I like this quote from Paul Tripp in his book--"What did you Expect?? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage" ----
Based on 1 John 4 and especially verse 20("If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen"), Tripp states:
"Your love for your husband or wife is a very accurate barometer of your true love for God."
Now this is something to think about! For other intersesting quotes this week go here to the Monday post about a "Week in Words: http://barbarah.wordpress.com/
Friday, June 25, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Cruciform love
I have been reading Paul Tripp's book called--What Did You Expect??Redeeming the Realities of Marriage.
In this book he gives a definition of what he feels cruciform love is: "Love is willing self-sacrifice for the good of another that does not require reciprocation or that the person being loved is deserving."
I like this definition and it is good to think on. He says we get our" best definition of love from the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ's sacrifice of love is the ultimate definition of what love is and what love does. In this passage John is calling us to cruciform love, that is love that shapes itself to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ (cruci = 'cross' and form = "in the shape of' ). "
He was applying some of I John 4. I felt this was good to think about and reflect on.
I think I will link this to Barbara's http://barbarah.wordpress.com/ The week in words
In this book he gives a definition of what he feels cruciform love is: "Love is willing self-sacrifice for the good of another that does not require reciprocation or that the person being loved is deserving."
I like this definition and it is good to think on. He says we get our" best definition of love from the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ's sacrifice of love is the ultimate definition of what love is and what love does. In this passage John is calling us to cruciform love, that is love that shapes itself to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ (cruci = 'cross' and form = "in the shape of' ). "
He was applying some of I John 4. I felt this was good to think about and reflect on.
I think I will link this to Barbara's http://barbarah.wordpress.com/ The week in words
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Walking as Jesus Walked
I have been thinking about this. In my devotions today I John 2:6 , "whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked" .
I have been reading a book by Andrew Murry called, "With Christ in the School of Prayer." One of the things he says is this:
"And of all the traits of a life like Christ there is none higher and more glorious than conformity to Him in the work that now engages Him without ceasing in the Father's presence--His all-prevailing intercession. the more we abide in Him, and grow unto His likeness, will His priestly life work in us mightily, and our life become what His is, a life that ever pleads and prevails for men."
Hebrews 7:25 says, "Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."
I am so thankful for His continuous intercession.....I need to do this too.
I have been reading a book by Andrew Murry called, "With Christ in the School of Prayer." One of the things he says is this:
"And of all the traits of a life like Christ there is none higher and more glorious than conformity to Him in the work that now engages Him without ceasing in the Father's presence--His all-prevailing intercession. the more we abide in Him, and grow unto His likeness, will His priestly life work in us mightily, and our life become what His is, a life that ever pleads and prevails for men."
Hebrews 7:25 says, "Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."
I am so thankful for His continuous intercession.....I need to do this too.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Thanks again
God, I am so thankful for your intimate care. I think you for the God Wink you gave us this week. You gave us this verse , "Be still, and know that I am God", along with the Netherlands type picture. You gave us this just when my husband's company had been purchased by a group from the Netherlands. Thank you for reminding us that we can trust in what you have in store for us. Thank you for the way you then turned this around for some rich blessings. What a gracious God you have been......giving us beyond what we could hope or think. You are full of surprises. You give us beyond what we deserve. You shower us with blessings and with the glory of your intimacy. You delight to show yourself powerful. I give you thanks for your mercy, your grace, your self-revealing love, your joyful giving nature, your Fatherhood. Praise you from whom all blessings flow.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Images and symbols in worship
I found this discussion on Images, signs and symbols here: http://www.franciscan-anglican.com/Images.htm I wanted to post it here so I could think about what is said. I have been changing my views a bit on this subject. I don't agree with everything in this article--but it gives me something to think on and search the scriptures in this area. The tabernacle was full of symbolism because it was a shadow that points to Christ and to things in the heavenly places. Can we still have things that point to our great redeemer---I now think so. Here is the article
"The use of Images, Signs, and Symbols in Anglican Worship
The concept of using images in worship finds its origins in the Old Testament. The Temple contained numerous visual images, including the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant. The Temple Solomon built for the Lord contained many carvings of trees, gourds, flowers, and angels (1 Kings 6). It is clear that God did not forbid images used in the Sanctuary to glorify God.
What about symbols? In reading the Bible we discover that God uses tangible signs and symbols throughout the Scriptures as a way of communicating to God’s people. Often God’s people are instructed to make use of such signs and symbols to help them understand or remember what God is teaching them. :
· God’s use of the rainbow as the sign of God’s covenant to humankind never again to destroy the earth by a flood (Gen.9:13)
· the use unleavened bread by the Israelites as a symbol of their hurried flight out of Egypt
· the use of the blood of the lambs on their doorposts during the Passover as a symbol of their faith
· the use of animals upon the altar for ritual sacrifices to symbolize their sin and atonement
· the image of the bronze serpent Moses used as a symbol of God’s healing (Num. 21:9)
· the use of oil to anoint Israel’s Kings as symbolic of God’s setting them apart
· the placement of the twelve stones in the River Jordan to remind the Israelites of the crossing God had provided for them “as a sign” and “memorial” (Joshua 4:3-7)
· the building of stone altars by the Old Testament patriarchs including Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, and David as a symbols and acts of worship to God
· and the numerous symbolic acts carried out by the OT prophets (such as Jeremiah burying a loin cloth to demonstrate Israel’s ruin in Jer.13:4ff).
