Self-Forgetfulness, Self-Sacrifice, and the Self

GCD Weekly Newsletter - 11/28/2022

On every third Sunday I serve in our children’s programme, helping to pass on the truth of the Gospel to the youngest people group in our Church. During the course of any given morning, I ask the kids to volunteer to fetch books or snacks, tidy up a portion of the room, or to read a memory verse aloud. Part of the reason we do this is to show that we need help too—to model humility—but it’s also to give the kids an opportunity to be self-sacrificial. With that said, more often than not, we’ll get volunteers raising their hands almost shouting out, “me, me, ME!!” Sometimes this is out of a genuine desire to serve, but usually it’s not out of self-forgetfulness or self- sacrifice, but instead our of a desire to seen, recognised, and applauded. In these cases we need to be careful to discern the right mentality and honour that with responsibility. The same is true of ourselves, often we’re stuck in a situation where an opportunity arises which offers us vice and virtue at the same time. I was upstairs in a bookstore a few weeks ago when an older lady asked whether I could help her down the stairs. In hindsight I was a poor assistant to choose given my own health issues, but I took her arm nonetheless and we both hobbled down the staircase. Though when we had begun the journey we had been alone, by the end there was a queue both behind us and in front of us waiting for us to finish. As I rounded the final turn in the flight of stairs, I noticed some of the faces looking at us—looking at me!—in admiration. “I am such a good person!” I was tempted to think…and then gave in to that temptation.
I felt amazing.
Until the sharp pain in my spine reminded me that I was, indeed, human, and that just as she had leaned on my meagre strength to help her, I needed to remember to lean on God’s strength, which unlike mine, does not fail.

This does not mean that we do not do good things for others, or that we can never be seen to be doing anything good, because that would be both impossible and unbiblical. Rather, let us remember these words from Proverbs 3:

“My son, do not lose sight of these—keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.

Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, Proverbs 3:21–27.

This week’s articles speak to a range of members within the body of Christ, from those struggling the most, to a servant Queen who sat upon one of the world’s most precious thrones. Wherever you are, whatever you are struggling with, whether you’re stuck in self-doubt, self-degradation, or selfishness, or whether God is working within you to build up self-discipline, self-control, and self-forgetfulness, my prayer this week, both for yourself and for myself, is that we would all find ourselves caught up in the might, power, and majesty of our God, who is able to both save and sanctify.

Grace and Peace,

Adsum Try Ravenhill is married to Anna and together they are passionate about seeing young men and women discipled within the context of the local church. You can find Adsum through his writing at The Raven’s Writing Desk and alongside Anna as the co-host of the Consider the Ravens Podcast, you can also find Adsum’s articles for GCD here.

Articles of the Week

The Spiritual Discipline of Thanksgiving
David McLemore

“Every promise in the Bible that God made, every hope in the Bible that God gave, and every joy in the Bible that God promised find their Yes in Jesus. Yes, life is still hard and still hurts, but in Christ, even death is now a portal into a better world with him. “And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28a). We have victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:57). We’ve been rescued! Jesus is the reason for our greatest thanks.”

Queen Elizabeth and the Memory Trace in All of Us
Ryan Kucera

“U.S. citizens don’t get the opportunity to cheer for kings and queens in Westminster Abby with full-on national joy, but as Christians, one day we will all gather at the throne of all thrones. We will witness the coronation of all coronations. We will shout together in the city of our great God: “All hail, King Jesus!””

How The Gospel Enables and Empowers Sexual Purity
John Fonville

“[…T]he law can do no more in sanctification than it could in justification. We cannot find strength in the law to finish our journey any more than we could find strength in the law to begin our journey”

If you missed our announcement last week, our latest book was released this month, and is all about the subject of heaven. Among most Christian circles heaven is not often a topic of much discussion, and in both the church and in culture at large there are many misconceptions about what heaven is, why we believe in it, or who will end up there.

Stephen Moreland says in his book:

“We, like all of God’s people in history, were made to set our eyes upon this “better country,” this “heavenly one,” this “city,” this “homeland.”…This is the place we were made for. We long to find our roots. And of course, there’s something inescapably physical about this place. Scripture is clear that Heaven is going to be a physical place, wholly redeemed, perfected, and submitted to the rule and love of God. Should we be embarrassed or apologetic about any of this? No! The author of Hebrews says, “God [himself] is not ashamed to be called [the] God” of those who seek this place. It’s not simply permissible to long for this place—we’re actually commanded too long for it.”

Excerpt From Always Longing Stephen R. Morefield

To find out why this this is the case, why many don’t long for heaven, and why you should, search for Always Longing by Stephen R Morefield wherever books are sold, or follow this link to pick up the eBook from our website:

Grace and Peace,

Adsum Try Ravenhill