Radical Amputation

Matthew 5:29
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thown into hell.

Hearing the demands of Jesus is an incredibly sobering experience. When I ask the Holy Spirit to guide me towards truth and I don’t just gloss over the Word, I truly am confronted with radical and hard commands, among them is the command to self-amputation (not literal). I don’t think I’ve come across any commentator that has suggested that Jesus was referring to self-mutilation, but the extremeness of the language does suggest a comparably painful experience that I must initiate (I am the one doing the tearing and the cutting… 5:29-30). However, what does it mean to tear out my eye or to cut off my hand? And how will I find the strength to be able to do that?)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s remarks on the Sermon on the Mount has been incredibly helpful here, saying that Christ’s commands are not only a command, but a promise. This statement echoed John Calvin, who said that in every one of the commands of Christ is hidden the promise of Christ. What he meant was that, hidden in Christ’s command, “thou shalt not commit adultery,” was the promise of Christ, “when you are Mine, you will be so utterly filled that you will not desire to commit adultery.”

In othewords, Christ will so abundantly fill me that I will no longer desire fornication, pornography or other forms of sexual immorality. I will desire Him so much that I will not trifle with these things. I will discard these members of my old self willingly because I no longer have need for them, because Christ is my satisfier.

This understanding of Christ’s call to radical amputation is a great relief for me, knowing that I am not only going to do this willingly, but also by a strength that is not my own. For Jesus has promised me the Holy Spirit, who instead of being a power that I possess, is a Person who possesses me, thus empowering me and leading me toward Christ, who is my prize. And as I grow in my love for Jesus Christ, I will desire to run faster toward Him, thus moving me to amputate any and every member of my body that hinders me.

Now, this isn’t to say that amputation should only be done when I have strong feelings for Christ, and that when I do not desire Him, I am excused of my duty. Although the command is, because of Christ, now a promise to me, it is no less a command. Therefore, I am to strive towards obedience even when I do not have strong desires to obey. Rather than succomb to my desires, I am to plead to Christ to fill me with His Spirit so that my hardened heart will be able to desire Him afresh and that I will be able to love and glorify Christ as the Holy Spirit loves and desires to glorify Christ.

True repentance then, is when we live our lives in a way that demonstrates our love for Christ because we are rooted in the promises of Christ, and are possessed by the Holy Spirit, who empowers and leads us to Christ.

Suffering Well

Father, teach me to suffer well. Do not allow me to waste my suffering by ignoring or hiding the pain, but allow me to be honest about my pain, as well as allow me to honestly praise You in my suffering. Allow me to be able to praise You in my suffering, and not to “lay all of that stuff aside.” Rather, teach me to come to the cross in suffering, and for me to proclaim that You are my God and You have not and will never forsake me.

Father, may I not waste my suffering by hiding my pain in the vain attempt to lie to myself and to others, but rather, allow me to be honest. Father, allow me to fix my eyes on Jesus so that instead of saying, “Why me?,” I can say, “Why You?” Allow me to see the joy in suffering, so that I can say, “Why not me?” Father, prepare me for the day when I will suffer, either through age, or through sickness or loss. Allow me to see Your goodness and your unfailing love.

Luke 10:20

“Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Incredibly relevant to me. Just preached poorly yesterday and I felt quite down about it. However, this is my reminder that my worth isn’t found in my ability to preach (because this is given to me by God), but in how He sees me and what He accomplished for me (knowing that He died for me is the grounds for which I am to see myself… and others).

Ephesians 5:1-2

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a gragrant offering and sacrafice to God

We are called to imitate Christ as beloved children… In other words, since we are beloved children, we are to act this way. We are to imitate Jesus because this is what pleases Him. And we aim to please Him beacuse we are called His child… we are given the supreme gift of being a child of God, and are therefore guaranteed an inheritance in Him. Not only that, but we are promised that whatever we are commanded to do, we are being commanded by a Father who desires our best… and this IS our best. There is no other way around it. We obey Got because there is nothing bette than obeying God. The Gospel is not only that we get eternal life after we die, but that we get eternal life, or life with the Father, now, here on earth. We are saved into a relationship with Christ, we are saved into a relationship with the Father. We are saved into relatioship with each other. We get to experience a life of purpose and meaning, where our labours will last beyond our lifetime and into eternity.

Application:

We are not immitators because we do not see the benefits of childhood… of being called children of God. The weightiness and the joy that comes from being a child of God is something that we have not experienced and therefore, we balk at.

