To give a thing and take again
Is counted meanness among men;
To take away what once is given
Cannot then be the way of heaven!
But human hearts are crumbly stuff,
And never, never love enough,
Therefore God takes and, with a smile,
Puts our best things away a while.
Thereon some weep, some rave, some scorn,
Some wish they never had been born;
Some humble grow at last and still,
And then God gives them what they will.
“I want nothing but my rights. What can matter to me more than my rights?”
“Your duties–your debts. You are all wrong about the thing. It is a very small matter to you whether the man give you your rights or not; it is life or death to you whether or not you give him his. Whether he pay you what you count his debt or not, you will be compelled to pay him all you own him. If you owe him a pound and he owe you a million, you must pay him the pound whether he pay you the million or not; there is no business-parallel here. If, owing you love, he gives you hate, you, owing him love, have yet to pay it. A love unpaid you, a justice undone you, a praise withheld you, a judgment passed on you without judgment, will not absolve you of the debt of a love unpaid, a justice not done, a praise withheld, a false judgment passed: these uttermost farthings, you must pay him, whether he pay you or not.”
4 months agoby Alexander MacLaren
“Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well.”
“He said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.”— John iv. 6 and 32.
Two pictures result from these two verses, each striking in itself, and gaining additional emphasis by the contrast. It was near the close of a long, hot day’s march that a tired band of pedestrians turned into the fertile valley. There, whilst the disciples went into the little hill-village to purchase, if they could, some food from the despised inhabitants, Jesus, apparently too exhausted to accompany them, “sat thus on the well.” That little word thus seems to have a force difficult to reproduce in English. It is apparently intended to enhance the idea of utter weariness, either because the word “wearied” is in thought to be supplied, “sat, being thus wearied, on the well”; or because it conveys the notion which might be expressed by our “just as He was”; as a tired man flings himself down anywhere and anyhow, without any kind of preparation beforehand, and not much caring where it is that he rests, Thus, utterly worn out, Jesus Christ sits on the well, whilst the western sun lengthens out the shadows on the plain. The disciples come back, and what a change they find! Hunger gone, exhaustion ended, fresh vigour in their wearied Master. What had made the difference? The woman’s repentance and joy. And He unveils the secret of His reinvigoration when He says, “I have meat to eat which ye know not of”—the hidden manna. “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.”
Full text at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/32282102/TheWeariedChrist.rtf
I would really feel awful if the apostle Paul told me “you have become estranged from Christ… you have fallen from grace.” That’s what he said to the Gentiles who were Christians, but were compelled to be circumcised by the Jewish Christians. He told them “This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.”
I have never been compelled to undergo surgery for religious or denominational reasons, but I have had people try to convince me many times that God is not that good. He’s good, but only to a certain point—beyond that point you have to start explaining why his standards are different from ours, his thoughts are higher, and plus he can do whatever he wants.
It is true that His thoughts are higher—if you need to repent. But Paul says that even the Corinthians, who we would say were in need of much follow-up at best, had the mind of Christ. That whole thing about “no eye has seen, no ear has heard”? Right after Paul quotes that in Corinthians he says “but God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” So God has revealed how good He is. In fact, that’s the very thing that makes Him God! God is the old Anglo-Saxon word for “the Good.”
Going after God and learning about Him should never be explaining away how bad He is; rather, we should constantly have to explain how good He is!—Yes, He really can change that situation, He really can heal this person, He really can save them. He’s that good.
My sister works in a coffee shop. On some days, I do too; it’s just that I don’t make any coffee. Twice a week I meet a Korean student for tutoring in English as a second language. I have no office for tutoring; propriety precludes meeting at my house; a restaurant would be too expensive and noisy; and if we met out of doors the wind and Texas weather would prove distracting. But a coffeeshop has none of these difficulties. It is the perfect place to meet a perfect stranger.
It is a fine place to work, a fine place to study—individually, or with a friend—or a great place just to enjoy a book, or catch up with an old friend. A coffee shop is a bastion of comfort and versatility. It is the easiest place for a first date because of the freedom it provides. It says, “black, latte, tea, or water—whatever you want. Now, later… Come, leave… Just don’t make a mess and try not to laugh too loud.” It is so versatile that you don’t even have to like coffee.
