Quoting Elisabeth Elliott – September 13, 2007
Posted by Luke in stuff.1 comment so far
(Excerpted from God’s Guidance: A Slow and Certain Light, Chapter 5, “The Means”)
What I like and don’t like is a part of my nature. I am only too conscious of this when I am asking God to show me what to do. If I like privacy, he might want me in crowds. If I love the fleshpots of a civilized life, he may ask me to be a pioneer missionary. I hear others talking excitedly about “the things the Lord is doing” in this or that place, and when I search my heart I find it is filled with the hope that he won’t do anything like that here.
We can all think of a few things we are afraid of. One thing I have feared ever since I first asked God to accomplish his whole will in my life is my own desires. But I have come to see them in a little different light than I used to. For a long time, I took the view that whatever I might want to do could not possibly be what God wanted me to do. That seemed unarguable. I am a sinner, my desires are sinful, “there is no health in us,” and that’s that. I went on the Manichean assumption that I am always and necessarily bent on evil, so it ought to be a relatively simple matter to figure out that the will of God was whatever I didn’t want to do….
A better understanding of Scripture has shown me that even I, chief of miserable offenders that I know myself to be, may now and then actually want what God wants. This is likely to be the case more and more as I practice obedience, but it can also be a very simple and natural thing. “Thou knowest me right well; my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.” That frame, spoiled by sin as it is, still has something to do with what God will finally make of me, and if the process of being made into his image has been begun in me by faith, my real wants are becoming more like his.
The psalmist said, “My heart speaketh to me for God.” If that heart has been given to God, why shouldn’t God use it as his speaker? Even the heart of the king, we are told, is in the hand of the Lord.
“If a pagan asks you to dinner,” wrote that severely disciplined saint, Paul, “and you want to go, feel free to eat whatever is set before you.” Imagine! “If you want to, if you feel like going, go.” That shocked me at first. An invitation to a pagan feast would be the sort of thing I would not have dreamed of accepting without praying long and earnestly. God might want me to go, all right, but not — heaven forbid — because it would be fun. He might want me to go for some exalted reason such as to “witness” to those present (which — heaven help me — would not be fun). So I would have had to inquire very carefully in order to separate my own desires from his. Paul took the whole thing very casually. It could happen any day and, like crossing the street, it might be dangerous. But Paul was writing to Christians, and he assumes that if they went, they went with God. It was nothing to pray and fast over.
There were occasions when Paul attempted to do things he wanted to do but was “prevented by the Holy Spirit”. He does not mention special guidance in the decision to do the thing — it was what he wanted to do, so he decided to do it — but he certainly had special guidance to stop, and it came in time, before he strayed off the path of righteousness. It is, we may properly say, natural to trust God to do this for us once we have made up our minds to follow, and we need not be forever halting and backing up, paralyzed by fear of our own desires….
I hope that, in studying the divine principles, we have not forgotten the importance of the human principle of common sense. The intelligence we have is a gift from God; the circumstances in which we find ourselves he controls. Obviously we have to bring our intelligence as well as our faith to bear on those circumstances.
“I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like the horse or mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with a bit and bridle.”
It is possible to become quite mulish in our stubborn insistence on a particular means of guidance so that we miss entirely the signs that are all around us. If we are “without understanding”, God may have to impose some uncomfortable “bit” or “bridle” to bring us into line. How much more pleasant things are for all of us, if we only use our heads.
If a pipe bursts, even the most pious among us is unlikely to drop to his knees to pray about calling the plumber. He calls the plumber first. Any praying can be done later. But in situations that, for particular personal reasons have become highly charged with the idea of “the will of God”, the action to be taken may be just as obvious as calling the plumber, but we hesitate to take it. “Lean not unto thine own understanding,” we read in Proverbs. Might it not be a kind of worldliness to follow common sense? The first clause of the verse is “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart,” which is a Hebrew parallelism, another way of saying, “Lean not unto thine own understanding.” They come to the same thing. A full trust protects us from our own misconceptions.
The Gargoyle August 3, 2007
Posted by Luke in Writings.1 comment so far
by (me)
He walked through a low archway and found himself
in a green park setting. It could be his secret
garden. He sat under a tree until some kids ran in and shattered…
To keep reading, click here (if you are so inclined; if not, you could decline, like your last miserable days holed away in a nursing home waiting for the short nurse with the pug nose and acne scars to adjust your sheets and rub against your soles as she walks past — the choice is yours).
fwiw… June 12, 2007
Posted by Luke in stuff.1 comment so far
A handful of recent favorites (items may or may not be recent):
Music: Murder by Death
Movie: Pan’s Labyrinth
News: Man in Wheelchair Stuck to Semi
Comic: The Far Side
Book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Poem: “My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun” by Shakespeare
Topic: The Great Global Warming Swindle
Graphic: GNP comparison
My triumphant return May 24, 2007
Posted by Luke in Writings, stuff.3 comments
… is a sham. Yes, I’m here, I have not forgotten my adoring fans. Both of you are in my heart somewhere — which would explain my indigestion.
