Beholding and Becoming

GOOD BYE TO B&B

2009-09-22T09:06:00.002-04:00

Well this is my last post on Beholding and Becoming. Time has become an issue and I feel that things have simply run their course. Another reason is that I have decided to begin a new blog that for me will be less time intensive and will match an ongoing passion of mine (unlike the writing here that has alternated between spurts and dry spells).

You can find it at http://www.redeemedbookworm.blogspot.com/

I want to say thanks to all three of my readers, its been a lot of fun and I hope you'll come with me to Redeemed Bookworm.

Quotes for the Week

2009-09-16T00:00:00.001-04:00

"Satan shall not need to tempt him much who has already tempted himself. He who will work sin in his heart, a weak occasion will draw it out into his life."
- Obadiah Sedgwick, The Anatomy of Secret Sins.

"If we really believed that porn and gosspip were based on lies that don't satisfy, we wouldn't participate in them. Sin lies to us. We need to get in the habit of talking back with the truth."
- Jonathan Dodson, Fight Clubs, 16.

"I have a peaceful study, as a refuge from the hurries and noise of the world around me; the venerable dead are waiting in my library to entertain me, and relieve me from the nonsense of surviving mortals."
- Samuel Davies

A FIGHT CLUB I WANT TO JOIN

2009-09-14T11:53:00.004-04:00

A review of Fight Clubs by Jonathan Dodson

This is the biggest little book I've ever read. I wish every author could cram this much pure awesomeness into so few pages. So much richness and power in fifty pages is rare.

The core of this book is a call to live the Gospel. Far too often discipleship focuses on the wrong thing. And Dodson points out how often accountability groups break down into coddling or legalism. I don't think its just accountability groups by the way, I think these tendencies exist in all forms of discipleship.

But Dodson calls us away from legalism and coddling to what he calls Gospel-centered Discipleship. The answer to the dangers of coddling and legalism is to recover Gospel motivations in our discipleship. Think of obedience based on delight in Jesus compared to legalism which looks at Jesus from afar only to discover examples of moral behavior, not to rejoice and delight in Him. Next we believe in both the promises and warnings of scripture. Drawn on ahead by the mind-blowing promises of God and prodded from behind by the warnings of a Holy God. Then there is the Gospel itself, which is both message (the report of the Good News which saves) and medium (the Person Jesus who purchased our salvation). Jesus has promised us that He will bring us to the end of our fight. There is also the call to begin and live the Christian life in repentance and faith. All of life is turning from sin and exercising faith in Jesus. faith that He will forgive and strengthen. Last in the motivation department Dodson points us to our need to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit and to depend on the strength that the indwelling Spirit provides. He makes the compelling point that even Jesus obeyed int he power of the Holy Spirit.

Dodson closes with a stirring call to fight our sin in what he calls Fight Clubs. These are groups of two or three people (of the same gender) who meet to help each other fight their sin. These Fight Clubs have three rules. 1] Know your sin, 2] Fight your sin, 3] Trust your savior. I personally felt challenged to recommit myself to mt accountability partners.

All in all a great little book. *****

PS - you can buy it or download it for free at http://www.theresurgence.com/

PPS - there are some great Fight Club questions in an appendix that address the motivations of the heart instead of external behavior only - very helpful.

How Great Thou Art - Stuart K. Hine

2009-09-14T10:01:00.004-04:00

O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim: my God, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

IS THE GOSPEL MORE THAN A TICKET TO HEAVEN

2009-09-10T10:03:00.003-04:00

Jerry Bridges starts his book the Gospel for Real Life by making two points. The Gospel is for believers not just unbelievers. And that believers must preach the Gospel to themselves everyday. So in terms of his first goal of convincing us that we as believers need the Gospel - he does this admirably and movingly. As for the second goal of teaching us how to preach the Gospel to ourselves, well I think the verdict is mixed. I think that I now better understand how the Gospel applies to my day to day life, but I’m not sure that I better understand how to preach the Gospel to myself. There was no point where he stopped and said, ok we’ve talked about propitiation here’s how you would preach that to yourself in this particular situation. It just wasn’t there. But I feel challenged to live the Gospel, to live in light of the Gospel, and I feel inspired to preach the Gospel to myself.

But his central argument is absolutely correct. That too many Christians feel that the Gospel is how we get saved and is the message that we share with others so they can be saved, but it is has no lasting impact on how we live. This view certainly has some truth in it, the Good News that Jesus has died to atone for sins and that we can benefit savingly through repentance and faith, certainly this is the message that we need to saved and that others need to hear so that they can be saved. But Bridges is right to tell us there is more to the Gospel than a simple ticket to heaven. The Gospel shapes how we live and is our motivation for Christian living.

But I want to highlight two chapters that highlighted for me the importance and impact of the Gospel. First is The Empty Cup which was an explanation of the Bible’s teaching on how Jesus absorbed wrath of God for us. This truth that God has no wrath left for us should change how we live. We need not walk around obsessed with whether God is mad at us for our sins, instead we should embrace this truth, confess our sins, and get back to serving our Lord. Because if we live defeated lives consumed with this kind of fear, we will not be faithful to our God. Embrace this truth, God has no wrath left for His children, Jesus took it all.

The second chapter I want to highlight is The Scapegoat. This chapter hearkens back to Leviticus 16. Where the sin offering is made on the day of atonement with two goats. One goat is slaughtered to atone for sins pointing to Jesus atoning work on the cross. The second goat was sent away to a remote place, this pictured a work of Jesus that is too often forgotten, Jesus bore our sins away. We have no more sin to feel guilty about. Remember the promise in Psalm 103:12 - as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. They are removed from us. Once we have come to Jesus we have no more sin to make us feel defeated and guilty. It has been punished and carried away.

So now we are free to make these objective truths subjectively real. We must remember we do not fight the fight of holiness to be saved or to earn God’s favor or to make Him love us. We fight this fight for His glory, for our joy, and for the good of the Kingdom. So lets take the Gospel truths and remind our weak hearts each day what our might King Jesus has done for us.

Thank you Jerry Bridges for another awesome book, you are a Pastor to many of us.

Quotes for the Week

2009-09-09T10:29:00.000-04:00

“The outcome of the great war is not in question. It is certain. Christ will reign victoriously forever. The only question we must answer is this: Will we fight on His side or against Him? We must answer this question not just once, with our words, but daily, with our choices.”
- Randy Alcorn, Heaven, 103.

“Nothing can be more evident than the fact that in the sight of God our sins are incomparably more numerous, aggravated, and criminal than they appear to us. He regards us as deserving of an endless punishment, while we scarcely perceive that we deserve any punishment at all.”
- Edward Payson, Sins Evaluated by the Light of Heaven.

“Oh, What dreadful atheism is bound up in that man’s heart, who is more afraid of the eye of his father, his pastor, his child, his servant than he is of the eye, the presence of the Lord.”
- Thomas Brooks, The Privy Key of Heaven.

“Clearly, millions of our neighbors believe that moralism is our message. Nothing less than the boldest preaching of the Gospel will suffice to correct this impression and to lead sinners to salvation in Christ.”
- Albert Mohler, Why Moralism Is Not the Gospel - - And Why So Many Christians Think It Is (from a blog post)

“Our original sinfulness and natural inclination to evil are seldom sufficiently considered. The wickedness of men is often attributed to bad examples, bad company, peculiar temptations, or the snares of the devil. It seems forgotten that every man carries within him a fountain of wickedness. We need no bad company to teach us, and no devil to tempt us, in order to run into sin. We have within us the beginning of every sin under Heaven.”
- J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Mark, 142.

REVIEW - MAX LUCADO’S FEARLESS

2009-09-08T13:00:00.000-04:00

Fear is an enemy to be conquered. This is a central thrust of this book. Fear is something that a Christian doesn’t have to live with and shouldn’t live with. Lucado spends 14 chapters addressing specific areas of fear that the Bible directly addresses. He does this in each chapter by taking specific commands from Jesus to be not afraid or fear not and applying them to our lives.

Lucado has a reputation of being a writer of fluff. I was told as a young Christian that his books would be a big help as a young Christian but I would need to move on to meatier books as I grew. Now there is an element of truth in this, but its not because of Lucado being a fluff artist. Rather it is because his audience is not bible scholars, it is the everyday Christian who is needs a word from the Lord that can be easily digested and applied to their lives. If you come looking for deep intricate theology you won’t find it, he doesn’t mean for us to find it.

But this is also his strength, because in this book he very clearly and accurately diagnoses many areas where Christians struggle with fear. So if fear is a struggle for you, you will find some help here. He addresses fear accurately and memorably. However, I do have a few quibbles.

There should have been more Gospel focus. The Gospel was presented in this book, however it was not consistently shown as the greatest reason to be courageous and have no fear. All the direction given was true and helpful, but it is the Gospel that most banishes fear from our lives. Also there could have been cohesion in the chapters - other than the topic of fear I found no connectivity from one chapter to the next. I guess if you like to bounce around in a book that would be a plus. My last complaint is a minor personal annoyance - why did he have to use a different translation for every Bible quotation. Now he wasn’t at Rick Warren levels, but it did get a little annoying.

Overall, good book, worth reading for new believers, and yes for all of us who struggle with fear.

A Mighty Fortress - Martin Luther

2009-09-06T07:53:00.002-04:00

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

Quotes for the Week

2009-09-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

"Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possible can."
- Jonathan Edwards, Resolutions.

"Anyone who has been in foreign lands longs to return to his own native land . . . We regard paradise as our native land." - Cyprian

Sunday's Hymn

2009-08-30T16:58:00.000-04:00

God moves in a mysterious way - William Cowper

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

Quotes for the Week

2009-08-26T08:00:00.008-04:00

"Have you never thus led others into sin? Perhaps some, who are now lost forever, may be lamenting in outer darkness and despair the fatal hour when they became acquainted with you."
- J. G. Pike, Persuasives to Early Piety.

“All your life an unattainable ecstasy has hovered just beyond the grasp of your consciousness. The day is coming when you will wake to find, beyond all hope, that you have attained it, or else, that it was written your reach and you have lost it forever.”
- C. S. Lewis, Problem of Pain, 147.

"There seems to be a kind of conspiracy, to forget, or to conceal, where the doctrine of Hell comes from. The doctrine of Hell is not 'mediaeval priestcraft' for frightening people into giving money to the church: it is Christ's deliberate judgment on sin . . . We cannot repudiate Hell without altogether repudiating Christ."
- Dorothy Sayers, A Matter of Eternity, 86.

"A Christ-centered church is not a showcase for saints but a hospital for sinners."
- Randy Alcorn, Heaven, 35.

SEDUCTION OF THE INNER CIRCLE

2009-08-24T11:07:00.003-04:00

After the greatness that is Perelandra, That Hideous Strength feels like a knuckle-curve thrown from left-field. I mean the Space Trilogy’s concluding volume is set on earth and Merlin is one of its heroes. It was a good book, just a little unexpected; I’m told its due to the increasing influence of Charles Williams on Lewis.

But the most intriguing aspect of the story (to me) was the character Mark Studdock. He is a professor at the fictional college in the story and he has just become a member of the inner circle of faculty who really run the college. The odd thing is that he doesn’t actually seem to like the members of the Inner Circle, but he craves being accepted by them. It comes out in the book that he has abandoned one set of people after another, always trying to climb into higher and higher "inner circles." This is how he gets sucked into N.I.C.E., who are the real villains of the piece. Only after he has lost everything does he come to his senses and get his priorities straight. To his credit (what little he can be given) he is offered a chance to get back in and although tempted he refuses.

I think this temptation to want to be in the Inner Circle is universal, though maybe not as pronounced as in the case of Mark Studdock. If you’ve ever felt the thrill of a shared secret, passion, or hobby then you know what I’m talking about. Think of the camaraderie that comes immediately; think of the new dynamic that is created. I remember in high school there was a guy that I didn’t have much use for and he felt the same way. Then one day we discovered that we were both addicted to boxing and suddenly we were talking like old friends or a couple of chicks gushing about shopping (sorry about the stereotype). Something new had been created. Suddenly there was an "us" and a "them." Those who knew the thrill of a right-hook landing flush and those who didn’t (or couldn’t – the Inner Circle creates arrogance as well). He and I, and those who were missing out.

There is a danger of this happening to our Christian faith. With our churches, the danger is that "us and them" dynamic. With small churches, that danger is compounded by the consolidation of power in Inner Circles and the ability to know everyone well. But there is a danger for individuals as well. It can come by way of a fascination with a doctrine that has captivated us and then discovering a kindred spirit who shares this love. Instead of a doctrine, it could also be an author or particular book. But suddenly there is an "us" who loves so and so and "all those other putzes" who really should acknowledge the greatness of our doctrine/hero/view.

Why is this so bad for a Christian? The "us" and "them" circles inside the church hinder the Christian fellowship that is supposed to transcend all barriers. And circles that become Inner Circles undermine the Gospel itself. Inner Circles are exclusive by definition, but the Gospel demands that church be wide-open to receive all who repent and believe in Jesus. The Inner Circle is dangerous and seductive and must be fought.

Sunday's Hymn (kind of a hymn)

2009-08-23T08:00:00.002-04:00

All My Tears

When I go don't cry for me,
In my Father's arms I'll be
The wounds this world left on my soul
Will all be healed and I'll be whole.
Sun and moon will be replaced
With the light of Jesus' face
And I will not be ashamed,
For my Savior knows my name

It don't matter where you bury me,
I'll be home and I'll be free
It don't matter where I lay,
All my tears be washed away.

Gold and silver blind the eye,
Temporary riches lie
Come and eat from heaven's store,
Come and drink and thirst no more

It don't matter where you bury me,
I'l be home and I'll be free
It don't matter where I lay,
All my tears be washed away

So weep not for me my friends,
When my time below does end
For my life belongs to Him,
Who will raise the dead again.

It don't matter where you bury me,
'Cause I'll be home and I'll be free.
It don't matter where I lay,
All my tears be washed away

Oooh, it don't matter.....
Ooooh, it don't matter

(From Jars of Clay's Good Monsters album)

FACE TO FACE WITH EVIL

2009-08-21T11:43:00.007-04:00

Perelandra is my favorite C. S. Lewis book. In my less than humble opinion it is also his best. It covers some of the same ground that he covers in his non-fiction, but in the hands of a truly great writer story makes truth shine in neon unforgettable lights. And this is what Lewis does in Perelandra. And the scene where Ransom realizes that his antagonist Weston has become more and less than a man is particularly momentous.

This is the second book of the Space Trilogy preceded by Out of the Silent Planet and followed by That Hideous Strength. In the first book Ransom travels to Mars (Malacandra) and finds intelligent life there. Now he has been sent on a mission by the Eldila (angels, kind of) to do something on the planet Venus (Perelandra). There he meets the Queen who is living in perfect ignorance of evil, she relates naturally with Maleldil (Jesus). Then shortly a spaceship lands bearing Weston, Ransom’s antagonist from the first book. Quickly it becomes clear that he and Weston will do combat for the Lady’s future and for the future of all her children (she and the King have no children yet). She has been forbidden the fixed land but given freedom to live on the floating islands. Weston spends the book seeking to convince her to sleep on the fixed land against the command of Maleldil whereas Ransom urges her to obey the command. During the course of this long argument Ransom becomes aware that Weston is not quite Weston. There is one moment in particular when all clears up.

This is the moment when Ransom comes face to face with pure unadulterated evil. A thing which he describes in such a way that it sent chills down my spine and a bit of unease with the world that I live in. Ransom had come upon Weston using a long wickedly sharp fingernail to disembowel a frog-like creature. And this is the moment when he realizes that Weston is no longer Weston, that this thing only resembles a man, that Weston is no longer in that body, that it is being preserved undecaying but without true life in it. Then when it realized that Ransom had caught it in its evil . . .

“It looked at Ransom in silence and at last began to smile. We have all often spoke – Ransom himself had often spoken – of a devilish smile. Now he realized that he had never taken the words seriously. The smile was not bitter, nor raging, nor, in an ordinary sense sinister; it was not even mocking. It seemed to summon Ransom, with horrible naiveté of welcome, into the world of its own pleasures, as if all men were at one in those pleasures, as if they were the most natural thing in the world and no dispute could ever have occurred about them. It was not furtive, nor ashamed, it had nothing of the conspirator in it. It did not defy goodness, it ignored it to the point of annihilation. Ransom perceived that he had never before seen anything but half-hearted and uneasy attempts at evil. This creature was whole-hearted. The extremity of its evil had passed beyond all struggle into some state which bore a horrible similarity to innocence. It was beyond vice as the lady was beyond virtue.” 110-111

Weston isn’t quite Weston anymore. He is being indwelt by an entity of pure unbridled evil. What we would probably call demon possession/oppression. And this set me thinking about what it would be like to come face to face with evil. My first thought would of a vindictive schemer. But Lewis paints a very different picture. Hear Lewis again . . .

“Indeed no imagined horror could have surpasses the sense which grew within him as the slow hours passed, that this creature was, by all human standards, inside out – its heart on the surface and its shallowness at the heart. On the surface, great designs and an antagonism to Heaven which involved the fate of worlds: but deep within, when every veil had been pierced, was there, after all, nothing but a black puerility, an aimless empty spitefulness content to sate itself with the tiniest cruelties, as love does not disdain the smallest kindness? 123

At the bottom of this evil is a simple cruel desire to make others suffer. It is not a grand plan to storm Heaven. But, rather simply to wreak as much havoc as it can for as long as it can. According to Lewis then, evil is rebellion for the sheer joy of rebellion. I’m sure that that’s not all there is to say about the nature of evil, but this is surely more Biblical than Dante’s noble devil. Now I want to close with a last and most chilling account of the Unman (as Ransom called him) . . .

'But this is very foolish,' said the Un-man. 'Do you not know who I am?

''I know what you are,' said Ransom. 'Which of them doesn't matter.'

'And you think, little one,' it answered, that you can fight with me? You think He will help you, perhaps? Many thought that. I've known Him longer than you, little one. They all think He's going to help them -- till they come to their senses screaming recantations too late in the middle of the fire, mouldering in concentration camps, writhing under saws, jibbering in mad-houses, or nailed on to crosses. Could He help Himself?' -- and the creature suddenly threw back its head and cried in a voice so loud that it seemed the golden sky-roof must break, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.

'And the moment it had done so, Ransom felt certain that the sounds it had made were perfect Aramic of the first century. The Un-man was not quoting; it was remembering. These were the very words spoken from the Cross, treasured through all those years in the burning memory of the outcast creature which had heard them, and now brought forward in hideous parody; the horror made him momentarily sick.

Quotes for the Week

2009-08-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

"One of the greatest frustrations in the Christian ministry, and a principle cause of "weariness in well doing," is the inability to calculate the spiritual outcome of faithful labors in the work of the Lord. For this reason we must be cautious in putting too much stock in what we often call "visible results." We serve a Sovereign God who has promised that His Word will not return void. The ultimate harvest is assured, but it will only come "at the proper time," that is in God's own good time."
- Timothy George, Galatians (NAC), 426.

"A person cannot claim to accept the Gospel and the obligations that come with it and at the same time live in obedience to the flesh instead of the Spirit."
Ronald Y. K. Fung, The Epistle to the Galatians (NICNT), 294.

"I suspect, however, that the more basic reason we avoid or ignore the idea of God's wrath is that we simply don't think of our sinfulness as warranting the degree of judgment inferred by the expression."
- Jerry Bridges, The Gospel for Real Life, 49.

“All the simplicity in the world can do no good, unless you preach the simple gospel of Jesus Christ so fully and clearly that everybody can understand it. If ‘Christ crucified’ has not His rightful place in your sermons, and sin is not exposed as it should be, and your people are not plainly told what they ought to believe, and be, and do — your preaching is of no use!”
- J. C. Ryle, The Upper Room, 54.