The examples are nearly limitless. In the New Testament God uses powerful symbols such as:
· the star of Bethlehem to signify the birth of Christ
· the dove to signify the Holy Spirit’s presence at Jesus’ baptism (John 1:32)
· water to signify one’s commitment to Christ at baptism
· bread and wine to signify Jesus’ body and blood.
· And the earliest church usage of the cross and empty tomb as signs and symbols of our faith
· the enduring marks in Jesus’ hands as symbolic of his sacrifice
· the symbol of a lamb to represent Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God
In addition, the Scriptures themselves paint vivid images for us of God in Divine glory. See Isaiah 6 where God is seated on the throne with God’s robes overflowing the Temple, or Daniel 7:9ff where Daniel has a vision the Ancient One with clothes white as snow and hair like pure wool on his throne of fiery flames, or in Revelation with its numerous images and symbols of God, Jesus Christ, and his Kingdom (too many to recount here).
In addition, signs and symbols are used by all of us today to communicate important truths of significance such as wedding rings, birthday cakes, birth stones, red roses, monograms, etc. It is natural way of communicating significant meaning.
The Greatest Sign: The Incarnation
Another important point which must be mentioned is the significance of God taking human form in the person of Jesus Christ. This has powerful ramifications for our worship and the use of images. Now that God has been revealed in a tangible, physical, material way through Jesus Christ (the Word became flesh and dwelt among us), we can now image or imagine God in the form of Jesus Christ. Now that God has taken physical human form, God has given us an image of God in Jesus Christ: the God-Man. It is now possible to use symbolic pictures and images of Christ in his humanity to aid us in our devotion to God and cause us to continually recall and remember the work God has done in Jesus Christ. This is the main reason why early Christians began painting pictures of Jesus, demonstrating the different offices and attributes of Christ, in their places of worship. Soon these simple paintings became beautiful icons whose purpose was educational and devotional. Icons of Jesus and Biblical figures teach us about God and the Bible and cause us to lift our hearts in gratitude to our Creator. There is tremendous historical precedent for their use in worship and in individual devotion. The Seventh Ecumenical Council of the Church upheld the tradition of the use of images in the worship as consistent with the orthodox Christian faith in 787.
What is forbidden to us however, is to make images and symbols which become objects of worship in themselves. We are never to offer worship to anything created; worship is meant for God alone. Images and symbols are meant to aid us in our worship and understanding of God and to bring glory to God. They are merely guideposts which always point us back to the Creator. Symbols and images are good in and of themselves, especially when used to bring glory to God, but it is humans which corrupt them. One common solution to this human error is to disallow all images and symbols. This is the situation in some churches following the Reformation. But this is again a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The Bible is rich and full of many symbols and imagery; it is a gift of God to aid us. If God deigned to take on human flesh in all its particularity, we no longer need to fear particular symbols. Rather, we ought to make proper use of the gifts God has given us and educate ourselves and others as to their appropriate uses.
The Gnostic philosophers of Greece believed that only the spiritual was good, and all matter (or material things) were evil. We have inherited this dangerous Gnostic tendency in our western society that causes us to be overly suspicious of the material. In our Gnostic tendencies, we feel that the physical and material are more prone to corruption. We have too often thrown out the tangible, material forms of worship, as modeled in Scripture, in place of an immaterial form of worship. But God desires that we worship God both spiritually and physically as demonstrated in the Scriptural models of worship."
I am not sure about this take on the pictures, statues of Jesus. But I need to think about it.
"The use of Images, Signs, and Symbols in Anglican Worship
The concept of using images in worship finds its origins in the Old Testament. The Temple contained numerous visual images, including the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant. The Temple Solomon built for the Lord contained many carvings of trees, gourds, flowers, and angels (1 Kings 6). It is clear that God did not forbid images used in the Sanctuary to glorify God.
What about symbols? In reading the Bible we discover that God uses tangible signs and symbols throughout the Scriptures as a way of communicating to God’s people. Often God’s people are instructed to make use of such signs and symbols to help them understand or remember what God is teaching them. :
· God’s use of the rainbow as the sign of God’s covenant to humankind never again to destroy the earth by a flood (Gen.9:13)
· the use unleavened bread by the Israelites as a symbol of their hurried flight out of Egypt
· the use of the blood of the lambs on their doorposts during the Passover as a symbol of their faith
· the use of animals upon the altar for ritual sacrifices to symbolize their sin and atonement
· the image of the bronze serpent Moses used as a symbol of God’s healing (Num. 21:9)
· the use of oil to anoint Israel’s Kings as symbolic of God’s setting them apart
· the placement of the twelve stones in the River Jordan to remind the Israelites of the crossing God had provided for them “as a sign” and “memorial” (Joshua 4:3-7)
· the building of stone altars by the Old Testament patriarchs including Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, and David as a symbols and acts of worship to God
· and the numerous symbolic acts carried out by the OT prophets (such as Jeremiah burying a loin cloth to demonstrate Israel’s ruin in Jer.13:4ff).
