If God's goodness is looked for in turns of fortune, we will forever be looking for new facts
War is near in the ordinary interactions, not just big demonic encounters
Friendly fire is th emost common attack against those n the ministry
Desire to destroy (anger/murder) and desire to use (adultery/consuming lust) are main weapons
Murderously attacked vs adulterously absorbed
destru7ctive lust involves the heart of a thiefwhose passion is to be satisfied, not theheart of a lover whose desire is to give
perversion is the wedding of lust and rage
Monday, 8 February 2010
Bold Love 3
If in fact sin is not only a failure to hit the mark of God's perfection, but also a deep insidious energy that desires to eradicatefrom our existence an affronting God who demands perfection, then forgivenes becomes breathtaking, incredible,and wonderfully insulting
Silence is required for deep change to occurOnce we are silent it is possible to look deeply into God's eyes and disover His response
The silence of being caught is an existential moment that can be prayed for Psalm 139
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Or prepared for 1 Cor31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
2Cor 13 5Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
But not meditated into by concentrating harder
Holy no mercy= despair or pharisee
Mercy no holy = God as anyone's uncle anyhow we like
The Bible protrays God in ways that should stun us
Silence, a quieting of our relentless pulsating fury towards God, occurs when that fury is a t full boil and we meet that God we think we despise. We then find that He is all that we feared, but infinitely more kind than we could ever have imagined
Godly silence alwauys yields stunned joy
only he who knows the greatness of His wrath will be overwhelmed by the depths of His mercy
The cross reveals the wrath AND the mercy of God
Compared to the perfect holiness of God's character, my sanctification in this life is hardly discernible
There is little we can point to in our lives as deserving anything but God's wrath. Our best moments have been mostly grotesque parodies. Our best loves have been almost always blurred with selfishness and deceit. But there is something to which we can point. Not anything we ever did or were, but something that was done for us by another. Not our own lives, but the life of one who died in our behalf and yet is still alive. This is our only glory and our only hope. And the sound that it makes is the sound of excitement and gladness and laughter that floats through the night air from a great banquet.
Silence is required for deep change to occurOnce we are silent it is possible to look deeply into God's eyes and disover His response
The silence of being caught is an existential moment that can be prayed for Psalm 139
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Or prepared for 1 Cor31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
2Cor 13 5Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
But not meditated into by concentrating harder
Holy no mercy= despair or pharisee
Mercy no holy = God as anyone's uncle anyhow we like
The Bible protrays God in ways that should stun us
Silence, a quieting of our relentless pulsating fury towards God, occurs when that fury is a t full boil and we meet that God we think we despise. We then find that He is all that we feared, but infinitely more kind than we could ever have imagined
Godly silence alwauys yields stunned joy
only he who knows the greatness of His wrath will be overwhelmed by the depths of His mercy
The cross reveals the wrath AND the mercy of God
Compared to the perfect holiness of God's character, my sanctification in this life is hardly discernible
There is little we can point to in our lives as deserving anything but God's wrath. Our best moments have been mostly grotesque parodies. Our best loves have been almost always blurred with selfishness and deceit. But there is something to which we can point. Not anything we ever did or were, but something that was done for us by another. Not our own lives, but the life of one who died in our behalf and yet is still alive. This is our only glory and our only hope. And the sound that it makes is the sound of excitement and gladness and laughter that floats through the night air from a great banquet.
Bold Love 2
Hatred disguises itself.
All sin is ultimately diected at God, and perhaps often our blame and recriminations too?
Jeremiah 20:7-8 Does W feel deceived (seduced) by God?
Friendship witht he world is hatred toward God.
Holy socks
Choice: kill if you take it away/ hate if you force me to do it
Passivity
Perfectionism
Impulsion
Procrastination
Intimidation
Finding life through soothing the soul rather than struggling with God
Hatred vs gratitue will be seen
Motive for justice could be anger at God's silence
Or could be desire that others know His great love
One fights for a General who has already won
the other for a revolutionthat is in question
One hates injustice
th other hates the God who has not dealt with the injustice according to our timetable
Where is God vs who is God that he bears his sorrrows
When will the hatred we feel towards others be transformed into utter compassion, and the fury we feel toward God be transfigured into glorious praise? The answer, in part is when we are silenced by our own sin, and stunned by God's response to our hatred.
All sin is ultimately diected at God, and perhaps often our blame and recriminations too?
Jeremiah 20:7-8 Does W feel deceived (seduced) by God?
Friendship witht he world is hatred toward God.
Holy socks
Choice: kill if you take it away/ hate if you force me to do it
Passivity
Perfectionism
Impulsion
Procrastination
Intimidation
Finding life through soothing the soul rather than struggling with God
Hatred vs gratitue will be seen
Motive for justice could be anger at God's silence
Or could be desire that others know His great love
One fights for a General who has already won
the other for a revolutionthat is in question
One hates injustice
th other hates the God who has not dealt with the injustice according to our timetable
Where is God vs who is God that he bears his sorrrows
When will the hatred we feel towards others be transformed into utter compassion, and the fury we feel toward God be transfigured into glorious praise? The answer, in part is when we are silenced by our own sin, and stunned by God's response to our hatred.
Bold Love 1
I will not live with purpose and joy unless I love
I will not be able to love unless I forgive
I will not forgive unless my heart is continually melted by the searing truth and grace of the gospel
Love is a sacrifice for the undeserving that opens the door to relationship with hte Father, with others and with oneself
Christ's sacrificial intentional transforming life defines love
On this basis we are judged
Admit failure to discover His limitless grace, or stay proud.
God blesses, man uses and perverts
God disciplines, forgives, restores, calls us into useful service
Hard for the proud to give nothing
Love without forgiveness?...denial,hardenes, cynicism, hatred
God cannot love us without continually forgiving us
It is the same for all human realtionships
The extent to which someone truly loves will be correlatedto the degree the person is stunned and silenced bythe wonder that his huge debt has been cancelled
Gratitude for forgiveness is the foundation for other centred love
I will not be able to love unless I forgive
I will not forgive unless my heart is continually melted by the searing truth and grace of the gospel
Love is a sacrifice for the undeserving that opens the door to relationship with hte Father, with others and with oneself
Christ's sacrificial intentional transforming life defines love
On this basis we are judged
Admit failure to discover His limitless grace, or stay proud.
God blesses, man uses and perverts
God disciplines, forgives, restores, calls us into useful service
Hard for the proud to give nothing
Love without forgiveness?...denial,hardenes, cynicism, hatred
God cannot love us without continually forgiving us
It is the same for all human realtionships
The extent to which someone truly loves will be correlatedto the degree the person is stunned and silenced bythe wonder that his huge debt has been cancelled
Gratitude for forgiveness is the foundation for other centred love
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