I found this info graphic interesting, and I hope you do too. I wanted to share it since most of us sit the majority of the day reading and writing.
Category: Practical
X-Ray Questions: What do you feel like doing?
This week we continue our X-Ray Questions series, as we look at what do you feel like doing. You can read the other posts in this series by clicking here.
X-Ray Question:
(5) What do you feel like doing?
This is slang for question 2, what do you desire? To be “feeling-oriented” means to make your wants your guide: “I feel like cursing you. I don’t feel like doing my chores.”
Understand
When we do what we feel like doing, we are allowing our wants to be our guide, rather than Scripture. We must recognize when we are allowing our desires to override what Scripture commands we do. We can check ourselves by asking: Do my actions or thoughts align with Scripture? Is this something I feel like doing, or is it something God would have me do?
When we are leading ourselves, God is not leading us. Which is opposed to the examples put forth in Scripture. Consistently the Psalmist calls God his refuge and his protection, the One who leads and guides him with His wise counsel (Pss.13:23-28). God’s wisdom far outweighs our wisdom, His counsel is better than the wisest man. As a result, we need to seek God and His leading, rather than allow our feelings to lead us.
If we are Christians, when we are led by our feelings, we are allowing our unregenerate nature to lead us. The same nature that is contrary to the Lord. As a result, when we allow our feelings to lead us, we will almost always seek to gratify the desires of the flesh and glorify ourselves, rather than God.
Repent
Repent by realizing that by allowing our feelings to lead us, we are reverting back to the leading of our sinful nature, and we are not being guided and led by the wisdom of God.
When we put our faith in Christ, trusting that His sacrifice on the cross paid the price for our sins, our relationship with God is restored, and we are released from the bondage of sin, making us free to follow and serve Him.
Scripture
Here are a few passages from God’s word to meditate on this week, as you consider what is leading you: Pss. 17:14-15; 73:23-28; Prov. 10:3; 10:28; 11:6-7; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 2:3; 4:22; 2 Tim. 2:22; Titus 3:3; 1 Peter 1:14; 2:11; 4:2; 2 Peter 1:4; 2:10; James 1:14-15; 4:1-3.
All X-Ray questions taken from David Powlison’s book Seeing with New Eyes.
Is God a Reality or Concept in Your Life?
This weekend I visited my brother and sister-in-law in Allen, where I attended my nieces baby dedication. On the drive back home, I listen to a sermon by Tim Keller. The sermon was entitled: The Gospel and Your Self. You can access it by clicking here.
In his sermon, Tim Keller asks the question:
Is God a REALITY or a CONCEPT in your life?
Your answer to this question will make all the difference, and it will have eternal consequences. Before I tell you how you can know that God is a reality or concept in your life, I want to define for you the two words at hand.
Definitions
Reality: Something that exists independently of all other things or ideas concerning it. It is something that exists outside of your mind, and it has the power to influence you.
Concept: A general notion or idea. Meaning it is something that exists in the mind and is not independent of your mind.
How do you know if God is a reality or a concept?
(1) You know God is a reality in your life when you allow Him to change your beliefs and actions.
When you quit saying things like: I like that God is loving and merciful, but I don’t like that God has a wrathful side. I don’t think it is wrong to have pre-marital sex if someone is in love. I don’t believe racism is wrong, even though the Bible condemns it. I believe the Bible is true, but I don’t think God is right about homosexuality, even though the Bible clearly speaks against it.
Unless you allow God to change your beliefs and affect the way you act, then God is a concept to you. He is not real, and He is not your Savior or the Lord of your life. God is just someone who you believe can help you live a better life. Someone you can get something from, but you are not willing to give things up for.
(2) You know God is a reality when you realize you are a sinner.
God is still a concept to you, if you do not realize your own sinfulness and need of a Savior. When God is a reality, you understand how holy He is and how sinful you are. If God is just a concept to you, then you think you are alright, you’re not that sinful, you are not so bad.
Why do you not see your sinfulness when God is a concept to you? Because you have constructed a God that does not push against, or reveal, your sinfulness. He does not challenge your ideas, or actions because you have constructed Him to fit neatly into your world. When you construct a God in your mind, you are not going to construct a God who is going to tell you that you need to change. Rather, you are going to construct a God who tells you that you are alright. However, when your God does not cause you to realize you are a sinner, you do not have a real God; rather, you have a God who is a figment of your imagination.
(3) You know God is a reality when you are willing to go on Mission for God.
God is not a reality for you unless you are willing to tell others about Him and the life He has given you through Jesus Christ. If you have no desire to present the Gospel to others, or even live in a way that reflects God’s work in your life, then God is a concept to you. He has not affected your life, and He is not your Savior or Lord.
Getting Real
I know, pretty weighty and bold words to say that God is not someone’s Savior and Lord, but if God is just a concept, then He is not your Savior and Lord. You have not accepted the reality that God exists, for if you had, then you would allow Him to change your beliefs and actions; you would see yourself for who you really are, a sinner; and you would be willing to tell others about Him. Until these things happen, God is nothing more than a concept for you, someone you have constructed in your own imagination to make yourself feel better. He is someone who fits into your agenda, rather than someone who sets your agenda.
Hope
There is hope and it is in the Gospel, the saving power of Jesus Christ, which has the power to change your life. It has the ability to make God a reality in your life. And you don’t have to clean yourself up in order for that to happen. All you have to do is trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and allow Him to control every aspect of your life. When you admit that you need a Savior, God has become a reality to you, rather than a concept, or construct of your imagination.
X-Ray Questions: What are your fears?
