"The idea of going through life fearing both God and the consequences of sin seems unattractive in our age where people are so devoted to good feelings. Fear is considered a bad feeling, and therefore people think it is wrong....
Some might say that temporary joy through sin is better than a life of fear and trembling. I respond that this fear and trembling is the gateway to lasting and truly satisfying joy. When we fear the holiness of God and the consequences of sin, we avoid sin. But we do not turn from sin into a vacuum; we embrace life to the full (John10:10. We do not spend the rest of our days wishing that we could have had the experience of the sin we avoided. We are glad that we escaped that enslavement and are now "free indeed" (John 8:34-36). We are glad that God freed us to enjoy Him, for He is not only holy, He is also loving. The Bible says that God delights in us (Ps. 147:11) and that we delight in Him (Psalm 43:4). When we run away from sin, we run into the arms of one whom we love and delight in and who loves us and delights to give us joy. We say with David, "You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand." (Psalm 16:11).
Thus, the fear of displeasing GOd and of the consequences of sin does not take away the enjoyment of life. It is rather the gateway to true enjoyment."
~Ajith Fernando. Acts. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998. Pages 206-207
Living day to day trying to keep Christ as the focus
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
New Testament musings
"But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist,make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith... only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry."
~2 Timothy 4:5-7, 11~
"Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty."
~2 Peter 1:12-16~
I'm taking a New Testament class as a Mid-term (only we call them J-terms here. Other colleges call them "Intensives" which I think is the best description but no one asked me. Pity)
Speaking of NT2, I really should be studying for that test tomorrow... well, wanted to quick bang out some thoughts before I subjected myself to MORE studying.
I have a lot of friends overseas. This is a blessing and a curse, because for the most part they are all cool people with fun perspectives, wacky senses of humor, and bless my socks off, and are thousands of miles away so we can't keep in contact very often.
(this DOES have something to do with the above Bible verses, I promise you.)
I have one friend in particular who has repeatedly told, asked, commanded, exhorted, and requested that I keep in touch consistantly. However this friend is a person of few words so doesn't return the favor as much as I'd like. Which drives me nuts.
A lot of times I think of how unfair it is that God put all these neat people in my life only to assign us to different parts of the world shortly after.
I've met a lot of cool people here at college too, and the constant thought on my mind is that most of my best friends are called to be Missionaries also, but to completely different parts of the world. I'm going to one of the more 'civilized' and 'safe' cultures, to be honest.
One thing that is often on my mind is, how cool is it that there are so many young people excited about God gathered to this one place for training, encouragement, and new friendships. But it is going to be sad and hard when Graduation day comes and we all go our separate ways.
However, we have this wonderful thing called Email, and Facebook, international-phone cards, the loverly accomadation of Skype, etc.
Back in the 'olden days' of the early church, they didn't have any of that.
A lot of times it's easy for me to think of the 'founding fathers of the faith' to be Saintly men who were above normal emotion and who got it perfect (until they didn't, at which time they got a rebuke from Jesus or had a council about it, straightened everything out, and then went back to being perfect) BUT the passages that I put above show that they were men with deep feelings also. It struck me today as we went over these verses how peaceful they talked about their approaching death. A subject that comes up for us going into Missions a lot is persecution and martyrdom. The other Majors think we're a little wacky amd(whatever the name is for those who like to inflict pain upon themselves).
I personally don't like pain. I try to avoid it at all costs. There's more than one reason why I don't have any tatoos.
The writings of the New Testament, especially in Acts, gives a different paradigm on suffering and pain.
"And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name." Acts 6:41
The picture shown us in Acts 2 is so awesome.
"And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daiily such as should be saved."
Acts 2:44-47
Now don't get the wrong idea, I don't believe in Communism. ;-)
But I love how they made sure they all had ENOUGH.
Our society is one of "more more, it's all about me, what MORE can I aim for?"
I have high ambitions but they aren't for MORE. It's for ENOUGH to do what I have been called, which is to go to the 'Least of these' and the 'forgotten' to show Christ's love to them in tangible ways.
So lessons I've been learning through the last week; honor in pain and shame, God's provision for ENOUGH, counting the blessings that He has given, and...
now I have to go study for the test tomorrow on all of this.
*sigh*
My apologies if this email embodies my random global nature. But as I said, this was a MUSING, not a sermon. ;-)Hope it made sense.
~Princess Ouch~
~2 Timothy 4:5-7, 11~
"Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty."
