on Leading Yourself

Gchatting with the madre

 Anne:  Who is that curriculum with?  DTX?
U sent your info to pray for you with me

me:  by "U" do you mean "I"

 Anne:  Yes, I do

 me:  and by "DTX" do you mean "DTS"

 Anne:  fingers not working well today

 me:  and no, it was with Denver Seminary

 Anne:  YES
ha
DENVER??

 Anne:  Would LOVE to sit at feet of strong SMART prof just blah blah the info...

 me:  are you encouraging me to just move their now? I'll tattle on you to dad

 Anne:  ONLY if I can go too

 me:  ok deal

 Anne:  then Joe and I could just sublet your apt.....LOL

 me:  you could!

 Anne:  Again...gotta pray about future.....and God's will....as OBVIOUSLY.....WHAT are you going to do with MA???
thought you wanted a MRS?

 me:  ha
ha
ha

 Anne:  you make me smile....
OK, finishing here on computer....reconciling VISA stmt....and then out to work in flower beds....WOOHOO...

 me:  woohoo!
i'm out to apply to denver, pack up my house, and put gas in the uhaul!

 Anne:  lol
What happened to the "prayer part".....listening to Him part....??
AND you didn't answer my question about MA VS MRS degrees????  and how you will use each?

 me:  it's like grace v obedience, they both work at the same time and encourage the other
MA = prime husband hunting opportunity
MRS = smart wife/mom

 Anne:  lol
well, you'd get a A+ in the humor classes

The Cost of Dicsipleship

"God is the giver [of the law] and its Lord, and only in personal communion with God is the law fulfilled" pg 122



The Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer begins his books speaking about Grace. The costly Grace that we are given, rather than the cheap Grace of self-justification. He continues to write about Grace's relationship to obedience, something else that has been wrongly interpreted. 

In our culture, we have seen the pendulum swing from cheap Grace (sins are already forgiven so why quit) to legalism. As a great example of this himself through his involvement with WWII, he goes on the say "the only way to follow Jesus was by living in the world." His writing is convicting to those who 1) do not engage in the world, and 2) those are settle for a secularized Christianity. 

Bonhoeffer always points to Jesus, and that the call to Faith and Obedience are both calls to follow Him. He refers to Peter, who "had to leave this ship in order to learn both his weakness and the almighty power of the Lord," pg 63. "We can only take this step aright if we fix our eyes not on the work we do, but on the word with which Jesus call us to do it... Christ must first call him... the first step of obedience proves to be an act of faith" pg 66. 

"The call to follow means...adherence to the person of Jesus Christ and fellowship with him...is not the hero-worship we would pay to a good master, but obedience to the Son of God," pg 76. "In Jesus the law is at once fulfilled and cancelled," pg 83

"The call of Christ...sets the Christian in the middle of the of daily arena against sin and the devil," pg 90. It is impossible to do this without his strength, yet "adherence to him means persecutions," pg 101.

Bonhoeffer gives a sobering insight to Jesus' statement that we are the salt of the earth, "everything else needs to be seasoned with salt, but once the salt itself has lost its savour, it can never be salted again," pg 116.

Climb For Change

The Reason for God

The Reason for God by Tim Keller

This book had me in tears last night (surprise).

On Law

"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether"
 Psalm 19:7–9

"Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people"
Deuteronomy 4:5–6

^" But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust"1 Timothy 1:8–11

"For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel"
Romans 2:12-16

There is much sociological and bioethical brokenness in our world. And, not claiming to know the answer, just some speculation.

A.E. Wilder Smith speculates the reason for the deteriation of law and order in the US is "simply because for many years it has been commonly taught that life is a random, accidental phenomenon with no meaning except the purely materialistic one. Laws are merely a matter of human expediency. Since humans are alledgedly accidents, so are their laws." 

Sarah Sumner, dean of A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary, has been quoted saying " In a democracy, Christians can love others best by voting for laws that uphold the truth as revealed by God. When a law lies by saying something forbidden by God is permissible in society, people are set up for long-term hurt. God's universal laws are for the benefit and welfare of all people, not just Christians. It's just as harmful for an unbeliever to be involved in ... sin as it is a Christ follower."


Deuteronomy 6:24 says "And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day,"

Do we really believe this?