Wise

Been reading and really, going deeper into places that i need to
And it's been a really good, and deep journey...
plumbing depths within that have always needed to be plumbed,
and finding out things that i've sensed, and now given flesh to...

I read this from Tullian Tchividjian, Billy Graham's granson, and it's so impactful, because it is so real...

"How do i connect what Christ has already accomplished for me in the context of 

conflict, frustration, anger, temptation? 

How does Christ's finished work empower me not to say no to the things God hates 

and to say yes to the things God loves?

Where does the power come from to be sustained in the moment?" 

'It comes from what Christ has accomplished for us.'

All theology is simply an outworking of the gospel in our daily lives

I find the words above stark and true,
of how He asks genuine questions of God, through his personal battles...

"How people conduct their personal devotions 

will define who they become in the eyes of God. 

You have to be shaped in that which is private to you, 

not in that which is public - where motives can sometimes get cluttered." 

~Ravi Zacharias~

Ravi was talking about how his devotions deepened and developed "the wellspring within", and it was a different experience from preparing the teachings and lectures that he gives. His devotional depth precedes the width of his talks and ministry.

When i read such writers, i feel privileged to have a glimpse at their inner life,
of how they minister amidst all the things thrown at them...
Tullian was a teenage rebel, Ravi has an existing back problem...
And i catch a glimpse too, of how God is so great in the way He works...

I see in these men of God that they are not arrogant or haughty,
they have seen and acknowledge their limitations, and in doing so...
they have also allowed the spirit of God to continue to work within...
They could have been content with head knowledge, but they didn't stop there,
allowing the Spirit to work within them, until truth became action in their lives.

Even as knowledge puffs up/makes arrogant, love edifies (1 Cor 8:1)
I'm glad to see people of wisdom, who do not rely just on knowledge,
but have worked God's word into their lives, living it as God lived it...
and in it, the Love of God really shines through, and it really edifies!
My soul is lifted up just by reading of the way they pursue God,
knowing full well that it was always Him that pursued them first!

"It's only when you come to terms with your own sin

and your own brokenness

that God can give you the kind of compassion

that you need for people who sin against you"

~Tullian Tchividjian~