courage and success...

the following is from a blog post by Don Carson on The State of the Church in Great Britain This part was really, really good....

(5) But there is a bigger issue. We must not equate courage with success, or even youth with success. We must avoid ever leaving the impression that these equations are valid. I have spent too much time in places like Japan, or in parts of the Muslim world, where courage is not measured on the world stage, where a single convert is reckoned a mighty trophy of grace. I am grateful beyond words for the multiplication of churches in Acts 29, but I am no less grateful for Baptist ministers like my Dad, men who labored very hard and saw very little fruit for decades in French Canada, many of whom went to prison (their sentences totaled eight years between 1950 and 1952). I find no ground for concluding that the missionaries in Japan in the 20th century were less godly, less courageous, less faithful, than the missionaries in (what became) South Korea, with its congregations of tens of thousands. At the final Great Assize, God will take into account not only all that was and is, but also what might have been under different circumstances (Matt 11:20ff). Just as the widow who gave her mite may be reckoned to have given more than many multi-millionaires, so, I suspect, some ministers in Japan, or Yorkshire, will receive greater praise on that last day than those who served faithfully in a corner of the world where there was more fruit. Moreover, the measure of faithful service is sometimes explicitly tied in Scripture not to the quantity of fruit, measured in numbers, but to such virtues as self-control, measured by the use of one's tongue (James 3:1-6).

CS Lewis on humility...

C.S. Lewis helpfully said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.” Humility is not thinking that others are more godly or more kind than you, or more intelligent, nicer, better at cooking, or better at cricket than you. They may be. They may not be. Humility is when you consider other people’s interests before your own. Thinking what is best for the other person and acting on that. We’re being humble when we think of others before ourselves. You may have a greater status than someone. You may have authority over someone. You don’t pretend you don’t have authority over them. But you think what will benefit the people under you. What do they need? What is best for them? It doesn’t mean you don’t look after yourself. When we don’t look after ourselves we soon can’t help anyone else. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.”

what i would like to be doing today...

chasing a trail of victory...

This morning I chased a trail of victory…searching for truth to take into the battle. Swords and daggers for the offense. These are the weapons I found….

Acts 5:38-39---So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!”

Proverbs 21:30-31---No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD. The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.

Isaiah 8:10---Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

2 Chronicles 13:12---Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

…This is where it started to get really, really exciting!!...

1 Corinthians 15:54b-58---When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

1 John 5:3-5---For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

John 16:33---I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Romans 8:37-39---No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

practicing praise: 11 things I am thankful for today...

So...awoke in a bad mood, which clung to me like a leech for countless hours. I couldn't shake it. I was angry, bitter, and a whole spectrum of emotions no one really ever wants to be. What to do? Well, 1 Thess. 5:16-18 says..."Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." SO...here I am, practicing giving thanks. As Ann Voskamp calls it, I am hammering in the nails of thanks. Pound, praise, pound, praise, pound...

ONE: A thoughtful text from a friend reading… “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10 ESV)

TWO: Learning from Ann… “The work of a life is to reorder the love — to turn all things towards the True Lover.” (http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/02/the-perfect-valentines-day-gift-for-a-mother/)

THREE: Free coffee refills at McDonalds this morning…and the jittery feeling that ensued. I love that feeling.

FOUR: Friends who send up prayers, broken record prayers.

FIVE: A spurring on from the Scriptures… “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (Psalm 42:11 ESV)

SIX: David’s emotive power in the Psalms. Drawing me to devotion.

SEVEN: A house that smells like fresh flowers. Spring’s greeting amidst winter’s overdue stay.

EIGHT: Driving in the car and listening to worship music…melting a hard heart on a cold morning.

NINE: Ginormous cards in the mail from caring grandfathers.

TEN: A life-GIVING church offering breakfast, perspective, and worship to our God on a day, like every day, meant first and foremost to bring praise to Him.

ELEVEN: A view of love, 1 Cor. 13, from the Message Bible: “We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.”

The Gospel IS the TRUE love story.

…a student being schooled in this practice of giving thanks…it is WONDERFUL.

Tuesday Mornings at Whole Foods...

I’m sitting here in Whole Foods. Early morning. Tuesday. The same group of men that are here every Tuesday sit at the large round table next to me. Talking about yachting...narrating nautical adventures. To my right are two other elderly men, sharing stories over steaming cups. Across the way a doddering man struggles to drink his coffee, fighting against his shaking hands.

There are so many grey-haired men at whole foods in the early morning. I love it. They remind me of my grandpa, Wing. He passed away a year and a half ago. His hands shook when he drank coffee too. He loved to recount yachting adventures.

There are about twenty Wing’s in the café today. The ones with white hair are visual reminders of how much I miss my grandfather.

