Of Tyrants and Moral Busybodies

Wow, it is as if C.S. Lewis lived in the USA today.


“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
-C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock, p. 292.

Gripped by Grace,
Hal

The Holy God

"Some people talk as if meeting the gaze of absolute goodness would be fun. They need to think again.".
C.S. Lewis


Consider this passage of scripture to support Lewis's statement:
"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."Heb. 10:32

Think about it.

Gripped by Grace,
Hal

Man and Evil

In preparing for my Sunday morning message on "The Christians View of Man" I found the following quote form Albert Einstein, not a believer by the way.

"The world is too dangerous to live in-

not because of people who do evil,

but because of people who sit and let it happen."
Albert Einstein (1879-1984)

Very interesting statement. Most don't leave comments but what do you think? Is he correct?
I have found others by various authors I'll be sharing in the next few days. Not "cheery" thoughts but they do make you think.


Gripped by Grace,

Hal

Our Great God and King

from my reading...

" God's essential relationship to us is that of a great King who has delivered us from death and calls us to serve Him by obeying His written word."

John Frame
"The Doctrine of God" p.35

Know God, Know Yourself, Know the Difference

Often times we disagree with people whom we haven't read. Such is the case for many when it comes to John Calvin. But the following quote must be read and considered and I find nothing in it to challenge. He was big on sovereignty.

"Man is never sufficiently touched and affected

by the awareness of his lowly state

until he has compared himself with God's majesty."

-John Calvin

Gripped by Grace,

Hal

Quote for Today...

The following is a quote from "Running on Empty" by Fil Anderson pg. 194.

This is good.

"The joy that is to come for all of God's people is so indescribable that the only image that can approach describing it is the joy between a lover and his or her beloved. The consummation of our union with God will be like a wedding of which the most beautiful, extravagant, and joyful wedding on earth offers only a faint foreshadowing."


Gripped by Grace,
Hal

Independent From Sin, Dependent on Jesus (That's good!)

The greatest freedom of all -- Freedom in Christ.

Celebrate that everyday.

Galatians 5:13:
"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."

and 1 Peter 2:16:
"Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God."

and Revelation 5:8-10:
"And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals,for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."

Gripped by Grace,
Hal