and of ourselves engender - but we must have a NEW heart from which to have God's affection for those in need of mercy.
We looked at various passages in the book of Hebrews which again reminded us of how God showed us in the Old Testament (the old "covenant") that mercy could not be obtained apart from a blood sacrifice - that the holiest place in the Tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies, was the Mercy Seat above the ark of the covenant which is where the blood was to be placed. And likewise, then, Jesus is the fulfilment of this OT picture - and Jesus himself has purchased for us the great mercy of God -
We see, in the parable in Matthew 18:21-35, that it is in fact unnatural (!) to the one to whom so great a mercy (forgiveness) has been given to refuse to show mercy (forgiveness) in return. In the parable, the slave refused to show compassion, and in return was denied the very mercy he would otherwise have received. To be so merciless is oh so ugly....
The requirement for us to "forgive from the heart" is a much greater duty than merely cancelling debt, or demonstrating kindness. This aspect of "from the heart" is only possible if GOD gives us HIS heart.
Blessed are the Pure in heart....
We looked at how the meaning of the "purity" mentioned in this beatitude isn't so much indicative of a once-for-all kind of made pure, but rather has wrapped up in it this idea of "being continually purified" - so it is not just a matter of having once been saved/forgiven/mercied, but rather it is an "abiding in a state of continually being cleansed."
In this chapter, we looked at several ways that we can be intentional about this kind of actively "purifying" our hearts before God - There are, here, at least 7 practical ways to pursue this end according to Kay (Arthur):
1) First and foremost, we can only be pure in heart if we have been given a NEW heart - see Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Hebrews 10:19-22. We enter the holy of holies, purified, because of the blood of Jesus. [FOUNDATIONAL]
2) We must be washed by the water of the Word - see Ephesians 5:25-26, John 17:17.
3) We must continually be cleansed by confession - see 1 John 1:9.
4) We must make restitution - Does your heart condemn you? Perhaps you have confessed before the Lord, but you have not made restitution to the person(s) against whom you sinned. (If and when you do, you can be assured that this accusing voice is not your Father, once you have "done all," you can now stand firm.) - see Ezekiel 33:14-16, or consider the story of Zaccheus (Luke 19:8).
5) Carefully watch what you think about - see Philippians 4:8, 2 Corinthians 10:5.
6) Guard the company you keep - sed 1 Corinthians 15:33.
and finally,
7) Set your mind on things above - see Colossians 3:2.
To summarize - We have received a new heart from our Father, a heart of flesh rather than a heart of stone. In giving us this new heart, he is also teaching us to continually grow to love what he loves and hate what he hates. He is teaching us to do justly and love mercy and walk humbly with our God. We ourselves are needy! We could not stand if it were not for his great mercy toward us! How quickly we reveal ourselves NOT to have the heart of our Father when we refuse to also give mercy to others, or when we do not regularly bathe in the water of the word, and instead allow ourselves to again become soiled with the stench of our dead, sinful flesh.
Our Father, who is in heaven, HOLY is your name. We pray you would teach us to be women of mercy who long for the purity of heart that YOU have purchased for us with the blood of Jesus. We pray that you would continue - even as we know you are faithful and you WILL finish the good work you have begun! - to mold us more into the likeness of Christ - your beloved Son in whom you are well pleased! We pray, Father, that you would be pleased with us, that we would be "favored of God" - that we would be an "aroma of life" to those who are being saved, and a "pleasing scent" in your nostrils. Remind us, by whatever means, of how very great a mercy it is that we have received. Multiply our understanding of how very MUCH we have been forgiven! so that it might magnify how very GOOD the good news of your Gospel is, and that we may in turn LOVE much! In JESUS' name, amen!
Blessed are the Merciful...
One of the definitions of "merciful" in ch. 7 was "actively compassionate" - we talked about how this captures both the notion of the "doing" of mercy - such as offering a cup of water in Jesus' name - and also the more stringent requirement which is the heart "affection" of having compassion as Christ did - which is something we cannot in and of ourselves engender - but we must have a NEW heart from which to have God's affection for those in need of mercy.
