Universal

Quotes from The Mortification of Sin, John Owen

Owen provides an excellent summary of Chapter 8 as his last paragraph in that chapter:
"He who truly and thoroughly seeks to mortify any disquieting lust, must be equally diligent in all parts of obedience. We must see that every lust and every omission of duty is a burden to God. If we do not seek to obey in every area of our lives, our soul becomes weak. If we seek only to have victory over the sin that troubles us, and do not consider the filth and guilt of it, we are selfish and offer a constant provocation to God. There will not be any positive outcome to the spiritual duties we undertake, and we will not gain the victory over this great lust, if we do not seek universal obedience." p53

Root

Quotes from chapter 7 in The Mortification of Sin, John Owen

"... we must always remember to speak in such a way as to lead them to the discovery of their state and condition. Otherwise we may lead men to formality and hypocrisy and not accomplish the true end of preaching the gospel. It will not avail to beat a man off from his drunkenness into a sober formality. We must lay the axe at the root." p47

"Can sin be truly killed without an interest in the death of Christ, and the work of the Spirit? If such directions should prevail to change men's lives, as seldom they do, they never will reach to the change of their hearts! They just make men self-justified or hypocrites, and not Christians." p47

Periphery

The Cross and Christian Ministry, D. A. Carson

“I fear that the cross without ever being disowned, is constantly being dismissed from the central place it must enjoy, by relatively peripheral insights that take on far too much weight. Whenever the periphery is in danger of displacing the center, we are not far removed from idolatry.”

Runner-ups

I keep a little notebook with me all the time. I jot ideas down and some of them make it in this blog. Here are some of the runner-ups. I may post more about them at a future date but don't hold your breath.

Servants
I was at the church and saw the following acts of servant-hood: A local TV reporter running the camera for one of our services and business owners seating guests. Humility in the flesh.

Terminal
I have a few friends who have started a club of sorts called "Don't Waste Your Terminal llness." To my knowledge none of them have a terminal illness right now but if they ever do, you'll see them boarding a plane to the most hostile unreached people groups. They want to die sharing the gospel.

New
The phrase "making all things new" or some variant has managed to make it's way into so many different songs and sermons and books that I've come across lately. It intrigues me.

Subway
Sin is kind of like Subway. You walk in thinking, "This is the most delectable smell I believe my olfactory senses have ever encountered." You walk out thinking, "I smell like throw up."

Mortification

Quotes from chapters 4, 5, and 6 of John Owen's The Mortification of Sin.

"The unmortified soul cannot say uprightly and truly that God is its portion, having something else that it loves. The soul and its affections, that should be full of God, cannot be full of Him, since it is entagled in worldly pursuits."

"Mortification is not just the changing of some outward aspects of a sin. There may be an apparent change of life. God however knows the heart. Someone may change an obvious sin for a hidden one. Mortification is not just the substitution of one sin for another. He may simply have changed from one road to hell a safer path than he was on before. He may have a different heart than he had, one which is more cunning; not a new heart, which is more holy!"

What mortification is:
1. A habitual weakening of the lust.
2. A consistent fight and contention against sin.
3. A degree of success in the battle.
(This last one is more of an outline of chapter 6)

Notes

Never underestimate the power of a note.

I have a stickie on my computer monitor that reads, "1 note a day." I don't actually write 1 note a day but I try. It's a great discipline in being thankful and thoughtful about OTHERS and God's work in and through them.

We had over 50 volunteers ranging from meal providers to greeters to host homes to leaders participate in the Nexus Project 09. That's a lot of thank you notes. That's a lot of time and our hand and brain muscles may have cramped up a few times. We wouldn't have it any other way though.

I got this email today:

Hey Shannon,

You so did not have to send me a thank you note.....but you made my day!

Thank you for being so thoughtful.

Ruth C

I didn't write her a long, super specific letter. I jotted her a note of sincere gratitude for her heart-felt service for our students - she was one of our "on call" medics.

I think her email said it all. Go write a note.