“Jesus gives his bride full liberty to take all that He has to be their own; He loves them to help themselves freely to His treasure and appropriate as much as they can possibly carry. The boundless fullness of His all-sufficiency is as free to the believer as the air he breathes.”
- Charles Spurgeon, Morning By Morning, 190.

O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing - Hymn for Sunday

2009-08-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.

A HEAVY BACKPACK OR SHORT SHORTS?

2009-08-14T11:45:00.001-04:00

When I was in High School I took a semester of JROTC (which Edna lovingly refers to as the Pickle Patrol; she has a song and everything). Now, toward the end of that semester we went on a run up a long hill. Some of us started struggling (I know what some of you are thinking; it wasn’t me. I was in good shape at this point of my life. I even broke the JROTC record for sit-ups in a minute) and our Sergeant yelled that we were whining like a bunch of girls, and that if we were in the real military we would have been running with 120 lb. backpacks on. At the time that made me feel really impressed with our soldiers and it also convinced me that I just might not be cut out for the military.

But that idea has stuck with me. That image of men in camouflage running with elephant sized backpacks on their backs still strikes me as heroic. But this week I’ve been studying Hebrews 11.39-12.2 and there we are told to lay aside every weight that hinders. And I’m just guessing, but a huge backpack would probably be a little bit of a hindrance.

I also have a competing image in my head. It’s of my college roommate, Phil. You see, Phil was a cross country runner, and a good one. He ate slept and breathed running. Cold or heat, rain or shine, Phil put on his shiny short shorts and ran for about a hundred miles everyday.

As I compare the images, the soldier with the huge backpack and Phil with his short shorts, it really is striking because the call in Hebrews 12.1 is to run with endurance. And I’ve got to tell you, if I needed someone to run thirty miles carrying medicine to my sick daughter, I’m taking Phil in his short shorts. The reason is that Phil doesn’t have the hindrance of that big backpack. He can run freely and swiftly and with endurance.

So we’re called like Phil to run with endurance. This isn’t a sprint. We have to be committed to the long haul, so like Phil we have to travel light. We need lay aside anything that might slow us down or keep us from finishing altogether. As I’ve prepared to preach, I’ve really wrestled with how to apply this challenge, and it has been a struggle since we are not talking about things that are inherently sinful (that’s easier - stop sinning). This is something that is intensely personal. What hinders me from running for Jesus, you might laugh at. But I want to give two examples that I think are pretty general.

Sports is a common preoccupation for Americans, especially American males. We love us some football. And there was a time in my life where I was downright obsessed with football. I watched the NFL network like a thirsty man drinking from an oasis. And when my Patriots played in those Superbowls, it was an internal war because everything in me screamed that I should skip the evening service to watch the game (I didn’t by the way, Dad taped them for me). It was an unhealthy preoccupation that is certainly not unique to me, Think of all the men you know who spend all day watching a NASCAR race. Or the man who goes to the golf course five times a week now that he’s retired but doesn’t have time for church activities.

Or how about TV? And I don’t just mean the sensual nonsense that we shouldn’t be watching on principle. Think about the sheer amount of hours that we spend watching TV instead of playing with our kids or sharing our faith, or hanging out with other Christians, or going out and doing ministry. If you want to get convicted, put a post it note under your clicker and add the hours for just one week. It will startle you. How many of the hours should have been spent running after Jesus?

I think that far too many Christians are choosing to put those 120 lb. backpacks on and then trying to run for Jesus with these burdens slowing us down. Instead we have to look at Phil. We need to get up early like Phil, put on our shiny spiritual short shorts and run with endurance for Jesus.

BTW - I still love football, but I don’t watch every second of the draft like I used to. Having a whole NFL network seems excessive to me now, and I limit how many games I watch. Oh, and the Patriots will return to the Superbowl this year. And when they do I’ll enjoy watching the tape on Monday.

Plan Your Run with Jesus: A Fall Challenge Care of John Piper

2009-08-13T08:00:00.001-04:00

(This is from a John Piper Sermon on Hebrews 11.39-12.2)

Rather, all of us should listen and obey. Here's what I would suggest. Between now and Labor Day, pick a day or a half day and get away by yourself - away from the house, the phone, the beeper, the TV, the radio and all other people. Take a Bible and a pad of paper and plan your fall run with Jesus.

On that pad of paper note the entangling sins. Note the seemingly innocent weights and encumbrances that are not condemned explicitly in the Bible, but which you know are holding you back in the race for faith and love and strength and holiness and courage and freedom. Note the ways you subtly make provision for these hindrances (Romans 13:14): the computer games, the hidden alcohol or candy, the television, the videos, the pull-tab stop on the way home, the magazines, the novels. In addition, note the people that weaken you. Note the times that are wasted, thrown away.

When you have made all these notations, pray your way through to a resolve and a pattern of dismantling these encumbrances, and resisting these sins, and breaking old, old habits. And don't rise up against the Bible at this point and say, "I can't change." It is an assault on God if you read Hebrews 12:1 and go away saying: "It can't happen. Hindrances can't be removed. Sins can't be laid aside." God has not spoken this command for nothing. And this entire book is written to undergird these practical commands. So go back and read the book and ask God to take all the glorious truth that is here (about the superiority of Christ, and the power of his death and resurrection, and the effectiveness of his intercession for you) and make this truth explosive with life-changing power. Carry some of the story to your small group and get them to pray for you. Find someone you trust and ask them to check in with you and support you. That is what Hebrews 3:12-13 says we should do. Don't drift from this moment into this Sunday afternoon. Before this day is over choose a day or a half-day and get away to plan your fall run with Jesus.

Quotes for the Week

2009-08-12T08:00:00.003-04:00

"The church's worst enemy is the man of little faith within its membership, not the faithless man of the world."
- Iain Murray, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, 185.

“Let us be very careful that we never exalt any minister, or sermon, or book, or tract, or friend above the Word. Cursed be that book, or tract, or human counsel, which creeps in between us and the Bible, and hides the Bible from our eyes!”
- J.C. Ryle, Practical Religion, 137.

"We can begin each day with the deeply encouraging realization that I am accepted by God, not on the basis of my personal performance, but on the basis of the infinitely perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ."
- Jerry Bridges, The Gospel for Real Life, 18.

"There would be absolutely no benefit to us if Jesus merely lived and died as a private person. It is only because He lived and died as our representative that His work becomes beneficial to us."
- Jerry Bridges, The Gospel for Real Life, 37.

CHRISTIAN MUSIC ONLY?

2009-08-10T08:00:00.001-04:00

I have always wrestled with the old problem of secular versus Christian music. It is hard to articulate why we must avoid all secular music and this has left me confused even as I threw away all my Pearl Jam and Korn CD’s. Then at other times, I swing in the other direction and thank God as the giver of artistic gifts. He certainly would not want us to avoid a gift that He has given (as long as it does not lead to sin). When music is done with excellence and beauty I struggle to reject it, unless what is advocated is clearly sinful and offensive.

Now I don’t want to come off as some Christian culture snob, looking down my nose at Christian culture. For example, some Christian music is so cheesy that it is absolutely unpalatable. This is also true of some secular music however. And I do want to be clear before I go further, the absolute optimum in music for me is music done in excellence but that also honors the Lord in how it deals with whatever it happens to deal with.

But I wonder why have this weird relationship in the arena of music and no where else. I mean, I know Christians who would never listen to secular music who watched Sex and the City and R-rated movies. This seems kind of schizophrenic to me. So why do we put music in this special class, with its own special restrictions? I came up with three reasons.

First, I have heard some say that music has a unique ability to penetrate the heart without having to fight the barriers the mind would throw up. And I think there is some legitimacy to this. I think my love of Live (the band) contributed to my fascination with eastern religions in High School. But I don’t think that the case is quite as strong as some make out. I knew what Ed Kowalczyk believed and what he was saying. So it didn’t slip past anything, he just made it seem cool. The problem I think has to do more with our celebrity culture than to any heart espionage.

I also think that some confusion in a whole other arena has led to this problem. You see, nobody thinks of TV as worship, few go to the movies with their only intention being to worship. Yet this is what we have done with music. In many Christian circles worship has come to mean music. But in the Bible it is clear that while music is a terribly important form of worship, all of life is to be worship. It is not just those few songs we sing before the sermon. It is how we conduct ourselves at work, how we treat our families. It is also how we spend our time with the Lord, and yes, it involves music. But the problem comes when music is thought of only as worship. When this happens music that is not for the purpose of worship is seen as a perversion of worship. This is unhealthy and misleading.

Last, and probably least important, we are just flat out uncomfortable with the world. We don’t know how to relate to it. We are unsure what is acceptable and healthy, and what is seductive and unhealthy. And it is certainly better to be cautious than reckless. So I want to close by saying that if you disagree with me and think that all secular music is bad, well that’s ok. Do not sin against your conscience on my account. But do think about all the other common grace gifts we appreciate even when they come from non-Christians.

A GREAT HYMN FOR SUNDAY

2009-08-09T14:42:00.001-04:00

There is a Fountain - William Cowper
There is a fountain fill'd with blood,
Drawn from Emmanuel's veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there have I, as vile as he,
Wash'd all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransom'd church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.

E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.

WHERE ARE THE ANSWERS?

2009-08-08T08:00:00.002-04:00

I wanna run away
Never say goodbye
I wanna know the truth
Instead of wondering why
I wanna know the answers
No more lies
I wanna shut the door
And open up my mind

These lyrics are from Linkin Park’s song ‘Runaway’. And in my mind they are some of the saddest lyrics I’ve ever heard. These words (especially with the passion they are sung with) reveal a real longing for truth. They seem to have come to a realization that our world is missing something. However like all of fallen mankind they look in the wrong place.

As Romans 3 says there are none who seek God. Even if we diagnose the problem accurately that we have a need for truth, we always look in the wrong place, we never seek God. And this is where one of our culture’s biggest mistakes comes in. We encourage people to look inward for the only truth that matters. However, we have also redefined truth so that it is personal and relative, as opposed to universal and absolute. Or as we hear it more often, you have your truth and I have mine. So then there isn’t even any real truth to find.

So people are told to look inward for answers. But this on face value seems insane to me. If I’ve been struggling for answers why on earth would I look inward, if I’m struggling apparently I don’t have the answers. So we are encouraged to make up our own answers, no matter what we may call it, at that point we are no longer searching for truth. We are left simply trying pacify our consciences.

So since I started with Linkin Park lyrics I though I would answer with Project 86 lyrics.

Outside you there's a remedy
Inside you is an enemy
This twist (this twist) of irony
Can I say you were ever a friend to me?
(Just like we promised)
And you know it was never a lie
The fallen son that bought our freedom
Is the I, the I that had to die

Here we see a much more Biblical and realistic picture of the world we live in. Because we have broken and fallen hearts, as Project 86 says there is only an enemy inside. We cannot trust our own hearts. Our hearts long for all the wrong things. Our hearts will unerringly lead us astray. So as the first line says we must look outside ourselves for the remedy, for our solution can only be found there. Well then, where do we look outside ourselves? Clearly the Christian answer is going to be that we look at God’s Word. It is inerrant, it has no errors and when it is understood it will never lead astray. It is also inspired, in the sense that it comes from God Himself through the personality of human authors without being contaminated by them. So when we hold the Bible in our hands we hold the very Words of God, His perfect guidance for how to come to know Him and how to live in a manner that pleases Him. This is the truth that is the answer to the screams of Linkin Park and our entire generation.

But how sad is it that so many Christians in this free land fall back on listening to their hearts simply because they do not know the Word. We have enfeebled ourselves by neglecting a great gift from our God. I fear that we deserve the confusion and chaos of our lives. And it is much uglier for us who know Christ. Linkin Park doesn’t where to find the truth. We do, yet we do not look there. How pathetic.

SPURGEON ON DOCTRINE AND APPLICATION

2009-08-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

My brethren, this is a lesson for us; let us never reckon that we have learned a doctrine till we have seen its bearing upon our lives. Whatever we discover in God’s word, let us pray the Holy Spirit to make us feel the sanctifying influence of it. You know not a man because you recognize his features, you must also know his spirit, and so the mere acquaintance with the letter of truth is of small account — you must feel its influence and know its tendency. There are some brethren who are so enamored of doctrine that no preacher will content them unless he gives them over and over again clear statements of certain favourite truths: but the moment you come to speak of practice they fight shy of it at once, and either denounce the preacher as being legal, or they grow weary of that which they dare not contradict. Let it never be so with us. Let us follow up truth to its practical “therefore.” Let us love the practice of holiness as much as the belief of the truth; and, though we desire to know, let us take care when we know that we act according to the knowledge, for if we do not our knowledge itself will become mischievous to us, will involve us in responsibilities, but will bring to us no effectual blessing. Let everyone here who knoweth aught, now pray God to teach him float he would have him to do, as the consequence of that knowledge.

Quote's for the Week

2009-08-05T08:00:00.003-04:00

“There is no royal road to a knowledge of the Bible. There must be patient, daily, systematic reading of the Book, or the Book will not be known.”
- J. C. Ryle

"There he is at five in the morning . . . . on his knees with his English Bible, his Greek New Testament and Henry's Commentary spread out before him. He reads a portion in the English, gains a fuller insight into it as he studies words and tenses in the Greek and then considers Matthew Henry's explanation of it all. Finally, there comes the unique practice that he has developed: that of 'praying over every line and word' of both the English and the Greek till the passage, in its essential message, has veritably become part of his own soul."
- Arnold Dallimore, George Whitefield, I:82-83.

“Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are. When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your consciousness, chide yourself that you ever dreamed of being full, except in the Lord.”
- Charles Spurgeon

“When we preach Christ crucified, we have no reason to stammer, or stutter, or hesitate, or apologize; there is nothing in the gospel of which we have any cause to be ashamed.”
- Charles H. Spurgeon

“Christ wins our salvation through losing, achieves power through weakness and service, comes to wealth via giving all away. And those who receive his salvation are not the strong and accomplished but those who admit they are weak and lost.”
- Timothy Keller, Gospel Christianity, 2.

“Everything good that God has made and that God sustains is ruined when it is not done in reliance on God’s grace and in pursuit of God’s glory”.
- John Piper, Finally Alive, 58.

A Great Hymn

2009-08-02T17:42:00.000-04:00

Soldiers of Christ, in truth arrayed,
A world in ruins needs your aid:
A world by sin destroyed and dead;
A world for which the Savior bled.

His Gospel to the lost proclaim,
Good news for all in Jesus’ Name;
Let light upon the darkness break
That sinners from their death may wake.

Morning and evening sow the seed,
God’s grace the effort shall succeed.
Seedtimes of tears have oft been found
With sheaves of joy and plenty crowned.

We meet to part, but part to meet
When earthly labors are complete,
To join in yet more blest employ,
In an eternal world of joy.

Basil Manly, 1860

FAKING THE APOCALYPSE?

2009-07-30T08:00:00.002-04:00

Last night after watching Deadliest Catch (seriously the only episode I missed this season was during Vacation Bible School and since they show the previous weeks episode before the new one I got caught up last night) I saw the first half of a new show showed called the Colony. It’s like some kind of post apocalyptic Survivor. They are put into a fake environment set up as if the whole world has been decimated by a viral epidemic and now these ten people have to try and find a way to survive for ten weeks. I found several problems with this show that I think will keep me from watching it, but also from even taking it seriously.

First it felt like environmentalist propaganda. They acted like the catastrophe is so close now that we have to be taught how to survive when it happens, you know, next week. I get all kinds of suspicions when people do this sort of thing. It reminds me of that movie that came out a couple of years back called The Day after Tomorrow, and another new show called Life after people. I always get the feeling that the people behind these sorts of things like the environment a lot more than they like people. Like we’re parasites destroying something beautiful rather than people made in the image of God obeying His command to multiply, fill, subdue, and have dominion over the earth (Gen. 1.28)

Second the blatant fakeness of the show just annoyed me. They were given this huge building to live in. In this building they found all kinds of stuff that they needed. As they searched the building they found working motors, brand new power tools, tons of car batteries, a shiny new alternator, oh and a truck. What are the odds of finding all this stuff in an old abandoned warehouse? Then there are the people themselves. Everyone one of them was handpicked for a specialty they have. For example they have three different kinds of engineers, a machinist, and a handy man who is the handiest handy man I’ve ever seen. These are just the ones I noticed in the thirty minutes I watched.

Lastly, I want to mention the only thing that I found interesting in the show. This was the way the handyman and the engineers relate to one another. The three engineers started working on what seemed like rather implausible projects while the handyman voiced some concerns. An argument ensued and the handyman was told to leave the work space. Then the handyman refused to help them when he saw a problem, he just let them fail out of spite. What I found intriguing was that even on a show about surviving after a catastrophe this kind of class bickering would set in. The handyman clearly has issues with people who have letters after their name, and the engineers were dismissive and condescending to anyone who didn’t have letters after their name. Pride and resentment make it into even desperate situations.

No matter what our conditions happen to be out hearts remain broken and sinful. Our only hope is not found in fixing the environment (although I think we should be wise stewards of the environment) but rather in finding redemption and transformation in Christ. No change in our world or the condition of that world will change the fact that we will remain sinful and selfish and destructive, only Jesus can change that. We are far more broken than our world. Learning how to make a wood gasifier won’t help much.

Quotes for the Week

2009-07-29T11:48:00.004-04:00

“Whatever your circumstances, and however difficult they may be, the truth is that they are ordained by God for you as part of His overall plan for your life.”
- Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, 74.

"If you're a Christian, you've been radically transformed from the inside out. Your disposition, your desires, and the entire direction of your life have been essentially altered. You man not yet be completely changed, but you're already fundamentally changed. You've been lifted to new heights."
- Tullian Tchividjian, Unfashionable, 108.

"In and of itself, your longing for acceptance isn't a bad thing. God, in fact, created you for acceptance. This longing, however, was meant to be satisfied by God alone."
- Tullian Tchividjian, Unfashionable, 170.

"It is true, many ministers of God meet with hard things which might discourage them, and trouble and grieve their spirits; but this consideration, that God is pleased to employ them in such a service near to Himself, that though they cannot do good to themselves, yet they may do good to others, this should quiet them."
- Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 174.

THE BROKEN IN THE PRESENCE OF THE WHOLE

2009-07-28T08:00:00.002-04:00

What would it feel like to be the only fallen man in an unfallen world? This was the experience of Lewis’s hero Dr. Ransom. He landed on Malacandra and during the story discovers that there are three intelligent species there that look very little like him, but are intelligent creatures nonetheless.

As the story unfolds, he learns that our planet is called Thulcandra, the silent planet. In this story due to the rebellion of our angelic ruler (eldil in the book) we have been in a state of siege in the universe. Our dark angels (eldila in the book) are not speaking to the light angels. Dr. Random discovers that he is from a broken world but has landed on a world not broken. As they ask him questions about his world he doesn’t tell the whole truth out of shame. They don’t know about war or greed or lust or division. I can’t imagine what that would be like.

To look upon people who are whole while knowing that I was broken is the opposite of Jesus’ experience during His earthly ministry when He was the unbroken perfect in the midst of the broken and sinful. Jesus suffers occasional frustration (like when He would cry out how long must I put up with . . . or when He would weep over our hardness of heart). But for us, the broken, to be in the presence of the whole would be a deep shame in our best moments and a deep resentment and jealousy in our worst moments. Like Isaiah’s vision when he is taken into the throne room of God and he cries out “woe is me, for I am lost,” for the sinner to see the absolute holy must lead to despair.

But this turned me to thinking in another direction. There will be a time when we stand in the presence of the perfect unbroken (unbent in Malacandrian terms), after all is said and done in the world. We will all be reembodied in the resurrection and there will be the New Creation where all the redeemed will live forever in the presence of our redeemer. Those who remain broken, who were never redeemed, will be sent into the terror of hell, but those who remain will live forever in the presence of God.

