Both

HT: Tim Challies

Lay Your Head On This Pillow

HT: Tim Challies

Faith Defined

The Basics of Christianity by Paul Tripp:

If you had to define your faith with one sentence, what would your definition include?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines faith as a "strong belief or trust in someone or something." The Bible defines faith as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

Isn't it interesting how both of those definitions don't reference God in their initial description of what faith is or what faith does?

Now, ultimately, both of those sources end up associating faith with a belief in God. In its secondary definition, Merriam-Webster explains that faith is a "belief in the existence of God [or] strong religious feelings." Hebrews 11 goes on to reference God multiple times in the Bible's famous chapter on faith.

But here's the point I'm trying to make – every human being lives by faith, with or without God.

Christians believe, by faith, that there is a God and that eternity exists. Simultaneously, those who deny the existence of God and the reality of eternity do so by faith, too. Two totally contradicting messages, both derived from faith.

You may know atheists and agnostics, but you've never met a "faithless" person in your life. Every human being lives by a set of convictions and with a mentality of hope, despite a lack of factual and tangible evidence.

Regardless of religion profession, we all interpret what we see through the vehicle of the "unseen." It's impossible to exist in this life without faith of some capacity and variety.

THE BASICS OF CHRISTIANITY

If every person lives by faith, what makes the Christian unique? Here it is: Christians are different, not because they live by faith, but because of the object of their faith.

Naturally, the next question becomes: who is the object of the Christian faith? The answer, of course, is God. Christians live by faith in the existence of God. But what does that mean, and what does that look like?

With this Article, I'm going to try to define the basics of the Christian faith with one sentence. I’m going to leave Hebrews 11, the quintessential definition of Biblical faith, and use Scripture to interpret Scripture. My definition comes from Acts 17:22-31, when the Apostle Paul addresses the Areopagus.

So, fasten your seat belts - here's my sentence-long definition: true, biblical faith believes in the existence of God as Creator, Sovereign, and Savior, and results in a lifestyle of worshipful obedience, confident peace, and humble repentance.

Let me break down those six elements for you:

Creator / Worshipful Obedience

"The God who made the world and everything in it…" (v. 24)

Our world operates under a very simple organizational chart - God is Creator, and we are creatures. That means we belong to God, and whatever created things we've been given also belong to him. We don't get to define how life operates, because he designed life from the beginning!

True, biblical faith believes that God is Creator, so true, biblical faith never allows us to take life in our own hands. Faith won't allow us to treat people and possessions as if they belong to us. Faith won't allow us to believe we're smarter than God. True, biblical faith recognizes the organizational structure of the universe and allows us to obediently rest within God's wise boundaries as his creatures.

Heaven Taking Over

“We are not just ordinary. Nothing is just ordinary. ‘The whole earth is full of his glory.’ We keep trying to fill it with monuments to our own glory — kingdoms, businesses, hit songs, athletic victories, and other mechanisms of self-salvation. But the truth is better than all that. Created reality is a continuous explosion of the glory of God. And history is the drama of his grace awakening in us dead sinners eyes to see and taste to enjoy and courage to obey.

“Do you realize that it is God’s will to make this earth into an extension of his throne room in Heaven? Do you realize that it is God’s will for his kingdom of glory to come into your life and for his will to be done in you as it is done in Heaven? Heaven is expanding, spreading in your direction.

“That is the meaning of existence, if you will accept it and enter in.

“Heaven is taking over. Yield.”

– Ray Ortlund, Jr., Isaiah: God Saves Sinners (Preaching the Word Commentary: Crossway, 2005).

HT: Jared Wilson

In His Hands

To Understand the Times

Lord, Help Us Understand The Times 

High King of heaven,Lord of the years and sovereign over time and history,grant to us such an overpowering knowledge of who You arethat our trust in You may be unshakable.

Grant to us too a sufficient understandingof the signs of the times in which we livethat we may know howto serve Your purposes in our generationand more truly be Your people in our world today.

To that end, O Lord, revive us againand draw us closer to Yourself and to each other.

Where there is false contentment with our present condition,sow in us a holy restlessness.

Where there is discouragement,grant us fresh hearts.

Where there is despair,be our hope again.

For Your sakeempower us to be Your salt and light in the world,and thus Your force for the true human flourishing of Your shalom.In the name of Jesus, Amen.

