In Spirit of the Disciplines," Dallas Willard asks, "Why is it that we look upon our salvation as a moment that began our religious life instead of the daily life we receive from God?" pg. 29
Christ learned obedience and we must too. This implies it won't just happen, we have to be attentive and make choices to obey.
...we can become like Christ by doing one thing--by following Him in the overall style of life He chose for Himself. pg. IX
The secret of the easy yoke, then, is to learn from Christ how to live our total lives, how to invest all our time and our energies of mind and body as he did. pg. 9
...spiritual growth and vitality stem from what we actually do with our lives, from the habits we form, and from the character that results. pg. 21
So what am I doing to learn to live daily as He did?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
On Killing Sin
To effectively protect our inner sanctuary, we must not wait until sin has already begun to take over, but instead, learn to immediately and aggressively respond to every hint of temptation with what I like to call the “sudden death” technique.
Sudden Death
The only effective way to deal with temptation toward sin is to immediately and completely kill it, giving it absolutely no opportunity to take hold of our mind or heart in the first place.
…temptation quickly suffocates and dies the moment we refuse to give it life within us.
Sin must be cut off at the source. There always comes that crucial moment of decision—and that’s when we must choose whether to allow temptation to live or die. Pg. 134-5
Sudden Death
The only effective way to deal with temptation toward sin is to immediately and completely kill it, giving it absolutely no opportunity to take hold of our mind or heart in the first place.
…temptation quickly suffocates and dies the moment we refuse to give it life within us.
Sin must be cut off at the source. There always comes that crucial moment of decision—and that’s when we must choose whether to allow temptation to live or die. Pg. 134-5
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Feminine Mystique
I've read several things lately that give definitions of the feminine mystique from a Christian perspective, but this one is the best. It comes from the book Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy.
Feminine Mystique—the steady, unyielding strength and confidence that flows from knowing our Prince intimately and protecting our relationship with Him at all costs. Pg. 161
Some of her insights are:
We must learn to walk through our days with Him, not merely trying to represent Him. Pg. 206
To understand our Prince in His fullness, we must learn to meditate on His Word and make His Truth an inseparable part of who we are as we study it, carefully examine it on multiple levels, mull it over in our minds and hearts, diligently pray about it, and practically apply it to our lives. Pg. 214
Primary focus of life can be determined by the thoughts we have each night as we drift off to sleep. Pg. 203
Feminine Mystique—the steady, unyielding strength and confidence that flows from knowing our Prince intimately and protecting our relationship with Him at all costs. Pg. 161
Some of her insights are:
We must learn to walk through our days with Him, not merely trying to represent Him. Pg. 206
To understand our Prince in His fullness, we must learn to meditate on His Word and make His Truth an inseparable part of who we are as we study it, carefully examine it on multiple levels, mull it over in our minds and hearts, diligently pray about it, and practically apply it to our lives. Pg. 214
Primary focus of life can be determined by the thoughts we have each night as we drift off to sleep. Pg. 203
Sunday, June 14, 2009
God is in control:)
I found a wonderful book a few weeks ago called Whisper of His Grace by David L. McKenna, (you can get it on Amazon used books for .08 plus postage).
Not everyone loves Job as I do, but any that have struggled with questions and pain usually find their way to this book and find truth, encouragement, and comfort in our amazing God.
On page 36 of McKenna's book he says:
"Evil may appear to be having its day, but God sets the time and draws the boundaries."
"Whether in riches or poverty, sickness of health, calm of stress, comfort or persecution, it is absolutely essential to remember that we live under the protection of God and are never abandoned by the presence of God."
Not everyone loves Job as I do, but any that have struggled with questions and pain usually find their way to this book and find truth, encouragement, and comfort in our amazing God.
On page 36 of McKenna's book he says:
"Evil may appear to be having its day, but God sets the time and draws the boundaries."
"Whether in riches or poverty, sickness of health, calm of stress, comfort or persecution, it is absolutely essential to remember that we live under the protection of God and are never abandoned by the presence of God."
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Who am I following?
More from "the Bravehearted Gospel"
They call us Christians; and all that really means is that we are supposed to follow Christ.
The question is...are we? pg. 97
He goes on the say that the more beautiful and stunning we are to this world the more disagreeable we are in the eyes of Heaven,or, the more lovely we are to heaven, the more disagreeable we will be in the eyes of the world.
I wonder sometimes which set of eyes I am seeking to please.
They call us Christians; and all that really means is that we are supposed to follow Christ.
The question is...are we? pg. 97
He goes on the say that the more beautiful and stunning we are to this world the more disagreeable we are in the eyes of Heaven,or, the more lovely we are to heaven, the more disagreeable we will be in the eyes of the world.
I wonder sometimes which set of eyes I am seeking to please.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Braveheartedness
I am being challenged by Eric Ludy in his book "The Bravehearted Gospel."
On page 100 he says,
"For instance, the gospel has been reduced to a message merely about forgiveness while the idea of regeneration and transformation seems almost totally forgotten.
