God's wisdom is fathomless; His decisions are unsearchable; His methods are mysterious and untraceable. No one has even understood His mind, let alone advised Him on the proper course of action. How futile and even arrogant for us to seek to determine what God is doing in a particular event or circumstance. We simple cannot search out the reasons behind His decisions or trace out the ways by which He brings those decisions to pass.
If we are to experience peace in our souls in times of adversity, we must come to the place where we truly believe that God's ways are simply beyond us and stop asking Him "why" or even trying to determine it ourselves. This may seem like an intellectual "cop out," a refusal to deal with the really tough issues of life. In fact, it is just the opposite. It is a surrender to the truth about God and our circumstances as it is revealed to us by God Himself in His inspired Word.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Barnhouse on the Love of God
“The pursuing love of God is the greatest wonder of the spiritual universe. We leave God in the heat of our own self-desire and run from His will because we want so much to have our own way. We get to a crossroads and look back in pride, thinking that we have outdistanced Him. Just as we are about to congratulate ourselves on our achievement of self-enthronement, we feel a touch on our own arm and turn in that direction to find Him there. ‘My child,’ He says in great tenderness, ‘I love you; and when I saw you running away from all that is good, I pursued you through a shortcut that love knows well, and awaited you here at the crossroads.’ We have torn ourselves free from His grasp and rushed off again, through deepest woods and farthest swamp, and as we look back again, we are sure, this time, that we have succeeded in escaping from Him. But, once more, the touch of love is on our other sleeve and when we run quickly we find that He is there, pleading with the eye of love, and showing Himself once more to be the tender and faithful One, loving to the end. He will always say, ‘My child, my name and nature are Love, to tell you that when you are tired of running and your wandering, I will be there to draw you myself once more.’
When we see this love at work through the heart of Hosea we may wonder if God is really like that. But everything in the Word and in experience shows us that He is. He will give man the trees of the forest and the iron in the ground. Then He will give to man the brains to make an axe from the iron to cut down a tree and fashion it into a cross. He will gave man the ability to make a hammer and nails, and when man has the cross and the hammer and the nails, the Lord will allow man to take hold of Him and bring Him to that cross; He will stretch out His hands upon it and allow man to nail Him to that cross, and in so doing will take the sins of man upon Himself and make it possible for those who have despised and rejected Him to come unto Him and know the joy of sins removed and forgiven, to know the assurance of pardon and eternal life, and to enter into the prospect of the hope of glory with Him forever. This is even our God, and there is none like unto Him.” Donald Barnhouse
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Misc. On Piper
Jesus and the apostles have shown us what to do. Why pray? Because now is the time to pray. The kingdom has come. The new age is the age of prayer. Jesus brings the new age, and he brings it with prayer. The apostles carry the gospel of the kingdom forward with prayer. So as we engage in the work of the kingdom we must pray. Now is the time of prayer not because we cut out fifteen minutes for “prayer time” during “quiet time.” Now is the time of prayer because the new age has dawned in Jesus Christ - a new age that entails the advance of the kingdom and the prayers of the kingdom. Because it is Kingdom Time, it is Prayer Time. (Jason Kirklin)
Bridges on Prayer
Prayer assumes the sovereignty of God. If God is not sovereign, we have no assurance that He is able to answer our prayers. Our prayers would become nothing more than wishes. But while God’s sovereignty, along with His wisdom and love, is the foundation of our trust in Him, prayer is the expression of that trust…Psalm 57:2, ‘I cry out to God Most His, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.’ That is (John) Flavel says to us, because God is sovereign, we should pray. God’s sovereignty does not negate our responsibility to pray, but rather makes it possible to pray with confidence. (Jerry Bridges)
‘but we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat’ (Nehemiah 4:9). Prayer is the acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty and of our dependence upon Him to act on our behalf. Prudence is the acknowledgement of our responsibility to use all legitimate means. We must not separate these two. (Jerry Bridges)
Piper on Prayer
“Christian hedonist, above all be people devoted to earnest prayer. Just as the thirsty deer buckles down to drink at the brook, so the characteristic posture of the Christian Hedonist is on his knees.” (John Piper)
“Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that he will provide the help we need. Prayer humbles us as needy, and exalts God as wealthy.” (John Piper)
“The folly of not waiting for God is that we forfeit the blessing of having God work for us. The evil of not waiting for God is that we oppose God's will to exalt himself in mercy.
God aims to exalt himself by working for those who wait for him. Prayer is the essential activity of waiting for God: acknowledging our helplessness and his power, calling upon him for help, seeking his counsel. So it is evident why prayer is so often commanded by God, since his purpose in the world is to be exalted for his mercy. Prayer is the antidote for the disease of self-confidence that opposes God's goal of getting glory by working for those who wait for him.” (John Piper)
“The way to serve God so that he gets the glory is to look to him for mercy. Prayer prevents service from being an expression of pride…Good service is always and fundamentally receiving mercy, not rendering assistance. So there is no good service without prayer.” (John Piper)
Watson on Prayer
“As soon as grace is poured in, prayer is poured out; ‘ but I give myself to prayer’ (psalm 109:4). In the hebrew it is, ‘but I prayer’. Prayer and I are all one. Prayer is the soul’s traffic with heaven. God comes down to us by His Spirit, and we go up to Him by prayer.” (Thomas Watson).
“A godly man cannot live without prayer. A man cannot live unless he takes his breath, nor can the soul, unless it breathes forth its desire to God…A godly man is on the mount of prayer every day; he begins the day with prayer; before he opens his shop, he opens his heart to God.” Thomas Watson
“A spiritual prayer is a believing prayer: ‘whatever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive’ (Matthew 21:22). The why so many prayer suffer shipwreck is because they split against the rock of unbelief. Prayer without faith is shooting without bullets. When faith takes prayer by the hand, then we draw near to God. We should come to God in prayer like the leper: ‘ Lord if thou wilt, make me clean’ (Matt 8:2). It is a disparagement to deity to have such a whisper in the heart, that ‘God’s ear is heavy and cannot hear’ (Isa. 59:1). what is said of the people of
“A Spiritual prayer is when we pray in the name of Christ. To pray in the name of Christ is not only to name Christ in prayer, but to pray in the hope and confidence of Christ’s meditation. As a child claims his estate in the right of his father who purchased it, so we come for mercy in the name of Christ, who has purchased it for in his blood.” (Thomas Watson)
“A Godly man is carried on wings of delight. He is never so well as when he is prayer. He is not forced with fear but fired with love. ‘I will make them joyful in my house of prayer’ (Isa. 56:7).” (Thomas Watson)
“Jesus Christ prays over our prayer again. He takes the dross out and presents but pure gold to his Father. Christ mingles his sweet odours with the prayers of the saints (Rev. 5:8). Think of the dignity of his person- he is God; and the sweetness of his relationship – he is a Son. Oh then, what encouragement there is here for us to pray! Our prayers are put up in the hands of a Mediator. Though, as they come from us, they are weak and imperfect, yet as they come from Christ, they are mighty and powerful.” (Thomas Watson)
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