Sola scriptura, soli Deo gloria.

Posted by looposnola On Saturday, January 7, 2012 1 comments

God finally reached my heart about 15 years ago.

He saw fit through His providence to give me a thirst for His word.
I set out to prove some of the protestant teachings wrong.
I would do so from scripture.
So I read....
I read His word every chance I got.
It wasn't long before I forgot why I started to read...
Instead I saw my sin, I saw His grace, I repented, I believed.

I drank in every word.
I thirsted for it daily.

I don't know when it happened, but somewhere I lost my thirst.
That is not to say that I lost my faith.
I have believed, I have seen and marbled at the way He has cared for me.
At the way He has provided, guided, taught.....
God has been an integral part of my life...

But oh how I have struggled to drink that precious Word.
It has been such an impossible task anymore to be diligent in my reading.

But His mercies are new every day....
His grace is everlasting...

I started Professor Horner's reading system this year as part of a challenge.
I read in a blog of someone else taking this on.
10 chapters a day.
Every day.
Sounded insane!! I can't do that. I have failed at the other bible reading programs.
They seemed easy. Maybe I should try one again.
But I took on the challenge....
Now granted, I am just barely into it.....day 7.

But oh how God has opened His Word.
How He has opened my eyes by His grace.
So many subtleties I see that I had not seen before.
He has used it to spark a new fire.
He has used it remind me of how much I loved to drink it all in......
He has used it to remind me....

Sola scriptura, soli Deo gloria....



Plagiarism at its best

Posted by looposnola On Monday, November 28, 2011 1 comments

I read an article today which brought a passage to mind:


"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (Ephesians 5:1-2 ESV)

The context in which this entered my mind was discipline.
It was a basic discussion on spanking.

I believe the bible to be the infallible, inerrant, word of God.
I believe everything within it to be true, and not only true but true in both its simplest forms and also "deeper", broader, beyond the obvious forms.
Such as when Jesus tells us "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!25And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?c 26If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,d yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31Instead, seek Hise kingdom, and these things will be added to you." (Luke 12:22-31 ESV)
To me this means......... don't be anxious!! Quite obvious and simple.
Yet it is also so much more complex, and it speaks volumes of our dependence on God and on His providence. It so speaks of His love,of His involvement in our everyday life and so much more......it is just packed with so much, that volumes upon volumes could be written examining it and yet not fully decipher it all. However, the obvious still stands.....don't be anxious!

So, back to discipline.
God's word clearly speaks about spanking.
It simply says it is ok to spank your child; that not only will the rod not kill him, but that it will save him from hell.
That is pretty strong language.
It is also all true, but so is the first passage I quoted.
To be an imitator of God.

When is the last time you were spanked by your Father in heaven?
When did you feel the physical consequences that He designed for your discipline?
Does God spank us?
Well, if you are part of some sort of a weird sect, you may imagine God constantly planing some physical harm to you as a form of sanctification.
This I certainly don't see any backing for in scripture.
God's correction of His people is certainly quite evident.
Even physical punishments for their stubbornness.
This however, was not the first consequence for straying off the path.
You see the example He sets forth is that of a patient and Father.
You see Christ and His treatment of His disciples. Straight forward, yet gentle. Constantly training, constantly correcting, constantly loving.
God the Father likewise gives correction, warnings, training, more warnings.....then after an exhausting cycle of grace....His people get what they asked for....discipline, in a physical form. An army arises, a nation conquers, a drought, a famine....all by the loving hand of an awesome God. To bring His flock back to the fold.
So gentle, so patient, so loving.
Only the worst of offenses and the long term stubbornness brings forth His still gentle wrath.

To be an imitator of God.
What a concept! If only by His grace I could be guilty of this.
To teach my children with His patience, to train them with His gentleness, to correct them for His glory, and after the manner of His grace.
The thought brings me to my knees.
Spanking is not the argument, it also isn't the answer.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6 ESV)

As I continue in this journey that God has laid before me, I pray my children can see this thought played out in my life.
When you see me, look beyond. I am just a copy, but hopefully plagiarism at its best....
Imitator of Christ. I pray that's what they see.

Thanksgiving

Posted by looposnola On Thursday, November 24, 2011 0 comments

A really wondrous day.

I spent a good part of my childhood in Costa Rica. The first thanksgiving celebration I ever thanksgiving meal for us. It was wondrous and amazing in my eyes. There are many times in my life that I remember very fondly, the time spent first getting to know my step dad is one of them. The time him and I spent alone together when we moved to the US is another.

One thanksgiving about 7 years ago, was so filled with joy over our then newest addition to our family. On November 22 of 2004 Annabelle Marie was born. She has changed the thanksgiving holiday for us with the reminder of her birth.
This thanksgiving has been filled with joy.
So many changes have happened in our lives. We are constantly growing closer as a family.

This thanksgiving also has a different milestone. This is our first holiday without my sweet daughter Alegria Elizabeth. After 27 short months, our Savior called her home.
Today she is missed. Missed beyond words.
Yet today we give thanks.

All our children have touched our hearts, all our children have changed us. God saw fit however, to use Ali in such a major way. To change our perceptions, to open our eyes, to experience the highest highs and the lowest lows.

Today we give thanks; we remember and we give thanks.
We give thanks for His mercy. We give thanks for His love. This year especially, we give thanks for His grace. For His providence and the knowledge, that it is all in His hands.
He truly does have the whole world in His hands.
Now just as always, He has my joy in His hands.
For this now and ever........

Lord I give thanks.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)