This is where the difference comes in. The question that we started with will never have to be answered because in the New Creation, when we see God face to face we will have been changed. In John’s language ‘when He appears we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is’. There will never be a time when we see Jesus as the broken, since we are already clothed in His holiness and will be remade in His image. When He comes again for us, we will be changed. What a day to long for, when we can gaze into the face of the One who is perfect in holiness, and do it not only without perishing, but also without despair or shame. Lewis’ question is an intriguing one but praise be to God we will never have to experience it or answer it.

FOR LOVE OF THE GAME or HAVE I WASTED IT

2009-07-26T23:45:00.000-04:00

I’m one of those weird guys who gets most emotionally moved when watching sports movies. For some people its chick flicks or epic movies. But not me I’m that special kind of nerd that cries every time he watches Rudy (I can’t believe I just admitted that). Well anyway, tonight I had that experience again. I watched For the Love of the Game, again. And I get the same weird response every time. I wonder if I’m spending my life in the right way.

You see in this movie Costner is playing this aging pitcher who in what turns out to be the last game of his career begins throwing a perfect game, and interspersed all throughout the game are his memories of his interactions with people but mostly with a woman. Who turns out to be the love of his life. And as we learn in the movie he has managed to mess up this relationship pretty royally.

Finally at the end of the movie he finishes the perfect game, he gets what he thinks he really wanted in life. However, once he gets it realizes that it isn’t really what he wanted after all. After putting his catcher to bed he goes to his room, and cries out of sheer misery. Later, there is of course the happy ending where she forgives him for being an idiot and pushing her away. He discovered that what he thought that he really wanted most of all was all wrong. What he really wanted he had pushed away and never recovered. This is the part that always gets me wondering and reflective.

This guy figures it out when its almost too late. But what if I’m spending my life pursuing the wrong thing thinking that I’m doing what’s best. What if I’m deceived or confused and I’m truly wasting my life. What if I’m not really using the life that God has given in the way that He desires, that will most please Him, and most bring me joy? What if I’ve missed the boat and unlike Costner it’s too late to get it back. What if I’ve really blown it?

This may be the experience of those who when they see Jesus in the judgment and hear that they did not feed Jesus or clothe Him and they wonder when they were supposed to have seen Him. And He responds that when did they did not do it for the least of the brothers they did not do it for Him. They missed the boat; it appears they thought that they were serving Jesus, that they were true disciples, that they were being faithful. But they were wrong, and they pay eternally for it. Now occasionally in a really dark moment I wonder about where I am in Matt 25. But usually when I get into this kind of mood (how on earth does a Costner baseball movie do this to me) I wonder/fear if when I see Jesus He will simply say that I wasted it. I wasted my life, my ministry, my witness, and my opportunity. I want to be found faithful; I want to hear the Well done of my savior. I want to hear that how I used the life He gave me pleased Him. I want to know that I spent it all on what really mattered most.

The Father of a Nation and the Fruit of the Spirit

2009-07-23T08:40:00.002-04:00

George Washington was an external stoic because he was raging internally. This was a recurring undercurrent throughout Joseph Ellis’s biography of Washington. There were constant references to his aloofness. One phrase that really stuck out as an odd thing to say about a person is that he was comfortable with uncomfortable silences. This was said a couple of times in various ways. Have you ever known one of those people who just hates those long silences and simply must fill them up with chatter no matter how inane or nonsensical? Washington wasn’t one of those people.

But the question is why. Ellis doesn’t really try to explain why until near the end of the book. There he points to a published eulogy where the speaker was reminiscing on seeing a mass of powerful emotions behind the famous controlled exterior. He was famous for being aloof, and he frequently referred to striving for self-mastery. On the surface it would be very easy to say that Washington was simply an introvert, but that’s clearly not the case. I think Ellis has gotten it right in that Washington was internally a raging inferno of passions that he sought his entire life to master and bring under self-control. He became obsessed with control, driving his estate managers insane and his tailors to madness. So he seemed to have swung too far in the other direction, from unrestrained passion to overly restrained stoicism.

This got me to thinking about two different passages of scripture. The first was the list of the fruits of the sprit where self-control makes the cut. The second was in Hebrews 4.15 where Jesus is tempted in every way as we are but without sinning. So Washington wasn’t crazy to seek to control his emotions, especially if they were as strenuous as it appears. This self-control (self-mastery Washington would call it) is not a bad thing to seek after, however it seems pretty clear that Washington is not a balanced model for us.

This is where the second passage came into the picture because Jesus was a man of strong passions. Jesus was no stoic, he was not trudging through Israel with a grim face and a stiff upper lip betraying no emotion. No, we see Jesus in a holy anger turning the money changers table, we see Jesus weeping over the hard heartedness of Jerusalem, we see Him in the garden sweating blood and pleading with His Father in a kind of terror over the horror to come, we see Jesus with righteous indignation rebuking the Pharisees for their erroneous leadership of the sheep of Israel. But that last phrase in Hebrews 4.15 is the key. He did all this without sin.

What Washington failed to show us, only Jesus can. It is possible to have strong emotions but to have them without completely subduing and controling them and to use them without sin. Only the perfect Savior could show us this, and this is one more way that we need to behold Christ in order to become like Him.

PS - Ellis also argues that only a person like Washington was suited to play the pivotal role that he did in winning a very difficult and gut-wrenching war and in the very difficult second term of his presidency he was well served.

Quotes for the Week

2009-07-22T13:36:00.000-04:00

Have you ever forgotten anything, well I have and I did. Last weeks quotes to be exact. I could make up some excuse about being incredible mind numbingly busy, but that wouldn’t be the actual truth. The truth is that I just forgot and since I know that you (alll both of you) wait with baited breath each week for the quotes here is my heartfelt I’m sorry. Here are a few of my favorites from this week.

“This is no reciprocation by God, meeting a person halfway because he has shown some desire to be right with his master. The initiative is entirely God’s. He decided to manifest His love to those who do not love Him and who do not want to love Him, to enemies and rebels armed to the teeth against Him, to a world of lost sinners. Let us acknowledge once and for all that if it were not for the fact that God is love, we would have no expectation of mercy or forgiveness, no hope and no future.”
- David Jackman, The Message of I John, 120

“It is not our love that is primary, but God’s free, uncaused and spontaneous, and all our love is but a reflection of His and a response to it.”
- Stott, The Letters of John, 164.

“We will never appreciate the love of God until we know the startling truth about ourselves apart from Him and about His wondrous grace.”
- Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Life in Christ, 433.

- “I cannot understand the hardness of my own heart. How could any of us look at all this and believe it and not be lost in love to God? How can we contemplate these things and not be utterly broken down? How can any hatred remain in us? How can we do anything but love one another as we contemplate such amazing love? How can we look at these things and believe them and not feel utterly unworthy and ashamed of ourselves and feel that we owe all and everything to Him and that our whole lives must be given to express our gratitude, our praise, and our thanksgiving? Oh, let us resolve to together to meditate more and more everyday upon this amazing love.”
- Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Life in Christ, 439

Unfashionable Christian Counterculture with Tullian Tchividjian

2009-07-17T13:57:00.002-04:00

I have never suffered the temptation to sacrifice or compromise to be cool or fashionable, since as one of the worlds preeminent nerds being cool has always been permanently out of my reach. Yet I do remember envying the cool. Wishing I had a smile that would make girls melt, or having such charm that I was universally beloved. Yet as a socially awkward teenage book nerd cool was an impossibility.

Tullian Tchividjian sees a similar problem with much of the church in America. (However I appreciate that he’s not a church basher who delights in exposing the churches flaws, rather he loves the church and wishes to see her strong again) He sees the church trying to become like the world because they believe that if we become acceptable to the world then the world will hear our message. There are a number of problems with this kind of thinking, but first we need to hear Tullian’s counter:

“Christians make a difference in the world by being different from this world; they don’t make a difference by being the same.”

His argument throughout the book is that if we blend in we lose all our power to change or influence this world. I think he makes a powerful case. And combine these insights with David Wells arguments in The Courage to be Protestant where he argues that to become acceptable to the world we have to give away the store (the Gospel itself) leaving us with nothing left to proclaim or to influence anyone with. To critique or influence the world we must stand outside of it as a kind of counterculture.

Basically seeking relevance makes us irrelevant. Seeking cool leaves us with nothing left to say. We must remember that we serve a CRUCIFIED savior. One whose cross is foolishness to the world. Tchividjian closes his book with a call for us to live for an audience of one, pointing out that the need for acceptance isn’t wrong, we just have to seek it in the right place, with our loving heavenly Father.

The church must not be like me, the book nerd looking at the cool people across the cafeteria with a twinge of envy; because it is simply an impossibility for us, the cross of Jesus is foolish and strange to a fallen world. Lets live and strive not to be fashionable, but rather to be faithful to our audience of One.

John is departing but we still love him

2009-07-09T20:43:00.003-04:00

Well today we have to say sayonara (hope I spelled that right) to John who has decided that this blog is no longer good enough and has started his own blog, which is fine or whatever.

Listen I'm just joking but I really do want you to go and read John's new blog, he shared with me his concept, his theme, and where he plans to go with his blog, and listen I got excited about reading it. So please if there are any of you who actually read this blog go to John's new blog.
It's called Food From Ravens and John's first post is up explaining the title. I have already added it to my feedreader and you should too.

GO READ IT RIGHT NOW AT - http://johnalucas.wordpress.com/

Wednesday's Quotes - July 8, 2009

2009-07-09T12:04:00.001-04:00

“Is not this one of our greatest sins as Christians today? We may talk a lot about loving God, we may express it in our worship with great emotion, but what does it mean when we are so critical of other Christians, so ready to jump to negative conclusions about other people, so slow to bear their burdens, so unwilling to step into their shoes? Such lovelessness totally contradicts what we profess and flagrantly disobey God’s commands.”
- David Jackman, The Message of I John, 131.

“What an unsuitable thing might a believer think it, to hate someone in this world whom he must love eternally; and to contend and strive with those, even for matters of small moment, with bitterness and rigidity, with whom he shall have an eternal, uninterrupted unity and fellowship.”
- Hugh Binning, Christian Love, 27-28.

“Christians make a difference in this world by being different from this world; they don’t make a difference by being the same.”
- Tullian Tchividjian, Unfashionable, 9.

“We need to remember that God has established his church as an alternative society, not to compete with or copy this world, but to offer a refreshing alternative to it. When we forget this, we inadvertently communicate to our culture that we have nothing unique to offer, nothing deeply spiritual or profoundly transforming.”
- Tullian Tchividjian, Unfashionable, 15.

PS - I know I'm a day late, sorry.

Wednesday's Quotes - July 1, 2009

2009-07-01T11:10:00.001-04:00

When you share the Gospel, you share “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” Sharing the Gospel is like walking around in a thunderstorm and handing our lightning rods. You don’t know when the lightning is going to strike or who it will strike, but you know what its going to strike - the lightning rod of the gospel. And when it does, that persons lightning rod is going to be charged with the power of God and he or she is going to believe.”
- Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 102.

“It may well be questioned whether a man knows the value of the Gospel himself, if he does not desire to make it known to all the world.”
- J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, 410.

“Surely you have all things, because you have Him for your portion who has all things: God has all things in Himself, and you have God for your portion, and in that you have all, and this is the mystery of contentment.”
- Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 68.

“The perspective of the Bible, by contrast, that God’s patience and forbearance will one day run out. The time will come when He acts in judgment because of His holiness. And when He does, He will place truth forever on the throne and evil forever on the scaffold. All that has broken and defiled life will be finally, and irrevocably, overthrown.”
- David Wells, The Courage to be Protestant, 130.

“Our lives, though are nourished not by spiritual experiences we can seek, but by God applying to us the truth of His Word.”
- David Wells, The Courage to be Protestant, 182.

“There has never been a ‘good old day’ since the Great Thud in Eden. Every age is filled with sin, sinners, God’s love, and work to be done. Each generation has its resistance to the Gospel, and each culture is equally far from God because of sin and equally close to God because of His love. As Solomon repeatedly says, there is nothing new under the sun.”
- Mark Driscoll, The Radical Reformission, 51.

Reflections on Reality TV

2009-06-30T11:36:00.014-04:00

I remember when the first Real World came out and everybody under 25 was glued to that little show (at least it seemed like it to me). They were living in a real apartment that wasn't glitzy or glamorous. They were ordinary people who acted like normal people since the reality boom hadn't yet occurred. Then the boom hit and now you can watch reality TV 24/7. You can watch the Real World 72 or The Hills or Jon and Kate; pick your demographic they've got one for you. And by way of disclaimer and honesty I have to admit that I watch The Deadliest Catch every Tuesday without fail, although I soothe my conscience by telling myself that its OK because its educational reality TV.

I understand why TV channels like reality TV, its really cheap and it gets good ratings. But what is the appeal for all of us, I mean why do these shows get such good ratings. I have some hunches but they're probably not worth sharing. And what I want to avoid is a blanket condemnation of all reality TV (c'mon then I would have to give up The Deadliest Catch). But what I would like to share are some of my concerns about reality shows, and encourage us all to be more discerning about such entertainment. Now if anybody is actually reading then I have a job for you, if you can think of any positives that come from watching reality TV then I want you to share those in the comments section. Now in no particular order whatsoever here are my concerns.

- Much of reality TV appeals to our lower natures, you can see this in the sensuality that is portrayed, the skimpy clothing etc. I mean c'mon how bad is it when Bret Michaels quits his show because its gone too far.

- We become what we behold. And if we are viewing sensuality constantly we are going to become more sensual people. If we are viewing trivial nonsense constantly then we are going to become trivial people.

- We end up watching life instead of living it.

- It can create snobbishness. We watch to feel better about ourselves because these people are so awful or something like that.

- It can debase people. Much of it dehumanizing, turning people into objects, or using them, stripping them of their dignity.

- We can learn to laugh at people. We are called in the Word to love and encourage and build up, whereas reality shows teach us to laugh at people's stupidity or their misfortunes. We learn to enjoy the humiliation of others instead of mourning with them.

- We can learn to be critical people. Instead of learning to show grace and mercy, to react with understanding, we learn to tear people down and nitpick everyone.

- Reality shows often feed the wrong hungers. What we see in many of these shows are people who are desperate to be famous, many are even willing to settle for being notorious. These are not things that we should be hungry for, we should be hungry to bring glory to God, to know Jesus, to grow in holiness, or be faithful witnesses. It is difficult to imagine how reality TV feed these appropriate hungers.

- Most reality TV doesn't inspire the way a great novel or even movie can. I have trouble imagining the Hills or the Real Housewives of Omaha inspiring anyone to be sacrificial or courageous.

All right those are some of my concerns, I may have revealed some of my own snobbishness here, or maybe I am just hopelessly clueless or out of touch. Now remember you have a job, if you think I have missed the boat or if there are counterbalancing positives then you are going to have to convince me in the comments. Thanks to all who comment.

PS - My wife and I are disagreeing on whether Dirty Jobs is a reality show, if she's right that it is, then I watch two.

Wednesday's Quotes

2009-06-24T12:50:00.007-04:00

This time I want to share with you some of my favorite quotes from David Wells book, The Courage to be Protestant.

When our knowledge of God's truth is diminished, our understanding of God is diminished, and no amount of contrived mystery through ancient liturgies or gathering in the presence of dim, flickering candlelight can compensate for this loss. (from page 18)

I therefore think of myself as Reformational in the sense that I affirm its solas: in Scripture alone is God's authoritative truth found, it is by Grace alone that we are saved, and this salvation is received through faith alone. Only after each of these affirmations is made can we say that salvation from start to finish is to the glory of God alone. (page 21)

Many other factors have no doubt affected our changing internal landscape. But the key factors are undoubtedly that we have been disconnected from place, from family, from the past, and from an external God who has the power to reach into our lives and pull them around. But consuming has affected us, too. What we do as practiced consumers is to make daily inventories of our needs and how they might have changed. As I will suggest, it is probably our constant consuming with the constant choosing and reevaluating that it requires, that has strengthened the relativism that now ripples through all of our live making the very idea of a truth that is fixed and unchanging seem strange. (page 70)

There will certainly be more from Wells.

Reflecting on Bradley’s Flyboys

2009-06-17T13:47:00.001-04:00

I started this book with great excitement. Flags of our Fathers was one of my most enjoyable reads and finding that there was a sequel of sorts in this book I hurriedly got a copy. But the excitement turned to confusion. Then confusion turned to suspicion. The opening chapters turned back the clock of history and exposed some arrogant actions of our nation and he appeared to be blaming the US for the actions of WWII Japan. I began to fear that I had gotten another piece of elitist US bashing. You know the kind, they are ashamed to be American and spend most of their time talking about how backward and arrogant the US is (do you ever wonder why they don’t just move to France). As the book progressed I came to see that Bradley had other intentions for including the bits he did.

The arrogant act of driving our warships down Tokyo Bay had consequences beyond intimidating the Japanese. Japan came to see that they would have to change to keep up with the world, while not blaming the US it is clear that our actions contributed to Japans need to enter the modern world. Bradley carefully never blames the US for the twisted form of Bushido that was used to brainwash an entire generation, but our nation certainly had a role to play. Now at the time Commodore Perry had no idea what would come of his actions yet there were consequences. There are always consequences to our actions, small and large and we cannot easily escape them as I wished throughout the reading of this book. I wanted the US to be a spotless bastion of Democratic glory yet we came out spotted and our actions had many unforeseen negative consequences.

I have heard war described as an inhuman thing. This is certainly true. The very act of fighting a war, of taking human lives is goes beyond the pale of what we would allow in our everyday lives. The taking of life even accidently or innocently is regarded with horror, but it is the business of war, an inhuman thing without doubt. But what I learned in this book was that it also makes those who participate less than human. There are reports throughout the book about the Japanese soldiers torturing, beheading, and even cannibalizing captured soldiers (they were systematically dehumanized because their leaders believed it would make them better soldiers). But what I found most shocking was the reports of Americans who strafed schoolyards killing children. American pilots firing on fishing boats while returning or even shooting Japanese pilots as they were parachuting to the ground. I thought that Americans would be different since we were bound be Geneva conventions and had been raised in a society shaped by a Judeo-Christian worldview. Yet this inhuman thing called war turned young men into beings less than human at least for a time.

I learned a great deal in this book about our history, about the history of the pacific theatre of WWII. I also very surprisingly learned a great deal about the nature of war and its effects on people. I also learned a great deal about how far we can sink even though we are made in the image of God. But the lasting effect on me has nothing to do with American history; an old hunger was given a new dimension. The hunger for the return of Christ now has a new wrinkle for me. Because after Christ returns I will have no sin left to create horrific consequences, there will be no more war to take lives or deaden our hearts and make us less than we are even by nature. Let us long for the new world that Jesus will reign over where there will be true and lasting peace.

Wednesday's Quote of the Day

2009-06-10T23:35:00.003-04:00

"The New Testament portrays the ‘Christ event’, which happened two thousand years ago as the finished, perfect work of God for the salvation of all his people, both Jew and Gentile. The Gospel - the first coming of Christ - wins for believers all the riches of glory. The acceptance of the believer with God is perfect the moment he believes because Christ and his work are perfect. The status of the believer can never be improved upon - he possesses all the riches of Christ. There is nothing the believer will possess in glory that he does not now possess in Christ. All this he possesses by faith, but that it is by faith does not make it any less real."

Graeme Goldsworthy, The Goldsworthy Trilogy, 119.

Sermon Outline - Taking Aim at the Manifesto

2009-06-04T22:02:00.001-04:00

Introduction
- A young boy told his dad that he wanted a tree house in the backyard, so the dad remembering all the fun he had in his tree house goes and buys a bunch of wood. He returns to the backyard and with his mental image of what his sons tree house will look like, gets after it cutting wood and hammering and about halfway through things stopped working, boards had been cut too short and things just weren’t fitting together.
- The dad had the right motive, had a great goal in mind but he went about it the wrong way, we need right motives and great goals, but we also need to go about achieving our goals in the right way. This is what we are going to talk about tonight - how to go about achieving our manifesto.

