God Saves! God Redeems! God Rescues!

Praise God, he hears our prayers and he answers! I found out an old friend is now my brother.

"My Song in the Night" from Christmas at Northwestern. This song is amazing. In the right moment, you will shed tears. We need more songs that express solemn joy. 

So much would be taken care of if our love of Christ would overflow in a love for others that would cause us to be missional in our relationships, aka “being interested in others and desiring them to know the riches in Christ Jesus”.

6 simple ways to be missional

Link: 6 simple ways to be missional

alextdevine:

1. Eat with other people.
2. Work in public places.
3. Be a regular.
4. Leave the house in the evenings.
5. Serve your neighbors.
6. Share your passion.  

A student in my orientation group knew a high school student who died in a car crash a few weeks ago. This past week her boyfriend committed suicide. What do we do in situations like these but pray? Is there anything I can learn, or do I just mourn and pray, pray that God’s name be hallowed, his kingdom come, and his will be done.

Spurgeon = new best friend

Sometimes I just want to be with people all the times I am doing engineering stuff.

Yeah I am really really busy.

Yeah I am taking a minute to post this. But I trust God, he is my rock and my salvation. Jesus is always with me. I will succeed as a student, friend, ministry partner, orientation leader, streetlight leader, disciple of Christ because my life is powered by grace. May I rest in that. Oh God, may I rest in you.

Not to me, but unto You be all the glory.

The nations are less than nothing to you God, may I live realizing your loving kindness towards us, your infinite grace that you show us in Christ.

Faith

Is it belief or faithfulness? 

There is no differentiation in the word itself in the Greek New Testament. Saved by grace through “belief” or “faithfulness” or both?

The Professor They Call 'Anarchopanda'

hallieliuya:

urbanrelationsinfo:

@chronicle // Can dressing up as a panda prevent the police from cracking down on demonstrators against tuition increases? A professor of philosophy aims to find out. http://dlvr.it/1xRW68

Thoughts, Miss Flower?

People in Quebec are silly.

Full of Joy!

God’s graces are abundant. Praying with scripture is great.

Perseverance?

Revelation 3:2-5 (ESV)

^{2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3}  Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. ⁴ Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. ⁵  The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

Does this mean that your name can be blotted out of the book of life? That those elect unto salvation, namely those in the church, those who have been made alive, can then die because of a lack of works and repentance, stemming from a dying faith, with the end result of having their name being blotted out. Jesus would come against them rather than confessing them before His Father.

"blot out his name from the Book of Life"

hmm…

I am so worn out.

Not physically, but I have just lost all energy to do anything. Emotionally, mentally, spiritually? I don’t know…

I am prone to look to sleep and media to get back to normal, but I know that God is my source of strength. But seeking His will, His way, is what brought me to this state? When things actually matter, it is incredibly draining. If all my pursuits were just superficial then nothing would affect me. It’d all brush by. So I know if I go on my knees before God then I will find living waters, but I feel like I can’t even muster enough strength for a thoughtful prayer. And then if I find rest, then the world will be upon my shoulders again. But, it is not my burden to bear? But it seems like nobody else does…

I felt like all my efforts were in vain, that I am working and praying all for naught, with no lasting results, nothing that will outstay my summer here in Roseau. But then randomly during work, I got a text with 1 Cor 15:58, “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.” Incredibly encouraging. Nearly felt like crying. But I don’t feel like I can labor anymore. I am empty. Oh Lord, I need your help. No puedo hacer nada.

God loves, heals, redeems...

“And Lucy felt that deep shiver of gladness that you only get if you are being solemn and still.”

—C.S. Lewis - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

I just love that quote. C.S. Lewis was a man whose joy was deep and profound and ultimately stemmed from his love of God. Mindless entertainment and constant noise cannot bring about that “certain deep shiver of gladness”.  Being solemn does not contrast to having a good time, it is a means to having a good time. The normal “fun” in our society is so dominant because when people stop moving and seriously consider their reality, they have no joy to be found. But when you know Jesus, you can be serious and be extremely joyful, and you can be silly and playful in a much fuller way. True Christianity that is filled with the Holy Spirit bears fruit of joy that far surpasses what the deadened life can know.

And Lucy felt that deep shiver of gladness that you only get if you are being solemn and still.

C.S. Lewis - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

“In English,” Professor Austin said, “a double negative forms a positive. However, in some languages, such as Russian, a double negative remains a negative. But there isn’t a single language, not one, in which a double positive can express a negative.”

