God’s Purpose for Our Life
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Category Archives: Daily Life
Dead Men Preach to Them
I have been reading a biography on Jonathan Edwards. What a dedicated and holy man! He has been called “The Great Awakener,” and was the primary vehicle in the American Revival of the mid-1700’s, along with George Whitfield.
Midway through this biography, George Whitefield, upon returning from America to England summarized the American situation. He said, “I am greatly persuaded that the generality of preachers talk of an unknown, unfelt Christ. And the reason why congregations have been so dead is because dead men preach to them.”
After reading this quote my mind went to Romans 8:6— “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mindset on the Spirit is life and peace.” Hence, I conclude that many preachers in that day were preaching in the flesh and were dead in the Spirit. And that is also true today.
But this was not true of Jonathan Edwards. I was sparked in my reading with the following words of inspiration:
- Edwards viewed the work as a minister to call men to recognize their need to know God personally.
- Edwards believed that his own knowledge of God should be first before preaching to others.
- He set time for prayer, solitude, meditation, and earnest study—13 hours every day!
- He recognized that the plain man (in his congregation) was reached best by the plain style of preaching.
- He said that Christians are to be people of prayer.
- He was all for Spirit-anointed preaching and he set out in his style to address the conscience of men.
Back to Romans 8:6. “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” I have been thinking about that verse for some time now, and I think it has been helpful because of its truth. How often during the day I catch myself thinking of fleshly things and have to change my thinking. Everything in the World is of the flesh you know. And so, a Christian must be watchful and prayerful and diligent to set his mind back on the Spirit—to find life and peace.
Why Prayer is So necessary
The Lord is Good
I have been under some stress and depression lately, and have been praying for relief. I won’t give you all the details, but it has to do with my self-publishing—trying to get everything right.
Well, I believe the Lord had a hand in making me laugh through the newspaper comics today. Usually, out of the eight comics I read, one or two of them are funny. Today five of them were funny; one of them made me laugh out loud. It was the “Rhymes with Orange” strip. Anyway, these cows in the pasture had an emotional support animal with them: a chicken, a pig, a rabbit and a turtle!
Somehow I knew it was from the Lord. Who knew He would use comic strips to bring His grace to me. His ways are perfect and He knows what we need. Psalm 145: 8-9 says,
The Lord is gracious and merciful;
Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
9 The Lord is good to all,
And His mercies are over all His works.
Update: Mostly about John Wesley
I will start with my writing. I’m writing every day. My new book project is on Heaven. So far, I’m still doing research. Also, at the same time I’m redoing a few books—mostly book covers. Oh, I also have a new publishing name: Zenyl Publishing. What do you think of the name?
John Wesley
I have about a dozen Heroes of the Faith books that I’m reading. I recently read about Martin Luther and William Tyndale. Now I’m reading John Wesley—almost finished. John was an interesting character. His parents, Samuel and Susanna, were hard working farmers, and Samuel was a preacher. All of their ten children (7 girls and 3 boys) were well educated at home. I was amazed at their very strict and early education schedule. “Every minute of every day was planned.” John in particular was very studious. From age five he started to read (from the bible). He also learned Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, along with the regular courses like math, history and music. Then in 1720, at seventeen, John went to collage in the town of Oxford in London, where he was schooled mainly in the classics.
It was during this time that he decided to become a cleric like his father. And he also began to lead a group called “The Holy Club.” Everyone in the club had to abide by a very strict and moral code.
Well, to my surprise, even as John was brilliant in his writing and preaching, and even in his holiness, he had serious doubts about his salvation. And this was revealed to him mainly because of his fears of death (during a few skirmishes with enemies). But, in God’s providence, he had certain Moravian friends who had no such fear of dying. Hence, through the private tutoring of these Moravians and by his own prayers, John came to have an assurance of his faith; and he grew into a very dynamic preacher; and even though he was often pelted with stones, nearly to death, he had no fear!
And besides his fears (which he overcame) he had another weakness. For some reason he thought he had to minister to, and tutor, every young woman that he was attracted to. And he fell in love with them all—but never could commit to any of them because of his ministry commitments. I counted six women. But the seventh one his brother Charles convinced him to marry. Well, he did marry her, but not for love; and she soon left him in a rage because of his lack of attention to her.
