Focus on the beauty of Jesus. Never tire of speaking about, and to, Jesus. As you pray, people will be attracted to the fragrance.
- Kirk Bartha
Beauty and Fragrance
Clairvaux Manifesto
I wanted to share something a bit different today. My good friend and teacher Kirk Bartha had the opportunity to be on TV today and share about his book. I first met Kirk when he traveled to Newfoundland back in 2005 and I've had the privilege of hearing him speak several times since then. He has probably had the biggest spiritual impact on me of any person I've ever known, other than the Lord Himself. I had the honor of attending his book launch celebration at Victory Church in St. John's and I'd encourage you all to check out the book. I trust it will be as much of a blessing to you as it was to me.
Here is a link to Kirk speaking on TV. It's long and the hosts are a bit goofy, but Kirk used the opportunity to share his heart for God.
Get a copy of "Clairvaux Manifesto" at Chapters
Here is a link to Kirk speaking on TV. It's long and the hosts are a bit goofy, but Kirk used the opportunity to share his heart for God.
Get a copy of "Clairvaux Manifesto" at Chapters
Better Than Neutral
A mentality that really bothers me, whether in the Church or in the world, is that goodness is determined by what you don't do. The idea that "if you don't smoke, don't drink, don't watch this show or hang out with those people", then you are somehow made good. What bothers me about this is that the absence of all those things could quite possibly (and often does) result in a person who is still just as inconsequential as one who indulges in all of the above activities. To take an extreme example, a person in a coma would (by the above definition) be the perfect Christian. They wouldn't lie, swear, steal, drink or do anything considered inappropriate.
Call me crazy, but I think God has bigger plans for His people than this. I'm not saying that we should enjoy or encourage inappropriate behavior, because scripture calls us to a pure life. My point is that if a life is not filled with good things to replace the evil we abstain from, is God at all impressed with us?
We could compare it to eating cardboard. Cardboard has zero fat and zero cholesterol. In fact, we wouldn't even get any calories from it since humans don't have an enzyme capable of breaking it down. But no nutritionist in the world would recommend somebody eat cardboard. It lacks the nutrients we need to survive. Somebody who lived entirely on cardboard would die from malnutrition.
I am terrified of living as though I were cardboard. I could be like food claiming to have no unhealthy fats or cholesterol (sin and impurity), but where are the nutrients? Where are the good deeds that magnify that love of God overflowing from one's life? I may do no harm, but if I do no good either, I render myself useless.
When I look at the greatest warriors of God in the Bible—people like David or Paul—I don't see someone who is flawless. They weren't people who had spotless lives who were perfectly abstained from any sin. They messed up—sometimes horribly. Yet they offered their lives so fully to God and the glory of His Name that they were able to make an impact on the world that we still feel today. Despite their mistakes.
Again, I'm not implying that sin is okay or that we should shrug off the things we struggle with. I've just been thinking lately that perhaps the better method for overcoming sin isn't to focus on being neutral (stopping badness) but to actively pursue God and doing everything in our power to glorify Him. I am horrified at the idea of coming to the end of my life, having tried my best to keep myself from sin, only to have to explain to my King that all I have to show for my life was that I watched good wholesome TV and had clean fun on the weekends. Shouldn't God's people do more than that?
Call me crazy, but I think God has bigger plans for His people than this. I'm not saying that we should enjoy or encourage inappropriate behavior, because scripture calls us to a pure life. My point is that if a life is not filled with good things to replace the evil we abstain from, is God at all impressed with us?
We could compare it to eating cardboard. Cardboard has zero fat and zero cholesterol. In fact, we wouldn't even get any calories from it since humans don't have an enzyme capable of breaking it down. But no nutritionist in the world would recommend somebody eat cardboard. It lacks the nutrients we need to survive. Somebody who lived entirely on cardboard would die from malnutrition.
I am terrified of living as though I were cardboard. I could be like food claiming to have no unhealthy fats or cholesterol (sin and impurity), but where are the nutrients? Where are the good deeds that magnify that love of God overflowing from one's life? I may do no harm, but if I do no good either, I render myself useless.
When I look at the greatest warriors of God in the Bible—people like David or Paul—I don't see someone who is flawless. They weren't people who had spotless lives who were perfectly abstained from any sin. They messed up—sometimes horribly. Yet they offered their lives so fully to God and the glory of His Name that they were able to make an impact on the world that we still feel today. Despite their mistakes.
Again, I'm not implying that sin is okay or that we should shrug off the things we struggle with. I've just been thinking lately that perhaps the better method for overcoming sin isn't to focus on being neutral (stopping badness) but to actively pursue God and doing everything in our power to glorify Him. I am horrified at the idea of coming to the end of my life, having tried my best to keep myself from sin, only to have to explain to my King that all I have to show for my life was that I watched good wholesome TV and had clean fun on the weekends. Shouldn't God's people do more than that?
The Lord's Supper
There's nothing more important for God's children to remember than the cross. It's horrifying and disturbing, yet it's through that death and destruction where we find our life and restoration. Don't wince and turn away, but tremble in awe at the blood that washes us clean.
Here's the word from an old old old hymn I was reading tonight.
"Bread of the world, in mercy broken,
Wine of the soul, in mercy shed,
By whom the words of life were spoken,
And in whose death our sins are dead.
Look on the heart by sorrow broken,
Look on the tears by sinners shed;
And be Thy feast to us the token
That by Thy grace our souls are fed."
- Reginald Heber
Here's the word from an old old old hymn I was reading tonight.
"Bread of the world, in mercy broken,
Wine of the soul, in mercy shed,
By whom the words of life were spoken,
And in whose death our sins are dead.
Look on the heart by sorrow broken,
Look on the tears by sinners shed;
And be Thy feast to us the token
That by Thy grace our souls are fed."
- Reginald Heber
Refusing the Food
Daniel was refusing the king's meal because the food was was part of idol worship. Daniel's love of God was more powerful than his desire for good food and put his life in danger for the sake on staying committed to God.
LORD, give me the faith of Daniel to say "no" to the things that lead me away from you!
Embrace it
"If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes to pass in the world, then thank Him for breaking your heart."
— Oswald ChambersConsider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you endure trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
— James 1: 2-4
"It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn your decrees." - Psalm 119:71
Staying In His Love
Jude, one of the shortest books of the Bible, is also one of my favorites. He wrote to warn against false teachers who taught that after receiving Christ, they had a "license to sin", claiming that it was okay because they would be forgiven anyway.
I've found myself in this trap before, trying to rationalize my own sin by taking advantage of God's massive mercy. But Jude speaks truth, pointing out that by avoiding sin, even after being saved, we stay in God's love.
I've found myself in this trap before, trying to rationalize my own sin by taking advantage of God's massive mercy. But Jude speaks truth, pointing out that by avoiding sin, even after being saved, we stay in God's love.
Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. - Jude 21It's in this state of God's love that we wait for our eternal life, either when we leave by death or by Christ's return. We must constantly remember this truth and focus on God, knowing that keeping ourselves in His love is greater pleasure than anything this world could offer.
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