Travis' Blog

Links of Interest 2/17/2012

2012-02-17T08:52:00.001-06:00

R.C. Sproul Jr. shares with us 5 things that evangelicals often say that are only partially true.

At What’s Best Next, I found a very helpful little piece challenging my thinking on criticism.

Dan Phillips writes some tough questions about how we frame the argument when we discuss issues of sufficiency of Scripture and external revelation. So, if you are interested in the discussion of whether God speaks only through Scripture or through other means, even if you disagree with Phillips, his logic is worth considering.

Tons of good DVD series are being sold for only $5 as Desiring God empties out their store. You might want to check out the following DVD sets:

· The Blazing Center

· When I Don’t Desire God

· Why We Believe the Bible

· God is the Gospel

Make Doing God's Will a Top Priority

2012-02-17T08:16:00.001-06:00

* The following is point 3 from a sermon I preached this last weekend:

Luke 2:48-50

48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

When Mary and Joseph found Jesus, they were astonished, literally struck as with a blow. They could not believe that they found him there, calmly answering the questions and engaging in the discussions of the religious teachers.

Mary shares her exasperation. “How could you do this to us? We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Your father and I have been worried sick.” This is a perfect example of a scared mom who finally gets hold of her missing child. I’d guess that we’ve all received such a scolding at one point or another.

Jesus has a very strange response, a massive, two-part question, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Do not read disrespect into this question. This is not some modern American cartoon teenager getting laughs by talking back to his mom. No, this is God the Son. He asks Mary very simply, “Why were you searching for me?” The implied thought is, “You should have known where I would be and that I was safe.” How could he think this? Mary should have known that Jesus had to be in “his Father’s house.”

Take note of the two times the word father is used in these two verses. Mary said “Your father and I” were searching for you, meaning Joseph, Jesus’ adopted father. Jesus said that he had to be in his “Father’s house.” One thing that is happening here is that Jesus realizes that God, the God of the Bible, is his Father and not Joseph. This thought was not first in Mary’s mind, so Jesus reminds her that he is God’s Son, not your average boy. I don’t know exactly how it all worked, but at this point in his young life, Jesus is expressing that he knows who he is and that he has a mission that is given him by his Heavenly Father.

Mary has a difficult time understanding what Jesus said. For the past 12 years, her boy has grown up like any other boy. There is no biblical evidence that Jesus did anything out of the ordinary. He grew up and learned like any young man. There are no biblical stories of Jesus taking his turn cooking for the family and somehow only dirtying up one dish while making enough food to feed the whole block. There are no stories of Jesus tricking his little half brothers into trying to walk across a creek without getting their feet wet. No, Jesus grew up like any ordinary boy would—well, except for the whole not having any sin thing.

For Mary, this was her boy. The songs of the angels in the stories of the shepherds were a thing from twelve years ago. This is why I don’t think she was running prophecies through her head as she ran back to Jerusalem. She just remembered that her boy was missing and she needed to find him.

There is something for us to learn to do from Jesus’ answer to Mary. Jesus was in the temple because he had to be. It was a divine necessity. He had to be in his Father’s house. Jesus had the will of his true Father to do, and that will trumped everything else in his life.

Learn from Jesus to make following the will of God a top priority. God has a will for you too. He wants you to follow it. Following God’s will as it is revealed in his word is the most important thing that you can do in your life. More important than buying a car, more important than getting a new job, more important than finding a spouse, the will of God is absolutely your top priority.

How do you know what God’s will is for you? It is in his word, which we said should be a priority in the last point. If you do not have a relationship with God by his grace through faith in Jesus, God’s declared will for you is that you turn from your sin and trust in Jesus to be forgiven. If you have trusted in Jesus, God’s will for you is that you be baptized as a believer and become a part of a local church family—join the church. If you are a believer who is part of a local church, worship Jesus, grow together in Jesus, and impact the world for Jesus. How do you impact the world for Jesus? You change the world by caring for people and telling them about Jesus. Love God with all you have. Love others as you love yourself. Find your joy in the glory of the God who created you for his glory.

One more point for parents here. Mary was exasperated because Jesus’ doing the will of God did not fit her comfort. It put her through hardship for Jesus to do God the Father’s will. Parents, are you willing to allow your children to do God’s will, to impact the world for Jesus, even if that will of God does not match your vision for what your little one will grow up to be? Are you willing to raise a little missionary who moves to Africa, to China, or to an Islamic country where they very well might give up their life in the service of the Savior? Are you helping to shape your children for God’s service, or for your own?

Let’s find the joy of following God’s will. Let’s be like Jesus was at age 12 and do the things that the Father calls us to do no matter what. Let’s follow God’s word totally, as the Bible is where God will speak to us to reveal to us his commands for us.

Give Them Grace - A Review

2012-02-15T10:53:00.001-06:00

Elyse Fitzpatrick. Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus. Wheaton: Crossway, 2011. 216 pp. $10.19.

I have to confess, I did not know whether or not to expect to like Give them Grace. I’ve read so many parenting books as a biblical counseling student and as a pastor that I could not imagine wanting to read one more. Elyse Fitzpatrick surprised me. This is an excellent little book that puts a well-defined, biblically-rich gospel presentation at the center of how we parent our children.

Fitzpatrick does not write her book as another how-to-parent guide. She instead centers all that she recommends parents do on the gospel. For example, when parents see their children doing good things, this is an opportunity for them to remind their children that this is Christlike, but it is also not what makes them right with God. When parents see their children doing wrong things, it is an opportunity to remind children that we all do wrong things, and that Christ is our only hope. I have never read a book that does such a good job of keeping our need for Christ and his grace at the center of parenting conversations.

On the down side, not all the recommended conversations in the book sound like conversations I could picture myself having. Some of the recommended things to say are just too perfect. However, I do not consider this to be something that really detracts from the book. We all know that we cannot script our conversations with our children. Fitzpatrick does a great job for us in attempting to lay out some conversational guidelines that we all should be bright enough to tailor to our own words and communication style.

I will be recommending this book highly to parents. It challenged me to consider how the gospel of Jesus impacts my own life on a day-to-day basis. It helped me to consider how to praise and correct my children with Christ at the center. It reminded me that the sovereign God, not my parenting skill, is the One who will save my children if they are saved. There is correction, joy, pain, and comfort in this work that I think any growing Christian parent can benefit from.

I received a free audio copy of this work from ChristianAudio.com as part of their reviewers program. It was beautifully read by Tavia Gilbert, who may have just become my favorite ChristianAudio.com narrator.

Make Growing in God's Word a Top Priority (Luke 2:43-47)

2012-02-15T10:12:00.001-06:00

Luke 2:43-47

43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.

At the end of the festival, it was time to travel home. Because of the distance and the dangers, people who made this trip did so in large groups or caravans. Joseph and Mary traveled a full day’s journey from Jerusalem and, amazingly, nobody had Jesus with them.

Before we are too hard on Mary and Joseph, let’s consider that either of the two could have assumed that the other had Jesus, especially if they were separated in the caravan. Jesus was 12. He was still young enough to be with Mary and the women and children. But he was bordering on manhood, and thus could have been with Joseph and the men. Besides, the children of many families were together, and it was just easy to assume that Jesus would have been with them. But he wasn’t.

Can you imagine the moment when it dawned on Mary that Jesus was missing? It’s not like she has lost just any kid. This is the boy that an angel came to tell her was coming. This was the boy who would fulfill all of God’s promises to Israel. This is the boy over whom Simeon and Anna prophesied in the temple. Just think of it, humanity has one shot at salvation, and Mary left him behind at the temple.

I’m being a little silly here. Mary is a mom. Her boy is missing. She does not know where he is. I’d guess that this is what fills her mind.

As soon as it is light the next day, you can imagine Mary and Joseph racing back toward Jerusalem. It probably did not take the full day to get back, but it would have been close. Thus, it took until the third day for them to finally make their way to the temple.

What did Mary and Joseph find when they reached the temple? They found their boy. He was not hurt. He was not frantically looking for them. No, Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple courts, sitting among others learning from the finest scholars of the day, asking and answering questions.

Let’s notice something special about Jesus here. He was 12. He was sitting among a body of PhD level students. He was participating in the conversation. No, he was not the teacher. But he was understanding what was being said and he was asking intelligent questions. This young man was fitting in with the big boys at the finest center of learning about God’s word that existed in that day. How good were Jesus’ answers and questions? Verse 47 says that people were amazed at Jesus’ answers and understanding.

What happened here? Jesus did what we too must do as believers, he made learning Gods’ word a top priority. Even though Jesus was God, in his humanity, he still learned and grew. When he had the chance to sit at the feet of the best teachers in the nation, he took it.

Besides worshipping Christ, one of the things that we are committed to doing as a church is growing together in Christ. Simply put, this means that we learn to love one another and to be more like Jesus. And let me say with absolute clarity, there is no growth in Christ without growth in the word of God.

The Bible is the way God speaks to us. The Bible is God’s perfect revelation of himself to mankind. It is breathed out by God. As 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, it is useful for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. The Bible is what teaches us God’s standards and how we fall short. The Bible is what teaches us about the wonderful grace of God. The Bible is how we know how to worship God, to serve him from day-to-day, and to tell others about him. Without his word, we do not grow.

If Jesus, even at age 12, found it necessary to stay at the temple for 3 days to hear the wisdom of the best teachers in his day, do you not think that we should commit ourselves to the study of God’s word? How do you do that?

· Come to worship.

· Have a daily quiet time in the word.

· Connect with a small group.

· Get into a mentoring relationship with a mature believer.

· Take classes that we offer to help you go deeper in the faith.

Make it a priority in your life, a top priority in your life, to learn, understand, and obey the word of God. This is crucial to your growth. Parents, teach Gods’ word to your children. Youth, study Gods’ word for yourself. Do what you must do to make his word an essential part of your daily life.

Make Worship a Top Priority

2012-02-13T10:10:00.001-06:00

The following is the first point of a sermon that I preached at FBC Columbia this past Sunday:

Luke 2:41-42

41 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom.

When God gave his law to his people, one command was that the men of Israel were to travel to his holy city for certain annual feasts. These feasts were special times of worship that God’s people were not to neglect.

Luke points out to us that Joseph and Mary were devout followers of God’s law. They went up to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration every year. Back in verse 39, we saw that they had done all that God’s law required when Jesus was born. Now we see them making the trip to Jerusalem a priority. Interestingly, Mary travels with Joseph on these trips. Women, according to most scholars, were not required to attend these events. For the whole family to make the trip shows that they were a family devoted to the worship of God.

Next we learn that Jesus was with them when he was 12-years-old. This is not to say that this was Jesus’ first trip with Joseph and Mary to Jerusalem, but this was a significant one. Age 12 was very likely Jesus’ last year to be considered a child. He did not have to go to Jerusalem for Passover yet. But next year, when Jesus would be 13, he would be required to keep the law as a man in his society.

