Sav on Saturday

I read three great books this week. I'll try to not go on and on and on like I usually do! I make no promises, however. :)

“The Me I Want To Be” by John Ortberg:

Surrender is key to the life in Christ: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24). Likewise, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Ortberg uses the example of the Twelve Steps program for alcoholics to demonstrate surrender. No where in the program does it say, “Now, try really hard not to drink.” Instead, it encourages people to surrender their will: “When I surrender, I don't just let go of my will. I also give up the idea that I am in charge of outcomes.” Surrender is continual. There is never a moment when we have fully surrendered to God once and for all. “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.” A living sacrifice does not stay on the altar, it jumps off again and again but willingly returns. Instead of trying harder to obey God, try softer. Let go. Give your will to God and He will give you the will to obey. It's not easy, but is anything worthwhile easy or comfortable?

I have been trying to apply this idea to my own life when it comes to temptation. I can try really hard to not hurt myself or be stressed out, but I will fail every time. When I pray to God to take my will from me and to let this cup pass, but “not my will but yours be done,” something happens. My struggle does not disappear, but I have a new strength to overcome.

Do you ever feel guilty for not praying enough or for not praying for the “right” things? Remember that Scripture says, “God's Spirit is right alongside us helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves...and keeps us present before God” (Romans 8:26-27).

“The Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

“Only those who believe obey” and “Only those who obey believe.” Isn't this another way of saying that faith without works is dead? Good works are a sign, a fruit, of a spirit that has complete faith in God. If one has no fruit, no good works, no obedience to God's words, then what sort of faith is that? Faith alone saves, by God's grace, but dead faith saves no one. If you believe in God and that His word is true, you will obey. If you obey, you truly believe. I used to puzzle over that when I was younger, but it makes sense now to me. Faith alone saves, but when I have true faith, I am ready and willing to take up my cross and follow Jesus. Faith is not cheap, it is costly. It demands everything and yet requires nothing.

Bonhoeffer mentions two sins when it comes to God's law. The first is putting the law in God's place, which is what the Jews did. They made the law their God. The second error is what Christians are in danger of committing: denying the law its divinity and separating it from God. Jesus came to free us from the law, which I talked about before. But freedom from the law means the law is fulfilled, it no longer binds us as our god. God is God and the law is God's inspired way of life for us. Keep both in their place, but know that Jesus gave us a way to fulfill the law perfectly. “There is no fulfillment of the law apart from communion with God, and no communion with God apart from fulfillment of the law.”

Remember to love your enemies, those who harbor enmity towards you. We ourselves were once the enemies of God, and only by God's grace are we called children. Thus we should have grace and mercy towards our enemies, for we understand that none of us deserves any love.

“Why Pro-Life?” by Randy Alcorn:

I confess that I have always been pro-choice. I have quite the feminist streak in me, and I always equated women's rights with reproductive rights. However, my opinions are changing as I read the Bible and read more about this abortion issue. If you are unsure of where you stand or believe it is an individual choice, I encourage you to read this tiny book. Some arguments are flawed, but many make sense and have validity. I'm not going to go into detail about the book's arguments here because I have already gone on long enough, but I just wanted to confess my change of heart!

Here's one argument:
Size: does how big you are determine how human you are?
Level of development: are twenty-year olds more human than ten-year olds since they are smarter and stronger?
Environment: does being inside another's body make you less human?
Degree of dependency: does dependence on another determine who you are?

Update time! I finished my first week of working as a market researcher. It is much, much more stressful than I imagined. I have come to despise quotas. I have come to learn that having compassion on those who figuratively spit on you is hard. I have come to discover that I prefer routine to a fast-paced, ever-changing environment. I had some good days and definitely had some rough days that threw me back in a depressive state. But most importantly, I survived! Am I dreading next week? Yes. Am I learning to depend on God completely because I am weak? Yes. Do I miss my family and friends? Definitely! I hope all ya'll are doing well and enjoying life!