There are some days in which I seem to be more aware of my sin than others. Some days the law really gets to me, and I know that I have no right to be a son of God. I know that I have no right to anything other than temporal and eternal punishment. Sometimes, the law absolutely seems to crush any glimmer of hope from me.
I do not know if there is any particular reason for this, if it just happens to be the section of the Bible I read, or if I am truly being more sinful (or at least being sinful more willingly) on those days. But I do know that days like that make me appreciate all the more Christ's sacrifice for me. Christ's Body and Blood given for MY sins.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! [2] O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
[3] If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand? [4] But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
[5] I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope; [6] my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
[7] O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption. [8] And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
Psa 130 ESV
SOLI DEO GLORIA
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Beethoven Piano Sonatas
If you are at all interested in classical music, you need to get to this site. The pianist Andras Schiff has recorded some lectures on each of Beethoven's sonatas. The lectures are more geared for performers of the pieces than for listeners, but I (who have no pianistic ability) enjoyed them very much, and they certainly have increased my understanding of the pieces.
There is a lot of information here, and a decent portion of each sonata is performed. All of the files together are nearly a gigabyte, the total playing time is close to 18 hours. All of the information is very good. Highly recommended
There is a lot of information here, and a decent portion of each sonata is performed. All of the files together are nearly a gigabyte, the total playing time is close to 18 hours. All of the information is very good. Highly recommended
Monday, April 02, 2007
Palm Sunday
Looking at the various accounts of Palm Sunday, Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, it seems that we have two very conflicting pictures of Jesus.
On one hand, we see Jesus, supposedly riding into Jerusalem as a king. Although he rides in as a King, he makes a rather pathetic king by Earthy standards. Although he is a King, he has no animal. In order to present himself as a King, he borrows a mount. He does not have is own, in fact he has practically no possessions of value. Throughout the next few days, Jesus must borrow his animal, when he becomes hungry he simply looks to a tree for fruit, he borrows a room in which to celebrate the passover, and he is buried in a borrowed grave. The only item of value he has is the seamless garment for which the Roman soldiers casted lots.
For his mount, he borrows a young donkey. He does not pursue a proud animal, a King's horse, but just as He has a tremendous burden to bear, he selects a beast of burden as his mount. An animal that is looked down on by most people, just as Jesus was (and sadly still is) despised among men. On his mount, he proceeds to ride into the city. His procession consists of fishermen, tax collectors and peasants. They could do no more to show their respect for this king than spread out garments and tree branches.
Although it may not have seemed like it at the time, this is the event which will inspire Christians all over the world to sing “Ride On, Ride On in Majesty”, so there is obviously some Majesty in it as well. First and foremost, we see Jesus fulfilling the prophesy of Zechariah:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
[Zec 9:9 ESV]
The fact that Jesus knew that this was the time to fulfill the prophecy, that he knew exactly where to find this colt, and what to tell its owners displays Jesus true Kingly power. Not only does he fulfill the prophecy, but he demonstrates his power over his enemies. By this time, the Jewish leaders were seeking a way to kill Jesus, he knew this and yet he does not try to enter the city without being noticed. He does not enter under cover of night, but in broad daylight, with a procession (humble as they may have been) singing his praises in the streets. He shows no fear in the face of his enemies. Finally, for the first time in his life since the Magi traveled from the Orient to worship him, he receives the praise due to him as the Messiah, as God.
In Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem we really see the two natures of Christ. We see the human nature which was poor, humble, and commanded no respect. We see the Divine nature as well, which is omniscient, rich beyond Earthly measure, and commands the respect and praise of those around him.
This is a very apt reminder for us as we head into Holy Week. If Jesus was not both true man and True God, Holy week would be nothing more than the week that a great man suffered and died. If Jesus is not true man, he would not have been under the law, he would not have been able to die, and there would be no forgiveness. If Jesus is not True God, he would have been under the law but unable to keep it, his death would not be an atonement for sins but simply the result of his sin, there would be no forgiveness.
As we move forward into Holy Week, we can be confident that Jesus' sufferings and death were not simply a show to point us in the right direction, or a great mans death. But we are sure that Jesus was under the law and that he perfectly kept the law that we could not. We are sure that Jesus death was sufficient to reconcile us to God.
SOLI DEO GLORIA
Thorn in the Flesh
“My grace is sufficient for you” - 2 Cor. 12:9
How many of us have had prayers answered in this way? It doesn't always seem too comforting at the time. We feel like we pray and pray unceasingly, usually for something to make our own life more comfortable. We get nothing except “My grace is sufficient for you.” (As if God's grace is nothing) As much as we appreciate God's grace, this is seldom the answer we want or expect to hear. Surely Paul, as he wrestled with the thorn in his flesh, a messenger sent to him by Satan, did not expect to hear that from God. Yet this was God's answer.
