Counting The Cost

Random thoughts on walking with Jesus in this turvy-topsy world

Doubts and faith

“Some Christians believe that walking by faith means being carried along by a mysterious, ethereal, indescribable inner sense called "faith." But the walk of faith is much more practical and definable than that. Walking by faith simply means that you function in daily life on the basis of what you believe. Your belief system determines your behavior.”

-Neil Anderson

 

 

 

 

“We shouldn't over-emphasize the "feeling" side of faith. We often talk a lot about feelings and experiences that just aren't that common. Now don't get me wrong. When you first come to Christ, you may experience a special intimacy with God. This is a very precious time for the new Christian. But it's dangerous to think this feeling of closeness will always be there.

 

I'd like to begin with a question: Is God a good God and worthy of our trust? To me that's the foundational question. If he's not, then hang it up. If God is good and worthy of our trust, then hang on to him—even when the evidence seems stacked to the contrary.

Consider this illustration. Let's say your experience with a particular friend has shown you that she's dependable, responsible, caring and trustworthy. Now this very same friend agrees to meet you at Starbucks. She said she'd be there by 10:30. But at 10:40, she's still not there. At 10:50, she's still not there. When 11:00 rolls around, she still hasn't walked through the door. You don't automatically think, What an irresponsible, uncaring jerk. Of course not. You know your friend, you trust her. Sure, you're irritated and feel like you're wasting your time. But most likely, there's a good reason she's late. It could be a flat tire, an accident, a family emergency. The fact that she's not there does not mean she's irresponsible, uncaring or insensitive.

That's the way it is with God. Again, think about Job. The evidence would indicate that God was irresponsible, uncaring, unloving. But Job knew God's character and he knew something didn't add up. In spite of the way things looked, Job chose to trust God.

 

When I look at Jesus, I see someone who struggled and experienced a lot of pain. When I'm looking at Jesus, I see someone who understands everything I'm going through. When I look at Jesus, I see someone who loves me more than I could ever comprehend. As long as I keep my eyes focused on him, I don't have to be afraid of my doubts. I can believe God will see me through them.”

 

-Phillip Yancey

in his article “When It’s Hard to Believe”

posted by: Jrobbins at 14:34 | link | comments |
faith and feelings

We can have hope

Here is another gem from Nancy Leigh Demoss’ radio program on The Lord’s Prayer (click HERE to read or listen).

-Joy

 

 

 

“The kingdom of God and that concept means that we’re not victims, that we are not at the mercy of earthly kings and dictators and rulers and political systems and cultural programs and immorality.

 

 

We’re not victims of those things. We’re not at their mercy. The concept of the kingdom of God coming means history is not an endless, hopeless, meaningless cycle. Because the things we see today that we think are so terrible, you can read back in some other eras of history, including the era in which Jesus came to this earth. The era of the Roman empire was a very, very wicked era, not unlike our own.

What goes around, comes around. But when you believe in the concept of the kingdom of God, you realize that history is not this endless, meaningless cycle of the triumph of evil.

 

 

It’s not a cycle that’s going nowhere. The kingdom of God means there’s a goal to all of this, that life has meaning, that history and world events are heading somewhere, that God has a purpose; He has a plan.

 

 

The kingdom of God means we have something to look forward to. We have a reason to live. We don’t just curl up in our little Christian cocoons and barricade ourselves in our Christian fortresses and hope that we can escape all these assaults and arrows being flung our direction.

 

 

We serve King Jesus, and we pray, “Thy kingdom come” with confidence that He is coming, that He is the King, and He will reign, and He will rule.”

 

 

-Nancy Leigh Demoss

posted by: Jrobbins at 15:46 | link | comments |
hope for the future

What is the kingdom of God?

Nancy Leigh Demoss is running a new series on her radio program on The Lord’s Prayer. She’s taking it word by word and digging deep into the Prayer to find meanings and applications for us today. I’ve excerpted a tiny portion of the series to post below, but if you have the time, you should definitely check out the whole thing. You can either read the transcript or listen online by clicking HERE.

-Joy

 

 

 

From the Revive Our Hearts Program

The Lord’s Prayer Part Two:

 

 

“God is the ruler. Don’t forget that. If you forget that, then you’ll find yourself being squashed, being decimated, being wiped out, being overwhelmed, being overcome with fear, panic when you see the wrong cropping up and seeming so strong in your little part of the world. “This is my Father’s world.” He is the Ruler. That’s the universal reign and rule of God.

 

 

Then there’s that aspect of a personal reign of God. The personal kingdom of God. This refers to God’s reign and rule in the hearts of individuals who receive Him as King.

 

 

That’s a sense that we may experience here and now, no matter what’s going on around us—surrendering to, submitting to the lordship, the reign, and the rule of God in our lives. We can experience His personal reign. So as we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we’re praying for His reign and rule in the hearts of His people.

 

 

That is what the disciples missed. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is here among you, now.” The disciples are wondering, “Where? The Romans are still here! You haven’t wiped them out!”

 

 

Jesus is saying, “No, you don’t get it. It’s in the hearts of those who recognize Me as their King and who submit to God’s rule in their lives.”

We pray that God would exercise His reign and His rule in the hearts of His people, starting with our own.”