~2 Peter 1:12-16~
I'm taking a New Testament class as a Mid-term (only we call them J-terms here. Other colleges call them "Intensives" which I think is the best description but no one asked me. Pity)
Speaking of NT2, I really should be studying for that test tomorrow... well, wanted to quick bang out some thoughts before I subjected myself to MORE studying.
I have a lot of friends overseas. This is a blessing and a curse, because for the most part they are all cool people with fun perspectives, wacky senses of humor, and bless my socks off, and are thousands of miles away so we can't keep in contact very often.
(this DOES have something to do with the above Bible verses, I promise you.)
I have one friend in particular who has repeatedly told, asked, commanded, exhorted, and requested that I keep in touch consistantly. However this friend is a person of few words so doesn't return the favor as much as I'd like. Which drives me nuts.
A lot of times I think of how unfair it is that God put all these neat people in my life only to assign us to different parts of the world shortly after.
I've met a lot of cool people here at college too, and the constant thought on my mind is that most of my best friends are called to be Missionaries also, but to completely different parts of the world. I'm going to one of the more 'civilized' and 'safe' cultures, to be honest.
One thing that is often on my mind is, how cool is it that there are so many young people excited about God gathered to this one place for training, encouragement, and new friendships. But it is going to be sad and hard when Graduation day comes and we all go our separate ways.
However, we have this wonderful thing called Email, and Facebook, international-phone cards, the loverly accomadation of Skype, etc.
Back in the 'olden days' of the early church, they didn't have any of that.
A lot of times it's easy for me to think of the 'founding fathers of the faith' to be Saintly men who were above normal emotion and who got it perfect (until they didn't, at which time they got a rebuke from Jesus or had a council about it, straightened everything out, and then went back to being perfect) BUT the passages that I put above show that they were men with deep feelings also. It struck me today as we went over these verses how peaceful they talked about their approaching death. A subject that comes up for us going into Missions a lot is persecution and martyrdom. The other Majors think we're a little wacky amd(whatever the name is for those who like to inflict pain upon themselves).
I personally don't like pain. I try to avoid it at all costs. There's more than one reason why I don't have any tatoos.
The writings of the New Testament, especially in Acts, gives a different paradigm on suffering and pain.
"And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name." Acts 6:41
The picture shown us in Acts 2 is so awesome.
"And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daiily such as should be saved."
Acts 2:44-47
Now don't get the wrong idea, I don't believe in Communism. ;-)
But I love how they made sure they all had ENOUGH.
Our society is one of "more more, it's all about me, what MORE can I aim for?"
I have high ambitions but they aren't for MORE. It's for ENOUGH to do what I have been called, which is to go to the 'Least of these' and the 'forgotten' to show Christ's love to them in tangible ways.
So lessons I've been learning through the last week; honor in pain and shame, God's provision for ENOUGH, counting the blessings that He has given, and...
now I have to go study for the test tomorrow on all of this.
*sigh*
My apologies if this email embodies my random global nature. But as I said, this was a MUSING, not a sermon. ;-)Hope it made sense.
~Princess Ouch~
Monday, December 1, 2008
Paradigm towards matrimony
A friend sent me this, and I thought it was a very interesting perspective / approach. I thought it kind of funny in light of some conversations I've been having recently with several different people. Hope you enjoy. :-)
Finding a wife the Romanian wayThe Convention of Hungarian Baptist Churches comprises approximately 250 churches, mainly in the northern region of Transylvania. These churches experienced revival during the 1960s and consequently they are strong spiritually if not materially, with some village churches having 200-300 members.
Pal Borzasi is a young man in his mid-20s, who is in his final year at the Hungarian Baptist Seminary in Cluj-Napoca. Pal spent a year in England in 1996-97 studying at the European Missionary Fellowship's School of Evangelism at Welwyn.
Pal got married in the summer to Anna Kiraly. What is unusual about that? When it comes to Christian courtship and marriage, there is a great difference between Romania and Britain.
The marriage prayer list
Marriage in the Baptist churches in Romania is NOT the culmination of a series of broken relationships. This unbiblical approach is unknown to Romanian Christians. In Romania, young men and women do not normally date or form romantic attachments of any kind before marriage. How then do they find suitable marriage partners?
When a Christian young man wants to get married in Romania, he does not tell anyone of his intention, but sets himself to pray for the Lord's guidance to the right young woman. Often, as in the case of Pal, he may have a list of women whom he would consider possible candidates for marriage. This then forms his prayer list which will be used over the next months. He will trust the Lord to direct him by overruling providence to the woman who will be his choice.