In short, welcoming is the word for it. I feel that my soul has something to glean from the atmosphere of a coffeeshop. Can a stranger rest with me, work with me, and find all his most noble freedoms upheld, yet leave my presence with an inner fire blown hot to find and do the next thing God would ask, the thing or things for which those noble freedoms were given?
The apostle Paul said that he had become “all things to all men,” not merely to make them comfortable, or to avoid offense, but to make sure that they were free to respond to the God inside him. I have worked for a diplomat, and he has never failed to offer me water at his apartment. An ambassador is careful, courteous and conscious of the country in which he lives, only to better serve and re-present the government and people of his homeland. He walks like a servant into every locale, yet his requirements and his reward are elsewhere.
Reflecting, it is no wonder to me that I have met missionaries and Christian workers that employ coffee shops and teahouses for outreach. It is like the quintessential semi-informal meeting-place. But it is not the coffee, nor the tea, but the gap that it fills in our society, that makes it pleasant. May we also invite others into the den of fellowship in our hearts, so that in meeting us they might meet Jesus—Who said if anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
This is interesting—after his death, someone found a prayer in the journal of James Clerk Maxwell (physics, not coffee), showing that man’s creation in God’s image and Genesis 1:28 were great motivators for his life as a scientist.
James Clerk Maxwell’s name is often placed at number 3 for greatest physicists we know of, right behind Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton (even Einstein himself placed as much importance on Maxwell’s work, and kept a picture of Maxwell on his study wall, near pictures of Faraday and Newton). “Maxwell demonstrated that electric and magnetic fields travel through space in the form of waves, and at the constant speed of light.” (Wiki)
11 months agoBeing a Missionary - What Does it Take?
(taken primarily from Pratney’s ppt “Revolutionary Faith”)
This is really long and kind of skeletal—I’m mainly posting it for my resource but it is mostly from Winkie and I thought somebody else might find it useful.
You don’t become a missionary by crossing the sea, but by seeing the cross.
When God gets ready to again invade human history, He scatters the seed of people ‑ men and women of revolutionary faith.
You have been called to know Him and make Him known in the field of the world. [Mt. 13:24-43]
Four areas of preparation:
Mental - Preparing Your Mind
God is God and we are not. He is infinite and we are finite. Disciples are always learners.
No-one will ever be used of God until they are willing to LISTEN and LEARN.
You do not have to be brilliant, but you do have to be open and obedient.
The first requirement for a good leader is to LEARN TO BE A GOOD FOLLOWER
”Learn how to bury your own plans and ideas, allowing someone else to make decisions which you will wholeheartedly carry out. There is no room … for a person with all the answers.“ George Verwer, Founder O.M.
“Jesus increased in wisdom and stature …”
“Though He was the Son … He learned obedience by the things He suffered”
Physical - Preparing Your Body
God’s soldier must be physically healthy.
The mission‑field is an energy‑taxing task, one that requires a strong constitution.
Everyone who wants to be used of God should be involved in some sport or ongoing form of physical exercise to discipline their body for God.
Love him with your strength - develop a skill - don’t be lazy - self-discipline
Stick to the hard tasks: keep your room, dishes clean, etc.
Spiritual - Preparing Your Soul
Above all other training, you must be STRONG IN THE LORD. God has used the unlearned and ignorant, the physically weak and frail, but He can never use the unspiritual.
This will mean priority attention to the spiritual character of our lives. God is after what we will be, not just what we may be doing.
Study lives of others:
Are they wise to win souls?
Social - Preparing Your Relationships
It is tempting to defend your rights when things don’t go your way, when your roommate does something you don’t like, etc.
But if you are a disciple of Christ, and are in training for revolutionary faith ‑ you cannot afford the luxury of such sin! You must conquer through Christ, for unless you are changed you will never change your world.
MEMORIZE these two scriptures and let them burn into your daily life: “The Son of Man came not to be MINISTERED UNTO, but to MINISTER, and GIVE HIS LIFE a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) and “Judge not that you be not judged” [Matt. 7:1]
How Do We Sum All This Up?
If you think of a male horse, he must be domesticated in one of two ways:
- One way is to emasculate the horse
- The other way is to change its will—it must be broken
- Brokenness is not misery, but submission.
- In short, the horse must be taken to a place where:
it hurts to disobey you,
and he can’t do it without you.
- Like working out, you tear the muscle so that you can grow.
- Jesus said he would prune the fruitful; when you think you have it down, hold on because he might prune you.