 

 

-Nancy Leigh Demoss

posted by: Jrobbins at 14:06 | link | comments |
hope for the future

Sticking close to the Savior

“Finally, brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”

Ephesians 6:10

 

 

“As Christians, we should want to stay as close to our Heavenly Father as possible. The devil is a powerful adversary, and we are no match for him in our own strength. We don't want to venture out in this life on our own abilities and suffer spiritual defeat. I have a healthy respect for the devil's ability. Thus, I want to stay as close to the Lord as possible. I want to be strong in Him. If ever there was a time to be walking closely with the Lord, it is now. This is not the time to be playing games with God. This is not the time to wander away.”

 

-Pastor Greg Laurie

Harvest Crusades

 

 

 

 

 

From “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”

by Ro­bert Ro­bin­son, 1758

 

 

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

posted by: Jrobbins at 17:39 | link | comments |

Virtue? Not as boring as it sounds...

From Gary Thomas’ article:

“Getting Back Your Life”

 

 

 

“Repentance initiates God's new life for us, but if we want to see long-term change, we have to recapture another word that has also been frequently misused--virtue. Unfortunately, people are all too aware that the virtues have been wielded as clubs, foisted on us as seemingly impossible obligations, and unleashed as tremendous guilt-inducers. That's why so many people react negatively to the mere thought of virtue. Sin--especially illicit sex--sounds fun. Virtue sounds boring (at best).

 

 

Forget about the virtue you think you know. Deal with the words on its own terms--virtue literally derives from "strength" and "potency," as in "virile." Virtue gives me the power to enter into relationships, situations and circumstances without fear of losing control or doing something stupid.

Since I live in a college town, it's easy for me to bike just about anywhere I need to go. There was a time when my brakes were worn down to almost nothing and I didn't have time to get new pads. Normally, I love going down hills--there's nothing quite like speed on a bike--but when you know you can't stop, some of the fun is lost to fear.

 

 

Virtues are like new brakes. They allow me to travel fast and into new situations, knowing that with them, I have the control, strength, and ability to maintain my integrity. That's why I prefer to think of the virtues as God's life preservers--His plan to give us our lives back over time. In repentance, our destiny is secured. In the practice of virtue, our God-ordained character is released.”

 

 

 

 

 

Click HERE to read the entire article

posted by: Jrobbins at 14:29 | link | comments |

Belated love talk

For some strange reason, despite the fact that Valentine’s Day was over last week, two of my favorite websites are running articles on love. Those crazy kids, acting like love is something you celebrate more than once a year. Anyway, I’ve posted two excerpts and links below because, all sarcasm aside, these articles are great and emphasize the down-and-dirty, every day, even-when-you-don’t-get-cool-presents kind of love we all need.

-Joy

 

 

 

 

“Dating Hear Say” by Michael Ross

on Boundless Webzine

 

“…I picked her up at her house and whisked her off to what I was sure would be a great evening at our favorite dinner spot. In the car I told her all about my day and she — well, she didn't say a word. Then, when I opened the door to the restaurant, and commented about how I love coming here with her. That's when she lobbed a stinging comment: ‘Are you sure you really mean that — or are you just being nice?’”

 

Click HERE to continue

 

 

 

 

“Short-Lived, Emotional Attachment at First Sight”

By Lauren Winner

on TrueU.org

 

 

“This semester, I am teaching a course called Marriage in Literature. Each week, seven intrepid students and I read a novel or a few short stories that somehow touch on marriage. Last week's novel was Female Quixotism by Tabitha Gilman Tenney.

 

Don't feel bad if you've never heard of it. It was published in 1801 (and in 1992, was reprinted as part of Oxford University Press's Early American Women Writers series). I doubt it's read very often outside of classes like mine.

 

The main character of Female Quixotism is a woman named Dorcas Sheldon. Dorcas leads a charmed life. The only daughter of a wealthy widower, she is able to devote herself to charitable deeds and her favorite pastime, reading novels. Actually, Dorcas doesn't so much read novels as enter into them: In order to more closely approximate the heroines of the dreamy tales she's reading, she even changes her name to Dorcasina….”

 

 

 

Click HERE to continue

posted by: Jrobbins at 15:31 | link | comments |
love

Celebrating freedom for all people

In honor of Black History Month, I’m posting a link to an article by John Piper about William Wilberforce, the abolitionist. If you haven’t seen the movie Amazing Grace, it is a great film and a good place to start learning about the history of the abolition movement. The hero of the film is Wilberforce, whose entire life (post-conversion to Christianity) was consumed by the abolition of Britain’s slaves. Piper’s article is excellent, of course, and honors not only Wilberforce but his amazing God and Savior.

-Joy

 

 

From “Peculiar Doctrines, Public Morals, and the Political Welfare”

By John Piper

 

Desiring God Ministries

 

 

“…What made Wilberforce tick was a profound Biblical allegiance to what he called the "peculiar doctrines" of Christianity. These, he said, give rise, in turn, to true affections – what we might call "passion" or "emotions" – for spiritual things, which, in turn, break the power of pride and greed and fear, and then lead to transformed morals which, in turn, lead to the political welfare of the nation. He said, ‘If . . . a principle of true Religion [i.e., true Christianity] should . . . gain ground, there is no estimating the effects on public morals, and the consequent influence on our political welfare….’”

 

 

 

Click HERE to read this article

posted by: Jrobbins at 15:52 | link | comments |

Template by motime.com  |  header image credit: Markus Gann © www.begann.de