My friend sent me this email and I felt this is really encouraging. :))
___
Obedience Without Logic or "The Ant and the Contact Lens"
From the book Keep a Quiet Heart by Elizabeth Elliot
Brenda Foltz was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. It was her first experience at rock-climbing, but although she was scared to death, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear she put on the gear, took a hold on the rope, and started up the face of that rock.She got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda's eye and knocked out her contact lens. Here she is on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn't there. Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry.
She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff. She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of the Bible verse that says, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth." She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is." "Please help me." Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys, anybody lose a contact lens?"
Now, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it!
Brenda's father was a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, "Lord, I
don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy.But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."
I think it would probably do some of us good to occasionally say, "God, I don't know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it, I will."
1 Samuel 15:22 - And Samuel said, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams."
From, Dr. Gautsch
____
Showing posts with label christian books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christian books. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
on faith
E.R. McManus on Faith
A casual listener to Christian teaching over the airwaves would
conclude the solution to every problem is to have more faith. If you
have a problem, all you have to do is believe. If you can't overcome
the problem, you're just not believing big enough. The metaphor of the
mustard seed is thrown into this mix of faith talk. We are told that
Jesus said all we need was faith the size of a mustard seed and we
could speak to the mountain, "Be removed," and it would be cast into
the sea. Jesus' words are interpreted to mean that what we have is a
faith problem-- we just dont believe enough. This spiritual journey
becomes an endless cycle of trying to muster up more belief, bigger
faith. But Jesus is pointing us to the very opposite conclusion. He's
not saying we need to have more faith; He's actually telling us we
just need to have some. It's not about making your faith bigger. All
you need is mustard seed-sized faith. The implication is any less is
none at all. Jesus was not calling us to work up our faith. He was
calling us simply to put our faith in God. It is not our faith in an
event that is critical, but our faith in God himself. It is not about
believing in a miracle or believing for a miracle; it is about an
unshakable confidence in the character of God.
In Matthew 11, John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus a
question: "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect
someone else?" Jesus sent back this response: "Go back and report to
John what you see and here: The blind receive sight, the lame walk,
those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does
not fall away on account of me" (11:3-6). It is curious that John, who
was the cousin of Jesus, was doubting who Jesus was. If anyone should
have been sure, it was John. The Bible tells us he leaped in his
mother Elizabeth's womb when she was in the presence of Mary, who was
pregnant with Jesus. Interesting that while in the womb, John was
convinced Jesus was the one but was confused about it later.
On another occasion, John saw Jesus walking in a crowd and boldly
declared, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world!" (John 1:29). Even in the midst of a crowd, John knew who He
was. While John was baptizing in the Jordan, Jesus came to him asking
to be baptized, and John insisted that it was Jesus who should be
baptizing him (Matt 3:14). Once again John had absolute clarity that
Jesus was the one. But when John acquiesced and baptized Jesus, John
saw the heavens open, witnessed the Spirit of God descending on Jesus
like a dove and heard a voice from heaven declaring, "This is my Son,
whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (vv 16-17).
In this situation, like the rest, John didn't pause and ask, "Now, I
was wondering, are you the One that we are waiting for or should we
look for another?" There is only one reason John asked this question
when he did. He was in prison, and Herod was about to have him
beheaded. If you are about to lose your head over God, you want to
make sure He's the right one. Yet even in this crisis, John's doubts
came as a result of Jesus' inactivity on his behalf. He was the one
preparing the way for Christ. While everyone else wondered who He was,
John was declaring who He was. Yet this moment was different. His life
was at stake. It was becoming clear to John that Jesus would not
intervene on his behalf.
What John needed was not the faith to be released from prison, but the
faithfulness to see God's mission for him fulfilled. Jesus' response
was one of astonishing credentials-- The blind were made to see, the
lame were made to walk, lepers were cured, the deaf could hear, and
even the dead were raised. What's more, the good news was proclaimed
to the poor. All this John already knew. Jesus' resume brought no
surprised to John except for His final statement, "Blessed is the man
who does not fall away on account of me."