Anna Kiraly
Throughout this initial phase, the young woman knows nothing about this process; in fact, for young Christian women to make known their romantic interest in any young man is forbidden and seen as very worldly. If she does have a liking for any man, then she must leave it with the Lord and wait upon his will. 'But how will you ever find a husband if you are not actively looking for one?' someone asked Anna Kiraly last Christmas. Her reply was: 'I am not looking for a husband. The Lord knows who is best for me and he will bring that husband to me if I wait for his timing and his choice.' To Western ears, sadly, this sounds very strange but perhaps it shows how far from the Lord's ways we have strayed.
When the man is sure that the woman in mind is the wife of his and the Lord's choosing, then - and only then - will he privately approach her and make known to her his thinking. Following this, she has up to three months to pray about the proposed marriage. During this time, the matter is kept secret from all others so that should she refuse him, no disgrace is brought to them or the name of the Lord's people. If she refuses his offer, then no one need ever know about it, and the whole process begins again. So how did Paul and Anna get together?
Last Christmas, Anna, who is studying at EMF, came to stay with us as a family for the holidays. Pal, who was over here for the Carey Ministers' Conference in early January, visited us at Ramsey with his ulterior motive, of which she was blissfully unaware, of proposing marriage to Anna. On December 29, Pal made known his feelings to Anna, who was so shocked she could not eat properly for the next few days but spent the time praying and thinking about whether to accept Pal's proposal. She later confided that in her heart of hearts, Pal had been the one young man that she had wanted as a husband but had considered him to be beyond her expectations. He, on the other hand, confessed that he loved Anna so much that he could not imagine what he would do if she refused him. On New Year's Eve, she accepted his invitation to become his wife. After watching the television pictures of the millennium fireworks on the River Thames, they made the joyous announcement to myself and my wife.
The lessons?
What can we as Christians learn about courtship and marriage from the Hungarian Baptists of Romania?
First, dating as we know it in this country, especially among teenagers, is unbiblical and runs the great risk of encouraging emotional attachments which are too close and very painful to break, and which can spoil fellowship between God's people. It is often the case that men and women have left their churches for another because it is too painful to stay because of the presence of a former sweetheart who is perhaps married to someone else. Socialising and sharing fellowship in groups is a much better way for young men and women to get to know each other, without getting too close, until they are ready to consider marriage. Surely it is not the will of the Lord, who 'hates divorce' (Malachi 2.16), to see his children hurting one another in this deepest of all human relationships, the love of one man for one woman? Note that in Bible times, engagement was seen by the Jews as tantamount to marriage (Matt. 1.18-19).
Secondly, for a Christian man to say to a woman: 'I love you', it must be understood as a proposal of marriage from him. He is saying in effect: 'I love you before the Lord and I want you to be my wife.' A profession of love must always be a proposal of marriage and any man therefore who is not in a position to get married or who is not willing to marry the subject of his affections should restrain himself. Christian young men and women, if you are too young to get married, you are too young to have romantic partners!
Thirdly, as believers, we trust the Lord to overrule in all our circumstances for our good and for his glory. Therefore we should trust him to overrule in this most important of matters, namely, whom we are to marry. If we pray and look to him, then he will direct us to the right person at the right time. So until we are ready to get married, we should certainly be aware of potential wives and husbands but wait upon the Lord's timing and choice. We should not make and break relationships, trampling upon each other's hearts until we find the right person; this is not the way of Christ for his people: 'I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the does of the field, do not stir up love nor awaken love until it pleases.' (Song of Songs 2.7).
Mike Daly, the writer of this article, is the pastor of Great Whyte Baptist Church, Ramsey, Cambridgeshire. Reprinted with permission from Evangelical Magazine of Wales, August/ September 2000.
P.S. Pal and Anna were married in Romania on July 15.
© Evangelicals Now - December 2000
Finding a wife the Romanian wayThe Convention of Hungarian Baptist Churches comprises approximately 250 churches, mainly in the northern region of Transylvania. These churches experienced revival during the 1960s and consequently they are strong spiritually if not materially, with some village churches having 200-300 members.
Pal Borzasi is a young man in his mid-20s, who is in his final year at the Hungarian Baptist Seminary in Cluj-Napoca. Pal spent a year in England in 1996-97 studying at the European Missionary Fellowship's School of Evangelism at Welwyn.
Pal got married in the summer to Anna Kiraly. What is unusual about that? When it comes to Christian courtship and marriage, there is a great difference between Romania and Britain.
