Sunday, August 31, 2008

Don't Waste Your Life


I started reading Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper a while back. I blogged some about it. Well, I picked it up again last night. It amazed me lately how God puts exactly the right material in my hand at exactly the right time! Here are some things that spoke to me....hope they encourage you!

"...the life of a Christian includes many deaths...(1 Cor 15:31, Luke 9:23)...Daily Christian living is daily Christian dying. The dying I have in mind is the dying of comfort and security and reputation and health and family and friends and wealth and home land. These may be taken from us at any time in the path of Christ-exalting obedience....In other words, the way we honor Christ in death is to treasure Jesus above the gift of life, and the way we honor Christ in life is to treasure Jesus above life's gifts."

"Untold number of professing Christians waste their lives trying to escape the cost of love. They do not see that it is always worth it. There is more of God's glory to be seen and savored through suffering than through self-serving escape."

"All who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted" (2 Tim 3:12) [emphasis mine]

"What a tragic waste when people turn away from the Calvary road of love and suffering. All the riches of the glory of God in Christ are on that road. All the sweetest fellowship of Jesus is there. All the treasures of assurance. All the ecstasies of joy. All the clearest sightings of eternity. All the noblest camaraderie. All the the humblest affections. All the most tender acts of forgiving kindness. All the deepest discoveries of God's Word. All the most earnest prayers. They are all on the Calvary road where Jesus walks with his people. Take up your cross and follow Jesus. On this road and this road alone, life is Christ and death is gain. Life on every other road is wasted."

Powerful words!

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