A voice from the back of the room piped up, “Yeah, right.”

Linguistics joke « The Diacritics (via katydidkatydidnt)

It’s a lot more vulnerable to step into a big identity without seeing results of it first. I’m learning that’s what faith is.

Kendra

Killing Calvinism: How to Destroy a Perfectly Good Theology from the Inside

“As “insiders” of the Calvinist resurgence, there are at least eight ways we can mess everything up.

-By loving calvinism as an end in itself

-By becoming theologians instead of disciples

-By loving God’s sovereignty more than God himself

-By losing an urgency in evangelism -By refusing to learn from non-Calvinists

-By tidying up the Bible’s “loose ends”

-By being a bunch of arrogant know-it-alls

-By scoffing at the emotional hang-ups others have with Calvinism.”

(amazon.com/Killing_Calvinism)

I have seen this way to much in my own life. I’m sorry. In fact, although I have of recent accepted all of the 5 points, I still struggle for it all to mesh in my mind. What has helped: reading the Bible behind the theology.

God satisfies. God frees. God guides. God is good.

The world cannot compete with God. Makes sense, but when you start living by faith seeking His will instead of wandering in the world, life is just different.

LinkedIn, eHarmony, and Last.fm hacked

If you have an account with any of these, your password was likely stolen. This just happened recently. I had a LinkedIn one, btw.

In my Amazon account I found this in my cart. I am already suspicious that they hackers have been at work…

Hunger and Thirst, and you will be filled.

I am so ready to be filled.

A Canadian Weekend

Main point: God is good.

I pretty spur of the moment drove up to Falcon Lake to spend Saturday with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Went out on a boat, had a great time together, and pretty much just picked up right where we left off years ago. But truly, it is our shared blood that keeps us so tight knit, namely, the blood of Christ.

Then I took another 90 minute drive to Winnipeg to spend the night with Isaiah, the last member of the family who couldn’t be at the cabin. This was also a spur of the moment decision (I didn’t plan to stay overnight in Canada). It was really fantastic to just be with him. As we talked about many things, my favorite quote from him goes something like this: “I think I am beginning to understand what you mean. When you talk about God’s sovereignty, you’re basically talking about His goodness.” I thought for a moment, and said, “That sounds about right, eh.” (Nah, I didn’t say that, but I wish I did. I nodded my head in agreement, or something like that.) I think that is an awesome way to think about it. It isn’t complete, because sovereignty=goodness, but not enough people think of God’s sovereignty in that context. When we consider all the attributes of God, like his love and his sovereignty, we must always do so in a context of his perfect goodness and holiness.

Thank you God for my family. (btw, Winnipeg is extremely confusing when it is just wet enough to get the windshield covered and the wipers don’t work well, so everything is blurry and half the signs are in French. So confusing.)

Psalm 27:4-5 ESV

"One thing have I asked of the LORD,

that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD

and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will lift me high upon a rock.”

A foundation of trusting in God to be our rock and salvation, ought to cause us to seek the dwelling, gazing, and inquiring in his temple.

Revolution in World Missions by K.P. Yohannan

Picked up the book and couldn’t set it down for 8 chapters, and then only to renew some Gospel efforts.

Small town life. Different

mikeclevenger:

Are we going to die with prayers in our journals or living out the will and voice of the Sovereign One?

both!

You only live once?

False: You have a very long duration of consecutive moments that are considered living. Rather, there will be an instantaneous moment of death, thus you only die once.

But, I have to say, “False!” to this secular, yet logical, statement I just made. For the point is, you have but one life on earth, and in some sense then, you only live once here on this earth. Note the prepositional phrases to distinguish that in fact there is a life after this one, though only for some. For some, this life is the closest they will get to living, and that instantaneous death will lead to an eternity of death and not life.

Let us not forget this reality that is all to easily forgotten. Let us live keeping in mind what lies ahead.

God supplies energy when I get 3.5 hours of sleep. Two nights in a row.

Might go for a 3rd night.

Sadness

Those who I love not believing in what I love. God, my first love, how shall I proceed?

There is a large part of me that never wants to always be a Mennonite.

I love my brethren. Mennonites have such a huge commitment to community and to obedience. So so good.

and they can sing too!

The Hermeneutics of Obedience

"the prerequisites of understanding [scripture] are seen to lie in the attitude of the one who comes to the Scriptures. Very briefly this attitude must be marked by obedience . . . , a willingness to be instructed both by the Spirit and by the brethren and a personal application in seeing the truths as they apply to everyday life. . . . Wrongdoing . . . blinds people so that they do not understand" (Poettcker, 1966, p. 115).

