Author's intent

While reading the Preface to Farrar's The Life of Christ I ran across this gem:

I have never wholly lost sight of the fact that I had to work with no higher object than that thousands, who have even fewer opportunities than myself, might be the better enabled to read that one Book, beside which even the best and profoundest treatises are nothing better than poor and stammering fragments of imperfect commentary.

If only every author took such a view.

John Stott's trinitarian morning prayer

Apparently it was John Stott's practice to begin every morning at 5am, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and praying this prayer:

"Good morning, heavenly Father; good morning, Lord Jesus; good morning, Holy Spirit. Heavenly Father, I worship you as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Lord Jesus, I worship you, Savior and Lord of the world. Holy Spirit, I worship you, Sanctifier of the people of God. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Heavenly Father, I pray that I may live this day in your presence and please you more and more. Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you. Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, three persons in one God, have mercy upon me. Amen."

You can find the reference and an article on John Stott for his 80th birthday (10 years ago) here.

Can you intentionally grow in humility?

Yesterday I ran across this list of five suggestions to grow in humility. They are from former (continuing?) Archbishop of Cantebury Michael Ramsey of the Anglican Church.

1. Thank God for anything and everything. Do it often and continually. Thankfulness is a soil which pride can not easily grow in.
2. Confess your sins to God. Criticize yourself in God's presence.
3. Be ready to accept humiliations. They can hurt terribly but they will help you be humble.
4. Do not worry about status. The only status that matters is your relationship and proximity to God.
5. Use your sense of humor. Laugh about things and the absurdity of life. Be able to be serious but not solemn or you run the risk of taking yourself seriously.

I think that's a pretty good list. Humility is a slippery virtue, you can't really pursue it directly. I also just started reading Brian Sander's Elusive: The Pursuit of Jesus and Humility. More thoughts on that latter.

I have always thought of humility as a accurate perception of who we are. It doesn't mean we pretend we're bad at things in which we're actually good. But when we perceive ourselves in relation to God we can not but see our smallness.

idolatry

I was going to sit down and write a post about idolatry. (a subject I wish I wasn't an expert in)

But then I saw that I just wrote a post a couple of months ago about idolatry.

Jesus is Hard

This is from a former Southeast InterVarsity staffworker who passed away this year. It struck home when I read it today...

---

Excerpt from Lessons, Prayers & Scripture on the Faith Journey by Pete Hammond.

Jesus is Hard

I seek comfort – He invites me to join in his suffering.
I like acceptance and approval – He calls me to be counter-cultural.
I assume my right to safety – He calls me to personal risk.
I desire financial security – He encourages generosity.
I cherish privacy – He invites me into community.
I yearn for personal significance – he made himself “of no reputation.”
I hide for fear of being judged and rejected – He knows me fully and loves me.
I really like my pillow – He had no place to lay his head.
I want to prolong a healthy life – He calls me to die daily.
I hide in macho male bravado – He weeps for others.
I love good regular meals – He feeds others.
I ponder doctrine – He practices love.
I crave success – He wants me to oppose evil at all costs.
I seek out important people – He befriends the despised and rejected.

Jesus is hard to enjoy,
But what I find deep within me is much worse.

“Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus,
Who though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God as something to be explited,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness, and being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.”
(Paul to the Philippians in Philippians 2:5-9)

Lord, help me make choices in my journey that lead
to becoming like Jesus;
by breaking the hold of sin and evil within me,
resisting my appetite for comfort, popularity and worldly success,
so I can find real joy in Jesus!

Transfer of Power

Whatever else any one may think or feel about the recent election, here's something that makes me proud. Quoting a post from Real Clear Politics:

When (George) Washington stepped aside after two terms, his old adversary King George III is supposed to have said, "If he does that, sir, he will be the greatest man in the world."

I am proud that there is a history of over 200 years and 40 peaceful transfers of power between presidents. Let's not take that for granted.

-thanks to Brian at Pixelated Pad and Pen for the link and quote.

seeking...?

I've been studying the "Sermon on the Mount" and leaning heavily on John Stott's book/commentary of it this summer. Stott is possibly my favorite teacher of scripture and today I read something that flipped my old thoughts upside-down.

I was reading his treatment of Matthew 6:31-34 regarding seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness. Stott writes:

God's kingdom exists only where Jesus Christ is consciously acknowledged. To be in his kingdom is synonymous with enjoying his salvation. Only the born again have seen and entered the kingdom. And to seek it first is to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

But God's 'righteousness' is (arguably, at least) a wider concept than God's 'kingdom'. It includes that individual and social righteousness to which reference has been made earlier in the Sermon. And God, because he is himself a righteous God, desires righteousness in every human community, not just in every Christian community.

He goes on to say that to 'seek his kingdom and his righteousness' may be said to embrace our Christian evangelistic and social responsibilities. Aside from being a great scriptural summary of those two twin values, this summary may not be earth shattering to you. But what surprised me was that I tend to think of those two terms flipped around with 'kingdom' incorporating social responsibilities and 'righteousness' coming from saving faith through evangelism. But now I am seeing it like Stott and realizing once again that I need to use and think about words more carefully.

Any thoughts?

giving and equality

I was reading a booklet called The Grace of Giving (reprinted as this) and the following principle really struck me:

Principle #5: Christian giving contributes to equality (2 Corinthians 8:13-15)

"Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: 'He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.'

Stott writes:
"...the same dilemma that confronts missionaries. Should they 'go native', becoming in all things like the nationals they work among? Or should they continue to enjoy western affluence without any modification of their lifestyle? Probably neither. The Willowbank Report on 'Gospel and Culture' suggests that they should rather develop a standard of living 'which finds it natural to exchange hospitality with others on a basis of reciprocity, without embarrassment' [Making Christ Known (Eerdmans/Paternoster, 1996), p 82]

In other words, if we are embarrassed either to visit other people in their home, or to invite them into ours because of the disparity of our economic lifestyles, something is wrong; the inequality is too great, for it has broken fellowship. There needs to be a measure of equalization in one or the other direction, or in both. And Christian giving contributes to this equality."

I couldn't agree more.

SharpTop and my wandering mind

tomorrow morning my family and I leave for SharpTop Cove, a YoungLife camp in north Georgia. They will be there one week with me and then I will stay on for a second week. I can't wait to get there. It's always a great time and the chance to pour into students 24/7 makes it one of my favorite parts of the year.

I've been thinking about (though probably not very intelligibly)
1. the nature of repenting versus merely reforming
2. the Holy Spirit and what exactly it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit
3. the worship of Money "or the god Mammon" as John White would say. Here's a quote from the Pathway of Holiness:

"You worship whomever you trust. Most of us trust Money more than we trust God. It hit me when God once said to me, 'When I ask you to give money to someone and tell you how much to give, do not consider how much you will have left, I will take care of you! You are to trust me not the money you have left in your account!'"

wow, that kicked me in the pants.

Quick-fix Christianity

Against my better judgment I am going to post a quote here from a book I am reading by none other than John White. I say "against my better judgment" because when I read quotes online without their context I almost always feel like they must have meant more to the person quoting them than to me. But I read this today and it so completely rings true to my observations and maybe even experience that I want to share it. And if anyone wants to discuss it with me in this context or another I'd love to. Here it is:

"Our day is a day of superficial Christianity. To become a Christian you are supposed to agree to certain correct beliefs. Gradually you learn the Christian jargon and gain confidence socializing in the Christian community. This is the quick-fix form of Christianity." - John White, The Pathway of Holiness (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996) p.65

Pride

** in tribute to a truly great man **

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

In the name of love!
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love!
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love!
What more in the name of love...