"One Thing Needful"

      May I never suppose I am in Christ unless I am a new creature, never think I am born of the Spirit unless I mind the things of the Spirit, never rest satisfied with professions of belief and outward forms and services, while my heart is not right with Thee.
     May I judge my sincerity in religion by my fear to offend Thee, my concern to know Thy will, my willingness to deny myself.
     May nothing render me forgetful of Thy glory, or turn me aside from Thy commands, or shake my confidence in Thy promises, or offend Thy children.
     Let not my temporal occupations injure my spiritual concerns, or the cares of life make me neglect the one thing needful.
     May I not be inattentive to the design of Thy dealings with me, or insensible under Thy rebukes, or immobile at Thy calls.
      May I learn the holy art of abiding in Thee, or being in the world and not of it, of making everything not only consistent with by conducive to my religion.

- "Sincerity" from Valley of Vision

This semester has been overwhelming.  Between RA responsibilities, working in the admissions department, singing in Evidence, serving in church, and being a full-time seminary student, somehow activities overtook life.  It was bad...I'll just leave it at that.

A number of things helped get life back into proper perspective, but one of them was hiding from campus life in a basement over Fall Break.  There was time to sleep, eat fruits and vegetables, sleep more, read some disappointingly limp fiction, sleep some more, and spend more time than usual in devotions.  The lines from Valley of Vision that were particularly meaningful were, "Let not my temporal occupations injure my spiritual concerns, or the cares of life make me neglect the one thing needful."

The semester had become so full of the "temporal occupations" of memorizing music, various prayer meetings late at night, rushing from meeting to meeting, and squeezing bits of Hebrew homework into cracks in the schedule, that the "one things needful" - resting in Christ's finished work on my behalf - had been pushed out of sight, and when that happens, it is only a matter of time before life falls apart.  

There's still a lot to do.  But I hope that I have learned  not to let "temporal occupations" crowd out the "one thing needful."

One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

    all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

    and to inquire in His temple.

- Psalm 27:4

The Cross in Redemptive History

For the last several days, I've been thinking about how Christ and His cross are the fulfillment of so many Old Testament promises.  In my mind, I've always divided redemptive history into two categories: now (creation to the end of this physical world) and eternity.  However, although I still see two categories, the two categories now are the time of God giving promises and the time of God fulfilling promises.

From creation (Genesis 3:15) until the end of the Old Testament, God is continually giving promises.  Some of these promises were given to a nation whom God corporately elected and with whom he had a covenant relationship that was not necessarily salvific.  Others of these promises were given to His redeemed people whom He bound Himself to by covenant.  With the birth of the Messiah, the Branch, the King, the Shepherd, the Anointed One, Jesus Christ, these promises began to be fulfilled.  Jesus Christ's coming inaugurated the fulfillment of all of the promises of the Old Testament.  We may not see their fulfillment or the results of their fulfillment immediately, but their fulfillment was begun.  The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians in II Corinthians 1:18-20:

But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No.  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us...was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes.  For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

The fulfillment of God's promises continues from the coming of Christ through eternity, for in the Eternal State we will still be experiencing and rejoicing in the fulfilled promises of our faithful, covenant-keeping God.

Thinking about redemptive history in these two categories has highlighted the centrality of Christ and the cross in my mind.  It is Christ and His cross to which God's promises point, and it is Christ and His cross which fulfill these promises.  Words like Christological and Christo-centric are making sense in a different dimension because I am seeing that Christ and the cross really are the focus-point of all redemptive history.  This is not to minimize themes such as the glory of God, for there is more in God's plan than just redemption, but the section of history that we as humans can best understand is the redemptive part, and Christ and the cross are turning point of redemption.  Whether it is the redemption of individual people or the redemption of the heavens and earth, redemption and fulfilled promises are only possible because of Christ and His cross.

The Valley of Vision nicely summed up centrality of the cross in daily life in the prayer "The Grace of the Cross":

I thank Thee from the depths of my being for Thy wonderous grace and love in bearing my sin in Thine own body on the tree.  

May Thy cross be to me as the tree that sweetens my bitter Marahs, as the rod that blossoms with life and beauty, as the brazen serpent that calls forth the look of faith.

By Thy cross crucify my every sin; use it to increase my intimacy with Thyself;

Make it the ground of all my comfort, the liveliness of all my duties, the sum of all thy gospel promises, the comfort of all my afflictions, the vigour of my love, thankfulness, graces, and the very essence of my religion;

And by it give me that rest without rest, the rest of ceaseless praise.

Want Something to Read?

