Mark 2
v. 27 - "And he said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.'"
Any wisdom or biblical command that I receive is ultimately from the Lord and for my joy. When I learn that sugar is bad for my body, that wisdom is a demonstration of grace from God to me so that I might have joy and have it to the full. Why, then, do I war against the wisdom of God?
Father, help me to embrace Your wisdom and derive joy from it, that You would be glorified. Amen.
Song for reflection: Good Good Father by Housefires
[video=youtube;djrY_eFDOwE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djrY_eFDOwE[/video]
Add-on: After I wrote that journal entry, I realized that the wisdom of God and His commands given to us in the Bible could basically be summed up with the word "law." While we as believers do not live under the Old Testament law, we have still been given commands by God that serve as boundaries for us, and we can even derive principles to live by from Old Testament law that we know will be good for us (like taking a Sabbath day for rest, for example). The key, of course, is to obey the law under the umbrella of the gospel, knowing that we are forgiven for all of those times we fail to obey.
Anyways, a good friend of mine who is in seminary preached on Sunday morning about the very thing that I journaled about Saturday night. The title of his sermon was "Living the Law of Love." It began with a story about a seminary professor and Seventh-Day Adventist pastor named Ryan Bell (no relation to Rob) who, on January 1st, 2014, began an experimental year of living without God*. To be perfectly honest, I need to go back and re-listen to the sermon because I can't remember how he connected that story, as interesting as it is, to the rest of his sermon.
I know it'll probably be hard to follow, but only at the chance that some of these words or statements might be encouraging to someone I will post my sermon notes below, and if the sermon audio is ever posted online, I will link to it here
*Naturally, he had already resigned from his pastoral position and was removed from his faculty position at Fuller Theological Seminary. After his year of living without God, Ryan Bell decided that a life of atheism was actually for him. An op ed piece written by him titled "Why You Don't Need God" was featured on CNN.com yesterday morning.
Living the Law of Love
Deuteronomy 6:1-15
Living the Law of Love
-To obey the law rightly, we must love God and His commands.
-To understand the law rightly, we must know it is all under the umbrella of love.
-Because all good things come from God (Deut. 6:10-11)
-Because all important events are worth remembering (6:12-15)
2. We cling to Him as whole people
-Because our entire personhood is under the reign of God (6:4-6)
-Because our entire livelihood is under the reign of God (6:7-9)
3. We captivate the world with His plan
-Because fearing God encourages wise living (6:1-2)
-Because listening to God encourages human flourishing (6:3)
Matthew 22:35-40
Love the law by...
-Incorporating the Psalms and/or musical worship into your daily routine to engage your affections for God.
-Evaluating the amount of joy you see in your life honestly and inviting a friend or family member to do the same.
v. 27 - "And he said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.'"
Any wisdom or biblical command that I receive is ultimately from the Lord and for my joy. When I learn that sugar is bad for my body, that wisdom is a demonstration of grace from God to me so that I might have joy and have it to the full. Why, then, do I war against the wisdom of God?
Father, help me to embrace Your wisdom and derive joy from it, that You would be glorified. Amen.
Song for reflection: Good Good Father by Housefires
[video=youtube;djrY_eFDOwE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djrY_eFDOwE[/video]
Add-on: After I wrote that journal entry, I realized that the wisdom of God and His commands given to us in the Bible could basically be summed up with the word "law." While we as believers do not live under the Old Testament law, we have still been given commands by God that serve as boundaries for us, and we can even derive principles to live by from Old Testament law that we know will be good for us (like taking a Sabbath day for rest, for example). The key, of course, is to obey the law under the umbrella of the gospel, knowing that we are forgiven for all of those times we fail to obey.
Anyways, a good friend of mine who is in seminary preached on Sunday morning about the very thing that I journaled about Saturday night. The title of his sermon was "Living the Law of Love." It began with a story about a seminary professor and Seventh-Day Adventist pastor named Ryan Bell (no relation to Rob) who, on January 1st, 2014, began an experimental year of living without God*. To be perfectly honest, I need to go back and re-listen to the sermon because I can't remember how he connected that story, as interesting as it is, to the rest of his sermon.
I know it'll probably be hard to follow, but only at the chance that some of these words or statements might be encouraging to someone I will post my sermon notes below, and if the sermon audio is ever posted online, I will link to it here
*Naturally, he had already resigned from his pastoral position and was removed from his faculty position at Fuller Theological Seminary. After his year of living without God, Ryan Bell decided that a life of atheism was actually for him. An op ed piece written by him titled "Why You Don't Need God" was featured on CNN.com yesterday morning.
Living the Law of Love
Deuteronomy 6:1-15
Living the Law of Love
-To obey the law rightly, we must love God and His commands.
-To understand the law rightly, we must know it is all under the umbrella of love.
-All six hundred-and-some laws in the Old Testament have redemptive principles behind them.
1. We celebrate His covenant promises
-Because all good things come from God (Deut. 6:10-11)
-Because all important events are worth remembering (6:12-15)
2. We cling to Him as whole people
-Because our entire personhood is under the reign of God (6:4-6)
-Because our entire livelihood is under the reign of God (6:7-9)
-"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, 'Mine!'" - Abraham Kuyper
3. We captivate the world with His plan
-Because fearing God encourages wise living (6:1-2)
-Because listening to God encourages human flourishing (6:3)
Matthew 22:35-40
Love the law by...
-Incorporating the Psalms and/or musical worship into your daily routine to engage your affections for God.
-Evaluating the amount of joy you see in your life honestly and inviting a friend or family member to do the same.