I AM Will Be With You

"But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"  He said, "But I will be with you."  (Ex. 3:11-12a)

Moses asks God who Moses is, before he asks God in verse 13 who God is.  God's answer to the first question is similar to his answer to the second.  The second answer...is..."I AM WHO I AM."  The first answer is..."I will be with you," or "I am with you."  We might think that "I will be with you" does not really answer Moses' question, "Who am I?"  Moses asks about himself, Moses; God replies by speaking of himself, God.  But of course, God more than answers Moses' question.  Who is Moses?  He is the man with whom God is.  God has covenanted to stand with Moses in his confrontation with Pharaoh.  So Moses is Yahweh's man; that's who he is." - Frame, ST, pp29-30

There Are More Needs than You Can Handle

"I think most Christians hear these urgent calls to do more (or feel them internally already) and learn to live with a low-level guilt that comes from not doing enough.  We know we can always pray more and give more and evangelize more, so we get used to living in a state of mild disappointment with ourselves...We have to be okay with other Christians doing certain good things better and more often than we do." - Crazy Busy, DeYoung, p47.

Part of this guilt comes from an over-individualistic spirit and lack of a commitment to the local church body.  We are members of a body incarnate that has multiple gifts and talents, time and opportunities.  The answer to what needs to be done is not an answer for the individual only, but for the church corporately and also for her members.

Hospital-ity and Busyness

"Good hospital-ity is making your home a hospital.  The idea is that friends and family and the wounded and weary people come to your home and leave helped and refreshed.  And yet, too often hospitality is a nerve-wracking experience for hosts and guests alike" - Crazy Busy, DeYoung, p41.

Sins that Accompany Busyness

Three more pithy statements from Crazy Busy, by Kevin DeYoung, Chapter 3 -

"...our understanding of busyness must start with the one sin that begets so many of our other sins:  pride" - p34.

"So much of our busyness comes down to meeting people's expectations" - p35.

"People often call it low self-esteem, but people-pleasing is actually a form of pride and narcissism" - p35.

Where Righteousness and Peace Kiss

Psalm 122 is one of God’s songs.  He gave us 150 to sing and to learn from what it is He would have us sing to Him and to one another in our services of worship.  Do not neglect the singing of the Psalms, for it pleases Your Lord.

As we gather, we are ascending to the throne of God by faith and in the power of the Spirit.  We are doing what Israel pictured, what they only did in shadows, when they ascended to Jerusalem to come to the temple of God.  Those who did so by faith knew that they were only practicing – and that they also would only come to God if they came by faith – the same faith which has been granted to you who are in Christ Jesus.

So do not fall into the complacency that comes when you do not come prepared and when you do not come thinking.  Give your attention to the Psalms, to the Scriptures, to the prayers, to the preaching.  God is at work among us which means He is at work in you – now.  And He has something for you.  He intends for you to leave here built up, encouraged, challenged – and changed.  This will be the work of His Spirit and not anyone else – although He will use means – and this service of worship is His appointed means.  His Word, His Table, His saints, His songs – come and worship God the Father, come in the name of Jesus His Son, and come in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Dance of Trinitarian Submission

As Douglas Wilson puts it, in a Unitarian world, authority and submission is a fist fight with a winner and a loser, someone on top and someone beat down.  In a Trinitarian world, authority and submission are a lovely dance.  Press this metaphor out a bit.  Both dancers are submitting to the music around them.  He submits to the music, sacrificing for her by leading her, supporting her, and glorifying her in the dance.  As she submits to his lead (and not to any other dancer on the floor), she follows his left with her right, completing his steps and glorifying his moves.  She must choose carefully to say ‘yes’ to a dancer who will lead her rightly, and she looks foolish if she keeps stopping in the middle of the dance questioning his next move – she must follow him in everything.  But once again, we must end with the husband:  how in the world do you expect her to follow you when you are such a lousy dancer, or when you refuse to follow the music?  Yes, the Lord has commanded her to submit to you; and you must make it a delight to do so.

Really, Really Busy

Three pithy statements from "Crazy Busy" by Kevin DeYoung, Chapter 2:

"When we are crazy busy, we put our souls at risk" - p26.

"Busyness kills more Christians than bullets" - p30.

"What does it say about me that I'm frequently overwhelmed?" - p31.