This is an odd saying at the end of such a miraculous description.
Why would anyone be tempted to fall away from a God through which
there was so much miraculous intervention? Because though He is the
God who can do all that was described, He is also the God who calls
you to the highest level of sacrifice. There are moments when our
greatest act of faith is to remain faithful. There will be times when
no level of faith will change our circumstance. Faith is not always a
way out of a crisis. In fact I am convinced it rarely is. Faith gives
us the strength and confidence to see every challenge and crisis
through the end. There is a resilience that erupts out of faithfulness
where you just won't quit! You learn to never give up. Faith is a
confidence in God that results in faithfulness. That faithfulness
gives us the power to perservere. In the midst of our perserverance,
we find the wisdom of God to help us understand and see our way
through. When Jesus calls us to be faithful and even to endure great
things, we are blessed when we do not fall away from Him but continue
to follow closely at His side.
Taken from Uprising
A casual listener to Christian teaching over the airwaves would
conclude the solution to every problem is to have more faith. If you
have a problem, all you have to do is believe. If you can't overcome
the problem, you're just not believing big enough. The metaphor of the
mustard seed is thrown into this mix of faith talk. We are told that
Jesus said all we need was faith the size of a mustard seed and we
could speak to the mountain, "Be removed," and it would be cast into
the sea. Jesus' words are interpreted to mean that what we have is a
faith problem-- we just dont believe enough. This spiritual journey
becomes an endless cycle of trying to muster up more belief, bigger
faith. But Jesus is pointing us to the very opposite conclusion. He's
not saying we need to have more faith; He's actually telling us we
just need to have some. It's not about making your faith bigger. All
you need is mustard seed-sized faith. The implication is any less is
none at all. Jesus was not calling us to work up our faith. He was
calling us simply to put our faith in God. It is not our faith in an
event that is critical, but our faith in God himself. It is not about
believing in a miracle or believing for a miracle; it is about an
unshakable confidence in the character of God.
In Matthew 11, John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus a
question: "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect
someone else?" Jesus sent back this response: "Go back and report to
John what you see and here: The blind receive sight, the lame walk,
those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does
not fall away on account of me" (11:3-6). It is curious that John, who
was the cousin of Jesus, was doubting who Jesus was. If anyone should
have been sure, it was John. The Bible tells us he leaped in his
mother Elizabeth's womb when she was in the presence of Mary, who was
pregnant with Jesus. Interesting that while in the womb, John was
convinced Jesus was the one but was confused about it later.
On another occasion, John saw Jesus walking in a crowd and boldly
declared, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world!" (John 1:29). Even in the midst of a crowd, John knew who He
was. While John was baptizing in the Jordan, Jesus came to him asking
to be baptized, and John insisted that it was Jesus who should be
baptizing him (Matt 3:14). Once again John had absolute clarity that
Jesus was the one. But when John acquiesced and baptized Jesus, John
saw the heavens open, witnessed the Spirit of God descending on Jesus
like a dove and heard a voice from heaven declaring, "This is my Son,
whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (vv 16-17).
In this situation, like the rest, John didn't pause and ask, "Now, I
was wondering, are you the One that we are waiting for or should we
look for another?" There is only one reason John asked this question
when he did. He was in prison, and Herod was about to have him
beheaded. If you are about to lose your head over God, you want to
make sure He's the right one. Yet even in this crisis, John's doubts
came as a result of Jesus' inactivity on his behalf. He was the one
preparing the way for Christ. While everyone else wondered who He was,
John was declaring who He was. Yet this moment was different. His life
was at stake. It was becoming clear to John that Jesus would not
intervene on his behalf.
What John needed was not the faith to be released from prison, but the
faithfulness to see God's mission for him fulfilled. Jesus' response
was one of astonishing credentials-- The blind were made to see, the
lame were made to walk, lepers were cured, the deaf could hear, and
even the dead were raised. What's more, the good news was proclaimed
to the poor. All this John already knew. Jesus' resume brought no
surprised to John except for His final statement, "Blessed is the man
who does not fall away on account of me."
This is an odd saying at the end of such a miraculous description.