- Os Guinness, Renaissance: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times

HT: Trevin Wax

Free Audio Book by J.I. Packer

Free Audiobook of the Month: J.I. Packer’s “Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God”

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer is the free audiobook of the month for May. God is sovereign, can Christians sit back and not bother to evangelize? Or does active evangelism imply that God is not really sovereign at all? What is an antinomy? This classic audiobook by J.I. Packer clarifies the sovereignty of God, the responsibility of man, and the heart of God to seek and save the lost. - See more at: http://christianaudio.com/free#sthash.C0Py6Nx6.dpuf

Did you notice the word FREE! What are you waiting for?

Small Problems, Big God

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. (Isaiah 40:12-17 ESV)

Freedom Within His Infallible Plan

From @DailyKeller

Living the Unoffended Life

Do you ever get jealous when God seems to answer others' prayers, or even answer your prayers for others, while your requests are seemingly unheard? Listen, then, to Jesus' promise to the unoffended believer in Matthew 11.

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” - Matthew 11:2-6 ESV

Some comments from The Circle Maker:

"Living an unoffended life is not some Zen-like experience. It's living a life surrendered to His sovereignty, His majesty and His love. Jesus promises blessing if we are not offended when He does things for others. And if He does it for them, He might do it for us. I don't know why God does what He does. I do not that 100 percent of the prayers I don't pray won't get answered."

             -Mark Betterson, The Circle Maker, page 89

Pray and Vote

To my American readers:

No matter what happens in today's elections, Jesus Christ will still be Lord, God will still be sovereign, and he will reign forever. The Kingdom of God is neither coming nor failing through whatever happens in this election. The gospel is the news that matters most, and it tells me Jesus will be Lord tomorrow, same as yesterday and ever after

Pray, and vote, and pray some more. Exercise your right to vote. Then, let God exercise His right to be God.

Clay

God Wastes Nothing

Good post at the Resurgence by Casey Cease on the meaning of Romans 8:28 - Nothing is Wasted.

The reality is that God wastes nothing. While God does not do evil, he uses all things to bring glory to himself, to draw people to Jesus, and to bring deeper purpose and meaning to the Christian’s life. As I continue to reflect on this truth, I have realized that Paul’s statement in Romans 8:28 is not only true, but also life-giving. God really is able to use all things for good, for those called according to his purpose....

... This is not a call to forget your past. It is an opportunity to allow Jesus to redeem it and use it for his glory and for your enjoyment. Your life can and should be used as an illustration for those who will believe (1 Tim. 1:15–16). This can be a very slow and hard road, but wherever you are on this journey just know, nothing is wasted.

Read the whole think at the link.

Thus Far and No Further

[8] “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, [9] when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, [10] and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, [11] and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’? (Job 38:8-11 ESV)

Saw some heavy surf at the Alabama beach during my vacation this week, as you can see from the picture above. Glad to know God sets a limit on what the ocean can do! Rejoicing in His sovereignty and power!

Best of Twitter

Some good stuff from my Twitter Feed this week:

"God was in charge before you were born. He’ll still be in charge after you die. So tell me again what you’re worried about?" @RickWarren

"Every other belief system makes you earn your identity. Only in Jesus do you get the identity before the performance." RT @JustinBuzzard

"You never touch so much the ocean of God's love as when you love your enemies." -Corrie Ten Boom RT @RayOrtlund 

 Gr8 quote // @MichaelDendy: RT @MatthewBarnett: Messed up people, helping messed up people, really messes up the devil.

I keep a land line so I can call my cell phone when I lose it. @MarshallRamsey

 "Idols always break the hearts of their worshipers" - C S Lewis @CSLewisDaily

 "The things that this world offers, even the best of them, all have one thing in common — an expiration date."‏ @PinelakeChurch

Heard at church today: "If you're too big for a small ministry, you're too small for a big one." @PinelakeChurch

 "Pleasing man feeds the ego, pleasing God feeds the soul." RT @PassionNetwork

Every experience God gives us, every person He puts into our lives, is the perfect preparation for a future only he can see ~Corrie ten Boom

"Make people wish the gospel were true and then show them that it is." -Tullian Tchvidjian @PastorTullian 

Follow me on Twitter @bg_simmons

We Made It!