We looked at various passages in the book of Hebrews which again reminded us of how God showed us in the Old Testament (the old "covenant") that mercy could not be obtained apart from a blood sacrifice - that the holiest place in the Tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies, was the Mercy Seat above the ark of the covenant which is where the blood was to be placed. And likewise, then, Jesus is the fulfilment of this OT picture - and Jesus himself has purchased for us the great mercy of God -
We see, in the parable in Matthew 18:21-35, that it is in fact unnatural (!) to the one to whom so great a mercy (forgiveness) has been given to refuse to show mercy (forgiveness) in return. In the parable, the slave refused to show compassion, and in return was denied the very mercy he would otherwise have received. To be so merciless is oh so ugly....
The requirement for us to "forgive from the heart" is a much greater duty than merely cancelling debt, or demonstrating kindness. This aspect of "from the heart" is only possible if GOD gives us HIS heart.
Blessed are the Pure in heart....
We looked at how the meaning of the "purity" mentioned in this beatitude isn't so much indicative of a once-for-all kind of made pure, but rather has wrapped up in it this idea of "being continually purified" - so it is not just a matter of having once been saved/forgiven/mercied, but rather it is an "abiding in a state of continually being cleansed."
In this chapter, we looked at several ways that we can be intentional about this kind of actively "purifying" our hearts before God - There are, here, at least 7 practical ways to pursue this end according to Kay (Arthur):
1) First and foremost, we can only be pure in heart if we have been given a NEW heart - see Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Hebrews 10:19-22. We enter the holy of holies, purified, because of the blood of Jesus. [FOUNDATIONAL]
2) We must be washed by the water of the Word - see Ephesians 5:25-26, John 17:17.
3) We must continually be cleansed by confession - see 1 John 1:9.
4) We must make restitution - Does your heart condemn you? Perhaps you have confessed before the Lord, but you have not made restitution to the person(s) against whom you sinned. (If and when you do, you can be assured that this accusing voice is not your Father, once you have "done all," you can now stand firm.) - see Ezekiel 33:14-16, or consider the story of Zaccheus (Luke 19:8).
5) Carefully watch what you think about - see Philippians 4:8, 2 Corinthians 10:5.
6) Guard the company you keep - sed 1 Corinthians 15:33.
and finally,
7) Set your mind on things above - see Colossians 3:2.
To summarize - We have received a new heart from our Father, a heart of flesh rather than a heart of stone. In giving us this new heart, he is also teaching us to continually grow to love what he loves and hate what he hates. He is teaching us to do justly and love mercy and walk humbly with our God. We ourselves are needy! We could not stand if it were not for his great mercy toward us! How quickly we reveal ourselves NOT to have the heart of our Father when we refuse to also give mercy to others, or when we do not regularly bathe in the water of the word, and instead allow ourselves to again become soiled with the stench of our dead, sinful flesh.
Our Father, who is in heaven, HOLY is your name. We pray you would teach us to be women of mercy who long for the purity of heart that YOU have purchased for us with the blood of Jesus. We pray that you would continue - even as we know you are faithful and you WILL finish the good work you have begun! - to mold us more into the likeness of Christ - your beloved Son in whom you are well pleased! We pray, Father, that you would be pleased with us, that we would be "favored of God" - that we would be an "aroma of life" to those who are being saved, and a "pleasing scent" in your nostrils. Remind us, by whatever means, of how very great a mercy it is that we have received. Multiply our understanding of how very MUCH we have been forgiven! so that it might magnify how very GOOD the good news of your Gospel is, and that we may in turn LOVE much! In JESUS' name, amen!
04 March, 2010
~ a prayer for today ~
Lord - HERE [work] is where I most often and MOST readily need to be prayerful and dependent on the Lord to fill me with his Spirit. HERE is where I have the MOST time and opportunity to grow in faithfulness cuz HERE is my everyday, my most wakeful hours. So today, Lord, let me practice meekness - let me be patient and gentle! Let me show respect where due, and God help me! let me not think more highly of myself than I "ought."
