Something Greater

My Box I'm a little boy, holding a little box. On the box is a scrap of paper with a childish scrawl: My Life . I hold that box so tightly, hiding it from others, allowing only a few to peek inside and share my treasures. There are times that I am forced to open my box and share. Many days I take my box to Work and carefully open the lid to my box only a crack, sharing a bit of my strength and skill in trade for food and shelter and perhaps a bit more that I can call my Wealth. With my closest friends, or those that I wish were my closest friends, I open my box sporadically, quickly, picking out a few treasures that I think might please them. But I'm quick to guard against injury to my box. Even a critical word, or a stony glance or a surprised question will cause me to slam my box shut and I run to the nearest corner to pout or castigate myself. With my dearest partner, my lover and wife, I share much more of my box . I confront some of my fears and prides and let her...

The Point of Circumcision How did the Jews miss the point of what circumcision was all about? "But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth - you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised k...

12 Steps to Identifying Your Functional Saviors In The Bookends of the Christian Life , Jerry Bridges offers twelve "questions" to help us identify our functional saviors. These are great questions to ask yourself to gain insight to the direction our inner attitudes and desires are pointing us. 1. I am preoccupied with ________. 2. If only ________, then I would be happy. 3. I get my sense of significance from ________. 4. I would protect and preserve ________ at any cost. 5. I fear losing ________. 6. The thing that gives me greatest pleasure is ________. 7. When I lose ________, I get angry, resentful, frustrated, anxious, or depressed. 8. For me, life depends on ________. 9. The thing I value more than anything in the world is ________. 10. When I daydream, my mind goes to________. 11. The best thing I can think of is ________. 12. The thing that makes me want to get out of bed in the morning is ________. Source: http://thinklings.org/posts/12-steps-t...

Conversion, The Creation of a Christian Hedonist Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, Part 5 By John Piper - Copyright 2003 by Desiring God Foundation, www.desiringGod.org, published by Multnomah Books A Study Guide prepared by Milt Reynolds Part 1: Introduction Part 2: The Happiness of God Part 3: The Goal of God in Redemptive History Part 4: God Delights in His Glory Part 5: Conversion, The Creation of a Christian Hedonist (page 53) What do you think? Jay E. Adams writes that counseling others should emphasize the "what" of behavior, rather than the "why" of behavior. Do you think it's important to know why a person is caught in a habitual sin, before trying to help them out of it? Is the "why" of sin insignificant? (Competent to Counsel, Jay E. Adams, 1970 Zondervan, pages 48-49) God's quest to be glorified and our quest to be satisfied both reach their goal in one experience: our delight in God, which overflows in praise...

Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, Part 4 By John Piper - Copyright 2003 by Desiring God Foundation, www.desiringGod.org , published by Multnomah Books A Study Guide prepared by Milt Reynolds Part 1: Introduction...How I became a Christian Hedonist (page 7) Part 2: The Happiness of God Part 3: The Goal of God in Redemptive History (page 308) Part 4: God Delights in His Glory (page 41) What do you think? Cite an event from the Bible that obviously shows God acting for the sake of His own glory, or His Name's sake. A brief survey of the high points of redemptive history supports the conclusion that God's own glory is uppermost in His own affections . He puts a greater value on His own glory than on anything else. He delights in His glory above all things. God's glory is His infinite greatness and worth . It could be a bright and awesome radiance sometimes seen, or the infinite moral excellence of His character. God loves His glory infinitely. He lov...

Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, Part 3 By John Piper - Copyright 2003 by Desiring God Foundation, www.desiringGod.org , published by Multnomah Books A Study Guide prepared by Milt Reynolds Part 1: Introduction...How I became a Christian Hedonist (page 7) Part 2: The Happiness of God Part 3: The Goal of God in Redemptive History (page 308) In Chapter One, the author asserts that God's own glory is uppermost in His own affections. In everything He does, His purpose is to preserve and display that glory ...He puts a greater value on His glory than on anything else...He delights in His glory above all things (page 41) Appendix 1 presents the biblical evidence for this assertion. First, glory of God in the Bible refers to the visible splendor, or moral beauty , of God: His unveiled magnificence and excellence . The name of God signifies much the same. In Scripture, something done for God's name sake means the same as for His glory . The name of God is n...

The Happiness of God By John Piper - Copyright 2003 by Desiring God Foundation, www.desiringGod.org , published by Multnomah Books A Study Guide prepared by Milt Reynolds Part 1: Introduction...How I became a Christian Hedonist (page 7) Part 2: The Happiness of God (page 31) God is uppermost in His own affections . The Westminster catechism could well be written from the viewpoint of God: The chief end of God is to glorify God AND enjoy Himself forever . Redemption, salvation, and restoration are not God's ultimate goal. These he performs for the sake of something greater: the enjoyment He has in glorifying Himself . What do you think? What are some reasons why we might be more accustomed to think about our duty rather than God’s glory? The Sovereignty of God (page 32) The foundation of God's happiness and ours, is His sovereignty . God has the right and power to do whatever makes Him happy: "Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases...

Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, Part 4 By John Piper - Copyright 2003 by Desiring God Foundation, www.desiringGod.org , published by Multnomah Books A Study Guide prepared by Milt Reynolds Part 1: Introduction...How I became a Christian Hedonist (page 7) Part 2: The Happiness of God Part 3: The Goal of God in Redemptive History (page 308) Part 4: God Delights in His Glory (page 41) What do you think? Cite an event from the Bible that obviously shows God acting for the sake of His own glory, or His Name's sake. A brief survey of the high points of redemptive history supports the conclusion that God's own glory is uppermost in His own affections . He puts a greater value on His own glory than on anything else. He delights in His glory above all things. God's glory is His infinite greatness and worth . It could be a bright and awesome radiance sometimes seen, or the infinite moral excellence of His character. God loves His glory infinitely. He lov...