#Chief end of man

[dkcdude]

Enjoying God

On the heels of last week’s thoughts around conversational intimacy with God, this past week I felt God impressing upon my heart how much I enjoy my relationship with Him, and that I should tell you about that. Enjoy God? you may wonder. How is that possible? What does that even look like? These are natural questions, especially in light of the mental image of God we probably all grew up with:…

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#Chief end of man #Enjoy God #Enjoy God through the way He made you #Heidelberg Catechism #Worship God

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Holiness, not happiness, is the chief end of man.

Oswald Chambers

#holiness #happiness #Oswald Chambers #chief end of man #Christian Quotes

[zigzagingtowardsthelight-blog]

chief end of man

I've always had a slight sense of reservation when I say the words, "to give glory to God" because it such pious and lofty terminology, often used in this jumble of a other religious shenanigans. The term, to glorify God, made me nervous because it was both vague and nearly un-explainable. And when I attempted to explain it, I realized that in my day-to-day attempts to "give glory to God" I mainly actually give glory to things, place, people. "Have you heard their new album?" "Have you had Fuzzy's strawberry margaritas?" "Did you attend that awesome seminar?" "Let me tell you about my day..."

We are constantly glorifying something in our lives. And by my wardrobe, my makeup, my perfume, I am promoting something about myself. I am a billboard to an identity that I subscribe to. 

With our words, our body language, our attitude, our exuberance (or lack thereof) we can either promote or demote.

And I realized how little I actually give glory to God. Or the worst part is: I didn't know if I wanted to give glory to God. I think it's hard to give over credit when you feel like you are responsible for something going right. I'd like to think I worked for everything I have, and feel secure in knowing that I somehow "deserved" them.

However I know this is not true. I know the honest nature of my soul and it's depravity, I know the real cry of my heart, and I know it's not pretty. I know the song it sings when it doesn't sing songs of grace. I know the reality and I know it is not well within my soul, I know that in the midst of the worst and darkest days, Christ found me in a bundle of blankets and tears and not only did he tell me to stop being a floppy sad pancake, He revealed to me purpose beyond what I was looking for. I wanted to experience healing and an escape.

What He gave me was more than I ever asked for.

He gave me hope beyond just the situation. He gave me a purpose, a meaning, a reason to live. This reason goes beyond this season, or any season, or time itself, The reason is Himself. The reason is He is worthy. And that is the reason for who I am today. Because He is worthy, He did this so that I may glorify Him, and enjoy Him forever. I MEAN FOREVER not just for this brief moment of time to pass, not just this season of heartbreak, not just this recent events of bad news, but beyond all the brokenness, I get to see Him in his full "glory suit" one day and ENJOY that forever. and ever. amen. 

#chief end of man

[williszhang]

Lecrae freestyling, my goodness......

Personal interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa5nGtYprqc

#chief end of man

[marcmullins]

Christ-centered Counsel After Combat: Emotions, Pain and The Chief End of Man

He reluctantly walked into the church. The only reason he went was because his neighbor, an old salty Vietnam Vet named Jim who still flew the Marine Corps Colors high on the pole every morning, has been on his case to just go with him.

The moment the moving truck showed up in 2007 and Jim noticed the small sticker with an Eagle, Globe and Anchor in the middle pointing inboard on the SUV full of…

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#chief end of man #Glory of God #PTSD #Suffering #suffering well #veteran #veteran counseling #veterans

[hiphomiletics]

Is the church to be about scratching the minutiae of our unique itches (i.e. for eternity), or is it about filling the vacuum of universal commonality installed in us by God?

James MacDonald

#Vertical Church #Worship #Glory of God #Purpose #Chief end of man

[abababiii-blog]

Chief end of man

"But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God" [Acts 16:25]

Context? They had just been brutally "beaten with rods" and "imprisoned". Yet their first thought is to sing praises to God. Not to be overwhelmed with self-pity. Or anger. Or bitterness. But praise. 

Jesus, I want that joy. The littlest things in my day can so easily tick me off. I get so easily hurt by others, or even just frustrated with the way things are turning out. How much of my day do I spend complaining or dwelling on my problems? I don't allow the joy of Christ to manifest in my life. Instead I overshadow it with self-pity and ideas of entitlement. 

I think often myself and many others like me think that suffering for Christ's sake involves being in a state of pious anguish or wearisomeness. Which often, suffering for Christ will involve those things. But in the life we live, we are called to two primary things: glorify God and enjoy Him forever. 

