life at 5

Life at 5am shouldn't really be any different from life at 9am, or at 1pm, or any other time. There is no time of the day when Christ's Lordship switches on or off. Nor is there an analogous time of life when Christ's Lordship switches on in life, since Christ is Lord of all for all time. I think that's why we use the words "accept Jesus" or "acknowledge Jesus" when we talk about conversion. It should be natural that belief in Jesus' death and resurrection and his authority over all things would lead you to the conclusion that "you" are included in "all things" and that your life void of the acknowledgement of His lorship and of the appropriate marks of this reality is really not getting you anywhere good. Jesus' lordship brings life, so where does that lead you if you're not living under Jesus' lordship?

I've been really challenged lately to know what it is to live under Christ's lordship as His disciple... there's much thought to be done about it, which is half of the point of the matter. It's a lifelong thing to think about and pray about and search out where Jesus is calling you to go and/or what He is calling you to do. But it's only half of the matter, because knowing where to go is utterly useless unless you go there, and therein lies the challenge.

So what am I doing up at 5am? Well I got thirsty, and thought I could use the time. It's now almost 7, and I've been flipping through e-Sword (the Sword of the LORD with an electronic edge - www.e-sword.org) and looking at all the references in the New Testament to Jesus being called Lord. One verse stood out to me: "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord', and not do what I tell you?" (Luke 6:46, ESV). Obedience matters to this Lord of ours. The Bible is full of the fact that salvation is from God alone and that obedience must follow, and following in obedience is the essence of discipleship.

Much to ponder, and much to change.

cardboard + halo

It's hard to beat playing 12-player halo in one's loungeroom until the wee hours - except of course by going to sleep and sleeping in enough to make you able to rationalise it the next morning. That's not going to happen. *psyches himself up for a halo hangover*

I knew the "all-nighter" was never going to happen.

ignorant cardboard

Who of you has watched John Saffran vs. God? I watched some yesterday, and found it quite funny. Then I watched the episode where he visits the exorcist. After watching, it took me about 10 minutes before I moved out of my seat, which affirms what I believe about ignorance being the greatest work of Satan over Western society. Nobody acts like that.

It makes me recall something from a C.S. Lewis essay that was read to us at Connect one night this year. Part of the vibe was that there is no such thing as a mortal human being - after God's final judgement we will eternally be either a creature of unimaginable glory or of unimaginable horror, according to whether we are saved or not. We aren't this yet, but we have been given a deposit to guarantee it. We who are saved have the Holy Spirit of the living Jesus in us, whose glory our eyes can't see except in changed lives and hearts, which rightly point us to God as the source of these. But the glory of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us would be all too evident to the demons in the world (and why should there be fewer of those in the world now than there were when Jesus walked the earth?), and that would fill them with terror. Something interesting to ponder... Satan is scared of us. Why else would he attack us with a curse of ignorance? If we were aware of all He did, then surely we would be far more effective tools against Him in Christ's hand than we are now.

P.S. If my rants ever turn heretical, please tell me.

comfort

"As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him."
- Psalm 18:30, NIV


Who can deny it, when He brings good out of all situations?

memory