Tag: Christianity

Enjoying the Work of Our Hands

On By BrianIn Uncategorized2 Comments

 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
– Genesis 1:31-2:3

Upon finishing creation, God looked at all that he made and declared it good.  He found pleasure in what he had made.  And so he rested from his work – enjoying the work of his hands.

I recently spent a lot of time laying a new floor in our living room.  One day, as I was near the end of the project, I was looking at the floor.  And I felt pleasure at what I had done.  I had a sense of accomplishment.  I enjoyed the work of my hands.

This is one reason God created the Sabbath – to give us a day to rest and enjoy the work of our hands.  To be able to stop from our labor long enough to see what we had done and find pleasure in it.

As we finish another year, we look back to evaluate.  But perhaps too we should look back to enjoy what we have been able to do during the past year.  To celebrate the successes.  To find pleasure in tasks completed.  To enjoy the work of our hands.

What Are You Seeking?

On By BrianIn Heart, Idolatry2 Comments

What are you seeking?

This is Jesus’ question to two of John the Baptist’s disciples.  It is also an important question for us to ponder as we end this year and begin a new year. 

The answer to the question determines how we lived in 2011. 
The answer determines how we will live in 2012.

The answer tells us what we worship, what we desire. 
It reveals idols in our hearts.  It shows how much we love God.

So as you evaluate the past year and look to the next, ask yourself the question:

What are you seeking?

 

O Savior of our Fallen Race

On By BrianIn Holidays, Songs of Passion

I have been enjoying Keith and Kristyn Getty’s new Christmas album – Joy.  With a strong Irish/Celtic flavor, it includes wonderful renditions of traditional carols like God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Carol of the Bells.  The album also includes a number of worthwhile new songs.  Below is one of my favorite songs on the album – O Savior of our Fallen Race -with great lyrics and haunting music.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving giving thanks to God for our many blessings!  Here are a few good posts for your weekend reading:

Kevin DeYoung gives us four helpful principles for generous giving.

Bobby Jamieson asks what corporate worship is for (hint: it is more than worship).

Bill Clem argues that gospel community is all about imaging God to each other.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day applying these three posts!

Thanksgiving Quotes To Ponder

On By BrianIn Holidays, PASSION Quotes

Never was there an eminent saint who was not full of thankfulness.
– J.C. Ryle

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
– Psalm 100:4-5

Good God, many and great are the blessings by which I am bound to Thee, and for which I give Thee most hearty thanks; but how can I sufficiently thank Thee for having enlightened me with the holy faith?  I tremble, O Lord, when I compare this Thy great gift with my own ingratitude.
– Francis de Sales

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us, and to all men.  We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we shew forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives; by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
– 1662 Book of Common Prayer

Declaring the Glory

On By BrianIn Declaring the Glory

Glen Lake in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
– Psalm 19:1

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,
in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
– Romans 1:20

Beyond Grateful Hearts

On By BrianIn Holidays, Virtue Miscellaneous1 Comment

In Luke 17:11-19, ten lepers come to Jesus to be healed.  Jesus tells them to go and show themesleves to the priests.  As they go, all ten are healed.  One turned back and “fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks.”

Were the other nine glad to be healed?  Undoubtedly they were!  Leprosy was a horrible disease, and made one an outcast of society.  Certainly they were happy to be healed.  You might say they were thankful, that they had grateful hearts.  But they never came back to give thanks.

Many in America this week, will celebrate Thanksgiving.  They will have grateful hearts as they think of the good things in their lives.  But they will never come to the Lord who gave them every good thing, and give thanks to him.

As Christians, we too can fail to give thanks.  God answers a prayer, and we are very happy about it.  But we forget to thank the Lord.

This week and every day, may God help us to not only have grateful hearts like the nine, but to return to the Lord and give thanks to him.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts to read and ponder this weekend:

A great quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, speaking of revival through a more determined quest for Christ.

John Piper reminds us that Christ must be the center around which our entire lives revolve.

Matthew Wynne writes of the joyful path of the pilgrim.

Finally, as we prepare to gather in our local churches tomorrow, consider J. C. Ryle’s words on how we should approach the preaching of God’s Word.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping our great God with his people.

 

Trust, Blessing, and Prayer

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

Yesterday I asked two questions:

Where are you placing your trust?

Where are you seeking your blessing?

As I have been thinking about this, I would suggest that our prayer lives help us answer these questions.  If we trust in God in the midst of trials, we will look to him in prayer for those trials.  If we seek God for blessings, we will look to him in prayer for those blessings.  The more we trust God, the more we will pray.  The more we seek our blessings from him, the more we will pray.

On the other hand, if our prayer lives are small, I suspect our trust in God is likewise small.  If we pray only a little, we are seeking God for blessings only a little.  A small prayer life suggests that we may be trusting in something else, that we are seeking blessings somewhere else, that we are looking to an idol.

What does your prayer life reveal about you?