The Christmas Spirit
Posted by jerrywhite on Dec 5, 2011
“We talk glibly of the ‘Christmas spirit’, rarely meaning more by this than sentimental jollity on a family basis. But what we have said makes it clear that the phrase should in fact carry a tremendous weight of meaning. It ought to mean the reproducing in human lives of the temper of Him who for our sakes became poor at the first Christmas. And the Christmas spirit itself ought to be the mark of every Christian all the year round.
It is our shame and disgrace today that so many Christians—I will be more specific: so many of the soundest and most orthodox Christians—go through this world in the spirit of the priest and the Levite in our Lord’s parable, seeing human needs all around them, but (after a pious wish, and perhaps a prayer, that God might meet them) averting their eyes, and passing by on the other side. That is not the Christmas spirit. Nor is it the spirit of those Christians—alas, they are many—whose ambition in life seems limited to building a nice middle-class Christian home, and making nice middle-class Christian friends, and bringing up their children in nice middle-class Christian ways, and who leave the sub-middle class sections of the community, Christian and non-Christian, to get on by themselves.
The Christmas spirit does not shine out in the Christian snob. For the Christmas spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor—spending and being spent—to enrich their fellowmen, giving time, trouble, care and concern, to do good to others—and not just their own friends—in whatever way there seems need. There are not as many who show this spirit as there should be. If God in mercy revives us, one of the things He will do will be to work more of this spirit in our hearts and lives. If we desire spiritual quickening for ourselves individually, one step we should take is to seek to cultivate this spirit. ‘Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.’ ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.’ ‘I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart’ (Ps. 119:32).
J. I. Packer
Knowing God, 55-56
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Love One Another
Posted by jerrywhite on Feb 21, 2011
John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”
Luke 9:49-50 (ESV)
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“Reading about the powerful but pathetic disciples has given me pause whenever I speak of fellow believers, particularly those who come from other branches of God’s church. Sometimes we’re so eager to differentiate ourselves from certain denominations or spokespeople that we lose all sense of proportion and become outright critics. Let’s honor what God has done, is doing, and will do through his imperfect church, even while trying to reform it. Not one disciple of Jesus lacked some serious faults—and yet Jesus still loved, called, and used each one.
God loves his church, and he loves the individuals who comprise it. If we become critics instead of encouragers, we risk offending God. I know, I know—there are a million things the contemporary church could be doing better, and we could spend our entire lives doing nothing but pointing out each other’s shortcomings, theological prejudices, and stylistic embarrassments. But ask yourself this: If the current church is so bad, so ineffective, and so irrelevant, how did you come to faith while being a part of it?
Our sisters and brothers may have different hairstyles, speaking styles, and worship styles and even different emphases in their preaching, but they are still God’s people. Sometimes our pride makes us ashamed to be a part of others who embarrass us, but from the perspective of spiritual formation, anything that assaults our pride is a good thing—even if it means being categorized with someone with whom we may have legitimate disagreements.”
Gary Thomas
The Beautiful Fight, 217
~~~
Would I grieve the Lord Jesus by criticizing any of His followers for whom He died?
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Love Suffers
Posted by jerrywhite on Sep 6, 2010
“Those who love most deeply, suffer most intensely. For Mary, ‘the greatest of all privileges was to bring with it the greatest of all sorrows.’ At the time of Simeon’s prediction it must have seemed remote and improbable to the young mother, but now its mystery is resolved. The mother of the Man of sorrows must share the sorrows of her Son.
‘There He hung before her eyes,’ wrote James Stalker. ‘But she was helpless. His wounds bled, but she dare not staunch them. His mouth was parched but she could not moisten it…. The nails pierced her as well as Him. The thorns round His brow were a circle of flame around her heart.’
‘There stood by the cross of Jesus his mother’ (John 19:25).
Where else would one expect to find such a mother? It was her very own Son who was suffering. The outstretched arms and nail-torn hands once had clung around her neck. The head now tortured with a crown of thorns was once pillowed on her breast. The mouth on which she had once lavished her kisses of love was now parched and swollen. Though powerless to help, she could at least be beside Him in loyalty and love.
Sympathetically she entered into all His sufferings. The spear pierced her heart as it rent His flesh. With joy she had followed His career, had feared and prayed for Him, had rejoiced in His successes and wept over His disappointments. But now He was dying as a criminal, not as a hero. What an end to the life of such a Son! Lest she add to His sufferings, she did not give way to uncontrolled weeping, but repressed her grief as the sword pierced her soul. She did not faint or swoon, she ‘stood.’ He had enough suffering of His own without her adding to His overflowing cup of sorrow.”
J. Oswald Sanders
The Incomparable Christ, 172-173
~~~
To love with deep love means sometimes to suffer with deep pain. To love a son but see him wayward. To love a spouse and see them suffer with life-taking cancer. To see a dear friend betrayed by adultery in a marriage. To see a loved one falsely accused and viciously attacked. Pain in love is what the Lord Jesus suffered. He knows tears and groans in His heart too deep for words. He understands. Oh, how He understands.
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Love The Brethren
Posted by jerrywhite on Oct 5, 2009
“Reading about the powerful but pathetic disciples has given me pause whenever I speak of fellow believers, particularly those who come from other branches of God’s church. Sometimes we’re so eager to differentiate ourselves from certain denominations or spokespeople that we lose all sense of proportion and become outright critics. Let’s honor what God has done, is doing, and will do through his imperfect church, even while trying to reform it. Not one disciple of Jesus lacked some serious faults — and yet Jesus still loved, called, and used each one.
God loves his church, and he loves the individuals who compose it. If we become critics instead of encouragers, we risk offending God. I know, I know — there are a million things the contemporary church could be doing better, and we could spend our entire lives doing nothing but pointing out each other’s shortcomings, theological prejudices, and stylistic embarrassments. But ask yourself this: If the current church is so bad, so ineffective, and so irrelevant, how did you come to faith while being a part of it?
Our sisters and brothers may have different hairstyles, speaking styles, and worship styles and even different emphases in their preaching, but they are still God’s people. Sometimes our pride makes us ashamed to be a part of others who embarrass us, but from the perspective of spiritual formation, anything that assaults our pride is a good thing — even if it means being categorized with someone with whom we may have legitimate disagreements.”
Gary Thomas
The Beautiful Fight, 217
~~~
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:1-3
~~~
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Love Like God
Posted by jerrywhite on May 14, 2009
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8 (ESV)
~~~
God is love. This statement helps define who God is. The new commandment our Lord Jesus gave us is to love one another like He loves us (John 13:34). He said that this would be our witness to the world that we are His (John 13:35). We are to love the just and the unjust like He does (Matthew 5:43-48). The fruit of the Spirit is love (Galatians 5:22). His love flowing out of us like rivers [abundance] of living water should define who we are (John 7:38). Practically what does this kind of love look like?
~~~
“I am patient with you because I love you and want to forgive you.
I am kind to you because I love you and want to help you.
I do not envy your possessions or your gifts because I love you
and want you to have the best.
I do not boast about my attainments because I love you and want to hear about yours.
I am not proud because I love you and want to esteem you before myself.
I am not rude because I love you and care about your feelings.
I am not self-seeking because I love you and want to meet your needs.
I am not easily angered by you because I love you and want to overlook your offenses.
I do not keep a record of your wrongs because I love you,
and ‘love covers a multitude of sins.’ “
Jerry Bridges
Action Statements based on 1 Corinthians 13:4-5
The Discipline of Grace, p. 39
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