This week we continue our X-Ray Questions series, as we look at our fears. You can read the other posts in this series by clicking here.
X-Ray Question:
(5) What do you fear? What do you not want? What do you tend to worry about?
Sinful fears are inverted cravings. If I want to avoid something at all costs – loss of reputation, loss of control, poverty, ill health, rejection, etc. – I am ruled by a lustful fear.
Understand
When we want to avoid something (loss of reputation, loss of control, poverty, ill health, rejection) at all costs, and when we worry about those things we want to avoid, we reveal what rules us. We must realize that when we allow something other than God to rule us, we are submitting ourselves to idols.
“When we submit ourselves to idols, we will do anything to please them.”
For instance, caring about our own reputation more than God’s, will lead us to either compromise our morals, or the truth, in order to maintain our reputation in the community. When this occurs, we are allowing the cares of the world to rule us.
Repent
As Americans, I believe this weeks X-Ray question hits us hard because the culture in which we live cares a great deal about reputation, control, riches, and health. However, as Christians, we need to quiet the cares of the world in our hearts and repent of our idols, which we can do by realizing God is the only one who has the right to rule us because He is our Creator and Savior. Since God is our Creator and Savior, we should allow Him to be the King of our lives.
Thankfully, in the Gospel – the saving and redeeming work of Jesus Christ – we are given the power to submit to God as our ruler and remove all idols that rule over us. As a result, we must preach the Gospel to ourselves when we notice fear creeping into our lives. We must also take it a step further, asking God to reveal our fears, so we can remove the idols ruling over us.
Scripture
Here are a few passages from God’s word to meditate on this week, as you consider your fears: Matt. 6:25-32; 13:22
All X-Ray questions taken from David Powlison’s book Seeing with New Eyes.
Head or Heart Knowledge?
I recently went to The Gospel Coalition Conference in Chicago, where I attended a dinner, and received 19 free books. Yeah, I know, it was pretty awesome! Five of the books happened to be the Essential Edwards Collection by Doug Sweeney and Owen Strachan. This set is an excellent look into the life and writings of Jonathan Edwards. You can check them out here.
In the first book, Lover of God, this quote appears by Jonathan Edwards:
“He that is spiritually enlightened truly apprehends and sees it, or has a sense of it. He does not merely rationally believe that God is glorious, but he has a sense of the gloriousness of God in his heart. There is not only a rational belief that God is holy…but there is a sense of the loveliness of God’s holiness. There is not only a speculatively judging that God is gracious, but a sense how amiable God is upon that account, or a sense of the beauty of this divine attribute (Works 17, 413)” (Essential Edwards Collection, 34).
Explanation
Edwards is distinguishing between an intellectual knowledge and a heart knowledge of God. He believes intellectual knowledge of God without heart knowledge is no real knowledge at all.
You see, you can define premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism better than anyone in the field; beat everyone in the church in a Bible drill, including the pastor himself; have the entire Pentateuch memorized in Hebrew, and still not have a personal relationship with the Lord.
Knowing the Lord should involve more than our mind. Knowing the Lord should involve our entire being. It should involve our mind, emotions, and soul. We should truly delight in God, knowing that He is our Savior. Just the thought of His Son willingly enduring the cross for our sins, should send us to our knees to praise Him. Pondering His attributes should cause us to fear Him, while at the same time bringing sheer joy to our souls. We should take delight in reading His word and seeking His face in prayer because He is our Lord and Savior, the Creator of the universe, and the One in whom we find our strength and rest.
Let’s Get Real
If you have never felt a sense of pure joy at the thought of Him saving you from the pits of hell, praised Him for His divine attributes, or even thanked Him for the roof over your head, the job you have, the money in the bank, and the food you eat, then you may need to rethink your relationship with the Lord.
Challenge
I invite you, as we speak, to take an honest look at your relationship with the Lord. That is what Jonathan Edwards did, and His life changed for all eternity.
God and Christians, What is Their Relationship Like?
Have you every wondered what type of fellowship Christians have with God on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice? Have you been looking for motivation to pray throughout the day?
I have been reading a book entitled Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer. This weekend I came across a list by Matthew Henry explaining the availability of God to the Christian, which occurs on the basis of Christ’s atoning sacrifice.
Read along as we explore the nature of the relationship Christians have with God through Christ.
Christians enjoy:
(1) A companion ready in all their solitudes, so that they are never less alone than when alone. Do we need better society than fellowship with the Father?
(2) A counsellor ready in all their doubts,…a guide (Ps. 73:24), who has promised to direct with his eye, to lead us in the way wherein we should go.
(3) A comforter ready in all their sorrows…[to] support sinking spirits, and be the strength of a fainting heart.
(4) A supply ready in all their wants. They that have access to God have access to a full fountain, an inexhaustible treasure, a rich mine.
(5) A support ready under all their burdens. They have access to him as Adonai [my Lord], my stay and the strength of my heart (Ps. 73:26).
(6) A shelter ready in all their dangers, a city of refuge near at hand. The name of the Lord is a strong tower (Prov. 18:10).
(7) Strength ready for all their performances in doing work, fighting work. He is their arm every morning (Isa. 33:2).
(8) Salvation insured by a sweet and undeceiving earnest…If he thus guides us by his counsel he will receive us to glory.
Application
As you can see, God is fully available to us as Christians. God’s availability and the nature of our relationship with Him should drive us to pray to Him. We should go to God everyday, seeking His strength, shelter, support, supply, comfort, counsel, and companionship.
Resource
Joel R. Beeke and Brian Najapfour, Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer, 143-44.
Christianity Matters 