I am here thanks to the wonders of Firefox, which apparently is the only browser that does not crash and burn in spectacular air-show-gone-awry fashion every time I attempt to update.
In the last month, I have begun school (i.e., a single, solitary, lonely, reclusive class), which has yielded several essays. If I am not treated as a returning king, I may punish you with the appearance of one or more of them. You’ve been warned. (Hot tea, back rubs, inciteful [insightful, even, if you must] comments are welcome and considered kingly treatment.)
Also, I had this poem published here. There is a rack waiting below for any who do not read and comment. I am not afraid to use it. The rack is full of good books and certain to, uh… stretch your mind. So by all means, ignore.
Cheers and cheerios.
Mustard April 7, 2007
Posted by Luke in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
Excerpt from “The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical” chapter 12, by Shane Claiborne:
Jesus uses some unlikely metaphors for God’s kingdom — like yeast, for instance. Jews were not big fans of yeast. After all, it was the same metaphor he had used to describe the infectious arrogance of the Pharisees that everyone was to beware of. So then, for the folks not digging the yeast imagery, he says God’s kingdom is like mustard. And I’m not sure they would have liked that much better. Was Jesus just running out of metaphors? I don’t think so. I’ve heard plenty of cute sermons about the mustard seed parable, talking about how God takes little seeds and makes big trees out of them, but I think there’s much more than that going on here.
Matthew strategically places the mustard seed parable in the middle of a story about gardening in which Jesus commands people not to tear up the weeds from the garden but to let the wheat and weeds grow together (Matt.13:24-30, 36-43). Then he tells his listeners that the kingdom of God is like mustard, which grows like a wild bush (Matt. 13:31-35). I once heard a farmer say it is like kudzu, and a city preacher compared it to the wild weeds that grow out of the abandoned houses and crack the sidewalks. The mustard seed’s growth would have been familiar to first-century Jews and its symbolic meaning unmistakably clear. It may have even been growing in the wild around them as Jesus spoke.
Jews valued order and had very strict rules about how to keep a tidy garden, and one of the secrets was to keep out mustard. It was notorious for invading the well-trimmed veggies and other plants and for quickly taking over a garden. (Kind of like yeast works its way through dough… hmm.) Then they’d be left with only mustard! Jewish law even forbade planting mustard in the garden (m. Kil’ayim 3:2; t. Kil’ayim 2:8). When those first-century peasants heard Jesus’ images, they would have giggled, or maybe they would have told him to hush before he got killed. Here he is using this infamous plant to describe God’s kingdom subtly taking over the world….
So there goes Jesus turning power on its head again. His power was not in crushing but in being crushed, triumphing over the empire’s sword with his cross. Mustard must be crushed, ground, broken in order for its power to be released. In John’s Gospel, Jesus compared his death and resurrection to a seed that is broken: “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24)….
As if that weren’t enough (and we wonder why people were so angry!), Jesus adds one more thing: “the birds come and perch in its branches” (v. 32). Another aspect of the popular Hebrew imagery of the cedars of Lebanon is that the nations can build nests in the branches of the cedars. But Jesus puts an interesting spin on it when he says the “fowls” can come and rest in the branches of the mustard bush. The word fowls is not a reference to the mighty eagles that dwelt in the cedars but the detestable birds, the ones that ate animal carcasses (Gen. 15:11; Deut. 28:26). Farmers did not want fowls in their gardens. That’s why they put up scarecrows. Bless his heart, Jesus is saying the kingdom of God is “for the birds”. The undesirables find a home in this little bush.
Hope in Lyrics… March 7, 2007
Posted by Luke in stuff.6 comments
How refreshing to know You don’t need me
How amazing to find that You want me
– Casting Crowns, “In Me”
You name me
Who am I
That I should company with something so divine?
– Jars of Clay, “Overjoyed”
What will people think
When they hear that I’m a Jesus freak?
What will people do when they find that it’s true?
I don’t really care if they label me a Jesus freak
There ain’t no disguising the truth
– dc Talk, “Jesus Freak”
That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior
– Aaron Shust, “My Savior, My God”
When all is said and done
When all is gone and still just begun
I will be asked what I did with my time and why
Can You be my alibi?