Well, as we know, those holy clubs developed into a movement called the Methodists; and John was its leader. I don’t know much about the Methodist church—except that they are quite liberal. I don’t think they are anything like what John intended them to be. At first I’m sure the Methodist were a godly people, and I suppose that many of our true Christian churches came from those Methodists. But if there is one thing I am grateful for it is the hymns that John and Charles wrote that are still in our hymn books.
Ducks on the Ice
It’s All Good
Today two comic strips spoke to my heart and made me laugh. First, Dustin:
Sometimes, like Dustin and his dad, I want to find whatever refuge I can and hide from all the trouble. But instead of the pillow fort (pictured), a better refuge can be found in the Lord—in the “secret place of the Most High.” From Psalm 91:1-6:
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge
and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
Second, Hagar the Horrible:
I use to be this way in my painting jobs, saying, it’s all good. I remember the first house I painted. I didn’t know you were supposed to spot prime the bare wood first. The owner ask me about it and I said, “Everything’s good. With the super good paint I used, primer is not needed.” Of course, that wasn’t exactly true. I also remember the first time I wallpapered a bathroom. The guy said, “Aren’t you suppose to match the pattern?” I said, “Oh no, it’s all good.”
My attitude is so changed now. Now everything has to be perfect. That’s good I guess. But I think I am too perfect—too much of a perfectionist. I almost wish I was the way I use to be. But I know I can’t. All I can do is ask God for His help to do all things right, and then He will make it good. He will give His angels charge over me to keep me in all my ways. Psalms 91:9-15:
If you make the Most High your dwelling —
even the Lord, who is my refuge —
10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
My Walk
Bird walking on the ice.
Pigeon’s
Mississippi River bank.
Back on the trail.
These are a few pictures I took on my walk along the Mississippi River on about February 6th in Minneapolis, Minnesota, near where I live. It was about 55 degrees, quite warm for February in Minnesota.
Self-awareness
How is your self-awareness? Are you in tune with yourself? Sometimes we might be deceiving ourselves–really, lying to ourselves. And once we start down that road it’s hard to stop. We should not always try to convince ourselves that we are fine. Instead, you should ask, “How am I? Have I sinned lately? Am I pleasing God?
Always try to connect yourself to the truth and you will have a pleasant reward–if you decide to repent and follow the way of the Lord.
Source: The Dustin Comic
Why Lying Is So Bad
I don’t know why, but I have never thought of lying as a really bad sin—such as murder or adultery. I remember when I was little and told a lie; I really didn’t think it was that bad or that anyone would be hurt by it. I couldn’t understand why my mom and dad thought it was so bad and why they told me that I should never tell a lie.
Well, as the years went by, I grew to understand why it was bad and how you can really get yourself into trouble over it. Yet some people never get that understanding. They still say, what’s the harm in a little white lie? I have heard people say that lying is just part of life; everybody does it.
In my study of heaven, in three different verses where God is describing the glory and holiness of heaven, it also emphasized who would not be allowed in heaven—those sinners who would end up in hell. Here are those verses:
Revelation 21:8
8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Revelation 21:27
27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 22:15
15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
Notice that in each of the verses, those who are liars are on the list (bold for emphasis). Hence, those who practice lying will definitely be disqualified from heaven. I know lying is bad, but I found myself still wondering why it made this list. Why would lying disqualify one from heaven? Here are a few ideas I came up with—reasons why lying is so bad:
- It is deceptive and seeks to deceive others.
- It is against truth and righteousness—which is what heaven is.
- Lying is the beginning of corruption and the basis of it.
- Lying is a political sin: it seeks to win self and makes self look good. It will take down and corrupt a whole nation.
- It begins in the life of a child and if not corrected will form the life and corrupt that entire life.
- It is of the devil. He is the greatest liar, and like the devil will pervert the whole life and the life of many others.
- It cannot be allowed in heaven or else all of heaven with its truth would be corrupted. For this reason, liars must be kept in hell forever.
Who are the liars?
They must be found out and stopped. The courts must try to reveal them. It is so important for a continuing and lasting society. I would say that it is important to find and cut off lying in one’s own life as well as in the leadership of cities and countries. But it must start in my life. If we can’t recognize it in our life, how can we see it in others. Judges must esp. be able to see and stop it—and to punish it severely. It must be seen as a terrible evil.
Stephen Nielsen 