Nonnegotiable Brokenness
"The price of God's glory shining in our lives is brokenness" Murray Brett
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (ER...9-29-12)
p.41 When our heavenly Father looks upon the broken mess of our lives, he doesn't snicker or sigh. He ministers to us a sweeter comfort than any temporary and worldly comfort we'd sought before.
p.44
Some of the most joyful people I know are those who have no promises of a better tomorrow this side of the new heavens and the new earth.
In times of ease, God whispers. In times of pain, he is shouting to us, rousing us to turn our attention to him.
Job 36:15 But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction.
Sharing in the sufferings of Christ means feasting on his broken body while we ourselves are broken. And his body, broken for us, is the Bread of Life.
"This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life." Psalm 119:50
p. 53 But despair not just of hell but of the sin in us is evidence of gospel wakefulness.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Gospel Wakefulness
chapter 1: What is Gospel Wakefulness?
They were not preaching the death and resurrection of Christ, at least not directly at first. They were announcing that God's righteousness was finally coming to bear upon the real world, that the manifest presence of his sovereignty was finally breaking into history, as is the hope seen throughout the longing of Israel in the Old Testament. This in-breaking kingdom, of course, centers on Christ as King, and the coronation and exaltation of Christ as King hinges on his death and resurrection, so the 'gospel of the kingdom' and Paul's gospel of first importance are not really separate concepts, but degrees of magnification of the same concept.
Jesus died and resurrected according to the Scriptures, which means God's kingdom has come according to the Scriptures.
(helpful for me..always get confused about the Kingdom of God and what that is/means)
p.23
In this wide-angle view of the gospel, the good news is that the peace that was broken at the fall will be restored in everything, from God's reconciliation with sinners to his establishing of the new heavens and the new earth. A cosmic gospel means the restoration of all things.
p. 30 If you were to ask me today when I was saved, I would answer, not entirely humorously, "about two thousand years ago." Indeed, because I have been predestined for salvation by the one who foreknew me before I was born or had done anything good or bad, and because the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world, I don't need the security of the date of my new birth. I only need the security of knowing he whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to safeguard my life for all eternity.
p. 33 It is the result of Spiritually seeing with the eyes of faith what you always assumed was there.
p.34. There is the combination prescribed for gospel wakefulness-receiving the Word in the midst of affliction, resulting in Spiritual joy and Christlikeness.
p.35. I can and should tell you to 'Behold!"-and that is the major function of this book-but whether you will truly see is up to God, and it is usually dependent on how dim all your other earthly hopes have grown for you.....Really, there are only two steps to gospel wakefulness: be utterly broken and be utterly awed. But neither of these things are things you can really Do. They are things only God can do for you.
p.37 To borrow from Abraham Kuyper, there is no square inch of our lives over which Christ who is Lord over all does not declare, "Mine!" and the gospel-wakened heart does not gladly proclaim, "Yours!"
They were not preaching the death and resurrection of Christ, at least not directly at first. They were announcing that God's righteousness was finally coming to bear upon the real world, that the manifest presence of his sovereignty was finally breaking into history, as is the hope seen throughout the longing of Israel in the Old Testament. This in-breaking kingdom, of course, centers on Christ as King, and the coronation and exaltation of Christ as King hinges on his death and resurrection, so the 'gospel of the kingdom' and Paul's gospel of first importance are not really separate concepts, but degrees of magnification of the same concept.
Jesus died and resurrected according to the Scriptures, which means God's kingdom has come according to the Scriptures.
(helpful for me..always get confused about the Kingdom of God and what that is/means)
p.23
In this wide-angle view of the gospel, the good news is that the peace that was broken at the fall will be restored in everything, from God's reconciliation with sinners to his establishing of the new heavens and the new earth. A cosmic gospel means the restoration of all things.
p. 30 If you were to ask me today when I was saved, I would answer, not entirely humorously, "about two thousand years ago." Indeed, because I have been predestined for salvation by the one who foreknew me before I was born or had done anything good or bad, and because the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world, I don't need the security of the date of my new birth. I only need the security of knowing he whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to safeguard my life for all eternity.
p. 33 It is the result of Spiritually seeing with the eyes of faith what you always assumed was there.
p.34. There is the combination prescribed for gospel wakefulness-receiving the Word in the midst of affliction, resulting in Spiritual joy and Christlikeness.
p.35. I can and should tell you to 'Behold!"-and that is the major function of this book-but whether you will truly see is up to God, and it is usually dependent on how dim all your other earthly hopes have grown for you.....Really, there are only two steps to gospel wakefulness: be utterly broken and be utterly awed. But neither of these things are things you can really Do. They are things only God can do for you.
p.37 To borrow from Abraham Kuyper, there is no square inch of our lives over which Christ who is Lord over all does not declare, "Mine!" and the gospel-wakened heart does not gladly proclaim, "Yours!"
