Sprinklings of Grace

Withstanding Temptation

sprinklingsofgrace — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:15:31 +0000

Temptations of late have all centered on my thought life, particularly the thoughts I entertain about life’s situations. I suppose it all boils down to, Shall I love God and others or shall I love myself? Shall I indulge frustration or shall I keep my mind steadfast so that God will keep me in perfect peace?

I read in Psalm 48 this morning, We have thought on your steadfast love, O God…. Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments! Thinking on God’s steadfast love is the way to deal with temptations of the mind. I don’t mean force myself think on God’s love at the moment of temptation, but rather, think on God’s love all the time so as to make it a habit. No doubt, a Christ-governed mind will withstand temptation better than a mind trained at self-indulgence.

Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments! Hold to God’s word. It speaks to my situation. If I shipwreck my faith through life-long neglect of God’s word and a fostering of my own selfishness, I will not be able to tell the next generation that this is God.

Trying to Hear God’s Voice

sprinklingsofgrace — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 18:43:19 +0000

It is so hard to hear God’s voice through frustration. It’s even harder to listen to him through frustration accompanied by anger, bitterness and rage! But God still speaks. Quiet myself and trust the Holy Spirit to remind me of Scripture that applies to difficult situations.

The right thing is rarely the convenient thing and hardly ever the easy thing. I wish it was. Lord, help us to do what is right in your sight.

Advent is Coming!

sprinklingsofgrace — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:44:11 +0000

This coming Sunday marks the beginning of Advent. It is the beginning of the Christian year and if I am to make a new year’s resolution, this Sunday is the time to do so. Eight years ago we celebrated advent for the first time. Is “celebrate” the right word for a penitential season? Perhaps “observe” would be a better word except that it feels more like a celebration than a fast. The nightly lighting of the weekly candles accompanied by Scripture reading has the effect of centering the whole Christmas season on Christ. No longer does December lead up to the excitement of a single day in which we have to experience all the joy of the season. In other words, Advent relieves the stress of Christmas. For four entire weeks we remember Christ’s first advent, realize his present advent, and look forward to his next advent when he returns again in glory to judge the living and the dead. Advent gives Christmas its proper place and perspective. By December 25th we are spiritually prepared to celebrate the birth of the Savior.

I feel a childlike anticipation of Sunday. I can’t wait to arrive at church and find that the colors have changed to purple. Nor can I wait to set up the Advent wreath and gather my family in the living room to light the first candle, read the Word of God, and listen to my husband teach the children from the passages we just read. If I have any new year’s resolution to make it will be to continue with the devotional pracice of Advent that the enrichment we experience during those four weeks would continue throughout the year.

The Benefits of Fundamentalism

sprinklingsofgrace — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 04:40:11 +0000

I was reminded today of the lifelong benefits I received as a fundamentalist. Now an Anglican, I have to remember that I am forever indebted to those who invested in my religious upbringing and instilled in me a respect for the Bible. I think sometimes that I am still a fundamentalist at heart. As I grow older I miss the culture of the church I grew up in, a Swedish Evangelical Covenant church where everybody had been there for three generations and seemed to have a black leather Bible. Years ago black leather was probably the only cover available and to this day is my cover of choice. It was here that I was challenged to read through the Bible continually, a practice I have maintained to the present day with no regret.

The religious training of my childhood instilled in me the attitude that the Scriptures are to be taken seriously. The more I know and understand them, the more I realize how inconvenient this is. All the same, I cannot regret this heritage.

I am thankful that though I have gone through many changes and much growth, I was able to bring the fundamentals with me into a much different church. My children are receiving the heritage of a different tradition, yet I hope to instill in them the same key things from my childhood that shaped me in a positive way. My heart’s desire is that they grow-up to be lovers of God and His Word.

God’s Glory

sprinklingsofgrace — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 03:06:16 +0000

“For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” Exodus 33:16-18 (ESV)

Wow. What more could we want? God knows us by name and he has shown us favor in Christ. Believers are set apart from the whole world in that God is with us. Jesus promised he would always be with us to even to the end of the age. Do we realize the great privilege we have been given? And further more, we see God’s glory as we have fellowship with him, as we watch him work around us, and as he transforms us into the image of Christ; and this, from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18). Do we realize what we’ve been given? I don’t think I fully comprehend it. We’ve been given more than Moses ever asked for. He saw the glory of God and had to be shielded, but we, in glory, are being transformed into the likeness of the Son of God! And it’s only going to get better! Not only are we becoming more like Jesus all the time but also John tells us that when he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. One day, when we see Christ fully, the transformation will be complete. Could we have a better blessing? Could we have a greater encouragement to live a holy life?