Let’s stop right here for a moment and draw a point of application. We see something good and right being done and even commended in Scripture, so let’s try to apply it to our own lives and homes. Make worship a top priority.

You have heard us say to you that, in our church, we are committed to three things. We worship Christ, we grow together in Christ, and we impact the world for Christ. This first point of application fits that first purpose. We, as the people of God, are committed to worshipping Christ, which means we love Jesus and live for his glory in all that we do.

Worship has a formal and an informal aspect to it. Whenever you do what you do and think what you think and avoid what you avoid for the glory of God, you participate in worship. Thus, you worship God and show him as glorious when you refuse a second dessert so as not to be a glutton. You worship Jesus when you tell your children a Bible story for God’s glory. You worship Jesus when you refuse to cheat on an exam in order not to disobey God’s commands.

But we also know that worship has a formal aspect to it as well. Here on Sunday morning, we are gathered to worship. We, in an intentional way, participate in activities that demonstrate that God is our King and we are his subjects, that he is glorious, and that we are dependent on him. We pray together. We give our offerings, we sing. We hear God’s word read and taught. We respond to Gods’ word with joy and obedience and repentance. All of these are aspects of worship, and they are vital to the life of any believer.

If we are to learn from Joseph and Mary in this account, let us learn to make worship a top priority in our lives. Joseph and Mary made the trip to Jerusalem for a formal ceremony and festival of worship every year. Remember, this family was poor. They had to walk for three days to get to Jerusalem. They had small children, Jesus’ half-brothers and half-sisters. Nothing about this trip would have been easy for them, but Joseph and Mary made worship a priority.

How about you? Do you make worship a priority? Is being together with the people of God to declare the glory of God a big deal to you? Do you feel like you have missed something important when you miss it? How big a thing has to come up for you to say to yourself that you can skip a week of formal worship?

Let me add in something for the parents who are among us here. Joseph and Mary worshipped God and brought Jesus with them. Parents, it is vital that your children see you worship. I’m not saying that seeing you worship will guarantee your child’s salvation or even his or her good behavior. However, if you are going to call your children to have faith in Christ, you should be modeling for them what it means to worship Christ. They should see that you have joy in your salvation. They should see that you repent of sin. They should see that you give freely and cheerfully. They should see that you sing, even if your voice is not perfect, for the glory of the Lord who is above all. They should see that you value the preaching of God’s word and that your life changes because of what you hear. They should know, even if they can’t understand all that you are hearing or doing, that something special and very important happens when you worship your Savior. Make worship a top priority.

Links of Interest 2/10/2012

2012-02-10T07:39:00.001-06:00

D. A. Carson and Tim Keller weigh in on the theological issues surrounding the Elephant Room II and T. D. Jakes. This article is big and theologically heavy (it even uses the word “vituperative”), but it provides a helpful response from leaders of TGC.

On the lighter, though not insignificant side, R. C. Sproul Jr. asks if God really cares and sovereignly oversees who wins football games.

Denny Burk points us to Chuck Colson’s call for Christians to consider the possibility of a need for civil disobedience. This is a very serious call.

Douglas Wilson cautions the budding Christian apologist to remember that our goal is to win people to Christ, not to win arguments.

The Journal of Biblical Counseling is back, on-line, and free. This is a great resource.

Links of Interest 2/2/2012

2012-02-03T12:01:00.001-06:00

Jeremy Pierre challenges parents to watch their use of conjunctions when explaining to their children why they are disciplining them. This is good stuff, and not just because grammar is involved.

Albert Mohler writes about the significance of the Obama administration’s healthcare regulations and how they will effect religious organizations. This issue is a significant one for religious freedom in the US.

Matt Smethurst at TGC points us to an article sharing with us a study about just how much, financially, a homemaker is worth. A stay-at-home-mom’s salary should be pretty high. Just estimating the duties, a homemaker’s salary would be approximately $96,291. s

Justin Taylor lists for us the topics for plenary sessions at this year’s Together for the Gospel conference. I’m cranked to be going.

Links of Interest 2/2/2012

2012-02-02T19:42:00.001-06:00

Alvin Reid addresses the moral failure in student ministry when the ministry becomes more about morality tales than about the gospel.

Bobby Gilles asks the question, “Can we trust the contemporary worship music industry,” and offers some very thoughtful answers.

Justin Taylor does an excellent job of summarizing and analyzing the recent controversy surrounding the second Elephant Room event. To get the significance of the picture, you should also read Voddie Baucham’s piece as well as Phil Johnson’s blistering critique of how MacDonald and others are spinning the racial issues pertaining to Baucham’s unwillingness to participate alongside T.D. Jakes. Oh, and sprinkle in Carl Trueman’s analysis for good measure.

Joe Carter at TGC points us to a recent story about Tim Tebow turning down a speaking engagement because he would be sharing the platform with prosperity gospel preachers.

Links of Interest 2/1/2012

2012-02-01T09:44:00.001-06:00

Brian Kroft publishes a nice, brief article to help us have things to think through when attempting to discern a child’s salvation.

Denny Burk highlights for us some significant moves that President Obama has made in recent weeks that appear to be attacks on religious liberty.

Christian Audio is giving away Jerry Bridges’ Trusting God, which is an excellent book.

Barnabas Piper calls on Christians to become football fans for a day and to use the Super Bowl as the opportunity it is to meet people and build friendships. HT: Challies

Handling Pain (Psalm 22:1-3)

2012-01-31T09:29:00.001-06:00

Psalm 22:1-3

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.

One of the beauties of the psalms is the fact that these prayers and songs so often reflect the genuine hardship of life. The psalms, unlike modern prosperity preachers, remind us that living in the family of God is not easy. Often we suffer. Often we do not get what we want. Often things go far differently than we expect.

Psalm 22 is a perfect example of such a psalm. In it, the psalmist is suffering greatly. Verses 1-2 show us that he is despairing and feeling forsaken. How much anguish is in his soul? He expresses such sorrow that this psalm is the one on the lips of our Lord Jesus as he was crucified and suffered the wrath of God for sins he had not committed.

How do we deal with it when we feel forsaken? How should we respond when things have gone badly for us? Look at verse 3, and find the answer. David, in his pain, in his deep suffering, makes one solid declaration that puts everything in right perspective. David says of God, “Yet you are holy.”

When things do not go our way, we often feel unfairly treated. If our dark hearts are allowed to vent the poison of our sin, they will accuse God of mistreating us. WE are apt to feel like Eve in the garden and believe that God has held back something good from us that we deserve to have.

So, what do we do to overcome these feelings? The answer is, like the psalmist, to focus on the holiness of God. God is perfect, and infinitely so. God’s perfection makes him utterly different than us, above us, superior to us. He does not owe us ease. He cannot mistreat us, because he is the very definition of good. Anything that he gives us that is less than hell is mercy. Thus we can never be forsaken by God, If he forgives our sin and makes us his children, there is nothing in this life that we can go through that is wrong for God to allow.

Think of how many of God’s children have suffered greatly. David was chased by a murderous King Saul. Job was afflicted by Satan himself under the sovereign plan of God. Joseph was sold as a slave. Paul, Peter, James, and countless others in the family of God were imprisoned and put to death for their faith. Even the Son of God suffered humiliation and execution at the hands of sinful men. Yet, in all these, God has never ceased to be perfect, holy, and always right.

What we must understand is that the ways of a holy God are not our ways. God is wiser than us. He knows more of what he is doing than we can. He will refine us through the crucible of suffering. HE will give us the joy of seeing his glory as we trust in him through hardships. He will prove himself as perfect in eternity as he rewards his followers with his perfect love and kindness.

So, when we suffer or when things do not go our way, let us remember that God is holy. He is perfect. He cannot fail. As 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 reminds us, this life is short. Our momentary afflictions will be as nothing when they are compared to an eternity of perfection. The always right, always perfect, infinitely holy God will never wrong us. He may let us go through hardships, but he will never ultimately forsake us. Let us trust him and know that his ways are as far above ours as the heavens are above the earth.

Responding to Failure (Acts 13:13)

2012-01-30T08:08:00.001-06:00

Acts 13:13

Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem,

How do you deal with it when you fail as a Christian? You know, of course, that we all fail, and sometimes royally. I can look back over life experiences as a believer, even as a pastor, and see things that I messed up completely. How should we deal with it?

When Paul and his group set out on the missionary journey of Acts 13, they brought along John Mark. Mark, the young relative of Barnabas, failed. He flaked out and left the mission team without his support. We don’t know why. Did he conflict with somebody? Did he get homesick? Did he just wimp out? All we know is that he left.

Recognize that this decision of Mark’s was a big deal. It had consequences that rippled through the church. Paul and Barnabas could no longer work together in future ministry when they disagreed over how to respond to Mark. What John Mark did caused big problems. It was the kind of gaff that would make any of us think that our ministry lives or at least our usefulness was at an end.

But if we read to the end of the story, all the way toward the end of Paul’s life, we find out that Paul thought Mark was a very important friend and fellow minister. Writing to timothy, Paul said, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).

I have often heard these snippets of Marks’ life preached with a strong focus on forgiveness and reconciliation. Usually we emphasize Paul’s forgiving spirit. But I think we can also learn from Mark. I do not think there is any doubt that Mark knew he messed up. Could Mark have thought himself a failure in ministry? Finally he gets a chance to do some real mission work, and what happens? He blows it, that is what happens. Could Mark have ever seen himself as possibly useful again? Apparently so, because he became such an important tool in the hand of God that he penned one of the four gospels.

There are failures that men can commit that will disqualify them from pastoral ministry. I do not at all ignore that truth. However, there are also failures that we can experience that scar us, but which do not end our usefulness to God. Even those men disqualified from pastoral ministry have the ability to serve the Lord well in the future in other capacities if they repent. The point here is that we need to recognize that no past failure renders us useless for the Kingdom of God. No bad experience, no botched mission trip, no dropped ball, no bad committee chairmanship, no rough job experience is enough to make us no longer part of God’s plan. God has the ability to use any of us, even those of us who have failed miserably at different times, to accomplish his will for his glory and our joy.

Links of Interest 1/30/2012

2012-01-30T08:06:00.001-06:00

Ross Appleton has some helpful things for us to think about when we consider how to lead in evangelism. HT Vitamin Z

Joe Carter offers a nice summary of an article about why Christians should be involved in the battle against same sex marriage.

John Starke challenges us to be careful to deal with family as the Bible does, neither neglecting the family nor making an idol of family.

Tyler Kenney at Desiring God shares with us some sweet wisdom from Jonathan Edwards about what it truly takes to be a Christian.

Not So Sweet Speech (Acts 13:8-12)

2012-01-26T21:27:00.001-06:00

Acts 13:8-12

8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

How important is it that Christians look and sound nice at all times? If you observed the lives of many saints, there seems to be a belief among American Christians that says that we have to be syrupy sweet at all times if we are ever going to see anyone come to faith in our Lord.

