Thursday, March 18, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
What to read?
Oh, there is so much to read! Well let me assure you that I have certainly not even come close to collecting, reading and comprehending as much as I'd like to but I'm trying. And you can too! And if you would, share your insights with me! I LOVE to discuss theology. I mean it's the study of God! Let's grow in this together! Here's a site that I trust for good reading material. Take a look. Mine that gold!
http://theresurgence.com/recommended_reading
What am I reading now? "Desiring God" by John Piper. This book is incrdible! You talk about a lofty view of God and being able to put it into words. Piper's the best I know of. What will I take from this book? I hope I can ingest a lot but I know it will take many visits to really begin to absorb all those years of wisdom that Piper pours out onto each page. But here's the main idea:
The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
http://theresurgence.com/recommended_reading
What am I reading now? "Desiring God" by John Piper. This book is incrdible! You talk about a lofty view of God and being able to put it into words. Piper's the best I know of. What will I take from this book? I hope I can ingest a lot but I know it will take many visits to really begin to absorb all those years of wisdom that Piper pours out onto each page. But here's the main idea:
The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
What a belief statement should look like
It's confusing isn't it? You want to find a church that's theologically sound, a place where God is glorified, the Word is faithfully preached, the Lord's Supper and baptism are celebrated, there's a genuine sense of joy, people are loving God and loving one another and about a hundren other things. So what should their belief statement look like? Here's one from Cornerstone Simi Valley that I believe is right on.We Believe:
The Bible is the inspired, inerrant and authoritative Word of God for the Christian faith and living. (The Bible)
That there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.(God the Father)
In the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father and His personal return in power and glory. (God the Son)
In the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling every Christian is able to live a godly life. (God the Holy Spirit)
That all people are lost sinners and must turn to Christ in saving faith and repentance forregeneration by the Holy Spirit. (Salvation)
In the resurrection of both those who believe in Jesus and those who do not believe: those believing to eternal life with Christ and those unbelieving to eternal punishment in hell.
The Bible is the inspired, inerrant and authoritative Word of God for the Christian faith and living. (The Bible)
That there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.(God the Father)
In the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father and His personal return in power and glory. (God the Son)
In the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling every Christian is able to live a godly life. (God the Holy Spirit)
That all people are lost sinners and must turn to Christ in saving faith and repentance forregeneration by the Holy Spirit. (Salvation)
In the resurrection of both those who believe in Jesus and those who do not believe: those believing to eternal life with Christ and those unbelieving to eternal punishment in hell.
a blog about a blog
Yeah I know. Not so original right? Why would you have a blog if you're just going to post other people's stuff? Well, it's good stuff. Have a look. See what God's doing through guys like Francis Chan. As a friend once shared with me: Gather, gain and go!
http://francischansblog.blogspot.com/
http://francischansblog.blogspot.com/
Is all truth indeed God's truth?
Great article from "Taste and See" from John Piper. I'll probably post many articles from Piper throughout the life of this blog. I would recommend that you read everything he writes. His Archives go way back. However, these ones caught my attention so I'll share them with you. Enjoy! Be blessed by them! I certainly have!
Sometimes the slogan “All truth is God’s truth” is used to justify dealing in any sphere of knowledge as an act of worship or stewardship. The impression is given that just knowing God’s truth and recognizing it as such is a good thing, even a worthy end. But the problem with this is that the devil does it.
“If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” (1Corinthians 8:2-3). Which I take to mean that until we know in such a way that we love God more because of it, we do not yet know as we ought to know.
Alongside “All truth is God’s truth,” we need to say, “All truth exists to display more of God and awaken more love for God.” This means that knowing truth and knowing it as God’s truth is not a virtue until it awakens desire and delight in us for the God of truth. And that desire and delight are not complete until they give rise to words or actions that display the worth of God. That is, we exist to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31), and merely knowing a truth to be God’s truth does not glorify him any more than the devil does.
All truth exists to make God known and loved and shown. If it does not have those three effects it is not known rightly and should not be celebrated as a virtue.
I give thanks that unbelievers see God’s truths in the natural world in a limited way. They know many scientific and cultural facts. But they do not feel desire for God or delight in God because of them. So these facts are misused. This is not a virtue.
I also give thanks that that believers may learn many of God’s truths from unbelievers and see them rightly and thus desire God more and delight in God more because of those truths, so that unbelievers become, unwittingly, the means of our worship.
Thus an unbeliever’s knowing God’s truth is not ultimately a virtue—that is, not a knowing that accords with God’s purpose for knowing—nevertheless that knowing may be a useful knowing for the sake of what God makes of it for his self-revealing and self-exalting purposes in the world, contrary to all the expectations of the unbeliever whose knowing God uses.
It is fitting, therefore, for God’s sake—for love’s sake—that believers learn what we can from unbelievers who see many things that we may miss, but do not see the one thing needful.
© Desiring God
Sometimes the slogan “All truth is God’s truth” is used to justify dealing in any sphere of knowledge as an act of worship or stewardship. The impression is given that just knowing God’s truth and recognizing it as such is a good thing, even a worthy end. But the problem with this is that the devil does it.
“If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” (1Corinthians 8:2-3). Which I take to mean that until we know in such a way that we love God more because of it, we do not yet know as we ought to know.
Alongside “All truth is God’s truth,” we need to say, “All truth exists to display more of God and awaken more love for God.” This means that knowing truth and knowing it as God’s truth is not a virtue until it awakens desire and delight in us for the God of truth. And that desire and delight are not complete until they give rise to words or actions that display the worth of God. That is, we exist to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31), and merely knowing a truth to be God’s truth does not glorify him any more than the devil does.
All truth exists to make God known and loved and shown. If it does not have those three effects it is not known rightly and should not be celebrated as a virtue.
I give thanks that unbelievers see God’s truths in the natural world in a limited way. They know many scientific and cultural facts. But they do not feel desire for God or delight in God because of them. So these facts are misused. This is not a virtue.
I also give thanks that that believers may learn many of God’s truths from unbelievers and see them rightly and thus desire God more and delight in God more because of those truths, so that unbelievers become, unwittingly, the means of our worship.
Thus an unbeliever’s knowing God’s truth is not ultimately a virtue—that is, not a knowing that accords with God’s purpose for knowing—nevertheless that knowing may be a useful knowing for the sake of what God makes of it for his self-revealing and self-exalting purposes in the world, contrary to all the expectations of the unbeliever whose knowing God uses.
It is fitting, therefore, for God’s sake—for love’s sake—that believers learn what we can from unbelievers who see many things that we may miss, but do not see the one thing needful.
© Desiring God
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