Lenten Devotional – Day 33

Q. 87. What is repentance unto life?

A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.

“Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

“Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement; he is a rebel who must lay down his arms . . . This process of surrender—this movement full speed astern—is what Christians call repentance. Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means killing part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death. - C. S. Lewis

  Repentance demands change — a change of heart and way of life. God's word is life-giving and it saves us from destruction — the destruction of soul as well as body. Jesus' anger is directed toward sin and everything which hinders us from doing the will of God and receiving his blessing. In love he calls us to walk in his way of truth and freedom, grace and mercy, justice and holiness. Do you receive his word with faith and submission or with doubt and indifference? - Gospel Meditation, by Don Schwager

  In the opening verses of Psalm 51, we hear David crying out for relief from his own sin. He says, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!" (Psalm 51:1-2). David, after being called out for hooking up with Bathsheba and arranging the murder of her husband Uriah, is desperate for relief from the crushing weight of what he's done. David knows that if left to bear the burden of his brokenness much longer, it will without question kill him. He's desperate for relief from his burden.

  The season of Lent is a time of confession and repentance. It's a season when, like David, we take inventory of our brokenness, the sin which weights us down, the scars and the shame, the issues and the idolatry slung over our shoulders, held under our arms and being rolled behind us. It's a season when we are invited to repent.

  Recovery describes what happens to us after an illness or infection has left our bodies. It's also employed to describe a person's journey back from addiction. There's a huge and largely silent community out there, a subculture, known as the recovery movement: addicts helping addicts to stay clean and sober. This also best describes our relationship with sin. We have an addiction to sin, an attachment to behaviors and attitudes we are all too fond of continuing. We need repentance for our recovery to begin.

Lenten Devotional – Day Four

Q. 4. What is God?

A. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)

  All that which we call the attributes of God are only so many human ways of our conceiving that abyssal All which can neither be spoken nor conceived by us. And this way of thinking and speaking of God is suitable to our capacities, has its good use, and helps to express our adoration of him and his perfections. . . Omnipotent love, inconceivable goodness, is that unity of God which we can neither conceive, as it is in itself, nor divide into this or that. William Law (1686–1761)

  Augustine once said, "One can know what God is not; one cannot know what he is." “Since it is God we are speaking of, you do not understand it. If you could understand it, it would not be God.” Augustine, Sermons

  Do we want to contemplate his power? We see it in the immensity of the creation. Do we want to contemplate his wisdom? We see it in the unchangeable order by which the incomprehensible whole is governed. Do we want to contemplate his munificence? We see it in the abundance with which he fills the earth. Do we want to contemplate his mercy? We see it in his not withholding that abundance even from the unthankful. - Thomas Paine (1737–1809)

  Barbara Brown Taylor says: "The power of God is now and has always been the power to raise us from the dead. Period. It is not about us. It is about God." - "Easter Sunday," Christianity Today, April 3, 2000, 72.

  The attributes of God, though intelligible to us on their surface yet, for the very reason that they are infinite, transcend our comprehension, when they are dwelt upon, when they are followed out, and can only be received by faith. - Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801–1890)

  C.S. Lewis, once said, "Everyone has warned me… 'The ordinary reader does not want theology; give him plain, practical religion.' I have rejected their advice. I do not think the ordinary reader is such a fool. Theology means 'the science of God,' and I think anyone who wants to think about God at all would like to have the clearest and most accurate ideas about him which are available."

To The Glory of God Alone

“I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3)

  As Presbyterian's our theology is based on the reformed theological thought and writings of John Calvin. Calvin had a major influence on the theology and practices of the Presbyterian Church. Calvin's thought and ideas about God has influenced the theology of many pastors and theologians even today, even if they are unaware that the idea may have originated with Calvin.

   Many people have read the book by Rick Warren called “The Purpose Driven Life.” What is the first line of his book? The answer is “It’s not about you.” Rick Warren goes on to say, “If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God.”

   This statement is very much in line with the theological thought of John Calvin in content. A major theme of Calvin was the Sovereignty of God, To God Alone is the Glory. Both Rick Warren and John Calvin believe that knowledge of self requires knowledge of God. And both believe that God was acting in love when he created the world and everything in it. “There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world,” said John Calvin, “that is not intended to make us rejoice.”

   It’s not about us; it’s all about God. As a pastor and disciple of Jesus Christ this has been an important theme I have attempted to live by and regularly remind myself of daily. A major error that any pastor, church leader or church member can make is to begin to believe it is about us. Our own egos and ideas can set up boundaries that prevent us from experiencing the full mystery and wonder of God's grace and creation. Jesus never did anything without first knowing what God the Father wanted first.

   Some years ago, I started to sign letters, notes and e-mails with the closing “To God Alone Be the Glory.” I did not do this because it was a clever salutation, but as a way for me to regularly remind myself that, “It's not about me, it's all about God.” This is the chief direction I wish to keep with this blog. As a pastor, I am still a follower of Jesus and I hope I can share some helpful and thought
provoking posts. While at the same time I am still striving and struggling to live out my life in God's presence, continually working to strengthen my life in Christ. I need to stay focused that it is all about God, not me and what God is capable of doing in and through me to God's glory alone.

   Initially, blogs began as online journals were individuals shared their thoughts and activities and I hope to do the same. As blogs evolved they became a means for the author to engage in a conversation with their readers through comments. I very much want this blog to become a conversation about what God is doing within our lives and how we can live the life God intended for us since the time of creation.

   I have enjoyed the writings of many Christian and non-christian writers over the years and I plan to share my thoughts, favorite quotes, and questions. One of my favorite authors, since college has been C.S. Lewis. Lewis simply summarizes my expectations for this blog when he writes, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”

   We all have questions, thoughts, ideas, hopes and dreams and once we engage in conversations with others we discover others are thinking the same ideas and have the same questions. To paraphrase Paul from my opening scripture “I want your hearts to be encouraged and united in love,” as we take a journey together in “Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” about God.

  I hope to post my thoughts to this blog three to four times each week. I hope you will join me in a conversation about understanding God who is revealed to us through the person of Jesus Christ.