Pursue in the Lords Strength
- If we try to achieve the manifesto in our own strength we are doomed to failure.
- So what are we to do, in light of our weakness and our dreams, what are we to do, where are to turn. The answer is to go to one who is strong.
- Read - Ephes. 6:10-12
- If we are to be strong we must find our strength in the Lord and His might.
- Paul also points to another complication - we have enemies. Not just a demanding task, but we have enemies. Paul says that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood but against the evil spiritual rulers in the heavenly places. He even calls our world, this present darkness.
- Facing this enemy we are utterly powerless.
- But there is hope, Paul says that if we take the armor of God we can stand firm
- Read - Ephes. 6:13
- So if we want to achieve our goals, if we want to be the church God wants us to be we must fight in full dependence on God’s power.
Illus - In Itasca Texas before WW2 there was a school fire that killed 263 kids, so they built a world-class sprinkler system, nothing like it had been in Texas before, then seven years later they were working on the grounds and discovered that the sprinkler system had never been connected to the water supply, it would have done nothing to the fire.

Pursue for God’s Glory
- Read - 1 Cor. 10:31
- If we pursue this manifesto for the purpose of having a great church that we can be proud of, or be proud to be a part of, or of being able to hear people say great things about that Baptist church on Big Creek, then we are not taking aim aright.
- What we must truly want is to be this kind of church and these kind of people so that we can better glorify God, if we have any other goal we will miss the mark. And we will be disobedient and unfaithful.
- But if our desire truly is to become a healthy spiritually mature, ministering, missionary church then we will be better able to accomplish His purposes, better able to honor Him before the watching eyes of our community.
- But we must decide now what we are aiming at.
- So what we must decide is that we want to be these things so that God is praised for what He has done

Pursue by Faith
- Mark 6:4-6 - Jesus in His hometown
- Mark 10:46-52 - the healing of Blind Bartimaeus
- The principle we see here in these two passages is that it is faith that opens the floodgate of God’s power and blessing.
- Recently we have seen water leave its normal channel - but God’s power and blessing rarely leave this channel - faith.
- So as we pursue our manifesto let us do it with the firm conviction of faith that God can and will bless us - let us come expectantly - trusting that we will see the Lord do amazing thing in our midst.

Pursue the Motive of Love
- Read - Matthew 22:37-40
- As we seek to grow spiritually mature our motive must be love for God - we want to be like Jesus because we love God and want to please Him above all else
- As we seek to minister to our brothers and sisters in Christ we must do so with the motive of love for them - to see what all God would do in their lives.
- If we are to be missionaries in our community then it must be with the motive of love - that we love people so much that we get out of our comfort zones and tell them the Good News.

Learning from Lebron

2009-06-03T11:10:00.000-04:00

After game 6 of the eastern conference finals when his Cleveland Cavaliers had just been knocked out of the playoffs Lebron James left the court without shaking hands with any of the Orlando Magic players. Not even his Olympic team friend Dwight Howard. Then he skipped his post game press conference.

So on all the Monday sports talk shows he was roundly criticized for that behavior. Some said that it was simply unsportsmanlike behavior. Others said that it was poor leadership, that if he is going to be the face and leader of that that team he cannot leave his teammates hanging like that. But the criticism that stuck out to me was when one analyst said that we are not judged by how we respond to victory but rather in how we respond to failure. I found this to be terribly profound in a way that transcends the sports world.

As Christians we begin the Christian life acknowledging that we are failures and we need God to come and save us because we cannot do it ourselves. But we then we often struggle with subsequent failure. So how are we to respond to our times of failure.

I think first this means repentance. When we blow it in an area of sin we must immediately renew our repentance. We confess our sin, plead the blood of Christ, and begin fighting sin again. But also I think we must make these teaching moments. What exactly did I do wrong, what could have been done to change the outcome, how can I do better next time? We must learn from our mistakes. This is part of God’s promise to bring good out of all things, if we respond better to trials next time because we learned from failure this time, then certainly God has brought good out of it. So let us learn from our mistakes.

Wednesday's Quote of the Day

2009-06-03T11:00:00.000-04:00

"But we also need to be reminded of the relationship of God's word to the reasoning of man the creature about what is true - one does not take a pocket flashlight and shine it on the sun to see if the sun is real! The truth of God's word cannot be subjected to the puny light of man's self-centered reason."

Graeme Goldsworthy, The Goldsworthy Trilogy, 59.

Sermon Outline - The Destination Manifesto

2009-06-02T11:12:00.004-04:00

Introduction
- In 1972 Yogi Berra was on the way to the Baseball Hall of Fame, his wife and three of his sons were in the car with him. And somehow he managed to get lost and they all started giving him a hard time, and here is how he responded, “we’re lost but we’re making good time!”
- Obviously it does no good to make good time when you don’t know your destination.
- Yet this is how many churches live - we make sure we’re busy doing all kinds of good things but there is no plan, no destination. So we are never able to know if we’re going in the right direction or if we’re really accomplishing our calling.
- So my goal today is to share with you what my conviction is in regards to our destination. What I think we should be heading toward.
- In the broadest sense we are called to grow into a healthy church. And I think this means that if we are spiritually healthy we will be spiritually mature, we will be ministering to one another, and we will be a missionary church.
- Yet if this is to be true of us as a church it must first be true of as individuals, so our destination is a church where every member is mature, every member is a minister, and every member is a missionary.

Every Member Mature - Romans 8:29
- There is simply no getting around the truth that it is God’s plan that we are to conformed to Christ’s image - The calling of every Christian is to be like Jesus.
- What does it mean for us to be like Jesus - I think this means a lot of things, such as sacrifice, or love, but I think the dominant idea is that of holiness and devotion to the Father.
- This is the goal we are aiming at - we must keep this goal in mind so that it can guide us in our decision making.
- We keep Jesus’ holiness as a mental image always in our minds and then when each decision comes we must decide what will help me become more like Jesus and what will lead me away.
- So you see we are not just deciding between good and evil things, but more often between the good and the best.
- So must set our priorities and stick to them - not legalistically but with the hope of becoming like Jesus.
- We need to make investments toward mature Christ-likeness - primarily this means a commitment to the Word, to Prayer, and to the church.
- These are continual investments we must make.
- And there are always excuses about why we are not doing what we should be doing, I’ve been a Pastor long enough now to see them for what they are - excuses.
- We must invest in Christ-likeness, so make a time daily to read the word and pray and let nothing keep you from it, commit to not only coming to church but getting involved in the life of the church, if you do not do these things, you will never be Christ-like.

Every Member a Minister - Ephes. 4:12
- Look carefully at who is doing what - the pastors and teachers are doing the equipping.
- Now look at who is doing the work of the ministry - the saints. Now these are not the ones in New Orleans or the even the really super spiritual people - every Child of God is a saint.
- So we are all called to do the work of the ministry - its not just for me and the deacons.
- So what does this mean - here in Eph 4 the target is the building up of the body of Christ, this means that we must be investing in our fellow Christians.
- Lets look at Acts for a moment to see what that looks like.
- They were giving to the poor Christians
- They were taking care of the widows and orphans
- They were caring for one another
- We are called to a similar concern for our fellow church members

Every Member a Missionary - Acts 1:8
- Who is the mission for - the disciples only - certainly not, the call is too big.
- Well how about church leaders then - not only does he not say this but once again the call is too big
- Well who then is it for - it is for all Christians - look at who gets the Holy Spirit and for what reason - all those who receive the Spirit are called to be witnesses - which means that every blood bought child of God is called to be a witness.
- It also means that everyone of us is a missionary - you just didn’t know it. We are all called to be witnesses in our location, sometimes calls us to leave our locations and go to new locations - but the call is still the same - be a witness where you are.
- This will change how we live - if we wake everyday and realize that we have been called to be a witness for Jesus that day, well that will change how we talk over the water cooler, how we conduct ourselves on breaks or at the store.
- The question is not whether we are missionaries or not, but rather whether we are good missionaries or not.

Conclusion
- A boy went out to his backyard with his bow and arrow and began firing arrows but it looked strange to his dad from the window. So he went out to see what the boy was doing. He would fire an arrow and then go draw a bull’s-eye around where it landed.
- He never missed.
- Unlike the little boy we now have a target, we know what we are aiming at, so lets take aim and strive with all that we are and become the Church and Christians that we are called to be.
- So everyday we need to get up and preach to ourselves - today I must invest in maturity, today I must be a minister, today I must be a missionary. If we do not do this we will never be the church we are called to be, never reach our destination.

McCullough's Adams

2009-06-01T17:27:00.004-04:00

I just finished David McCullough's John Adams, and it was an awesome read. I've been a book nerd my whole life and this was one of the best reads of my life. Despite the fact that it was huge and its sheer mass will turn some readers away, it more than repays those who are willing to invest the time in reading it.

Now I am personally convinced (after only reading this and 1776) that McCullough is one of our greatest living writers and I intend to real all of his books and I wish that he could live to three hundred and write a biography of every president and a history of every American war.

I want to point to two strengths of this book and McCullough in general. After reading this book I feel like I really know Adams. This is incredibly difficult for a writer to pull off. I have only really experienced this a few times and I read a lot of biographies, the only book comparable off the top of my head is George Marsden's biography of Jonathan Edwards. And I think that this is because McCullough is such a keen student of human nature and has the rare ability to communicate that understanding.

Second I loved that I was able to see Adams in all his human glory and shame. Unlike the presidential bio's I adored as a kid that presented the presidents as flawless heroes, here we see Adams as both vain and ambitious and simultaneously heroically sacrificial and loving and kind. This is something that we must always remember even our heroes are flawed fallen humans. This is very much in line with the Bible's presentation of man as both made in the image of God and as fallen sinner. Thank you Mr. McCullough.

PS - if there is a David McCullough fan club I would join it.

Surviving in Ministry

2009-05-18T11:03:00.002-04:00

As a young minister I often find myself thinking about praying about how I can finish well. The ministry is difficult and draining and the rate of minister attrition is alarming and I don't want to be a casualty. So when I found this article by Donald Whitney I was hopeful and upon reading it I was encouraged and compelled to share it with you.

His counsel is powerful for ministers and would be beneficial for all Christians who live in these trying times.

http://www.biblicalspirituality.org/ruin.html

Flood

2009-05-11T12:40:00.003-04:00

As many of you know we have experienced a flood here and we are still dealing with the after effects here. There are roads out, bridges missing, homes damaged/destroyed, many are still without water, power, or phone. Please pray for our community and all those effected.

Reflecting on Twilight

2009-05-07T11:52:00.003-04:00

The amount of attention that the twilight books and movie have received finally convinced me to watch the movie (I have not read the books). So the wife and I rented it and sat down to watch and I must confess that as a man nearing thirty I did not find the movie very appealing.

So after the movie I asked my wife why this movie/book has such a hold and power with her gender and especially the teenage variety. You see I found the obsessive nature of Bella and Edwards relationship to be, well, creepy. Edward is basically a stalker, sneaking into her bedroom to watch her sleep. Following her to neighboring towns. This is scary behavior. And Bella shows a complete recklessness in her love for Edward. He admits that he is really desirous of her blood and she doesn’t care because she trusts him. But how can she trust him she barely knows him and what she knows should terrify her. I found these things disturbing yet my wife said that there are the central appeal of the books. Women (young women especially) hunger for this kind of all consuming relationship. That 17 year old girls dream about this. (By the way I was a 17 year old boy once, Edward Cullen’s don’t exist)

So my greatest concern is that these books/movies provide a powerful reinforcement of an already unhealthy element of our culture. Many are tempted to turn their relationships into their idol. They see their romantic partner as the thing that gives their life meaning, Bella shows this in her reckless disregard for her own safety, the concerns and wishes of her father, etc. How many people cry out that without this person I can’t go on. When we come to this place in our lives we have an idol and I think that for young people (I’m told that some teenage boys read the books secretly) who are in their first flush of romantic notions this danger is especially potent. And this movie/book is powerful in its reinforcement and development of this idol.

As a father of two young girls I was very concerned about this movie/book so I went through the mental motions of having a talk with them about this book and I found that I simply could not encourage them to read it. It has no redeeming qualities that outweigh the negatives. So I do not recommend the reading of this book or the watching of this movie.

A Kingdom Without a Cross

2009-05-04T16:00:00.008-04:00

I have been reading through Philip Yancey's The Jesus I Never Knew and one of the things that I really gleaned from his book is how Satan's temptation of Jesus kept recurring throughout Jesus earthly ministry.

The summation of the enemies temptation is this; have the Kingdom without the difficulty of the Cross. Amaze the people set up a military Kingdom on earth and do it without the pain, shame, and forsakenness of the Cross. This is what Jesus resisted and won out against in the wilderness against the enemy. And upon a cursory reading of the Gospel's we would think that fight over and done with.

But here is where Yancey's strange gaze has benefited me. This temptation is the central temptation of Jesus earthly ministry and it followed Him everywhere he went.

After the feeding miracle in John the people come to make Jesus King whether He wanted it or not, so he denies them their bread and preaches in such a manner that these Kingmakers cannot swallow. He was offered a Kingdom without a Cross.

Then he tells His disciples that He is going to Jerusalem and that He is going to suffer, die, and rise again (amazingly they don't catch that last part). Peter responds by rebuking Jesus. Jesus then does something that confuses a lot of us, He calls Peter Satan and tells him to get behind Him. Why call Peter Satan, he simply didn't want to see his friend and master suffer, right. Peter was playing the role of Satan here, once again Jesus was being offered the Kingdom without the Cross.

Then comes the strange night in the Garden where Jesus is so tortured in spirit that He literally sweats blood. How can we explain this when so many of His own followers died with courage and boasts. What do we make of Jesus asking for the cup to pass. That cup is the cup full of the wrath of God that He is about to drink in our place. It is so terrifying that Jesus expresses His horror at the Kingdom that comes with a Cross, but He never backs down. He rises from that last moment of temptation, when it appears to have been the strongest, and walks into the arms of His betrayer embracing the Kingdom with a Cross. He conquered fully.

This is a beautiful picture of our savior that should inspire our gratitude, love and devotion. But we must not think that we have heard the last of the enemy or the last of this temptation.

We face the same temptation today, we are tempted to build our churches by trusting in business models and church growth principles. We are tempted to think that our ministries should know only blessing and never suffering. We are tempted to believe that we should become Christlike overnight and not have to pay the cost of discipleship. We are tempted to expect the Kingdom to come without a cross, without suffering. Like our savior we must resist the enemy, deny ourselves, and take up our crosses and follow Him.

The Question of Normal

2009-04-27T15:11:00.001-04:00

Awhile back I really enjoyed the movie I am Legend, to the extent that I wanted to read the book. Now I had a few worldview issues with the movie, but the book (which only shares a basic premise with the movie) raised many issues. The only one that I want to discuss is what I believe was the authors overall theme; which was the issue of what is normal and who gets to define what normal is.

I was pleased to discover that this was a thoughtful book that was going somewhere and had a point, the author was aiming at something. Now he chose a strange genre to make his point, but the point was clear nonetheless.

The story revolved around a man named Robert Neville who is the last human survivor of a plague that has turned the remainder of the human race into basically a race of vampires (not Bram Stokers however). Neville spends his days discovering the nature of the disease, killing vampires, and trying to survive. Early in the process of his study he reflects on the nature of the vampire myth; that they were a terrifying story of a people who lived in the shadows doing legendary horrible things. By the end of the book he discovers that they have learned how to control their disease and are building a new civilization that has no room for him. After he is captured and is about to be executed he sees many of the vampires looking at him with fear and he realizes that he has become the dark legend that will haunt their dreams in the future.

This is all driving to the subtle point made throughout the book, that normal is a social construct determined by the majority. Before the plague he was part of the majority that had determined that vampires were ok to hate and kill. Now the vampire are the majority so they are normal and now it ok for them to hate and kill him.

I'm sorry it took me so long to get to the point but, this book really got me to thinking about the concept of normal. And it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. The Bible doesn’t really seem to have a category for normal. There is true and false, righteous and unrighteous, good and evil, glory and horror, these kind of categories are abundantly found in the Bible but normal versus abnormal, well its difficult to find. But certainly as a Christian I had to believe that if there is a normal then it is God the creator who gets to determine who is normal and who is not.

The conclusion that I have come to is that there are two ways to think about normal as a Christian. For Matheson normal is something that gets voted on, but for us normal isn’t determined by our culture but by our creator, so the closest thing we would have to normal would be the purpose for our existence. There are many reasons given in the Bible for our existence, to exist in a right relationship with Him, to bring glory to Him, or to serve His purposes for the world. But it is here that we find normal, in our design. But I think that normal got a subtle redesign. The Bible says now that we are to be conformed to the image of Christ. This is our new goal. To grow to become like Jesus in His holiness, love, obedience to the Father, etc. So normal for the Christian is set in our design (which was marred at the fall) but is now also looking ahead to the future purpose for the redeemed children of God, likeness to Christ.

There is no voting only receiving from the creator. May we grow into greater conformity to Christ to the glory of God.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD, SOPHIA GRACE!

2009-04-21T15:42:00.002-04:00

We here at B&B want to welcome Sophia Grace Fugate to the world. She was born on April 20, 2009, she weighed 6lbs. 5oz, and was 19 inches long. Edna is doing well after an unexpected C-Section delivery, and Jamie is a proud daddy. Please take time to extend your love and encouragement to them in the comments section of this post.

Faith and Pop Culture: A Christianity Today Study

2009-04-14T12:05:00.003-04:00

I had never seen one of these studies before so I was very intrigued. Also I feel that too often culture evaluation is far too focused on High Culture as opposed to Pop culture which for many people is simply the air that we breath. So I went into the study with high hopes.

What I found was a series of studies evaluating eight angles of popular culture. The eight studies were; an analyses of movies as the new art form, great literature and faith, sports and the Christian, the TV dilemma, movies with crude content, violence in media, Christians in Hollywood, and the culture of entertainment.

I found this to be a great study. I will comment on the two features that I found most profitable. First the format itself was beneficial. Each study starts with a thought provoking article. I didn’t always agree with details of every article but they were selected well and set out the issues clearly and demanded reflection and response. Second the questions required biblical reflection not just knee-jerk opinions and the questions were great for group discussions not just pat answers.

Overall highly recommended and enjoyable.

We Need More Tyler Hansbroughs

2009-04-10T10:03:00.001-04:00

First I want to say that I am a University of Kentucky fan. I bleed blue. When I was a kid I would cry every time UK lost. I still have trouble saying out loud the name of a certain Duke player whose shot is shown over and over again every march. So I was really surprised to find that during the championship game I found myself pleased that North Carolina was winning. I was surprised at myself because I have a general dislike for all ACC teams in general and UNC and Duke in particular. Yet the reason was a person - Tyler Hansbrough. I found that I actually wanted him to get a ring. And it makes sense because he embodies everything that we want to see in college basketball.

He could have went pro after every season, he probably would have been a lottery pick as a freshmen but he kept coming back. We all bemoan the fact that college basketball has simply become a stepping stone to the NBA, and Hansbrough has now been an example to other kids that staying might be worth it. But it was also his style of play, he is certainly not the most talented player in basketball, maybe not on his own team but he played tough and hard. Fighting for every loose ball, he just wanted it more than everybody else, every loose rebound you could be certain that Hansbrough was after it. And even in that championship game he didn’t lead his team in scoring. He had another workmanlike game. He didn’t need the limelight, he didn’t need to own all the stats, he just wanted to win. And he was willing to do what it took to make that happen.

I think college basketball needs more Tyler Hansbroughs, but so does the church. We need more Christians to see the calling we have in the Bible and be willing to go hard after it. We need people who are willing to do the small things that don’t show up in the ecclesiastical stat sheet. We need Christians who are willing to do the unseen things that further the Gospel but don’t get trumpeted from the rooftops. We need Christians who are willing to make personal sacrifices for the Great Commission. College basketball needs more Tyler Hansbroughs, but the Church needs them even more.

