Reflections on God … Man … Life
Reflections on living as a disciple of Christ.
About two weeks ago, I wrote a post centered on some of the discouragement I feel at times as I try to carry out the ministry the Lord has given me. The intent of the post was not to focus on the discouragement phase but to highlight the way the Lord placed people in my path to help redirect my thinking. The goal was to encourage my readers that we must never grow so weary that we lose hope. I… Read more »
Whenever Charles Finney writes about prayer, we should listen attentively. He knew what he was writing about, not as theory but from practice. And always with Finney, the motive of the heart is central. Here’s how he connects the two in his Revival Lectures: Prayer, to be effectual, must be offered from right motives. Prayer should not be selfish, but should be dictated by a supreme regard for the glory of God. A great deal is offered from pure selfishness…. Read more »
Writing to his friend Arthur Greeves in 1933, C. S. Lewis offered these thoughts on the nature of good and evil: I think one may be quite rid of the old haunting suspicion—which raises its head in every temptation—that there is something else than God—some other country . . . into which He forbids us to trespass—some kind of delight wh. He “doesn’t appreciate” or just chooses to forbid, but which wd. be real delight if only we were allowed… Read more »
Life lived outside of the will of God is not really life at all. That’s something I’ve learned from experience. C. S. Lewis, in a pithy comment in his science fiction book Perelandra, puts it this way: “To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere.” That goes beyond truth; would it be permissible to call it “true truth”? Christians should always be examining themselves to ensure they are not wandering around in “nowhere” territory. One of the… Read more »
Today’s commentary is more personal. If you would rather find something about the shutdown or the debt ceiling, you won’t find it here today. Now’s your chance to go elsewhere before you read any further. Okay, too late—you must now continue. Professors are people, too. Sometimes we get discouraged. Even those of us who are doing this as a ministry and sense the call of God on our lives to teach can, at times, wonder what we are accomplishing. Although… Read more »
Charles Finney often went against the conventions of the day in his teaching and preaching. Some of his most vociferous critics were fellow ministers who had been formally trained in the colleges. Finney had been largely self-taught and was therefore thought to be ignorant of the proper manner of speaking. Yet he had results where others did not. In his autobiography, he provides some detail on this controversy: All through the earlier part of my ministry especially, I used to… Read more »
God does take the initiative to reach out to us, yet His impact on our lives depends on our willingness to reach back. C. S. Lewis touches on this in his Mere Christianity: When you come to knowing God, the initiative lies on His side. If He does not show Himself, nothing you can do will enable you to find Him. And, in fact, He shows much more of Himself to some people than to others—not because He has favourites,… Read more »