How often are we overcome with weariness of the soul that we just forget to enjoy God for who He is? We get caught up in ministry that we forget why we are there. We get caught up with the burden of reaching the lost yet we forget to continually thank God for redeeming us. We get caught up in knowledge and theology but we forget only God gives those revelations, and the end means are so that He is glorified. Not ourselves. We get caught up in fellowship that we don't pour enough time and heart into our own communion with God. 

What is the chief end of man?

To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

Jesus, help me enjoy You.

#chief end of man #glorify God #enjoy God

[williszhang]

Secondhanders

Excerpt from John Piper's sermon titled, "The Author of the Greatest Letter Ever Written":

We get the phrase "secondhanders" from the character Ayn Rand in the novel Atlas Shrugged. He despised secondhanders. That is, people who have no vision and values of their own for which they live triumphantly and are always looking over their shoulder wondering, "What are they going to think about this?" And they live their whole lives secondhandedly, always trying to get into other people's good graces and be liked and stroked and praised and complimented and paid. That's a horrible way to live.

Paul says he is owned by another, bought and ruled by Christ Jesus (Romans 1:1). Christ chooses to be friends with a murderer like Paul, give life to one who has taken it. The phrase "pro-life" extends far beyond issues of abortion for me; to conduct life by pleasing others is death, but to submit everything to Jesus is freedom.

#chief end of man #fear of man is death

[williszhang]

Reconciled with dad this morning

It was so awkward. It was so awesome.

#chief end of man #thou hast made me whole

[williszhang]

God chooses solidarity of feelings

Interesting point J.I. Packer raises as I speculate the correctness of the claim. In the same way that God chose to limit his omniscience and capabilities for the purposes of his redemptive history in the person of Jesus (Matthew 24:36, Philippians 2:7), in some immanent sense he also chooses to make his happiness dependent on our happiness.

We look at verses such as the following:

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:10)

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. (Ephesians 4:30-31)

Of course, we affirm the completeness and security God has within himself for he never needed us in the first place (John 17:24, Psalm 115:3). But the act of choosing, and thus in some sense sacrificing, his emotions for our sake is pretty astounding. Think of someone you love. You are only ever completely happy when that person is happy as well.

We might hear preachers tell us to somehow get over our depression by looking at how happy our God is (Philippians 4:4, Hebrews 12:2). And what truth! However, an additional motivation I've found is that I know I am serving my God quite directly by finding joy in him, and that makes him extra happy. The feedback is completely positive. When I am reluctant to emotionally invest in people due to painful past hurts, I look to my God and the cost he exacted on himself to make me his friend!

#chief end of man #thou hast made me whole

[williszhang]

Saving you the trouble of buying books...

Sike, go frequent the bookstore and read.

These days, doctrine is often derided by the people who view it as divisive and unnecessary to living the Christian life. Some people pride themselves on not being concerned with the specifics of what they believe about salvation, sin, the work of the Spirit, and other doctrinal issues. A friend who attended a large conference for youth workers told me that the host started the event by walking onstage declaring, 'It's not about doctrine! It's about Jesus!'

I consider this a sad and misleading statement. We don't have to choose between caring about doctrine and loving Jesus. The two pursuits are not opposed to each other. In fact, they are inseparable! We can only grow in our love for our Savior as we learn more of who He is and what He has accomplished for us. A concern for truth doesn't take us away from a deeper relationship with Him. It leads us closer to Him, in greater worship, adoration, and obedience.

Joshua Harris, Stop Dating the Church

—

You must still be tried on this earth and tested in many things.

Consolation will sometimes be given you, but the fullness of it will not be granted.

Take courage, then, and be valiant in doing things that are repugnant to nature as well as in suffering them.

You must put on the new self, and be changed into another self.

Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

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Jesus could have told the man, 'I am the glory of God in human form. Purify your heart, confess all your sins, get rid of all your doubts and your double-mindedness. Once you have surrendered to me totally and can come before me with a pure heart, then you can ask for the healing you need.'

But Jesus doesn't say that - not at all. The boy's father says, 'I'm not faithful, I am riddled with doubts, and I cannot muster the strength necessary to meet my moral and spiritual challenges. But help me.' That's saving faith - faith in Jesus instead of in oneself... You must admit that you are not righteous, and that you need help. When you can say that, you are approaching God to worship.

Tim Keller, King's Cross

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Another saying of Jesus, and a most disturbing one, was put in the form of a question. "How can ye believe, which receive honor of another, and seek not the honor that come from God only?" (John 5:44) If I understand this correctly, Christ taught here the alarming doctrine that the desire for honor among men made belief impossible. Is this sin at the root of religious unbelief? I believe it may be. The whole course of the life is upset by failure to put God where he belongs. We exalt ourselves instead of God and the curse follows.

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God 

#chief end of man