“You shall find this to be God’s usual course: not to give his children the taste of his delights till they begin to sweat in seeking after them.”
– Richard Baxter
Month: November 2004
Though I am simple before men…
“Though I am simple before men, I am not simple in the knowledge of the Lord.”
– Claesken, Martyrs Mirror, p. 612
Tempocentrism
Tempocentrism (thinking our own generation is always right) causes some of the same problems as ethnocentrism (thinking our own culture is always right). It makes the mistake of assuming that Bible teachers know more about God than Bible characters. Really. There are teachers who claim that Paul just didn’t get it, but that we know better now. All this without the inconvenience of being tested in Arabia, stoned, shipwrecked, flogged, or visited by the presence of Jesus.
Continue reading “Tempocentrism”
Found by few, walked by fewer
“This is the true way to eternal life, which is found by so few, and walked by a still smaller number; for it is too narrow for them, and would cause their flesh too much pain.”
– Jan Jans Brant, Martyrs Mirror, p. 617
Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism is the problem of thinking that your own sub-culture is right and that other sub-cultures are wrong. It’s a problem that leads to prejudice, bigotry, imperialism, even genocide. And it’s not completely avoidable. As much as you tell yourself that someone else acts differently because he was raised differently, you can’t always prevent feelings of impatience and judgementalism. And it’s even worse when you (and/or the other person) think you’re dealing with issues of absolute truth, not relative opinions, and won’t give in.
Continue reading “Ethnocentrism”
God gets sick and tired of being misrepresented
Revival is when God gets so sick and tired of being misrepresented that He shows Himself.
– Leonard Ravenhill
Our blood is much sought.
“It is not our way to ask each other: Where are you from? or what is your name? for we well know our blood is much sought.”
– Claes de Praet, Martyrs Mirror, p. 554-560
Has the age of reality passed away?
Many people believe the age of miracles (etc.) has passed away. Others insist it’s still here. There is often little practical difference in the lives of these two groups. We all agree that some things haven’t passed away, such as faith, hope and love. But we read the non-miraculous parts of the Book of Acts, and we still aren’t experiencing the same faith, power, joy, love, unity and holiness – the same spiritual reality – that the early Christians did. If believers in miracles read the miraculous parts with an honest heart, we will likewise admit that we don’t see many miracles in our lives, and we have no good excuse for it.
If we are ever free from the sense of need…
“If we are ever free from the sense of need, it is not because God has satisfied us, but because we have been satisfied with as much as we have.”
– Oswald Chambers
The fire is not big enough.
“I am ready any way, to put off this flesh, whether in the fire or in the water, before the hall of justice or here in this fire (the fire on the hearth); it is not big enough, make it bigger.”
– Joos Kindt, Martyrs Mirror, p. 545