The examples are nearly limitless. In the New Testament God uses powerful symbols such as:
· the star of Bethlehem to signify the birth of Christ
· the dove to signify the Holy Spirit’s presence at Jesus’ baptism (John 1:32)
· water to signify one’s commitment to Christ at baptism
· bread and wine to signify Jesus’ body and blood.
· And the earliest church usage of the cross and empty tomb as signs and symbols of our faith
· the enduring marks in Jesus’ hands as symbolic of his sacrifice
· the symbol of a lamb to represent Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God
In addition, the Scriptures themselves paint vivid images for us of God in Divine glory. See Isaiah 6 where God is seated on the throne with God’s robes overflowing the Temple, or Daniel 7:9ff where Daniel has a vision the Ancient One with clothes white as snow and hair like pure wool on his throne of fiery flames, or in Revelation with its numerous images and symbols of God, Jesus Christ, and his Kingdom (too many to recount here).
In addition, signs and symbols are used by all of us today to communicate important truths of significance such as wedding rings, birthday cakes, birth stones, red roses, monograms, etc. It is natural way of communicating significant meaning.
The Greatest Sign: The Incarnation
Another important point which must be mentioned is the significance of God taking human form in the person of Jesus Christ. This has powerful ramifications for our worship and the use of images. Now that God has been revealed in a tangible, physical, material way through Jesus Christ (the Word became flesh and dwelt among us), we can now image or imagine God in the form of Jesus Christ. Now that God has taken physical human form, God has given us an image of God in Jesus Christ: the God-Man. It is now possible to use symbolic pictures and images of Christ in his humanity to aid us in our devotion to God and cause us to continually recall and remember the work God has done in Jesus Christ. This is the main reason why early Christians began painting pictures of Jesus, demonstrating the different offices and attributes of Christ, in their places of worship. Soon these simple paintings became beautiful icons whose purpose was educational and devotional. Icons of Jesus and Biblical figures teach us about God and the Bible and cause us to lift our hearts in gratitude to our Creator. There is tremendous historical precedent for their use in worship and in individual devotion. The Seventh Ecumenical Council of the Church upheld the tradition of the use of images in the worship as consistent with the orthodox Christian faith in 787.
What is forbidden to us however, is to make images and symbols which become objects of worship in themselves. We are never to offer worship to anything created; worship is meant for God alone. Images and symbols are meant to aid us in our worship and understanding of God and to bring glory to God. They are merely guideposts which always point us back to the Creator. Symbols and images are good in and of themselves, especially when used to bring glory to God, but it is humans which corrupt them. One common solution to this human error is to disallow all images and symbols. This is the situation in some churches following the Reformation. But this is again a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The Bible is rich and full of many symbols and imagery; it is a gift of God to aid us. If God deigned to take on human flesh in all its particularity, we no longer need to fear particular symbols. Rather, we ought to make proper use of the gifts God has given us and educate ourselves and others as to their appropriate uses.
The Gnostic philosophers of Greece believed that only the spiritual was good, and all matter (or material things) were evil. We have inherited this dangerous Gnostic tendency in our western society that causes us to be overly suspicious of the material. In our Gnostic tendencies, we feel that the physical and material are more prone to corruption. We have too often thrown out the tangible, material forms of worship, as modeled in Scripture, in place of an immaterial form of worship. But God desires that we worship God both spiritually and physically as demonstrated in the Scriptural models of worship."
I am not sure about this take on the pictures, statues of Jesus. But I need to think about it.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Worship
It is weekend of worship at http://inhimoneheart.blogspot.com/ Where we can link up with a prayer or poem --ect of worhship to God. So I thought I would participate in this first one ;-) It seems a little awkward to put a prayer of our own up on a post----but perhaps it is good for me to do at times.
Father, I want to lift my hands in thanks to you today for the blessing of blogging friends. Their creative spirit is such a reflection of all that you are as Creator. I love the way that you have filled the world with such a huge amount of variety. It always astounds me as I look around me at all the colors , shapes, sizes in flowers, birds, stars, trees, leaves ; I could go on and on. I love the way that women reflect this in the ways they decorate their homes, their blogs, their clothes, their hair, etc! I love the fact that you have stamped them with the image of God---that we were made in your image. What a wonderous Being you are. Thank you for making our lives so rich and for the blessing of knowing such a God. Thank you that we are constantly learning new things about you and your creation. Thank you for creating us as social beings who interact with you and each other. Thank you for these rich blessings!
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