However, If you look at the words of Paul above, you will notice that sweetness was not his only distinguishing quality. I am sure that Paul, at times, was very loving, kind, and gracious—all believers will be if they are truly believers. But when something evil was taking place around Paul, when a man was intentionally opposing the things of God, Paul did not speak with the tone of Ned Flanders from the Simpsons. No, Paul look the evildoer right in the eye and called him a son of the devil and enemy of all righteousness. That’s pretty harsh.

After Paul called this man very ugly names, he then pronounced a curse on him that left him without sight. Paul was willing that this man go through hardships because of his opposition to the Lord. Paul did not seem to think that doing so might potentially hinder this man’s salvation. Paul did not try to win this man with kindness. Instead, Paul spoke truth and pronounced a right judgment. The results of Paul’s words and actions were that God was glorified and others came to faith.

Christians, sappy sweetness is not the tool by which we will win the world. Yes, we show love; Jesus commanded us to do so. We are to love each other and the lost world. We are kind as often as we can be. But we do not change dead hearts to living ones by coating all our words and actions with sugar. No, we also must be, like Paul, people with the backbone to stand for what is right and to speak the truth. We need to be willing to call sin exactly what it is, even if that offends a lost person. No, we cannot assume that lost people will live by Christian standards. However, neither should we think that we do the lost any good by pretending that all the things that they do that oppose God are OK.

It is a hard line we have to walk. How do we speak the truth in love, even when that truth is harsh? How do we know when to speak with grace and when to call sin out? The answer to this question is wisdom. We need God’s wisdom. We need God’s Spirit. We need to walk closely with our Lord and prayerfully ask him to give us the right desires. We need to ask God to help us to know when to speak strongly and when to speak sweetly. We desperately need our Lord to guide us and to give us the grace and the courage to do what needs to be done to help the lost world know the truth of God.

Eternal Perspective Enables Forgiveness (Genesis 45:4-5)

2012-01-25T13:41:00.001-06:00

Genesis 45:4-5 (ESV)

4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

We find ourselves looking at a tense scene. Joseph has again met his brothers (brothers who had sold him into slavery years earlier) and told his brothers who he is. As you might imagine, these men who formerly hated and abused their brother are terrified to see him sitting in a position of power over them. Joseph literally holds their lives in his hands. He has the power to have them thrown into prison or executed.

What would you do if you were Joseph? How would you feel? Would you want to get back at these men for the hurt they caused you? Would you want them to suffer to make up for the suffering you went through? Would you want to gloat over the fact that you are now the master while they are in your power? Would you want to remind them that your dreams from twenty-something years ago were indeed true?

Joseph says something to his brothers that is unheard of. Though his brothers did him great damage, Joseph says, “do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here.” How in the world can Joseph look at these men and tell them not to worry about the wrong that they did?

Some would presume that Joseph saw the sadness in his brothers when they talked about him thinking he was gone forever. Some would say that Joseph realized that his brothers were truly sorry. Maybe so, but the fact still remains that many of us would have far too bitter a heart to even consider the state of the brothers’ hearts. Many of us would be out for blood the moment we found out that we had them in our power.

Not Joseph. Joseph had a heart that was tender and forgiving. He does not pretend that nothing wrong happened, but something about Joseph gave him the perspective that he needed to be able to tell his brothers that he was not holding a grudge against them for what they had done to him. What was it? Joseph tells us when he says, “for God sent me before you to preserve life.” Joseph was looking at his situation with his brothers from a bigger-picture perspective. He saw that God had a bigger plan than any of them could have dreamed. Joseph understood that, though his brothers were terribly wrong, totally evil in what they did to him, God had something greater that he was accomplishing. Though all that the brothers did to Joseph was evil, God was working all things together for good.

What about you? Do you have that kind of perspective that we see in Joseph? Can you look back over your life, even at the things that hurt you deeply, and see that even your pains and struggles and hardships are tools that God has used to teach you of his mercy and grace? Can you recognize that the shadows that you have walked through have opened for you opportunities to glorify God, to enjoy his kindness, to tell others of his provision?

Let’s face it, all of us have been through hardships at one point or another. We have all been wronged by people whether they were family members, coworkers, or maybe even fellow church members. How can we be like Joseph and have hearts that are eager to forgive?

The best answer that I can give, and the one that I think the Bible bears out for us time and time again, is that we must have a larger-than-this-life view of our circumstances. We must understand that God is in the picture and not absent.

Picture in your mind the two beams of a cross. One is vertical and the other horizontal. Before you can be ready to become a person who offers horizontal forgiveness, forgiveness between fellow human beings, you must first be a person who understands his or her vertical relationship with God. Consider where you stand before God. God is perfect, and endlessly so. All of us have fallen short of God’s perfection, and endlessly so. God, as a just judge, rightly could have punished us by casting us into hell forever for the endless offense of our rebellion against him. But God, rather than throwing us into hell at our first sin, chose to send his own Son to earth to die as a substitute for the sins of people like you and me. God moved to forgive us.

If you have been forgiven by an endlessly holy God, forgiven an endless offense, how can you not, before God, desire to offer forgiveness to those who have wronged you. You may not be able to actually transact forgiveness with them. You may never get a chance to talk with them. They may never choose to repent and agree with you that they need to be forgiven. But, when we recognize who God is and how great is our own forgiveness, we, in our hearts, will begin to learn that, before God, we do not hold grudges against those who have hurt us in the past.

Trust me, I know this can take time. None of us becomes instantly perfect when we are saved by Jesus. None of us will find this heart change easy. Some will battle with this stuff for years. Joseph, as you may remember, had not seen his brothers for twenty years. But, as Joseph saw from a bigger picture perspective, he understood that the wrong that his brothers did him actually helped to put Joseph in the position he now occupied. Joseph knew that he was able to help others, to save lives and protect his family, because of the horrible circumstances that he had been put through.

So, what should we learn from Joseph’s example here? Keep an eternal perspective in order to have a soft and forgiving spirit. Instead of looking at the short-term, small picture, pray that God will remind you of his eternal plan. Ask him to let you think beyond the bounds of a few years, or even a few decades. Ask God to show you that, in eternity, we will see that he truly worked all things, even our most painful things, together for good according to his plan.

Links of Interest 1/25/2012

2012-01-25T13:37:00.001-06:00

Desiring God is selling John Piper’s book Finally Alive for only $5.00 (even less if you order a case). I also saw the same sort of deal for The Dangerous Duty of Delight on the web as well.

William Boekestein at Reformation 21 has some valuable tips for those who would prepare to lead a small group Bible study.

Stephen Altrogge reminds us of the battle that each of us fights daily to determine whether our circumstances or the truth of God will shape our view of God.

Joe Carter at TGC offers up a nice, brief biographical sketch of Francis Schaeffer. So, if you have always heard that name in sermons, books, and other quotes, but do not know who Francis Schaeffer is, give this a read.

Links of Interest 1/24/2012

2012-01-24T08:48:00.001-06:00

Scott Klusendorf shares with us three things to consider to help defend a pro-life position in less than 5 minutes.

Marty Duren reviews Lifeway’s new curriculum “The Gospel Project.” I’m very excited about the potential of this material.

Kevin DeYoung challenges us to think well about the doctrines of the faith, as most heresy did not enter because someone wanted to destroy it.

It seems like everyone is linking to Russell Moore’s post answering a woman’s question about being engaged to a man addicted to pornography. This is probably because Moore has written something solid and worth reading.

Simple Church - A Review

2012-01-23T08:05:00.001-06:00

Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger. Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples. Nashville: B&H Books, 2006. 272 pp. $12.94.

                Do we need another stat-filled book offering churches another way to organize themselves in order to maximize their effectiveness, reach more people, heighten fellowship, stir excitement, encourage evangelism, and all the rest? It would be nice if we had no use for such works; but the fact is, we do. Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger have collaborated to bring to us a work that is by no means earth-shattering, yet is somehow hitting a note that many of us miss. I’m not a big fan of the Church Growth Movement, but I like what Rainer, head of Lifeway Christian Resources, sets before us in the pages of this work.

                In Simple Church, Rainer and Geiger show us the results of a study performed on several churches, examining the differences between vibrant and declining congregations. The authors point out four major things that growing and vibrant churches have in common, all of which lead to the churches being simple churches. The four aspects are clarity, movement, alignment, and focus. Each of these words relates to a church’s vision. Is that vision clear and simply understandable? Is that vision a process through which members move to reach maturity? Is that vision aligned throughout the church so that it is the same for each ministry? Is the church focused enough on that vision that they will do away with superfluous activities, even if those activities are generally OK things?

                On the positive side, I found myself challenged to think about the church I am serving to consider how we might simplify our ministries. I was encouraged to work with the staff to clarify our vision, to develop the discipleship process, to get others on-board with the plan, and to eliminate things that are not part of who we want to be. The authors make a sweet and strong case for churches not wasting their time and energy on things that are unnecessary for the growth of the Kingdom of God.

                Contrary to what I expected from the book’s title and from what I had previously heard, Simple Church is not merely a book about cutting away unnecessary programs. The authors call on pastors and church leaders to know how they will help believers to move from their first contact with the church to deep discipleship. This concept is more than a scheduling issue; it is a focus issue. A church’s leadership must know both what a disciple looks like and how they intend to help people progress toward that point.

                At the same time, I would have liked for two strong sections to have been added to this book. The first and most important section that I would have liked to have seen would have been a more theological section in which Rainer and Geiger show the simple church life in a church that is more doctrinally rather than pragmatically centered. What does the simple church concept look like in a theologically rich and deep church? Would it look different than it would in a more seeker-driven congregation? Honestly, most of the things that the authors mention only make sense when considering a very program-heavy congregation.

                Secondly, and perhaps surprisingly considering my first critique, I also would have liked to have seen a more nuts and bolts approach to implementing a simple church model. I know that the authors gave us a few examples of simple churches and spelled out the concept well. At the same time, many pastors are sitting in messy circumstances. How does one go about developing the vision, clarifying it, getting others to buy in, and implementing it in such a way as to not lose anything that we are called to do or be in the process?

                Overall, I am very glad to have read Simple Church. Rainer and Geiger challenged me to think deeply about communication and structure in our local congregation. Hopefully the good questions that I am asking will lead to positive discussions with others and eventually positive growth in God’s church. I would recommend this work to others who need to think more deeply on their church’s vision and structure, especially if such a one has not been communicating to his people what the church is about or how to take the next step in the discipleship process.

Links of Interest 1/23/2012

2012-01-23T08:04:00.001-06:00

Jonathan Dodson at the Gospel Coalition calls on us to be truly missional and not merely superficially contextual.

J. D. Greear offers 9 keys to reaching college students. These keys are good for the collegiate, but also should be things we think about for all angles of ministry.

