Category Archives: Christian Living and Growth

Should I be ‘Proud’ to be a Christian?

Posted by Dan C. on

That’s a seemingly simple question that I’ve been considering for a few weeks now, and one for which I have gathered a good bit of background information, although I had an immediate response when I asked it of myself. I’m not going to reveal my answer, but instead share a blog post that said I should be proud to be a Christian, along with several scripture passages as support. Here is that short post:

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In the eyes of the world a Christian may be nothing, but we are God’s nothing; And God’s one nothing is far greater than all the somethings this world has to offer, though all combined. For if we are the children of God, who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that makes us royalty. Don’t be ashamed to be a Christian, be proud, and let your light so shine!

1 Sam 2:8; Rom 1:16; Rom 10:11; Mt 10:32,33; 2 Tim 1:12; 1 Jn 2:28; Jam 2:5; Tit 3:7;1 Pet 4:16; 1 Pet 2:9; Mt 5:16

While none of the above passages were included in the blog post, I listed them in order to find out if any of them actually supported personal ‘pride’ in being a Christian. Here is that list, taken from the ESV translation:

1Sa 2:8  He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and on them he has set the world.

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Rom 10:11  For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Mat 10:32-33 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

2 Tim 1:12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,

1 Jn 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.

Jam 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

Tit 3:7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

1 Pet 4:16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

1 Pet 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Mt 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

If you are reading this, I’d like your answer to the basic question and whatever comments you might have concerning the above passages. Do they support personal pride in being a Christian, or are they talking about something else – maybe a different sort of pride? I am really interested in your opinions. I suppose I could say I’m gathering data for a Christian college/seminary project, but that would be a lie.

Also, feel free to share the link to this post with others who might want to tell me what they think.

_________

The original post can be read here, along with a few comments. I think I might have found out why the post’s author might think it’s fine to take personal pride in being a Christian, but like my ‘immediate answer’ I won’t share that, at least not yet.

Be Blessed!

God Speaks to Me, but Not Like He Speaks to Priscilla Shirer

Posted by Dan C. on

God speaks to me through the written Word. He speaks through the words on the pages and the illumination by the Holy Spirit of that same written word.

God speaks directly to Priscilla Shirer, with personal messages and revelations; not just via ‘someone else’s hand-me-downs’ (her words about the written word).

Apparently I’m just not tuned in to God’s ‘personal’ frequency. It’s not that God doesn’t want me to have this personal communication; I’m just not tuned in. Ms. Shirer (and others I have heard about, listened to and read) has evidently reached a higher level of spiritually than this old guy.

I have come to a decision point. I need to either take steps to reach the higher level of spirituality so I too can experience the ‘relational’ presence of God (I heard a Chaplain use that term recently), or remain at my current level of spiritual growth.

In support of pursuing a higher level of spiritually, I guess I’m fortunate. I’ve recently listened to several messages on Sunday mornings in which the speaker has taught us that if we begin each day sitting quietly with pen and journal, listening for God’s voice, we can eventually get the hang of it. At first we are to just write down what the ‘voices’ we hear say to us and eventually we will be able to isolate God’s voice and only need to write down what He says. Since our teacher used the same ‘frequency’ terminology as Ms. Shirer, it must be true! Doesn’t it say somewhere in the Bible that whenever two or more believers agree on a thing, it’s true?

On the other hand, I can maintain my current habit of beginning the day prayerfully reading God’s Word and know that I am hearing God speak to me as I read. I can also continue spending time in inductive Bible study, on merely a personal level and in preparation for Sunday School at the Chapel I attend.

But, according to Ms. Shirer (and others) I could be having an even deeper and more meaningful ‘relational’ experience with God if I can tune into God’s special frequency for ‘direct’ communication!

What to do………what to do?

Intellectual Discipleship? Faithful Thinking for Faithful Living – Al Mohler

Posted by Dan C. on

The biblical master narrative serves as a framework for the cognitive principles that allow the formation of an authentically Christian worldview. Many Christians rush to develop what they will call a “Christian worldview” by arranging isolated Christian truths, doctrines, and convictions in order to create formulas for Christian thinking. No doubt, this is a better approach than is found among so many believers who have very little concern for Christian thinking at all; but it is not enough.

A robust and rich model of Christian thinking—the quality of thinking that culminates in a God-centered worldview—requires that we see all truth as interconnected. Ultimately, the systematic wholeness of truth can be traced to the fact that God is himself the author of all truth. Christianity is not a set of doctrines in the sense that a mechanic operates with a set of tools. Instead, Christianity is a comprehensive worldview and way of life that grows out of Christian reflection on the Bible and the unfolding plan of God revealed in the unity of the Scriptures.

A God-centered worldview brings every issue, question, and cultural concern into submission to all that the Bible reveals, and it frames all understanding within the ultimate purpose of bringing greater glory to God. This task of bringing every thought captive to Christ requires more than episodic Christian thinking and is to be understood as the task of the church, and not merely the concern of individual believers. The recovery of the Christian mind and the development of a comprehensive Christian worldview will require the deepest theological reflection, the most consecrated application of scholarship, the most sensitive commitment to compassion, and the courage to face all questions without fear.