Sunday, October 7, 2012
The Meaning of Marriage, Chapter 5
Loving the Stranger
p.160
Serving your spouse also means showing that you are committed to his or her well-being and flourishing. This kind of love is given when you seek to help you spouse develop gifts and pursue aspirations for growth...
One of the greatest expressions of love is the willingness to change, to make a commitment to change attitudes and behaviors in yourself that trouble or hurt your spouse. There must be an ability to take correction and to be accountable for real concrete changes. This kind of change is always hard, and nearly impossible without the grace of God, but it is also one of the most powerful signs of love in a marriage.
It means being tenderly affectionate and transparent with each other. And you hear your spouse lifting you up to God for blessing. if you do that every day, or most days, it seasons your entire realtiionship with the love of God and of one another.
The Power of Grace--Reconciling
The solution is grace!
p,.164 you are not really telling the truth for their sake; you are telling it for your sake, and the fruit of that will be grief, bitterness, and despair.
One of the most basic skills in marriage is the ability to tell the straight, unvarnished truth about what your spouse has done-and then, completely, unself-righteously, and joyously express forgiveness without a shred of superiority, without making the other person feel small. This does not mean you cannot express anger. In fact, if you never express anger, your truth-telling probably won't sink in. But forgiving grace must always be present, and if it is, it will, like salt in meat, keep the anger from going bad. Then truth and love can live together because beneath them both, you have forgiven your spouse as Christ forgave you.
The Ultimate Power
And marriage has the unique power to show us the GRACE OF WHAT GOD DID FOR US IN JESUS CHRIST. In Ephesians 5, Paul tells us that Jesus laid down his life for us, forgiving at great cost us to make us something beautiful. And because he has done it for us, we can do the same for others,.
p.160
Serving your spouse also means showing that you are committed to his or her well-being and flourishing. This kind of love is given when you seek to help you spouse develop gifts and pursue aspirations for growth...
One of the greatest expressions of love is the willingness to change, to make a commitment to change attitudes and behaviors in yourself that trouble or hurt your spouse. There must be an ability to take correction and to be accountable for real concrete changes. This kind of change is always hard, and nearly impossible without the grace of God, but it is also one of the most powerful signs of love in a marriage.
It means being tenderly affectionate and transparent with each other. And you hear your spouse lifting you up to God for blessing. if you do that every day, or most days, it seasons your entire realtiionship with the love of God and of one another.
The Power of Grace--Reconciling
The solution is grace!
p,.164 you are not really telling the truth for their sake; you are telling it for your sake, and the fruit of that will be grief, bitterness, and despair.
One of the most basic skills in marriage is the ability to tell the straight, unvarnished truth about what your spouse has done-and then, completely, unself-righteously, and joyously express forgiveness without a shred of superiority, without making the other person feel small. This does not mean you cannot express anger. In fact, if you never express anger, your truth-telling probably won't sink in. But forgiving grace must always be present, and if it is, it will, like salt in meat, keep the anger from going bad. Then truth and love can live together because beneath them both, you have forgiven your spouse as Christ forgave you.
The Ultimate Power
And marriage has the unique power to show us the GRACE OF WHAT GOD DID FOR US IN JESUS CHRIST. In Ephesians 5, Paul tells us that Jesus laid down his life for us, forgiving at great cost us to make us something beautiful. And because he has done it for us, we can do the same for others,.
The Meaning of Marriage, chapter 4
The Mission of Marriage
share with my boys..
We should be going at it the other way around. Screen first for friendship. Look for someone who understands you better than you do yourself, who makes you a better person just by being around them. And then explore whether that friendship could become a romance and a marriage.
p.127 God says, "I didn't put a parent and a child in the Garden, I put a husband and a wife. When you marry your spouse, that must supercede all other relationships, even the parental relationship. Your spouse and your marriage must be the number one priority in your life."
Your marriage must be more important to you than anything else. No other human being should get more of your love, energy, industry, and commitment than your spouse.
p.129 When you marry, you commit to becoming a new decision-making unit and to developing new patterns and ways of doing things. If you rigidly impose the patterns that you saw in your own family rather than working together with your spouse to create new ones that fit both of you, you haven't 'left home' yet.
share with my boys..
We should be going at it the other way around. Screen first for friendship. Look for someone who understands you better than you do yourself, who makes you a better person just by being around them. And then explore whether that friendship could become a romance and a marriage.
p.127 God says, "I didn't put a parent and a child in the Garden, I put a husband and a wife. When you marry your spouse, that must supercede all other relationships, even the parental relationship. Your spouse and your marriage must be the number one priority in your life."
Your marriage must be more important to you than anything else. No other human being should get more of your love, energy, industry, and commitment than your spouse.
p.129 When you marry, you commit to becoming a new decision-making unit and to developing new patterns and ways of doing things. If you rigidly impose the patterns that you saw in your own family rather than working together with your spouse to create new ones that fit both of you, you haven't 'left home' yet.
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