A Matter of Life, Sin & Death

Two particular lines that jumped out at me from the Movement men's retreat:

"The more you give yourself to sin, the less dividends it pays."

"Until you have something to die for there's nothing to live for."

Richard Foster on Fasting

"Some have exalted religious fasting beyond all Scripture and reason; and others have utterly disregarded it."
John Wesley

"Perhaps in our affluent society fasting involves a far larger sacrifice than the giving of money."
Celebration Of Discipline, Richard Foster, p66

"More than any other Discipline, fasting reveals the things that controls us. This is a wonderful benefit to the true disciple who longs to be transformed into the image of Christ. We cover up what is inside us with food and other good things, but in fasting these things surface. If pride controls us, it will be revealed almost immediately. David writes, 'I humbled my soul with fasting' (Ps. 69:10). Anger, bitterness, jealousy, strife, fear — if they are within us, they will surface during fasting."
Celebration Of Discipline, Richard Foster, p67

"Fasting helps us keep our balance in life. How easily we begin to allow nonessentials to take precedence in our lives. How quickly we crave things we do not need until we are enslaved by them ... Our human cravings and desires are like rivers that tend to overflow their banks; fasting helps keep them in proper channels. 'I pommel my body and subdue it,' says Paul (1 Cor. 9:27)."
Celebration Of Discipline, Richard Foster, p68

Just Wait

A little snippet of wisdom I heard recently that is most definitely laced with truth and applicable to many, many areas:

"Delayed gratification increases pleasure"

Your Head In The Game

When we think of Heaven it's so easy to yearn to be there and almost wish this life away. But it's really important to remember that all the action takes place here. There's a passage in the bible that describes the saints in Heaven looking down and cheering us on. It's almost like a huge sporting event with a stadium full of heaven's saints and us as the players on the field. We have to remember that we only get one shot at this. When the whistle is blown, the score is final and our performance is over. Whether we scored goals, defended well, or put in a totally half-hearted effort, it's all scrutinised on the action replays. When you're on the pitch, you've got to have your head in the game and give it everything, rather than wishing it all away.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us"
Hebrews 12:1

Without Signposts

"The safest road to hell is the gradual one — the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."
C. S. Lewis

Observations from Gardening

I feel like God teaches me some practical lessons every time I do a bit of gardening. Hope that doesn't sound too bizarre! It's like a workshop on tending to your soul. Here are my thoughts:

→ If you want to get rid of a weed, you have to uproot it. You have to dig beneath the surface, to it's point of origin which is unseen, and remove it entirely. It's exactly the same with sin. We can try and prune back our external behaviours, but really we must dig down and expose the root. Core beliefs, thought patterns, habits and idols.

→ The reason the weed is removed isn't just because we don't like that particular weed, but it's to create something much more beautiful in it's place. Our pursuit of holiness is tending to our soul like a well pruned garden. Over time, something very beautiful can developed.

→ Choosing not to tend to your garden does not prohibit growth. It just allows the wrong growth. The longer it's left unchecked, the more severe and extensive the weeds become. If our sin is left to develop, it will become more severe over time. We will become a mangled mess of thorns and thistles.

The Importance of an Endless Hell

"Unholy as we are, we are disqualified from saying that infinite holiness doesn't demand everlasting punishment. By denying the endlessness of Hell, we minimise Christ's work on the cross. Why? Because we lower the stakes of redemption. If Christ's crucifixion and resurrection didn't deliver us from an eternal Hell, his work on the cross is less heroic, less potent, less consequential, and thus less deserving of our worship and praise. As theologian William G. T. Sheds put it, "The doctrine of Christ's vicarious atonement logically stands or falls with that of eternal punishment."
Heaven, Randy Alcorn, page 25

"Many books deny Hell. Some embrace universalism, the belief that all people will ultimately be saved. Some consider Hell to be the invention of wild-eyed prophets obsessed with wrath. They argue that Christians should take the higher road of Christ's love. But this perspective overlooks a conspicuous reality: In the Bible, Jesus says more than anyone else about Hell (Matthew 10:28; 13:40-43; Mark 9:43-44)."
Heaven, Randy Alcorn, page 25

Randy Alcorn on Naturalistic Assumptions

"We succumb to naturalistic assumptions that what we see is real and what we don't see isn't. God can't be real, we conclude, because we can't see him. And Heaven can't be real because we can't see it. But we must recognise our blindness. The blind must take by faith that there are stars in the sky. If they depend on their ability to see, they will conclude there are no stars"
Heaven, Randy Alcorn, page 13

Satan and Heaven

"Satan hates the New Heaven and the New Earth as much as a deposed dictator hates the new nation and new government that replaces his. Satan cannot stop Christ's redemptive work, but he can keep us from seeing the breadth and depth of redemption that extends to the earth and beyond. He cannot keep Christ from defeating him, but he can persuade us that Christ's victory is only partial, that God will abandon his original plan for mankind and the earth."
Heaven, Randy Alcorn, page 11

Edwards, Resolved

"In his early twenties, Edwards composed a set of life resolutions. One read, "Resolved, to endeavour to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can."
Heaven, Randy Alcorn, page 5

Mortality

"As human beings, we have a terminal disease called mortality. The current death rate is 100 percent. Unless Christ returns soon, we're all going to die. We don't like to think about death; yet, worldwide, 3 people die every second, 180 every minute, and nearly 11,000 every hour. If the Bible is right about what happens to us after death, it means that more than 250,000 people every day go either to Heaven or Hell."
Heaven, Randy Alcorn, page xix

"Show me, lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure."
Psalm 39:4-5

Prayer Ocean

"We could change the whole atmosphere of a nation if thousands of us would constantly throw a cloak of prayer around everyone in our circle or nearness. 'Units of prayer combined, like drops of water, make an ocean which defies resistance.'"
Celebration Of Discipline, Richard Foster, p54

Child-Like Confidence

"The reason God answers prayer is because his children ask"
Celebration Of Discipline, Richard Foster, p49

"Jesus taught us to pray for daily bread. Have you ever noticed that children ask for lunch in utter confidence that it will be provided. They have no need to stash away today's sandwiches for fear none will be available tomorrow. As far as they are concerned, there is an endless supply of sandwiches. Children do not find it difficult or complicated to talk to their parents, nor do they feel embarrassed to bring the simplest need to their attention. Neither should we hesitate to bring the simplest requests confidently to the Father."
Celebration Of Discipline, Richard Foster, p50.

I've heard pretty much the same account of prayer from three different sources in the last two weeks. I think God might be pointing something out to me...

Richard Foster on Prayer & Compassion

"... the bible tells us that great miracles are possible through faith the size of a mustard seed. Usually, the courage actually to go and pray for a person is a sign of sufficient faith. Frequently out lack is not faith but compassion ... Compassion was an evident feature of every healing in the New Testament ... In fact, if we genuinely love people, we desire for them far more than it is within our power to give, and that will cause us to pray."
Celebration Of Discipline, Richard Foster, p49