The truth about Angels and Demons

If we are going to see Angels and Demons or have friends going to see it, Westminster Theological Seminary has set up a helpful website, responding to questions that might come up.

http://www.truthaboutangelsanddemons.com/

HT: Justin Taylor

Pointing to the Fruit of Grace

"A few grapes will show that the plant is a vine, and not a thorn." Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed

I don't know about you, but there are times in life when I can be much more aware of failures than of victories. Falling to the same sin again, hurting someone with my words, looking at the end of our day and seeing areas where I wasn't faithful.
Richard Sibbes wisely points out that God is faithful to point out where grace is at work in our lives, even when we are unaware.
One of the primary ways that He does this is through the care and encouragement of others. There may be days in our lives when we are more aware of our sin, the struggles and cares of life and in those moments we can have a hard time pointing out the fruit growing in our lives. And it is the sweet words of a friend, reminding us of God's grace that can be oh, so helpful in those moments.
When we are struggling, we may not be aware of the growth happening in our lives, areas where we are obeying and reflecting God. And the encouragement from a friend can point us to where God is working and bearing fruit in our lives, reminding us of His faithful work in us.

Lord, use me as your vessel in pointing out the fruit you are bearing by grace in the lives of those around me, because Lord knows I need that reminder too.

Inching Towards Agony

Paul Tripp's little devotional Whiter Than Snow [meditations on Psalm 51] continues to instruct and adjust my thinking when it comes to my sin. I could have quoted all of day 40, but I found this particularly insightful,

"Here's the thing we all need to remember: sin isn't an event; no, it's a progressive movement of the heart that results in disobedient behavior."

This past Sunday, we looked at what it meant to apply the gospel to daily life and the first instruction in doing this was that the gospel reminds us of our ongoing need. The gospel shows us our need for help because there are still these progressive movements in our hearts towards sin. The Bible calls this movement, making provisions for the flesh. As Paul says in Romans 13:14 "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." [ESV]

To see victory in our battles against sin, we need to be aware of the ongoing battle of making these provisions for sin. The casual glance, the subtle remark, the angry thought, the little worry. Small justifications, small concessions for sin that if left unchecked will lead towards the agonizing pain of a hardened heart. This hardened heart then, will run after sin and in so doing bring harm upon our lives as we live lives outside of God's loving design for us.

But thanks be to God that Romans 13:14 gives us the solution, the remedy, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ" We do this as we acknowledge our need for Jesus' help and trusting His power to help us see the subtle movements towards sin and rest in the strength to move towards Him and not agony.

Costly Treasure

"A holy despair in ourselves is the ground of true hope." Richard Sibbes

Reading Matthew 6:19-21 and this quote from Richard Sibbes today reminded me of how God's heart is that I find hope, help and joy in nothing other than Him.

This realization that is costly on two levels.

First, it forces me to come to grips with the fact that nothing in myself and my wants and dreams, my desires can bring true and lasting hope. This truth is costly [i.e. it costs me something, turning from what I want] and where this is revealed often is when I don't get those things and this shows me that my hope is being wrapped up in these pursuits.

The second level however, is to rejoice in the fact that as I come to the truth that the ground of my true hope is God, I realize in greater ways that He is the costliest treasure [i.e. the treasure of most worth] Nothing compares to knowing God, and being known by Him.

And so it is coming to the end of myself where I can find true hope and thus pursue eternal treasures.

Patient Listening

Reading through Ken Sande's the Peacemaker, I was exhorted about the value of waiting being a part of our listening in caring for others. As an application of James 1:19, I pray these instructions provide you with the same helpful and fruitful exhortation they provided me. It focuses on this idea of waiting as we listen, something we often aren't very good at, but if we can learn patience in this department, it will prove quiet fruitful.

"To improve your waiting ability, focus on four commom problems:

1. Try not to jump to premature conclusions. Even if you think you know where the other person is going with words, don't allow yourself to arrive there before he or she does. If you do, you may miss much of what is being said and read into words intentions that are not actually there.
2. Discipline yourself not to interrupt others while they are speaking. This is a basic application of Jesus' teaching to treat others as you want them to treat you. Even when someone says something you strongly disagree with, restrain yourself and keep listening until the other person has fully expressed his or her position. [This was sadly a problem for me earlier in marriage until a friend brought it to my attention. I am grateful for that insight today]
3. Learn to be comfortable with silence. If the other person pauses for a moment to think, resist the temptation to immediately fill the void with your words. Give the other person a while to resume, and if you have any doubt as to whether it's appropriate for you to speak, say something like, 'May I respond to that, or would you like to say something more?'
4. Do not offer solutions to every problem others bring to you. I learned this lesson the hard way. Sometimes Corlette would pour out her frustrations or concerns to me, and before she was finished I was telling her how to solve her problems. Afterward, I couldn't understand why she wasn't more grateful for all the 'help' I have her. It took me a while to realize that she often already knew the solution to a particular problem - what she wasnted most from me was understanding, compassion and tenderness ." [150-151]

I am mindful that in pride I use my one mouth a lot more than my two ears and through these insights can see how I can use the ears God has given me as more of a blessing in listening to others more patiently that I might care for them more effectively.

Getting to the Bottom of Sin

A helpful and humbling quote from Paul Tripp's book, Whiter that Snow on the root and beginning of our sin,

"The desire to be God rather than to serve God lies at the bottom of every sin that anyone has ever committed. Sin isn't first rooted in a philosophical debate of the appropriateness or healthiness of a certain ethic. No, sin is rooted in my unwillingness to find joy in living my life under the authority of, and for the glory of, Another. Sin is rooted in my desire to live for me. It's driven by my propensity to indulge my every feeling, satisfy my every desire, and meet my every need."

God, thank you for the cross that has paid for ever rebel thought and deed.

The Blessing of Counsel

Last week at church we heard from Jeremy Bell from Acts 20 and Paul's instructions to the Ephesians elders. From that message, we saw that the gospel liberates us from the prison of self to serve God seen most clearly in Paul's example.
One of the ways that we can continue to be imprisoned to self is by not bringing others into decision-making thinking our way is best and we don't need the help of others.
A couple of ladies from our Queens care group brought some great counsel on why this can be a struggle.

1. There is no accountability if we don't bring people in to our decisions. If I bring people into decision making then I am accountable for the choices I make.
   
2. There is a sacrifice of time necessary in bring other people into my decision making. It is easier to just step out and make choices and not ask others for advice.

I was really humbled by both of those answers, as I can look back on my life and the ways I have been selfish in these ways. I pray that these wise words help you in decision making in the days and weeks ahead as we see how the gospel provides us with the gift of brothers and sisters who can help us make wise choices so we can serve God more faithfully and fruitfully.