Lessons
Here’re some scattered thoughts that have been on my mind that I thought I should share.
Have you ever felt like you’re spiritually just scratching the surface? Like you’ve experienced a mist and you ignorantly wonder what a downpour is like? I have. There’s so much more to learn from the heart! There’s so much more.
God’s convicting me of this truth like never before: His glory must be my all-consuming passion! I’m grieved that it has not been my overwhelming passion in life. Why? Why have I not been utterly consumed with His glory? I get too wrapped up in “my” little world ... concerned with my trivial pursuits. Instead, I should be consciously seeking to testify of His glory-His grace, His love, His power, His wisdom-whenever I find opportunity. Praise of His name should continually be in my mouth! While reading in the Psalms recently verses like these stood out to me.
“Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness!” (Psalm 150:2).
“Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth!” (Psalm 149:5,6a).
“Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.” (Psalm 148:12,13).
How seriously have I taken these verses? It’s my duty to have this kind of zeal for His name-a duty that brings joy. Man was created to enjoy God’s glory and communicate His glory to others.
I pray that God would give me an unquenchable passion for Him and make me a monument to His inexpressible glory! Just to be a monument to Him! May all His children be filled full with zeal and love for Him and His name. Amen...
I like to give physical gifts and think it’s nice to do that. In relation to this, the thought came to my heart recently that spiritual gifts are infinitely more valuable than physical gifts. If it is more blessed to give than to receive ... and spiritual blessings are infinitely more valuable than physical blessings, how I should delight to encourage others and seek to bless others! My focus gets so skewed sometimes. It’s like the difference between handing someone a clod of dirt and delivering a truckload of gold. All good gifts come down from God, and we become stewards of His riches, but to be used of the Lord to carry His gifts to others is absolutely wonderful (the blessing of giving to others what He gives to us). Yet, so that all glory goes to Him, even the real gift-giving work belongs to God, because spiritual blessings cannot be communicated directly to others’ hearts; only the Spirit of God can do that.
The Lord has shown me, I think, that there’s been too much unintended emphasis put on intellectually learning doctrine in my life. God doesn’t so much desire our intellectual understanding of the truth, I believe, so much as He wants our understanding in heart wherein is worship and holy fear. The emphasis must instead be put on learning the heart of God and pursuing His holiness. (That’s the thing that I find a great blessing about John Piper’s sermons and that often brings tears of joy to my eyes: he teaches with a refreshing emphasis on glorifying God and delighting in the Lord Jesus and making doctrine applicable to our lives. If you haven’t heard his teaching ever, you’re really missing out. You can find his website here.)
Have you ever felt like you’re spiritually just scratching the surface? Like you’ve experienced a mist and you ignorantly wonder what a downpour is like? I have. There’s so much more to learn from the heart! There’s so much more.
God’s convicting me of this truth like never before: His glory must be my all-consuming passion! I’m grieved that it has not been my overwhelming passion in life. Why? Why have I not been utterly consumed with His glory? I get too wrapped up in “my” little world ... concerned with my trivial pursuits. Instead, I should be consciously seeking to testify of His glory-His grace, His love, His power, His wisdom-whenever I find opportunity. Praise of His name should continually be in my mouth! While reading in the Psalms recently verses like these stood out to me.
“Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness!” (Psalm 150:2).
“Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth!” (Psalm 149:5,6a).
“Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.” (Psalm 148:12,13).
How seriously have I taken these verses? It’s my duty to have this kind of zeal for His name-a duty that brings joy. Man was created to enjoy God’s glory and communicate His glory to others.
I pray that God would give me an unquenchable passion for Him and make me a monument to His inexpressible glory! Just to be a monument to Him! May all His children be filled full with zeal and love for Him and His name. Amen...
I like to give physical gifts and think it’s nice to do that. In relation to this, the thought came to my heart recently that spiritual gifts are infinitely more valuable than physical gifts. If it is more blessed to give than to receive ... and spiritual blessings are infinitely more valuable than physical blessings, how I should delight to encourage others and seek to bless others! My focus gets so skewed sometimes. It’s like the difference between handing someone a clod of dirt and delivering a truckload of gold. All good gifts come down from God, and we become stewards of His riches, but to be used of the Lord to carry His gifts to others is absolutely wonderful (the blessing of giving to others what He gives to us). Yet, so that all glory goes to Him, even the real gift-giving work belongs to God, because spiritual blessings cannot be communicated directly to others’ hearts; only the Spirit of God can do that.
The Lord has shown me, I think, that there’s been too much unintended emphasis put on intellectually learning doctrine in my life. God doesn’t so much desire our intellectual understanding of the truth, I believe, so much as He wants our understanding in heart wherein is worship and holy fear. The emphasis must instead be put on learning the heart of God and pursuing His holiness. (That’s the thing that I find a great blessing about John Piper’s sermons and that often brings tears of joy to my eyes: he teaches with a refreshing emphasis on glorifying God and delighting in the Lord Jesus and making doctrine applicable to our lives. If you haven’t heard his teaching ever, you’re really missing out. You can find his website here.)