I remember having several conversations with people regarding Christian biographies. The one thing that all these biographies have in common is the type of person being written about. I was not surprised that the archetype for these books are men or women who have participated in pastoral ministry, missions, etc. I am thoroughly encouraged by these individuals. Their lives display God's grace in midst of intense persecution, hardships, blessings, and the list goes on.
God's grace permeates all things and all people.
The idea that I mention here that God's grace permeates all people by no means is advocating universalism. For the sake of clarification, the phrase "God's grace permeates all people," will be speaking of how God's grace affects ordinary people who are saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. I mentioned earlier that Christian biographies have archetypes. When I became a Christian, early on I had a misleading idea that the only way to glorify God in the greatest degree was to participate in ministry. I thought being an ordinary Christian working a 9-5 job was a less significant way of glorifying God. Quite the contrary, God has blessed each individual with a different calling and each person is to give God all the glory, there is no degree. God's people are called to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever (i.e. Psalm 86:9). So for those who are not exactly participating in "ministry," we are still actively participating in the Gospel ministry. I am thankful for these biographies and the humility displayed by these individuals. Their calling whether it be in pastoring, or being a missionary testifies that God receives all the glory. Point being, whatever calling we received from God is one we should be thankful for and actively utilize for His glory.
In light of what's mentioned above, I am thankful for the 5 ordinary men of Walnut. These men are the 9-5 people who love the Lord and proclaim His name and Gospel to be preached in their words and actions. One day, if they persevere (hehehe), I hope to write a Christian biography of these 5 ordinary men.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The Broken Heart
Dear Mr. Barlis,
As you look back and read this post whatever age you are. Take the time to thank the person who bookmarked page 83 of The Valley of Vision copy, which is the same person who gave you that book. Thank God for this person for this particular individual continues to remind you that God's grace permeates through all circumstances. Evidence of grace is grace. Here's what the page says:
O Lord,
No day of my life has passed
that has not proved me guilty in thy sight.
Prayers have been uttered from a prayerless heart;
Praise has been often praiseless sound;
My best services are filthy rags.
Blessed Jesus, let me find a covert in thy appeasing wounds.
Though my sins rise to heaven thy merits soar above them;
Though unrighteousness weighs me down to hell,
thy righteousness exalts me to thy throne.
All things in me call for my rejection,
All things in thee plead my acceptance.
I appeal from the throne of perfect justice
to thy throne of boundless grace,
Grant me to hear thy voice assuring me:
that by thy stripes I am healed,
that thou was bruised for my iniquities,
that thou hast been made sin for me
that I might be righteous in thee,
that my grievous sins, my manifold sins, are all forgiven,
buried in the ocean of thy concealing blood.
I am guilty, but pardoned,
lost, but saved,
wandering, but found,
sinning, but cleansed.
Give me a perpetual broken-heartedness,
Keep me always clinging to thy cross,
Flood me every moment with descending grace,
Open to me the springs of divine knowledge,
sparkling like crystal, flowing clear and unsullied
through my wilderness of life.
Thank you friend. =)
In Him,
Mark
As you look back and read this post whatever age you are. Take the time to thank the person who bookmarked page 83 of The Valley of Vision copy, which is the same person who gave you that book. Thank God for this person for this particular individual continues to remind you that God's grace permeates through all circumstances. Evidence of grace is grace. Here's what the page says:
O Lord,
No day of my life has passed
that has not proved me guilty in thy sight.
Prayers have been uttered from a prayerless heart;
Praise has been often praiseless sound;
My best services are filthy rags.
Blessed Jesus, let me find a covert in thy appeasing wounds.
Though my sins rise to heaven thy merits soar above them;
Though unrighteousness weighs me down to hell,
thy righteousness exalts me to thy throne.
All things in me call for my rejection,
All things in thee plead my acceptance.
I appeal from the throne of perfect justice
to thy throne of boundless grace,
Grant me to hear thy voice assuring me:
that by thy stripes I am healed,
that thou was bruised for my iniquities,
that thou hast been made sin for me
that I might be righteous in thee,
that my grievous sins, my manifold sins, are all forgiven,
buried in the ocean of thy concealing blood.
I am guilty, but pardoned,
lost, but saved,
wandering, but found,
sinning, but cleansed.
Give me a perpetual broken-heartedness,
Keep me always clinging to thy cross,
Flood me every moment with descending grace,
Open to me the springs of divine knowledge,
sparkling like crystal, flowing clear and unsullied
through my wilderness of life.
Thank you friend. =)
In Him,
Mark
Monday, November 16, 2009
Get Over!