Ever summer I set goals of books I want to read...and every summer I fail (!).  Not that I don't read anything during the summer, but my reading seems to be lighter; the brain is a bit fried after nine months of classes.  Last summer, the goal was Mortification of Sin, and then the entire summer was spent pulling weeds for the City of Hutchinson.  This summer's project is Life Together by Bonhoeffer, and the entire summer will probably be spent memorizing vocabulary lists.  (Actually, this summer's project was supposed to be Ladd's New Testament Theology, but that was a bit ambitions for a student attempting to learn Hebrew in ten weeks:)  


Since none of these lovely books are likely get read this summer, I am concentrating on finishing one of my favorite devotionals, The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prays and Devotions.  Returning to it this summer has been a great joy!  The authors seem to be able to express my own desires better than I can, and their honest, God-centered view of life is both refreshing and challenging.  If you are interested in something to add to your devotions this summer, you can find it at at http://www.amazon.com or http://www.monergismbooks.com/.


Here is several selections from a prayer that was a blessing to me recently.

Quicken me to call upon Thy name, for my mind is ignorant, my thoughts vagrant, my affections earthly, my heart unbelieving, and only Thy Spirit can help my infirmities.

I approach Thee as Father and Friend, my portion forever, my exceeding joy, my strength of heart.

I believe in Thee as the God of nature, the ordainer of providence, the sender of Jesus my Savior....

May the truth that is in Him illuminate in me all that is dark, establish in me all that is wavering, comfort me in all that is wretched, accomplish in me all that is of Thy goodness, and glorify in me the name of Jesus....

Teach me that Christ cannot be the way if I am the end, that He cannot be Redeemer if I am my own savior, that there can be no true union with Him while the creature has my heart, that faith accepts Him as Redeemer and Lord or not at all.

"Happy Are They Who Are Christ’s"

O God, Thou art very great,

My lot is to approach Thee with godly fear and humble confidence, for Thy condescension equals Thy grandeur, and Thy goodness is Thy glory.

I am unworthy, but Thou dost welcome; guilty, but Thou art merciful; indigent, but Thy riches are unsearchable.

Thou hast shown boundless compassion towards me by not sparing Thy Son, and by giving me freely all things in Him;

This is the foundation of my hope, the refuge of my safety, the new and living way to Thee, the means of that conviction of sin, brokenness of heart, and self-despair, which will endear to me the gospel.

Happy are they who are Christ’s, in Him at peace with Thee, justified from all things, delivered from coming wrath, made heirs of future glory;

Give me such deadness to the world, such love to the Saviour, such attachment to His house, such devotedness to His service, as proves me a subject of His salvation.

May every part of my character and conduct make a serious and amiable impression on others, and impel them to ask the way to the Master.

Let no incident of life, pleasing or painful, injure the prosperity of my soul, but rather increase it.

Send me Thy help, for Thine appointments are not meant to make me independent of Thee, and the best means will be vain without super-added blessings.

- "Confidence" from Valley of Vision

Being Happy

There are many things in life that make Celeste happy…

Chillin’ with friends

Going to concerts

Visiting old churches

The Piano

My Sister

Coffee (preferably from Melinda:)

Books

Studying Being “mischievous” (in a good way, of course!)

The happiest time of my life has been these last 4 years of Bible college – friends, experiences, and “Bible college humor,” but the biggest joy has been the joy God gives in studying His Word. Growing up, I knew that studying God’s Word was supposed to bring happiness, but at Bible school, I experienced that happiness more and more.

January begins the final semester of Bible college, and recently I’ve been thinking about things like The Outside World and A Job and Rent, and other related matters which look more pressing then they did two years ago… (All of you college seniors out there can relate to this:) I realized that I was going to leave Bible school and go into the world and live ordinary life away from Bible classes, Greek, and systematic theology lectures. Scripture would still be the important thing, but I wouldn’t be able to study it 8 hours every day. And slowly, my enthusiasm for serving God in the Great Big Outside World seeped away because I was afraid that I wouldn’t be happy out there…

Then, on Friday evening, Valley of Vision reminded me that Things in Life never make people happy:

Thou who art righteous,

Let me not…seek satisfaction in things that perish.

What makes people happy in Bible school? Is it really Bible school or is it the delighting in God that Bible school taught about? If I’m afraid that I won’t be happy out in The World and Working a Normal Job, then I’m being satisfied by things that perish. May Christ be that which gives me happiness, not just Things.

“In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Ps. 16:11)

Confession and Worship

"I acknowledge and confess that all things come of thee - life, breath, happiness, advancement, sight, touch, hearing, goodness, truth, beauty - all that makes existence amiable.

In the spiritual world also I am dependent entirely upon Thee.

Give me grace to know more of my need of grace; show me my sinfulness that I may willingly confess it; reveal to me my weakness that I may know my strength in Thee.

I thank thee for any sign of penitence; give me more of it; my sins are black and deep, and rise from a stony, proud, self-righteous heart; help me to confess them with mourning , regret, self-loathing, with no pretence to merit or excuse;

I need healing, Good Physician, here is scope for Thee, come and manifest Thy power; I need faith; Thou who hast given it me, maintain, strength, increase it, centre it upon the Saviour's work, upon the majesty of the Father, upon the operations of the Spirit; work it in me now that I may never doubt Thee as the truthful, mighty, faithful God.

