July Quotes

Jesus is coming back for HIS church, not yours.

-Unknown

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

-Martin Luther King Jr.

We are who we are, not because we are who we are, but we are who we are because we live in Christ.

-Unknown

God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.

-John Piper

God's training is for NOW, not presently. 

His purpose is for THIS MINUTE, not for something in the future. 

We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience; 

we get it wrong when we think of the afterwards. 

What men call training and preparation, God calls the end... 

If we realize that obedience is the end, 

then EACH MOMENT IS PRECIOUS. 

-Oswald Chambers

If you remove the snow from the hillside in the late winter, you will find sweet flowers growing there, beneath the cold drifts, unhurt by the storm and by the snowy blankets that have covered them. Just so, should we keep our hearts tender and sensitive beneath life's fiercest winter blasts, and through the longest years of suffering, and even of injustice and wrong treatment. That is true, victorious living.

-J.R. Miller

Those who worry about the loss of time entailed by such small, external acts of helpfulness are usually taking their own work too seriously. We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God, who will thwart our plans and frustrate our ways time and again, even daily, by sending people across our path with their demands and requests. 

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Cheerfully and gratefully I lay myself and all I am or own at the feet of Him who redeemed me with His precious blood, engaging to follow Him, bearing the cross He lays upon me. This is the least I can do, and I do it while my heart lies broken and bleeding at His feet. 

-Elizabeth Prentiss

Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults.

-John Calvin

Becoming a mentor has got to be something that comes up within you—it’s got to be God’s work. It can’t be our work because we’ll give answers that aren’t God’s answers.

-Patty Webb

In my many years of pastoring, counseling, and traveling, I’ve found an all-too-common and dangerous theme among Christians: no one lays down the law better than the one who thinks they’re keeping it themselves.

-Paul Tripp

Ah, I have kept Him waiting when I ought not, but He has waited even then. Always waiting – so patient with my foolishness, my weakness, my fear. Our fellowship is with God, and fellowship is friendship, and friendship means that partnership which, on His part, is the accommodating of His strength to my weakness. 

-G. Campbell Morgan

If He loved me yesterday, He loves me today. My unmoving mansion of rest is my blessed Lord. Even when prospects are few and hopes are squashed and joy is waning, I have lost nothing of what I have in God. He is "my refuge" to which I continually return. I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God. In the earth I wander, but in God I dwell in a quiet dwelling place.

-Charles Spurgeon

Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults.

-John Calvin

Friendship is held to be the severest test of character. It is easy, we think, to be loyal to a family and clan, whose blood is in your own veins.

-Charles Alexander Eastman

A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another's.

-Leo C. Rosten

David's Prayer and God's Promises for Us

1 Samuel 7:18-29*

Significance and Future

18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! 

David recognizes his "smallness" before an awesome God and praises the Lord because of the future He promised to him. We, also, are promised that we are precious in God's sight, and that as children of God, no matter what our circumstances may be or where they may lead us, we are never, ever alone.

Faithfulness and Omniscience

20 And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. 

David trusts that God will complete His promises and that he really needs to say nothing because God knows everything, including his heart and thoughts and words. Today, we have promises from Scripture that we must claim in order to strengthen our faith. We must recognize God's greatness if we are to understand that He is everywhere all the time, completely powerful, and nothing can be hidden from Him. 

Greatness and Redemption

22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for themgreat and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? 24 And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. 

David glories in God's goodness in redeeming a wayward people for His own glory. God made His name great by setting apart Israel from the land of pagan peoples. Just as the Israelites of old, we are commanded to worship the one true God and give glory only to Him. While we may not worship wood and stone, we still sin when we place people or things on the throne of our heart and give glory to them. There is no God like our God, and our obedience and praise to Him exalts His glory. 

Glory and Honor

25 And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. 26 And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. 

David request that God would confirm His promise, not just to reassure David, but to bring more glory to God and that people would praise Him for it. We must also pray in this manner--that God's promises would be fulfilled, not just so we can be comforted and secure, but so that others would see God's glory and be drawn to Him in salvation. 

Courage and Truth

27 For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 

David found courage to pray from God's promises. He's comforted and reassured that God will do what He says He will do and that it will come to pass. We also must take courage from God's promises and pray through that courage. Many times our situations discourage us from praying or reading the Word, but it is in those moments that we need courage most. And courage comes from knowing God's Word and holding it before the throne of grace, to find mercy, and courage, in times of need. 

Blessing and Eternality

29 Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.

David asks for a blessing and praises God that the blessing will be forever. God had promised that a temple would be built for Him, but that later on a Suffering Savior would come who would reign on David's throne forever. Today believers still pray for God's blessing on our lives, homes, and people we love, but I think we forget that we are blessed now and forever--it's not something we must ask for because He forgot to give it. It's already there, and we must remember that it remains forever in Christ. We are blessed in all the heavenly places in Christ because He chose us and made us perfect in Him. That's more than even the angels can say.

*Verses quoted from the English Standard Version.

Keep Yourselves from Idols

I've been reading through Deuteronomy again for the past couple days, and the passage on idolatry in chapter four stood out to me this time, and as most of us know, idolatry was an issue that the Israelites struggled with frequently. In fact, it makes up much of their history as they fell, time and time again, into worshipping other gods from other nations.

While I didn't do an extensive study of this passage, I read it in its context and mentally connected the passage to other places in Scriptural history. The reason God gave here for forbidding idolatry was interesting: You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol..." (Deut.4:15-16a, NIV). Since the Israelites had not been permitted to see a physical image of God, they were warned against creating an representative object of which to worship. Even Moses, the meekest man, had not been permitted to see God's face, and the Lord Himself had to protect Moses from seeing His glory. They did not know what the image of God looked like, save that they were created in His image, and therefore, they must not attempt to create a replica of something which they had never seen.

