29 дек. 2007 г.

Missions and Masturbation

Great thoughts on a hot topic.

Missions and Masturbation
By John Piper

Masturbation is the experience of sexual orgasm produced by self-stimulation. Virtually every man and almost as many women have tried it. It is a regular practice of most single men.

One of the major forces preventing young people from obeying the call of God into vocational Christian service is defeat in the area of lust.

Read more.

27 дек. 2007 г.

Иисус достоин - Откровение 5:9-10,12

Запоминаю новый отрывок из Библии наизусть

Иисус достоин
Откровение 5:9-10,12

9 И поют новую песнь, говоря: достоин Ты взять книгу и снять с нее печати, ибо Ты был заклан, и Кровию Своею искупил нас Богу из всякого колена и языка, и народа и племени,
10 и соделал нас царями и священниками Богу нашему; и мы будем царствовать на земле.
12 ... достоин Агнец закланный принять силу и богатство, и премудрость и крепость, и честь и славу и благословение.

Откровение 5:9-10,12

26 дек. 2007 г.

Божьи сила и слава - Ефесянам 3:20-21

Запомнил наизусть, можете при случае проверить:

Божьи сила и слава
Ефесянам 3:20-21

20 А Тому, Кто действующею в нас силою может сделать несравненно больше всего, чего мы просим, или о чем помышляем,
21 Тому слава в Церкви во Христе Иисусе во все роды, от века до века. Аминь.

Ефесянам 3:20-21

13 дек. 2007 г.

Chapter9 - "The Spirit of the Disciplines" by Dallas Willard

I will skip theory for now due to lack of time and get back to it later. Now practical issues.

Some main disciplines for the spiritual life

A discipline for the spiritual life is nothing but an activity undertaken to bring us into more effective cooperation with Christ and His Kingdom. Grace (charis) is a gift (charisma). When we understand it, we see that to grow in grace is to grow in what is given to us of God and by God. The disciplines are then the means to that grace and to those gifts. Spiritual disciplines are only activities undertaken to make us capable of receiving more of his life and power without harm to ourselves or others.

When through spiritual disciplines I become able heartily to bless those who curse me, pray without ceasing, to be at peace when not given credit for good deeds I’ve done, or to master the evil that comes my way, it is because my disciplinary activities have invardly poised me for more interaction with the powers of the living God and his Kingdom.

I am to come up with a list of my own disciplines and do not assume that my list will be right for others.

Some well-known practices will be on every list. Other activities are rarely thought of as disciplines. Yet others for ages served as spiritual disciplines but are now largely forgotten, for example: peregrinatio - voluntary exile; “watch” - where one rejects sleep to concentrate on spiritual matters. The keeping of a journal or spiritual diary serves many as a vital discipline, though it probably would not show up on any “standard” list. Physical labor has proven to be a spiritual discipline, especially foro those who are also deeply involved in solitude, fasting, study and prayer. (1Thes 4:11-12)

Unusual activity that can be an effective spiritual discipline is to do grocery shopping, banking and other business in the poorest areas of the city. It has an immense effect on our understanding of and behaviour toward our neighbors, of what it is to love and care for our fellow human beings.

To be continued...

Chapter1 - "The Spirit of the Disciplines" by Dallas Willard

The secret of the easy yoke

“Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30

His commandments are not burdensome. 1 John 5:3b

The “cost of discipleship” is often emphasized. But the cost of non-discipleship is also to be explored.

Most Christians take the words of Jesus and their repetition by John as a mere wish, an expression of hope. ... The ease, lightness and power of his Way we rarely enjoy, much less see, as a pervasive and enduring quality of our street-level human existence. We do not have the strength we should have, and Jesus’ commandments become burdensome to us. Many do not even believe Jesus actually intended us to carry them out. => His teachings are treated as mere ideal.

Jesus called us to follow him now, not after death. We have only to grasp the secret of entering that easy yoke.

What is the secret?

An illustration: some young folks try to imitate an outstanding baseball player. When they are playing a baseball game, they are trying to imitate their idol. ... Yet they do not share his whole lifestyle - total preparation of mind and body to provide body's automatic responses and strength for his conscious responses during the game.

