ONE - One True God

"You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life." - John 5:39,40

Those are strong words from Jesus and they cut me to the quick when I was reading and praying a few days ago. He was addressing a group of Jews who were seeking his death because He was claiming equality with God. He defended Himself against them by outlining the precise nature of the relationship between the Father and the Son (John 5:19-30) and then went on to show that not only does He declare His own deity, but that it was testified to by John the Baptist, His own works, God the Father and by the Scriptures.

He then went on to accuse them of having wasted their time in study, because, though they looked closely at the Scriptures, memorized them and wrote about them, they had missed the point of the Scriptures.

The Scriptures are not and end in themselves; they are a means to an end. They are intended to teach us about God so we can know Him better and what He requires of us. We must never merely study the Word, it must be applied by the Holy Spirit for it teach us and transform us. Put another way, reading and studying the Bible should make us different people than we would be otherwise. "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does." James 1:23-25

The Bible is not a book like other books, it is true in a way that other books are not and, though a physical and temporal object, it points beyond itself to the spiritual and the eternal. Such is my sinfulness however, that I so frequently confuse the means of God’s blessing with the blessing itself. Having times of worship. Going to church. Having a "witness". Tithing. Reading the Bible. How often I elevate the created thing to the level of the Creator, or mistake engaging in an activity for engaging with God. Any such attitude, or action, diminishes my view of God and undermines His sovereignty. Is God sovereign in my salvation or is the Bible? Is God sovereign in sanctifying me or are my own efforts and plans?

I encourage all Christians to have a structured approach to practicing various spiritual disciplines, but lately I have let those disciplines (that are intended by God to conform me to Himself) obscure Him. When I read the words of Christ transcribed above, I stopped reading and dropped to my knees in prayer and repentance. May I never have any gods before God, for "the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other." Deut 4:39

Four - Sabbath Feasting

One thing that we've been trying out here recently is really making a feast of the Lord's Day (Sunday!) as a reflection of how Sunday should be our crowning day of the week - this is the day specially set apart for worship and celebration of Christ's resurrection!

While our Sunday lunches have usually been our one particular special meal of the week, we have been raising the bar of late by adding a special drink (e.g. rootbeer! fizzy grape juice!) and drinking it in our wine glasses - children too!

We're still tweaking and thinking about how to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. The children are also being taught why this is our special day of the week, and I think they are enjoying it too. It is nice to be emphasizing the positive side of this command rather than continually emphasizing the negative (don't work, don't shop, etc.).

Comments Enabled

Hi everyone!

Just a note to say will we won't be posting to this blog for about a week, and the comments are now enabled. I hadn't realized they weren't before, so I now expect to hear all sorts of erudite things from all of you.

Cheerio!

all - The Housekeeper Who Married the Master

I have been reading a neat commentary on Romans recently by Stuart Olyott. (Welwyn Series) In commenting on Romans 6-8 he gives this parallel:
The Law and Grace are like a housekeeper who worked for a man. She didn't do a very good job, and one day he posted a list of rules in the kitchen for her to follow. This had two effects. The first was that she realized she had been doing a poor job, and the second was to entice her to commit infractions she had never before considered (e.g. putting tea leaves down the sink). She also resented the rules. In time however, she married the master and became his wife. He took down the list of rules, but she, knowing them, delighted in still following them, because now she loved him.

It reminded me of when I was first married to David, and how I would delight to do things to please him, and now after ten years how I still try to do things to delight him - that same attitude should be present when I consider God's laws, not just a dry and legalistic carrying out of them, or worse, a disregard for them.

Sometimes we sin by ignoring the law, and sometimes by adhering in a loveless way. May God quicken our hearts through His Spirit so we may please Him by our devotion!

Nine - Broken Chocolates and Weak Churches

Lying is forbidden in the ninth commandment and as the Sermon on the Mount makes clear, this is a call not just from sin, but to unquestionable truthfulness in all our dealings.

A recent incident with my middle son, Benjamin (3), reminded me of how failure to fully obey this commandment has contributed to the crisis of leadership we are seeing in the contemporary church.

A beautiful new box of boutique chocolates I had purchased for my wife was knocked from the table, the box badly torn and many of the chocolates ruined. Benjamin, the only one near when it happened, when questioned was reluctant to answer and what answers he did give denied any role in the accident. After a more thorough questioning in my study, it became obvious that he had been trying to tear open the box and dropped them. He was disciplined not only for the original infraction, but for the subsequent lies as well.

Truthfulness has a strong connection with responsibility. Conversely, lying typically involves avoidance of responsibilities. We will lie to avoid the consequences of our actions (E.g. “Who took the cookies from the jar?” “Philip did!”) or to deceive others (and possibly ourselves) about whom we are (to deny failings or exaggerate qualities).

Biblical masculinity and leadership involves taking responsibility for others and begins by taking responsibility for ourselves. Of course, we each throw ourselves upon the mercy of God and rely upon Him, but His grace and sovereignty do not in any way negate our responsibilities.

When a boy lies about stealing cookies, or the shifts the blame, or makes excuses (as Adam did in Gen. 3) he is trying to avoid responsibility (and, he hopes, the consequences) for his choices. If left unchecked, such a boy will, I fear, grow to be a man who does the same.

Good leadership also requires honesty about who we are. A good leader will have no illusions about his sinfulness but will deal with it by repentance and the forgiveness of God and others. But this requires unflinching honesty. Similarly, a godly leader will recognize which of his skills are weak and either strive to improve or wisely delegate.

