My Photo
Name:
Location: Huaraz, Ancash, Peru

Having mastered the University of Montana's IYFD program, I journeyed to Peru with the US Peace Corps. Currently, I'm discovering Peru while living in the gorgeous Andes mountains in beautiful Ancash. Come visit!

Monday, December 05, 2005

Balance?.!

One of the challenges of walking the Christian life is trying to find balance. Sometimes balance is nothing but an excuse to do the things we want to do without truly obeying God. It can seem that we compromise too much with the world and what it desires of us. A half sin, is still a sin.

...You can't have it both ways, banqueting with the Master one day and slumming with demons the next. Besides, the Master won't put up with it. He wants us--all or nothing. Do you think you can get off with anything less?
Looking at it one way, you could say, "Anything goes. Because of God's immense generosity and grace, we don't have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it will pass muster." But the point is not to just get by. We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well.

1 Corinthians 10:21-24 (The Message)

The goal is to be the person who accepts God's grace while allowing the Holy Spirit to mold and make us into stronger disciples of Christ. And the key (once again) is the Holy Spirit. Because to try to cure our sins on our own, is to believe that we have the capability of buying our own salvation. This has become such a great lie in the Christian world, that we can work our sins away.

I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
Romans 12:3 (The Message)

I don't think I have much to add to that. Sometimes (okay, most of the time), The Bible says it so much better.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ari,

I enjoyed this quote from Don Lyon: "If you have the Spirit without the Word, you blow up. If you have the Word without the Spirit, you dry up. If you have both the Word and the Spirit, you grow up" (Leadership, Vol. 5, No. 1). This was quoted in the text on Joy (a course we are taking this week).

Thanks for your sharing your heart. I appreciate your well thought out comments.

Blessings.

Bill

8:22 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home