Reflecting on Visit the Sick by Brian Croft

2009-04-08T16:15:00.003-04:00

In his little book Visit the Sick Brian Croft challenges us to a commitment to minister to the sick. I think for many Christians this might not at first glance be a welcome book. With the pace of life being what it is and with all the other demands on church leaders one more thing to think about or to move up the priority list might seem overwhelming or like an unwelcome burden.

Yet in this very small book (you can read it in an hour or two) Pastor Croft gives such a convincing challenge that all readers should feel not only convicted about the need for such a ministry (we already know its important in our minds at least) but also encouraged by the power of such a ministry.

He points both to the Biblical storyline; beginning with a creation where sickness was absent and ending with a restored creation where once again sickness is only a memory. Along the way we learn about Jesus’ commitment to the sick and the churches commitment to the sick. Several times in the book he also points to the churches history of caring for the sick, Richard Baxter for example. The remainder of the book contains some very practical and helpful advice on how to go about this ministry. I recommend this book very highly.

However it also left me wondering. Why do we need such a book? Why doesn’t the ministry to the sick in the Bible jump out to us. Is it the modern church conviction that ministry is for the ministers? That the Pastor is to do all the work of the ministry? Maybe partly. Is it just the busyness of life, that there simply is not time? Is it that we are so self-absorbed that we simply are unable to care about others? I think that’s closer to home. But I think another reason is that we fear the reminder of our own mortality. Some of us are afraid to die, even Christians are sometimes afraid of death. And those who are sick remind us that eventually we will get die.

As I read this book I felt the need for assurance in this Christian life. We who minister must minister from a place of assurance, but we also need to communicate assurance to those sick believers who are in need of assurance (unless we are not convinced they are believers).

PS - I want to offer some public thanks to the guys at Standing on Shoulders (http://standingonshoulders.net/) who gave this book away on their website. I was pleased to win it because I had honestly never won any drawing before and then I was pleased with the quality of the book. Thanks guys.

Balaam: A Model for Preaching?

2009-03-30T10:04:00.002-04:00

A few days ago in my private devotions I was reading through Numbers and encountered once again the character of Balaam (22-24). But something new stuck out to me. I found in Balaam admirable qualities. Now I did not expect to find anything like this. I usually wrestle with the theological question of how Balaam could know and use the covenant name of God, how this pagan outside the people of Israel would know and relate to God, or about the unusual account of the donkey speaking. But this time was different. I found two ways that Balaam could specifically be a model for preachers and for all who seek to communicate Christian truth.

First - Balaam spoke only what God had spoken. He faced the great temptation of saying what Balak wanted to hear, to say only what would create smooth paths for him, and he refused. He had been asked to come and curse Israel yet he warned them that, "Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak" Numbers 22:38. What the Lord put in his mouth that he must speak, how many have that conviction? How many are determined to speak only the words of God? Our age (like most ages) is full of those who speak what pleases the hearers. We speak what the experts tell us will grow churches or what will appeal to postmoderns or baby boomers or we speak only to the felt needs of the congregation. Balaam by example teaches us that our hearers must not determine the content of the message, God alone has that authority and He has commanded us to "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching" 2 Tim 4.2.

Second - Balaam feared God instead of man. Balaam had been brought to do the cursing by Balak a King who feared Israel. Balak had the power to have Balaam killed if he did not do as he wished. Yet opportunity after opportunity Balaam chose to bless Israel as God commanded rather than curse them as Balak commanded. I found this to be really challenging. We worry about offending people in our day. The last thing we want to be in these postmodern, politically correct days is to be offensive. So many are timid, failing to preach the Gospel with fire and conviction for fear of being offensive. We shy away from difficult controversial truths. Yet the people we meet and speak to have only the power to be offended and perhaps hurt us with words. Or if things get particularly bad in a church we could get fired. But Balaam stood with courage and spoke what God spoke when his death was a real possibility. We must fear God rather than man.

Christianity in the Old Christian Empire

2009-03-23T20:27:00.002-04:00

http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=1341

I want to challenge you to read the article linked above and then do two things.

1) Ponder whether this is the direction that we are heading in here in the U. S.

2) Pray for Britain and her Christians.

Inspiration from Soul Survivor

2009-03-17T18:44:00.005-04:00

I just finished reading Philip Yancey’s Soul Survivor and instead of writing a normal book review (I have taken a book review hiatus, I will eventually write more) I will instead take his advice in the epilogue and reflect on those God has used to guide me in my journey in pursuing Christ.

Yancey has some odd mentors in his book that initially caused some worry on my part, but after he tells his story about growing up in a hate-filled fundamentalist church (not all fit this category but his certainly did) he struggled to trust the church or even God. We all have struggles and obstacles to faith. These may come from the rebellious nature of our own hearts or from the suffering that results from living in a fallen world or even from the enemy of our souls. Yet the journey is often confusing and with every believer it is unique and tangled, so bear with me for a few paragraphs while I take Yancey’s advice and reflect on my mentors in the faith.

First I must acknowledge the influence of my parents - Mom taught me to love - she thinks that she’s not very good at expressing love. Yet all of her sons have felt loved and learned from Mom how to share love in meaningful ways. Dad taught me how to be a man - that manhood doesn’t consist of grunting and spitting but rather is fundamentally about taking responsibility and being willing to sacrifice for others (in Dad’s case sometimes to a fault, sorry Dad but its true).

Second I would point to J.R.R. Tolkien. When I was in the sixth grade I stumbled across the Hobbit and was immediately hooked. I then went on to read the Lord of the Rings of course. What I learned from Tolkien was from his portrayal of heroes. Throughout my younger years (and to this day) my understanding of what a hero was came from Tolkien, one who courageously does what is necessary even when it means a great deal of suffering by one for others. This was what really captivated me. Seeing poor little Frodo suffering alone to save all of middle earth, that is epic heroism. Repentant Boromir fighting to the death so the little one’s can escape. I didn’t know it at the time but these are Christ-like heroes. In shaping my understanding of a hero, in some measure, Tolkien softened my heart to hear about the work of Christ.

Third (bear with me) is the Dalai Llama. In my junior year of high school I was once again prowling through the library (boy I was a nerd) and came across a book by the Dalai Llama where in very basic terms he explained what Buddhism was. I began reading there in the aisle and was captivated. He was answering questions from his perspective that I had never once thought to ask. I checked out the book and checked it out repeatedly for the next year. To a few friends I declared myself a Buddhist (sorry Mom and Dad). The positive that came out of this deception (for I became convinced that Buddhism is not true and actually does a very poor job of answering the big questions) was that I began thinking about spiritual things. I don’t think that before that moment I had ever had a spiritual thought in my life. So it was a kind of back-handed blessing, good coming out of darkness.

Fourth was John Lucas. John was the first person ever to invite me to any kind of Christian function. I had never been invited to church or BSU or anything like it in my life. Yet John took me to these meetings and shared the Gospel with me and after I became a Christian (and to this day) John has served as a guide and mentor to me as I strive to follow my crucified savior.

Paul Badgett was important for the biggest reason that it was under his preaching that I came to faith in Christ. But also Paul was faithful to proclaim the beautiful gospel simply and clearly week after week. Thank you Paul for feeding me the gospel.

Erwin Lutzer’s book Doctrine’s that Divide was the book that showed me that theology really does matter. That what we believe really does matter. This was the book that God used to kill all the post-modernism left in me.

Now I want to close with a few honorable mentions. Josh Owen allowed me to watch him be a pastor, husband, father, and theologian. He showed me that we can be all these things without neglecting our churches or our families, thank you Josh. Francis Schaeffer showed me that the Christian faith was intellectually beautiful and extremely logical, that we are not leaping into the dark. Mark Helton has shown me how to suffer with grace. My matchless wife has shown me the power of forgiveness and love (she has had much to forgive and little to find worthy of love).

PS - Yancey's book is a great read. His writing ability made this book hard to put down. But most of all the strange path that God used in bringing him safely into the fold was captivating. A worthy read and I've been inspired to read more by Yancey.

Being Right Without Sounding Crazy

2009-03-12T15:30:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I think about who I spend my time with and I wonder if it really is pleasing to my King. While He was here during His incarnation He spent His time with either the world's nobodies or the religious world's outcasts. His disciples were nobodies and He spent an awful lot of time hanging out with tax collector's. He was scandalously friendly with people known to be sexually immoral. Jesus only had so much time to spend with people here and He chose to invest in these people.

Reflecting on this I am embarrassed to think on the mistakes made by the church in the past. Times of compromise and foolishness. And even times of hatred. Yet we are called to be much different than this. Especially when we are certain of being right. We must be right with compassion and love. Remember Jesus not only taught us to love the outcast and the immoral through His actions He absolutely commanded it when He told us to love our neighbor. Immoral people and people who are wrong are still our neighbors.

There is also the issue of the image of God. The fact that all humans are made in the image of God should drive us to respect and cherish every living human, whether they share our convictions or not. As Francis Schaeffer said there are 'no little people.'

So who do I have in mind particularly - I am thinking specifically of how we as Evangelicals have interacted with homosexuals. I recently was exposed to two different ways of responding to our culture's embrace of homosexuality. One was a man was denouncing homosexuality as an awful sin that deserved hell and that they shouldn't talk about some gay gene, because people choose to be that way. Then I heard another Evangelical (that I respect and appreciate a great deal) say that in a few decades we are going to be sorry for not embracing homosexuality in the same way the southern church should be embarrassed for supporting a racist society.

I found them both distasteful for different reasons. The first man for his lack of compassion and willingness to show grace. The second man for listening to culture rather than the clear truth of scripture. We must find a balance.

I want to say clearly that I believe that the Bible teaches that homosexuality is sinful. I also believe that it is destructive to individuals and families. I also fear that it is a particularly enslaving sin that it is difficult to escape once begun. I also believe that there is a distinct possibility that there is some sort of genetic proclivity toward homosexual attraction (like some people are born with addictive personalities or struggle with chemical depression). But I also think that homosexuals are still our neighbors, that they are made in the Image of God and therefore have inherent dignity and should be treated with respect.

We need to learn to be understanding, to acknowledge the difficulty of escaping this lifestyle. Be willing to acknowledge that some people will always struggle with same-sex attraction. To show mercy and grace. To develop real friendships with homosexuals. And at the same time be clear that even as we love homosexuals we are still opposed to their sin.

We must learn to be right with compassion and grace.

PS - I bet Jesus would have been friends with homosexuals and still told them to leave their sin.

A DISTURBING REMINDER OF WHY THE SBC RESURGENCE WAS NECCESSARY

2009-02-24T09:52:00.002-05:00

One of the things that I praise God for is the conservative resurgence within Southern Baptist life. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Adrian Roger's election as President of the SBC, an event that almost all Baptist historians say changed the face of the convention forever. Since that monumental event, we have consistently seen conservative leaders who hold strongly to the inerrancy of God's Word voted in as president of the convention. We have seen trustee boards that were once dominated by liberals slowly begin to fill up with conservatives. We have seen seminary leaders who were liberal retire or resign, and solid conservatives replacing them to train men and women for ministry. We have seen faculty changes that has produced the best scholarship available today in our SBC Seminaries. In a word, we have seen a move of God that is unparalleled in the history of the church. For those who are interested in reading more about the transition years, two books stand out in my mind. The first is "The Bapist Reformation," by Jerry Sutton, a Southern Baptist conservative who now teaches at Liberty University. The second is "Uneasy in Babylon," by Barry Hankin, a moderate baptist historian who teaches at Baylor University, but delivers a well-researched and balanced evaluation of the movement and its impact on SBC life.

In light of God's grace to us in the last thirty years, this article reminded me of where we could be today were it not for the grace of God. This article was published as an opinion piece in the Associated Baptist Press, and it essentially accuses Jesus as being a racist until he encountered a woman who challenged his bias and helped him to "see" his error. After that he "learned" his mission was to the entire world and left his prejudiced views of Jewish elitism.

While there are many disagreements being aired within SBC circles right now regarding a host of topics, let's all thank God that all of them are being done from the perspective that God's Word is infallible, inerrant, and sufficient for our faith and practice!

Click Here for ABP Article

A GREAT GIVEAWAY

2009-02-24T09:39:00.002-05:00

I thought everyone here might like to know about this amazing giveaway. A Boomer in the Pew, a Christian blogger, is giving away a Calfskin ESV Study Bible in honor of his first year anniversary as a blogger. Now I know what you are thinking: why haven't we done anything like that on here, right? So below I am including a link to the giveaway site, and I am also announcing that we will soon have a giveaway, and the winner gets to spend a weekend with Joshua Owen filing his books and papers while listening to him rattle off useless information and squabbles of the day from his world. I know, I know, how could we give away such a great gift. But the expenses will be covered in full by Dr. Owen! I mean, the guy has a PhD. and everything, so surely he can afford such a fantastic opportunity. Check back soon for more details, or just drop by Josh's house unannounced and tell him "John sent me for the weekend." He will be thrilled. :)

Click here for the ESV Giveaway.

12 Steps to Better Bible Reading

2009-02-17T10:53:00.000-05:00

4 Mistakes to Avoid
1. Taking verses out of context- for example John 15:7 - If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
- This is made to say that God loves His children and simply wants to give them their wishes, but when quoted in this manner the first half of this verse is left out. This could be made to say that if you wish for a new spouse or your neighbors house then God will give it to you. But we must not forget that we ask in the context of abiding in Christ and those who are abiding in Christ will only ask according to His will and for things that bring Him glory.

2. Reading Randomly - the practice of hunting for a blessing, or letting our bible drop open and reading the first chapter or verse that we see, or even just reading our favorite passages again and again - this practice robs us of the riches of God's Word, of all that He has spoken for us.

3. Holding to Tradition too tightly - when we read the Word and are confronted with a difficult truth that seems to conflict with we have been taught we are tempted to say, "well it can't mean that."
- For example - Luke 6:27 - But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

4. Ignoring Genre - we can't read the Psalms like Letters or History or Prophecy, we need to learn to read each kind of scripture according to the rules of the genre. Else we will end up confused.

4 Conviction to Hold
5. The Bible is the Word of God - 1 Thess. 2:13 - And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
- which means that it is also perfect, accurate, and trustworthy.

6. The Bible is Sufficient - It is the Word that makes us competent - equipped for every good work. - 2 Tim. 3:16-17 - All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
- There is nothing else that is necessary - we need to be readers of the Word, hearers of the Word proclaimed, living in community where the Word can be obeyed and lived out. But is the direction of the Word that must guide all things.

7. The Author determines the Meaning - I have heard it said that everyone finds their own meaning when they read the Bible - or that there are as many meanings as there are people - we don't treat our letters that way do we - when I write a letter I mean one thing - and since I wrote it I determined that meaning - when we read the Bible we read God's word so we seek His meaning and there is only one - it may affect our lives differently - we may have different sins to repent of - but the meaning never changes - we seek His meaning.

8. Joy is found in the Word - Joy is found in seeing Jesus for all that He is - since the Bible is the only revelation of who Jesus is then we must approach the Bible seeking to see and enjoy Jesus - it is not simply a duty - it must be approached as an opportunity to sit down to a feast.

4 Practices to Adopt
9. Read all the Bible - Everything in the Bible in from God and given to us for our benefit.
- 2 Tim. 3:16-17 - All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
- This means that we must find a system that works for us so that we find ourselves diving into all that God has spoken.

10. Read the Broader Context - Greg Koukle has a special message that he gives called - never read a Bible verse - his idea is that we should never read only one verse since it is so easy to take single sentences out of context - he recommends that we begin to think in terms of paragraphs - never read less than a paragraph,
- Think about how easy it would be for people to ruin what you say by taking only one sentence out of a whole conversation you've had. They could make you say almost anything - but you would argue, but that's not really what I said - lets give God the same treatment we want about our words.

11.Submit to the Authority of the Word - we are not free to disagree with the Word. We must hear the Word, recognize its authority, and submit. This is often difficult but it is necessary.

12. Read to See Jesus - Luke 24:44 - Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."
- For example this morning I was reading about Joseph in Genesis - and his life is a picture of what Jesus was going to be - one person who suffers so that a whole people, in Joseph's case a whole region of the world would be kept alive. It was really moving to see that reflection of Jesus. But if Luke 24:44 is true then we must look at all we read with Jesus glasses on - trying to see the things written about Him.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T10:20:00.005-05:00

This is my little effort to help us all to love and treasure the gift God has given us in the form of our spouses. Now I do know that not all marriages are good marriages. It is difficult to treasure a spouse who is unfaithful to you, or who is physically abusive (you should treasure them from another location). But for most people this is not the case. Our marriages are simply less than they could be because we fail to take the initiative in studying our spouses and being willing to meet their real needs, not the needs we think they have. So here is my little effort at helping us all treasure our spouses more deeply and accurately this year.

How Men can Treasure their Wives
1. Tell her you love her a lot - they need to hear us say it, and we need to find ways of showing her that we love her. Tell her she's beautiful - most women still have a little girl inside looking up at you and wanting to know if you think she's pretty.
2. Listen to her - hear her out, and this is a big one, don't try to solve her problems, our wives are smarter than us they just need to vent, to get it all out, so we as men need to restrain our problem-solving selves and just listen and learn how to ask questions that help her get it all out.
- How not to listen - never ever tell her you think that she's over-reacting, never wonder aloud about the time of the month, and never ever tell her to calm down, unless you want to find out how to live without some of your body parts.
3. Help her around the house - this will tell her that home and family are important to you too, that you care about the burdens that she bears, and that you care about her so much that you want to make her life easier.
4. Try to be romantic - try to find out ways to make her feel that she has been romanced, that you are still in love with her, remember all the things you used to do when you were trying to get her to marry you, if you've stopped doing those things you may be in trouble. Take her out to dinner, buy her gifts for no reason, buy her favorite ice cream when she's had a bad day, never ever forget her birthday or your anniversary. Tell her what she means to you - now we are pretty clumsy about this but believe me they will appreciate an attempt - Women love to be surprised - good surprises mind you - try to surprise them, random gifts, random times to come home, just show up where she works to have lunch with her. Get a babysitter without telling her and take her to a movie or something. Study your wife and find out how you can best meet her needs.
5. Be a spiritual leader - make the attempt - lead the family in prayer, read the Bible together and to the kids.

How Women can Treasure their Husbands
1. Make sure he feels appreciated - thank him for what he does, tell him you're proud of him. Ladies you have an amazing power in this department. Everyone in the world can hate our guts but if we feel appreciated by our wives then we hold our heads high. You have an amazing influence on whether your husband is a confident man or not.
2. Make sure he feels desired - this probably means what you think it means but it could mean a lot of other things too. Find out what makes him feel desired because it is difficult for us to say this out loud but we need to feel desired, not just satisfied but really desired by our wives.
3. Try to get interested in his interests - watch football with him and ask questions - Edna has told me for years that she hates basketball - that it doesn't make sense to her, but this season she started watching games with me, and she has been asking questions - this is an awesome thing. Getting to share our loves with the one we love the most makes it more meaningful.
4. Let him be a leader - men are called by God to lead and when they are unable to do so, often resentment and bitterness creep in - but if you want a man to feel treasured let him lead, follow him whenever you can.

We often forget how important our marriages are in glorifying God. As we read in Eph 5:25 and 31
- Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, AND This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
- Treasuring our spouses is a living picture of how Jesus loved His bride the church. Marriage was created to reflect this love of Christ and when we have beautiful marriages it proclaims very loudly what it was meant to proclaim - that Jesus really loved His bride - the Church.

So take Valentine's Day in hand and use it to bless and treasure your spouse don't look at it as Extortion Day, but a day of proclaiming the Gospel in a really fun way.

PS - this post was wife approved.

Fit for Heaven?

