Duty AND Delight (Or Grapes VS. Honeycombs)

Candy's thoughts: I distinctly remember the day when Steve and I decided to tithe to our local church. We were new believers and the concept of giving a set amount to our church was truly daunting. We were living in one of the most expensive towns in the state of Connecticut, in the cheapest rental house we could find, and we had wild mushrooms growing up through the floor in one of our rooms! We just had our second child with a third one following soon after, the business that Steve was working in was struggling (and did fail), so financially we were looking at an uncertain future. But Steve did a biblical study on tithing as a Christian minimum and was persuaded that we should do this. So I said "Okayyyyyy, we'll see how this goes" and more than 35 years later I can validate C. H. Spurgeon's claim that "Our Father holds the funds, and what we lose for His sake He can provide for us."

Financial support of a local church is a Biblical duty, but that alone shouldn't be the end goal. Just a few days ago I was reading 2 Cor 9: 6-7 where Paul makes the "God loves a cheerful giver" statement that is famously known by many both in the church and outside of it as well. I hope you like Spurgeon's attempt to make us understand the delight part of the duty to give as much as I did:

Spurgeons' thoughts: "God loves a cheerful giver. What is meant by a 'cheerful giver?' It means giving not reluctantly or out of compulsion, not giving as though we wished we could avoid it, and therefore giving as little as possible. Not counting the pennies and reckoning them to be as precious as drops of blood, but giving with ease, spontaneity, freeness, pleasure - this is a cheerful giver. 

To be this cheerful giver, we must give  proportionately as the Lord has prospered us. Much has been said about giving a tenth of one's income to the Lord. I think that is a Christian duty that none should for a moment question. If it were a duty under the Jewish law, much more is it so now, under the Christian dispensation. But it is a great mistake to suppose the Jews only gave a tenth; they gave much more than that. The tenth was the payment they must make, but after that came all the freewill offerings, all the various gifts at different seasons of the year. We are not to make an estimate of what to give by what will appear respectable or by what is expected of us by other people. We are to give as God has prospered us.

A cheerful giver is also a willing giver. We are not to be like the young grape that must be pressed and squeezed to get the juice out because it is not ripe. Rather, we ought to be like the honeycomb dripping spontaneously with fresh honey...

The cheerful giver also gives earnestly, and that includes the gifts of time and service. A cheerful giver always wishes he could give ten times as much; a cheerful doer always wants to have more capacity for doing. God loves this cheerfulness, this heartiness, this wholeheartedness, this intenseness, this fire of the soul."

Facing A Task Unfinished

 

I freely admit that I have a strange mind. This entire last week I had planned on doing a post on a totally different subject than what you will read below. But yesterday I enjoyed (and I'm not being sarcastic!) 3 times of leaf-blowing while listening to music that I adore by people I trust in terms of sound theology and beautiful melodies. Despite sore arms from lifting the blower and shaky hands for hours later from the vibrations of the power surges from this mighty machine, I have LOVED listening with headphones cranked very high to overcome the noise of the blower to "Facing A Task Unfinished" by Keith and Kristyn Getty. This DVD was released the day after I saw them perform it at a conference I attended in Indianapolis about 4 years ago. 

The title of this CD gives a hint as to its focus: a mission to spread the gospel throughout the world. The Gettys do an amazing job in their compositions and lyrics to get all of us pumped to see that this goal is achieved. 

(Also, it occurred to me that the title song is a great reminder of another, much less important task: removing leaves from our home. I'm pretty sure I'm starting to recognize previously blown leaves! This task never ends. 😂😂😂) 

Here are just a few of the songs for you to sample. Enjoy!!!

Facing A Task Unfinished

The Lord Is My Salvation

For The Cause

Lift High The Name of Jesus

Quotables #8

It's time to clean up the screenshots on my phone, and so I present to you the best quotes I have found since August. Get ready to vote on your favorites!

