William Knelsen As I wait in hope for the Lord.

The Importance of Humility

January 16, 2012

This past weekend was the Prairie Bible Institute Student Leader Retreat. The topic was servant leadership. This is somewhat of a cliché topic for a leadership retreat, but we should never let the overuse of the term “servanthood” diminish it’s importance.

At the final session we were invited to share something that God has laid on our hearts. I decided to share something that has been on my heart for a couple weeks now. I will also share it here, and I hope that it will provide encouragement and warning to others as much as it has for me.

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Nurture Your Soul

December 20, 2011

I decided to pick up William Law’s Serious Call to see if I could find a good quote to put the finishing touches on my last paper of the semester. I still haven’t found one I can use, but in my reading I was reminded of the following passage that has been an encouragement to me in the past. I hope it encourages you as it has for me.

Let your own soul be the object of your daily care and attendance… Nourish it with good works, give it peace in solitude, get it strength in prayer, make it wise with reading, enlighten it by meditation, make it tender with love, sweeten it with humility, humble it with penance, enliven it with psalms and hymns, and comfort it with frequent reflections upon future glory.

William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 2000), 29.

My Deepest Affections

December 19, 2011

In the last week I have had a deep longing to understand the word “affection,” particularly in the context of my relationship with Jesus Christ and other people. It started last weekend when I began to read Jonathan Edwards’ Religious Affections.

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Speak, O Lord

October 19, 2011

If you haven’t done devotions yet today, I encourage you to read and reflect on these words.

“Speak, O Lord” by Keith & Kristyn Getty

Speak, O Lord as we come to you
To receive the food of your Holy Word
Take your truth plant it deep in us
Shape and fashion us in your likeness

That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith

Speak, O Lord and fulfill in us
All your purposes for your glory

Teach us Lord full obedience
Holy reverence true humility
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of your purity

Cause our faith to rise, Cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority
Words of power that can never fail
Let the truth prevail over unbelief

Speak, O Lord and renew our minds
Help us grasp the heights of your plans for us
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity

And by grace we’ll stand on your promises
And by faith we’ll walk as you walk with us

Speak O Lord till your church is built
And your earth is filled with your glory

Psalm 25:4-5

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long. (ESV)

Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl: Hedonistic Nihilism

October 1, 2011

Hedonistic Nihilism as defined in Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl:

Hedonism – the belief that the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain is the only intrinsic good. A hedonist always tries to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
Nihilism – the belief that there is no objective, absolute basis for moral and religious princi- ples. Hedonistic Nihilism means “No God, No standards, do whatever you want, whenever you want.” It’s basically the philosophy of every celebrity that you know.

N.D. Wilson says this about hedonistic nihilism: “Don’t tell me to question authority and then get mad when I question your authority.”

Basically, hedonistic nihilism can’t exist because the moment you claim that it exists, you are doing the very thing hedonistic nihilism says you shouldn’t do: forming an absolute principle.

I’ll post more on Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl as I continue to watch the DVD.

Interested? Watch the DVD trailer below.

An Idea Film. A Bookumentary.

A cinematic treatment of a worldview. A poet live in concert. A motion picture sermon. VH1 Storytellers meets Planet Earth. 60 Minutes meets Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. In this unusual but fascinating film sequence, best-selling author N.D. Wilson gives an emotional and intellectual tour of life in this world and the final chapter that is death. Everything before and after and in between is a series of miracles–some of which are encouraging, others disturbing and uncomfortable.

Produced by Gorilla Poet Productions and Beloved Independent

Holidays

August 8, 2011

As you may (or may not) have noticed, I haven’t been writing any new posts lately. I’ve been enjoying some down time while visiting family and friends over the last week and a half. I will be returning to somewhat of a normal schedule later this month, at which time I’ll return to a normal blogging routine as well.

Enjoy what’s left of your summer!

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