Meditate

What do you think of when you hear the word "meditate"? When I was younger that word was used in reference to, what was in my elementary-aged mind, creepy people who didn't know God much less love Him. So of course when I got to college and heard my d-group leader tell us to mediate on God's word daily I thought she was crazy. In fact, all I heard was "meditate blah, blah, blah." I quickly saw in scripture* that we as believers are to meditate on God's word (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2). A friend of mine recently wrote on the subject here.
I have been honored to have friends that also love the Word, delight themselves in it, and help me to commit it to memory. Emily, Katie, Kim, and April I am thankful for your partnership in the gospel in my life! Thank you for letting me do the same with you!


*I did move on from my always taking other people's word for it.

Accusation

I had a really good conversation with a friend of mine in which we talked about the past rearing it's ugly head in a condemning way. I sent a note of encouragement to my friend with a passage from Romans. A few days later the song Embracing Accusation by Shane & Shane came up on my playlist. A few days ago my friend posted the following video on her blog. I just watched it this morning - the video uses a passage in Galatians. I was struck by a few things: #1 There are so many passages of scripture that remind us that we don't make ourselves right before God - Christ did that - and because Christ, through His blood, made us right before the Lord, we are righteous and there is no condemnation for us. #2 The irony of Satan being right... but only to the point to send us to the foot of the cross! Satan sharing the gospel. Too much!

(In case you are even a little like me, wait for it, Piper is toward the end)

Catechism

"Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever."
The Shorter Catechism, Presbyterian Church of America

Words

Words are powerful things. Words bring life, literally and figuratively. Words hurt and heal. Words grant hope as well as dash.

I just went through some of my books and selected some quotes that have in some way spoken to me. Some will make you laugh, some will step on your toes, some will reveal your heart, some will comfort you but I hope they all will provoke you to thought. I'll post them periodically along with other quotes from books I will surely read.

My favorite... "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:12-13

Cookies

I just got back from the best visit with the couple across the street. Yesterday was a snow day so Hannah and I took cookies to our neighbors. Well, despite what the news may have led on, not everyone was home yesterday. So some of the cookies had to be delivered tonight. I had every intention of just saying "hi" and handing off the treats. Well that 20 second interaction turned into an hour long conversation. And an encouraging one at that!
I won't bore you with the details but I was encouraged and spurred on by the words that spoke of the richness of lyrics that really spoke to them, conversation about loving God by loving others, and so on. It made me so thankful for the church that I am able to serve alongside and minister with. It reminded me to be praying for continued humility among our staff & congregation and that we would continue to live gospel-centered lives!
For some reason I am frequently surprised when God sends encouragement to me. Do I forget that He loves to love me and wants my best? Yes. Friends, be reminded that God loves you. He's not out to get you. He knows the plan He has for you - it is for your good! (Oh, and my favorite part of it being for our good is that it is for His glory!)

Thoughts

Today's snow day has me snuggled up under my favorite blanket with John Owen's The Mortification of Sin. There is something striking about this concept. "Putting to death the misdeeds of the body," as Paul says in Romans 8:13, is always to be the work of the saved.

I've just read the following:
"It fills the thoughts with contrivances about it. Thoughts are the great purveyors of the soul to bring in the provision to satisfy its affections; and if sin remain unmortified in the heart, they must ever and anon be making provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. They must glaze, adorn, and dress the objects of the flesh, and bring them home to give satisfaction; and this they are able to do, in the service of a defiled imagination, beyond all expression." p.52

Well, my heart provides my body with a lot of thoughts. I would like to dismiss them as just thoughts but God's Words says otherwise.

2 Corinthians 10:5, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

Matthew 5:28, "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Sin is not only an on-display action but also in the heart and thoughts.

1 Chronicles 28:9, "acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts." and similarly Hebrews 4:12-13, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

Psalm 10:4, " In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God."

But oh what joy to read in Ephesians 2:3-5, "All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved" and in that, 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 says, "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us."

My prayer for myself and for you is Psalm 19:14, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." That we would be putting to death the misdeeds of the body, to the point of making our thoughts obedient to Christ. That we would do that in the freedom of the cross on which the Prince of glory made the way to our God and Father.