Yearly Archives: 2017

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

‭‭Zephaniah‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/zep.3.17.esv

I’m reading a book about the working of the mind. (Over on the right you can see quotes in my Twitter feed.) One thing I’ve taken from it is the importance of memory and remembering to our personal discipleship. Consider this thought in the following as the psalmist carries on a conversation within Psalm 42.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? 

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. 

My soul is cast down within me; 

therefore I remember (emphasis mine) you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭42:5-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬)http://bible.com/59/psa.42.5-6.esv

To dwell in Scripture is to soak up and build memories that we may rely on when struggle comes. 

Turn from temptation to God!

Today brothers from many places in Serbia, from 4 different kinds of church backgrounds. Pentecostal, Calvary Chapel, Nazarene, and Christian Fellowship (E. Free) gathered. I was honored to share from Scripture about the admonishment to hold on and not grow weary in well doing. We had a great lunch (thanks to the supporters of CEO!) and then a boat ride. We completed the day with a time of sharing and prayer.

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭133:1‬ ‭ESV‬‬)http://bible.com/59/psa.133.1.esv

I took this shot on the second half of my walk around Senta (see pic below for general location) this morning. It was about 5:30. This guy seems to have been there awhile. The river’s flow was quiet this morning. He was there early, among the other fishermen hoping to catch something.

He rose early, did his part, and hoped to be blessed, with a catch.

We would be wise to follow this example, rise, do our part and look for a catch… of truth to change our hearts and minds.

(Map courtesy Google Maps)

It would appear that one of the ideas behind the counsel of Job’s friends is to “just do better.” 

If we think of this as good counsel we’ve lost sight of the gospel. If we could do better, The Father would have not needed to send Jesus.

Let’s resolve not to try harder or do better. Let’s resolve to respond to the gospel and receive his peace that comes from grace. As David said..,

“The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:39-40‬ ‭ESV‬‬ http://bible.com/59/psa.37.39-40.esv

It’s been a fast four days here in Sajol, Hungary beside a lake that was once part of the Tisza river. The pic is taken from the back porch of the dining hall.

I’ve invested these four days with a Hungarian congregation (that is dear to my heart) and teaching/preaching using some big ideas from the Reformation:

Give God all the glory;

Christ alone can make peace between me and God;

The Scripture is my only authority and I must use it to measure all other teaching;

It is only the grace of God and only through faith in Jesus that I can be declared right with God.

We are part of a royal priesthood of all believers in Christ where no one is better or higher than one another. 

These categories help us think about our personal theology and inform our personal discipleship in obedience to the commands of King Jesus.

There’ve been good conversations and some helpful push back that I’ve loved.

Thanks be to God!

Tomorrow: next stop – Szeged.