What Moves Heaven
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. (Luke 15:7)
Heaven is not moved by tumultuous worship or by the greatness of our service. Heaven is moved by even a single soul responding in utmost humility and thankfulness to God’s merciful saving grace. Jesus is less concerned about the ninety and nine sheep but His heart goes all out searching for the one lost soul. Jesus did not destine His church to be a feel good holy huddle or worst to degenerate to become monastic recluse. The church is to be sent into the world yet not of the world (John 17:16, 18).
Go ye therefore, ….. lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Mat 28:19-20)
Discipleship is not a classroom activity but lived out in the world with eagerness to find that man of peace (Luke 10:6), baptize and make disciples who will in turn make more disciples. It is in the going into the world to fulfill the God given commission that we experience His Presence with us. He promises to be with us and desires that we share heavens joy. Are we willing to obey His decree or continue to warm pews to experience goose bumps of the trappings of ‘modern Christianity’? Is it no wonder that the criteria for many to find a home church is if 'they could fit in'. Rather we should find open hearts and open homes to plant a church among the heathens that we experience the joy of His salvation.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Parashat Vayikra: The terrorism of Torah
Shlomo Riskin
Why does Mount Moriah have greater sanctity than Mount Sinai?
“An individual who will sacrifice from yourself a sacrificial offering unto the Lord…” (Leviticus 1:2)
My teacher and mentor Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik would often speak of the two great biblical mountains – Mount Moriah where God sent Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, and Mount Sinai, from which God presented the Torah to the Israelites.
Conventional wisdom would maintain that Mount Sinai should have been the more sacred, since there is nothing on Earth more sacred than our divinely given Torah – the very words of God. Nevertheless, the sages of the Talmud endowed eternal sanctity only to Mount Moriah, upon which our first two Holy Temples were built, and which will be the foundation for the third Temple as well.
Mount Sinai, by contrast, sustained its sanctity only during the period when the Divine Voice emanated from its heights; today it is no longer sacred, and could therefore be given up as part of Israel’s peace agreement with Egypt.
Why does Mount Moriah have greater sanctity than Mount Sinai? Rav Soloveitchik explains that whereas on Mount Sinai God presented Israel with His Torah, on Mount Moriah Abraham was willing to sacrifice his beloved son to God.
My teacher insisted that sanctity requires sacrifice, and the greater the sacrifice, the higher the degree of divine sanctity.
Read full article HERE
Shlomo Riskin
Why does Mount Moriah have greater sanctity than Mount Sinai?
“An individual who will sacrifice from yourself a sacrificial offering unto the Lord…” (Leviticus 1:2)
My teacher and mentor Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik would often speak of the two great biblical mountains – Mount Moriah where God sent Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, and Mount Sinai, from which God presented the Torah to the Israelites.
Conventional wisdom would maintain that Mount Sinai should have been the more sacred, since there is nothing on Earth more sacred than our divinely given Torah – the very words of God. Nevertheless, the sages of the Talmud endowed eternal sanctity only to Mount Moriah, upon which our first two Holy Temples were built, and which will be the foundation for the third Temple as well.
Mount Sinai, by contrast, sustained its sanctity only during the period when the Divine Voice emanated from its heights; today it is no longer sacred, and could therefore be given up as part of Israel’s peace agreement with Egypt.
Why does Mount Moriah have greater sanctity than Mount Sinai? Rav Soloveitchik explains that whereas on Mount Sinai God presented Israel with His Torah, on Mount Moriah Abraham was willing to sacrifice his beloved son to God.
My teacher insisted that sanctity requires sacrifice, and the greater the sacrifice, the higher the degree of divine sanctity.
Read full article HERE
Monday, March 21, 2011
Degree of Our Serving
Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) (Gal 1:1)
If we live for ourselves we will be disillusioned and people around us will be affected negatively. If we live for people, we will be disappointed because expectations will never be met (Psa 62:5). But if we live for the Lord the reward is lasting (John 15:17). Our calling is of the highest authority of Heaven; don’t degrade that which has been bestowed from above. We are not of men, that we please men. We are not by men to serve any finite purpose. Our life is by Christ where there is a powerful manifestation of the resurrected life; beyond the natural is a life that is farther along in space, time or degree. It is always above and ahead (Duet 28:13).
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. (Col 3:23-24)
The intrinsic core of our service is love for the Higher which does not have any bounds whose language can be seen by the blind and heard by the deaf. A servitude heart that is not calculative and executed in deep confidence. A servant that has so learned Christ (Eph 4:20) unto meekness and humility (Matt 11:29). It is no longer seeing the insurmountability nor smallness of the task, but am unflinching focus that looks at the Highest where no carnal mind can grasp (Psa 123:2).
Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) (Gal 1:1)
If we live for ourselves we will be disillusioned and people around us will be affected negatively. If we live for people, we will be disappointed because expectations will never be met (Psa 62:5). But if we live for the Lord the reward is lasting (John 15:17). Our calling is of the highest authority of Heaven; don’t degrade that which has been bestowed from above. We are not of men, that we please men. We are not by men to serve any finite purpose. Our life is by Christ where there is a powerful manifestation of the resurrected life; beyond the natural is a life that is farther along in space, time or degree. It is always above and ahead (Duet 28:13).
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. (Col 3:23-24)
The intrinsic core of our service is love for the Higher which does not have any bounds whose language can be seen by the blind and heard by the deaf. A servitude heart that is not calculative and executed in deep confidence. A servant that has so learned Christ (Eph 4:20) unto meekness and humility (Matt 11:29). It is no longer seeing the insurmountability nor smallness of the task, but am unflinching focus that looks at the Highest where no carnal mind can grasp (Psa 123:2).