2009-02-09T11:28:00.003-05:00

"But alas, how little fit for heaven are many who talk of 'going to heaven' when they die, while they manifestly have no saving faith, and no real acquaintance with Christ. You give Christ no honor here. You have no communion with Him. You do not love Him. Alas! what could you do in heaven? It would be no place for you. Its joys would be no joys for you. Its happiness would be a happiness into which you could not enter. Its employments would be a weariness and burden to your heart. Oh, repent and change before it be too late!"

J. C. Ryle, "Christ is All," in Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots (1877), cited in John Piper, God is the Gospel (Wheaton: Crossway, 2005), 16.

Are You a Sower - Mark 4:1-20

2009-02-08T21:46:00.005-05:00

Today I preached from Mark 4 and the parable of the soils and I thought it would make a good post so I thought that I would share my outline with you. I may do this more often in the future. But in this parable we have Jesus pointing to four heart responses to His Good News.

The Seed on the Road – The Hard Heart
- The seed sown on the road are those who have hard hearts
- They are not excused because the devil comes and steals away the word. He is able to steal it away because their hearts are so hard that the word had not taken any root.
- They simply do nothing with the message – so it is an easy theft.
- Many people with hard hearts are hard to recognize, often it is simple busyness, or it is false beliefs, or prejudices. But these hearts simply will not receive Jesus or His message.
- Yet we see that Jesus still sows the Word there.

The Seed on the Rocky Ground – The Shallow Heart
- Those on the rocky ground are a great deal more deceptive than the first ones.
- They actually seem to receive the word with joy, but they fall away at the first sign of trouble. They had nothing more than a shallow emotional response.
- Because they had no root in them – they were not indwelt by the Spirit, connected to Jesus, they had no grace, so when trouble came their lack of true resources was exposed.
- A true Christian is in the hand of Christ and will persevere through affliction.
- John 10:28 - I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. Or think about the Hosanna shouters that later shouted crucify Him.

The Seed among Thorns – The Worldly Heart
- This is the heart whose love for things crowds out any possibility of love for God.
- These are those who acknowledge the truthfulness of the gospel but who have no time for it, they say maybe later, or they simply are unable to let go of some pet sin.
- Look at what Jesus identifies as the thorns and I bet you can picture people and names – the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and desires for other things.
- James 4:4 - You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

The Seed on Good Soil – The Fruitful Heart
- But we come to a different kind of soil – notice what it was that makes these hearts good soil – they receive the word.
- It is not innate goodness or anything like that – it is not even basic morality – it is simply the willingness to receive.
- But these willing hearts become fruitful hearts. They bear the fruit of obedience and faithfulness. The fruit of a changed life. Think of the fruit of the spirit in Gal. 5:22.

What does all this mean for us?
- First - we must not prejudge the soil – Jesus sowed broadly into all kinds of soil seeking those who would receive the word – we must be willing to sow broadly as well. Not deciding which kind of person would be likely to receive the gospel – because we are usually wrong.
- Second - we must not forget that God is the one who gives the success. 1 Cor. 3:5-7 - What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. [6] I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. [7] So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
- Third – Sowers are not called to be successful but to be faithful. A successful sower is one who scatters the seed well. The grower and the harvester will attend to their jobs.

I don’t remember anyone sharing the Gospel with me until my sophomore year of college. I was 18 when I first heard the Gospel (John Lucas was actually the first person to ever invite me to church or share the Gospel with me, thank you for your faithfulness to the Gospel John). That is a sad thing that we cannot allow, I knew lots of Christians in High School and college, yet they did not share with me. We must be faithful sowers.

Persevering in Prayer - Piper Quote

2009-01-26T18:06:00.003-05:00

"The point is not to finally break down God's resistance but to discover, by patient prayer, God's wisdom as to the way and time the prayer should be answered. He is not disinclined to help His children and glorify His name. He simply knows better than we do when and how the answer should come. Therefore, our persistence in prayer shows both our confidence that God is our only hope and that He will act in the best way and the best time in response to our persistent pleas."

Holiness of God

2009-01-24T12:03:00.003-05:00

I listened to an SBC writer last night and came away troubled. He said that we need to "balance" the holiness of God with the goodness of God. Otherwise, he suggested, we will all wind up as sour-puss Christians. What was equally troubling was that no other pastors in the room seemed bothered by what he implied; namely that the holiness of God can be abstracted from attributes such as his goodness, and vice versa. After the event I tried to share with him that the holiness of God is a beautiful attribute that causes us to "rejoice with trembling" (Psalm 2), and is not the cause of "sour-puss" syndrome. But it was immediately apparent that he wanted undiluted praise and much purchasing of his materials, and wanted nothing to do with constructive criticism.

The evangelistic counsel was that we need to have more fun with unbelievers, rather than singing songs of worship and giving them the word of God. I can't help but think of Bunyan's Vanity Fair.

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

2009-01-17T13:20:00.001-05:00

When we say that we care about the cause of life, or that we are fighting for the life of the unborn what do we really mean? What is our real goal? What is the desired outcome? And why are we so concerned?

We care because of all the people who are affected. There is obvious tragedy of the death of the newborn. This is tragic and is actually not just the removal of human tissue or a mass of cells - it is the intentional taking of a human life - by definition it is murder. But the baby is not the only person affected. There is the mother who will carry the emotional scars of her act for the rest of her life, there is also the danger of physical harm that abortion can cause to women. There is also the affect on the men involved, men because they do not carry the baby themselves have always faced the temptation to act as predators and in earlier periods of history would acts as seducers and would abandon women they impregnated, now through the advent of the abortion culture in the western world men have been emboldened to be use predatory behavior because there is now this "procedure" that will remove the effects of their actions. There is also a cost to society, when you embrace this kind of moral insanity sacrificing all for individual rights you have sacrificed any sane basis for morality and in time anything goes.

So what is our desired goal, David Reardon says it best, "Our real desire has always been to create a culture where abortion is not just illegal, but is unthinkable."Just making the act illegal is not enough we want a world where just hearing the word abortion sends a shudder down people's spines.

What is our primary tool in fighting abortion. High-tech imaging machines. Getting pro-life politicians elected. Getting pro-life laws passed and enforced. These are all good and helpful, but we must not forget that we are fighting a battle not only in courts, but rather for the hearts and minds of an entire nation, so there must be truth involved and the truth that makes all the difference is that men and women are made in the image of God. (Gen. 1:27) Because of this truth all humans have an inherent dignity that must be defended. This truth must be shared and defended. And I believe that it will be the last line of defense in an a culture that cannot differentiate between the value of animal and plant life compared to human life. Nothing but the Image of God will guard this unique value.

TRUE LOVE WAITS ... FOR THIS?!

2009-01-14T20:31:00.019-05:00

This week an article appeared in the London Telegraph newspaper about a 22 year old San Diego woman who is taking a unique approach to funding her higher education. Natalie Dylan (not her real name) is auctioning off her virginity to the highest bidder in order to fund a Master's degree in, of all things, Family and Marriage Therapy. According to the report the highest bid to date is in the neighborhood of 3.7 million dollars. The article can be viewed by clicking here.

This article reveals a great deal about the state of our culture today and how many people view sexuality. Ms. Dylan explains in the article that she developed the idea to auction off her virginity after her sister prostituted herself for a few months to pay for her own education. While this entire article is disturbing and sad, one particular statement stands out. Ms. Dylan concludes her interview by saying, "It's shocking that men will pay so much for someone's virginity, which isn't even prized so highly anymore." Regrettably, I have to agree with her on that last part.

To the contemporary mindset the idea of being a virgin upon entering marriage is both laughable and absurd. A study released by NPR in 2006 reported that 80% of Americans have had sex by the age of twenty. That is a staggering thought. This means that more than half of the kids in your church's youth group are already having sex, and of those 50% who haven't, half of them will be shortly after leaving for college. Based on the results of this same study, only 20% of women who will marry this year will be virgins. I believe the reason for this is not simply because, as Ms. Dylan states it, virginity "isn't even prized so highly anymore." The real issue here is that God and His Word are not prized so highly anymore. Instead of viewing Scripture as God's plan for real and lasting joy amidst a sin-drenched existence, most today see the Bible as a restrictive, outdated rule book for nut-jobs crazy enough to believe it literally.

Today sex is no longer esteemed as a wonderful gift from God intended to be celebrated and enjoyed within the safe and loving boundaries of marriage. While every culture throughout history has abused God's gift of sex to some degree, the rampant abuse seen today is unmatched in world history and has led to a pervasive numbing of the moral conscience. The reality clearly on display in this article is that sex is now a tool used to achieve my wants and desires. Yet God's plan for our sex lives is so much more rich and satisfying. Sex is not simply about personal gratification, but instead it seeks mutual enjoyment and satisfaction within a relationship that is honored by God and reflects the glory of God. While this may be taboo in today's world, every single part of the marriage relationship, including sex, is designed to reflect the relationship of Christ to His bride, the church.

When I married the love of my life, my precious wife Emily, we inserted a non-traditional element into our otherwise traditional wedding ceremony. Right before we exchanged our wedding rings, we publicly exchanged the "True Love Waits" rings we each had worn symbolizing a vow of chastity made seperately in high school. By God's grace alone, we both stood at the front of an audience of God, family and friends as virgins and proudly stated it publicly through this exchange. Now I say that with much humility, knowing it was in no way because of my superior strength or discipline that I remained a virgin. But I am immensly grateful to say that by God's gracious presence and providence in my life and in my wife's, we were both virgins when we stood to be married that day.

I am deeply concerned and worried at the prospective results of Ms. Dylan's financial agreement to sell her virginity to the highest bidder. 3.7 million is way too cheap to sell one of God's greatest gifts, especially when we know He seeks to give us a much richer and fulfilling joy found in a marriage that glorifies King Jesus.

Yearning for the Open Triumph of His Hand

2009-01-13T12:05:00.003-05:00

"There is a hunger for God that goes beyond the desire for private experience. It longs for the public display of his glory in the world. It longs for the great dishonors against our God to be set right. It is not content to hope for private revelations of his saving help, as precious as they are. It yearns for the open triumph of his hand in the establishment of God-exalting truth and righteousness—in universities and courts of law and advertising agencies and political debates and all the media of television and radio and newspapers and magazines and movies and the Internet. It is driven by a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples."
- John Piper, A Hunger for God, 156-157.

Hold it Loosely

2009-01-04T16:39:00.007-05:00

Money and other possessions can be a great blessing and of great use in serving King Jesus. Our money can be used to support missions, to care for the needs of the poor and afflicted, and to provide for our families. Yet Jesus says that Money makes it hard for people to enter the Kingdom of God. How do we navigate this danger in the wealthy west? How do we use our wealth (unless you're homeless all Americans are wealthy) for the Kingdom without succumbing to the danger.

I fear that money has several dangers that we must fight to overcome. Money binds our hearts to this world - we begin to love our money and come to the point where we hate to leave it behind. Money divides our loyalties - we get sucked into preserving and making more money and we lose the hunger to follow and serve Christ. Money misplaces our trust and safety - money can make us feel safe and secure, "I have enough money to care for us so now I can relax" whereas our only real security is the fact that we are in Christ. Money can make us forget that we must live for the treasure in heaven - we are foolish to live for treasure that moth with rot and rust destroy when God has laid up for us treasure that nothing can take away. The little pleasures of money can make us forget that there are infinite pleasures and joys to be tasted now but feasted on when feasting with Jesus in His Kingdom.

How do we fight this danger. First we must remember that we are stewards, all we have belongs to God we are called to manage it according to His purposes and will. Second we are to pursue the true treasure Jesus Christ. If we are pursuing fellowship with Him, and if we are meditating on His truth then I think that we will slowly but surely be set free from this dangerous money.

Hold it loosely brothers and sisters or simply let it go in service to God.

Top Ten of 2008

2008-12-29T23:47:00.001-05:00

I recently saw that many of the blogs I read were featuring their favorite books published in 2008, I checked the books I read this year and discovered that I hadn't read enough books published this year to make a top ten list. So I decided to simply list my top ten books read this year. Some of them are pretty old some are new, but I loved them all. (Honorable mention: I read this little book of Yogi Berra quotes that made me laugh so hard). They are not ranked, I just put them in alphabetical order. Enjoy and feel free to share your favorite books of the year.

Steve Brown - Approaching God: How to Pray - great little book on prayer.

D. A. Carson - Ordinary Pastor - an encouragement to all of us ordinary pastors to persevere, and also for all of us ordinary Christians.

Murray J. Harris - Slave of Christ - revolutionized my understanding of an important biblical principle.

J. Gresham Machen - Christianity and Liberalism - Machen provided a devastating crituque of liberalism, in my mind completely establishing that Christian liberalism and Biblical Christianity are two different religion.

C. J. Mahaney - Humility - especially convicting was his challenge to always be discerning evidences of grace in others when many of us tend to see only the negatives, that chapter alone is worth the price of the book.

George Marsden - Jonathan Edwards - outstanding biography, made a man come to life when before he had simply been a set of sermons.

David McCullough - 1776 - really it should be a national holiday whenever a new McCullough book is released. We should at least throw some kind of nerdy party.

R. Albert Mohler - Atheism Remix - made us all aware of the new atheistic movement and then reduced them to ashes.

Bill Waterson - The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes - honestly it was a delight to find a collection of Calvin and Hobbes that I hadn't yet read.

Christopher Wright - Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament - my new favorite work of biblical theology.

Be Transformed

2008-12-29T18:58:00.002-05:00

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern the will of God, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12.2

When I was a kid I envied my brother, Jeremy, for his artistic ability. The closest I could come to his creations was to trace other people's artwork. I confess that I even tried to pass off my traced work as originals. Of course, anyone who collected the Amazing Spider-Man series of comics had my number! A person can have some nice looking "artwork" by tracing, but you can't create something new by tracing others' works. Unfortunately, many Christians conduct their lives by tracing. Their conduct simply reflects the attitudes, beliefs and practices of the world of unbelievers around them. The choices they make and the actions they take are but carbon copies of the scheme of this world. This is what Holy Spirit calls us away from when He says, "Do not be conformed to this world."

The answer of course is not simply to avoid worldliness. Many Christians attempt to live this way and wind up very depressed because the "Christian life" is all about what I'm not doing. This Scripture gives the positive exhortation "be transformed." Transformation involves a new reality. John Owen points out that in the New Birth we are really transformed but not absolutely transformed. There is much transformation that takes place after regeneration. Thus Paul can speak of being "transformed into the same image (i.e., of Christ) from one degree of glory to another"; and state that "while our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day" (2 Cor 3.18; 4.16). We might speak of this as the process of maturing by the grace of God, effectually working in us. It might be a good exercise to ask yourself whether you have matured spiritually in the past few months.

This transformation takes place, according to the Word of God, by the "renewing of your mind." Just as the New Birth is the work of the Spirit of God, this renewing of the mind is also the Spirit's work. Again, note what we possess really versus what we possess absolutely. On the one hand, Paul can say to the Corinthian Christians that "we have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor 2.16). On the other hand, Paul exhorts the Philippians to "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil 2.5). Calling on Owen again, at the New Birth our minds were genuinely made new since we are "not in the flesh but in the Spirit" (Rom 8.9). Yet, God calls on us to have our minds "renewed" because they are not completely renewed. The Spirit continues this work of renewal by presenting Christ to our minds by the instrument of the word of God (see 1 Cor 2.6-16 for the Spirit's work in the Apostles' teaching; 2 Cor 3.12-18 with regard to the Old Testament, particularly).

The result of this renewal is that we might discern the will of God. We will discern what is the good, acceptable, and perfect way to think, feel, behave. Only in this way will we fulfill the exhortation of the first verse to present our whole person to God as a sacrifice, living, holy and pleasing.

Grace Creates Worship

2008-12-23T13:56:00.004-05:00

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. - Romans 12.1

Therefore and by the mercies of God both point to the previous exposition of God's compassion in action as the ground for the exhortation. The grace of God, expounded in chaps. 1-11, expect a certain response. Apart from this grace this response would not only be unanticipated, but also impossible. Thus, the mercies of God are not merely a motive for the obedience enjoined in chaps. 12-15, but the fountain from which it flows or the soil in which it grows. It is instructive that Paul does not refer to the economy of salvation just expounded as "doctrines" but as "mercies" or more fully "compassion in action."

The words present . . . . sacrifice and worship are cultic concepts derived from the OT worship at the Tabernacle/Temple. The product of and proper response to God's grace in Christ is worship. That this is not limited to activities at particular sacred spaces and sacred times is made clear by the object (your bodies) and the character (spiritual) of the worship.

The use of the word bodies makes the imagery of OT sacrifice all the sharper, and emphasizes the totality of devotion called for. All of our existence, in everything we bump into in this life, is to be offered to God. The word spiritual or reasonable clarifies that this cannot be merely external conformity, or going through the motions. The use of these two words (bodies and spiritual) together can correct perverse thoughts about the Christian life. On the one hand, there are those who believe that what they do matters very little as long as they "believe." Sinful behavior is often excused by saying, "God knows my heart." But the word of God says, "present your bodies" and "glorify God in your body" (1 Cor 6.20). On the other hand are those who pride themselves on their external conformity to the commands of Scripture, but are not inwardly changed. True worship is spiritual or reasonable, as Douglas Moo explains, "in the sense of 'appropriate for human beings as rational and spiritual creatures of God': a worship that honors God by giving him what he truly wants as opposed to the depraved worship offered by human beings under the power of sin (see Rom 1.23-25)." (Moo, Romans, NICNT).

This sacrifice of our bodies is living because we have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life (6.4-11). This sacrifice is holy because, having been set free from sin, we are set apart as God's servants (6.22). This sacrifice is acceptable because we are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, "if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you" (8.8-9).

Do not be mislead by those expositors who wrongly say that the aoristic aspect of present implies a once-for-all presentation of the self to God. The aorist is the default tense of the infinitve in the NT, hense it is the least marked tense. If the present or perfect tense were used, then something could be said regarding the kind of action. The aorist alone does not define the kind of action (progressive, perfected, etc.). The fact that Paul is writing to a church whose members would no doubt be at different maturity levels spiritually is a good argument for seeing this presentation as a repeatable discipline, not a one-time act.

In light of the dawning of a new year and this exhortation of Holy Spirit, let us resolve, as Jonathan Edwards did on the twelfth day of January, 1723, "frequently to renew the dedication of myself to God."

Josh Owen

SPURRED TO EVANGELISM BY THE TESTIMONY OF AN ATHEIST

2008-12-18T13:53:00.002-05:00

I have always been amused by Penn and Teller, the magicians / comedians who have a wonderful balance of humor and crassness. But never in a million years would I imagine that the talking half of the act would remind me of how my seriousness about evangelism shows how serious I take the gospel. Watch this video of an avowed atheist telling about a faithful brother loving him enough to share the Gospel. And then pray as I am for that kind of radical devotion to Jesus and love for people.

Click Here For Video

HT: Ed Stetzer

TWO OPPOSING MESSAGES FROM THE CULTURE AT CHRISTMAS

2008-12-17T10:13:00.005-05:00

This morning I read Christopher Hitchens' recent article on slate.com titled "Tis the Season to be Incredulous: The Moral and Aesthetic Nightmare of Christmas" http://www.slate.com/id/2206713/. Hitchens can only be described, in my humble opinion, as a militant atheist and a leading contender for the most-miserable person on the face of the earth. His tone is continually hateful and hostile, and this article is no exception. His goal is, in his own words,

to write an anti-Christmas column that becomes fiercer every year while remaining, in essence, the same. The core objection, which I restate every December at about this time, is that for almost a whole month, the United States—a country constitutionally based on a separation between church and state—turns itself into the cultural and commercial equivalent of a one-party state.

This vitriolic message climaxes as he addresses the topic of Christianity and the inspired Word of God, followed by his "solution" to Christmas for the cultural landscape of this nation:

Suppose we put the question like this: Imagine that conclusive archaeological and textual evidence emerged to prove that the whole story of the birth, life, and death of Jesus of Nazareth was either a delusion or a fabrication? Suppose the mother had admitted shyly that, in fact, she had fallen pregnant for predictable reasons? Suppose we found the post-Calvary body?