Genesis 19:16

Thi sis yet another reason why I love the doctrine of election… Lot, being told of the impending doom of Sodom, lingers in the place that he called home… in the place that he had grown found of an dused to and comfortable in. He hesitated at God’s command for him to flee wickedness because his heart had grown fond of the world he lived in. But in an act of divine mercy, God snatched him by the hand and took them out of the city. Lot was spared, not because he loved God more, but becuase God was merciful and loved him.

 

Thank you Jesus fo rthe doctrine of predestination.

Ecclesiastes 2

Defining vanity…

Pleasure and self-indulgence are vanity because, while there is pleasure in the task, Solomon realized that there is nothing to be gained long-term. And so he says that these activities are pointless because his activities have no lasting impact on the earth, and therefore, worth is defined as earthly legacy (2:10-11)

Wisdom is also folly because both the wise and the fool will perish, and neither will be rememebered (2:16). Once again, worth/point/purpose is found defined as earthly legacy

Toil is vanity because everything you work for will be handed over to someone, and they may not be as wise as you, and will ruin all of our labour. The work of the wise is vexing because he knows that someday his labours will be handed over to one who is less wise who will spoil his efforts. Point/worth/purpose is found in the lasting greatness of the work, and since there is no such thing as lasting greatness (we will all fade into the background), toil is meaningless.

In all three cases in the chapter, Solomon points to pleasures, wisdom and toil as being vain because none of it will be remembered after he is gone. And so, I think here the whole idea is that he is working under the framework that things are only worthwhile if they will be remembered… but… who can be remembered forever? No one… because no one lives forever… under the sun.

Two thoughts…

1. God remembers: God is our ultimate Judge who will remember every one of our actions, and will reward/condemn based on how we have acted. Every action that we partake in have eternal onsequences, at the very least, for us, and is, therefore, not meaningless

2. People will remember: We are eternal souls who will be reminded of every action, and they will have all of eternity to regret, praise, hate, mourn over their actions and the actions of those around them. For those who were evangelized to, they will be forever indebted to the one who evangelized them, for they are the product/outcome of their labour (the Holy Spirit also has a part to play… hehe, but another topic for another day). Those who will enter the kingdom of God… those whom we evangelized, mentored, loved, and did life with and walked with… they will be our lasting treasure, because we will be a source of our eternal joy in heaven. To put it another way, because I had the opportunity to evangelize my good friend Derek, and to walk with and encourage him, he is a part of the great treasure that I will receive in heaven, because every time I walk by him in heaven, I will be reminded of the fact that I was used by God to help Derek come home.

Application:

How do we define what is meaningful? Are we looking at storing up for ourselves a legacy on earth? Or a legacy with God? If so, how does that change the way I look at pleasure? How can I praise God in my pleasures… how can I, or can I, enjoy earthly pleasures and comforts that are meaningful (that God will remember and look upon and say, “it is good.”). I think so. As redeemed people, we have redeemed desires and have the capacity to redeem activities. For example, food is a common grace, but the unbeliever is
1. unaware that it is the grace of God that allows him to eat
2. unaware that it is the grace of God that allows him to enjoy
3. since 1 and 2 have occurred, his stomach becomes his god, and he will seek to satisfy his god at all costs (resulting in gluttony, self-indulgence, idolatry…)

However, the believer is:
1. aware that it is the grace of God that allows him to eat
2. aware that it is the grace of God that allows him to enjoy
3. since 1 and 2 are true, he gives thanks to God for the ability to enjoy pleasures, and acknowledges that the pleasure and joy that comes from eating is a foretaste of the pleasures and the satisfaction and the fullness that is to come in heaven.

Most activities can be redeemed in this way. For me, I need to look to redeem the activities, and to praise God and contemplate heaven more. I need to pray for the Spirit to strengthen me so that I will be able to do all things through Him who gives me strength (Phil 4:13).

Practically, there are activites that are harder to redeem, and even if they are redeemable (gaming, TV, internet surfing), they require moderation. Even as I write, I am thinking of watching the Mentalist, when I know I ought to be praying and reworking my sermon. And so, I pray Father, that you would lavish the Spirit upon me so that I will be strengthened in my inner beig, so that Christ can dwell in my heart… that I may see/experience afresh and know the reality of the beauty, majesty and loveliness of Jesus Christ, and so that I can know how wide and long and high and deep is His love, and to know His love that surpasses all undersatnding, so that I will be filled with the fullness of Christ, and not television, or games… or wahtever.

