16 Jul In Modules/Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8, you are required to reply
In Modules/Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8, you are required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be at least 200 words. Turabian Cite and Provide ReferencesReply to Teri Shaw and Strobel have argued that our highest response to God is delight. I agree that this is true. We read in 2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” What better response to God is there than “YES.” The reading assignments support this statement as well. Shaw writes: “Christian hedonism seeks not to make a god out of pleasure but to make God our highest pleasure and treasure,.”[1] While Strobel tells us that “God’s own life of love and delight is the fountain of beauty and all other instances of beauty are witnesses to that reality.”[2]To cultivate this in my own life and to those I lead and serve as a hospital chaplain, I seek to relate to all I meet with a sense of openness and presence with them where they are. If I love the Lord (my) God with all (my) heart, with all (my) soul, and with all (my) strength,” (Deuteronomy 6:5) I will be able to share this with others. I will be able to “to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all (my) heart and with all (my) soul.” (Deuteronomy 10:12) If I remember to do this at all times, I know that the Spirit will guide all my thoughts and all my actions. When I am open to this guidance, I will see that God only works for the good of me and I, in turn, will work for the good of others. I will “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”(Psalm 37:4)When I think about my life an cultivating a delight in the Lord, I think of the song by Richard Small wood who sings :“Jesus, You are the center of my joy….. all that’s good and perfect comes from You …..In sadness, you are laughter …. You are my hope for tomorrow ….. when I’m lonely, You lift me …Jesus, You are the center of my joy”[3]I make it an effort to share this attitude with everyone I meet.[1] Shaw, Mark. (1997) 10 Great Ideas from Church History. Downer Groves: InterVarsity Press, 96.[2] Strobel, Kyle. (2013) Formed for the Glory of God: Learning from the Spiritual Practices of Jonathan Edwards. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 52.[3] Gaither, Gloria and Richard Smallwood. 1993, Center of My Joy, Capitol Christian Music Group.Reply to Laurie Our highest response to God is a delight, and I believe the required readings show us the doctrine of salvation pretty clearly. Strobel writes, “we have to have deep insight and be relational with God because the Christian life is relational.”[1] To understand the beauty of God we need to adjust our eyes and live a life that consists of love and delight. Shaw writes, “Delight in God is not fantasizing about God or having private visions, ecstasy or excitement, it is not religious shiver that goes up and down the spin or the absence of sorrow or fear, for delight can take place in the midst of sorrow and fear.” [2] Although, we may see beauty in our partners and have the love for them we should see a much greater source as Beautiful one who gives our heart peace and fulfillment in knowing Christ. Strobel writes, “God’s own life of love and delight is the fountain of beauty and all other instances of beauty are witnesses to that reality.”[3] Psalm 37:1-6 (NIV) is essentially telling Christians that to find delight in the Lord is a duty but also we must not forget that we have been bestowed a great privilege. We first have to have knowledge of God personally because He has both understanding and will and with knowledge, we will be able to grow in our spiritual formation but more importantly, we are to serve God. [4] To know God gloriously one must know and love God personally. Strobel states, our hearts have to be inclined to God as beautiful, religious affection is the human counterpart to God’s life of love and delight. [5] Without having any of these attributes we will never understand the true meaning of salvation because salvation is a gift from God. For Christians, the knowledge this message has remains significant because God has his hand out for us to partake in all of His glory and beauty. There is a clear doctrine of God to a doctrine of salvation. “How good is God,” wrote Jonathan Edwards, “that he has created man for this very end, to make him happy in the enjoyment of himself, the Almighty, who was happy from the days of eternity in himself … that he might make them blessed in the beholding of his Excellency, and might this way glorify himself.”[6] Shaw states that “Delight in God is the health of your souls.” [7] This I believe says it all, as Jonathan Edwards seems to outline his doctrine by personal beauty, and delight we can see Edwards theology take shape as he outlines the Trinity. The real genuine beauty of God consists in the life of love and delight he knows as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Without recognizing this beauty, we will not experience the life of love and delight. Although, I agree we have to recognize that God is not to be used to receive our own special desires because our focus should ultimately to be in His presence. Edwards’s views on God’s beauty is very effective in showing us all that we are to take our spiritual life seriously. As a leader, we want to grow and delight in the Lord so we can preach His words effectively and gain more Disciples of Christ. Salvation is the beginning, and then walking with beauty and glory leads us to a relational life and becoming a united partner with Christ. As a spiritual leader, we must never neglect prayer and lead others to learn how to pray. God will delight in our desire to please Him as we show others how we abide in Christ. Although we recognize that Edward’s writings are for Church renewal we must recognize that his teachings are profitable, for we are reminded how to have a spiritually enlightened heart. As we read about dullness it is likened to taking care of our physical health, and there is always some remedies we can do to make ourselves healthier. As Shaw writes, “Because God seeks to glorify his triune family; he sends revival to produce a spirit of holy delight in the hearts of secularized sinners and sluggish saints so that they might praise the divine beauty that they formerly despised.”[7] In the end, we must recognize that we are God’s creation and we are not in this earthly world for very long, but with Christ, we have eternity to look forward to._______________________________1. Strobel, Kyle. Formed for the Glory of God: Learning from the Spiritual Practices of Jonathan Edwards. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2013. Pg. 482. I.bid., pg. 523. I.bid., pg. 524. I.bid., pg. 545. I.bid., pg. 1016. I.bid., pg. 1027. Nichols, Stephen J. Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions: and Advice to Young Converts. Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2001 pg. 119
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