HAIKU #329
This haiku's number
Is the same as today's date
Three twenty-nine, bro
#MAGIC #Bros4Life
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Monday, March 20, 2017
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
GOD'S ACCEPTANCE
I think it's common for people, both Christians and non-Christians, to believe that if we follow the right rules and behave in a good enough way, we can earn God's acceptance and be pleasing to him.
But, if I understand Christianity, it teaches that God's acceptance comes first: God is pleased with us because of what Jesus did on our behalf, not because of anything we've done or ever could do.
So, as a Christian, you try to behave morally not out of ambition or fear, but out of joy and love. You try to be good not because you're trying to be accepted by God, but because you've already been accepted through Jesus Christ and you gratefully realize you've done nothing to deserve it.
Tim Keller puts it like this:
"If you think, as most people do, that the way to find God is to come to church and try to be like Christ and trust the Bible and study and live in a certain way, what you're actually showing is you have no faith in the Lord Jesus at all. You have faith in yourself. You see, actually, this is what makes you a Christian: to admit that you can't trust the Bible, you can't live the way you ought to live, you can't do it. And you rest completely on what? Just the Lord Jesus. That's it. The centrality of Jesus. Everything else is second. And that's how you know you're a Christian. Do you believe it's only because of Jesus that you have a relationship with the Father? Not because you [go to church], not because you trust in the Bible, not because your doctrines are right, not because of [how you live] your life. But only because of him."
Elsewhere Keller says it's common for people to assume that accepting Jesus will transform your life from a state of war into a state of peace. But what it actually does is transform your life from a battle you can't win into a battle you can't lose. Life will always be filled with challenges and suffering, but by loving Jesus and accepting him into your heart, you will have already secured in him the only victory that ultimately matters: eternal oneness with God.
Of course, I'm just some knucklehead who listens to sermons. I'm no authority. The reason I'm sharing this is because I think if we understood the real beauty of God, there's nothing we would desire more than to know him and walk in his presence.
The good news is that if we do desire that, we can have it. It doesn't matter what we've done or who we are. All we have to do is accept Jesus as our savior; to admit that without him we are empty and with him we are full. That's it. A life of love will follow.
I think it's common for people, both Christians and non-Christians, to believe that if we follow the right rules and behave in a good enough way, we can earn God's acceptance and be pleasing to him.
But, if I understand Christianity, it teaches that God's acceptance comes first: God is pleased with us because of what Jesus did on our behalf, not because of anything we've done or ever could do.
So, as a Christian, you try to behave morally not out of ambition or fear, but out of joy and love. You try to be good not because you're trying to be accepted by God, but because you've already been accepted through Jesus Christ and you gratefully realize you've done nothing to deserve it.
Tim Keller puts it like this:
"If you think, as most people do, that the way to find God is to come to church and try to be like Christ and trust the Bible and study and live in a certain way, what you're actually showing is you have no faith in the Lord Jesus at all. You have faith in yourself. You see, actually, this is what makes you a Christian: to admit that you can't trust the Bible, you can't live the way you ought to live, you can't do it. And you rest completely on what? Just the Lord Jesus. That's it. The centrality of Jesus. Everything else is second. And that's how you know you're a Christian. Do you believe it's only because of Jesus that you have a relationship with the Father? Not because you [go to church], not because you trust in the Bible, not because your doctrines are right, not because of [how you live] your life. But only because of him."
Elsewhere Keller says it's common for people to assume that accepting Jesus will transform your life from a state of war into a state of peace. But what it actually does is transform your life from a battle you can't win into a battle you can't lose. Life will always be filled with challenges and suffering, but by loving Jesus and accepting him into your heart, you will have already secured in him the only victory that ultimately matters: eternal oneness with God.
Of course, I'm just some knucklehead who listens to sermons. I'm no authority. The reason I'm sharing this is because I think if we understood the real beauty of God, there's nothing we would desire more than to know him and walk in his presence.
The good news is that if we do desire that, we can have it. It doesn't matter what we've done or who we are. All we have to do is accept Jesus as our savior; to admit that without him we are empty and with him we are full. That's it. A life of love will follow.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Friday, March 10, 2017
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Friday, March 3, 2017
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Happy March! I feel compelled to share a short prayer that I've been getting a lot of use out of lately. To me, it beautifully expresses the essence of Christianity in its simplest, most stripped-down form. The idea is that if you believe in heaven and hell, and you want heaven, all the impossible work you have to do to get there has already been done for you by Jesus Christ. I'm of course no theologian, but I think this is what is meant by that expression, "the good news of the Gospel." The good news is that if we accept Christ's sacrifice, God accepts us. I personally find the arrangement beautifully humbling, powerfully joyful, and full of a transcendent kind of hope (which is my favorite kind of anything). The prayer is a paraphrase, maybe, of one which I've heard Tim Keller say a few times. (Side note: Tim Keller is the only preacher I've ever really enjoyed listening to. He's intelligent, well read, clear thinking, and conversational in style. I'm pretty sure you can find a lot of his stuff for free online, if that interests you.) Anyway, I leave you now with that very short prayer:
Father, please accept us because of what Jesus Christ has done. Amen.
Father, please accept us because of what Jesus Christ has done. Amen.
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