Are you readying yourself for the turn?

In his book Money, Possessions and Eternity, Randy Alcorn writes:

"Someday this upside down world will be turned right side up, and nothing in all eternity will turn it back again. If we are wise, we will spend our brief lives on earth positioning ourselves for the turn."

This deserves some attentive thought and application. If this is true, and the world will soon be turning upside down, we should be "standing on our heads" so as to be ready for the flip. Could we "stand on our heads" by following Jesus' commands? Absolutely. Can we forsake the world, spread the Gospel, and love our neighbors for this reason? Of course. And not only can we apply God's Word so as to be storing up reward in heaven; we should be.

Do we really need that?

Lately, while preparing for my LIT talk tomorrow, I've been doing a lot of hard thinking on an even harder topic: Money and Possessions. I've been reading 1 Timothy, and it has one of the most convicting passages in the Bible:

6 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.

If you have food and clothing, you should be content. How radical is that? Boom. It blows everything you've thought (and bought) to pieces. Even if you're homeless, if you can survive, you should be content. Why? For one, every day thousands of people die of starvation or exposure. If you have a roof over your head, you should be even more thankful to God.

What does this practically mean for us? I believe that we have to completely forsake everything the world teaches us if we want to really follow God's command here. If you're reading this, you obviously have a computer. Do you really need a better computer? Do you have a TV? Do you really need a bigger, better model? And so on and so forth. When it comes down to it, we don't really need anything but what God talks about in 1 Timothy: food and clothing.

Worship: What is it?

This is gonna be more of a discussion-type post. I'm intrigued by various Christian's views on worship, and I'd love to get your input. I myself think worship is a great way to glorify God. I've noticed, though, that some people, especially young people my age and younger, are unimpressed by the importance of worship. The best short treatise on worship, in my opinion, is the Westminster's Catechism's question: What is our purpose? The answer is: To glorify God and enjoy him forever. (Note: I may have not exactly quoted that correctly, it's been awhile since I've read it) "To glorify God and enjoy him forever." What better way of doing that can there be than worship?

I'd appreciate all comments on this post. I think it's a great topic.
ttyl

The Perfect Gospel

Here's my way of summing up the gospel: "A perfect God gives his perfect Son's life for perfectly evil creations to give them perfect righteousness.

In light of the amount of superlatives in that sentence, is there anything we should withold from God? He has given us the perfect gift--all of our life should be spent trying to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. Paul says: "be imitators of God," and "walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called." As I read the Bible, I can't help but realize my failings as a Christian, in that I do not imitate God or walk in a manner worthy of my calling. What I've realized is that to imitate God, one must live perfectly. Not perfectly like you will never sin--you will. But striving with all your heart, mind, and strength to walk in a manner worthy of the perfect gospel.