Entries Tagged 'Application' ↓

When tragedies occur, such as some one dying from a heart attack or a serious injury from a car crash or we hear of a huge weather phenomenon that wipes out thousands of people, we often turn our attention to death. We think about eternity and what will happen when we die. We are reminded of the fragility of human life and thus are thankful that we are still alive. Many deep feelings and thoughts that we do not often have, overtake us. I even recently have such [thoughts](/2008/03/22/what-i-learned-from-sitting-at-the-hospital-all-day/) when a dear 17-year-old friend went into cardiac arrest.

Calvin speaks of these type of thoughts. He says that God has made things on this earth to teach us that “human life is nothing but a vapor or shadow.” But then he says:
>”But there is scarcely anything which we more carelessly consider or sooner banish from our memory; for we go about everything as if we want to make ourselves immortal.

>If we watch a funeral or walk among the graves (or see a friend laying lifeless in a hospital bed), and thus clearly see the image of death before our eyes, we philosophize, I confess, about the vanity of life.

>And even that does not happen every day, for often we are not moved at all.

>But when we are, our philosophy is only short-lived; it vanishes as soon as we go away and does not leave the smallest trace behind.

>It passes out of existence like the applause for an entertaining program.

>We not only forget death, but the fact that we are mortals, as if no word concerning this has ever reached us, and we continue our foolish dream that we are to live forever.

>If any man in the meantime reminds us of the proverb that man is only a creature of the day, we are willing to acknowledge this truth, but with such lack of attention that the idea of perpetual life keeps on lingering in our minds.

>Who, then, can deny that we need to be warned not only by words, but that we should be convinced by every possible evidence that the present life is full of miseries!

>For even if after we have become convinced of this, we hardly know how to stop our perverse and foolish admiration of it, as if life were nothing but one great accumulation of blessings.

>But if it is necessary for us to be taught by God, it certainly is also our duty to listen to him when he speaks and arouses us from our sluggishness, that we may turn our backs upon this world and and try to meditate with all our heart on the life to come.

Calvin’s comments are incredibly insightful. He is basically saying that we may think about the brevity of life during certain situations, but as a whole we live as if we will live forever. I daily need to be reminded and taught about the empty, passing world that I live in because I am far too fascinated with it. May God continue to pull His bride’s affections heavenward.

I just read a tract by J.C. Ryle called “Do you pray?” Wow. I am only now barely pulling myself out of the pit of conviction. It is a great read and you can find it [here](http://www.tracts.ukgo.com/do_you_pray.doc), which is on a great site you check out: [Evangelical Tracts](http://www.tracts.ukgo.com/index.htm). Here is an excerpt from the Ryle tract on prayer:

>”It is essential to your soul’s health to make praying a part of the business of every 24 hours in your life. Just as you allot time to eating, sleeping, and business, so also allot time to prayer. Choose your own hours and seasons. At the very least, speak with God in the morning, before you speak with the world; and speak with God at night, after you have done with the world. But settle it down in your minds, that prayer is one of the great things of every day. Do not drive it into a corner. Do not give it the scraps and leavings and parings of your day. Whatever else you make a business of, make a business of prayer.”

I’m beginning to see a [theme](/2008/03/24/take-time-and-pray/).

by [Richard C. Halverson](http://halverson.gospelcom.net/bio.php) (Former Chaplain of the United States Senate)

>You can offer your ideas to others as bullets or as seeds.
>You can shoot them, or sow them; hit people in the head with them, or plant them in their hearts. Ideas used as bullets will kill inspiration and neutralize motivation. Used as seeds, they take root, grow, and become reality in the life in which they are planted.
>The only risk in the seed approach: Once it grows and becomes part of those in whom it’s planted, you probably will get no credit for originating the idea. But if you’re willing to do without the credit . . . you’ll ream a rich harvest.

I know that I often don’t think of giving people ideas, but I do when I talk to people about truth. We will be discussing either what the Bible says or how we live out the reality of Christ as our Lord. Advice, wisdom, and ideas are all transferred to others in one way or another and I especially need to take special care in how I offer them to others.

For me, bullet ideas are typically marked with pride and a lack of love for the other person. I want to get my thought out in order to produce an image of having all the answers. I care more about what I’m saying than how the other person is receiving it. On the other hand, seed ideas are humble attempts to help someone to grasp a small truth of the gospel. I see these used when I listen more than I talk. I will plant seeds when I care more that my friend see Jesus clearer than see my competency in the Word.

Just because we plant seeds, does not mean that we compromise on the truth and fail to say the hard thing. It only means that communicate the truth with grace. There is a balance needed.

At the [08SR](http://www.snowretreat.org), my brother was unfortunately hit twice and I fortunately captured them on video. There are two scenes. The first one where he gets hit with a snowball and the second one with a hand. Each scene multiplies in hilarity the multiple times that you watch it. So, watch, replay, and laugh.

[googlevideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4955627787262152009[/googlevideo]

This second video is the first in a six part series on “The Keys to Spiritual Growth” taught by [John MacArthur](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._MacArthur). I think these were filmed in the ’80s, but they just made their way to Google Video. You can see [all six videos here](http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=John+MacArthur+spiritual+growth&sitesearch=video.google.com).

[googlevideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6679477777478580145[/googlevideo]

At 6:00am on Tuesday mornings, I make the drive down to [Grace Community](http://www.gracechurch.org) in order to join the shepherds and under-shepherds of the Crossroads ministry. They are reading through [*Trusting God*](http://www.amazon.com/Trusting-God-Even-When-Hurts/dp/0891096175/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205969722&sr=8-2) by Jerry Bridges and this last week discussed the chapter on God’s Sovereignty and Our Responsibility. Several men pointed out different things from the chapter, but they kept coming back to the issue of dealing with the unknown circumstances of life.

Then [Andy Snider](http://theologyislife.blogspot.com/) very simply stated that we are not called to try and figure out God’s plan for our life. We should not be thinking, “Now what is God doing here?” or “What is He trying to do in me?” This is an issue because Scripture does not tell us that we can know God’s plan, but it does reassure us that if we are faithful then He will provide and sustain. We must [wait for the Lord](/2008/03/17/strength-in-waiting/) and trust Him that no matter what happens, He is in control and will work out the present circumstances for our good and His glory.

This principle can really free us from worry that can come from trying to figure out God’s plan. We don’t know what He is doing, we can’t know, and our obedience and faithfulness to Him doesn’t depend on us knowing.