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Unbounded Soul
So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places (Php 1:13)
Not easily falling prey to the herd mentality is evident that one has yielded to the leading of the Spirit (Rom 8:1) and know the fundamentals of one’s life is in a higher realm of His Shalom. There is a fountain of joy that wells up from within that can be uncapped to release praises to the God of one’s salvation, even if the outward circumstances seems gloom. Not a form of escapism but a true a living relationship with God Who is entirely sovereign. There is a state of readiness which continually boasts of the good news and wondrous works of Jesus in and out of season.
Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful…. (Pro 14:13)
An unbounded soul is one that has character and stature inside. It is not the countenance that determines the inward being, it is the inward being that forms our countenance. The Lord is waiting for those whose souls are downcast to cry out ‘Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name’ (Psa 142:7a), He is faithful to deliver us to be with Him where He is that our beholding would remain glorious in Christ (John 17:24).
So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places (Php 1:13)
Not easily falling prey to the herd mentality is evident that one has yielded to the leading of the Spirit (Rom 8:1) and know the fundamentals of one’s life is in a higher realm of His Shalom. There is a fountain of joy that wells up from within that can be uncapped to release praises to the God of one’s salvation, even if the outward circumstances seems gloom. Not a form of escapism but a true a living relationship with God Who is entirely sovereign. There is a state of readiness which continually boasts of the good news and wondrous works of Jesus in and out of season.
Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful…. (Pro 14:13)
An unbounded soul is one that has character and stature inside. It is not the countenance that determines the inward being, it is the inward being that forms our countenance. The Lord is waiting for those whose souls are downcast to cry out ‘Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name’ (Psa 142:7a), He is faithful to deliver us to be with Him where He is that our beholding would remain glorious in Christ (John 17:24).
Friday, March 11, 2011
Spiritual Laxity
….. but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish…. (Josh 23:13)
Are we overwhelmed and cannot rise above the circumstances? Is there a continual lack of joy and hope as though the imprisoned soul cannot praise God (Acts 16:25)? It is a message from God that we should examine ourselves; it is His mercy lest we end up reprobates (2 Cor 13:5).
Is there misplaced love (Josh 23:11)? Have our love gone astray and the Father’s love seems cold (1 John 2:15). The appropriation of His promises amount to nothing, nary the spirit to overcome (Josh 23:10); have we been faithful with a clinging dependency on our God (Josh 23:8, 12).Examine if we taken lightly His Word and brush aside the dealings of God (Heb 12:6) and allowed a foothold for the enemy to get at us (Eph 4:27).
By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. (Psa 41:11)
We have to examine ourselves to see if there is any spiritual laxity in our lives. The invitation of our gracious Savior is to come with all our heavy laden and find our rest (Matt 11:28) and learn of Him. It takes humility and meekness to acknowledge that we have misplaced our love and clung on to other distractions. The latter is idolatry.
….. but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish…. (Josh 23:13)
Are we overwhelmed and cannot rise above the circumstances? Is there a continual lack of joy and hope as though the imprisoned soul cannot praise God (Acts 16:25)? It is a message from God that we should examine ourselves; it is His mercy lest we end up reprobates (2 Cor 13:5).
Is there misplaced love (Josh 23:11)? Have our love gone astray and the Father’s love seems cold (1 John 2:15). The appropriation of His promises amount to nothing, nary the spirit to overcome (Josh 23:10); have we been faithful with a clinging dependency on our God (Josh 23:8, 12).Examine if we taken lightly His Word and brush aside the dealings of God (Heb 12:6) and allowed a foothold for the enemy to get at us (Eph 4:27).
By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. (Psa 41:11)
We have to examine ourselves to see if there is any spiritual laxity in our lives. The invitation of our gracious Savior is to come with all our heavy laden and find our rest (Matt 11:28) and learn of Him. It takes humility and meekness to acknowledge that we have misplaced our love and clung on to other distractions. The latter is idolatry.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Possessing a Deep Concern for Lost Souls
J.C. Ryle (More JC Ryle quotes - http://jcrylequotes.com/)
We know but little of true Christianity, if we do not feel a deep concern about the souls of unconverted people. A lazy indifference about the spiritual state of others, may doubtless save us much trouble. To care nothing whether our neighbors are going to heaven or hell, is no doubt the way of the world. But a person of this spirit is very unlike David, who said, “rivers of waters run down my eyes, because men keep not your law” (Psalm 119:136). He is very unlike Paul, who said, “I have great heaviness and continual sorrow of heart for my brethren” (Rom. 9:2). Above all, he is very unlike Christ. If Christ felt tenderly about wicked people, the disciples of Christ ought to feel likewise.
J.C. Ryle (More JC Ryle quotes - http://jcrylequotes.com/)
We know but little of true Christianity, if we do not feel a deep concern about the souls of unconverted people. A lazy indifference about the spiritual state of others, may doubtless save us much trouble. To care nothing whether our neighbors are going to heaven or hell, is no doubt the way of the world. But a person of this spirit is very unlike David, who said, “rivers of waters run down my eyes, because men keep not your law” (Psalm 119:136). He is very unlike Paul, who said, “I have great heaviness and continual sorrow of heart for my brethren” (Rom. 9:2). Above all, he is very unlike Christ. If Christ felt tenderly about wicked people, the disciples of Christ ought to feel likewise.
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