A man who constantly puffs himself up and exaggerates his character or minimizes his faults will lack the clear sightedness necessary to properly address them. May God grant us godly leaders who speak and act truthfully.

Two, Three – Trivial Worship? Part Two

Kingdom Bound is a Christian music festival held at Darien Lake in New York State each summer. We received the promotional literature about it last Friday, and as I looked through the brochure was struck by how many of the featured performers were actually ‘worship leaders’ (E.g. Chris Tomlin, Lincoln Brewster, etc.). It was striking because only fifteen years ago, the headliners at the festival were full-on, entertainment oriented rock bands. I don’t mean that in any pejorative sense, just that while previous entertainers may have had a ministry and felt a distinctive call, they did not feel that call was to lead musical worship in the way the term is currently understood (E.g. Petra, Whiteheart, Degarmo & Key).

It made me wonder again about the blurring of the distinction between worship and entertainment. When we exalt song leaders as celebrities, or groove along to “Holy is the Lord” in the same way that others have grooved to “Say It Right”, are we not in some way trivializing our worship of God? When we make “Amazing Grace” just another campfire sing-a-long, do we lessen the majesty of it, just as we might lessen the sobriety of the Lord’s Table if we used the cup to drink freshie, or reduce the impact of the Word if we were to put tidbits of it on bumper stickers and T-shirts? How to we reconcile worshiping the Almighty God with reverence and awe with the jokesy, folksy attitude prevalent in so many of our churches?

three - Trivial Worship?

David and I had a neat discussion at breakfast this morning. David had noted that a lot of the current Christian music available was morphing closing to "worship music" and that the musicians were often known as "worship leaders". He was wondering if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

It made me think about some of the music I listen to. I received a nice set of CDs for Christmas by City on a Hill that I listen to often. Sometimes listening to their music makes me glorify God in an active way and think about Him, praise Him and worship Him. But sometimes I just have it on in the background - or just to groove to.

Is this wrong?

The Declutter Bug (2) – Ten, Two

It is important for our home to glorify God in every area and clutter does nothing to help that. It seems to me that there are only two reasons for clutter in our home. Either we have too many things (and not enough places for them) which is reflective of a sinful grasping at material possessions, or we are careless with the things we have, and therefore not showing sufficient gratitude to God for the good things He has given. Both are extremes, both are sinful, and, as with most things in the Christian life, we each will tend to sin in one way or the other. For this reason, we try to encourage each member of the family who is a believer to remind and encourage the others to press on and treat material things with the balance God desires, to enjoy them, and use them for His glory.

The Declutter Bug

It's that time of year again - decluttering time. It seems to hit here several times in a year - this time it started with a rearrangement of the furniture (with the help of a friend!) in the schoolroom.

Ever since we bought the house, we have been trying to make sure our use of it glorifies God. This includes how it is set up, and looks, and runs and what it is used for. When the decluttering bug hits, one primary motivation is "how would God want my schoolroom, (or closet, or under-the-sink cupboard) to look?". It was David who got us started on this tack, many years ago, and as seems to be the case with material possessions, one that needs revisiting often.

This evening, I went through the marker box, and threw out all the dry markers. It's amazing how they proliferate! The rearrangement is looking good - the main furniture pieces are in a good spot so that school can be done, but yet not take over the ENTIRE schoolroom. Now I need to attack individual bookshelves, drawers, etc. Soli Deo Gloria - in our schoolroom too!

seven - Happy Valentine's Day

Having heard just last week of another married couple who while seemingly all together on the outside, has split apart, I am reflecting on Valentines Day and the need we have to honour and love our spouses. (Those of us with them that is!) It can be easy to take them for granted! So don't do it! Make your Valentine feel special today - and everyday! Then, neither you, nor they, will be tempted to break the seventh commandment.

five - Love those Grandparents!

Thinking about the fifth commandment today, I thought how often we apply it to our children, but not to ourselves. Even though we may have flown the nest and are no longer bound by obedience to our parents, the command to honour them still stands.

We have been blessed this past week with visits from both sets of grandparents, visits that I think honoured them as they were able to interact with, teach and love their grandchildren. As well as being a pleasure, I hope that we were keeping the fifth commandment!

two - "I am a Jealous God"

While studying the Vikings recently, my son became aware of a Veggie Tales video - "Lyle the Friendly Viking" - and was keen to watch it. My husband and I had a good think about that, and turned him down. Fortunately, our church library's 3-2-1 Penguins collection was a good substitute.

So what do the penguins have that Lyle doesn't - after all they are both produced by Big Ideas?

Part of the answer is in Exodus 20:4 where the Lord commands us not make idols for ourselves, for "I the Lord your God am a jealous God". Our biggest problem with the Veggies is that they take the stories from the Bible and re-tell them in an inaccurate way. In their effort to be fun, and neutralize some of the more violent parts of the Bible (murder, execution, etc.) they deform the story to be almost unrecognizable. I am not sure of my children's ability to be able to separate the wheat of the truth from the chaff of the add-ins and mutations, and so I prefer to show them a completely made-up story (like the Penguins) rather than risk their understanding of God's word.

God is jealous of his own glory and truth. I think that teaching our children to recognize his truth is a good way to honour him.

Purpose

Greetings all!

This blog has been set up to examine daily and practical keeping of the Lord's commands in one household in Niagara. Hope you find it encouraging!