Cause I know I spent it dancing with You
– Blindside, “My Alibi”
I look to find You
Down on my knees
Oh God, I believe!
Please help me believe
– Switchfoot, “Sooner or Later (Soren’s Song)”
At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered
– Jeremy Riddle, “Sweetly Broken”
when death, like a gypsy
comes to steal what I love
I will still look to the heavens
I will still seek Your face
but I fear You aren’t listening
because there are no words
just the stillness
and the hunger
for a faith that assure
– Jars of Clay, “The Valley Song”
I’ll walk into the flame, a calculated risk to further bless Your name
So strike me deep and true, and in Your strength I will live and die both unto You.
– Thrice, “Identity Crisis”
why didn’t i go to such great lengths to
try to please You?
instead i tried to please myself
– PFR, “Great Lengths”
You should know by now
That your darkest hour
Is when your broken heart goes down
It’s a bitter end
When the sweet begins
Grace is sufficiency
But, oh dear, we’ll never deserve it
No dear, we never could earn it
Now, here, the choice is yours
– Switchfoot, “Innocence Again”
I’ve felt a loss for some time
I slipped, stumbled, but fell face first
straight into Your hand.
Then I hit my head on Your palm
And waking up to the smell
Of tears drying up in the sand
– Blindside, “All of Us”
Did You really have to die for me?
All I am for all You are
‘Cause what I need and what I believe are worlds apart
– Jars of Clay, “Worlds Apart”
Oh, I love You from the depths of my heart
And nothing here will tear us apart
Everything’s beautiful with You
Everything’s beautiful when You invade my life
And I’m living just to say that I love You
– Delirious?, “Stronger”
Wholly devoted
I immerse myself in You
Baptize me in Your love
Cause drowning in the thought of You
Floods my soul
I’m taken by the things You do
God, You know
It doesn’t matter what I lose
I’m Yours
– dc Talk, “Consume Me”
We all were lost now we are found.
No one can stop us or slow us down.
We all are named and we are known.
We know that we’ll never walk alone.
– Thrice, “Image of the Invisible”
Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You’re my God
– “Here I Am to Worship”
Are You still listening?
`Cause we’re obviously not
We’ve forgotten our first love
We have lost the plot.
And why are You still calling?
You forgave, we forgot.
We’re such experts at stalling
that we’ve lost the plot.
– Newsboys, “Lost the Plot”
Oh Lord, why did you forsake me?
Oh Lord, don’t be far away, away
Storm clouds gathering beside me
Please Lord, don’t look the other way
Crooked souls trying to stay up straight
Dry eyes in the pouring rain well
The shadow proves the sunshine
– Switchfoot, “Shadow Proves the Sunshine”
I know You’ll come in the night like a thief
But I’ve had some time alone, to hone my lying technique
I know You think that I’m someone You can trust
But I’m scared I’ll get scared and I swear I’ll try to nail You back up
So do You think that we could work out a song?
So I know that it’s You and that it’s over so I won’t even try
I know You’ll come for the people like me
But we all got wood and nails
Tongue tied to a hating factory
– Brand New, “Jesus”
I’m a doubting Thomas
I’ll take your promise
Though I know nothing’s safe.
Oh me of little faith
– Nickel Creek, “Doubting Thomas”
Complexity haunts me for I am two men
Entrenched in a battle that I’ll never win
My discipline fails me, my knowledge it fools me
But You are my shelter, all the strength that I need
– dc Talk, “My Will”
but I know as they hammered those nails
into Your beautiful hands
Your eyes, they tried to search for mine
but I look away
now Your eyes are the only thing that can save me
I’m still afraid of them piercin’
– Blindside, “Pitiful”
faith
without actions is a mask,
for making the same mistakes
– Thrice, “Betrayal Is a Symptom”
it doesn’t mean anything without You
just a nice melody without You
without Your Spirit to sing
of the hope and the joy that You bring
without You it doesn’t mean anything
– PFR, “Anything”
Not because of who I am,
But because of what You’ve done.
Not because of what I’ve done,
But because of who You are.
– Casting Crowns, “Who Am I?”
But it’s not right to hold you so tight; I end up wrestling with God over you…
Whose hands are safer? Who could steal you from His grip?
It separates the ocean, with a brush so effortless…
There is nothing to worry about, because who loves you more than Jesus?
– Plankeye, “Who Loves You More”
I’m not ashamed to let you know
I want this light in me to show
I’m not ashamed to speak the name of Jesus Christ.