Insofar as "being filled with the Spirit" is a command to be obeyed, I can "feel" that my ... drinking deeply of your presence DOES cause me to walk differently! With the gentleness and patience and self-control, and kindness and peace that YOU possess, and make manifest in and through me....
My God, APART from my Faith. Full. dependence on you, I am a natural Ogre.
God, be merciful! CAPTIVATE me, that I may give you my full attention, and joyfully so!
[fix my passions and my gaze; sweet submission, all glorious!]
Insofar as "being filled with the Spirit" is a command to be obeyed, I can "feel" that my ... drinking deeply of your presence DOES cause me to walk differently! With the gentleness and patience and self-control, and kindness and peace that YOU possess, and make manifest in and through me....
My God, APART from my Faith. Full. dependence on you, I am a natural Ogre.
God, be merciful! CAPTIVATE me, that I may give you my full attention, and joyfully so!
[fix my passions and my gaze; sweet submission, all glorious!]
LCM - CH5 and CH6: Re Meekness, and Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness ~ GCC Women's Bible Study
Submitted by Leah Page on Wed, 03/03/2010 - 5:53pm LCM010 Sermon on the Mount
CH. 5 ~ Meekness: Is it Weakness or Strength
See Ps. 37:1-11
"...Trust is a facet of meekness because meekness trusts in the Lord, delighting in Him....Because of its steady trust, meekness can commit its way to the Lord....Meekness rests in Him, waiting patiently for whatever is God's pleasure. It does not fret and stew over the apparent prosperity of the wicked but focuses all its energies into waiting upon the Lord....Meekness knows that no matter how desperate the situation may appear, in the long run it will gain a glorious inheritance in the Lord. To put it in a single phrase, meekness is humble submission to the will of the Father." (LCM p. 109-110)
Jesus modeled meekness (see Matthew 11:28-30): While meekness is complete dependence on the Father, it is NOT weak - in fact often the opposite, because it takes great strength to hold oneself in submission. Strenght which in ourselves we do not naturally possess! We see Jesus' STRENGTH in submission modeled in the Garden as he faced not only his death, but taking on the very wrath of God for all our sin in the moment of his crucifixion. Yet he prayed 3x, "Not as I will, but as YOU will, Father." (see Matthew 26:37-44)
We talked about the practical outworking of this, particularly as it refers to confronting sin in others - which must first mean we have confronted it in ourselves. (see Galatians 6:1, and 2 Timothy 2:24-26) ~ [This would come up again later when we discussed MERCY, also.] Meekness is, therefore, a preservation for us - it protects us by keeping us aware of our OWN vulnerability to temptation, and helps keep us from presumption. It is teachable, gentle, kind. (see also the singular, "nine-fold fruit" of Galatians 5:22-23)
Meekness is forgiving - it cries out for mercy on behalf of another; it gives up it's own "right" (or perceived right) to retribution.
CH. 6 ~ Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness
Longing - Appetite - Craving - Satisfaction
"...Righteousness is an attribute of God. It is the very essence of God's being. To hunger and thirst after righteousness is to have a deep, inner longing to please God. It is a longing that God Himself plants within our hearts to cause us to seek after Him. To hunger and thirst after righteousness is to desire with all our being to live and walk the way God says to live and walk. It is to crave God. It is to crave holiness...." (LCM p. 138-139)
We discussed how many commentators, Kay Arthur (LCM author) included, suggested that if someone does NOT possess this hungering, this thirsting, this LONGING for God and rightouesness, that it very well may mean that someone is not truly regenerated, and they need to do some serious business with the Lord.
"...This is not a hunger that stands at the open door of a full refrigerator, trying to decide if anything looks appealing. This is not a hunger that debates whether it can handle a third helping. This is a hunger that has to have food or it dies!" (LCM p. 141)
This is a call to examine ourselves - see if we indeed hunger and thirst with this kind of longing! If not - we must beg God....