Denny Burk posts a trailer to an upcoming documentary that will demonstrate that, globally, the abortion industry is an unthinkable assault on girls. Be cautioned, the trailer contains images that may not be appropriate for all viewers.

This article offers us a warning to watch out for what we may see on Super Bowl Sunday. It looks like this year’s crop of ads will be even racier than before, even if the numbers show that consumers are generally less likely to approve of such ads. Again, be cautioned, I’d guess that the pictures here aren’t good either.

A Test of Salvation (Matthew 7:21-23)

2012-01-20T14:55:00.001-06:00

Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV)

21     “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22     On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23     And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

            Where do you stand before God? Are you his child? Are you, as the saints of yesteryear so often put it, saved? How do you know? How can you tell if you will go to heaven when you die?

            Jesus, here in the Sermon on the Mount, gives us a very clear challenge for our thinking about this topic. There is a test to see if someone’s conversion is genuine. What is that test? Obedience to the commands of the Lord is the test that Jesus gives us.

            We know from other passages of Scripture that no person will be right with God simply by being good enough or following enough rules. Paul tells us in Romans 3:20, “…For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” So, before you make this mistake, recognize that you cannot make yourself right with God by following the rules.

                The only way to be right with God is by God’s grace. God grants that grace to us through faith in Jesus Christ as the Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9. Thus, the way to be made right with God is by fully trusting in the finished work of Jesus for your entire eternity. If all of your hope for all of your soul’s forever is placed in Jesus and Jesus alone, you have been made into a child of God. If you have cried out to Jesus for rescue, you are his. As John 1:12 tells us, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

                Why then the test that Jesus mentions above? There are many people in the world who claim to have a relationship with God through Jesus. What Jesus tells us is simple. If a person claims to have a relationship with God, to be forgiven by grace through faith, but that person does not obey the commands of God, that person is mistaken. A person who is saved will be changed. A person who is changed will obey. Of course we will not obey perfectly, as we are still in a fallen world; however, we will obey more and more of God’s commands as time goes on if we are truly his children.

                Jesus goes on to add that religious expression and religious experience is no gage of salvation. The people who are confused about their salvation, who think they are saved and are not, will want to argue their own case. Some will look back on ecstatic experiences, charismatic expressions, prophecies, spiritual warfare moments, etc. to claim that they are truly saved. But Jesus makes it plain that such experiences are no true tests. Obedience is the test, not supernatural spiritual experiences or feelings.

                Do not let this post frighten you. Instead, simply turn to Jesus and be sure of your salvation. Put your whole trust for your whole soul in Jesus. Cry out to him for mercy because of the sacrifice he made on the cross and the fact that he rose from the grave. Jesus will forgive all who truly call on him. Then, once you have trusted in Jesus, follow him faithfully. This is how we know we are saved: Our trust is in Jesus and our lives are marked by obedience and repentance.

Links of Interest 1/19/2012

2012-01-19T20:33:00.001-06:00

Albert Mohler explains for us one of the most important Supreme Court decisions regarding religious liberty to come along in years.

Tim Challies collects and categorizes for us a set of different kinds of resources that Christians might need to look to for solid thinking on issues of sexuality. Challies thankfully does not recommend any titles that appear to be salacious

I’m very excited about the new curriculum being put together by Lifeway Christian Resources. Visit the site for The Gospel Project to learn more. You can also check out samples of the curriculum here. You can read about this material from a recent article at Baptist Press.

Would you Obey (Acts 5:17-21a)

2012-01-11T11:14:00.001-06:00

Acts 5:17-21a (ESV)

17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

                When the disciples were put into prison for preaching Jesus, they did not stay there long. God sent them an angel to release them and to charge them to keep on preaching. Had you been among them, what would you have done? Would you have obeyed the angel? Even though it would likely cost you a beating or possibly even your life, would you have obeyed the charge of the angel?

                I’m guessing, Christian, that you read this and think to yourself, “Of course I would obey the angel.” After all, the disciples were talking to an angel. They received their marching orders from a supernatural being. They understood that God had the power to do miracles and protect them if he so chose. Why not obey the angel and preach the word, even in a hostile environment?

                Why not indeed? Here we sit in a far more gentle environment. Few of us have ever been threatened with prison or physical violence for telling others about Jesus. All of us have received from the Lord Jesus the call to go and make disciples of all the nations (cf. Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus, of course, is a supernatural being who outranks the angel that the disciples heard from, because Jesus is God the Son. We have our commission; it came from God himself. Our circumstances are easier than that of the disciples. Why, then, do we refuse to obey?

                Let us take stock of ourselves and our lives. Our Savior is worthy of our lives, our discomfort, our deaths. If we are called to tell our friends, neighbors, and families about the Lord Jesus, we must do so. Let these thoughts encourage you. Confess your sin. Ask Jesus to forgive you for your lack of evangelistic zeal. Learn what you need to know to be able to share the gospel with others. And then, obey the Lord Jesus by simply choosing to open your mouth, take the risk, and tell somebody about the Savior.

Links of Interest 10/11/2012

2012-01-11T10:21:00.001-06:00

Ligonier has compiled a nice list of Bible reading plans that are slightly different than Justin Taylor’s list.

Mark Altrogge shares with us some very helpful advice about responding to temptation, including a really nice quote from John Owen.

Remembering God's Justice (Psalm 7:11-13)

2012-01-09T10:35:00.001-06:00

Psalm 7:11-13 (ESV)

11 God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day.
12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;
he has bent and readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.

            We do not often enjoy focusing on the wrath of God, but in order for us to have a grasp of who God is, his wrath and justice must be a part of our understanding. Psalm 7 has a very simple, very clear picture of God’s justice. There is a simple conditional test. If a man does not repent, God will do justice. The obvious other side of the coin is that, if a man repents, God will have mercy. This assumption is clarified and confirmed in all of Scripture.

            Perhaps you do not like the concept of Gods’ judgment or justice. Perhaps it bothers you to think of God being a judge. However, to know God and to love God must mean that we know and love the real God, the God of the Bible, and not merely a miniature god of our own imagining. When people say that they like to think of God always forgiving even the unrepentant, they tell us more about their own desires than about the true God of the universe.

            God’s word is clear about the character of our Lord. Yes, he is merciful. For all who turn from their sins and run to him by grace through faith in Jesus, there is mercy. For all who refuse to come to God in repentance, there is righteous and perfect judgment.

            Lord, I cannot say that I am always eager to remember that you are a God of justice. I am a sinner. Your justice frightens me. Yet, your justice is perfect, because all your ways are perfect. I do not honor you if I minimize the truth of your character. You are right. May my heart learn to love all that you are, both merciful and justly wrathful.

Who Gets the Glory? (Acts 3:12-13a)

2012-01-06T21:14:00.001-06:00

Acts 3:12-13a (ESV)

And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus…”

                When Peter healed the man who was begging at the temple’s gate called “Beautiful,” the people who saw what happened marveled. They looked at Peter with astonishment. Perhaps they even wondered what kind of powerful prophet was in their midst. But Peter was quick to dispel their notions, giving all credit and glory to God for a work that only God could do.

                What about us when we see success, growth, and life change in our churches? Do we, as quickly as Peter, give all glory and honor to our God? I often hear pastors and strategists say something like, “Of course we know that this is a God thing.” I also often hear such men then follow up that disclaimer with a point-by-point explanation of the things that they did to make church growth or evangelistic success happen. I am sure that many of these men are sincere. I am also aware that these men are often put in the awkward place of being asked to explain their systems and thus cannot simply shrug and say that God did it all and leave it at that.

                What I wonder is, how often are we really sure that we believe that God is the one who builds the church and grows his kingdom? How often do we say that we know it is God when really we think we have a lot to do with God’s work? Let us be careful to give God 100% of the glory for anything good that happens in our lives and ministries. Like Peter, let us be sure that any success that we have redounds to the personal glory of Christ.

Links of Interest 1/6/2012

2012-01-06T21:13:00.001-06:00

Thom Rainer shares with us 12 trends that show up in healthy and growing churches. Check it out in part 1 and Part 2.

R.C. Sproul takes on the question of whether or not a Christian can commit the unpardonable sin.

Jared Wilson offers some rules of thumb for how to approach leading an unbeliever’s funeral.

Crossway Books is having a very nice sale on their eBooks; all of them are on sale.

Bible Reading in 2012

2012-01-04T09:30:00.001-06:00

            Very little is more important to the health of a Christian’s walk than regularly interacting with the word of God. If we plan to interact with Gods’ word regularly, however, we must be ready to discipline ourselves. Few of us will simply sit down with the Scriptures with no plan and somehow come up with a fruitful, consistent, and contextual way of reading.

            I have found that, for me, reading through the Bible in a year is a very helpful practice. I’ve tried a number of plans, each of which has its own strengths and weaknesses. Last year, I used a chronological reading plan. I found it wonderful for Old Testament reading, but disjointed in the New Testament. I also found that, as the first 2/3 of the year went by I longed for more gospel reading.

            For this year, I have returned to an old favorite reading plan, the Discipleship Journal reading plan. This plan offers four readings per day, two each from the Old and New Testaments. The plan has only 25 readings each month, which allows for catch-up days, which are very helpful for those of us who tend to get behind and who find being behind frustrating. The major weaknesses that I see in this plan are that the daily gospel readings are almost too short and that, as in any 1 year plan, the Old Testament readings can feel a little long.

            If you would like to try out the DJ Bible reading plan, check it out here. If you would like to try another plan, Justin Taylor has collected for us a nice set of links with several plans to choose from.

Truth We Did Not Need (Genesis 3:4-7)

2012-01-03T11:17:00.001-06:00

Genesis 3:4-7 (ESV)

4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

                When reading through this passage, I found myself thinking about movies and novels that I have enjoyed, and a strange theme emerged. It is not at all uncommon to read a book or watch a movie and to find the plot revolving around issues of knowledge or truth. Often an author will make the crux of a story an individual’s right to the truth. Characters will fight against some sort of evil dictator in order to gain their freedom or to know the truth, regardless of what that truth is.

                Interestingly, as we look at Genesis 3, the plot of a thousand movies unfolds, but it does not go the way that Hollywood often portrays it. While the woman rebels against the one in authority, seemingly for the sake of knowledge or truth, things do not end happily ever after. Instead, the woman and her husband lose more than they could have ever imagined by demanding their perceived right to knowledge, truth, and freedom.

                We live among people who believe that personal autonomy, personal knowledge, and free will are the greatest goods to be desired. However, if we see the truth of Genesis 3, we cannot assume that knowledge and freedom and autonomy are always good things. On the contrary, God had given Adam and Eve a perfect place to live. No, he did not give them all knowledge—especially not knowledge of evil. However, the people were not happy to receive perfection from God. Instead, they chose to reach for a truth that was not their right. In doing so, they plunged humanity into death, darkness, and misery.