Amen.

1 Thessalonians

4:1-6 – Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honour, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

At first I was only going to journal on the first 3 verses, but as I was typing out the passage, I realized taht I need to comment, internalize verses 4-6 as well… and so

that you do so more and more – i’m not to reach a level of godliness and be content… but i’m to strive to be more and more like Jesus. application: i should be growing in prayer… nad not simply be content with the fact that i’m praying. i should be growing in my joy, and not simply be content that i love God a little (or more than some…). let my goal be Christ, and not to be better than others.

for this is the will of God, your sanctification –  God’s revealed will for me is to be holy as He is holy. And the revealed things of God are made known to me so that I do all of the law (Deut 29:29)

control my own body – Self control is a fruit of the Spirit, and since the fruit of the Spirit is our holiness… self control is an aspect of holiness… in that our flesh is no longer controlled by sin, but reined in by the law, which acts as a bridle and directs us towards the person and character of God (self control = grace-driven effort to conform ourselves to the law for the purpose of our own joy!). application. I need more existential knowledge of the fact that obedience to the law is for my better. I need to better obey the law, that I may know that God is the giver of the best gifts… that means that i need to abstain from sin, and to strive for perfect obedience… b/c there is greater joy there.

the Lord is an avenger – in the end, we will answer to God, who is our Judge. application… my life is not my own… i am not free to do as i please. my actions not only have eternal penalties, but immediate consequencs, all of which are given to us by our Lord, who rules, reigns and judges over all.

1 Thess 1

verse 3 – remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ

Work of faith – the work that we do we do because of our faith in Jesus Christ… our lives are to be grounded in this reality and we are to be spurred on by the reality of the corss

Labour of Love – we love God and we love the neighbour. As Martin Luther would say, since through faith we are abounding in riches, we will spare no effort to work for the benefit of our neighbour. For by faith we have love and joy in the Lord, and through love we have a willing, free, and joyful heart that serves the neighbour willingly.

Steadfastness of Hope – our hope is in heaven. The hope of seeing people in heaven. Te hope of a future of riches and glory… the hope of standing before the Father and hearing Him say, “well done my child. well done.”

This is how I want to live… this is how I want to be remmebered. This is the legacy that I would like to not only work towards for NTCBC, but that the rest of the kids would be spoken of i nthis manner. And in verse 6, Paul says that they became this way becasue they imitated him. And so… I need to work this way… openly but honestly…. that they would imitate and become like Jesus

Colossians 4:17

And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received from the Lord.”

My ministry is from Jesus to honour Jesus and to edify/build up His people.

nd I think th ebasic exhortation here is to not let anything get in the way of me fulfilling my ministry.

Application

I need to read more. Pray more. Write more. Squander less time. WThe more free tiem I have the more time I squander. Father, teach me to be disciplined during my times of rest. I pray that I would fix my eyes on the prize, and that I would fulfill the ministry that you have blessed me with. I pray that I would consider it a blessing… that I would work as if I am working for you. Amen

i know a lot of it doesn’t make sense

but this was something i wrote on jun 16th after i had just come back from dealing with a situation with one of my youth and his dad. there are tons of mistakes… and even i can’t make out what i’m saying in spots… but i just wanted to put this here as a reminder for me… a reminder of the call and the burden that i know that i’ve received from God

…

Right now, I’m just completely crushed by the weight of the call that has been given to me. As I survey the task at hand… i see.. so many hurting poeple… so many people who are broken… so many people who are needy, in one way or another. There are forces/people/circumstances that are continuously pulling people away from Jesus and continuously promoting a subtle self-destruction… And we’re just timidly and passively allowing these things to happen around us I wan tto do something about it. I want to b used by God But I’m one man… one man that has a bruden/vision of something greater than this. I want to fight. I want to fight these forces. I’m going to fight. And I’m going to do it with the hell out of these forces/circumstances/people with the love of Christ. But, I am one person. AnI’m surveying the upcoming battle, and its going to be massive… And so, I’m here to plea for help. I’m here to beg for likeminded men and women who see the needs and the sateo fChristianendom, and wan tto do something about it. This is a call to arms To arm ourselves with the love of Christ, with the burden of Christ. With the armour of God. With the resolve of Christ. To work and live in a way that will cshine love into our younger generation, into the hurting in our church.