"He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also vanity."
Ecclesiastes 5:10
Ecclesiastes 5:10
Monday, November 9, 2009
Consider Jesus...
So the other night, I was thinking if I was in the future and wanted to write to the present me a letter. What would I say? The future me would have experienced and desired many things, so what would I tell my present self? This is my attempt to imagine that...
Dear Mr. Barlis,
It's 11:17 P.M. November 11, 2009 and I'm writing to warn you of the grave dangers that lie ahead of you. You are not aware of it, but I am. Upon reading this letter, you will think I am nothing more than someone feeding you regurgitated information that you believe you've heard before. I implore you to pay attention and consider the words I am about to write.
You just graduated. Congratulations! The noise that you were bombarded with in college will be reduced to merely a murmur, a sound of sifting papers, an intensified redundant clacking sound of the keyboard, slurps of hot coffee, and it goes on. You'll want to be successful, you'll want the spot upstairs, you'll want to work hard just to please the boss. Once you obtain these things what's next? You'll want a nice girl, you'll want a nice family, you'll want a house, and maybe a dog..and it goes on. Let the rat race begins as they call it.
And so it does...the rat race will cause you to be weary. You will experience a sense of hopelessness and emptiness. A once hungry appetite for spiritual things will no longer be present for you have quenched the Spirit's flame. There will be an everlasting longing for rest, but you will not experience that rest. As a result, you will sit down and one day realize what a wasted life...what a wasted life.
Carefully consider the simple truth at hand.
It's not about you..but Jesus.
There are souls at stake. There are billions of souls at stake and you want to settle? Don't be selfish. Life is tough when you don't have direction, but you do. You were bought and you are not of your own. You are given a one way compass to follow and its only pointing to Jesus. A gift you didn't deserve, but freely received. For you to keep that message from others when heaven and hell are at stake, you ought to really sit down and think how much you hate these people. Think about it. If you are truly bought, the expected response would be quite counter intuitive to human intellect. Sacrifice becomes joyful. The perception man has of you no longer has an effect. The things you have are rubbish. Identity is no longer affiliated to what you do for a living, but who you live for. To live is Christ and to die is gain. To share the message would only be a display of affection and love that is characteristic of one that has been moved by the power of the Gospel. Let that be your mantra. You have been bought, if indeed you are, you will persevere. Keep that in mind.
I leave you with this.
"God created us to live with a single passion: to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion." -John Piper.
Sincerely,
Mark Barlis
Dear Mr. Barlis,
It's 11:17 P.M. November 11, 2009 and I'm writing to warn you of the grave dangers that lie ahead of you. You are not aware of it, but I am. Upon reading this letter, you will think I am nothing more than someone feeding you regurgitated information that you believe you've heard before. I implore you to pay attention and consider the words I am about to write.
You just graduated. Congratulations! The noise that you were bombarded with in college will be reduced to merely a murmur, a sound of sifting papers, an intensified redundant clacking sound of the keyboard, slurps of hot coffee, and it goes on. You'll want to be successful, you'll want the spot upstairs, you'll want to work hard just to please the boss. Once you obtain these things what's next? You'll want a nice girl, you'll want a nice family, you'll want a house, and maybe a dog..and it goes on. Let the rat race begins as they call it.
And so it does...the rat race will cause you to be weary. You will experience a sense of hopelessness and emptiness. A once hungry appetite for spiritual things will no longer be present for you have quenched the Spirit's flame. There will be an everlasting longing for rest, but you will not experience that rest. As a result, you will sit down and one day realize what a wasted life...what a wasted life.
Carefully consider the simple truth at hand.
It's not about you..but Jesus.
There are souls at stake. There are billions of souls at stake and you want to settle? Don't be selfish. Life is tough when you don't have direction, but you do. You were bought and you are not of your own. You are given a one way compass to follow and its only pointing to Jesus. A gift you didn't deserve, but freely received. For you to keep that message from others when heaven and hell are at stake, you ought to really sit down and think how much you hate these people. Think about it. If you are truly bought, the expected response would be quite counter intuitive to human intellect. Sacrifice becomes joyful. The perception man has of you no longer has an effect. The things you have are rubbish. Identity is no longer affiliated to what you do for a living, but who you live for. To live is Christ and to die is gain. To share the message would only be a display of affection and love that is characteristic of one that has been moved by the power of the Gospel. Let that be your mantra. You have been bought, if indeed you are, you will persevere. Keep that in mind.
I leave you with this.
"God created us to live with a single passion: to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion." -John Piper.
Sincerely,
Mark Barlis
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