                As the Scriptures open to us this year, let us see that God is the ultimate good. He is better than mere truth, though he is truth. He is better than mere freedom, though he sets us free indeed. Let us not think, not for even one moment, that good will ever come to us for rebelling against him. If God limits our knowledge or our freedom, he does what is good. If we battle against him, we will be the less for it. Let us surrender our lives to the Lord who made us, who owns us, and who knows far better than us what freedom and knowledge we need.

A Christmas Carol - A Review

2011-12-20T09:52:00.001-06:00

            I cannot remember the first time I heard or saw a retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but I am certain that I was very young. I am also certain that this classically frightening tale has been a major part of my imagination for many years. Thus, I was excited when ChristianAudio.com offered me the chance to review a reading of this work during this Christmas season as a part of their reviewers program.

            Dickens is excellent, simply excellent, at weaving a story that sticks in the minds of his readers. At times the author describes scenes in formally vivid detail. At other times, Dickens breaks with convention and speaks to his readers as if we are sitting in the room together and conversing. Regardless of which technique Dickens uses, he makes it easy to become swept up in the tale.

            Readers who are familiar with this story, whether from reading it themselves or from the myriad Hollywood or Broadway productions of the novel, will understand that this work is a fiction, and not intended for Christian teaching. For certain, Dickens points his readers to Christ as the reason for our hope, joy, and love during the Christmas season. However, it is fair to allow the point of unimaginative critics, that Dickens may paint for us a picture of a works-based salvation should we take his work too literally. I would simply say that we do not read this tale for soteriology, but for a classic reminder that there is more to life than money and that the worship of wealth is ultimately soul-destroying.

            The version of this audio book that I listened to was read by Simon Vance (oddly the second book of his in a row that I have listened to). The reader does an excellent job of bringing emotion into the different character voices that he presents in this telling. I would highly recommend that those who would like to listen to this classic tale give Vance’s reading a try.

Knowing God - A Mini Review

2011-12-20T09:24:00.001-06:00

            Knowing God by J. I. Packer is one of those books that is often recommended as a modern classic, and for good reason. In what is often considered Packer’s signature work, he helps believers to understand several important attributes of God. Unlike some other authors, Packer is not writing about God’s attributes to merely fill our heads with theological concepts, but is instead challenging believers to allow their understanding of the person of God to lead them to greater devotion and holiness.

            There is much to love about this book, which explains why so many people have recommended it to me for so many years. Packer takes his readers deeply into many characteristics of God that are often neglected. A reader who works through this material will certainly come away with a deeper understanding or at least a deeper appreciation of the God of the bible.

            One particular area that I enjoyed was Packer’s handling of the word propitiation. In explaining what God has done for us to satisfy his wrath and atone for our sins, Packer unpacks the theological concept of propitiation in a thorough and accessible way.

            I listened to a free audio copy of this work provided for me through the reviewers program at ChristianAudio.com. Simon Vance has just the right reading voice, accent and cadence, to bring to life Packer’s work.

Kingdom Come (Luke 10:8-11)

2011-10-27T09:21:00.001-05:00

Luke 10:8-11 - 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’

                Jesus commanded his disciples to go to nearby towns to preach the gospel and heal the sick. As they went, the people could respond to Jesus in one of two ways, which is always the case. They could choose to believe the message of the disciples and repent, or they could choose to ignore the message of the disciples.

                What caught my attention as I read through this is the similarity of the proclamation. If the people turned from their sins and believed, they would hear from the disciples that the Kingdom of God has come. But, if they choose to ignore God’s grace, the message is the same, the Kingdom of God has still come.

                Here is what strikes me this morning. It is not the acceptance or rejection of God’s grace that brings the Kingdom of God. God brings the Kingdom. Those who are under God’s grace will have joy and mercy in the Kingdom. Those who, however, reject God’s grace are still going to experience the same coming of the Kingdom. For them, however, it will not be mercy but judgment.

                One falsehood that is often portrayed in our culture is that of God needing the faith of people to gain strength. This is not, however, the God of the Bible. God is not benefitted by our acceptance of his grace. God’s Kingdom will come, and has come, with or without our faith or our help. We have been honored by God to be allowed to join him in his eternal plan. But let us make no mistake in thinking that without us his Kingdom will not come.

                I’m not saying that there is no reason for us to work for God. Nor am I saying that God does not consider us important. He has stamped us with his image, and that is valuable beyond words. The point is simply that God’s Kingdom has come in Christ and will ultimately come in Christ. If you are under his grace, God’s Kingdom will be joy and eternal life for you. If you do not have God’s grace, his Kingdom will be eternal judgment for you. If you are still alive, you still have time to get under his grace, believe and repent.

                I think an appropriate response to this passage is to praise God for the amazing glory of his Kingdom. It is good to know that pockets of worldly resistance are not preventing God from accomplishing his plan. God is far more glorious than that. He will be glorified. His will is going to be done. His Kingdom cannot be thwarted by the faith of men or the lack thereof. Praise be to such a mighty and awesome God.

Temptation (Luke 54:5-8)

2011-10-25T12:56:00.001-05:00

Luke 4:5-8 - 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.’ ”

       Ponder the above temptation. The devil offers Jesus every kingdom in the world all at once. All he wants from Jesus is one momentary compromise. Jesus can have all the pleasures, all the treasures, all the honors those kingdoms can afford. All he needs to do is bow to Satan just once.

       Of course we know that Jesus would not give into that temptation. Looking at it from our perspective, knowing who Jesus is and what was his mission, we are not surprised that he passed this test. He is perfect. He is God. He came to seek and save the lost. He would have all the kingdoms of the world eventually.

       So, to rightly grasp the surprise, put yourself in this picture. What if Satan came to you and offered you every kingdom in the world? What if he offered you every power, every pleasure, and all the prestige the world had to offer. Would you go for it even if it cost you your soul?

       Of course we say that we would stand up to the temptation, but do we? Satan often offers us pleasures, little tiny ones, and we bow to him, sinning against God to get them. These are the temptations to improper relationships, sneaky financial dealings, hidden gossip, unrighteous entertainment, gluttony, and so much more. One little pleasure is dangled before us. We know better. But, if we fail to have a God-centered, Scripture-filled, eternal perspective on our lives and our souls and our mission, we fail.

       May we learn from our Savior who overcame our temptation. He was perfect where we will never be. We want to walk like Jesus. We want to avoid and battle temptation. We also need to thank Jesus that he took our punishment for our failure and gives us God’s Spirit to defeat our temptation.

Links of Interest 10/25/2011

2011-10-25T11:24:00.000-05:00

John macArthur challenges us not to be swept up in too great an emphasis on numbers.

Kevin DeYoung offers a simple way to articulate a Christian worldview in four steps.

Very sweet article here on grace in the White House. HT: Vitamin Z.

Good and Bad Questions (Luke 1)

2011-10-24T09:45:00.001-05:00

Luke 1:18-20 - 18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

Luke 1:34-38 - 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

            Strange, isn’t it, that Zechariah and Mary both have questions for the angel Gabriel, but the questions have drastically different results when asked. When Zechariah asked Gabriel his question, Gabriel rebukes him and tells him that he will be unable to speak until Gabriel's words come to pass. When Mary asks her question, Gabriel gives her a simple answer.

            A truth here to learn is that there are good questions and bad ones. God will respond with discipline for the bad ones and with grace to the good ones.

            When Zechariah heard from Gabriel that his wife was going to have a baby, his question was one of doubt. “How can this be?” Zechariah thought it to be impossible for God to miraculously give him a child in his old age. His question was akin to saying, “No way.” Gabriel answers Zechariah with rebuke for his unbelief.

            When Mary asked her question, it was more one of logistics than of doubt. Mary knew how babies were conceived. He also knew that she had not done anything to get a baby herself. So, how was she to have this child? No doubt is here, just curiosity as to what she was to do. Gabriel answers her with the promise of the miracle of Jesus’ conception and virgin birth.

            What kinds of questions do you have for God? Are you simply curious as to how you should follow your Lord? Do you ask in wonder, longing to know more of how God will accomplish is glorious plan? Or are you more like Zechariah, asking questions laced with doubt, with unbelief, with “Prove it” written all over them? We dishonor God when we stand before him and demand p-roof. We honor God when we stand before him believing, even when we cannot figure out all the details.

Trembling at Holiness (Luke 5:8)

2011-10-04T09:56:00.001-05:00

Luke 5:8

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

            God is Holy. We know this; we sing it. We call the Bible the “Holy Bible.” Yet, when it comes right down to it, our grasp of the holy is not what we see in Scripture.

            Take as one example the response of Peter to Jesus. When Peter recognizes that Jesus is different, superior, holy, Peter’s response to Jesus is not to shrug his shoulders and move on. Neither is it to say to his friends, “Look at Jesus. Isn’t he cool?” No, when Peter saw the truth that Jesus is holy, completely different than Peter, a sinful man, Peter was terrified. He begged Jesus to leave him. Why? Peter knew that, compared to his sin, Jesus was infinitely above him, completely beyond him. Peter knew that, to be exposed to such holiness would be deadly to a sinful man, and thus he was terrified.

            By God’s grace, we do not have to fear for our souls every time we consider his holiness. In Christ, we may approach God with confidence (Eph 3:12). However, the holiness of God should still cause us to tremble and to be in awe of the fact that a holy God would allow us to know him, to speak his name, to hear his word, to sing his praise.

            Let’s face it, we are all sinners. We deserve to be consumed by God’s holy wrath. Every last one of us has done wrong, thought wrong, or failed to do what was perfectly right. God’s infinite holiness should destroy us were it not for the grace that he has granted us in Christ. Today would be a very good day to remember this truth, to tremble at God’s holiness, and to praise him for the marvelous redemption that he has given us in Jesus.

Resolving Everyday Conflict - A Review

2011-10-02T19:27:00.001-05:00

Ken Sande and Kevin Johnson. Resolving Everyday Conflict. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011. 128 pp. $9.99.

            In Resolving Everyday Conflict, Ken Sande and Kevin Johnson offer very biblical and very practical counsel for helping believers deal with life’s inevitable friction. Sande is well-known from his work with Peacemaker Ministries, and his skill is on display in this helpful little book.

Positives

            Sande and Johnson make conflict resolution seem very simple. They helpfully call on readers to first focus on the glory of God and to repent of their own personal sin in the conflict before gently confronting others with the intent of restoration and reconciliation. In my own experience as a pastor, the first two major points, calling individuals to focus first on God’s glory and to act first to repent of their own sin before accusing others, are life-savers when it comes to bringing conflicts to resolution.

            In the book, Sande also shares seven keys to an appropriate confession of sin. These seven principles, all beginning with the letter “A”, are themselves worth the price of the book. Without giving away the list, I found the call to avoid words such as “if”, “maybe”, and “but” when making a confession to be vital.