Serious Christians, of the sort I have been debating lately, would have no choice but to consider such news as absolutely calamitous. The light of the world would have gone out; the hope of humanity would have been extinguished. (The same obviously would apply to Muslims who couldn't bear the shock of finding that their prophet was fictional or fraudulent.) But I invite you to consider things more lucidly. If all the official stories of monotheism, from Moses to Mormonism, were to be utterly and finally discredited, we would be exactly where we are now. All the agonizing questions that we face, from the idea of the good life and our duties to each other to the concept of justice and the enigma of existence itself, would be just as difficult and also just as fascinating. It takes a totalitarian mind-set to claim that only one Bronze Age Palestinian revelation or prophecy or text can be our guide through this labyrinth. If the totalitarians cannot bear to abandon their adoration of their various Dear Leaders, can they not at least arrange to hold their ceremonies in private? Either that or give up the tax-exempt status that must remind them so painfully of the things of this material world.

Merry Christmas Mr. Hitchens, and God bless you!

Now compare those remarks to this video message taped years ago from then-President Ronald Reagan and you decide which captures the heart of charity and love this Christmas. Click Here For Video

Born Under the Law

2008-12-16T15:42:00.002-05:00

Luke 2.21-40 captures many key themes of Luke, such as the role of the Holy Spirit in the earthly life of Jesus Christ, God's uplifting of the poor, and models of Christian devotion/discipleship. One of those themes is Christ's obedience to the law. The observance of the law on behalf of Jesus is referred to six times in this passage (vv. 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 39). Robert Stein, in his commentary on Luke (NAC) states that this is Luke's way of saying that the law is still relevant and pressing on the believer's life, a guide for conduct. Thus these duties carried out on Jesus' behalf become an example for the disciples of Christ.

The problem with this interpretation is that each of the laws fulfilled are ceremonial - circumcision on the eighth day (21); purification (22); redemption (23-24, 27, 39) - not moral. Clearly, Luke would not have Theophilus following Mary and Joseph's example in order to be a disciple of Christ. Luke, after all, is the one who records the decision of the Jerusalem Council regarding circumcision and other ceremonial stipulations being imposed on the Gentile churches: "For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden that these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well" (Acts 15.28-29).

Stein might argue that it is not the ceremonial aspects of the law, but the law as the command of the Lord that Jesus' parents follow and thus become exemplary. This would be one way of avoiding the contradiction between his interpretation and the clear teaching of Acts, Galatians, Colossians, Hebrews and the NT in general regarding the ceremonial aspects of the law.

But it may be that Luke had a very different purpose in recording their obedience to the law in these particulars; namely, to illustrate that Christ was born under the law. Even when His fulfillment of the law was in another's hands, God saw that He fulfilled it.

But when the fulness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying "Abba! Father!" so you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Galatians 4.4-7

Another thought: Isn't it interesting that the first-born son was to be redeemed by a sacrifice because every first-born male belonged to God. Thus every first-born animal was to be sacrificed to God or its neck was to be broken, but every first-born man was to be redeemed. Jesus was redeemed by payment to the sanctuary (Luke 2.23; cf. Exod 13.2, 12-13; Num 18.15-17), but He would later be sacrificed for the redemption of covenant-breaking, lawless sinners.

Book Recommendation - The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn

2008-12-12T23:59:00.009-05:00

Randy Alcorn is abundantly qualified to write this book. He participated in a peaceful protest of an abortion clinic that led him to be sued and sentenced to pay the clinic millions of dollars which he refused to do. The only way that he could avoid funding abortions was to make only minimum wage which he immediately did, resigning his pastorate and refusing his book royalties. Basically the closest a protestant can get to a vow of poverty. He learned to live with much less than he was used to and at the same time learned to give with less. So out of this background what he says about money and giving come from a place of personal integrity and experience.

The central thrust of the book is what he calls the Treasure Principle: the idea that you can't take it (money/possessions) with you - but you can send it on ahead.

He then unravels the Bible's teaching on the use of money throughout the book giving six treasure principles. I found the book very helpful personally and as a tool for a sermon series that is in the works.

Highly recommended for all Christians in our materialistic culture.

On Study Bibles

2008-12-11T21:58:00.004-05:00

I recently had an eye-opening experience at a bowling alley. A lady who knew that I was a Pastor came up to me and asked me a question about a passage in the Bible and her interpretation was a little bit out of left-field. She told me that she had learned it from her study Bible. As we discussed the passage I could not get her to really look at the passage, she was hung up on the study notes.

I remember as a baby believer in college that my study bibles (yes it quickly became plural) were incredibly helpful in my early growth in understanding the Word. I remember lugging two very large study bibles to a dorm bible study. I also remember John’s devotion to his MacArthur study bible. I heard many a sermon from John holding that huge Bible in the pulpit. I was a study bible junkie and I still feel the urge to buy every new study bible (the ESV Study Bible is calling my name).

So the question I’m asking myself is what role a study bible should have in the life a believer. I have had both positive experiences and negative experiences. So what I would like to do is sort of weigh out the positives and negatives, and see where we land.

First in the positive category a study bible can help a baby believer take their first steps in understanding the Word. I remember knowing nothing a junior in college and with every passage I had questions, and my study bible’s really helped.

Another positive is the benefit of all the specialty bibles floating around. For example I love my Apologetics Study Bible. So if you are feeling a little uninformed in an area you can probably find a study bible to help you. Or if you are really passionate about a subject (such as apologetics) then you could benefit from reading the bible with consistent notes that show how apologetics reflects on whatever passage you happen to be reading.

The last benefit that I can find is the benefit of having some notes with you in the church to test the orthodoxy of what you are hearing. But this could also be a negative in that you could get distracted be reading the notes instead of listening to the message. Also you could make Tim LaHaye or John MacArthur your test of orthodoxy instead of testing scripture with scripture.

In the negative category there is the fact that by the nature of the space allowed nothing is treated in depth. Sometimes such a bare bones treatment isn’t helpful at all.

Also because publishers want to sell bible’s they avoid offending people, which means that they tend to avoid the really controversial passages, which in my mind would be the biggest need for a study bible.

Another negative is the unwavering devotion that can develop between a believer and the study bible that helped them greatly when they first started reading the bible.

There is also the danger that I have seen where there is confusion between what is inspired scripture and what is the fallible guidance of people.

Now in light of these few positives and negatives what recommendations seem wise? For a little honest disclosure, I no longer use study bible’s in my quiet time and very rarely in the study.
This may be for a couple of reasons, my library has grown and with the commentaries on my shelf the study bible’s have been dwarfed. Also I have grown in my knowledge of the Word and no longer lean on study bibles the way I used to.

So I think that I would recommend a study bible to a new believer to help them begin growing in the Word. But in the light of the dangers a believer who has extended themselves in studying the Word would appear to be wise to lay aside their study bible, keep it as a resource as a tool, but study the Word on its own merits with no intruding thoughts from anyone else.

Top Ten of 08

2008-12-10T18:08:00.012-05:00

Steve Brown - Approaching God: How to Pray

D. A. Carson - Ordinary Pastor

Murray J. Harris - Slave of Christ

J. Gresham Machen - Christianity and Liberalism - Machen provided a devastating crituque of liberalism, in my mind completely establishing that Christian liberalism and Biblical Christianity are two different religion.

C. J. Mahaney - Humility

George Marsden - Jonathan Edwards

David McCullough - 1776

R. Albert Mohler - Atheism Remix

Bill Waterson - The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes

Christopher Wright - Knowing Jesus throiugh the Old Testament

Deception - The Human Condition

2008-12-10T15:42:00.004-05:00

I was going through a checkout line today and spotted a headline that reads as follows:

"Dead loved one's say . . . Hell is a blast"

That anyone would find such an article credible let alone intriguing shows the desperation in every human heart. This just reminds me to pray and share the Good News of my Risen Savior who alone fills that need, all the more.

Tension in the Christian Life

2008-12-10T11:58:00.004-05:00

"I am not what I ought to be. Ah! How imperfect and deficient! I am not what I wish to be. I abhor that which is evil, and I would cleave to that which is good. I am not what I hope to be. Soon, soon I shall put off mortality and with mortality all sin and imperfection. Though I am not what I ought to be, what I wish to be, and what I hope to be, yet I can truly say, I am not what I once was, a slave to sin and Satan; I can heartily join with the apostle and acknowledge, 'By the grace of God, I am what I am.'"

- John Newton

In light of Josh's post on the pre-regenerate work of the Holy Spirit I thought this quote on the tension that remains even in the regenerate heart was apt, so I thought I would share it with you.

My Real Point - A Christ-Centered Christmas

2008-12-08T19:36:00.004-05:00

Have you ever felt like you had a really good point to make but have been frustrated by how it came off. Well that's been my experience since I posted last. And I think I've realized my mistake, finally. I sat down to write with a settled conviction and instead wrote about a tangent instead of the real point and the real conviction.

So here's the real point we need to work hard as churches and parents to make sure that we celebrate a Christ-centered Christmas. This may or may not mean having Santa involved, but it must mean that Jesus is involved and central. It must mean that we tell our kids and everyone who will listen the story about how God entered the world in human flesh to set apart a people for Himself. We must work hard and be intentional.

There are dangers and hindrances, Santa can be one (John is living proof that it doesn't have to be), the materialistic fog that we all live in is another, and there are distractions that are in and of themselves good things. For a lot of families this is the only time that they can all get together, and this is good, we should celebrate the opportunities to be with the people that God providentially placed us with (not an accident whatever my brothers choose to think). But we still must insure that Jesus remains the center of this day.

That was my real point, I agree with John that Santa's role is a matter of conscience, that is absolutely true and Christians can disagree in good conscience, but what we cannot do is allow Jesus to slip out of the spotlight. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

THE PREACHER AND HIS PRAYER LIFE

2008-12-08T16:15:00.002-05:00

For every hour spent in his study chair, he (the preacher) will have to spend two upon his knees. For every hour he devotes to wrestling with an obscure passage of Holy Writ, he must have two in the which to be found wrestling with God. Prayer and preaching: preaching and prayer! They cannot be seperated. The ancient cry was: "To your tents, O Israel!" The modern Cry should be: "To your knees, O preacher, to your knees!"

E.M Bounds, The Necessity of Prayer (online version, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bounds/necessity.i.xv.html)

Unregenerate Partakers of the Spirit, Beware!

2008-12-08T14:02:00.010-05:00

John Owen lists three works of the Spirit in a person that precede regeneration. These works generally precede regeneration, but regeneration does not necessarily follow from them. As his focus is on the work of the Spirit, he does not include those duties that fallen man can perform apart from the Spirit's special ministry, namely, an outward attendance to the word of God and a "diligent intention of the mind, in attendance on the means of grace." He reduces these works of the Spirit to three points: 1) Illumination; 2) Conviction; 3) Reformation.

1) Owen says, "Now, all the light which by any means we attain unto, or knowledge that we have in or about spiritual things, things of supernatural revelation, come under this denomination of illumination." He argues that there are three degrees of illumination. a) The first degree is a subduing, though not eradication, of the natural man's antipathy (negligence, sloth and pride) to divine revelation, which allows him to have a head knowledge of the truth. b) The second degree is a special effect of the Spirit by the word on the minds of men which adds clarity, greater assent, a weak joy, and gifts regarding spiritual truths. c) The third degree, unlike the first two, communicates saving grace to the heart.

2) Conviction, according to Owen, involves a) an unsettling sense of the guilt of sin in light of the law and judgment of God; b) sorrow for sin because it is past and cannot be changed (legal sorrow); and c) humiliation for sin, which is the outward effect of the fear and sorrow in the acts of confession, fasting, praying and similar disciplines.

3) "Oftentimes," says Owen, "a great reformation of life and change in affections doth ensue heron; as Matt. 13:20; 2 Peter 2:20; Matt. 12:44."

He observes that the effects of this work rests in the mind, conscience, affections and conduct. But the will is not renewed, therefore, it is continually inclined to sin. The mind, though enlightened to a degree, has not proceeded as far as to delight in God. The conscience is worked upon, but not purged. The affections, though stirred to fear, sorrow, joy and delight about spiritual things are not fixed on heavenly things. The affections are not fully for God, but abide sin to remain. With regard to conduct, many sins are left unregarded, known sins are left unhindered, and energy for spiritual life gradually decays.

In his typical pastoral manner, Owen calls us to self-examination to ensure that we have not mistaken these motions of the Spirit for regeneration.

Now, because it oftentimes maketh a great appearance and resemblance of regeneration itself, or of real conversion to God, so that neither the world nor the church is able to distinguish between them, it is of great concernment unto all professors of the gospel to inquire diligently whether they have in their own souls been made partakers of any other work of the Spirit of God or no; or although this be a good work, and doth lie in a good subserviency unto regeneration, yet if men attain no more, if they proceed no farther, they will perish, and that eternally. And multitudes do herein actually deceive themselves, speaking peace unto their souls on the effects of this work; whereby it is not only insufficient to save them, as it is to all persons at all times, but also becomes a means of their present security and future destruction.

May God keep us from saying "peace, peace" when there is no peace.

John Owen, The Holy Spirit, (Bath, England: Johnstone and Hunter, 1850-53; reprint, Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1965), 228-242.

STIRRING THE POT

2008-12-08T13:57:00.004-05:00

Even though I have been overwhelmed lately and unable to post on the blog, I have somehow managed to find time to post comments on this blog and another (www.mattshamblin.blogspot.com), both of which have been controvesial subjects. Both have also been fun discussions showing the love and charity brothers and sisters in Christ can have when they disagree on theological issues. In light of the Jamie's last post (see below "Santa is Dangerous) I have decided to stir the pot a bit more than I already have and give a couple of links on this subject. The first is on Justin Taylor's blog and summarizes two helpful articles. The second is by one of my favorite theologians, R.C. Sproul, exhorting us not to be a "Scrooge" at Christmas. While we do this in fun, I want to state my love and respect for my brothers on this blog. They are men of integrity that love Jesus, their families and their churches. My prayer is that healthy debate done in love and respect would be modeled on this blog of brothers!

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2008/12/do-you-believe-in-santa-claus.html

http://www.ligonier.org/blog/2008/12/marleys-message-to-scrooge.html

Christ Was Born a Martyr

2008-12-06T16:37:00.002-05:00

Skip Ryan, in Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), page 20, wrote:

Glory in the Gospel of John is used to describe the death of Christ. That is amazing. In John 12:23-24, for example, we read, "And Jesus answered them saying, 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.'" John Donne, in The Book of Uncommon Prayers, says, "The whole of Christ's life was a continual passion; others die martyrs, but Christ was born a martyr. He found a Golgotha, where he was crucified, even in Bethlehem, where he was born; for to his tenderness then the straws were almost as sharp as the thorns after, and the manger as uneasy at first as the cross at last. His birth and his death were but one continual act, and his Christmas Day and his Good Friday are but the evening and the morning of one and the same day. From the creche to the cross is an inseparable line. Christmas only points forward to Good Friday and Easter. It can have no meaning apart from that, where the Son of God displayed his glory by his death."

Most evangelicals are understandably slow to use the language of martyrdom of Jesus. Certainly we don't want to portray the cross as an unfortunate turn of events in the life of Jesus that he had no power over. Jesus laid down His life, no one took it from Him. Yet, in as much as He died for His witness to the Truth, He can be said to be a martyr, a theme, I would argue, presented in the book of Revelation. Take some time to reflect on the Golgotha that Christ found in Bethlehem.

Santa Claus is Dangerous

2008-12-06T10:51:00.008-05:00

What is Christmas truly about? If you ask the average Joe you'll probably hear that its about showing Christmas spirit or giving gifts or eating too much or seeing family. Earlier this week on a kid show my daughter was watching a frog explained that he had a star on his tree because every year the biggest prettiest star comes out for Christmas, or something like that. As a culture we have forgotten why we have a holiday on Dec. 25 every year.

Look at the things that we actually focus on during Christmas, family gatherings (not bad but not the point), giving gifts (they do serve a point but not the materialistic insanity that we have going on), Christmas Tree's (who remembers what point they serve), and lots of Christmas movies (that have nothing to do with the real reason for Christmas).

The real purpose of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus. That's it, that's all. But people who care little about Jesus or who actively hate Him still want to celebrate Christmas, no matter how much debt it puts them in. So I think that we as those who love Jesus should find ways to celebrate Jesus' birthday distinctively. Start some family traditions that are focused on Christ. For example my family tries to make Christmas feel like a birthday party for Jesus. We have a birthday cake, we sing the Happy Birthday song (I know it sounds awfully cheesy), we put up happy birthday banners, all aimed at keeping the main thing the main thing.

Now I want to share the really controversial thing that we do. We aren't teaching our kids about Santa Claus. Yes I know many of you are cringing right now (all both of you) but I really think that Santa is the chief distraction. In most American homes Santa has replaced Jesus. Think about how many cartoons kids will watch this year about Santa compared with cartoons about Jesus' birth. Santa is dangerous because he draws our kids hearts away from Jesus and focuses them on a fat guy offering them toys (sounds like a guy you don't want in your neighborhood).

So I want to challenge everybody to reconsider Santa and to be intentional about having a Christ-centered Christmas.

PS - the original version of this post was a lot more hostile and was originally titled Santa Claus is a tool of the devil, Edna talked me out of it.

Reflections On Being a Pastor

2008-12-05T21:27:00.004-05:00

Alistair Begg and Derek Prime have given us a real gift and resource in this book. Here is a book that dispenses real practical wisdom to Pastors. The real advantage of this book is the wide variety of topics that it addresses.

I found the chapters discussing the devotional life of pastors to be very challenging and helpful. The chapters on the practical ministry of the pastor was also very helpful, the focus on the priority of study and preaching was challenging. The concluding chapters on family and leisure were very hard because it is so easy to say yes to the concerns that feel so pressing, but we cannot neglect our families. Also the discussion of the challenges of the wife of a pastor was really an eye-opener. I felt really convicted to make some changes to intentionally benefit her. It has also helped me to pray for her.

The concluding chapter on the perils and privileges of ministry was a little scary. Completely true but scary. There were twenty pages on perils and only two pages on the privileges. More balance would have been encouraging but it was good to be reminded that there are challenges to ministry that we need to be realistic about.

There are a few drawbacks, at times the advice appears to be based on a culture that is foreign to ours, the Scottish church culture that Derek Prime is so different that the advice isn't all that helpful. Also the chapter on delegation seemed to coming from a couple of pastors that are from large churches who are unfamiliar to the reality of small-church ministry.

But overall what we receive here is a picture of ministry that is word-centered and focused on benefiting the people of God, the undersheperds and enhancing the glory of God. Highly recommended.

PS - this would also be a good read for church members because it would help them understand the pressures their pastors are under, and how they could better encourage them and pray for them.

John Owen's Echo

2008-11-30T15:52:00.004-05:00

As I mentioned in one of my responses recently, I have been reading quite a bit of John Owen lately. I have adopted him as my "witness" from among the great cloud of witnesses to learn from. In this, I am following the advice of John Piper which I heard him offer at a conference of the Jonathan Edwards Institute several years ago. He recommended that we find one theologian/pastor/missionary from church history to study, and to learn all that we can from that person. Of course, it must be someone who is exemplary in conduct and orthodox in teaching. The person must also have enough published writings available to make a thorough study possible. Piper had chosen Jonathan Edwards. At this conference, he held up the two volume copy of Edwards' works published by Banner of Truth and said, "If you can't buy any other book on the book tables, you need to buy these. Don't buy a Piper book. If you've read one Piper book you've read them all. I only have one message that I repeat over and over in every book. Besides, I'm only an echo of Jonathan Edwards." I'll add that having read both men there is no denying the profound influence Edwards has had on Piper, for the glory of God and the splendor of Christ's Bride, the church. After reading several of Owen's works, though my heart's desire is ultimately to be conformed to Jesus Christ, I believe it would honor God if I were but an echo of John Owen. I came across this statement of Richard Daniel's from his book The Christology of John Owen on www.johnowen.org/.