Wing loved the early morning. He loved to make a cup of instant coffee, but he rarely drank it. I think it was just a pastime he enjoyed. That and gardening. By 9 am Wing would have already gone out to tend his garden. Gosh he had the most glorious garden. And that was his favorite word, “glorious”. To Wing, everything was glorious. All of God’s creation was simply glorious.

When I see these old men, talking over cups of coffee, telling timeless tales…I begin to think about growing old...it’s inevitable.

I will get old.

I will get wrinkles.

I will probably shake when I drink my coffee.

You know, it seems scary to grow old. To slowly lose control of your ability to do things. To recount the escapades of youth, but no longer be able to actually embark on one. I remember in his last years, Wing would daily talk about how he planned to go out and tend to his garden, but the truth was, we both knew never would. He wouldn’t have been able to make it down the stairs, let alone bend on hands and knees to plant. My Poppa used to take Wing out on the boat so he could be near his second love, the ocean. But in his last years, even this was something Wing rarely was able to do.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to be unable to bend knees. Joints like dry sticks. Honestly, without the hope of something to come, growing old sounds horrible.

However, this morning I am comforted by God’s great design in aging. In creating a body that grows up then shuts down. As the flesh corrodes, there comes a sweet hope and longing for a new body. Something shiny. My favorite artist and poet, Van Morrison, put it best in his song “Sweet Thing.” A good friend once pointed out that Van must be talking about heaven, and I think he’s exactly right.

“An' I will stroll the merry way,

An' jump the hedges first.

An' I will drink the clear, clean water,

For to quench my thirst.

An' I shall watch the ferry-boats an' they'll get high.

On a bluer ocean, against tomorrow's sky.

An' I will never grow so old again.

An' I will walk and talk, in gardens all wet with rain.”

When Wing died, this song became a constant companion to me. He knew Jesus. Now, Wing will “never grow so old again.”

I am filled with gratitude to know Jesus. To have a hope for something past this earth. Past wrinkles and shaking hands. For the believer, growing old is simply a preparation for a much greater adventure…the earthly body expiring, to bring about the longing for a new body. Like the icy chill of winter inclines our hearts to yearn for the newness of spring, aging brings hope for future glory.

Romans 8: 18-25…Future Glory

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Van Morrison, Sweet Thing

a good perspective on prayer that leads to gratitude...

"Praying always." Ephesians 6:18

What multitudes of prayers we have put up from the first moment when we learned to pray. Our first prayer was a prayer for ourselves; we asked that God would have mercy upon us, and blot out our sin. He heard us. But when He had blotted out our sins like a cloud, then we had more prayers for ourselves. We have had to pray for sanctifying grace, for constraining and restraining grace; we have been led to crave for a fresh assurance of faith, for the comfortable application of the promise, for deliverance in the hour of temptation, for help in the time of duty, and for succour in the day of trial. We have been compelled to go to God for our souls, as constant beggars asking for everything. Bear witness, children of God, you have never been able to get anything for your souls elsewhere. All the bread your soul has eaten has come down from heaven, and all the water of which it has drank has flowed from the living rock--Christ Jesus the Lord. Your soul has never grown rich in itself; it has always been a pensioner upon the daily bounty of God; and hence your prayers have ascended to heaven for a range of spiritual mercies all but infinite. Your wants were innumerable, and therefore the supplies have been infinitely great, and your prayers have been as varied as the mercies have been countless. Then have you not cause to say, "I love the Lord, because He hath heard the voice of my supplication"? For as your prayers have been many, so also have been God's answers to them. He has heard you in the day of trouble, has strengthened you, and helped you, even when you dishonoured Him by trembling and doubting at the mercy-seat. Remember this, and let it fill your heart with gratitude to God, who has thus graciously heard your poor weak prayers. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits."

From Spurgeon's Morning and Evening.

Morning, February 6

going walkabout

my friend sammy and i went walkabout at Duke Gardens today. a last minute decision i couldnt be more thankful for. aside from wonderful time with a friend and easy conversation, a photo album was the result. i put it on facebook since i have no clue yet how to post that many pictures to a blog. it is meant to explore the different perspectives taken on the most ordinary things that we see daily in nature. things we have become accustomed to. things we forget to relish in the beauty of. i dont think that i am very good at photography, but i do enjoy it. if you wish to see more of the photos, i put an album up on facebook called "Perspectives."

but more than anything, i think it's about a perspective change God is doing in me. a freedom to explore. a getting outside of my comfort zone. a willingness to try something and have people hate it (like this blog, for instance). i hope that a photo or two will lead you to worship God and His incredible creation...how involved He is in the minute details, the rings on an oak and the grandeur of its branches. perhaps it's simply an exercise for me alone. a practice of a changed perspective.

there are a whole lot of pictures of trees...but i pray that i never get tired of capturing the grandeur and glory that God intended when He breathed the trees into being.