Christianity brings the world a distinctive understanding of time, history, and the meaning of life. The Christian worldview contributes an understanding of the universe and all it contains that points us far beyond mere materialism and frees us from the intellectual imprisonment of naturalism. Christians understand that the world—including the material world—is dignified by the very fact that God has created it. At the same time, we understand that we are to be stewards of this creation and are not to worship what God has made. We understand that every single human being is made in the image of God and that God is the Lord of life at every stage of human development. We honor the sanctity of human life because we worship the Creator. From the Bible, we draw the essential insight that God takes delight in the ethnic and racial diversity of his human creatures, and so must we.

The Christian worldview contributes a distinctive understanding of beauty, truth, and goodness, understanding these to be transcendentals that, in the final analysis, are one and the same. Thus, the Christian worldview disallows the fragmentation that would sever the beautiful from the true or the good. Christians consider the stewardship of cultural gifts—ranging from music and visual art to drama and architecture—as a matter of spiritual responsibility.

The Christian worldview supplies authoritative resources for understanding our need for law and our proper respect for order. Informed by the Bible, Christians understand that God has invested government with an urgent and important responsibility. At the same time, Christians come to understand that idolatry and self-aggrandizement are temptations that come to every regime. Drawing from the Bible’s rich teachings concerning money, greed, the dignity of labor, and the importance of work, Christians have much to contribute to a proper understanding of economics. Those who operate from an intentionally biblical worldview cannot reduce human beings to mere economic units, but must understand that our economic lives reflect the fact that we are made in God’s image and are thus invested with responsibility to be stewards of all the Creator has given us.

Christian faithfulness requires a deep commitment to serious moral reflection on matters of war and peace, justice and equity, and the proper operation of a system of laws. Our intentional effort to develop a Christian worldview requires us to return to first principles again and again in a constant and vigilant effort to ensure that the patterns of our thoughts are consistent with the Bible and its master narrative.

In the context of cultural conflict, the development of an authentic Christian worldview should enable the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to maintain a responsible and courageous footing in any culture at any period of time. The stewardship of this responsibility is not merely an intellectual challenge; it determines, to a considerable degree, whether or not Christians live and act before the world in a way that brings glory to God and credibility to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Failure at this task represents an abdication of Christian responsibility that dishonors Christ, weakens the church, and compromises Christian witness.

A failure of Christian thinking is a failure of discipleship, for we are called to love God with our minds. We cannot follow Christ faithfully without first thinking as Christians. Furthermore, believers are not to be isolated thinkers who bear this responsibility alone. We are called to be faithful together as we learn intellectual discipleship within the believing community, the church.

By God’s grace, we are allowed to love God with our minds in order that we may serve him with our lives. Christian faithfulness requires the conscious development of a worldview that begins and ends with God at its center. We are only able to think as Christians because we belong to Christ; and the Christian worldview is, in the end, nothing more than seeking to think as Christ would have us to think, in order to be who Christ would call us to be.

 

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlbertMohler.

For background reading, see:

R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “The Glory of God and the Life of the Mind,” Friday, November 12, 2010.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “The Knowledge of the Self-Revealing God: Starting Point for the Christian Worldview,” Friday, December 3, 2010.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “The Christian Worldview as Master Narrative: Creation,” Wednesday, December 15, 2010.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “The Christian Worldview as Master Narrative: Sin and its Consequences,” Friday, January 7, 2011.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “The Christian Worldview as Master Narrative: Redemption Accomplished,” Monday, January 10, 2011.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “The Christian Worldview as Master Narrative: The End that Is a Beginning,” Wednesday, January 12, 2011.

 

“Walk Like an Egyptian”?

Posted by Dan C. on

A recent morning’s OT reading for me was Exodus 9 & 10, which contains some of the plagues God brought upon the Egyptians, and how Pharaoh (The Egyptian in mind) told Moses he would let the people go when one of the plagues stopped but harden it again as soon as things were back to normal

The song title “Walk Like an Egyptian” (an 80’s #1 hit), mark pinged in my brain. I was reminded of times that I have “walked like an Egyptian” (Pharoah, not the song). Maybe my case is a long way from the Pharaoh’s, but the principle is the same. Get in a tough spot and call out to God, read the Bible more, go to church/Bible study more, whatever. Get relief and slack off on the spiritual stuff.

Not exactly what the song was about, but it fits. There’s also a huge God lesson here. When plague of hail rained down on all of Egypt except where the Israelites lived, and Pharaoh asked Moses for relief (promising to let the people go…again), Moses said he would stop the hail and Pharaoh would know whose God was REALLY in charge!

Now I have another one of those profitable questions I should ask ‘the man in the mirror’ on occasion;

“Dude, have you been ‘walking like an Egyptian’ again? I might not phrase it quite like that, being 64 and all (Beatles anyone?) but it would do me well to just ask it.

BTW, you can find the song on YouTube. I checked. I didn’t even remember the lyrics when I was engaged in my morning reading.   The story of Moses, the plagues, and the deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt can be found in the book of Exodus.  The first twelve chapters will take you to the point where Pharaoh finally ‘let the people go’