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| I'm reading Blue Like Jazz right now (I got it for Christmas) and it
is really good and I'm
faced again with the selfishness of my heart (you know, as I sit here
on my leather chair, writing this on my wireless Tablet PC laptop,
sipping my freshly ground organic French Roast coffee). Last night we
watched the epic veggie tales "Lord of the Beans" where Junior
Asparagas was given a bean that instantly gave you anything you wished
for and instead of just using it on himself, he went to the Land of
Woe to find out what it was supposed to be for. In the Land of Woe he
found only hurting, hungry people and was confused until he realized
he could use his gift to help them. I usually do the dishes and
almost every night when I stuff the bits of leftover food down the
disposal I think "someday I'll regret this, but I don't know how". I
thought maybe I would be starving someday and wish I had the food I
threw out all those years. Now I'm starting to think I'll always
regret that I've lived with so much plenty and not shared...
Painful... thanks a lot... ;) It really seems so overwhelming
though and I'm not sure how to do anything... I have a friend who
is in India right now spending her Christmas with a pack of needy
orphans. I'm proud of her and so
glad that she's not afraid to step into the mess and see about
conquering some evil in the power of the Holy Spirit... I just
finished a book on Paul by N.T. Wright and his closing words are
haunting me... That maybe the best way to understand Paul isn't going
to be by deeper comprehension, but by exercising courage. I need more courage.
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I just read this great article by Jerry Bridges on "Gospel-driven sanctification".
He hints at but unfortunately doesn't make the point explicit
that our freedom from condemnation is a _covenantal_ one. For me
unless that is grasped in the root of our being, the motivation for
living righteously is vague. He gives us a "gospel-driven
sanctification" based on our "gratitude", but I think he could go
further.
Paul, in a discussion of "progressive sanctification" in Phil
ch. 3, gets at it when he says, "only let us live up to that which we
have already attained"... All mankind is under covenantal
judgment because of our failure in Adam to live up to the creational
covenant. This is made more explicit in the Noaic and then the
Mosaic covenant, but we were in deep weeds from the start (Isaiah
43:26-28). We are covenant-breakers and have incurred the wrath
of God!
But the good news is that in Christ, all judgment against us is
expended and room is made for a legal declaration of our righteousness
(justification). Yet, what deeply motivates me isn't gratitude
for what Christ has done (even though I'm really grateful and it does
motivate me!). What motivates me even more is that I'm now dead
in Christ and the covenant of blessings and curses based on my
performance was nailed to my old dead self! And now my new, alive
self is raised to life in Christ under a new covenant, a covenant of
promise not law. Therefore, I'm now motivated to live
accordingly.
I want to live as I will one day live in the coming Kingdom,
daily anticipating the eschaton as a member of the new
covenant... What will it be like when all evil is removed?
It has already been conquered on the cross and will one day be removed
(1 cor 15) and since I'm dead to the old and alive to the new, I want
to live as I will one day live. If I am a child of God, holy and
pleasing to him in the present (by reckoned righteousness) and I will
one day in the future live holy and pleasing to him (by actual
righteousness) I want to live the way I will one day live.
I think that is the expression of love and faith that Paul is
talking about in 2 cor 4:1-7:1, with 7:1 ending triumphantly: "Since we
have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from
everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out
of reverence for God". Our motivation is our family connection
and our future vindication and our present stretching out to "live up
to that which we have already attained". What have we
obtained? Membership in the People of God through the new
covenant of faith in Christ. | | |
| on the far side of the field, the ladybug prophet called out to all who would listen:
"Stop worrying! Stop fretting!
Why are you rushing around to and fro?
Feel the warmth today? The cold is over!
Warm days are here again! Winter is spent!"
some ladybugs took his advice and frolicked again in the bright
sunshine. others, driven by some deeper word sought a dark
crevass to sleep away the coming fury.
By Ken Burcham
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| Oh and I just setup mediawiki on our church website: http://www.crestcommunity.org/mediawiki
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| Hey I didn't know you could do this: http://main.xanga.com/NewlyUpdated.aspx
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