I’m currently reading The Joy of Fearing God by Jerry Bridges, and it’s a great book so far.
At the moment he’s talking about how awesome God is. He quoted these verses…
Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed Him as His counselor?
Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the right way?
Who was it that taught Him knowledge, or showed Him the path of understanding?
- Isaiah 40:13-14
He points out how amazing things are that God has done. Look at the incredible things He has made. Could we have helped God out as a consultant? Could we have given advice on how to make things better?
Duh, no!
Yet we continually want to give God advice on the providential working of things.
I guess we would never actually say it, but we seem to think God could use a bit of our wisdom to better plan things that are going wrong in our lives.
Those thoughts woke me up. It’s so easy to think about how things could be better managed. But to think we could run things better than God is the dumbest idea going.
He is wise and loving. And we can trust in that.
Sometimes it’s a scary thought that our love for God is measured by how we relate to other people.
“If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
“And this command we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
1 John 4:20-21
I recently finished reading Humility by Andrew Murray. Not that I needed to, I’ve already got humble.
(Just kidding.)
The thing about humility, as the author points out, is that it’s not so hard to assume a posture of humility before God, the hard thing is keeping an attitude of humility with all the people. Humility isn’t just a train of thought, it’s part of your nature. Or not, as the case may be.
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Time To Be Men
I’ve done an audio recording (above) of the post so you can listen instead of reading it. It’s just a trial I thought I’d do as I’ve been making a lot of audio for my business lately. Let me know if it’s something you like or if you’d just rather read it. Cheers.
This post is about manning up. Us young guys need to get serious about becoming the men God expects us to be, and the men our future lives will require. If you’re a girl it doesn’t all apply to you, but us guys around you need all the encouragement you can give to help us reject the world’s plan (because really, the odds are stacked against us).
The Village
Imagine we live in a village, 700 years ago. You know the kind of place… quaint houses, thatched roofs, a stone bridge over the river, livestock in wooden pens, and a friendly market. A lovely peaceful place.
The problem is the barbarians. They attack the village to pillage and plunder. It’s always unpredictable and out of the blue. At first the attacks weren’t so bad, but over the last few years they’ve gotten less frequent, but more severe. And there are murmurs that a huge horde is planning to come and overrun the countryside.
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At the Impact Bible Conference.
I’m so deeply blessed.
Last weekend was the Impact Bible conference. The theme was eternity. It was great to get the focus off all our short term goals and think about the real stuff… God’s Kingdom and glorifying Him forever.
A Trip To Hell
One sermon was called A Trip To Hell, and it was horrifying. It was preached with you imagining that you died and found out you’d been deceived, that you weren’t actually saved. The description was vivid and shocking. Hell fire burning you, and then going before the throne of judgement, and then being cast screaming into the lake of fire… FOREVER.
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Ceilidh Dancing
Earlier in the year we put on a medieval themed party. During the evening we had Ceilidh dancing. This is a Celtic style of dancing which is a lot of raucous fun. Think stomping, clapping and Celtic music.
Friends taught it to us a few years ago. At first I was sceptical. Dancing seems like a worldly mine field (and for the most part it probably is). However Ceilidh turned out to be good, clean, family fun. There’s nothing sensual about this dancing. The most intimate contact you get is holding hands.
But you do have partners. Usually a guy and a girl. So who will you dance with?
Couples
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As young people we need a lot of leading.
We’ve got to figure out what we’re going to study, what we’re going to do to make a living, what church we’re going to go to, who we’re going to marry, where we will live and so many more decisions.
While we get wisdom and counsel to help us make the decisions, I’d be scared silly if that’s all I got before I had to make my mind up.
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New Chums Beach, Coromandel, NZ, selected in the world's 20 most beautiful beaches.
Beaches are my favourite places on this planet.
I’m lucky to live in a country with an inordinate amount of coastline. You can’t get more than a couple of hours from a beach if you try.
The problem with beaches is lots of people don’t wear many clothes on them.
Our nearest beach is a place we can’t even visit over the summer holidays and weekends. Even in the shoulder season we have to travel away from the city to find a patch of sand without a parade of flesh walking past.
Not going to the beach over the Christmas season is a crying shame, but it’s just the reality of living in a sin sick world.
Purity Is A Big Deal
Sexual sin is the area young people most often fall in. And they fall hard. I don’t want that to be us, no matter how unlikely it may seem for goody-goodies like ourselves.
When Jesus tell us lust is the same as adultery in the heart, we need to pay serious attention.
Surfing Girls
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