Pursuing Righteousness

Proverbs 21:21- Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness and honor.

Those who pursue righteousness not only find righteousness but they also find honor and life. So, when seeking after righteousness, God doesn't give us only what are seeking, he gives more that. We are well rewarded when we seek after Godly characteristics.


But our own righteousness cannot get us into heaven, only the Righteousness of Jesus can, for ours are like filthy rags. How do we get this righteousness? Jesus had to wash away our sin with his blood in order to count to us his righteousness so that we would be blameless in God's sight, that is so humbling.

Summer Reading List

Here are some of the books I'll be reading this summer,

"Freakonomics" by Steven Levitt

"Words that Work" by Frank Luntz

"Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis

"Knowing God" by J.I. Packer

"Let the Nations be Glad" by John Piper

"The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

"Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwinn

"What Jesus Demands from the World" by John Piper

"The Fabric of the Cosmos" by Brian Greene

"All of Grace" by C.H. Spurgeon

Does anyone else recommend any more?

True Generosity

2 Corinthians 9:7 says that, "God loves a cheerful giver." When we give cheerfully, we not only give freely and joyously, but we also give freely and generously, we also give without seeking recognition from men. We are not concerned about what men think; we are only concerned about what God thinks.

Matt 6:3-4, But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving might be in secret. And your Father who sees you in secret will reward you.

When people recognize evidences of God's grace in us, and when we are encouraged about our growth in Christ, it can be helpful to us and exhort us to continue in good works. We get tripped up when we are giving only for the sake of being praised by men. Giving to be praised is not true generosity, giving in secret so that God will reward you is. The reward God gives is far better than any praise man can give, so it is totally worth it to give and do good works in secret. Then we can look forward to that glorious, "Well Done, my good and faithful servant."

Meekness

In my last post I talked about how God is most glorified when we have our joy in him, Isaiah 29:9 says "The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord." God blesses the meek with joy so that he may be glorified, and that is the chief end of man and of God, to glorify God! So, meekness brings glory to God.

"Real strength is the backbone of meekness." -C.H.Spurgeon

Matt 5:5- "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth"

"Meekness is not weakness, it is strength under control" -John Macarthur

"Meekness is the power to absorb adversity and criticism without lashing back." -John Piper

Valuing God

When you receive a blessing, what do you value more? The blessing or the giver of that blessing(Jesus). If you find yourself valuing the blessing more than God,then God is not glorified. He is glorified when we value him more than anything. If you always value the giver of the gift, then when a trial is set before you, you will not be discouraged because you will still value him.

James 1:2 -"Count it all joy, my brothers , when you meet trials of various kinds."

He gives us lasting joy when we value him and he is most glorified when we rejoice in him. The thing we rejoice in most is what we value most. If we value anything more than God then we do not have real joy. It is only temporary happiness, we will have it for a little while then it will fade. But when we value God he gives us joy that lasts because it is in him.

Interview with Bob Kauflin

Josiah Robertson of TFG(Teen Fellowship Group)Interviews Bob Kauflin, in which Mr. Kauflin has some excellent points on worship. To read this Interview click here

Bob Kauflin is the worship administrator for Sovereign Grace Ministries and the author of "Worship Matters."

www.teenfg.com


Update: I just found another Interview with Bob Kauflin at, theresurgence.com

To be Truly Great

"Certain men might have been something if they had not thought themselves so. A consciously great man is an evidently little one." -C.H Spurgeon

A great man is a humble one, If we view ourselves as great and think we should be treated as so, then we are not great and we will always be angry that we are not being treated as we think we deserve. Mark 10:43 says that, "Whoever would be great among you must be your servant." We must be servants, then we will be great in God's kingdom.

Matthew 20:27-28, "And whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Even the greatest person ever came to serve, and if we want to be great we must follow his example.

"Jesus Freaks" by dc Talk and the Voice of the Martyrs

It is said that there are more Christian Martyrs today than in any other time period. This book is a collection of amazing stories of people who risked their comfort, their family, their friends and even their lives for the Gospel and Jesus Christ. It tells only a few of their stories that must be told. It is a must read, I highly recommend it.

Complacency(more on the conference)

Brett talked about complacency; that even if we are excelling in an area, if were not pushing ourselves to do our best, then we are not growing in that area. However if someone is not excelling in that certain area, but is doing his/her best, then they are the ones who are growing(in that certain area). Brett used the example that if he is lifting a ten pound weight without breaking a sweat and his little brother is struggling to lift five pounds, then his little brother is actually getting the better workout and therefore gaining more muscle. God is more pleased with the person who is doing his/her best than the person who is excelling and not and doing his/her best.

I'm Back!

I just got back from the "Do Hard Things" conference, it was great! First Alex and Brett opened by telling us how the Rebelution started. Then Alex talked about "The Myth of Adolescence", how teenagers these days only rise to meet our culture's low expectations, and no more. Our culture tells us that the teen years are the time to have fun and to do what we want, they have conditioned us to believe that we are useless and unable to "Do Hard Things". But the Bible tells us that we can do all things through Christ. So through God, teenagers can "Do Hard Things".

More to come.

-cj