"It is a craving that must be satisfied if life is to be sustained....What do you absolutely HAVE to have?" (LCM p. 144) ... "Ours is to be an ever-increasing hunger and thirst. The more we get, the more we want; the more we want, the more we get." (LCM p. 148) ...
And even the WANTING is its own kind of satisfying, because JESUS is so deeply satisfying!!
God, increase our thirst!
CH. 5 ~ Meekness: Is it Weakness or Strength
See Ps. 37:1-11
"...Trust is a facet of meekness because meekness trusts in the Lord, delighting in Him....Because of its steady trust, meekness can commit its way to the Lord....Meekness rests in Him, waiting patiently for whatever is God's pleasure. It does not fret and stew over the apparent prosperity of the wicked but focuses all its energies into waiting upon the Lord....Meekness knows that no matter how desperate the situation may appear, in the long run it will gain a glorious inheritance in the Lord. To put it in a single phrase, meekness is humble submission to the will of the Father." (LCM p. 109-110)
Jesus modeled meekness (see Matthew 11:28-30): While meekness is complete dependence on the Father, it is NOT weak - in fact often the opposite, because it takes great strength to hold oneself in submission. Strenght which in ourselves we do not naturally possess! We see Jesus' STRENGTH in submission modeled in the Garden as he faced not only his death, but taking on the very wrath of God for all our sin in the moment of his crucifixion. Yet he prayed 3x, "Not as I will, but as YOU will, Father." (see Matthew 26:37-44)
We talked about the practical outworking of this, particularly as it refers to confronting sin in others - which must first mean we have confronted it in ourselves. (see Galatians 6:1, and 2 Timothy 2:24-26) ~ [This would come up again later when we discussed MERCY, also.] Meekness is, therefore, a preservation for us - it protects us by keeping us aware of our OWN vulnerability to temptation, and helps keep us from presumption. It is teachable, gentle, kind. (see also the singular, "nine-fold fruit" of Galatians 5:22-23)
Meekness is forgiving - it cries out for mercy on behalf of another; it gives up it's own "right" (or perceived right) to retribution.
CH. 6 ~ Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness
Longing - Appetite - Craving - Satisfaction
"...Righteousness is an attribute of God. It is the very essence of God's being. To hunger and thirst after righteousness is to have a deep, inner longing to please God. It is a longing that God Himself plants within our hearts to cause us to seek after Him. To hunger and thirst after righteousness is to desire with all our being to live and walk the way God says to live and walk. It is to crave God. It is to crave holiness...." (LCM p. 138-139)
We discussed how many commentators, Kay Arthur (LCM author) included, suggested that if someone does NOT possess this hungering, this thirsting, this LONGING for God and rightouesness, that it very well may mean that someone is not truly regenerated, and they need to do some serious business with the Lord.
"...This is not a hunger that stands at the open door of a full refrigerator, trying to decide if anything looks appealing. This is not a hunger that debates whether it can handle a third helping. This is a hunger that has to have food or it dies!" (LCM p. 141)
This is a call to examine ourselves - see if we indeed hunger and thirst with this kind of longing! If not - we must beg God....
"It is a craving that must be satisfied if life is to be sustained....What do you absolutely HAVE to have?" (LCM p. 144) ... "Ours is to be an ever-increasing hunger and thirst. The more we get, the more we want; the more we want, the more we get." (LCM p. 148) ...
And even the WANTING is its own kind of satisfying, because JESUS is so deeply satisfying!!
God, increase our thirst!
23 February, 2010
LCM - CH4: “Meekness in the Presence of Sovereignty” ~ GCC Women's Bible Study
Submitted by Leah Page on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 7:36pm Blessed Are LCM010 Sovereignty
My apologies, ladies! It has been a frenzied few weeks, and I have neglected updating our blog as a result. I will try to catch up Ch. 4-6 in short order.