The marriage prayer list
Marriage in the Baptist churches in Romania is NOT the culmination of a series of broken relationships. This unbiblical approach is unknown to Romanian Christians. In Romania, young men and women do not normally date or form romantic attachments of any kind before marriage. How then do they find suitable marriage partners?
When a Christian young man wants to get married in Romania, he does not tell anyone of his intention, but sets himself to pray for the Lord's guidance to the right young woman. Often, as in the case of Pal, he may have a list of women whom he would consider possible candidates for marriage. This then forms his prayer list which will be used over the next months. He will trust the Lord to direct him by overruling providence to the woman who will be his choice.
Anna Kiraly
Throughout this initial phase, the young woman knows nothing about this process; in fact, for young Christian women to make known their romantic interest in any young man is forbidden and seen as very worldly. If she does have a liking for any man, then she must leave it with the Lord and wait upon his will. 'But how will you ever find a husband if you are not actively looking for one?' someone asked Anna Kiraly last Christmas. Her reply was: 'I am not looking for a husband. The Lord knows who is best for me and he will bring that husband to me if I wait for his timing and his choice.' To Western ears, sadly, this sounds very strange but perhaps it shows how far from the Lord's ways we have strayed.
When the man is sure that the woman in mind is the wife of his and the Lord's choosing, then - and only then - will he privately approach her and make known to her his thinking. Following this, she has up to three months to pray about the proposed marriage. During this time, the matter is kept secret from all others so that should she refuse him, no disgrace is brought to them or the name of the Lord's people. If she refuses his offer, then no one need ever know about it, and the whole process begins again. So how did Paul and Anna get together?
Last Christmas, Anna, who is studying at EMF, came to stay with us as a family for the holidays. Pal, who was over here for the Carey Ministers' Conference in early January, visited us at Ramsey with his ulterior motive, of which she was blissfully unaware, of proposing marriage to Anna. On December 29, Pal made known his feelings to Anna, who was so shocked she could not eat properly for the next few days but spent the time praying and thinking about whether to accept Pal's proposal. She later confided that in her heart of hearts, Pal had been the one young man that she had wanted as a husband but had considered him to be beyond her expectations. He, on the other hand, confessed that he loved Anna so much that he could not imagine what he would do if she refused him. On New Year's Eve, she accepted his invitation to become his wife. After watching the television pictures of the millennium fireworks on the River Thames, they made the joyous announcement to myself and my wife.
The lessons?
What can we as Christians learn about courtship and marriage from the Hungarian Baptists of Romania?
First, dating as we know it in this country, especially among teenagers, is unbiblical and runs the great risk of encouraging emotional attachments which are too close and very painful to break, and which can spoil fellowship between God's people. It is often the case that men and women have left their churches for another because it is too painful to stay because of the presence of a former sweetheart who is perhaps married to someone else. Socialising and sharing fellowship in groups is a much better way for young men and women to get to know each other, without getting too close, until they are ready to consider marriage. Surely it is not the will of the Lord, who 'hates divorce' (Malachi 2.16), to see his children hurting one another in this deepest of all human relationships, the love of one man for one woman? Note that in Bible times, engagement was seen by the Jews as tantamount to marriage (Matt. 1.18-19).
Secondly, for a Christian man to say to a woman: 'I love you', it must be understood as a proposal of marriage from him. He is saying in effect: 'I love you before the Lord and I want you to be my wife.' A profession of love must always be a proposal of marriage and any man therefore who is not in a position to get married or who is not willing to marry the subject of his affections should restrain himself. Christian young men and women, if you are too young to get married, you are too young to have romantic partners!
Thirdly, as believers, we trust the Lord to overrule in all our circumstances for our good and for his glory. Therefore we should trust him to overrule in this most important of matters, namely, whom we are to marry. If we pray and look to him, then he will direct us to the right person at the right time. So until we are ready to get married, we should certainly be aware of potential wives and husbands but wait upon the Lord's timing and choice. We should not make and break relationships, trampling upon each other's hearts until we find the right person; this is not the way of Christ for his people: 'I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the does of the field, do not stir up love nor awaken love until it pleases.' (Song of Songs 2.7).
Mike Daly, the writer of this article, is the pastor of Great Whyte Baptist Church, Ramsey, Cambridgeshire. Reprinted with permission from Evangelical Magazine of Wales, August/ September 2000.
P.S. Pal and Anna were married in Romania on July 15.
© Evangelicals Now - December 2000
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