When People Are Big and God is Small pt.2

Just wanted to share a passage taken directly from "When People Are Big and God is Small" By Edward Welch.

"Jeremiah 17 is the classic biblical text on the fear of man. It reduces the decisions of life to two options: Will you trust in man or will you trust in the Lord?

Cursed is the one who trusts in man,

who depends on flesh for his strength

and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

He will be like a bush in the wastelands;

He will not see prosperity when it comes.

He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,

In a salt land where no one lives.

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

Whose confidence is in him.

He will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when the heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

And never fails to bear fruit. (Jer 17:5-8)

The Old Testament indicates that we stand at the crossroads between fear of others and fear of God. The road leading to the fear of man may be expressed in terms of favoritism, wanting others to think well of you, fearing exposure by them, or being overwhelmed by their perceived physical power. When these fears are not combated with the fear of the Lord, the consequences can be devastating. But when God is given his rightful place in our lives, old bonds can be shattered." (Welch, pg.71)

When People Are Big and God is Small

Currently reading a new book that deals with the fear of man called "When People Are Big and God Is Small" by Edward Welch. So far so good, so if you struggle with fear of man, i'd definitely recommend it. I'll probably share some more of its insights in my next couple of posts.

"Regarding other people, our problem is that we need them (for ourselves) more than we love them (for the glory of God). The task God sets for us is to need them less and love them more. Instead of looking for ways to manipulate others, we will ask God what our duty is toward them.

Paul was not a people-pleaser. He was a people-lover and because of that he did not change his message according to what others might think. Only people-lovers are able to confront. Only people lovers are not controlled by other people. Paul even indicated to the Galatians that if he were still trying to please men, he would not be a servant of God. (Gal 1:10) That is how seriously he took the fear of man.

Not that this came naturally. Paul had the same fleshly instincts we do, and he knew it. As a result, he beseeched the churches to pray for him."

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." Ephesians 6:19-20

I Wonder...

I Wonder

By Ruth Harms Calkim

You know, Lord, How I serve you

With great emotional Fervor

In the Limelight

You know how eagerly I speak for you

At a Women’s club

You know how I effervesce

When I promote a fellowship group

You know my genuine enthusiasm

At a Bible study

But how would I react, I wonder

If you pointed to a basin of Water

And asked me to wash the calloused feet

Of a bent and wrinkled old woman

Day after day

Month after month

In a room where nobody saw

And nobody knew.

The Spirit Empowered Logos pt.2

Continuing on in my theo notes......

How did Christ fight sin? What was the source of power for resistance in Christ? Is it the same as ours?

The Source of resistance was within his human nature. One cannot simply say the divine nature put up an impregnable wall of resistance to the temptation without allowing a struggle. If Christ had simply used the divine to relieve the struggle then he would not really be able to sympathize with us. Nor could he be tempted, as God cannot be tempted (James 1: 13)

God dealt with sins completely within his human nature, not using his divine nature. His divine nature cannot be tempted. The spirit was there guiding him, probably giving him the scripture. Christ had the Holy Spirit dwelling in Him, helping him to exercise strong faith that was more than a match for all the temptations that were directed against him.

Thus, Christ’s fight with sin was a fair fight, and his conquest a moral achievement. Thus, Christ can sympathize with us for he fought sin in the same way we are to fight sin. Christ really can understand the battle that we daily face and we have at our disposal the same power to fight sin that Christ had and fully utilized. The complexity and person of Christ really is amazing... one that we'll never fully comprehend.

The Spirit Empowered Logos pt.1

Continuing on in my theology notes.

Question for you. In what sense did Christ utilize his divine attributes while on earth?

There are verses that suggest that his miracles were actually done through the power of God or the Spirit through him.

Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know

Acts 10:38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him.

Luke 5:17 And it came about one day that He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.

The Logos voluntarily restricted use of his divine attributes, limiting their use to His role as the servant of the Lord. God performed through the spirit miracles in Jesus. Though Christ certainly acted like God with divine authority, e.g., forgiving sins, he was a person equipped and anointed by the spirit of God. The Logos restricted the use of his divine attributes so that He could perfectly experience the nature of the unglorified humanity which he assumed.

Sweetness of Salvation

Just been meditating on some of my notes from my past theology class with Rob Saucy, which focused on salvation. Wanted to go through my notes and jot down things I want to remember for the future.
In the OT, the word used for salvation is the verb yasha. This very means originally “to be roomy, broad,” and is opposite to the word “tsarar” which means “to choke,” “to envelop” “to enwrap,” and therefore “to be hemmed in, constricted, oppressed.” The word group thus has the basic meaning of “bringing into a spacious environment, being at one’s ease, free to develop without hindrance.”

In the New Testament we come to the verb sodzo and the noun soteria which mean “safe” or “to make safe, sound”. Its root meaning is therefore “to save, rescue from danger, keep safe and sound.”

In the New Testament we see several uses of the word Salvation.
1. To save from physical disease. (Luke 18:42)
2. To save from temporal danger. (Matt 8:25)
3. To save from sin and its results (Matt 1:21, Rom 5:9)

Usually we think of number 3 when we think of salvation right? Yet, the last one is not ultimately opposed to 1 and 2. The basis of the problem necessitating the first two is found in the last one. The believer is saved according to the spiritual use, but this will ultimately include salvation from illness and danger!

"Salvation is finally the deliverance from the bondage of sin and all of its negative effects. In relation to mankind, it is a restoration and fulfillment of the original creative purpose that mankind live in relationship to God as his true image. It requires therefore the restoration of relationship with God, the source of life, through the removal of the barrier to that relationship."

Sin is so pervasive. Yet, salvation is all encompassing. How sweet it will be to be in the presence of the Lord. No disease, no danger, no sin, no hurt, no pain, no tears. No wonder Paul says it'll be "far better" to be with the Lord.