Saturday, December 09, 2006

I'm red-faced

I am embarrassed. I spellchecked the last post, but obviously didn't do it right. In reading through it I found many spelling errors. I was so proud :0 when I saw "no spelling errors found", and trusted the program, obviously erroneously. I'm sure the problem was user related, not in the program. So I humbly appologise to you for the mistakes and promise to figure out what I did wrong before the next post.

To Love God above all else

John Piper is a favorite writer of mine and he has a new book. It's "What Jesus Demans from the World".
He starts with the basics, being born again, repentence, coming to and believing in Christ, abiding (a great chapter) and builds from there on what it means to follow Christ.
I just read his chapter on Loving God with all your hear, soul, mind and strength, and it is great.

It seems appropriate to come across this chapter as I am reading a book about Rees Howell, an man who lived from the late 1800's to the mid 1900's and had an amazing relationship with God. He truly sought to die to self and sacrificed greatly for his Lord, and was greatly blessed for his sacrifice. This book has caused much controversy I'm told, by people who read it and think that they hear God and start pushing their agenda's as being God's. they have obviously missed the heart of this man, he was used by God because of his great sacrifice to self. I'm not sure he had a corect view of the filling of the Spirit, but he did understand submitting to the Spirit in a way I don't see today. I think the main thing I have carried away from this book is to continue to evailuate whether I am seeking to please and obey God more than I am seeking to please and obey man. Am I more concerned about what others think of me than of what God thinks of me?
Am I truly seeking what God wants, or am I just paying lip service to that and seeking what I want?

Some of the statements from Piper are very good and give much to think on.

"If love does not come from knowing God, there is no point in calling it love for God. there may be some vague attraction in our heart or some unfocused gratitude in our souls, but if they do not arise from knowing God, they are not love for God."

the opposite of love is hate, despise. "These are strong emotional words. They imply that the positvie counterpart is also a strong emotion. So loving God is a strong inward emotion, not a mere outward action."

In relation to loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength:

"... the point is that every faculty and capasicy that we have sould display at every moment that God is our supreme treasure."

If one of our human capacities finds pleasuer in anyone or anything in such a way that this pleasure is not also a delight in God, then we have not loved God with all that capacity"

This quote sums up Piper's goal for life for himself and all Believers:

"In all my rejoicing over all the good things that God has made, God himself is the heart of my joy, the gladness of my joy, In all my rejoicing in everything, there is a central rejoicing in God."

and finally he quotes Augustine:

"He loves thee too little who loves anything together with Thee, which he loves not for thy sake."

I had to read this a few times, but have found it a good statement to think and meditate on. What does it mean to love for his sake, or not for his sake? What do I love apart from God? Where do I find joy apart from God?