Mine are #2, 3, 9, 10, 11

1. "There are, in truth, but two denominations upon this earth: The Church and The World - Those who are justified in Christ Jesus and those who are condemned in their sins."  C.H. Spurgeon

2.  "We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously He once waited for us."  C.H. Spurgeon

3. "The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal. To deny that loss is to deny the love." C.S. Lewis

4. "The most rapturous delights you have ever had - in the beauty of a landscape, or in the pleasure of food, or in the fulfillment of a loving embrace - are like dewdrops compared to the bottomless ocean of joy that it will be see God face-to-face (1 John 3:1-3)."  Tim Keller

5.  "The culture doesn't dictate truth; the Gospel dictates truth."  Voddie Baucham

6.  "The Bible tells of flawed people - people just like me - who make shockingly bad choices and yet still find themselves pursued by God."  Philip Yancey

7.  "Nothing can hurt God's people except and until God permits. We are all immortal till our work is done. To realize that nothing happens in the world except by the eternal counsels of our Father and according to His eternal plans, is one grand secret of living a calm, peaceful, and contented life."  J.C. Ryle

8.  "It is a good rule never to look into the face of a man until you have looked into the face of God." Charles Spurgeon

9. "The opening chapter of Genesis is a rejection of atheism (because there is a God), a rejection of polytheism (because there is only one God), a rejection of pantheism (because the creation is not God), a rejection of humanism (because man is not God), a rejection of naturalistic evolution (because the world and its creatures come into being by intelligent design), a rejection of materialism (because the physical world is not all that is really there), and a rejection of dualism (because both the spiritual and physical are not opposed)."  Kevin DeYoung

10.  "When you look at any human being, you are seeing someone for whom someone has wept and prayer, or at someone for whom no one has wept and prayed. Either way, humanity."  Marilynne Robinson

11.  "Trust God in the dark until the light returns."  A.W. Tozer

12.  "But while there is much weakness in our faith, there will be much strength in our fear."  John Flavel

13.  "The tongue exists to reveal our hearts."  John Calvin

14.  "At the heart of most religions is a moral code. At the heart of Christianity is a cross, planted in the middle of history."  Michael Horton

15.  "I pray with all my heart that God will awaken each one of us today, to the sweetness, the loveliness, the Glory of the Gospel, declared by Christ."  The final words of the last sermon preached by R.C. Sproul

Something Biblical, Practical, Beneficial, AND Uncontroversial Regarding the Election

Here are some helpful thoughts from Alistair Begg on the eve of the election:

You will probably be reading this letter within days of the election. If, as we are led to believe, the result will not be known for some time, here is an exercise for us—it is biblical, and practical, and extremely beneficial:

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.” (1 Thess. 5:16–18) 

It is the comprehensive nature of this exhortation (always, constantly, all ) that makes it so demanding. The good news is this: the exhortations of the Bible are never there without the enabling of the Holy Spirit.

When it comes to physical exercise, it’s not uncommon for me to sidestep it because I don’t feel like it. Whatever the outcome of the election, we may find ourselves responding similarly: “I don’t feel like being joyful, thankful, and prayerful. Why should I?” The answer is in the balance of the text: “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

The Thessalonians had received the Word in much affliction. Life was no cakewalk, and so, if they functioned on the strength of their emotions, they would never have had the impact for which they were commended (1 Thess. 1:7). They had learned, as Spurgeon put it, to trust Him whose power is inexhaustible, whose love is unbreakable, whose kindness is unchangeable, whose faithfulness is unfailing, whose wisdom is unfathomable, and whose goodness is impregnable.  

It is surely providential that these political events come in the context of Thanksgiving. We may not sing around our tables, but we can at least recite these words from a harvest hymn: 

We thank you, then, O Father,

For all things bright and good:

The seed-time and the harvest,

Our life, our health, our food;

No gifts have we to offer

For all your love imparts,

But that which you desire now:

Our humble, thankful hearts!