Then I can bring my heart to Thee full of love, gratitude, hope, joy.

May I lay at Thy feet these fruits grown in Thy garden, love Thee with a passion that can never cool, believe in Thee with a confidence that never staggers, hope in Thee with an expectation that can never be dim, delight in Thee with a rejoicing that cannot be stifled, glorify Thee with the highest of my powers, burning, blazing, glowing, radiating, as from Thy own glory."

- Valley of Vision

Free from Performing

The name of this prayer from Valley of Vision is “Reliance,” but I have re-named it “Freedom,” because when this mind is in me, I am free from the guilt of performing to make God happy with me.

“When Thou art angry towards me for my wrongs I try to pacify Thee by abstaining from future sin; but teach me that I cannot satisfy Thy law,

That this effort is a resting in my righteousness,

That only Christ’s righteousness, read made, already finished, is fit for that purpose;

That Thy chastening me for my sin is not that I should try to reform, but only that I may be more humbled, afflicted, and separated from sin, by being reconciled, and made righteous in Christ by faith;

That a sense of my sufficiency and ability in Him is one means of my being immovable;

That I can never be so by resting on my own faith, but by trusting in Thee as my only support, by faith;

That if I cast away my faith I cast away Thee, for by faith I apprehend thee and as Thou art very precious, so is my faith very precious to me;

That I fall short of the purity Thou requirest, because in thinking I am holy I do not seek holiness, or, believing I am impotent, I do no more.

Humble me for not being as holy as I should be, or as holy as I might be through Christ, for Thou art all, and to possess Thee is to possess all.

But to make the creature something is to make it stand between Thee and me, so that I do not walk humbly and holily.

Lord, forgive me for this.”

O Great God

O Divine Redeemer,

Great was Thy goodness

in undertaking my redemption,

in consenting to be made sin for me,

in conquering all my foes;

Great was thy strength

in enduring the extremities of divine wrath,

in taking away the load of my iniquities;

Great is Thy love

in manifesting Thyself alive,

in showing Thy sacred wounds,

that every fear might vanish,

and every doubt be removed;

Great was Thy mercy

in ascending to heaven

in being crowned and enthroned,

there to intercede for me,

there to succor me in temptation,

there to open the eternal book,

there to receive me finally to Thyself;

Great was Thy wisdom

in devising this means of salvation;

Bathe my soul in rich consolations of thy resurrection life;

Great was thy grace

in commanding me

to come hand in hand with Thee to the Father,

to be knit to Him eternally,

to discover in Him my rest,

to find in Him my peace,

to behold His glory,

to honour Him who is alone worthy;

in giving me the Spirit as teacher, guide, power,

that I may life repenting of sin, conquer Satan find victory in life.

When Thou art absent all sorrows are here,

When Thou art present all blessings are mine.

- "Victory" from Valley of Vision

On Being "Filled"

Staffers at Christian Youth in Action open every evaluation with prayer for the student who is presenting. This year, I've found myself praying often that my students would be filled with the Spirit while they teach. I have to admit, when I started doing this, I felt a bit charismatic(!), but it is Biblical to pray that others might be filled with the Spirit.

Scripture makes it clear that being filled with the Spirit is dependent upon personal submission to the Spirit and does not happen automatically for every believer at all times. Jesus says in John 15:5, "Without me, ye can do nothing." Today, the Holy Spirit's indwelling ministry provides the power to live a life of love and obedience to God. Without this Power, I am left only with the power of the flesh about which Paul writes in Romans 8:8: "They that are in the flesh cannot please God." The following is another prayer from The Valley of Vision. It is titled "Fullness in Christ," and explores the connection between our position in Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

O God,

Thou hast taught me that Christ has all the fullness,

and so all plentitude of the Spirit, that all fullness I lack in myself is in Him,

for His people, not for Himself alone,

He having perfect knowledge, grace, righteousness,

to make me see,

to make me righteous,

to give me fullness;

That it is my duty, out of a sense of emptiness,

to go to Christ, posses, enjoy His fullness as mine, as if I had it in myself,

because it is for me in Him;

That when I do this I am full of the Spirit,

as a fish that has got from the shore to the sea and has all fullness of waters to move in,

for when faith fills me, then I am full;

That this is the way to be filled with the Spirit,

like Stephen, first faith, then fullness,

for this way makes me most empty, and so most fit for the Spirit to fill.

Thou hast taught me that the finding of this treasure of all grace in the field of Christ

begets strength, joy, glory, and renders all graces alive.

Help me to delight more in what I receive from Christ,

more in that fullness which is in Him, the fountain of all His glory.

Let me not think to receive the Spirit from Him as a 'thing'

apart from finding, drinking, being filled with Him.

To this end, O God,

do Thou establish me in Christ,

settle me, give me a being there,

assure me with certainty that all this is mine,

for this only will fill my heart with joy and peace.

"Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God." - Ephesians 5:18-21 (NKJV)