Not only were they not to create an idol, but they were not to make and image of any shape: not a man or woman, not an animal on earth or a bird, not like any creature that moves on the ground or a fish in the water, not a heavenly body or anything whatsoever.

The Fire that spoke from the burning bush had rescued His people from the furnace of Egypt. The One who had not revealed His face had placed His image on the faces and hearts of men. The One who commanded them to cross the Jordan would one day send His Son to "cross the Jordan" (figuratively) to redeem Israel. The Covenant-Maker commanded His covenant-breakers not to attach themselves with any other gods. The God who gathered Israel as a nation would scatter them for their rebellion. The gods who turned the peoples' hearts away would eventually be the motivator to turn their hearts back to Yahweh.

God was God then, and God is God now. The God who rescued, scattered, and redeemed His people also does the same with us today when we leave the worship of His throne and join with others to worship our own heart's desires. This passage was a reminder of that. We tend to idolize things such as people, money, or places...even things like self-pity, grief, or happiness can become places of idolatry because our hearts are bent on placing something or someone on the throne rather than Christ.

But the God who allowed circumstances to cause suffering for Israel, also waited for their repentance and never left them or forgot His covenant with them. And ultimately, He sent a Redeemer for their (and our) sake, to rescue them permanently and bring them into His eternal home. There we will see His glory face-to-face and there will be no struggle to allow Him to rule in our hearts.

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. 
(1 John 5:21, NIV)

A Bigger Picture, Part Two

If you haven't seen it, yet, check out my other book review blog! You'll find it in the headings ("My Book Reviews") at the top of this blog or click HERE. It's my aim to post reviews 2-3 times a month. Leave a comment on any books you've read so far and tell me what you thought about them. :)

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1. What is “Second Temple Judaism” and how does it help us understand the writings of the New Testament? Provide specific examples.
2. In chapter 9, what does Schreiner mean by the phrase “already but not yet”?
3. How does the “already but not yet” concept help Christians better understand the “big picture” of the Bible?

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The Second Temple Judaism is “the time between the temple’s reconstruction (516 BC) and its final destruction (AD 70).” [1] Of the important writings from this time period, the Apocrypha, the pseudepigrapha of the OT, the writings of Josephus, and of Philo document information about the history, culture, and life of the New Testament era. The Dead Sea scrolls, the Targums, and the rabbinic literature also record some evidence, though the primary source of evidence lies in the New Testament itself.[2] Though not regarded as divinely inspired the Apocrypha books are included in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox scriptures. The pseudepigrapha is part of the Apocrypha and it helps us understand the beliefs of different Jewish schools of thought during the time period of the Second Temple Judaism.[3] Some of the books reveal history of the ancient forefathers such as Noah, Moses, Enoch and Ezra. [4] The Dead Sea scrolls contain parts of all the OT books (except Esther) and provide evidence of the nature and beliefs of the Khirbet Qumran, the dwelling of an ancient religious community.[5] Using these documents from the Second Temple Judaism era, we are provided with insight into the beliefs of different Jewish schools of thought and documentation on which to help with the translation of Scripture.[6]

Perhaps John’s Gospel explains the phrase “already but not yet”, as coined by Schreiner. The promise of the Kingdom in the Synoptic Gospels aligns with the truth of eternal in the Gospel of John. Schreiner explains this phrase by referring back to the promises already made by God through the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants. The new covenant was also created, but even by the time John the Baptist came around these promises had not yet been realized. Until Jesus came fulfilling the spiritual aspect of these covenants there was no immediate completion of the promises. John’s Gospel explains that though they already have fulfillment of the some of the promises, there is still more coming. His Gospel “looks ahead to the day of the final resurrection, when every person will be judged for what he or she has done….the future and final fulfillment is in view as well.”[7] The day of salvation is already here, but the final resurrection, judgment, and glorification are yet to come for all believers. We live on this earth as a reminder that we are not home. We struggle with sin and we battle trials as a reminder that there is something more glorious to come. Jesus reigns on His throne, but death sin attempt to rule us still. Until all things have been subjugated to Him, we await the complete fulfillment of those covenants.[8]

Christians today can better understand the bigger picture of the Bible by their understanding of the “already but not yet” phrase. Just as the New Testament’s Christ was the fulfillment of the One who would crush the serpent’s head in the Old Testament, so the fulfillment of the new heavens and new earth will point back to the promises of eternal life, salvation, and the Comforter. We understand the Kingdom on earth today in terms of spiritual salvation which Jesus presented in His Person and through His ministry.[9] The Kingdom begins as a grain of mustard seed or like leaven in dough, but it will one day return with apocalyptic power and destroy the present world, renewing it in perfection and holiness.[10] Though we have the Kingdom of God already, it is not yet completely realized or fulfilled, and so we as believers today continue to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.[11]

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[1] Wayne Grudem et al., Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible (Illinois: Crossway, 2012), 79.

[2] Ibid., 79-80.

[3] J.D. Douglas and Merrill C. Tenney, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 1191.

[4] Wayne Grudem et al., Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible (Illinois: Crossway, 2012), 80.

[5] J.D. Douglas and Merrill C. Tenney, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 342.

[6] Ibid., 344.

[7] Wayne Grudem et al., Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible (Illinois: Crossway, 2012), 111.

[8] Ibid., 111-112.

[9] Ibid., 110.

[10] Ibid., 110-111.

[11] Matthew 6:10, ESV.