Grace has become simple a gigantic hug from God and is no longer the muscle of God brought to earth to aid the weakness of men and to give them strength.
Faith has morphed into this bizarre idea of "honest doubt" and has lost its essence of rock-solid unwavering confidence in the ability of God to perform that which He promises.
He speaks of our need to remember that we are called to live for Christ and to should be fighting for the truth of the Gospel. I was reminded of a little friend of mine, Sydney, one day while wearing one of her many princess dresses, she picked up her play sword and said "I'm a princess fighter!" I think this is who we, well at least the female of us, should remember that we are.
On page 100 he says,
"For instance, the gospel has been reduced to a message merely about forgiveness while the idea of regeneration and transformation seems almost totally forgotten.
Grace has become simple a gigantic hug from God and is no longer the muscle of God brought to earth to aid the weakness of men and to give them strength.
Faith has morphed into this bizarre idea of "honest doubt" and has lost its essence of rock-solid unwavering confidence in the ability of God to perform that which He promises.
He speaks of our need to remember that we are called to live for Christ and to should be fighting for the truth of the Gospel. I was reminded of a little friend of mine, Sydney, one day while wearing one of her many princess dresses, she picked up her play sword and said "I'm a princess fighter!" I think this is who we, well at least the female of us, should remember that we are.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Grace
I picked up a new book at the library recently, not sure what I'd think of it, and found I really enjoyed it.
It's called "Finding Grace, a Memoir" by Donna VanLiere.
She was molested before she started Kindergarten and never told anyone until she married. She couldn't understand why God didn't protect her and felt shame over it. The story is of her discovery of God's grace through her life and realizing that we can't earn and don't deserve His grace, it's a free gift from Him.
Some things I found thought provoking or encouraging were:
"God sometimes does His work with gentle drizzle, not storms." Spoken by John Newton in the film Amazing Grace.
God was busy carving out and arranging things in my life but I was too frustrated to detect any of His work. pg. 69
I was exhausted from roaming the desert ... and each day I opened the Bible with a heated attitude that said, "Show me something." pg. 91
A quote on the same page from Charles Dickens said, "Nothing is discovered without God's intention and assistance."
On page 92 she realizes that she was looking for the "Cliff Notes" version of Faith and that just won't work. She talked about Jacob's wrestling match and gives a very descriptive image of what it must have been like. I'd never visualized it quite so realistically before.
The emptiness says: Come to me. I'll never betray you. I know you by name. I know the plans I have for you. I ignored that restlessness, and unconvinced that God really did have a purpose for me, I continued to drive my own plan. After all, isn't that easier and more manageable than discerning the mystery of the soul? pg. 115
At some point we throw up our hands but then what? It seems that we either continue to fight and wrestle, or we relinquish the plan as we've always known it in order to discover the Creator's dream for our life. When we admit our helplessness in driving our own dream and acknowledge God's divine power and goodness, we open the door to grace. pg. 120
"The great act of faith is when man decides that he is not God." Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
In the disappointment and frustration of infertility I was beginning to comprehend a God that shattered my childish perceptions. pg. 135
...I wonder why we deny ourselves the grace of God? For the first time in years I began to doubt my thirty-plus years of self-made reasoning. pg. 142
It's called "Finding Grace, a Memoir" by Donna VanLiere.
She was molested before she started Kindergarten and never told anyone until she married. She couldn't understand why God didn't protect her and felt shame over it. The story is of her discovery of God's grace through her life and realizing that we can't earn and don't deserve His grace, it's a free gift from Him.
Some things I found thought provoking or encouraging were:
"God sometimes does His work with gentle drizzle, not storms." Spoken by John Newton in the film Amazing Grace.
God was busy carving out and arranging things in my life but I was too frustrated to detect any of His work. pg. 69
I was exhausted from roaming the desert ... and each day I opened the Bible with a heated attitude that said, "Show me something." pg. 91
A quote on the same page from Charles Dickens said, "Nothing is discovered without God's intention and assistance."
On page 92 she realizes that she was looking for the "Cliff Notes" version of Faith and that just won't work. She talked about Jacob's wrestling match and gives a very descriptive image of what it must have been like. I'd never visualized it quite so realistically before.
The emptiness says: Come to me. I'll never betray you. I know you by name. I know the plans I have for you. I ignored that restlessness, and unconvinced that God really did have a purpose for me, I continued to drive my own plan. After all, isn't that easier and more manageable than discerning the mystery of the soul? pg. 115
At some point we throw up our hands but then what? It seems that we either continue to fight and wrestle, or we relinquish the plan as we've always known it in order to discover the Creator's dream for our life. When we admit our helplessness in driving our own dream and acknowledge God's divine power and goodness, we open the door to grace. pg. 120
"The great act of faith is when man decides that he is not God." Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
In the disappointment and frustration of infertility I was beginning to comprehend a God that shattered my childish perceptions. pg. 135
...I wonder why we deny ourselves the grace of God? For the first time in years I began to doubt my thirty-plus years of self-made reasoning. pg. 142
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