Why would anyone be tempted to fall away from a God through which
there was so much miraculous intervention? Because though He is the
God who can do all that was described, He is also the God who calls
you to the highest level of sacrifice. There are moments when our
greatest act of faith is to remain faithful. There will be times when
no level of faith will change our circumstance. Faith is not always a
way out of a crisis. In fact I am convinced it rarely is. Faith gives
us the strength and confidence to see every challenge and crisis
through the end. There is a resilience that erupts out of faithfulness
where you just won't quit! You learn to never give up. Faith is a
confidence in God that results in faithfulness. That faithfulness
gives us the power to perservere. In the midst of our perserverance,
we find the wisdom of God to help us understand and see our way
through. When Jesus calls us to be faithful and even to endure great
things, we are blessed when we do not fall away from Him but continue
to follow closely at His side.
Taken from Uprising
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The Apologist's First Question
07/3/08 The Apologist's First Question
Ravi Zacharias
I have little doubt that the single greatest obstacle to the impact ofthe Gospel has not been its inability to provide answers, but the failure on our part to live it out. I remember well in the early days of my Christian faith talking to a close Hindu friend. He was questioning the experience of conversion as being supernatural. He absolutely insisted that conversion was nothing more than a decisionto lead a more ethical life and that, in most cases, it was not any different from other ethical religions. I had heard his argument before.
After lecturing at a major American university, I was driven to the airport by the organizer of the event. I was quite jolted by what he told me. He said, "My wife brought our neighbor last night. She is a
medical doctor and had not been to anything like this before. On their way home, my wife asked her what she thought of it all." He paused and then continued, "Do you know what she said?" Rather reluctantly, I shook my head. "She said, 'That was a very powerful evening. The arguments were very persuasive. I wonder what he is like in his private life.'"
Because my Hindu friend had not witnessed spiritual transformation inthe life of Christians, whatever answers he received were nullified.In the doctor's case, the answers were intellectually and existentially satisfying, but she still needed to know, did they really make a difference in the life of the one proclaiming them? The Irish evangelist Gypsy Smith once said, "There are five Gospels.Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian, and some people willnever read the first four." In other words, the message is seen before it is heard. For both the Hindu questioner and the American doctor,the answers to their questions were not enough; they depended upon the visible transformation of the one offering them.
1 Peter 3:15 gives us the gives us the defining statement: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer (apologia) to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." Notice that before the answer is given, the one giving the answer is called to a certain prerequisite. The lordship of Christ over the life of the apologist is foundational to all answers given. Peter, of all the disciples, knew well how to ask questions and also how fickle the human heart is. He knew the seductive power of the spectacular inmomentary enthrallment. He knew what it was to betray someone and to fail. He knew what it was to try to explain the Gospel--as he did at
Pentecost. Peter's strong reminder of the heart of the apologist is the basis of all apologetic attempts.
With character in mind, there follow two immediate imperatives: the quality of life lived and the clarity of answers given. The way theChristian's life is lived will determine the impact upon believers and skeptics alike. This is a defining line because the claim by the believer is unique. The claim is that of a "new birth." After all, no Buddhist or Hindu or Muslim claims his or her life of devotion to be supernatural, yet they often live a more consistent life. And how often does the so-called Christian, even while teaching some of the loftiest truths one could ever teach, live a life bereft of that beauty and character. In apologetics the question is often asked, "If there is only one way, how is it that there are few in all of creation who qualify?" That question is actually more potent than the questioner realizes. It should further be raised, "Out of the few who actually qualify, why are even fewer living it out?"
The spiritual condition and character of the apologist are of immense importance. This call to a life reflecting the person of Christ is the ultimate call of everyone who wishes to do apologetics.
When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well (John 4:1–26) she raised one question after another as if that were really her problem. It would have been very easy for the Lord to call her bluff with some castigating words. Instead, like a gentle and nimble-handed goldsmith he rubbed away the markings of sin and pain in her life until she was amazed at how much true gold he brought out in her. He gave her hope,knowing all along who she was on the inside. Likewise, we cannot simply vanquish the person in an attempt to rescue the message. The value of the person is an essential part of the message.
