Sorry for not posting.... this is one of the great C.S. Lewis classics.
The human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender self-will as long as all seems to be well with it. Now error and sin both have this property, that the deeper they are the less their victim suspects their existence; they are masked evil. Pain is unmasked, unmistakable evil; every man knows that something is wrong when he is being hurt... And pain is not only immediately recognizable evil, but evil impossible to ignore. We can rest contentedly in our sins and our stupidities; and anyone who has watched gluttons shoveling down the most exquisite foods as if they did not know what they were eating, will admit that we can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
The Business of Heaven; September 25, p. 242
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Doubt and Faith
"I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
Mark 9:24 TNIV
I think it is healthy to be uncertain every now and then. Frederick Buechner wrote, "Every morning you should wake up in your bed and ask yourself: 'Can I believe it all again today?' ... At least five times out of 10, the answer should be 'No' because the 'No' is as important as the 'Yes,' maybe more so."
We should not be ashamed if we are drawn like magnets to the uncertainties and questions inherent in faith. Faith is not supposed to come naturally. Faith is the venture of human consideration and divine illumination. Only in a world where faith is difficult can faith exist.
This is taken from today's Relevant Magazine daily devotional written by Ed Gungor. I liked the Buechner quote. -- drs
Mark 9:24 TNIV
I think it is healthy to be uncertain every now and then. Frederick Buechner wrote, "Every morning you should wake up in your bed and ask yourself: 'Can I believe it all again today?' ... At least five times out of 10, the answer should be 'No' because the 'No' is as important as the 'Yes,' maybe more so."
We should not be ashamed if we are drawn like magnets to the uncertainties and questions inherent in faith. Faith is not supposed to come naturally. Faith is the venture of human consideration and divine illumination. Only in a world where faith is difficult can faith exist.
This is taken from today's Relevant Magazine daily devotional written by Ed Gungor. I liked the Buechner quote. -- drs
Monday, August 29, 2011
The Doom of Satan
I'm winding down on Stott's Through the Bible: Through the Year devotional. I thought this one from last Saturday did a nice job of boiling a lot of theology down.
... now that the dragon, the two beasts, and the prostitute have all been destroyed, the time has come for the judgement of individuals before the great white throne. John writes, "The dead are judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books" (Revelation 20:12). Most emphatically he is not saying that sinners are justified by their good works. No, we sinners are justified by God's grace alone through faith in Christ crucified alone. At the same time we will be judged by our works, for judgement day will be a public occasion, and good works will be the only public and visible evidence that can be produced to attest the authenticity of our faith. "Faith without deeds is dead" (James 2:26). True believers have their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Rev. 13:8; 20:15). p. 424
... now that the dragon, the two beasts, and the prostitute have all been destroyed, the time has come for the judgement of individuals before the great white throne. John writes, "The dead are judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books" (Revelation 20:12). Most emphatically he is not saying that sinners are justified by their good works. No, we sinners are justified by God's grace alone through faith in Christ crucified alone. At the same time we will be judged by our works, for judgement day will be a public occasion, and good works will be the only public and visible evidence that can be produced to attest the authenticity of our faith. "Faith without deeds is dead" (James 2:26). True believers have their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Rev. 13:8; 20:15). p. 424
Thursday, August 25, 2011
C.S. Lewis on Originality
I love how C.S. Lewis talks about the structure of the church being the place where we can truly become our own unique individual selves. -- drs
No man who values originality will ever be original. But try to tell the truth as you see it, try to do any bit of work as well as it can be done for the work's sake, and what men call originality will come unsought. Business of Heaven; August 23, p.215
Surely God saves different souls in different ways? To preach instantaneous conversion and eternal security as if they must be the experiences of all who are saved, seems to me very dangerous; the very way to drive some into presumption and others into despair. How very different were the callings of the disciples. I don't agree that if anyone were completely a new creature, you and I would necessarily recognize him as such. It takes holiness to detect holiness.
Business of Heaven; August 24, p. 216
No man who values originality will ever be original. But try to tell the truth as you see it, try to do any bit of work as well as it can be done for the work's sake, and what men call originality will come unsought. Business of Heaven; August 23, p.215
Surely God saves different souls in different ways? To preach instantaneous conversion and eternal security as if they must be the experiences of all who are saved, seems to me very dangerous; the very way to drive some into presumption and others into despair. How very different were the callings of the disciples. I don't agree that if anyone were completely a new creature, you and I would necessarily recognize him as such. It takes holiness to detect holiness.
Business of Heaven; August 24, p. 216
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Laziness
The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: But the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. Proverbs 13:4 KJV
Laziness is a poison that will spread through all the faculties of the soul. It infects the will by making work undesirable. it blinds the understanding so that the best of resolutions has no effect. We put off doing anything about slothfulness.
On the other hand, simply being fast has little to commend it. Things must be done at the proper time, and in the best manner possible. Speedy carelessness is only an artful, refined laziness.
This disorder results from a failure to consider the value of something done at the right time and in the right way . God gradually withdraws his graces from those who neglect them.
God has granted you the morning, but he does not promise the evening. Spend each day as if it were your last. ---- Lawrence Scupoli: The Siritual Combat
A personal response: I have never considered the fact that laziness is an indicator of the condition of a soul. Let me understand O God, the difference between being still in order to know you, and being still because I am not inclined to work.
Near to the Heart of God: August 23
Laziness is a poison that will spread through all the faculties of the soul. It infects the will by making work undesirable. it blinds the understanding so that the best of resolutions has no effect. We put off doing anything about slothfulness.
On the other hand, simply being fast has little to commend it. Things must be done at the proper time, and in the best manner possible. Speedy carelessness is only an artful, refined laziness.
This disorder results from a failure to consider the value of something done at the right time and in the right way . God gradually withdraws his graces from those who neglect them.
God has granted you the morning, but he does not promise the evening. Spend each day as if it were your last. ---- Lawrence Scupoli: The Siritual Combat
A personal response: I have never considered the fact that laziness is an indicator of the condition of a soul. Let me understand O God, the difference between being still in order to know you, and being still because I am not inclined to work.
Near to the Heart of God: August 23
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Diversity of the Spiritual Body
The sacrifice of the selfish privacy which is daily demanded of us is daily repaid a hundredfold in the true growth of personality which the life of the Body encourages. Those who are members of one another become as diverse as the hand and the ear. That is why the worldlings are so monotonously alike compared with the almost fantastic variety of the saints. Obedience is the road to freedom, humility the road to pleasure, unity the road to personality. -- C.S. Lewis
The Business of Heaven; August 20; p.212
The Business of Heaven; August 20; p.212
Friday, August 19, 2011
Unbelief
Unbelief is as much of a choice as belief is. What makes it in many ways more appealing is that whereas to believe in something requires some measure of understanding and effort, not to believe doesn't require much of anything at all.
--Frederick Buechner Listening to Your Life: August 19; p. 218
--Frederick Buechner Listening to Your Life: August 19; p. 218
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