I have decided today to change the name of my blog to reflect more my personal testimony, one of my first blog articles was called the testimony of a defrosted Calvinist. I have always loved reading and the discovery of reformed theology made a deep impact upon me. Over time though my heart grew cold and I replaced God with Theology. Praise God though several events led to my defrosting. Reading Desiring God several years ago introduced me to a warm hearted Calvinism, (it is actually at the heart of Calvinism and you can find the same heart attitude in Calvin, Edwards, the Puritans and the moderate English Evangelical's of the C18th), a theology that delights in the transcendence of God in all His glory and seeks to live a life of service from the heart. Then a while later we were singing Matt Redman's 'I'm coming back to the heart of worship' at church and as we sang it I thought to myself, its good that Redman realised that worship music isn't the heart of worship but God. That night I realised that I had replaced God with Theology and so I prayed to give up the books and the studies because it's all about God. In the morning I was reading Acts chapter 18, the part where it talks about Apollos 'who was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public dispute, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.' I felt the LORD had given me back theology but now it was as it should be centred on Him. I want my life and my blog to reflect the theology of Jesus, that loves God and seeks to love and serve all people in the church and without. To reflect the freedom that Christ has bought for us at Calvary's cross. The re branding is inspired by a quote from John Flavel who said " never look for warm fire underneath cold ice."
Shalom
Stephen
4 comments:
This is a fantastic post Bruv. I was reading about 2am this morning thinking of changing worship for earlier tonight. I read about the Joy of knowing Jesus, not just the emotional joy we experience but Joy being a theological term meaning, the deepest satisfaction we have in our Lord. I thought this goes way past joy so I hope you contiue in the deepest satisfaction in our Lord Jesus
Love in christ
Andrea
God Bless
yep, good post Stephen. I can definitely relate to the idea of focusing more on theology and less on God at times... that balance is difficult to achieve alone, but thankfully we do have the Almighty God. :)
This is outstanding, my friend. That's something I try to be on the lookout for in my own life, i.e., letting my love of books and theology overtake my love of God. I always try to balance my intellectual reading with devotional reading. Great choice for a new name.
Hallelujah Bro'
Things have to be thoroughly defrosted before they are safe.
Les
Post a Comment