Shout Mennonite Names

Link: Shout Mennonite Names

What a great guy!

"Writing for adults often means just increasing the swearing – but find an alternative to swearing and you’ve probably got a better line."  With reference to shows he wrote in the 90s and 00s that were more sexual in nature: "You could say they were adult. Or maybe they were more childish than what I’m writing now." - Steven Moffat 

 Writer of Dr. Who and Sherlock

My reaction to Open Theism

My response to Open Theism is based upon its proposition that: God is not timeless, but rather God is ‘passible’ or ‘moved’.

Does God change in time? God is “changing in relation to us” (Openness of God), but rather “I the LORD do not change.“ (Malachi 3:6), and “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever“ (Hebrews 13:8). The Open Theism statement has God changing, but rather it is the relation that changes with regard to us, based on our sin nature. The relation changes, not God. (Seems finicky, but it is important!) 

But what about God’s emotive responses? Open Theism reacts to a misunderstanding, thinking that God being unchanging and impassible requires God to be without passions or emotions. Rather, ”God is always active, always dynamic, always relational. … He cannot change because he cannot possibly be any more loving, or any more just, or any more good. God cares for us, but it is not a care subject to spasms or fluctuations of intensity. His kindness is not capable of being diminished or augmented” (DeYoung). 

So we impact him and his emotions? “God… lets what we do impact him” (Openness of God). No, God cannot be moved, “Emotions do no not just happen to him, such that he is forced to act in a certain way in order to make himself happier or change his mood from bad to good. God is completely free” (DeYoung).  He DOES feel differently toward different things, but he is the unchanging God, always righteous, good, happy, just loving, etc. He cannot be affected, nor suffer. This is why Jesus became a man, so that he could share in the suffering, thus being the perfect sacrifice and a merciful high priest (Hebrews 2).    

From what I understand, science supports this. Time cannot exist apart from matter, and God is not made of matter, thus He is without time, and cannot change, since change requires a succession of states within time. I do not hold to this argument as my foundation, but it makes sense to me.

The Sovereignty of God

After having spent so much time working through it, I have come to the point where it is now an underlying doctrine that fuels everything else. It required looking at things from an outside of time perspective, and settling on the paradox of omnipotence and a will. Now I can rest in God’s grace, knowing that he has begun it all, and will sustain me through it all. I can move forward in faith of all the future graces he has prepared, of which I have yet to experience.

Future Grace Seminar!

Loving scripture!

"Studying theology does not move us beyond our starting point; it merely helps us to understand that starting point better."

"I start by confessing with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in my heart that God raised him from the dead, and I never actually go any further. All my theology, all my study, is simply reflection on what lies behind that. Thus, I never move beyond praise, never leave behind the beauty of adoration of the living God; I simply learn more and more about the deep foundations upon which that praise and worship rest, which all believers share from the most brilliant to the most humble. …

Studying theology does not move us beyond our starting point; it merely helps us to understand that starting point better.”

-The Importance of Not studying Theology, Carl Trueman

I asked a professor how he would respond when somebody says, “Well, it doesn’t really matter since it isn’t a salvation issue, right?” He walked slowly up to my desk with Bible in hand and said, “Tear out anything that you don’t think is a salvation issue.” Scripture is our highest authority. We cannot take it lightly.

I am so confused! To baptize or not to baptize (infants)!

Praise the LORD!

My computer fan is working again! After much labor and just enough prayer!

Coming Soon: my naive synthesis on dating

The Need to Get Real

My new question: “What has been holding you back (spiritually)?”.

It has been really direct at helping me get deeper and more real with people. Two people within the same day mentioned them asking that to somebody and God really using it to open up a good conversation. I am not trying to show it off as some new toy, but if you really love somebody and want to get below the surface, consider a question like this. I want this semester to be learning how to have true Gospel Fellowship, not sufficing with a simple, “How are you?” “Good”.

Learning a lesson from Martha and Mary.

Being a disciple of Christ means taking the time to just sit and listen to God. There will always be time to serve.

"…but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42 ESV)

APTAT - a tool to help you live

A – Admit my helplessness (John 15:5)
P – Pray for help (Psalm 50:15)
T – Trust a specific promise (Isaiah 66:2)
A – Act with confidence in God (Isaiah 55:11)
T – Thank God (I Thessalonians 5:18)

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/a-tool-to-help-you-live

Beauty in Substance and Form

I reblogged “Beastly and the Beast” awhile ago, but I had some thoughts how the issue of the beauty in substance and in form.

