“What Does It Mean?” vs. “What Does It Mean to Me?”

"...In many situations, however, it is extremely important that we search for the author's meaning because of serious negative consequences that will come if we misunderstand or intentionally ignore the meaning the author intended. For example, one of the most common literary texts in America is the big word STOP painted on the red octagonal signs at many street intersections across the country. If you choose to, you can follow a reader response approach and interpret the text to mean: 'slow down just a bit, look for cars, and then speed on through the intersection.' The police, however, believe strongly in authorial intent for the determination of meaning, so they will respond to your interpretation with a traffic ticket and a fine."

Lol.

So it seems that our culture is not as postmodern in its practice as it is in its thinking. That's somewhat encouraging…

Seasoned with Salt

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (Ephesians 4:29)

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)

I have always (I think) admired the sort of people that can easily and instantly turn a silly or frivolous conversation toward the things of God, and have always wanted to be able to do that. But it isn't easy, at least at first, to be that intentional and that focused… I know for me, it's easier when I am meditating on what I'm learning either from church, or from reading books, or studying God's Word, but sometimes it's still hard! So when I came across these great questions from a blog I follow, I thought I'd share them with everyone; they'll help me for sure!

Questions for Biblical Fellowship

(from http://www.girltalkhome.com/blog/hospitality-questions)
1. What is one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year and what are you doing to this end?
3. Who is one person you would like to spend time with asking questions about their relationship with the Lord?
4. What is one new way you could help strengthen the church?
5. What is one thing you could do to improve your prayer life?
6. What habit would you most like to establish this year?
7. Who do you most want to encourage this year?
8. What book, in addition to the Bible, do you most want to read this year?
9. In what area of your life do you most need growth and what will you do about it?
10. What one biblical doctrine do you most want to understand better this year?

Come Quickly!

Pondering the first moment I see Christ

He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)

I'm still musing over death and dying, and eternity as a whole. Basically, I can't wait until I see Jesus face to face! It's not about how cool heaven will be (Revelation 21:21, 22:1-5, etc). It's not even about all the awful things that won't be in heaven—fear, suffering, pain, sadness (Revelation 21:4). I can't wait to finally "praise the One who paid my debt and raised my life up from the dead" with every fiber of my being, for the rest of eternity. I can't wait to finally savor Jesus Christ, and to embark on a never ending journey in knowing how infinitely worthy He is of all praise, honor, and glory. I can't wait to finally see the lion-like Lamb, the lamb-like Lion; Jesus truly is an admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies! (Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ)

What will happen the first time I see Christ? My heart yearns for that moment, but my mind can barely begin to comprehend it; how can I even dare to imagine it?! I wish I could see Jesus face to face now, then come back and live the rest of my short life here on earth (Job 7:7, 7:16). That way, perhaps after seeing Christ in all His glory, I would have the boldness I need to make every moment count for Him… I would understand how beautiful Christ is and how despicable and worthless sin is (Jeremiah 2)! An eloquent preacher (whose writing style you may recall) said it this way, "Resolved: to endeavor to my utmost to act as I can think I should do if I had already seen the happiness of heaven and hell's torments." (Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards)

Here's a song that talks about how wonderful it will be to finally see Christ, for the first time ever. It's called "Arrived" (by Enfield).

Watching and waiting our whole life through
For the moment when we arrive in glory
We'll be standing before His emerald throne
Oh, what a day it will be

All tears are gone and suffering ceased
Perfect new life, no earthly strife
When we finish the race, run to His embrace
Oh, what a day it will be

When we've arrived, stunned and surprised
All things resolved in the blink of an eye
No more distractions, no sin left to fight
First glimpse of Jesus, and faith becomes sight

Feel the ground shake, hear thunder roll
See lightning strike and seraphim fly
All amazed we will fall, yet the Father will call,
"Stand, I've made you my own."

A choir with angels, martyrs and saints
Singing His praise with no end to the days
Shouting, "Holy! Holy! Holy!" to Almighty God
Oh, what a song that will be

When we've arrived, stunned and surprised
All things resolved in the blink of an eye
No more distractions, no sin left to fight
First glimpse of Jesus…

When we've arrived, stunned and surprised
All things resolved in the blink of an eye
No more distractions, no sin left to fight
First glimpse of Jesus,
First glimpse of Jesus,
First glimpse of Jesus,
And faith becomes sight

Just Some Thoughts on Death

"She came when we were freezing, but she left us burning up!"

Sometimes I think about the songs I want played at my funeral. I know that SOUNDS morbid, but I love thinking about how fleeting this life is and how permanent eternity is; it's like a wake-up call for my soul! Jonathan Edwards said in one of his seventy resolutions, "Resolved: to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death" (Resolution #9). And Jonathan Edwards is certainly someone I want to emulate!

