KEY PRINCIPLES FROM THIS MESSAGE:
A Simple Life, With a View – blog 8/24/18
“How sad it would be to come to the end of life and realize that most of our time was spent in slaving for what was already included in the ticket home to heaven!” — William MacDonald
Charles Spurgeon
If you love religion, He [God] has chosen you to it. If you desire it, He has chosen you to it. If you do not, then what right do you have to say that God ought to have given you what you do not wish for? Suppose I had something in my hand that you do not value, and I said I will give it to such-and-such a person. You would have no right to protest that I did not give it to you. Would you really be so foolish as to complain that someone else received what you do not care about?
According to your own admission, many of you do not want religion, do not want a new heart and a right spirit, do not want the forgiveness of sins, do not want sanctification. If you do not want to be elected to these things, then why should you grumble? You consider these things as only husks; why should you complain about God who has given them to those whom He has chosen?
Augustine on Knowing God (Jn 17:3)
Life consists in fellowship with God “who created us for Himself, so that our soul is restless unless it finds its rest in Him.”
Being present is a function of a grace-mindset.
A mindset is something that must be built from the ground up. We must “be transformed by the renewal of [our minds]” (Ro 12:2). As we are sanctified, we become more like Christ (2Co 3:18). Our job is to rely wholly on God’s grace (no manmade substitutes).
Mindsets are not built while “in the past” or “in the future”, they are cultivated in the “now”.
An unbeliever’s version of grace is rooted in self-actualization/ autonomy with an ROI that deposits credit to the creature’s account. This is the root cause of their misery, insecurity, and anxiety. At some point, they fail themselves (and others) and realize they are powerless to fix what has broken inside of themselves.
A believer’s version of grace is rooted in God-actualization/ autonomy with an ROI that deposits credit to the Creator’s account. This is the root cause of their joy, security, and peace. At some point, they fail themselves (and others) and realize, that although they are powerless to fix what has broken inside of themselves, God is able and will do so, as promised.
Jesus prayed for the sanctification of His Body, which was broken by sin. He prayed for its healing by the Word of God. This healing takes place in time (daily, in the “now”), not merely in the future.
Present-Active: an action the subject is performing right now.