I thought of this in the thinking of music. Specifically of how they relate to each other. The substance (typically lyrics) and its form (all the music and such), both can be seen as beautiful, but the true beauty I would say is in its substance. Even if it is strictly without words, the substance would be the purpose and the intent of the piece. When the song is Amazing Grace, we don’t set it to a tune like Yankee Doodle or something. The form must match the substance. And God made us, and his creation is beautiful. So we are all ugly inside, but should our form match our substance in Christ? That could easily slip into some legalistic craze, but I think God kinda works it out for us. When we begin to see Christ in others, we consider them beautiful inside and out. Especially when that comes to spouses. They view each other as more and more beautiful over the years as their loves grows for one another.

The point is that beauty from the view of eyes is not evil, but, as knowing that this world is passing away and we are looking to the New Heavens and Earth, then it should be of incredibly lower importance compared to our beauty in Christ. Balance ‘form reflecting substance’ and “[we] who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:4b ESV). Read Romans 8 and that helps clarify things.

ironwingicarus:

     Beauty and the Beast is a wonderful story. A beautiful girl learns to see past herself to see the inner beauty of another. Very Poetic. Then she kisses him and he becomes a handsome prince. I think Shrek is more poetic, though. A beautiful woman falls in love with an Ogre, then turns into an ugly ogre. I mean our world is full of ugly people, loved by God. I think life might seem more beautiful if we raised our children on stories that would teach them that love creates beauty, not the other way around. Would you still like the story if it was Beastly and the other equally Beastly Beast? My thoughts on the damage done to beauty.

Read More

Reconcile ~ To reestablish a close relationship

I am riddled with everything, especially about myself. I started creating a list, but I didn’t know where to end. When I receive a true compliment I really value, I don’t know if I am truly humbled or not. I don’t know if I feel guilty or pleasure (or both?). I am often brought to just thanking God that he accomplished something out of this nothing. Maybe it is embarrassment. I was mentioned in a blog post that also contained a beautiful reflection on our God and also the beautiful truth of God’s grace flowing through Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross. I felt incredibly unworthy of being even mentioned in the same post. I think I uncovered two things (well if anything is truly uncovered, then it is only the working of the Holy Spirit).

Praise God when you see grace...

…even the small examples of it, which are present everywhere, after all, He is sovereign.

"When [Barnabas] came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose” (Acts 11:23 ESV)

Listen to this sermon if you really want to hear this scripture elaborated on. The context of the scripture is specifically that Barnabas saw God’s grace in seeing a church rise up and grow out of persecution. God took what was rough and made it into good.

My now friend Cole is so super great. I love seeing him love Jesus so much. I am excited to see what God is going to do with him. He reminded me how we used to not really like each other, which I nearly forgot about. Maybe he was more apathetic towards me early in high school, but for a reason completely unbeknownst to me, I had a dislike for him freshman and sophomore year. It wasn’t until either late sophomore or sometime in Junior year that I recognized this is a problem since he really didn’t seem to be too shabby. Got to know him, enjoyed him, and let my random dislike fade away. We had more of an acquaintanceship than anything, but in seeing his passion for Christ I saw him more and more like a brother. It is truly a small display of God’s grace, but it makes me glad. I think it is also a decent display of what the body of Christ should be more like. You see somebody who is passionate about Jesus and you should get thrilled and embrace your family member. Nothing else matters after all! It is His blood that matters, not the blood running in our veins. The blood that was spilled for the atonement of our sins. Praise my gracious God who gives me what I need even when I don’t know it.

Nothing like hiking with a solid brother.

Beastly and the Beast

ironwingicarus:

     Beauty and the Beast is a wonderful story. A beautiful girl learns to see past herself to see the inner beauty of another. Very Poetic. Then she kisses him and he becomes a handsome prince. I think Shrek is more poetic, though. A beautiful woman falls in love with an Ogre, then turns into an ugly ogre. I mean our world is full of ugly people, loved by God. I think life might seem more beautiful if we raised our children on stories that would teach them that love creates beauty, not the other way around. Would you still like the story if it was Beastly and the other equally Beastly Beast? My thoughts on the damage done to beauty.

Read More

… I’m writing to men. See, most girls don’t actually want to feel beautiful they want to feel lovable, but men can’t seem to love something that they don’t think is beautiful. Thus, beauty equals love. …