– Newsboys, “I’m Not Ashamed”
Under the floor
Between me and the door
There’s a presence I cannot deny
It’s under the car
Between me and the stars
I see glory filling up the sky
– Switchfoot, “Under the Floor”
You’re starting over now
Under the sun
You’re stepping forward now
A new life has begun
Your new life has begun
And there’s only grace
There’s only love
There’s only mercy and believing it’s enough
– Matthew West, “Only Grace”
i walk through flame, i touch the fire
You know that i still burn for You
flood water rain crash down
soak the ground
still i thirst for You
– Jars of Clay, “Sing”
In Christ alone I place my trust
And find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory let it be said of me
My source of strength, my source of hope is Christ alone
– Brian Littrell, “In Christ Alone”
crazy stuff! February 14, 2007
Posted by Luke in stuff.2 comments
I’m going to go now and find something to eat. Just so you know. And know what’s amazing? A friend of mine is going to go find something to eat at the same time! I’m telling you, the world’s a wild, zany place. So I will eat and (get this), later I will go to bed and sleep too. And you know what? I bet one of my friends will as well! It doesn’t get any crazier than this! Haha!
(no, I’m not on drugs and I’m not drinking anything alcoholic. hold an intervention and I’ll probably cry and go to rehab for a year, but that’s just me, so don’t try it. please. [this means you, Matt])
In case you missed it… February 6, 2007
Posted by Luke in stuff.7 comments
I just passed the magical threshold of 1111 visitors to this bloog (no, that’s not a typo). I find this number most significant, as it is comprised solely of the lowest number and yet whips each one of them into submission with embarrassing ease (unless they, likewise, clone themselves, but to do so they need to first be 1111, so that rather defeats the purpose, no?). In addition, it is my address; yes, we are showered with blessings, that is clear. Next up: 2222! (It is sure to be anti-climactic. What can 2 do that 1 can’t do with a clone?)
Also, whoever visited this site yesterday may have witnessed a very strange phenomenon that I would attribute to aliens if I were to believe in the existence of aliens (there are no aliens, only immigrants), and as such tried to attribute to ghosts, but I don’t believe in them either (what’s to believe in? what have ghosts ever done for me? not nothin’, thas what. i mean, if i could walk through walls, i’d solve a few mysteries, stop a few crimes, and rob a few… i mean, get that old lady a drink from the fridge so she doesn’t have to get up.) But back to the phenomenon. Forthwith! On the sidebar to the right, beneath the ’search’ bar and above the links, was this — ‘about: novalueintdb’ — or some other wannabe Star Wars word. Now, I assure you that, unless my body was overcome by mischievous gremlins (e.g., JarJar Binks, Chewbacca, or an Ewok) for a spell in which they rendered me unconscious (and stranger things have happened, i’m told, though i remain skeptical) and proceeded to wreak havoc upon my precious bloog (an aside: is it possible to wreak anything but havoc? pray tell), I did not initiate, oversee, or otherwise authorize that alien box (I mean, immigrant box) (in case you’re lost in this sentence, it would read as such sans the extra frills: quote, I assure you that I did not initiate, oversee, or otherwise authorize that alien box, endquote.).
If any of you wish to argue the point, you are in luck! Unfortunately, it’s bad luck, since the point is inarguable. Case closed.
If any of you are or know who is responsible, immediately kill said creature. Or, maybe that’s too harsh. Cease and desist killing! You people are heathens.
No offense.
Old Thought of the Day February 3, 2007
Posted by Luke in stuff.3 comments
If con is the opposite of pro, what is the opposite of progress?
I shall leave you to ponder.
Anyone listen to Family Life Today? February 2, 2007
Posted by Luke in stuff.1 comment so far
This week, they have featured a series by Tommy Nelson, senior pastor of Denton Bible Church in Dallas, TX, teaching from the Song of Solomon. Yes, you heard me right: the Song of Solomon. Which means it is about attraction, “wooing” or courtship, and yes, even intimacy. It not only outlines and accentuates the importance of purity in romance, but also details the importance of romance itself, as commissioned from God. I’ve been encouraged and blessed by the wisdom, passion, insight, and humor in this series.
To listen to the FLToday broadcasts, click here.
Also, you can listen to the full, uncut, unrefined original series here, if you turn into an SOS junkie. :]
As for FLToday, if you don’t listen to it regularly, it’s worth seeking out. In the DC area, WAVA (105.1 FM) plays it at 7:30 every weekday morning, and in Baltimore, WRBS (95.1 FM) plays it three hours later.
Shout out!