Brokenness -
- This sums up all the other qualities. Body, mind, social, and spiritual.
- Brokenness means you are His servant—He is not yours.
- Brokenness means a constant awareness of the One you carry—in EVERY area of life! - it means you can’t do it without him
- Think about How To Train Your Dragon - the dragon was trainable because it couldn’t fly without help - if we are missing something it is so that we can lean on God’s help—in our weakness He is strong
- This SHOULD affect EVERYTHING….making beds, seats on the bus, picking up trash, etc.
Mary of Bethany
Jesus had raised her brother from the dead!! She had reasons to be grateful.
If she is Mary Magdalene, as many think, she was also delivered from multiple demons and a life of sin. She knew she couldn’t live without him, and she would miss him
Talk about Heidi Baker’s book, share a few testimonies…
She started pouring….
The broken open jar represents us, and the perfume is the life we have to offer the world
Gideon and the flame in a jar—when we are broken the light of the world can get out
Feet Shod with Readiness
There are two amazing stories about feet in John 12 and John 13 (cf. Ephesians 6 for the meaning of feet)
- First, Mary of Bethany anoints his feet as a love-offering (cf. Luke 7:36-50)
- Second, Jesus washes his disciples’ feet
- Just as he was prepared and sent to the cross, they were being prepared, although they didn’t understand at the time.
Are You Broken?
If you are, he can ask you to do something, and you learn to do it without hesitating.
If you are still hesitating, ask him to teach you brokenness
If you are, you learn to find a need a meet it—it is not about feet washing it is about doing the hard things—it is about doing the thing that no one else wanted to do.
- When you do, don’t gloat over someone that God taught you to do it—consider it a love-offering because you were forgiven.
Project a man into a god, and you get a proud pharaoh; project God into a man, and you get meek Moses. The true God is as humble as he is great, and that is what it means when it says that the Messiah would be a “prophet who is like Moses.”
1 year agoI wrote this in Big Bend National Park two years ago; I reread it again today, changed it a little and I am reposting it for a friend. I hope it is some help to those who read it.
There is really only one way to hike up a mountain: You must use the switchbacks. It would seem shorter to walk straight uphill, but you’d have to leave the trail that everyone else has been taking, which is safer, and you would be exhausted a lot faster. Yes, I am very glad that we stuck to the trail.
It may take longer, but the only way to really walk with God is one step at a time, always uphill, and you will only ever see in front of you as far as the next turn. That is the path that has been patiently trodden and cleared by those who have walked with God before us, all the way back to Enoch, Abel, and even Adam “in the cool of the day.” Each of them took the long path but in the end they found it was worth it.
Abraham did not see around the next hairpin. God told him to get out of his father’s house, “to a land I will show you.” He did not know many of the consequences that would come, and God left the next page unturned—Abraham had to take the next step, and it wasn’t until after he obeyed that the Lord made a covenant with him, gave him a son, and promised to him the land of Israel.
The Lord required of his son Isaac a similar hike. Like Abraham he had learned to pray, but had to learn to take a step without seeing ahead; the Lord commanded him, “stay in a land I will tell you about.”
All great men of God, I believe, have learned to walk the trail before them, whether or not they knew how far, how long, until the destination was reached. Moses didn’t know how he would speak boldly to the Pharaoh, Paul didn’t know the way to Ananias’ house—he was blind!—yet they walked, like Abraham, “not knowing whither he went.” None of them were concerned primarily with where they were headed, but with Who was walking with them.
The footfall of the saints on the mountain of the Lord has left a trail for us—it is a narrow way, but it is also the only way. And as one of Abraham’s descendants sang long after him, he who ascends the hill of the Lord will receive “blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
And the path didn’t level out; there were many more switchbacks for Abraham. Even after Isaac was born they could not see the peak, for the Lord asked him again, “Go to a mountain I will tell you about.” So the switchbacks continued even after he had walked with God for decades. But there is always blessing after obedience; and when Abraham set his face to do what the Lord asked of him, there was an unforeseen blessing on him, his family, and even the nations of the earth. And Abraham never became a king, but after millennia the King of kings came to the same mountain and offered not His son nor an animal, but Himself—and when He rose again indestructible in glory the full blessing brought by His attuned heart of obedience to the Father we have not yet seen—but He saw it from the beginning, and perhaps that was His secret.
[*See also John 10:18, Isaiah 49:4]
