Glancing at the stacks of books I've acquired at a pace that outstrips my reading, feelings of guilt and exasperation wash over me. These cherished volumes which once brought me delight and a sense of pride now stand as accusers before me. They indict me for knowledge that has not made the 6 inch descent into my heart.
I read voraciously--practically anything I could get my hands on. Over the last three years, I've read more than a thousand pages from a wide variety of Christian literature: Christian living, Theology, missions and etc. I have gained head knowledge, but alas, all in vain! What good is 'strong' theology without corresponding life transformation?
I am nothing but a hypocrite. A liar.
At the start of this semester, the Lord in His mercy stirred a deep yearning within me to start anew. Moved by the writings of Marva J. Dawn, I decided to keep the Sabbath in honor of God. 'In The Beginning God' challenged me to adopt a God-centric reading of Genesis (and by extension the entire Bible) which will shape my life and build godly character. These efforts are part of a renewed desire to be intentional about being a Christian.
Knowing how quickly I forsake my resolutions, God stirred the heart of my pastor to start a "back to basics" accountability group together with WL. I was honestly hesitant to start out on this journey. My enthusiasm is fleeting and soon this will become a burden or an elaborate ritual at best. Despite my misgivings, I sense an invitation from God to begin a work of transformation that I badly need. I pray that consciously returning to the basics of praying, meditating on the word and honest sharing will bear fruits in time.
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Right thinking about God exists for the sake of right feeling for God -Piper
Piper gave 10 arguments for the indispensible role of right thinking and right knowing in the life of the Christian:
1.It is possible to have strong feelings and be lost if the feelings are not based on knowledge (Romans 10:1-2).
2.God has planned that thinking about the Bible is the means he uses to give understanding (2 Timothy 2:7).
3.Paul is given as an example of reasoning with the Bible (Acts 17:2-3).
4.Jesus assumes and requires that we will use logic in understanding both what is natural and what is spiritual (Luke 12:54-57).
5.Jesus refuses to deal with people who use their reason to conceal truth (Matthew 21:23-27).
6.Thirteen times in Paul’s letters, he asks the question, “Do you not know?” Paul assumes that if his readers knew something, they would see things differently, feel differently, and act differently.
7.The Bible tells us that Christ has given pastors and teachers to the church and tells us that they should be apt to teach—because God intends that the Bible be explained to ordinary folks who don’t have the time or ability to go as deep as God wants them to go. Christ would not have given teachers to the church if he thought they were not needed.
8.The Bible declares that we should proclaim the whole council of God (Acts 20:27). That implies that there is a coherent unified whole, a body of doctrine, that should be given to the church. It is not easy to find this whole council in a book with 1,500 pages! It’s mainly mental labor. Finding the unified biblical theology that the people need to know takes hard thinking.
9.The Bible is a book, which means that it must be read.
10.An example of how thinking and valuing and acting relate to each other is Matthew 7:7-12.
- desiringGod.org
Lol. I didn't know you had hesitations about the meet up we are going to have fortnightly. To be honest, I have mixed feelings about it as well. Largely because I am selfish with my time and fear the small possibility of it turning into a directionless 2 hours of circling conversation.
But I think I can be positive about it because of the people in the conversation. These 2 hour timeslots would give me a consistent avenue to converse with you and mike. Something I'd very much love but have been found wanting because of the lack of intentionality. Also, because I know that there is so much that I can learn from you and mike.
Praying that we would be able to spend the time fruitfully and that He takes pleasure in our meeting up.
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