The Knowledge of the Holy

I've been doing a study through A.W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy at our local rescue mission.  One thing I've been struck with is that God is always the ultimate possessor of any and all good attributes.  He isn't just really big; he is infinite.  He isn't just loving; love finds its definition in him.  He isn't just holy; he can't stand even the smallest sin.

I realize this might not blow your mind, but right now (12:20 in the morning) it's blowing mine.  I can't even come close to the greatness of this God, but he still loves me.

Legalism and License

It’s basic Christian nature to go one of two ways on the issue of questionable things. The first holds that certain things are morally wrong because they aren’t necessarily a good idea.  The second recognizes that those same things aren’t morally wrong, but don’t recognize that doing them might not necessarily be a good idea.

This is why Paul slaps us in the face with 1 Corinthians 6:12.

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything.

Just because something isn’t inherently wrong doesn’t necessarily make it a good idea, and just because something isn’t a good idea doesn’t make it morally wrong.

A Call For A Return To Fundamentalism

At Hampton Park Baptist Church this past Sunday, J.D. Crowley preached on being a steward of the gospel.  He preached against churches that call themselves Fundamentalist, but instead are just separating from gospel preaching churches because of non-issues. 

You can download the sermon here, and I highly recommend doing so.

The Unsaved Giving Two Mites

I found this article this morning on the New York Times.  It tells the story of a family who sold their house and gave half the money to the poor.  Should we as Christians not be willing to do this and more?

Martin Luther King on His Funeral

"If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize, that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards, that's not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. I'd like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day, that martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try to feed the hungry. And I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hat Tip: Jenny Simmons

Idolatrous Worship of the Bible

The Armchair Anthropologist on the Book of Eli:

Eli and Carnegie, like the Pharisees, “search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life (John 5:39-40).” Like so many, the Bible is worshiped as an important piece of literature, but they fail to know the One to whom it testifies.

Read the rest here.

John 1: God's Rejection by His Own

John 1:10-13:

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God; children born not of natural descent nor of human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God.

Pretty much every time I hear this passage quoted it's about salvation, which is an excellent application.  Everyone who believes on Jesus will be adopted as one of God's own children. 

But the thing that struck me the last time I read this was verse 11.  "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him." The Messiah had been foretold for years.  Isaiah prophesied that he would come and heal the lame and make the blind see.  But when Jesus actually showed up on this earth, healing the lame and the blind, he was rejected by Israel.  The very people that knew he would be coming, that were even waiting for him to come, murdered him when he did come.  He came to his own, but they didn't receive him. 

I am God's own.  I've been bought with a price.  I am no longer mine.

How many times does God try to get my attention, only to have me completely ignore him?  How many sermons do I sit through without checking out my own heart?  How many times can I read the Bible through without it radically changing my life?

So today, this week, I pray that I will not be ignorant or blind.  But I pray that I will have my eyes open to receive whatever God has for me.