Tried With Fire

I am giving away a new copy of Just Do Something, A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will  by Kevin DeYoung, Moody Publishers, 2009.  Too often believers think that finding God's will is like hitting a bull's eye or finding your way out of Moria or feeling a liver shiver or holy gizzard twinge.  But in this book by Kevin DeYoung, he gives another and perhaps more biblical way than being paralyzed for fear of "missing God's will".  Having been inflicted by this malady for most of my life, this book was very helpful.  You can listen to Pastor DeYoung speak on this topic here .  (His talk is from the Next 2009 conference men's session.) The drawing will be open until Friday, October 15th at midnight.  At which time, I'll randomly pick a name and mail the winner the book. (U.S. addresses only.) So if you're interested in entering the drawing, just do something and leave a comment. Thanks!

We went to a bridal shower this afternoon. The bride is the daughter of one of my closest friends. Although we've only known each other nine years, we've been through some deep trials together, and I love the whole family dearly. The shower was very nice. Scripture was shared. There was prayer for the couple. The food was good. A good time was had by all. I am certainly no prophetess, but I fully anticipated the bride to be asked this question. "When/How did you know he was the one ?" I don't mean to be cynical, but I think the one and soul mate need to be stricken from the English language. I can't help but think of Anakin Skywalker and Mark Sandford when I hear those phrases. My daughter did remind me later about Neo. I don't mean to fault the person who asked the question at all. My problem is with the mindset of the one . That expression of he's the one or she's the one has so many expectations riding on it. It implies there is only one...

I highly recommend Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung. It's a short book that packs a big punch. Also as someone who has had a wrong view of the will of God for most of my life, this book clears up a lot of things. I didn't realize how confused I was/am until reading this book. It has been a breath of fresh air cutting through the mystical ideas of the will of God that I used to hold. Part of my confusion may be due to being taught that the entire history of mankind since the fall is Plan B. Therefore, God doesn't appear to have very good control over His creation since He has been trying to salvage things since the Garden. In fact, the will of God becomes a very tenuous thing because there is absolutely no security that His will will happen since man and the devil seem to be awfully good at derailing it. Also, if human history is Plan B, what plan am I in? Given all the wrong choices that I could have made, I could be in the third, fourth, or fifth derivative of Plan...

Wisdom is the difference between knowing a world-class biologist who can write your papers and studying under a world-class biologist so that you can write the kind of papers he would write. Too many of us want God to be the world-class scholar to write our papers and live our lives for us, when God wants us to sit at His feet and read His Word so that we can live a life in the image of His Son. God doesn't tell us the future for this simple, yet profound reason: We become what we behold. God wants us to behold Him in His glory so that we can be transformed into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18). If God figured everything out for us, we wouldn't need to focus on Him and learn to delight in His glory. God says, "I'm not giving you a crystal ball. I'm giving you My Word. Meditate on it; see Me in it, and become like Me." From Just Do Something by Kevin De Young, pages 93-94, Moody Press.