The general principal: a successful performance at the moment of crisis rests largely and essentially upon the depth of a self wisely and rigorously prepared in the totality of its being - mind and body.

In our relationship with God: we are saved by grace alone. But grace does not mean that sufficient strength and insight will be automatically "infused" into our being in the moment of need. A baseball player who expects to excel in the  game without adequate exercise of his body is no more ridiculous than the Christian, who hopes to be able to act in the manner of Christ when put to the test without the appropriate exercise in godly living. Jesus understood this fact and lived accordingly.

The secret of the easy yoke involves living as he lived in the entirely of his life - adopting his overall life-style. To live as Christ lived is to live as he did all his life. ... Otherwise instead of an easy yoke we will experience frustration.

There is a widespread erroneous approach - "an effort-at-the-moment-of-action" kind of life, completely ignoring the need of the character change in our lives as a whole.

12 дек. 2007 г.

Preface - "The Spirit of the Disciplines" by Dallas Willard

Under these tags I will take notes from the book I am reading for the conference we will attend in January. No time for translation. Sorry.

The Spirit of the Disciplines. Understanding how God changing lives” by Dallas Willard.

Preface

Chistianity can only succeed as a guide for current humanity if it does two things:
1) it must take the need for human transformation as seriously as do modern revolutionary movements;
2) it needs to clarify and exemplify realistic methods of human transformation. It must show how the ordinary individuals ... can become, through the grace of Christ, a love-filled, effective, and powerful community.

This book is about 2).

We can become like Christ ... by following him in the overall style of life he chose for himself. If we have faith in Christ, we must believe he knows how to live. We can, through faith and grace, become like Christ by practicing the types of activities he engaged in, by arranging oue whole lives around the activities he himself practiced in order to remain constantly at home in the fellowship of his Father.

Christ’s activities: solitude, silence, prayer, simple and sacrificial living, intense study and meditation upon the God’s Word and God’s ways, service to others.

The Spirit of Disciplines is nothing but the love of Jesus, with its resolute will to be like him whom we love.

The book is to help you understand the absolute necessity of the spiritual disciplines for our faith, and revolutionary results of practicing these disciplines intelligently and enthusiastically through a full, grace-filled, Christlike life.

1 нояб. 2007 г.

Новый способ запоминания библейских стихов

Давеча реализовал идею, родившуюся в ходе обсуждения с другом. Суть - использовать мобильник для запоминания/повторения стихов из Библии. Реализация такова:

Подробности:

1) устанавливаем на Java-способную мобилу программу для чтения книг; я использую ReadManiac: http://www.readmaniac.com/ В ней мне нравится, что при повторной загрузке файла, он открывается с того места, где в прошлый раз был закрыт, что удобно для повторения. Можно также установить большой шрифт, контрастный режим: белый текст на черном фоне и проч.

2) Загружаем через GPRS следующий подготовленный мною файл: http://www.df.ru/~condor/tms.txt

Он содержит следующие стихи для первой части Тематической Системы Запоминания:
I. Живите новой жизнью (к иллюстрации "Колесо")   12 шт.
II. Провозглашайте Христа   12 шт. + 4 недостающие из цикла об Уверенности
III. Полагайтесь на Божьи ресурсы    12 шт.
IV. Будьте учеником Христа   12 шт.
V. Растите в Христоподобном характере   12 шт.
Итого: 64 отрывка.

3) Наслаждаемся новой возможностью пировать на Божьем Слове!

Статьи о духовной жизни

Предлагаю вашему вниманию подготовленные и размещённые с разрешения правообладателей статьи:

"Как провести день в молитве". Автор: Лорн Сэнни.

"Моё сердце - дом Христа". Автор: Роберт Бойд Мунгер.

"Под гнётом срочных дел". Автор: Чарльз Хаммель.

а также:

Тематическая Система Запоминания Библейских Стихов
Для использования на поддерживающем Java мобильном телефоне.

Доступно тут.