Because I won't likely have a 'quote of the day' every day for the rest of this week... this is the quote of the week... and fitting as a great example of Grace and our need for Thanksgiving (the attitude... not the holiday)...
"Every good deed we do in dependence on God does just the opposite of paying Him back; it puts us ever deeper in debt to His grace." - John Piper
Monday, November 24, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Blogging... sin... and other things...
Of the now 4 people who at least semi-regularly read my ramblings here on this blog, you may be wondering why it is that, so often, I am merely posting "some other guy's thoughts"
There are two answers to that:
The first is that I haven't been giving myself the time to write my own thoughts in response to what I am learning, what the Lord is showing me, the conclusions to which I am coming...
The second is that in my journey I am finding these choice nuggets of teaching and ideas and Truth that I seem to desperately need and so, instead of just sitting on this or that and thinking to myself, "that is a nice thought..." I put it here as both a reminder to me to not allow myself to get "too busy" to reflect on what the Lord is teaching me AND I think these things can be helpful to my fellow brothers and sisters on the journey too!
With all that... A quote from C.S. Lewis from "Mere Christianity" that gets to the root of any sin issue. Not to minimize the fleshly sins... as terrible as they are... but seem to be symptoms of deeper spiritual realities that my view of God is very low...
~~~~~~~
"The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual: the pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronising and spoiling sport, and back-biting; the pleasures of power, of hatred. For there are two things inside me, competing with the human self which I must try to become. They are the Animal self, and the Diabolical self. The Diabolical seft is the worse of the two. That is why a cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it is better to be neither." (-C.S. Lewis - "Mere Christianity" - pp. 94-95)
There are two answers to that:
The first is that I haven't been giving myself the time to write my own thoughts in response to what I am learning, what the Lord is showing me, the conclusions to which I am coming...
The second is that in my journey I am finding these choice nuggets of teaching and ideas and Truth that I seem to desperately need and so, instead of just sitting on this or that and thinking to myself, "that is a nice thought..." I put it here as both a reminder to me to not allow myself to get "too busy" to reflect on what the Lord is teaching me AND I think these things can be helpful to my fellow brothers and sisters on the journey too!
With all that... A quote from C.S. Lewis from "Mere Christianity" that gets to the root of any sin issue. Not to minimize the fleshly sins... as terrible as they are... but seem to be symptoms of deeper spiritual realities that my view of God is very low...
~~~~~~~
"The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual: the pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronising and spoiling sport, and back-biting; the pleasures of power, of hatred. For there are two things inside me, competing with the human self which I must try to become. They are the Animal self, and the Diabolical self. The Diabolical seft is the worse of the two. That is why a cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it is better to be neither." (-C.S. Lewis - "Mere Christianity" - pp. 94-95)
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Gospel Perspective in Politics
Below is a link to a blog from a Pastor of whom I have great respect.
Mark Driscoll posted this blog yesterday but I believe its content is JUST as pertinent today (one day after our national election) as it was yesterday.
I would love your thoughts.
Jake
In God We Do Not Trust
Mark Driscoll posted this blog yesterday but I believe its content is JUST as pertinent today (one day after our national election) as it was yesterday.
I would love your thoughts.
Jake
In God We Do Not Trust
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