Despite Harold Camping we made it to the end of 2011. Despite the Mayan calendar, we'll probably make it through 2012 also.  But whatever happens in the new year, I know that Jesus Christ will be large and in charge!

May all my readers have a blessed and prosperous new year.

A Lesson in Living Coram Deo

Below is an insightful and thought provoking meditation on the story of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4, written by Carol Short, missionary in Mexico and an old friend of mine. She writes at The Upside Down Life. Here's SOMEONE'S WATCHING. Enjoy!

There was a king in Babylon named Nebuchadnezzar. The book of Daniel says that he had dreams; his spirit was troubled and sleep left him. He sent for wise men to chase his fear away, to tell him the meaning of his dreams. Daniel, a Hebrew who had been captured and brought to Babylon for the King’s use, came to the king with a message from God. Nebuchadnezzar had an encounter that day with God. Mighty God told him of his life and God’s plans for his kingdom. God whispered His plan for humanity, and of God’s eternal Kingdom.

Eventually in that king’s life, God had to take away everything to get his full attention, and teach him the final lesson. He lost his home, his family, his physical and mental health before he finally grasped the truth. He learned that his life was but a vapor, a fog that melts away with the rising of the sun. He finally saw that there was nothing he could craft with his hands that would compare to the Kingdom that God has formed for all creation.

It's time to look inside yourself. We all have influence in the lives of others. Who's watching you? Is it family, coworkers, friends? How are you sleeping? Has God put His finger in your ear? What will you do?

 BTW, Coram Deo is Latin for "before the presence of God."

The Last Resort

Is prayer our last resort - or our first step?  I'm afraid I have too often made it the last, rather than the first resort.  Therefore,  I love (and am challenged by) this passage from Stephen Altrogge at The Blazing Center:

"Have you ever said the phrase, “All I can do is pray,”? I’ve said it. And I think it’s one of the stupidest sentences to ever leave my mouth.

Think about it for a minute. When I say, “All I can do is pray,” this is what I’m really saying:

• All I can do is ask the omnipotent, almighty God, who holds the universe in His hands to work on my behalf.

• All I can do is ask for grace from the God who gave up His son for me and adopted me into His family.

• All I can do is stop trying to run the world and ask God to do something.

• I can run most of my life on my own, but when it comes to this situation, all I can do is pray.

• I’ve run out of things that I can do, and now I guess I’ll resort to asking God for his help.

• For a while I had this situation under control, but now I’ve got to ask God to lend a hand.

What a ridiculous statement. It shows my lack of dependence on God, my lack of faith in His power, my lack of trust in Him, and a serious overestimation of my own competence. Prayer is like my spiritual fire extinguisher, only to be used in times of emergency, when things get really bad.

In reality, prayer should be the first thing I do. Rather than trying to wade my way through a tough circumstance, I should immediately confess my dependence on God.

Prayer shouldn’t be my last resort, it should be my first resort. Not because my prayers are particularly mighty, but because God is on my side, and He is particularly mighty."

I Recommend ... The Jollyblogger

For several months I have been amazed at the high quality writing and blogging being done by David Wayne, aka the Jolly Blogger.

David is a Presbyterian pastor in Maryland. A few months ago he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. During his treatment and struggles with his health he has continued to blog with sensitivity, wisdom and deep insight into God's grace in suffering. I believe very firmly in healing, but also recognize that in the "now but not yet" of the Kingdom not everyone will be healed this side of Christ's return. And whether ultimately healed or not, there are lessons to be learned during times of suffering. As David has said: "God has done things through my cancer that nothing else ever has or could. " Recent reports are that he is doing better. I will continue to pray for his complete recovery.

I liked his blog before the cancer diagnoses, and highly recommend the Jollyblogger's site and writings to my readers.

(John Schroeder at Blogotional wrote a fine tribute to David Wayne at Blogotional: Best Blogging!)

God's Work of Art

“Every atom in the quadrillion-mile universe and every ‘chance’ event in its trillion-year history is deliberated and perfectly planned and controlled by God for the ultimate end of our good, our heavenly joy. Galaxies revolve and dinosaurs breed and rain falls and people fall in love and uncles smoke cheap cigars and people lose their jobs and we all die—all for our good, the finished product, God’s work of art, the kingdom of Heaven.”

- Peter Kreeft

Hat Tip: Buzzard Blog