tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4071272881938627405.post8866292427733331795..comments2023-07-14T05:03:05.871-07:00Comments on The Bumbling Genius: Jumping Out Of A Perfectly Good Airplane?Danny Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15006024707303951009noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4071272881938627405.post-13063498716251952262012-02-20T22:12:04.186-08:002012-02-20T22:12:04.186-08:00Thank you so much Jeremy. I can't tell you ho...Thank you so much Jeremy. I can't tell you how much your affirming words mean to me.Danny Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15006024707303951009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4071272881938627405.post-4768146561653348852012-02-20T10:23:39.683-08:002012-02-20T10:23:39.683-08:00Dan,
I am reminded once again why I love so much ...Dan,<br /><br />I am reminded once again why I love so much reading what you write. The passion for the Lord, for knowing Him more deeply, for loving Him through obedience and faithfulness and being an example of what it really means to meditate of the Word. There is no question about your time spent thinking this through and the passion with which you write these words.<br /><br />My comments were much akin to Stan's and since he is much more clear in his articulation than I, I will let it stand and simply second by affirmation and agreement.<br /><br />I would say that in my personal walk I have been impressed by the phrase "compelled by love, not driven by duty" for some time now (the wording didn't come together so succinctly until just recently). As God transforms us into the image and likeness of Christ our love for Him grows deeper, which compels us to read and study and meditate on His Word, which shows us areas in our lives we need to change, which compels us to make changes, which shows us all over again how much God loves us and is gracious and merciful towards us, which compels us to desire to love Him more and grow deeper in our faith, and on and on. The spiral is such an apt descriptor because there is progress toward the goal in godliness. I picture a quite narrow spiral, the climb difficult and tiring, the places and opportunities to slip frequent, but the view of what lies ahead so sublime that turning back or even stopping is not an option. Thank you brother for sharing your heart, and for being an encouragement to press on.<br /><br />Please keep posting, and be encouraged through one fellow believers testimony how your writing builds him up in his faith and helps to make his joy complete. May God bless you as you are compelled by love to know Him more.Jeremy D. Troxlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13795574301560174212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4071272881938627405.post-33358141844682875562012-02-14T08:18:08.147-08:002012-02-14T08:18:08.147-08:00"It is a life lived rather than a one-time de..."<i>It is a life lived rather than a one-time decision to have faith.</i>"<br /><br />Peter wrote, "Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:5-8). I notice first the phrase "supplement your faith" because faith is a starting point, not an end point. Most interesting to me, though, is the later phrase "if these qualities are yours <i>and are increasing</i>". The image he paints is one of a circle or, rather, a spiral. Starting with faith, add in virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness brotherly affection, and love. Having gotten to love, now increase your faith, then add more virtue ... and so on. A practice rather than an event.<br /><br />"<i>I am afraid we live in a time in which many people preachers and theologians believe that we are saved by the one-time act of faith exercised when we “accept” Jesus. I am of the belief that this is a deception ...</i>"<br /><br />As you pointed out, James classifies faith in two categories. There is "living" (or "saving") faith and there is "dead" faith. The difference between the two is that one produces results and the other does not. At the end of the passage I quoted above, Peter writes of that ever-increasing spiral of increasing faith on through love, "Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall" (2 Peter 2:10). We don't know we're saved by "accepting" Jesus. We know we're saved by the product of faith.<br /><br />Good post.Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04523232247971115247noreply@blogger.com