Saturday, April 18, 2009

Daily To Do List

    Today, I was overwhelmed with the load of work I have to do before I graduate, when a friend of mine share a simple, yet profound truth. "Take one day at a time," she said. I am not sure why, but it was as though I had never heard such a thing. The burden fell off, and I whispered to God, "I give the future to you, and help me to live today to its fullest." Thank God for friends, and thank God for mercy. God always sends me simple truths that I have heard all my life, and every time I fall on my face amazed.

    So now I attempt my to do list for today . . . leaving the results and the future in God's hands.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

User vs. Servant

Yesterday, I listened to a sermon by Timothy Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan. This excerpt convicted me of my comfortable, moralistic Christianity.

Now a user and a servant sit together in the same pews in churches, and the question is: how do you tell the difference? It is their prayer life. For example, a user will only pray when he/she is in trouble . . . there is no desire to serve and know the Master. It is just a desire to get what needs to be gotten . . . A user and a servant differ utterly when [their] prayers are not answered. A servant knows that the one he is praying to is a father and when your father doesn't give you what you want, you can wrestle and struggle with that, but you still know He's a father. So you say, "I don't like this and I'm upset about it, but I know this: I can't make you jump through hoops for me. I am not in this religion for you to serve me. I am in this religion to serve you." But a user, when you pray and pray and you're not getting what you want, says, "What good is this religion?" [So] all along [the user]was using God.

Download the sermon for free: Here 

(HT: McCoy)

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

At the Feet of My Enemies

Written by David Brainerd on Saturday, September 18:

Felt some compassion for souls and mourned I had no more. I feel much more kindness, meekness, gentleness, and love towards all mankind, than ever. I long to be at the feet of my enemies and persecutors; enjoyed some sweetness in feeling my soul conformed to Christ Jesus, and given away to Him forever.

-The Life and Diary of David Brainerd ed. by Jonathan Edwards, p.99.

The Life of Harry Kalas