(Mediating) Lesson concerning God’s Sovereignty – LCM, Ch. 4
“Meekness speaks of a submissive and trusting attitude toward God. It is an attitude which accepts all of God’s ways with us as good. It does not murmur or dispute. It neither rebels nor retaliates. It realizes that what comes to us from the hand of man has been permitted by God’s sovereignty, has been filtered by His fingers of love, and will be used by God for His glory and our ultimate good. Meekness looks beyond circumstances – no matter how upsetting and hurtful – and bows the knee to the sovereign God....If we are to walk in meekness, we must know our God. We must accept His sovereign rule. We must grapple with the character of this One who rules over the affairs of men and the hosts of heaven. Of all the truths I have learned, none has brought me more assurance, boldness, calmness, devotion, equilibrium, gratitude, and humility than this study of the sovereignty of God.” ~Kay Arthur, p. 78
df. Sovereignty:
“God rules over all. He is totally, supremely, and preeminently over all His creation. Nothing escapes His sovereign control. No one eludes His sovereign plan.” (p. 79)
*We looked through many Scriptures in this lesson, “beholding God” in the pages of his word, his “self-disclosure”....
That he who is so far beyond our comprehension would “declare” and so make himself known is in itself miraculous!
For the “summary” of this lesson, let it suffice to “worship” God according to the way(s) he revealed himself to us – we recorded our observations on pages 100-103 in our books:
He is the most high
He lives forever
He deserves blessing and honor and praise
His dominion (df) is everlasting - his rulership, the borders of his territory!
His kingdom endures from generation to generation
He does according to his will in the host (armies) of heaven
He does according to his will among the inhabitants of the earth
No one can ward off his hand
No one can (has the right to) question him
His thoughts are not our thoughts
His ways are not our ways
He “declares” – self-disclosure / revelation
His ways are higher than our ways (as far as the heavens are above the earth / incomprehensible / eternally expansive / beyond our ability to search it out!)
His thoughts are higher than our thoughts
He possesses DEEP riches of wisdom and knowledge
His judgments are unsearchable
His ways are unfathomable (df) - we cannot explore their depths!
No one has known the mind of the Lord
No one can counsel him or advise him
God OWES no one
No one gives TO God [as if he possessed any lack]
All things are FROM him
All things are [subsist] THROUGH him
All things are FOR him
He alone deserves glory and FOREVER
He intends
All that he intends occurs JUST as he intends it
He plans
All that he plans occurs JUST as he has planned it
No one can frustrate his plans
No one can turn back his outstretched hand
God justly repays affliction with affliction
God gives relief to those who are afflicted
Jesus will be revealed from heaven
Jesus’ angels deal out retribution to those who do not know God
His penalty is eternal destruction
His penalty is to [cast] “away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power”
He is [the one true God]
He alone is God
He puts to death
He gives life
He wounds
He heals
No one can deliver [make a way of escape] from his hand
He [Jesus] is the first and the last
He [Jesus] is the Living One
He [Jesus] was dead
He [Jesus] is alive forevermore
He [Jesus] has the keys of death and Hades
He is the Lord
He is the only true God
There is none beside him
He is the Lord
He forms light
He creates darkness
He causes well-being
He creates calamity [in some translations “evil” / “disaster”]
He is the Lord
He is the one who does all these [claims responsibility]
What God has bent no one can make straight
God has made adversity as well as prosperity
He is indeed GREAT
He is the ROCK
His work is perfect
All his ways are just
He is faithful
He is without injustice
He is righteous
He is upright
He is worthy of our praise
He is MOST WORTHY of our praise!!
Daniel 4:34-35; Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33-36; Isaiah 14:24, 27; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; Deuteronomy 32:39; Revelation 1:17-18 (Jesus); Isaiah 45:5-7; Ecclesiastes 7:13-14; Deuteronomy 32:3-4
My apologies, ladies! It has been a frenzied few weeks, and I have neglected updating our blog as a result. I will try to catch up Ch. 4-6 in short order.