…there is one motif so important to John Owen, so often and so broadly cited by him, that the writer would go so far as to call it the focal point of Owen’s theology…. namely, the doctrine that in the gospel we behold, by the Christ-given Holy Spirit, the glory of God "in the face of Christ" and are thereby changed into his image…. (92)

Jamie, I can't think of anything more in line with the vision of this blog: Convinced of the truth that we will become what we focus on. Therefore we focus on beholding Christ in the hope that we will become like Him.

Expect to hear many echos of John Owen in the days ahead.

Josh Owen

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T11:47:00.003-05:00

I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to everybody (both of our readers), I hope that you get to spend the day with family stuffing your face with Turkey and Ham and enjoying some great football (doesn't it seem wrong that we're stuck with the winless Lions on Thanksgiving). But I want to give you a challenge and ask you a question.

First I want to challenge you to take advantage of this opportunity, most of have lost people in our families and this is a guaranteed opportunity to spend an extended amount of time with them. So I think that we should take of this day and seek to share the Gospel.

Second I want to ask a question, in the new polling spirit of the blog (thanks John) I want to ask you who and what you are thankful for. First is there a particular person in church history that you are thankful for, is there a certain family member that you are thankful for, and tell me one thing that you are thankful for in regards to your spouse. Share anything you like those are just a few ideas.

THANKFUL FOR THE WITNESS OF BIBLICAL SAINTS

2008-11-26T13:42:00.003-05:00

The last post I put up asked for readers to tell us their favorite book of the Bible and why it is meaningful. In honor of the week of Thanksgiving, I would like to post another question for you to respond to: What person recorded in the biblical narrative has special significance in your life and why? This is an opportunity to express gratitude to God for the inspired Scriptures that narrated the lives of everyday men and women like you and me to declare the revelation of God. Now once again, I have to lay down some ground rules for a few individuals (i.e. Josh). First, you cannot say "Jesus," and then respond "because he saved me." Every blood-bought believer claims Jesus as the King of our hearts, so with that stated up front you can explore other avenues of gratitude in the narrative of Scripture. Also, if you choose the Apostle Paul, please go into some depth on the explanation as he will most likely be a fan-favorite. Otherwise, have fun and give us two or three heroes of Scripture you are thankful for.

Kung Fu Panda - A Reflection

2008-11-26T12:04:00.000-05:00

Last night my family watched Kung Fu Panda. My Dad could and probably should be the president of the Bruce Lee fan club so I kind of have a soft spot for Kung Fu flicks (I grew up convinced that Enter the Dragon was the greatest movie ever made), and the movie was enjoyable, nothing offensive to the kiddo. But there was one hitch that left a bad taste in my mouth. No there wasn't any foul language or nudity or anything like that, but sometimes it is the more subtle things that trip off the radar. And this was one of those moments for me.

It came near the end of the movie when the Panda has really become the Dragon Warrior and has earned the right to see the Dragon Scroll, he opens the scroll that is supposed to give limitless Kung Fu power (pretty cool for any kid under 13) and what he discovers in the scroll is the problem for me, the scroll is simply a blank reflective surface. What the Panda learns is that all the power that he needs is simply to believe in himself. And when he does this he easily beats up the bad guy.

Why is that a problem, don't we want our kids to believe in themselves. To have a healthy self-esteem and self-awareness. Well sure, but part of a truly healthy self-awareness is that we are not truly independent people. I depend on people everyday. I need other people. But the deeper and more troubling angle is that I don't want my kid or yours to be convinced that they have in themselves all they need because the truth is that our kids and everyone of us are desperately dependent on God. We need His strength, we need His Wisdom, we need His forgiveness, we need His daily guidance, we need to experience His love, and the deeper fact is that all we have has been given directly from His kind hand. When we look at the source of hope it is not an inward look. When I look inward I am frightened by what I see, by what I'm capable of. But the true look of hope is an outward look into the face of God, because we see there love and power perfectly mingled. In His kindness He perfectly cares for His covenant people, and in His power He is able to care for them without ever a worry of failure. So lets keep our kids and ourselves from looking at our reflections and instead gaze into the face of God.

TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE BOOK OF THE BIBLE

2008-11-21T12:22:00.002-05:00

Ok, it seems life as usual is kinda slow for the B&B bloggers, and the 2 of you who actually read us are probably wondering why. Ministry and life seem to be extremely busy now for everybody, so I am going to do something a little different for the next few posts to get involvement back up.

For this post, I would like you to respond in the comments and tell me what is your favorite book of the Bible and why? (NOTE: please do not use the cliche 'I love them all.' I am stating up front that every believer loves the whole of Scripture, but some portions have deeper significance and minister to us more than others. Josh this especially goes for you!).

Pick your favorite book (or passage if that suits you) and tell us why it benefits your soul. I hope to see many comments, and I will put my favorite in shortly, and add another post like this next week.

My Favorite Philosopher

2008-11-20T16:28:00.002-05:00

My favorite philosopher once said this,

The only reason I need these gloves is cause of my hands.

and

The other teams could make trouble for us if they win.

and

We made too many wrong mistakes.

and

90% of short putts don't go in.

and

Why buy good luggage you only use it when you travel.

Give a big round of applause for the unrivaled use of the English language by your favorite and mine, Yogi Berra.

I needed a laugh today and thought I would share.

PRAYER TAKES MANLY MEN

2008-11-18T12:58:00.003-05:00

As I am reading through E. M. Bounds' wonderful works on prayer, he says this to men (not to exclude women from prayer but to show how pitiful we men are at the discipline):

It is man's business to pray, and it takes manly men to do it. It is godly business to pray, and it takes godly men to do it. And it is godly men who give over themselves entirely to prayer. Prayer is far-reaching in its influence and in its gracious effects. It is intense and profound business which deals with God and His plans and purposes, and it takes whole-hearted men to do it. No half-hearted, half-brained, half-spirited effort will do for this serious, all important, heavenly business.

May God give me and other men out there a burden to be "manly men" who are on our knees in battle for King Jesus!

Spurgeon: An Honest Man

2008-11-10T09:06:00.005-05:00

Laying on my desk right now is a copy of James Taylor's "Pastors Under Pressure." The book is published by Day One and the Forward is written by Derek Prime. Without reservation, I call it a most solid and helpful book. The table of contents lists the following chapter titles: Identity, Discouragement, Criticism, Loneliness, Dryness, Failure, Temptations, and Moving On...Or Out. Do any or all of these works speak to you? Initially, I wanted to crack a joke about the nature of the book, thinking that every pastor who took the time to read this would laugh at least a little. However, it's Monday morning. Most pastors are not in laughing moods on Mondays...including myself. The issues are too painful for jokes, especially those of the Monday morning variety. Thus, I've decided to simply let the chapter titles speak for themselves.

In talking to pastors on a weekly basis for a number of years, I have come to believe that books like Taylor's are much-needed tools for those in service to God, especially pastors. The chapter titles, while eloquently presented, are sad in that most folks would never think of "their" pastor having to deal with any of the issues listed above. While the pastor's heart is deceitful like everyone else's, it remains sensitive to the high calling we've been give and the natures and struggles of those around us...epecially those under our care. The weight of this is tremendous and can certainly weigh the heart down...even to the point of depression.

I once had the "privilege" of sitting next to a group of about 7 men at a local restaurant. (I recognized a couple of their faces, but they clearly did not know me) My wife was with me and our dinner was supposed to be a night out for a little R and R. Instead, my wife and I got to listen to the men describe the recent departure of the pastor at their church. The discussion was lengthy and mean. It included the following: how easy the job was, how he "wasn't really that good in the pulpit," we paid him more than enough money, he had alot of free time, he'll miss us because we were good to him, and the ever-popular "I wish the Lord would call me to do it so I could show others how to do it." (No, I'm not kidding)

In all fairness, the observance of the ministry and the minister uses at least two different sets of lenses: those in the pew and those behind the pulpit. At the restaurant that particular evening, both sets were present, but only one was clearly represented. My wife gave me the "eye" that clearly said I was to not say anything. I spent my dinner in a crouched position hoping my wife would give me the "go ahead"...but it was never granted. Thus, my dinner and evening were all but ruined.

It's sad, isn't it? Most folks have no idea what pastors and those involved in Christian service go through in the course of the day. I've yet to meet a pastor who cannot identify with the "weight" of the office. I've yet to meet one who hasn't experienced loneliness, criticisms, etc. Some well-meaning folks claim they can understand what the ole pastor is going through...but I'm not sure it's possible for those on the outside. I'm reminded of a quote from a former pastor of mine, "It takes another pastor to truly understand another pastor."

Like many of you, I hold up Spurgeon as one my heroes of the faith. We've all been blessed to feed on the sermons he prepared over a century ago. A blog is not the place to discuss his vast ministry...for there is simply not enough room to cover it all. Many of us have read of his amazing ministry and we probably all have books bearing his name with scores of sentences underlined and highlighted. His sermons are filled with passion, conviction, urgency, However, in reading his "Causes and Cure of Fainting," a sermon he preached in June of 1877, I came across a paragraph where Spurgeon opens his own heart about the painful reality of wanting to "faint" in service to God and the depression that can overtake us all if we're not careful. Pay particular attention to his honesty, hence the title of the blog.

He says,

Yet another frequent cause of faintness is the spirit itself sinking. There is a certain condition, in which the heart seems to go down, down, down, down; I know not how to describe it, but everybody who has ever had that painful experience knows what it is. You can hardly tell why you are so depressed; if you could give a reason for your despondency, you might more easily get over it; but, like David, you cry to your own heart, 'Why are thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?' You try to argue with yourself to find out the reason why you are so despondent, and why you look at the black side of everything, and imagine that things will go amiss which will turn out right after all. Your friends tell you that you are nervous, and there is no doubt you are, but that does not alter the case. I will not blame you; I will, however, say to myself, and urge you to say to yourself, 'Hope thou in God: for thou shalt yet praise him, who is the health of thy countenance, and thy God.' Better still, I pray our sympathizing Saviour to say to you, 'Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me;' and on his loving bosom leave all your sorrows and your cares.

I read this particular part as though he was speaking directly to me...pastor to pastor. I, for one, appreciate his straightforwardness and honesty. Too many books have been written that tell us if we would just love Jesus enough, we'd never have a bad day, bad mood, or bad anything. Today, I entered the office with a heavy heart. Yet, I am encouraged by what I find here. Spurgeon and Taylor have both "been there." And while I'm grateful for plethora of "nuggets" I've gleaned from Spurgeon over the years...I'm particularly grateful for this one I discovered this morning. I'm glad he was honest about it.

Spurgeon's words are timely. I firmly believe the load pastors are bearing will only become heavier. As our nation drifts from her foundation, as churches become increasingly secular, as more and more members fall away from the church, as the Bible is viewed with increasing skepticism, as doctrine is replaced with experiential emotion, and as postmodern thought dismisses truth on virtually every level...the outcome is all but predictable. The truly called pastor sees this...and feels this. The weight is real. To make it through these times, we need to be clinging to God as never before. In the same sermon, Spurgeon warns of trying to stand in our own strength. It will eventually give out, regardless of our giftedness. Let us be honest about what's before us and do all that we can to prepare for our times.

Reformation Day

2008-10-31T21:15:00.003-04:00

Oct. 31 1517, an Augustinian Monk nailed a set of theses for debate on the Wittenberg Church door, little suspecting that the world would never again be the same. The Monk's name was Martin Luther and his theses were the beginning of the recovery of the Gospel for the Christian world.

We moderns tend to think of this day as costumes and candy, but we as Christians have shamefully forgotten our heritage. We have forgotten that the Gospel, though never entirely lost, had been pushed into the shadows and God then used Luther to bring His Gospel back into the center. Let us never forget what God did through Luther and the reformers, let us never forget the courage they showed against the Holy Roman Empire. We should be thankful for the sacrifices the made.

I am deeply thankful for what Luther did (and consistently amused by him), and I was wondering how you celebrate this day if you do. And if you haven't in the past do you have any idea's. To give an example my family watches the Luther movie every year on this day. How about you feel free to share, I would like to hear some idea's.

JOHN PIPER ON THE ELECTION AND ABORTION

2008-10-31T15:26:00.001-04:00

Denny Burk has a great post on his blog (www.dennyburk.com) that contains a video of John Piper, Pastor of Preaching and Vision and Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN, discussing the upcoming election and the abortion issue. I would highly encourage all to read it and watch the video as Piper is one of the most helpful pastor / theologians in the church today. Thanks Denny for your great blog, and here is the link:

http://www.dennyburk.com/?p=2688

9 SPIRITUAL THINGS WE SHOULD PRAY FOR

2008-10-30T15:51:00.004-04:00

If you are anything like me, prayer is a spiritual battle. Communicating with God regularly and intentionally does not come naturally to fallen sinners, mainly because sin itself is substituting something worthless for something worthwhile. Every moment of every day provides numerous distractions that threaten to keep us from praying to our Heavenly Father (even writing a blog!). These distractions, while they might be beneficial and worthwhile, are not the best thing when we ought to be enjoying a time of sweet communion with God. But even if we do pray regularly, are we praying in a way that is “spiritual?” Are the prayers we cast at the feet of our Holy, righteous, loving Father-God prayed from a heart that desires nothing but Him and His glory? I believe that prayer is the window to the condition of a heart. Prayer exposes what truly resides in the affections of our soul, though every earthly eye is blind to it. So what are the “spiritual” things that will flow from a heart soaked in the majesty of Jesus? John Piper in a parenthetical statement gives nine nuggets to wet our appetites, as there are no doubt many more:

1. The Glory of Christ
2. The Hallowing of God’s Name
3. The Salvation of Sinners
4. The Holiness of Our Hearts
5. The Advance of the Gospel
6. Contrition for Sins
7. The Fullness of the Spirit
8. The Coming of the Kingdom
9. The Joy of Knowing Christ

Brothers and sisters, let us lift up spiritual prayers with joy!

(Adapted from John Piper, When I Don’t Desire God, p. 139)

Goals and Priorities for Pastors

2008-10-15T17:12:00.002-04:00

I fear that too much of thinking about goals and priorities for pastors is influenced by business practices and not informed and shaped by the scriptures. This outline of Goals and Priorities for pastors is taken largely from On Being a Pastor by Derek Prime and Alistair Begg. And they did a great job of going to the Bible for their understanding of goals. Enjoy.

Feed the Flock - John 21:15-17 - When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.

Our goal as preachers is to provide spiritual nourishment for the flock entrusted to our care. We do this through faithful preaching of the scriptures.

Proclaim the Whole Will of God - Acts 20:27 - for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

This is once again a call to faithfully preach the Scriptures, but this is a call to preach all the scriptures. We will make God's will for salvation, sanctification and we will do it without hobby-horses or cowardly avoiding difficult truths.

Present Everyone Perfect in Christ - Col. 1:28-29 - Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

We are to strive to motivate every Christian in our care to grow. We are to show them the purposes of God for them in Christ. We as Pastors will be held accountable for this process because we are striving to PRESENT everyone mature in Christ. So our goal is to help them to grow in such a way that we will be able to present them to Christ.

Prepare God's People for Works of Service - Ephes. 4:12 - For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

It is arrogant for us to think that we have all the gifts necessary for the work of the ministry. It is foolish for the flocks we serve to think that we their Pastors have all the gifts necessary. We must take seriously the New Testament teaching on Spiritual Gifts and realize that all of us are necessary and that we all have gifts necessary for accomplishing God's will for our church. We as the Pastors must make it a priority and goal to discern giftedness and empower the people for ministry.

Equip God's People to Be Fishers of Men and Women - John 10:16 - And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

We must be concerned for the flocks participation in the Great Commission, to personally be fishers of men, and for the sheep who have not yet come. Therefore, we teach, we train, and we give an example.

Keep Watch Over Yourself and the Flock until the Task is Complete - Acts 20:28 - Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

We must keep watch over ourselves - they remind us of the greater victory for the Enemy when a Christian leader falls. We are also to help our people run their race, keeping watch over their souls.

A Call For Weight Gain

2008-10-13T12:23:00.005-04:00

Only heaven knows how many commercials are plastered on our televisions that call for us all to lose weight and build up our bodies. Most of the commercials have both male and female models who look like they been sculpted in museums who would like for us to believe they achieved such physiques doing some exercise on a particular machine for 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week! Being more than a little overweight myself, I cannot help but have a natural resentment towards such folks. However, on some of my "weaker" days, I have caught myself looking for the cordless phone before the 800 number disappears from the screen! Complementing the exercise commercials are the diet commercials. These contain famous people and some not so famous smiling into the camera telling us how they've lost 40, 50, 60 pounds or more on this or that plan! The imagery from these things certainly makes an impression and several lines from these commercials have made it into society's vernacular. One of the most memorable is the guy saying, "I gave all of my fat clothes to my fat friends." Gotta hate that guy! Wonder how his fat friends felt about his commercial?

In preaching through Mark's gospel on Sunday mornings at our church, I have encountered some very "weighty" Scriptures. From Jesus forgiving sin to the high costs of discipleship, the weight is unmistakable! Yet, many of America's pulpits have found ways to trim back the weight for the "sake of the hearer!"

It is no secret that modern topical sermons purposefully avoid the biblical doctrines of sin, hell, judgment, and the like. People who preach like this, instead, choose to highlight the "positives" of the gospel. Subjects like heaven, forgiveness, and blessings are all but sure to be Sunday "homeruns." Most conservative preachers have books lining their shelves highlighting this failure committed by thousands each and every Sunday. Tying this in to my introductory comments, one might say the pulpit is "losing weight."

I am now in Mark 8. This is one of the greatest chapters in the book and is certainly a pivotal chapter in the ministry of Christ. Soon, Jesus will turn south and begin a timely journey to Jerusalem, the site of His impending death. After Peter's great confession a memorable scene occurs. Jesus, for the first time, begins to speak concerning what will happen to Him when He gets to Jerusalem. In fact, Mark writes that Jesus spoke plainly about what would happen. It is at this point Peter rebukes Jesus! Matthew's account in chapter 16 sheds a little more light on this rebuke as Peter basically says there is no way he will let this happen to his Master. Jesus sharply rebukes Peter for his outburst for He knows the cross is absolutely necessary for our redemption...something the disciples will come to understand in time.

Immediately following this exchange, Jesus begins to instruct the disciples and the surrounding crowd on the particulars of following Him. It is in this setting we find the remarkable statement by Jesus, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." The verses which follow are also weighty as well.

After preaching on these verses, I went home and started thinking about the "weight loss" in America's pulpits. Certain doctrines being purposefully avoided has always been a serious threat to the church. But the problem is bigger than that. By not preaching the high costs of discipleship as well, the door has opened even wider for the shallow and pitiful prosperity guys who plague our country and blast lie after lie from behind their expensive pulpits. Not many today desire to hear sermons about denying ourselves and bearing crosses or, truth be told, following Jesus. To hear some of the big wigs tell it, God's primary concern is blessing you more than He already has. God surely wants you to have 3 instead of 2, 5 instead of 4.

Of course, the well-fed believer knows better. Once you feast upon God's Word, you develop and desire a taste for more of it. Preachers certainly have work to do...but so do those in the pew. It's a great thing to drop some weight here and there. But we must keep in mind, physical weight loss is often good and beneficial to one's body. Weight loss in the pulpit is to everyone's detriment.

This blog is a call to put meat back into the diet from our pulpits! Sweets turn to fat and make us lazy. Same thing happens in churches! The truths of our Lord are sharp, distinct, and powerful. May we be gripped by the words and demands of our Lord. May we share these truths with our people with hearts devoted to Christ. May they see these things in us!