clearing out
Clearing out my draft folder....here's a couple thoughts that have been stirring in my mind...things that have impacted me deeply and evoked change in my life and practice....1. Mercy/Kindness
God's been hitting me (gently but powerfully) upside the head with some heart matters. It's found expression through genuinely receiving mercy from others. Not "niceness" but something much deeper, something profoundly impacting and effecting change in me, demonstrating to me how I should respond to the kindness that God extends to me.
I'm beginning to learn and acknowledge that (as much as I like to think I am) I'm not perfect, in fact, "I am the greatest sinner I know." Therefore, in that acknowledgement of my own imperfections, I am better able to show kindness and mercy to others.
"Extend mercy at every opportunity..." says Brian Chesemore, a pastor at Covenant Life Church, in his message, The Difference Mercy Makes.
See Ephesians 2:4-7; Ephesians 4:32; Romans 2:4
2. Kicking Against the Goads
God brought this phrase to mind earlier this summer and I've not been able to shake it from my thoughts. It's used in the Apostle Paul's conversion testimony. ('Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' from Acts 26:14) Do a study on it and think about how God directs us in order to be the most fruitful...and how we fight and serve only to injure ourselves and make the process of santification all the more difficult.
Charles Spurgeon gives a fascinating and powerful discussion of this phrase (Read the whole thing here).
Another use of the word goad is in the conclusion of Ecclesiates, interesting in light of this study:
The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one Shepherd. ~ Ecclesiates 12:11.
3. Miscommunication and Happily Ever After
I realized that my story of a few posts ago has generally been misread, due to lack of clarity on my part. It's not a story explicitly about me or my life (though, the story sprung from thoughts of mine)...Let me be plainer...it's an analogy, fleshed out in the language of marriage, but think Christianity rather than marriage, think commitment to Christ rather than commitment of a couple, think salvation rather than wedding, think Christian community rather than engaged/marrieds, think of how someone who's not a Christian feels sometimes around Christians. Have another read-thru from this other perspective...Happily Ever After...
posted by FaithChristine @ 08:22
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