Rise up, O Men of God!

David Talcott has an excellent post entitled "Protestant Hymnody and Making Male Leaders" (dated March 12) found here. Read it! Meanwhile, I will post a great hymn.

Rise up, O Men of God!

Rise up, O men of God!
Have done with lesser things;
Give heart and soul and mind and strength
To servethe King of kings.

Rise up, O men of God!
His kingdom tarries long;
Bring in the day of brotherhood,
And end the night of wrong.

Rise up, O men of God!
The Church for you doth wait,
Her strength unequal to her task;
Rise up and make her great.

Lift high the cross of Christ;
Tread where his feet have trod;
As brothers of the Son of man
Rise up, O men of God!

-William H. Walter

Speaking of being hungry...

Perhaps it was the discussion on the Ockhamist's page here on herbal/organice vs. "real science" or the fact that I work in a health food store (and love it), or maybe it was my trip to King Buffet on Friday with Regina and Piko (yay KB!) that prompted me once again to think about food and eating. I think in our culture we think a lot about food- I know I do- and not just in the "food=survival" sense. We're an overweight nation and not just because of genetics. We're the culture of snack food, processed/packaged food, all-you-can-eat food and "biggie size my fries with that." How often, though, do we think about what we eat or how much in light of God's Word? After all, when Paul says, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God," (1 Corinthians 10:31) I think he really meant eat and drink as well as the other applications that we most often ascribe to the verse. I had considered for a brief time doing my senior thesis on a Biblical theology of eating. It's an interesting topic- perhaps for another time. So how do we eat or drink to the glory of God?

I am not prepared to answer that question but I think there must be a way. Consider for a moment the life of a dancer. At Christmas time, my little sister Rachel was describing how the dancers at Interlochen Arts Academy (where she attends for visual art) live out their lives. Basically, everything revolves around their ability to perform. So what they eat and how much they eat and how often they eat all revolves around dance and becoming a better dancer. This focus, even on the small everyday tasks, is something for which the Christian should also strive, to be able to do everything, even drink orange juice, to the glory of God. May God grant us the wisdom and grace for such a task.

The Pursuit of God

Being a religion major is great. In researching for my senior Religion thesis I get to read guys like Augustine, Edwards, Spurgeon, Lewis, Piper and others- and even get credit for it. Today, I was reading A.W. Tozer again and loving it. I read The Pursuit of God for the first time a couple of years ago when Matthew (my fiance!) gave it to me. Here are some excerpts from the opening chapter:

"The doctrine of justification by faith- a biblical truth, and a blessed relief from sterile legalism and unavailing self-effort- has in our time fallen into evil company and been interrupted by many in such a manner as actually to bar men from the knowledge of God. The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless. Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego. Christ may be 'received' without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. The man is 'saved,' but he is not hungry or thirsty after God. In fact, he is specifically taught to be satisfied and is encouraged to be content with little...Everything is made center upon our initial act of 'accepting' (a term, incidentally, which is not found in the Bible) and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls."

Although first published more than 50 years ago, this indictment perhaps rings more true today than ever. It was Augstine who wrote, "You have formed us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." There is a deep, passionate Christianity which many saints have experienced which I think many today are lacking, including myself. Deep love requires vulnerability and weakness and introspection. It also involves being emotional and passionate, which can be an evil to many in the Reformed circle. Are we too satisfied? Do we hunger after God?

"O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, 'Rise up, my love, my fair one and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. Amen." -A.W. Tozer

Amerika: Follow-up articles.

I just ran across some interesting articles in the back issues of Christian Counter Culture that tie into to my last post. I haven't gotten through them all, but take a look here.