This means the apologist's task begins with a godly walk. One ought to take time to reflect seriously upon the question, Has God truly wrought a miracle in my life? Is my own heart proof of the supernatural intervention of God? That is the apologist's first question.
Excerpted from Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend (ThomasNelson, 2007), ed. by Ravi Zacharias.
Ravi Zacharias is founder and president of Ravi ZachariasInternational Ministries.
Ravi Zacharias
I have little doubt that the single greatest obstacle to the impact ofthe Gospel has not been its inability to provide answers, but the failure on our part to live it out. I remember well in the early days of my Christian faith talking to a close Hindu friend. He was questioning the experience of conversion as being supernatural. He absolutely insisted that conversion was nothing more than a decisionto lead a more ethical life and that, in most cases, it was not any different from other ethical religions. I had heard his argument before.
After lecturing at a major American university, I was driven to the airport by the organizer of the event. I was quite jolted by what he told me. He said, "My wife brought our neighbor last night. She is a
medical doctor and had not been to anything like this before. On their way home, my wife asked her what she thought of it all." He paused and then continued, "Do you know what she said?" Rather reluctantly, I shook my head. "She said, 'That was a very powerful evening. The arguments were very persuasive. I wonder what he is like in his private life.'"
Because my Hindu friend had not witnessed spiritual transformation inthe life of Christians, whatever answers he received were nullified.In the doctor's case, the answers were intellectually and existentially satisfying, but she still needed to know, did they really make a difference in the life of the one proclaiming them? The Irish evangelist Gypsy Smith once said, "There are five Gospels.Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian, and some people willnever read the first four." In other words, the message is seen before it is heard. For both the Hindu questioner and the American doctor,the answers to their questions were not enough; they depended upon the visible transformation of the one offering them.
1 Peter 3:15 gives us the gives us the defining statement: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer (apologia) to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." Notice that before the answer is given, the one giving the answer is called to a certain prerequisite. The lordship of Christ over the life of the apologist is foundational to all answers given. Peter, of all the disciples, knew well how to ask questions and also how fickle the human heart is. He knew the seductive power of the spectacular inmomentary enthrallment. He knew what it was to betray someone and to fail. He knew what it was to try to explain the Gospel--as he did at
Pentecost. Peter's strong reminder of the heart of the apologist is the basis of all apologetic attempts.
With character in mind, there follow two immediate imperatives: the quality of life lived and the clarity of answers given. The way theChristian's life is lived will determine the impact upon believers and skeptics alike. This is a defining line because the claim by the believer is unique. The claim is that of a "new birth." After all, no Buddhist or Hindu or Muslim claims his or her life of devotion to be supernatural, yet they often live a more consistent life. And how often does the so-called Christian, even while teaching some of the loftiest truths one could ever teach, live a life bereft of that beauty and character. In apologetics the question is often asked, "If there is only one way, how is it that there are few in all of creation who qualify?" That question is actually more potent than the questioner realizes. It should further be raised, "Out of the few who actually qualify, why are even fewer living it out?"
The spiritual condition and character of the apologist are of immense importance. This call to a life reflecting the person of Christ is the ultimate call of everyone who wishes to do apologetics.
When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well (John 4:1–26) she raised one question after another as if that were really her problem. It would have been very easy for the Lord to call her bluff with some castigating words. Instead, like a gentle and nimble-handed goldsmith he rubbed away the markings of sin and pain in her life until she was amazed at how much true gold he brought out in her. He gave her hope,knowing all along who she was on the inside. Likewise, we cannot simply vanquish the person in an attempt to rescue the message. The value of the person is an essential part of the message.
This means the apologist's task begins with a godly walk. One ought to take time to reflect seriously upon the question, Has God truly wrought a miracle in my life? Is my own heart proof of the supernatural intervention of God? That is the apologist's first question.
Excerpted from Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend (ThomasNelson, 2007), ed. by Ravi Zacharias.
Ravi Zacharias is founder and president of Ravi ZachariasInternational Ministries.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