Negatives

            My only negative here is that I would happily have read more. Readers might find themselves disappointed that this book does not delve into issues of the deeper hurts of life. But, as the title suggests, this book is intended to help us resolve everyday conflicts, not the kinds of crushing hurts that some might want to solve. For help in healing deeper wounds, looking at a bigger and more thorough work will be necessary—though this book could certainly be a help too.

Conclusion

            I would eagerly recommend Resolving Everyday Conflict to any pastor, counselor, or everyday believer who wants a helpful system to apply to normal, human struggles. This book is easy-to-read, helpful, and practical.

Audio

            I Listened to the excellent audio version of this book from ChristianAudio.com. Maurice England read the book in a very clear and engaging way. I received my audio copy for free as a part of the ChristianAudio reviewers program.

Can God? (2 Chronicles 36:22-23)

2011-09-13T09:31:00.001-05:00

2 Chronicles 36:22-23 (ESV)

22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’”

        Before considering the words above, picture the context. For 70 years, your nation has been under the thumb of the Babylonian Empire. For 50 years, your temple has been nothing but a mound of rubble. For as far back as most of your people can remember, all that you have known is that you are under the rule of men who do not serve your God. You have no military strength to even consider freeing yourself from the hand of your oppressors. It appears hopeless.

        What happens? God puts a thought in the mind of the latest king. Cyrus the Persian has come to power. Babylon has fallen. What does Cyrus decide to do? He decides to send back any of the Jews who want to go. He sends them to Jerusalem on a mission. He tells them to rebuild the temple of God, and he even offers to fund the project. In that one simple command, a lifetime’s impossibility falls away as God shows that he can use even the thoughts of pagan kings to accomplish his glorious will.

        Here we sit. It is the 21^st century. O how things look hopeless. Our nation is sliding further and further from God and toward immorality. Is it even possible that God could do something to change things? Can God rescue the US? Can God redeem post-Christian western Europe? Can God reach the Muslim nations and the Communist nations of this world? Can God reach over-comfortable, white-collar Americans? Can God reach the inner cities and the rural towns?

        Look what God did through Cyrus. Of course God can change the world. He has the power to do anything he wants. God can set things right. In fact, he will do so. We need not despair. Instead, we need to trust him. We need to work to build his kingdom for the glory of Christ. We need to realize that God will never fail. No nation is beyond his reach. No kingdom is out of his ability to rescue. No person, no family, no state, no city is beyond God’s ability to bring under his control and use for his glory.

        Be encouraged, Christians. God will not lose. He can save anybody. He can change anybody. He can put in place laws that will honor him. He can bring judgment when it most glorifies him. God is unstoppable. Let us trust him and confidently obey him for all of our days.

God Wins - A Review

2011-08-23T23:16:00.000-05:00

Mark Galli. God Wins: Heaven, Hell, and Why the Good News Is Better than Love Wins. Tyndale House Publishers, 2011. 204 pp. $10.08.

            Rob Bell’s Love Wins produced a firestorm in the Christian blogosphere. It is no surprise that a response book, or several response books, would be forthcoming. One of the first, God Wins, comes from the pen of Mark Galli, senior managing editor of Christianity Today. In his response to Bell’s controversial offering, Galli graciously attempts to correct the errors of the controversial, mega-church pastor.

Positives

            Galli’s tone in this work is one of its most endearing qualities. Throughout God Wins, readers will encounter arguments that are not personal, not cruel, and not straw men. Galli finds himself thankful for the fact that Christians are thinking deeply about important issues, even though he disagrees with Bell’s conclusions. In a discussion of a topic that has generated a great deal of heat, the tone of Galli’s work is refreshing.

            Generally, the theological positions that Galli presents are spot-on. He argues against the universalism present in Bell’s work (though Bell himself denies being a universalist, his conclusions are universalistic). Galli argues for a much higher view of the atonement than Bell, pointing out the importance of substitution and propitiation.

Negatives

            It is simply difficult to read a response book to a book that you have not read. I have not chosen to read Love Wins, and thus cannot say whether Galli present’s Bell’s arguments fairly. My assumption, given Galli’s tone, is that he tries hard to present Bell fairly. Galli also makes it clear that he wants his book to be able to stand alone. However, it simply cannot stand on its own merits. God Wins is a popular-level, critical response, and that very genre of book limits its appeal.

            Theologically, I find myself cringing occasionally as I hear Galli’s arguments. This is not to say that I agree with what Bell is credited as putting forth. Rather, I notice that Galli` is very open to views which I find inconsistent. For example, Galli declares that annihilationism is as plausible as an eternal hell; I disagree. Galli also declares at least twice that Scripture is silent on how God will deal with those who never hear the gospel. I would argue that Romans 1:18-20 and 10:13-ff are quite clear regarding this issue. So, though Galli is very solid on many issues, I cannot offer a blanket recommendation of his doctrinal positions.

Conclusion

            Mark Galli has, with a very kind and gracious tone, put forth a work that is a fine first response to Rob Bell’s quite notorious book. There is much to recommend God Wins, but there are also weaknesses. Readers who are very interested in the controversy over Bell’s arguments will find Galli’s work helpful. Others who wish merely to study the issues of heaven, hell, and atonement should look elsewhere for more clear and thorough treatments of these important topics.

Audio

            I listened to the fine recording of this book produced by ChristianAudio.com. As is always the case when dealing with Christian Audio, the quality of this audio book was excellent. I received a free audio copy of this work as part of the reviewers program in exchange for publishing an honest and thoughtful review.

Dangerous Success (Jeremiah 44:16-18 )

2011-08-16T07:45:00.000-05:00

Jeremiah 44:16-18

16 “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you. 17 But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. 18 But since we left off making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.”

            How do you determine right and wrong? How do you determine the will of God? Is it by circumstances? Do you look at what parallels with success and assume it to always be the right thing?

            In Jeremiah 44, we see a strange scene. The people of Judah have taken Jeremiah with them in their flight to Egypt. Even though God clearly commanded the people not to leave the land, they refused his commands and left for a place they felt was safer. While in Egypt, Jeremiah commanded the people to stop worshipping a false goddess, the “queen of heaven.” But, as we read above, the people did not listen.

            What would cause people who should have been the people of God to worship a false goddess? The answer is success. When the people were doing exactly what the Lord commanded them not to do, their lives were easy. When they were obeying god to whatever level they ever actually obeyed the Lord, they found life to be hard. So, they concluded that the right thing, the smart thing, the good thing was to refuse to worship God and to instead keep up their worship of the false goddess.

            While it is good not to be in the situation of those people who worshipped the goddess, it is also tempting today to follow the path of least resistance. It is easy to assume that success means that we are doing the right thing. Be careful. Often, for a time, doing what dishonors God will give a short-term success. Churches sometimes grow in numbers when they compromise. Parents who allow their children to dishonor God sometimes have less conflict with their kids. Sometimes it is easier in life not to tell the truth. But, if we are not careful, we will find ourselves like the people of Judah, led completely away from following God by apparent, short-term success.

            The truth is, following God has always been hard. Jesus promised us persecution if we would truly stand for him. Sometimes it requires us to take the harder road, the less obviously successful road, in order to truly obey the commands of God and glorify him. By walking the harder path, we may indeed find that we honor God more and give him greater glory as we show that he and not worldly success is our desire.

Links of Interest 8/11/2011

2011-08-11T16:47:00.001-05:00

Jared Wilson cites John Piper’s powerful advice on how to make your preaching interesting.

Wisdom for Life has some very helpful guidelines for thoughtful Christians to consider as they use social media like Facebook. HT: Challies

John Nielson has some spot-on things to say to parents and churches about the discipleship of young people.

Brad Andrews, guest posting at Vitamin Z, shares with us 30 ways to live missionally at your workplace.

Don't Follow Your Heart (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

2011-08-09T10:58:00.000-05:00

Jeremiah 17:9-10

9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”

            It’s funny what happens to a person as he grows older. I find myself watching little Disney movies with my children and catching the rhetoric and worldview behind the films. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the Lion King and all the rest, but there is something strange to seeing the worldview being espoused in so much of what entertains us.

            One part of the worldview that is generally put forth in any movie is the counsel, “Just follow your heart.” Almost any child’s movie, at one point or another, tells the young one to do what his or her heart tells him or her to do. It seems like such safe, such wise advice. But, dear me, it is not.

            Gods’ word reminds us that the heart of man is deceitful, desperately sick. No man knows his own heart. No woman grasps the sickness that lies therein. No child understands how his or her little heart has been darkened by the influence of sin. The fact is, the human heart is not trustworthy; it makes a terrible guide.

            God knows our hearts. He can rightly judge us by both our actions and our hearts’ intents. However, this judgment does not help us. We do not even know how wicked our hearts are. We do not even recognize that, when we think we are doing things for good motives, our hearts convict us.

            Christians, while God has made our old and dead hearts alive, we need to recognize that our hearts still often harbor sin. We need God’s word to speak truth into them. We cannot be guided by our hearts alone. We must be guided by God’s word. There is no sin and no darkness in the word of God. It is perfect and able to make us equipped for every good work. Do not follow your heart unless your heart is first following the clear revelation of God found in his holy word.

Links of Interest 8/9/2011

2011-08-09T10:57:00.001-05:00

Bill Mounce takes a look at “missing verses” and offers a very simple and clear explanation as to why certain verses do not appear in modern translations of Scripture. HT: Challies

Chris Castaldo writes a helpful piece discussing why evangelicals and Catholics ought not date or marry. HT: Thabiti Anyabwile

Doug Wolter posting at Vitamin Z’s site challenges parents to remember to communicate the gospel with their children, even when correcting them.

John Piper uses C.S. Lewis to remind parents not to provoke children to wrath.

Links of Interest 8/8/2011

2011-08-08T09:41:00.000-05:00

Jared Wilson gives us a very sweet answer to the question of whether or not God can make a rock so big he cannot lift it.

Tullian Tchividjian has some helpful things to say about Christian calling and whether or not we should all move to foreign lands. His point is that, though many are called to go, many are called to stay where they are and live out their Christianity.

Links of Interest 8/4/2011

2011-08-04T18:07:00.001-05:00

Note: It has been a while since I have posted any of these. If you would, leave a comment and let me know if you actually find them helpful so that I can decide if it is worth my while to continue posting such things.

Now the links—

Timmy Brister shares with us a great paragraph from J.C. Ryle on sinners praying for salvation. If you struggle with a “sinner’s prayer,” but want something to say to someone who is turning to Christ, this is worth a moment of your time.

Nathan Finn has something very useful to say about the use of the number 2,000 when Baptist mention the current version of the Baptist Faith and Message.

Ben Simpson offers some interesting thoughts about the contrasting desires of stewardship and extravagance in church building construction and design.

Mike Adams talks about the interesting side effects that American atheist groups are claiming because of religion in our country.

