Some precepts...

When doing Precepts bible study, every so often you are encouraged to keep a 'Journal on God' and make notes about his character and other attributes as you see them in the text you are studying. I am not very good at noticing things and am always amazed at how others notice how something shows this side of God's character etc etc...so here are a few notes from Genesis 26. If you are familiar with the story, it is when Isaac goes to Gerar and says Rebekah is his sister instead of his wife (sounds strangely similar to his father Abraham, did the same thing a few chapters back, to the same guy Abimelech...kids never learn eh). God also makes promises to Isaac (again sounding fairly identical to the ones he made to Abraham). Check it out if you have time...
Here is what I learnt about God (how exciting) -

• Ch26 v2. When there is a famine God appears to Isaac. God shows up when you need him, when you are hungry. He shows up and he gives direction.
• v12 God keeps his promises. He promised to bless Isaac in v3 and delivers in v12. The Lord blessed him. Isaac reaped a hundredfold of what he sowed that year, became rich and then very wealthy. Sometimes I feel guilty for all the lovely things we are surrounded by here so I think it is important to note that God sometimes blesses in this way, and we should say Thankyou Lord :)
• After an unsettling time in Gerar (herdsmen fighting over wells and what-not) God appears to repeat his promises and reassure Isaac, v24. God knows what is going on in your life on an individual level, and cares about it. Amazing!
• Last point is not so much something we learn about God but a challenge...Abimelech noticed that the Lord was with Isaac. v28 They said, 'We see plainly that the Lord has been with you... When was the last time someone noticed this about you?

I have probably only scratched the surface here of deeper stuff, and hopefully not taken anything out of context, or concluded something that is incorrect. So please let me know if you have anything to add or comment on.

hello hello hello

my posting is so infrequent any time i do come on i feel like i need to extend warmer greetings. just came across a little gem (or two) on the blazing centre that i wanted to draw to the attention of anyone reading this. it was just what i needed to hear. somedays it feels like work is so difficult, frustrating and down-right annoying. i wonder if this truth will ever sink in or is it going to be a life-long struggle...dedicating my work to God.
so check out the post 'does your job really matter' ...its refreshing i can guarantee it. and take heed of his warnings on the next post 'the only safe rule for giving' ...i warned you!
www.theblazingcenter.com (june 18th 2009)

useful tool

there is a wee video clip we have seen in church a few times and its really good at focusing your soul on how amazing Jesus is, so i thought sharing it would be a good idea. daniel managed to find it on youtube...type in 'do you know him?' and it comes up.
or paste this into ur address-bar-thingy ....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z15FlTONVo
it stops you in your tracks for a few moments, and you can't do anything but worship.

Bridges nugget

Well here I am for the 2nd post this year, just want to keep you guys on your toes, the element of surprise and all that.
I'm currently forming my own personal Jerry Bridges appreciation society [...further perpetuated by my buying which ever book Simon has reduced each time I'm in inspire ...and Simon when you are doing your annual check of this blog you can note that I do buy stuff, you are never around] so just thought I would share the odd note of interest.
I understand they may not seem so amazing when they are read in isolation, just thought there maybe something useful to ponder.
He is taking a few pages to describe the importance of putting scripture into practice in your life.

All of life should be a theater (or theatre, depending on which side of the pond you learnt to spell on) in which we learn to apply the Word of God. Almost every event, every activity, every circumstance may be or should be an occasion of applying a spiritual principle or even a specific verse to the situation.
He then goes on to give examples of this...and me being the nerd appreciated his final illustration...
Most of us had labs in either high school or college where we were supposed to learn to apply theories we were learning in the classroom. The cicrumstances of life are our 'spiritual labs' where we learn to apply what we are being taught in the 'classroom' of the Bible.

Unfortunately this analogy resonates with me... at school i hated labs, prefered the classroom. And Jerry hits the nail on the head...I need to use lessons from the classroom in labs, and do better at labs, stop hiding away in the classroom. May the holy spirit give us opportunities to apply scripture to real life, and help us to see the lessons in the classroom and know how to handle the labs.

busyness...

CJ Mahaney has had a series on his blog on 'Busyness'. One of his recommendations is rising early to make time with Jesus, a point reinforced by his wife Carolyn in girltalk, both the book and the blog. He explains why ...

by carving ouot 45-60 mins of time in the morning, I am seeking to:

• Acknowledge my dependence upon God, affirm my intention to trust in Him, and voice skepticism of my own understanding (Prov 3v5-6)
• Slowly enter the day, careful to begin with a divine perspective.
• Preach the gospel to myself
• Get my soul happy before God by meditation on scripture.

The 3rd point is one I am trying to focus on, reading Jerry Bridges 'the gospel for real life' and focusing on the cross. Wonderful. I will maybe get around to posting a bit more on this...

Now, who's on coffee????

seasons...

Here is a quick note i scribbled down from the girltalk book - Shopping for time

We go through different seasons (ecclesiates) - none of us would choose a time to weep or a time to mourn or a time of sickness - it is what God chooses for us. We need to humble ourselves and acknowledge 'God you are in charge and I humbly accept your plan for the changing seasons of my life'.

Clip from Piper's sermon on Recession

(Some of) God’s Purposes in This Recession
Now what are some of God’s purposes in this recession? I will mention five:

1. He intends for this recession to expose hidden sin and so bring us to repentance and cleansing.
   
2. He intends to wake us up to the constant and desperate condition of the developing world where there is always and only recession of the worst kind.
   
3. He intends to relocate the roots of our joy in his grace rather than in our goods, in his mercy rather than our money, in his worth rather than our wealth.
   
4. He intends to advance his saving mission in the world—the spread of the gospel and the growth of his church—precisely at a time when human resources are least able to support it. This is how he guards his glory.
   
5. He intends for the church to care for its hurting members and to grow in the gift of love.

What do you need to unload?

Every year, about 1500 "thru-hikers" set out to walk the entire Appalachian Trail in a single season. Only 10 percent complete the 2,160 miles of challenging terrain stretching from Georgia to Maine. One reason some people drop out early is that they haven't learned to travel light.

A friend of mine launched his thru-hike carrying a seriously overloaded backpack. He had a cassette player and six tapes of bird calls, an air pistol to keep the varmints away, a camera, a radio, and an alarm clock. "If it ran on batteries," he said, "I had one in my pack."

At his first stop, an experienced hiker helped him go through his pack and decide what to keep and what to send home. Each item was placed on a gram scale with the question, "Is it worth it? Do you want to carry this for the next 2000 miles?"

My friend discovered that his biggest problem was an accumulation of little things. Most of his extra weight was in ounces, not pounds. He didn't need half of what was in his first-aid kit nor the extra tube of toothpaste. His heavy multi-tool knife was replaced with one weighing only an ounce. A metal knife-fork-and-spoon set gave way to a single plastic spoon. He sent home 26 pounds of unnecessary weight.

How many of us are trying to walk the trail of faith in Christ weighed down by an accumulation of little things -- anger, bitterness, worry, envy, jealousy, lust, and selfishness? Instead of enjoying the beauty of life with Jesus, we complain about how hard it is to follow Him.

Psalm 32 is for everyone who's ready to shed the weight of sin and regain the joy of walking with the Lord. "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered."

What do you need to unload today?