This is certainly not a popular message in Christianity today. Whether it be through the awesome power of our own faith, simple positive thinking, or through prayer; we are told that we must not simply ask God for what we want, but we must claim it. Once we do so with enough faith, it will be ours. Those who teach this way might was well append something to the effect of “regardless of God's will” to the end of the previous sentence as that is what they are truly saying Modern Christian prayer has no place for the phrase “Not my will, but yours be done.” Yet, in Paul's case, it was God's will that he had this thorn in the flesh. It was not that Paul's faith was lacking when he prayed, or that he didn't have the right mind set in his prayer, it was God's holy and perfect will.
“for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9
Why was it God' will for Paul to have this thorn in his flesh? Was it punishment for a particular sin Paul had committed? Was it that Paul's faith was beginning to weaken? Or was God just in a nasty mood that day? Of course not! As always (Romans 8:28), God's will was to work towards the Christian's (in this case Paul's) good. In this case, God knew that the many ways he blessed Paul could lead him to become conceited and boastful. Because of this, God supplied something to keep Paul from becoming conceited or boastful. The thorn in Paul's flesh continually reminded him of his weakness, and of God's strength.
In this passage, God says that his power is made “perfect” in weakness. This is a somewhat odd sounding phrase, as God's power does not need to be perfected, God is already perfect. The Greek word translated as 'perfect' here is 'teleioutai' (roughly transliterated). Although commonly translated as 'perfect' a closer match in modern English would be 'complete'. Thus, the passage can be rendered “for my power is made complete in weakness”.
For God's power to be made complete in our weakness makes much more sense than for it to be made perfect. It is only when our extreme weakness is realized that we can fully appreciate the strength and mercy of God. The more power and strength we believe ourselves to have, the more likely we are to rebel against God's strength and attempt to rely on our own. When we hear the law enough, we begin to perceive the complete depravity and weakness of our sinful natures. Only then is God's power completely realized, only then does the cross make sense.
“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” - [2 Cor. 12:9b-10]
SOLI DEO GLORIA
How many of us have had prayers answered in this way? It doesn't always seem too comforting at the time. We feel like we pray and pray unceasingly, usually for something to make our own life more comfortable. We get nothing except “My grace is sufficient for you.” (As if God's grace is nothing) As much as we appreciate God's grace, this is seldom the answer we want or expect to hear. Surely Paul, as he wrestled with the thorn in his flesh, a messenger sent to him by Satan, did not expect to hear that from God. Yet this was God's answer.
This is certainly not a popular message in Christianity today. Whether it be through the awesome power of our own faith, simple positive thinking, or through prayer; we are told that we must not simply ask God for what we want, but we must claim it. Once we do so with enough faith, it will be ours. Those who teach this way might was well append something to the effect of “regardless of God's will” to the end of the previous sentence as that is what they are truly saying Modern Christian prayer has no place for the phrase “Not my will, but yours be done.” Yet, in Paul's case, it was God's will that he had this thorn in the flesh. It was not that Paul's faith was lacking when he prayed, or that he didn't have the right mind set in his prayer, it was God's holy and perfect will.
“for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9
Why was it God' will for Paul to have this thorn in his flesh? Was it punishment for a particular sin Paul had committed? Was it that Paul's faith was beginning to weaken? Or was God just in a nasty mood that day? Of course not! As always (Romans 8:28), God's will was to work towards the Christian's (in this case Paul's) good. In this case, God knew that the many ways he blessed Paul could lead him to become conceited and boastful. Because of this, God supplied something to keep Paul from becoming conceited or boastful. The thorn in Paul's flesh continually reminded him of his weakness, and of God's strength.
In this passage, God says that his power is made “perfect” in weakness. This is a somewhat odd sounding phrase, as God's power does not need to be perfected, God is already perfect. The Greek word translated as 'perfect' here is 'teleioutai' (roughly transliterated). Although commonly translated as 'perfect' a closer match in modern English would be 'complete'. Thus, the passage can be rendered “for my power is made complete in weakness”.
For God's power to be made complete in our weakness makes much more sense than for it to be made perfect. It is only when our extreme weakness is realized that we can fully appreciate the strength and mercy of God. The more power and strength we believe ourselves to have, the more likely we are to rebel against God's strength and attempt to rely on our own. When we hear the law enough, we begin to perceive the complete depravity and weakness of our sinful natures. Only then is God's power completely realized, only then does the cross make sense.
“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” - [2 Cor. 12:9b-10]
SOLI DEO GLORIA
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