The Word a Fire (Jeremiah 5:14)

2011-08-03T14:40:00.001-05:00

Jeremiah 5:14

Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts:
“Because you have spoken this word,
behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire,
and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.

            As Jeremiah continued to tell the people the truth from God, the people continued to rebel. But God made it clear to Jeremiah that nobody will refuse the word of God without consequence. Oh, it may seem for a time like people get away with disobeying the commands of the Lord, but it will not last.

            The imagery of verse 14 is terrifying. God tells Jeremiah that his words, the word of God, will be a fire to the people who will be kindled like wood. Just as we see in Revelation 11, where the two witnesses breathe out fire against the enemies of God, so here we see that the word of God, spoken by a servant of God, becomes the fire of the wrath of God against those who reject that word.

            The word of God is a beautiful gift. It is amazingly kind of God to show us his word and allow us to know him and his ways through it. However, the word of God is also deadly. God giving us his word makes us even more accountable to obey it. As we hear the word, we have a choice: either we obey and are blessed or disobey and find ourselves in trouble with the Creator.

            What will God’s word be to you? Will you hear God’s word, obey it, and find the blessing of being his child? Will you follow God’s word, run to Jesus for grace, and obey his commands for joy? Or will you be like a twig in the fire? Will you allow the word of God to pronounce your judgment because you refuse to humble yourself, repent of sin, run to Jesus, and obey the word of the Lord?

Saying Hard Things (Jeremiah 1:17)

2011-08-02T09:47:00.000-05:00

Jeremiah 1:17 - But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them.

            It’s hard to say things that people will not want to hear. That was going to be Jeremiah’s job. The people of Judah were not following the Lord. In fact, God was about to tell them that he was more angry with them than he was with the northern kingdom that he had allowed the Assyrians to overrun a century earlier.

            When we have hard things to say, we have two choices. We can either choose to say the hard thing and upset the people to whom we speak, or we can choose to ignore what needs to be said. Often we choose the latter option, because we do not have to hear the voice of God expressing his disappointment.

            This is why what we see here in Jeremiah is of such value. God lets Jeremiah know that, should he choose to ignore God’s command and keep the people happy, he would be in deep trouble. God tells Jeremiah not to be dismayed by the people so as not to speak the truth. If Jeremiah is too afraid of men, God will make Jeremiah even more afraid. God basically tells Jeremiah, “if you think they are scary, wait until you have to deal with me.”

            Saying hard things to people is hard, but facing the discipline of the Lord is harder. God calls his servants to speak the truth of his word. If we refuse to speak the truth, we show that we fear people more than the Lord, that we are more willing to disappoint God than man. Let us learn to be bold. Yes, it is sometimes difficult and uncomfortable, but the alternative, dishonoring our Lord, is far worse. And, if we will honor God, he will fill our souls with the joy of seeing his glory.

Not Emptied of Power (1 Corinthians 1:17)

2011-08-01T09:21:00.001-05:00

1 Corinthians 1:17 - For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

            Paul was a genius; almost any reader of his will confirm that fact. He made deep, powerful, logical connections between thoughts that still leave us marveling thousands of years later. He was able, had he chose, to out-argue anybody around him.

            Fascinating, then, that Paul does not choose to argue with clever or sophisticated speech. Instead, Paul chose to build his ministry by preaching one thing, one simple thing. Paul preached Christ Jesus and him crucified. This made the Jews stumble, as they could not imagine the Christ being crucified. It was a problem for gentiles who simply thought the concept of God forgiving us based on Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection totally nuts.. Yet Paul chose to preach this simple gospel in order that the cross of Christ not be emptied of its power.

            Christian, do you see the wisdom of this “foolish” plan? When we preach the gospel, the true gospel, and nothing but the gospel, and when people are changed by that gospel, it is obvious that they have been truly, supernaturally, spiritually converted. However, when we persuade people by our strong personalities, our perfectly designed programs, or our powerful rhetoric, we actually have no idea what happens when they claim a conversion. In order for us to see that God is the one who did the work, we need to be sure that what the people we preach to hear is the gospel that the lost world finds to be insane.

            This is no call to be foolish in your activity. This is no call to avoid planning, to be disorganized, or to fail to communicate in a way that your listeners will understand. We want a wisdom about how we approach people. However, we dare not tinker with the gospel. We dare not call people to respond to something other than the Jesus of the Bible, crucified and raised. We must not empty the cross of its power by making the faith about moral changes, political positions, or one country’s values over another. No, we must let the cross be the cross, a deadly, bloody, substitutionary atonement. This makes no sense to the lost world. It confuses them, makes them laugh, or makes them angry. Guess what, that is what the cross should do. Because there will be some who, when they hear about this cross, will be made alive in their hearts, will respond in faith, and will truly be saved by God to the glory of God.

Thinking Too Small (Isaiah 49:6)

2011-07-22T09:45:00.001-05:00

Isaiah 49:6 (ESV)

he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

            Do we set our sights too low? Have we forgotten the power and sovereignty of our God? Do we settle for meager survival when something glorious is before us?

            Reading that little paragraph, it sounds like a prosperity preacher. All that needs to follow is some call to “claim the promise” and you too can have the material wealth you have always dreamed of. But I’m not thinking about health, wealth, and prosperity. No, I’m thinking of God’s plan to win the world and build his kingdom.

            In Isaiah 49, God tells Isaiah that there is more to his life and mission than Isaiah ever knew. Isaiah was not merely called by God to bring Israel back to their Lord. No, that would be too small a thing. God was going to use Isaiah and the divinely inspired message that God gave Isaiah to bring the nations to the Lord. Isaiah would be a tool in the hands of the Master to bring about the building of God’s global kingdom.

            In the Old Testament, such a plan was mysterious. How could God rescue the gentiles too? But by the time we see Jesus Christ, the suffering servant of Isaiah 53, lay down is life for all who will come to God from any nation, the global vision becomes more clear. God truly has always intended that his kingdom be filled with people from every nation on earth. God will not fail. Christ did not fail. God’s kingdom will be established.

            Now, back to my question of small thinking. Do we think too small? God told Isaiah that the return of Israel would be too small a task. That would be too easy, too little. No, God had a gigantic task for Isaiah. Isaiah would be a voice calling the nations to their King.

                But Isaiah is not the only one with such a call. Jesus commissioned his disciples by calling us to take the good news of Gods’ forgiveness to the nations. We are to make disciples of all peoples. A vision of a surviving church, or even a thriving church in a local community, is too small a vision. We need to think like God thinks. We need to pray for God to truly glorify his name. Would God not say to us just as he said to Isaiah, “I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth?” And if God would say this to us, how do we obey? It is time that we think bigger, pray bigger, and direct our plans globally. Yes, we are to reach our communities with the gospel. But we are also to take the gospel to the next town, the next county, the state, the nation, and the globe. O Christians, do not think too small when thinking about the building of the kingdom of our God.

Rest and Quietness (Isaiah 30:15-18)

2011-07-15T09:27:00.001-05:00

Isaiah 30:15-18

15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
But you were unwilling, 16 and you said,
“No! We will flee upon horses”;
therefore you shall flee away;
and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”;
therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
at the threat of five you shall flee,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
like a signal on a hill.
18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.

     In the days of Isaiah, the people of God were under a great threat. Assyria for the northern kingdom and Babylon for the southern kingdom were great dangers. God was going to send enemies, allowing them to punish Israel for her sin. But God also promised deliverance. If the people would trust in him, rest and be still, he would be their rescuer. Sadly, Israel did not wish to trust in the Lord. Instead, she would run away to attempt to save herself.

     There are great lessons here for us all. If you are not yet a believer in Christ, there is something for you to learn. It is human nature to think that you will rescue yourself, saving your own soul. Most people who believe in God also believe that they will be OK with God if they can manage to live up to a certain set of moral standards. But the Bible makes it clear that none of us are good enough in ourselves to please a holy God. No, the only way to be right with God is not to try, but to trust. God sent Jesus to live the perfection we could not live and to die the sacrificial death that would have kept our souls in hell forever. You cannot be good and get Jesus. On the contrary, all you can do is repent of sin, trust in Jesus, and ask him to save your soul. In quietness and rest is your salvation—quietness from personal works and resting in the person and work of Jesus alone.

     For the Christian, there is also a lesson. It is tempting, when we face hardships, to fix everything ourselves. But we are not always wise here. God is active in our lives. Sometimes the best policy for us is to rest in him and allow him to defend us, protect us, and provide for us. Of course this is not about laziness or quietism. However, there is truth in the fact that there is peace for the Christian when he or she will stop trying to run the world and allow God to be in charge (as he will be in charge no matter what we think we can do).

God Gave them One Heart (2 Chronicles 30:12)

2011-07-14T09:34:00.000-05:00

2 Chronicles 30:12 (ESV)

The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.

            During the time of King Hezekiah, the people of Judah turned from much of their former sin to obey and seek the Lord. For the first time in a long time, they kept a proper festival to God with proper sacrifice. Most of the remnant from the northern kingdom laughed at this worship even though they had already experienced the punishment of God who used the Assyrians to demolish that kingdom. Yet some from the north humbled themselves and repented.

            What is beautiful to me is the unity of heart that was present in the southern kingdom. As a people, the people of Judah repented and sought God. For a time, a short time, the southern kingdom turned from idols and to the Lord. They sacrificed, they prayed, and they sought God’s face. God blessed them and showed them mercy.

        How did this happen? How did Hezekiah convince the people to do what was right? He didn’t. Hezekiah was used by God here, there is no doubt. He was a tool in the hand of the Lord, but he is not the one to glorify for the heart change in the people of Judah. No, look again at verse 12. God did the work in the hearts of the people, “The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.”

        When a person turns from their sin to seek the salvation of God, that is the working of God on a dead heart. God may use a pastor, a friend, a missionary, a teacher, or whomever he wants, but the fact is, it is always God alone who changes the hearts of sinners. This is to God’s glory. He is the one who ought to receive 100% of the praise for anyone’s salvation, anyone’s heart change. This does not diminish the work of believers that God uses. Hezekiah was important in the lives of the people of Judah. Whoever shared Jesus with you was important in your conversion if you are saved. Missionaries are important in taking the gospel to the nations. But only God awakens dead hearts, replaces hearts of stone with hearts of flesh, and brings people to salvation. That is his glorious work for his sweet praise.

Trusting in God (Isaiah 26:3-4)

2011-07-13T07:28:00.000-05:00

Isaiah 26:3-4

3 You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

     Trust in God. Trust in him, because he will give peace to the one who does so. Trust in him, because he is an everlasting rock. Trust in him because he is steady and strong. Trust in him because he is sure and always right. Trust in him, and you will find rest.

