Finding Happiness

“Happiness for the Christian is not found in fulfilling one’s own pleasure, but in living a life based on God’s design as expressed in Scripture.” -- Hugh Whelchel

Living Dangerously

“The Christian life is not about finding safety and comfort; it’s about finding yourself in a dangerous place of vulnerable compassion.” -- Ed Stetzer

How to Get the Attention of the World

“And if we are surrounded by a world which no longer believes in the concept of truth, certainly we cannot expect people to have any interest in whether a man's doctrine is correct or not. But Jesus did give the mark that will arrest the attention of the world, even the attention of the modern man... Because every man is made in the image of God and has therefore aspirations for love. There is something that can be in every geographical climate, in every point of time, which cannot fail to arrest his attention. What is it? The love that true Christians show for each other, and not just their own party.” -- Francis Schaeffer

A Christian's Highest Vocation

“As Christians today, our highest vocation is to live our lives under the aegis of Jesus’ lordship and to make it clear to all that “this Jesus,” whom men and women reject, is Lord of all. What is more, the Lord Jesus will bring justice to our sin cursed earth and then flood the world with the shalom of heaven.” -- Michael Bird

The Central Miracle

"The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this. Just as every natural event is the manifestation at a particular place and moment of Nature’s total character, so every particular Christian miracle manifests at a particular place and moment the character and significance of the Incarnation." -- C. S. Lewis

Related Links

Christmas Creed

The Unique Gift of Christmas - Tim Keller

New Graphic Quoting C. S. Lewis - English and Romanian

Gospel Quote - No Spectators

"God has saved you, Christian, to send you out . . . into your city, and into the nations to tell the good news that Jesus has lived the life we could not live, died the death we deserve to die, and conquered the enemy that we cannot conquer. Christ has risen from the grave, and everyone who turns from their sin and trusts in Him will be reconciled to God forever. Every single Christian is on the earth to proclaim Christ. Every single one—no spectators." -- David Platt

Photo by Andrew Hart

What is a Real Christian? Tim Keller

"A real Christian is a person who says, "it is an absolute miracle that God's loves me. "It's just a miracle that I am a Christian." This is actually an acid test; let me just lay it on you here at the end. There are two kinds of people that go to church: there's religious people and real Christians. And the way you can tell the difference is that a Real Christian is somebody who sees everything that comes as a gift.  In other words a real Christian sees that you are totally in debt to God, but a religious person is someone who is working hard and making an effort and trying to be good, going to Bible studies and just saying "no" everywhere, and denying themselves a lot of pleasures, and so forth, and a religious person is someone who is trying to put God in their debt. That is the difference.  A religious person is someone who is trying to save themselves through their good works. A religious person is somebody who thinks they are putting God in their debt since they have tried so hard. A Christian is somebody who sees themselves as in God's debt." -- Tim Keller

A List for Self-Examination - Tim Keller

Tim Keller wrote a blog post yesterday on the City to City blog titled Blemishes in Christian Character: a List for Self-Examination. In it he talked about a letter written by John Newton, Blemishes in the Christian Life, in which "Newton points out that while most Christians succeed in avoiding the more gross external sins, many nonetheless overlook blemishes on their character by passing them off as mere “foibles.” They “may not seem to violate any express command of Scripture” and yet, they are “properly sinful” because they are the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit that believers are supposed to exhibit."

Below is a list Tim Keller has come up with for self-examination based heavily on Newton's original list. As we come to the end of one year and the beginning of a new one it would do us good to have a time of reflection keeping in mind that we are not saved by our works but that God has good works for us to do.

Austerus is a solid and disciplined Christian, but abrasive, critical and ungenerous in dealing with people, temperamental, seldom giving compliments and praise, and almost never gentle.

Infitialis is a person of careful and deliberate character, but habitually cynical, negative, and pessimistic, always discouraging (“that will never work”), unsupportive and vaguely unhappy.

Pulsus is passionate, but also impulsive and impatient, not thinking things through, speaking too soon, always quick to complain and lodge a protest, often needing to apologize for rash statements.

Querulus is a person of strong convictions, but known to be very opinionated, a poor listener, argumentative, not very teachable, and very slow to admit they were wrong.

Subjectio is a resourceful and ambitious person, but also someone who often shades the truth, puts a lot of spin on things (close to misrepresentation), is very partisan, self-promoting, and turf-conscious.

Potestas gets things done, but needs to control every situation, has trouble sharing power, has a need to do everything him or herself, and is very suspicious and mistrustful of others.

Fragilis is friendly and seeks friends, but constantly gets his or her feelings hurt, easily feels slighted and put down, is often offended and upset by real and imagined criticism by others.

Curiosus is very sociable, but enjoys knowing negative things about people, finds ways of passing the news on, may divulge confidences, and enjoys confrontation too much.

Volatilis is very kind-hearted and eager to help, but simply not reliable—isn’t punctual, doesn’t follow through on promises, is always over-extended, and as a result may do shoddy work.

As I look at this list I am most grateful for God's grace in Christ Jesus for me. I always fall short but look forward to that day when I will be just like Jesus. It is this hope that helps me get through each day plus knowing that God uses the weak things of the world so that He gets the glory. Draw near to Him and He promises to draw near to you.

Do you fall short? Do you feel weak many times? Welcome to the club!

To God be the glory!!!

Halloween - Christian Perspectives

Here are the blog posts I came across this past week on the subject of Halloween. Check them out to see a few different perspectives from Christians. (I will add more as I come across them)

1. Halloween vs. Christmas
2. Christianity and the Dark Side-What About Halloween?
3. What To Do With Halloween?
4. Three Simple Ways to Be Missional on Halloween
5. 5 Tips for a Happy Christian Halloween
6. Four Reasons My Family Trick-or-Treats
7. The Tricky Topic of Halloween
8. Can Christians Celebrate Halloween? (includes video discussion)
9. Halloween and the Upside-Down Glory of the Cross