Godliness with Contentment

sprinklingsofgrace — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:26:12 +0000

1 Timothy 6:6 keeps coming to mind saying, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” My mind lately has been filled with thoughts of ordering an Allan’s ESV for a mere 85 pounds which translates into something like $170 (before shipping from Scotland). The thing is absolutely beautiful and it’s hard not to imagine how much nicer a goatskin cover would be to handle than the stiff “genuine” leather of the Bible I already own which, by the way, has not softened over six years of use any more than cardboard would.

But wait! Next year Cambridge is coming out with a wide margin ESV which in goatskin would cost a mere $225 (assuming product and price will be the same as the NASB edition they currently publish). So maybe I should go with the Cambridge rather than the Allan’s. It’s a tough choice to make.

I wonder, but don’t really wish to know, how much time I’ve devoted to fixating on these Bible questions. Now, for the actual content of the Bible, “There is great gain in godliness with contentment.” Shifting my obsession from the external cover to the internal word is the only way I will actually be able to live out what the Word says. And isn’t that really the point of it all? What if my life were as beautiful as an Allan’s Highland goatskin ESV with the semi-yapp cover, gold-edged pages, and two ribbon markers yet did not possess the inward beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is pleasing to God? If His Word isn’t written on my heart, what’s life going to be about anyway?

And so I conclude that I need to set these questions aside, continue to save up, and when I have the money I need, revisit the question. In the meantime, I must obsess only over the message between the covers.

Scripture Memory…(again)

sprinklingsofgrace — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:17:37 +0000

I’m encouraged because memorizing scripture is going well. My brain might even get stronger! I’ve reclaimed the Topical Memory System and have made progress in James. I’ve also found a friend to memorize James which is fun because adventures are always better with someone else.

God is good and I know that as long as I’m consistent he’ll give me all the help I need. In the past when I’ve made feeble attempts at rediscovering memorization I was quiet about it as I am about most things. But this time I actually told people about the commitment I have made and I feel now that I really have to do this thing. Living in the open has more benefits than living in private. Doesn’t it? Maybe that’s one reason that as Christians we have to confess Christ as Lord, be publicly baptized, confirmed, married, etc. We’re told to confess our sins one to another. When we live in the open things seem to “stick” better. Commitments are stronger. God knew what he was doing when he gave us the church.

The Bathroom

sprinklingsofgrace — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:32:09 +0000

I recently read that wonderful little book titled, “My Heart, Christ’s Home” and began thinking about the various rooms in my heart. One room that is not discussed in this book, however, is the bathroom. Of course, the bathroom is where cleansing (confession) happens, but also daily maintenance such as grooming. Because we’re human there are certain basic disciplines we must spend time on daily simply to maintain ourselves. The same is true spiritually. Daily we must pray. Daily we must be in the Word.

I have re-committed myself to the long-lost but very healthy discipline of scripture memory. Though I once excelled at this I became indolent and lost my treasure: the storehouse of scripture locked away in my mind, ready to be recalled at need. I am now working to reclaim my lost treasure, and with it, I may reclaim my mind!

I feel hopeful that soon I will again be able to weild the Spirit’s Sword skillfully and without hesitation and I regain quick the recall that comes from constant review and use.

The Curtain

sprinklingsofgrace — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 20:33:26 +0000

The curtain is rent. Though my soul be beset by difficulties, entrance into the holy place is granted me, so go. My sins are atoned for and I am made acceptable to God by the merits of Christ. Nobody can bar me from his presence because what he opens, no one can shut. Thank God the price has been paid, and the free gift been given.

Selfishness

sprinklingsofgrace — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 18:49:32 +0000

I notice that the selfishness of others is more bothersome to me than my own selfishness. My own selfishness feels like something I have a right to, while the selfishness of others usually requires of me some measure of selflessness. Of course, the expectation of others that I would be selfless sometimes results in irritation on my part. I have plans to bowl later in the day with a group of friends and, though the event is hours away, I already feel irritation rising up in me in anticipation of a certain person who may be there dominating the conversation with stories about herself. I know this is childish. The problem is not what I perceive to be another person’s self-absorption, the problem is that my mind is fixating on the sins of another. Additionally, I view this person’s self-promotion as great pride when it may more accurately be viewed as deep insecurity.

I know God’s will for me. It is not to be critical of others, but to take every thought captive. If anything is honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, or praiseworthy, I am to think on these things. I have to live by the Word of God. The result will be that the God of peace will be with me (Phil. 4:8-9). Shall I forsake all this for the sake of indulging in petty criticisms? I think not.