From today’s Palm Sunday sermon:
Worldliness and godliness represent two different approaches to life. Worldliness is dedicated to the futile, vain desire to avoid death at all costs. Worldliness says don’t let go, don’t give up, don’t surrender (to God), get what you can and hold it in a death grip. Worldliness isn’t about lipstick or some kinds of music. If only it were so easy! Rather, worldliness is not wanting to take up your cross daily and follow Christ.
Godliness, on the other hand, is about death and fruitfulness. The abundant life that Christ offers requires dying daily, following Jesus to the cross and the tomb, and living the resurrection life in Him on the other side. But no one wants to die. That is the center of worldly thinking. Dying daily means putting others first, letting go, giving ourselves up (for our parents, our children, our spouses, our neighbors). If we want to know Jesus, we must follow Him, and that’s the path He has taken.
I finished my other little knitting project! About as complicated as a potholder and as big as a dishcloth, it was just my speed. I love the sunshiny blast of cuteness that it turned out to be – makes me think that a little certain someone really might be coming to see us in not too long!
I just wanted to jump in for a second and say that I finally wrangled a few minutes of action out of my brain and started a new knitting project (actually two, but the other I have to quickly finish before I can get a picture). You will all be glad to know that also, at this very moment, my bathroom is clean. We have not sacrificed everything for the Easter tree! I am hopeful that I may manage a few minutes of sewing time tomorrow (I don’t know why I am hopeful – we have had to admit that the twins are just not napping anymore. No, wait! I know why I am hopeful – the bathroom is clean!), and maybe that will result in some finished Easter dresses. We will see how it all pans out in the morning!
But, in the meantime, if you want to crank out some Easter eggs with some scraps of yarn that you had around, these take hardly any time, and they are pretty cheerful if I do say so myself!
We are plum into Spring today, and we are having a lovely sunny day today in celebration of the fact. We are also going to grill some London broil for Sabbath dinner, which means it’s a very simple meal for me. I had this at a friend’s house years ago, and it is still one of our favorites, so I feel I should pass on the favor. The marinade is what makes this so delish.
I am pretty sure I overachieved on the poundage of London broil I bought, but it’s always hard to gauge because I have big beef-eaters at my house. But the recipe calls for 3 pounds. If you use more, you really don’t need to double up the marinade. Anyway, here’s the scoop: Score the meat diagonally, both directions and rub it down with some dried thyme. Then mix up your marinade: 1 cup dry red wine, 1/2 cup worchestershire sauce, 1/4 cup soy sauce. Simple! (I cannot resist throwing in a little chopped garlic at this point.) Then let your meat soak it up overnight in the fridge (a ziplock works great, but set it in a dish in case of leakage). If you don’t have that Continue reading ‘Sabbath Fixin’s’
Here’s a gem from Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ collection of sermons entitled Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled:
“The classic statement of this was made by our Lord in his Sermon n the Mount, when he said, ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after’ —happiness, joy, peace? — Not at all — ‘blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled’ (Matthew 5:6, emphasis added). In other words, if you make happiness or joy or peace your one aim and object in life, it is certain you will never find it; but if you put righteousness as your main aim, and if you become so concerned about righteousness and true living that you can be said to be hungering and thirsting after it, well then, says our Lord, you will be filled with happiness. It will follow.
“This, I think you will agree with me, is something that is absolutely vital and fundamental. If you come to the Christian faith merely because of what you want it to do, you will never get that thing, nor will you get anything else. The Bible must be taken in its own way; it must be accepted on its own terms. There are no shortcuts once you begin to deal with God. God demands something that is central from us — He demands total allegiance. You cannot take things out of the gospel of Christ. You must take the gospel as it is without any modification or qualification. So if you want blessedness, you must start with righteousness; otherwise you will never know it.”
As Easter approaches, what better time to get our hearts and thoughts and minds in order. Not that we wait until Easter each year to do this! But the upcoming annual celebration of the Resurrection presents us with good grounds for clearing away the debris that has accumulated. (A bit like winter’s pile of dead leaves in my garden.)
The Bible gives us much consolation and comfort from Genesis to Revelation, but somehow or other, we can still manage to get distracted by many burdens and cares. Our flesh tends toward anxiety, worry, discontent, ingratitude, and envy. These are all worldly things, things on the earth, things below. And Paul tells the Colossians to put to death, put off, and put away the old earthly stuff (3:5-9) and put on the new man, which is being renewed and sanctified after the image of our Creator (3:10).
But we want to fuss a little bit about this. “It is so hard.” Of course it is hard. No one said it would be easy. The Christian life is compared to a race not a stroll in the park. Paul tells the Philippians (4:8) to think about certain things: things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, or worthy of praise. Why did he Continue reading ‘Easter Thoughts’
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