One of the songs that I'd like to have played at my funeral is "Amy's Song" (by Switchfoot, off the New Way to be Human album), with the hopes that at my death my friends and family would think of it as "Amber's Song"… that the way Amy lived would be the way I lived my life too. Here are the lyrics:

Amy's gone

And time rolls on

How far? how fast? how long?

 

The last time we saw Amy

She was headed for the shore

Fighting off the volatile gray skies

 

She said now begins forever

And that no one knows their time

We bid farewell not knowing

That might be our last good-bye

 

Amy was a fighter

She cut like Casius Clay

She burned like a fire

Despite these rains

 

Where time was a question

She only knew one song

She's singing, "how far, how fast, how long?"

 

Salvation is a fire

In the midnight of the soul

It lights up like a can of gasoline

 

Yeah, she's a freedom fighter

She's a stand up kind of girl

She's out to start a fire

In a bar code plastic world

 

Amy was a fighter

She cut like Casius Clay

She burned like a fire

Despite these rains

 

Where time was a question

She only knew one song

She's singing, "how far, how fast, how long?"

 

When everything stops moving

And I stop to catch my breath

And ride my train of thought

All the way around

 

My thoughts return to Amy

And the fire she's begun

She came when we were freezing

And left us burning up

 

Amy was a fighter

She cut like Casius Clay

She burned like a fire

Despite these rains

 

Where time was a question

She only knew one song

She's singing, "how far, how fast, how long?"

How long, how long, how long?

 

The last time we saw Amy

The last time we saw Amy

Yeah, the last time we saw Amy

The last time we saw Amy

Yeah, the last time we saw Amy

 

I want to start that kind of fire! The kind that leaves others burning with passion for Christ long after I'm gone, so that each person God uses me to influence would be used of God to influence myriads more souls. I know I've got a long way to go, but I'm not giving up!

So I guess thinking about death ultimately leads me to think of two things:

1. How I live my life will determine how I die, and the kind of impact and legacy my life and death will leave.
   
2. How GLORIOUS it will be to finally gaze upon the face of my Lord, Savior, and TREASURE, Jesus Christ!!!

Treasure

The Kingdom of the Heavens is buried Treasure; would you sell yourself to buy the One you've found?

Matthew 13:44—"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."

I love this verse, and talking about it in college group tonight brought it to the forefront of my mind again. It's a beautiful verse, but (because?) it's also incredibly convicting…

Do I treasure Christ as I should? As long as I'm immersing myself in the world, the answer is no. As long as my thoughts, actions, and desires are based on temporal things, the answer is no (1 John 2:15-17). As long as I'm running to a broken cistern instead of to fountains of Living Water, the answer is no (Jeremiah 2:12-13).

God, I want to treasure YOU above everything else, and IN everything else! I want to keep seeking eternal things, the things that are above, where Christ is seated… I want to continually dwell on—and have my heart breaking and rejoicing all at the same time—the sacrificial act of love that you did by sending Your perfect Son to die on the cross for my sins, to bear the punishment and wrath that should have been mine! Jesus, please grasp my heart and make YOU my TREASURE. I want to be the one who gives up everything, out of pure JOY, just to have You.

Thanks for listening as I preach to myself and struggle to put to death the sinful desires in my heart.

Some cool verses that also came up in conversation and such tonight—

• 2 Corinthians 6:10
  
• Colossians 3:1-3
  
• Habakkuk 3:17-19
  
• Genesis 4:6-7
  

Real Christianity

Check out this picture John Piper posted on his blog... It certainly is a stunning example of what real Christianity is, especially compared to the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel.

When My Heart Turns Away from God

"Why"
Why would I ever choose a broken cistern over Living Water? (Jeremiah 2:12-13)

Where did you go?
For so long you've seemed so lost, so distant—
Though you try to hide your face
Your eyes betray the emptiness of your soul.

Won't you please come back?
Turn around, before it's too late, time is running…
Approaching dusk is never scary
Until the darkness swallows up all the light.

Don't you see what you'll become?
That twisting, winding, deceivingly wide road
You've never taken. But you know the destruction
That lies on that horrid path.

Remember what it was like before?
You loved the light, you frolicked in it—
The warmth of the sun brightened your eyes, colored your cheeks.
Come again to feel the warmth, what you once loved.

Do you miss the sweetness of satisfaction?
Get out of the mudpit and taste of the cool fountain;
I know you never thirsted when you drank of Living Water.
Quench your restless desires with eternity.

Why did you ever want to leave?
How could you forget the Lover of your soul?