25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. Ezekiel 36:25
This verse should define what God has done in your life. Am I being cleansed? Is my past dirtier than my present? One way of telling if your walk with God is progressing is to look back on it and check if you are being cleansed. As we move forward in our walk we should be putting off more things that detract from our relationship with God. Anything that is binding you to the earth should be out under the microscope, even sports or tv easily become idols. I want to be a fanatic. To be separated from anything that would lump me in with the world.
Yes we believe Jesus saves us from hell, but do we believe he changes everything else about our life?
" In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven" Matthew 5:16
Set yourself apart.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
The Thesis
My life is not my own. My life is a gift from God, who has shown me grace and redeemed me from sin. With this in mind I want to make my life a prayer to God. The means with which I will be used I cannot fathom. In the meantime I must be emptied of all self to make room for God to work. So I'm left as vessel for God and nothing less than that will do.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Meditate on this
Psalm 19
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard. [a]
4 Their voice [b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard. [a]
4 Their voice [b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Thank God with your time instead of for it.
Well it was nice to have two weeks off for Christmas and spend time with Andrea and my siblings. Towards the end of the time I could not get rid of a weight that had sat upon my shoulders. I knew exactly what I'd done, I greedily accepted my free time without using it to benefit my relationship with God. I could feel the disconnect but yet my hardened heart made me avoid the regenerate solace that I needed.
Today there was a special day of prayer at church for the missionaries in our conference. As usual seeing all the reports on the missionaries made me rethink my position in life. I feel like I've hit an early mid-life crisis, or my comprehension of one anyway.
I've told myself that my training time would also be a time of biblical training as well as culinary. I've got jitters now. I want God to rock my life in a new direction, I want to hear the call and drop everything. I'm not to sure why I'm telling all of you this, but feel free to give it to me straight.
Today there was a special day of prayer at church for the missionaries in our conference. As usual seeing all the reports on the missionaries made me rethink my position in life. I feel like I've hit an early mid-life crisis, or my comprehension of one anyway.
I've told myself that my training time would also be a time of biblical training as well as culinary. I've got jitters now. I want God to rock my life in a new direction, I want to hear the call and drop everything. I'm not to sure why I'm telling all of you this, but feel free to give it to me straight.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Sin separation
It is impossible for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle; so too is it impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. It is not that the rich man was rich, it is that he held on to his riches before he would follow Christ.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
It's almost Christmas if you haven't noticed yet. Work is steady because this is the season of eating. Half of my day consisted of standing behind a carving station cutting roast beef today. I'm excited to get 5-8 days off work and maybe go to Regina.
Lately I have felt the need to search for a deeper knowledge of Jesus. I've come to the scriptural conclusion that merely asking him into your heart is not enough, and that eternal life only comes from belief and repentance. Repentance meaning, "to think differently after", so true a true Christian must undergo change, not just say a prayer. I want to warn all those who do not know that they're road leads to destruction. Jesus spoke against the law because it had become the way in which Jews thought they guaranteed they're admission into paradise. He did not speak against the law so that we might ignore it. The biblical law was made to direct us to God. Look at the 13 letters to the churches, ignorance of the law led to disaster.
Now I would like to put forth how I heard the Gospel preached today by Paul Washer. There is no hope for mankind but Jesus. Jesus bore all our sin. God turned his face away from Jesus because Jesus had became sin upon the cross, and the all holy God cannot look upon sin. God crushed his son because he had become sin. Now because of Jesus' death we are able to commune with a holy God, despite our being made of sin.
So now what do you think God thinks of our sin when he killed his own son because he became sin?
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. John 3:16
Lately I have felt the need to search for a deeper knowledge of Jesus. I've come to the scriptural conclusion that merely asking him into your heart is not enough, and that eternal life only comes from belief and repentance. Repentance meaning, "to think differently after", so true a true Christian must undergo change, not just say a prayer. I want to warn all those who do not know that they're road leads to destruction. Jesus spoke against the law because it had become the way in which Jews thought they guaranteed they're admission into paradise. He did not speak against the law so that we might ignore it. The biblical law was made to direct us to God. Look at the 13 letters to the churches, ignorance of the law led to disaster.
Now I would like to put forth how I heard the Gospel preached today by Paul Washer. There is no hope for mankind but Jesus. Jesus bore all our sin. God turned his face away from Jesus because Jesus had became sin upon the cross, and the all holy God cannot look upon sin. God crushed his son because he had become sin. Now because of Jesus' death we are able to commune with a holy God, despite our being made of sin.
So now what do you think God thinks of our sin when he killed his own son because he became sin?
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. John 3:16
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
The calm that quiets everything
I was lucky enough to have the day off today, it was a good day for regeneration. Once I finally escaped the house, the fresh falling snow hung in the air and crunched under foot like never before. This is the first real snow fall I've experienced in the City; it is incredible how much the snow quiets the traffic and even the thoughts. I've been revisiting why I am doing what I am. Am I doing it for God or even with him? I think the way I was hired into the Fairmont shows God at work, but I am not feeling it right now. Anyways, that is what is occupying my mind.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)