Before I post "Anger Part 2" I would like to share with you a very powerful video.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
"Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die" & "Why Courage Matters"
"Fifty Reasons Why Jesus came to Die" by John Piper has been an encouraging and informative book, it has given me a much wider knowledge of our Lord Jesus. if I were to rate this book on a 1-10 scale, I would rate it a perfect 10!
"Why Courage Matters" by John McCain. If you have read any of my latest post you probably already know that I greatly enjoyed this book. Anyway, if you want to know more about John McCain, who possibly might be our next president then I would recommend that you read this book. Anger, Part 1
Is it ever OK to be angry?
Someone who is angry only because they have been wronged or think they have been wronged is not righteously angry, that is a sinful anger.
"And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, it is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers." - Matthew 21:12-13
Here, Jesus is angry that God's house has been defiled, he is angry because God has been wronged, not because his comfort has been disturbed or he has been inconvenienced but because the God of the universe has been greatly sinned against.
Someone who is angry only because they have been wronged or think they have been wronged is not righteously angry, that is a sinful anger.
"And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, it is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers." - Matthew 21:12-13
Here, Jesus is angry that God's house has been defiled, he is angry because God has been wronged, not because his comfort has been disturbed or he has been inconvenienced but because the God of the universe has been greatly sinned against.
Monday, September 15, 2008
We Need Each Other
I was reading "Why Courage Matters" by John McCain(the book I quoted from in an earlier post)and I came across these words:
"In prison, I was not always a match for my enemies. I was proud and angry. I thought I was tough, clever, and prepared enough to resist. But I found my courage wanting nevertheless. When it failed it was because my primary concern had been my own survival, my own dignity. I relied on my resources to guard them, and my courage ran out much earlier than I expected. Fortunately, I shared my circumstances with hundreds of brave men who insisted on a communal code of conduct--we would all return with honor, each man's suffering our own concern...We relied on each other to strengthen our ability, to encourage us when we felt used up...When we saw our duty and our courage as a common experience, our duty was easier to bear and our courage more at the ready. We completed one another's sense of honor, and it made us stronger."
It is the same way with Christians. We need other Godly people to help us in our Christian walk. We need the body, to encourage us, to help us through hard times and to lovingly correct us when we are sinning. To say that we don't need the body is rejecting a gift from God. We must allow others to help us fight the good fight, or we will probably fail.
-cj
Please let me know your me your thoughts on this:)
"In prison, I was not always a match for my enemies. I was proud and angry. I thought I was tough, clever, and prepared enough to resist. But I found my courage wanting nevertheless. When it failed it was because my primary concern had been my own survival, my own dignity. I relied on my resources to guard them, and my courage ran out much earlier than I expected. Fortunately, I shared my circumstances with hundreds of brave men who insisted on a communal code of conduct--we would all return with honor, each man's suffering our own concern...We relied on each other to strengthen our ability, to encourage us when we felt used up...When we saw our duty and our courage as a common experience, our duty was easier to bear and our courage more at the ready. We completed one another's sense of honor, and it made us stronger."
It is the same way with Christians. We need other Godly people to help us in our Christian walk. We need the body, to encourage us, to help us through hard times and to lovingly correct us when we are sinning. To say that we don't need the body is rejecting a gift from God. We must allow others to help us fight the good fight, or we will probably fail.
-cj
Please let me know your me your thoughts on this:)
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
More on Serving
"And if anyone forces you to go one mile , go with him two miles." -Matthew 5:41
What does going the extra mile mean? It means that we shouldn't just do what is expected of us, we should willingly do it to our fullest potentiel, we should seek to do more. Notice I said "Seek" and "Willingly," we should "Willingly" "Seek" for the oppurtunity to serve more, and then "Willingly" do it.
"Do all things without Grumbling or questioning." -Philippians 2:14
Here, God is telling us not only to serve and go the extra mile, but to do so without "Grumbling or Questioning." A true servant serves without complaining, he does not question and does not grumble. Jesus was the ultimate servant, never did he complain to God about anything. The Bible calls us to imitate this, to strive to serve like Jesus did. As you probably already know, serving like he did is so hard it is impossible, we will never be perfect, so therefore we will never be able to serve just as Jesus did. But does this mean we give up? No! God never told us it was going to be easy. But he did tell us to serve as much as we possibly can, he has told us to "Do Hard Things!"
"The servant of Christ finds his honour in the service itself." -C.H. Spurgeon
Hurricanes
Also, please be in prayer for victims of hurricanes this year.
What does going the extra mile mean? It means that we shouldn't just do what is expected of us, we should willingly do it to our fullest potentiel, we should seek to do more. Notice I said "Seek" and "Willingly," we should "Willingly" "Seek" for the oppurtunity to serve more, and then "Willingly" do it.