(Mediating) Lesson concerning God’s Sovereignty – LCM, Ch. 4
“Meekness speaks of a submissive and trusting attitude toward God. It is an attitude which accepts all of God’s ways with us as good. It does not murmur or dispute. It neither rebels nor retaliates. It realizes that what comes to us from the hand of man has been permitted by God’s sovereignty, has been filtered by His fingers of love, and will be used by God for His glory and our ultimate good. Meekness looks beyond circumstances – no matter how upsetting and hurtful – and bows the knee to the sovereign God....If we are to walk in meekness, we must know our God. We must accept His sovereign rule. We must grapple with the character of this One who rules over the affairs of men and the hosts of heaven. Of all the truths I have learned, none has brought me more assurance, boldness, calmness, devotion, equilibrium, gratitude, and humility than this study of the sovereignty of God.” ~Kay Arthur, p. 78
df. Sovereignty:
“God rules over all. He is totally, supremely, and preeminently over all His creation. Nothing escapes His sovereign control. No one eludes His sovereign plan.” (p. 79)
*We looked through many Scriptures in this lesson, “beholding God” in the pages of his word, his “self-disclosure”....
That he who is so far beyond our comprehension would “declare” and so make himself known is in itself miraculous!
For the “summary” of this lesson, let it suffice to “worship” God according to the way(s) he revealed himself to us – we recorded our observations on pages 100-103 in our books:
He is the most high
He lives forever
He deserves blessing and honor and praise
His dominion (df) is everlasting - his rulership, the borders of his territory!
His kingdom endures from generation to generation
He does according to his will in the host (armies) of heaven
He does according to his will among the inhabitants of the earth
No one can ward off his hand
No one can (has the right to) question him
His thoughts are not our thoughts
His ways are not our ways
He “declares” – self-disclosure / revelation
His ways are higher than our ways (as far as the heavens are above the earth / incomprehensible / eternally expansive / beyond our ability to search it out!)
His thoughts are higher than our thoughts
He possesses DEEP riches of wisdom and knowledge
His judgments are unsearchable
His ways are unfathomable (df) - we cannot explore their depths!
No one has known the mind of the Lord
No one can counsel him or advise him
God OWES no one
No one gives TO God [as if he possessed any lack]
All things are FROM him
All things are [subsist] THROUGH him
All things are FOR him
He alone deserves glory and FOREVER
He intends
All that he intends occurs JUST as he intends it
He plans
All that he plans occurs JUST as he has planned it
No one can frustrate his plans
No one can turn back his outstretched hand
God justly repays affliction with affliction
God gives relief to those who are afflicted
Jesus will be revealed from heaven
Jesus’ angels deal out retribution to those who do not know God
His penalty is eternal destruction
His penalty is to [cast] “away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power”
He is [the one true God]
He alone is God
He puts to death
He gives life
He wounds
He heals
No one can deliver [make a way of escape] from his hand
He [Jesus] is the first and the last
He [Jesus] is the Living One
He [Jesus] was dead
He [Jesus] is alive forevermore
He [Jesus] has the keys of death and Hades
He is the Lord
He is the only true God
There is none beside him
He is the Lord
He forms light
He creates darkness
He causes well-being
He creates calamity [in some translations “evil” / “disaster”]
He is the Lord
He is the one who does all these [claims responsibility]
What God has bent no one can make straight
God has made adversity as well as prosperity
He is indeed GREAT
He is the ROCK
His work is perfect
All his ways are just
He is faithful
He is without injustice
He is righteous
He is upright
He is worthy of our praise
He is MOST WORTHY of our praise!!
Daniel 4:34-35; Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33-36; Isaiah 14:24, 27; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; Deuteronomy 32:39; Revelation 1:17-18 (Jesus); Isaiah 45:5-7; Ecclesiastes 7:13-14; Deuteronomy 32:3-4
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