"Do all things without Grumbling or questioning." -Philippians 2:14
Here, God is telling us not only to serve and go the extra mile, but to do so without "Grumbling or Questioning." A true servant serves without complaining, he does not question and does not grumble. Jesus was the ultimate servant, never did he complain to God about anything. The Bible calls us to imitate this, to strive to serve like Jesus did. As you probably already know, serving like he did is so hard it is impossible, we will never be perfect, so therefore we will never be able to serve just as Jesus did. But does this mean we give up? No! God never told us it was going to be easy. But he did tell us to serve as much as we possibly can, he has told us to "Do Hard Things!"
"The servant of Christ finds his honour in the service itself." -C.H. Spurgeon
Hurricanes
Also, please be in prayer for victims of hurricanes this year.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Quote from John McCain's book, "Why Courage Matters"
These words that McCain wrote in his book, "Why Courage Matters" came as a great suprise to me.
Please tell me what you think after you have read it:)
"`Enduring an inescapable fate stoically is admirable, but it is not the same thing as courage. Suffering stoically a terrible fate that you could have escaped, but that your convictions, your sense of honor, compelled you to accept, is. The Christians sacrficed to the lions chose not to be sacrificed, but to be Christians. The politics and bigotry of the Romans consigned them to a violent end, which they could have avoided by renouncing their faith. But they didn't choose death. They chose to keep their faith, their hope of eternal life, and suffer the consequences. Whether they suffer stoically or were dragged to the experiance pleading for their lives is beside the point. Keeping their faith required courage superior to the resolve of a person who accepts unwanted but unavoidable trouble with admirable composure. The object of courage isn't just a hansome comportment or a physical expression of strength.
Courage must be conscientious of duty if it is to claim the distinction of being the first, indispensable virtue. It is much more than mental toughness or "Grace under pressure," as Hemingway defined it. For years I thought it was. And when asked for a definition of courage, I usually quoted Hemningway's response. But I learned that people who cry out in despair, who are seized by mortal terror, can still act heroically. Although courageous people often appear to act gracefully under pressure, and their dignified, disciplined behavior produces some of the most lasting images in fiction and history, it isn't grace that proclaims their courage, but their decision to face the pressure at all, and face it for reasons greater than simply to prove to themsevles or others that they could do it with aplomb. Face the experiance with quiet assurance or with a look that reflects stark terror, screaming in anguish all the while. It doesn't really matter. What matters is that you faced it, lived it, and did so because your conscience compelled you to act. That is what give courage its grandeur. Even Christ on the cross, my faith's most exlated example of courage, cried out in desperation, "Father, Father, why have you forsaken me?" It is not Christ's reticence in a moment of agony that we worship. It is because he accepted his duty to love, a love incarnate--God became man to redeem humanity by love--and the awful suffering his duty demanded that we exalt the singular courage of his sacrifice. "
-John McCain
Please tell me what you think after you have read it:)
"`Enduring an inescapable fate stoically is admirable, but it is not the same thing as courage. Suffering stoically a terrible fate that you could have escaped, but that your convictions, your sense of honor, compelled you to accept, is. The Christians sacrficed to the lions chose not to be sacrificed, but to be Christians. The politics and bigotry of the Romans consigned them to a violent end, which they could have avoided by renouncing their faith. But they didn't choose death. They chose to keep their faith, their hope of eternal life, and suffer the consequences. Whether they suffer stoically or were dragged to the experiance pleading for their lives is beside the point. Keeping their faith required courage superior to the resolve of a person who accepts unwanted but unavoidable trouble with admirable composure. The object of courage isn't just a hansome comportment or a physical expression of strength.
Courage must be conscientious of duty if it is to claim the distinction of being the first, indispensable virtue. It is much more than mental toughness or "Grace under pressure," as Hemingway defined it. For years I thought it was. And when asked for a definition of courage, I usually quoted Hemningway's response. But I learned that people who cry out in despair, who are seized by mortal terror, can still act heroically. Although courageous people often appear to act gracefully under pressure, and their dignified, disciplined behavior produces some of the most lasting images in fiction and history, it isn't grace that proclaims their courage, but their decision to face the pressure at all, and face it for reasons greater than simply to prove to themsevles or others that they could do it with aplomb. Face the experiance with quiet assurance or with a look that reflects stark terror, screaming in anguish all the while. It doesn't really matter. What matters is that you faced it, lived it, and did so because your conscience compelled you to act. That is what give courage its grandeur. Even Christ on the cross, my faith's most exlated example of courage, cried out in desperation, "Father, Father, why have you forsaken me?" It is not Christ's reticence in a moment of agony that we worship. It is because he accepted his duty to love, a love incarnate--God became man to redeem humanity by love--and the awful suffering his duty demanded that we exalt the singular courage of his sacrifice. "
-John McCain
Monday, September 1, 2008
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