     What a glorious call. Our God promises that he will give rest and peace to the one whose trust is in him. The one who trusts in God, truly trusts in God, is one whose life has been changed by God. The one who trusts in God is one who has been brought from darkness to light. The one who trusts in God is one who will receive from God great peace, great joy, great hope. Even when the circumstances of life are dismal, the one who trusts in God for real has a sweet comfort and confidence that the Lord will bring glory to his name.

     How can we trust God? We know that he is our rock. God does not change. The circumstances of the world around us do not sway him. His plans are certain. No evil force can put God off balance. No “natural” disaster can take him by surprise. No clever trickster can change God’s mind. No variant in the moral thinking of man will change what God has declared to be right. God is perfect. For him to change would mean to go from less perfect to more or from more perfect to less, and these things the perfect one cannot do.

                Do you trust in God? Is he your hope for salvation? Is he your hope for your future? Have you found yourself truly believing that he is your one and only sure foundation? Have you seen him as your only way to have peace and joy? Have you trusted in Jesus, God the Son, for eternal life? Do you trust in God in your hardships for peace and hope? “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

A Purpose of God's Kindness (Romans 2:4)

2011-07-12T06:43:00.001-05:00

Romans 2:4

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

     Many people in our world have done a bang-up job of refashioning God into someone he is not. This should be no surprise, as this has been going on since the very first human sin. Consider Cane who found himself furious with God for not accepting a sacrifice that Cane thought was just fine.

     One of the reshapings of God that is most common is the thought of God as all love with no judgment or wrath. People see the Scriptural declarations of God’s love and they fail to see the total picture. God is gloriously loving, and there is no doubt about that. God has shown kindness to all humanity. He did not kill us after our very first sin, and that shows a great deal of mercy and forbearance on his part.

     But Romans 2:4 tells us that God’s kindness has a purpose, and if you are not careful, you might miss it. One of the reasons that God is kind to those who sin against him is in order to bring them to repentance. When you and I, who by nature are evil, do what our evil nature demands, we should be judged by God. When God chooses to show us kindness instead of the judgment we deserve, that should provoke in us a reaction. The proper reaction is not to glory in our sin and to go on sinning. No, the proper reaction is to see the kindness of God, understand the ugliness of our sin, and turn from that sin while crying out to God for his pardon.

     Perhaps it would be good for you, today, to recognize some of the kindness that God has shown you. He did not kill you and judge you the moment of your first sin. He has let the sun shine on you and the wind blow around you. He has let you experience the rainfall that feeds the crops that feed your body. If you are reading this, you have Internet access for goodness’ sake, that’s pretty kind of God to let you have such technology.

     God has been kind to you in more ways than you can count. How have you been toward him? You have sinned against him; we all have. He does not even require you to be good to be saved. He simply calls us to turn from sin and trust in Christ. There is nothing in that about making yourself good. In fact, it is about rejecting your wrong and crying out to him for mercy to make you right. Look at the kindness of God, and let it lead you to repent of sin and love his mercy.

Scheming (Micah 2:1-3

2011-07-11T10:32:00.001-05:00

Micah 2:1-3

1 Woe to those who devise wickedness
and work evil on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
a man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the Lord:
behold, against this family I am devising disaster,
from which you cannot remove your necks,
and you shall not walk haughtily,
for it will be a time of disaster.

     Do you scheme? Do you plot? Do you lie in bed and think to yourself how you are going to get at somebody, how you are going to tell them off, how you are going to make them look foolish? Do you daydream of things you could say to somebody to show how stupid they are? Do you consider in your brain how you can spin the story of what somebody said or did to make yourself look good and them bad?

     God hates such scheming. Micah makes it very clear that such schemers are in great danger. Whether you scheme at home, at school, in the workplace, or—heaven forbid—in the local church, God hates it. Plotting to hurt others, to put others down and lift yourself up, is evil, looking far more like the devil than like Jesus.

     Be careful here. Do not assume that you could not possibly be a schemer. It is amazing how easily this comes into our lives. We most often talk with people who are like us and who think like us. Our simple conversations can very easily turn into strategy sessions for changing the world into something that pleases us. Sometimes this is good, when it is gospel centered and biblical; but more often than not, our little planning sessions become dangerous times of self promotion and fighting for personal preference.

     What is the solution to this? Go read Philippians 2:1-11. Jesus was our example of one who humbled himself in order to sacrifice himself for the good of others. Follow that pattern. Once you have put your trust in Jesus for your salvation, strive to look like him. Let go of your perceived rights in order to consider others better than yourself (Phil 2:3).

     Don’t get me wrong here. The call to self sacrifice is not a call to a works-based Christianity. You do not need to simply work harder to be a good little boy or girl. But, if your heart is filled with scheming and plotting to get your own way, you are working against the sanctifying hand of God. If you are working to put yourself forward and put others down, you are battling against your source of ultimate joy. Fight for joy. Fight for peace. Fight against your own tendencies to self-promote. Fight to glorify God by loving others as Christ loves you.

Grasping the Gospel (Isaiah 12:1-2)

2011-07-08T06:54:00.001-05:00

Isaiah 12:1-2

1 You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
2 “Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”

            Over the past few years, my book shelves have become weighed down with nice new works focusing strongly on the gospel. At times, I begin to wonder why so many pieces should be written on such a simple topic, such a fundamental principle. But then I realize that, indeed, the gospel is simple, fundamental, and indeed essential for any Christian or any church to have any concept of God, of worship, and of salvation. And it is also sadly true that many simply do not have a solid grasp on what should be the center of their Christian lives.

            Notice the wording of Isaiah 12:1-2. There are things said here that can only be true of one who has truly received the forgiveness of God. Isaiah has the people recognizing that God was angry with them, justly and rightly furious at them because of their sinful rebellion. This is so often missed in modern congregations. Instead of declaring God to be rightly angry at us for our sins, modern churches too often depict God as tearfully desperate for us to come to him to make him feel better. O, make no mistake, God loves his children. God loves those he calls to himself. God loves the lost with a love that is infinitely better than any of us could deserve. However, God is rightly and justly angry at rebels against him.

            So, If you grasp the gospel, what do you grasp? You grasp that a holy God was angry with you, but he set aside that anger to turn to you in mercy. He punished Jesus with his full anger in order to welcome you into his family with gentleness and tenderness.

            When a sinner grasps that God set aside his anger to bring his children to himself, he or she will sing as Isaiah has sinners singing in verse 2. God is our salvation. We have no other hope. We have done nothing good on our own. We have brought nothing to the table but our sin. God is the center of the Gospel. It was his anger, his justice, his kindness, his mercy, his forgiveness of our sin, his will that was done, his glory that we drink from, his family into which we are adopted, his doing from start to finish. O worship this God and never fail to grasp the genuine, biblical, glorious gospel of grace.

Dangerous Doubts (2 Kings 7:1-2)

2011-07-07T09:26:00.001-05:00

2 Kings 7:1-2

1 But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” 2 Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”

            If we read the Old Testament too quickly, our eyes tend to glaze over as we read of the judgments of God as run-of-the-mill events. We watch glorious victories occur. Then we watch God strike down somebody for touching the ark or gathering on the Sabbath. Somehow, if we are not careful, we fail to ask what is going on.

            Here, Elisha is threatened by the king of Israel. The enemies of the kingdom are at the gates of the capital city, and the besieged people inside Samaria are starving. The king is frustrated by the hardship, and decides to take out his frustration by lopping off the head of the prophet.

            The story that grabbed my attention, however, is the exchange between the king’s guard and Elisha. As the man comes to fetch and execute Elisha, the prophet tells him that, tomorrow, food will no longer be scarce in Samaria; the threat of the Syrian army will be eradicated. The guard simply cannot believe this to be possible. When he pronounces his doubt, Elisha tells the man that he will see this provision of God, but he will die before he tastes any of it.

            Now, if this story is familiar, you need to stop and ask some questions. Why? Why would this man face such a hard judgment for simply doubting? Why would he die at the end of the siege because he has trouble believing the impossible?

            The answer is that God has exalted his own name and his own glory above all things. Since the universe was created by God, for God’s glory, how could there be a greater sin than to doubt the strength of God? Remember, the man did not ask if God would really do such a thing, but could such a thing really be done. The guard, in an open pronouncement to God’s representative, said that God could not accomplish what he declared he would do.

            What dangerous doubts do you have? What do you say either with your lips or in your heart that God cannot do? Do you doubt that God can forgive a sinner by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone? Do you doubt that God can provide for you in your particular area of need? Do you doubt that God’s word is sufficient for life and godliness? Do you doubt that God’s word is enough to feed his people, grow his church, and build his kingdom? Do not doubt the power of the God who spoke the universe into existence. Do not doubt the God who raised Jesus from the dead after Christ paid for the sins of all his children. Do not doubt the God whose word is living and active. Do not doubt the God who, just as he promised, freed Samaria from the famine in one single day.

The Cloud of Uncertainty (2 Kings 6:15-17)

2011-07-06T08:03:00.000-05:00

2 Kings 6:15-17

15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

        How easy it is to look at your personal circumstances, especially from within the cloud of uncertainty, and to wonder, “What shall we do?” Perhaps you have never been in a place where things seemed to fall apart around you, where the enemies of God seem to have the victory. If not, you won’t understand the fear that Elisha’s servant felt. But if you have experienced something similar, you will have much sympathy for the young man.

        Elisha prayed for his servant, asking that God make it plain to him the things that God was doing behind the scenes. There was more than one army on that hill. God was not about to be defeated. The bad guys were not about to win. Though the servant, with human eyes, would never have been able to see it at the time, God was in control, moving to accomplish something amazing for his own glory.

        What do you face today? Does it look like the bad guys will win? God will not be defeated. I’m not suggesting that you go out and buy little figurines of angels so that you remember heavenly armies. Instead, I simply want to remind you that God will be glorified in all that occurs. Whether it looks good to you at present or not, the sovereign Lord of all Creation will be victorious. He will not let the bad guys win. He will not be defeated. He will vindicate his name and his holy word. Take courage, even if you cannot, at present, see the hand of God in the midst of the cloud of uncertainty.

Blog Interruption

2011-06-21T18:03:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the slowness of posts here at the blog. If you know my family, you probably have already heard that we are going to be moving quite soon. Sadly, when I set up an end of service date with my Internet provider, they decided to simply turn off my service right then. They tell me that it is impossible for them to turn our service back on before we move, and so my family is stuck with using public Internet hot spots when we get out.

        I will resume regular posting in July, once we are settled into our new location. In the mean time, I would love to have any readers pray for our family during this time of transition.

Perfect and Sufficient (Proverbs 30:5-6)

2011-06-13T20:40:00.001-05:00

Proverbs 30:5-6

5 Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

                The perfection and sufficiency of Scripture may still be the central issue upon which modern Christianity will either stand or fall. While I have heard many of my Southern Baptist brothers tell me that the battle over the Bible is over, that we conservatives have won, and that now it is time to move on, I cannot agree. With every new challenge to solid theology that arises, the battle for the accuracy and sufficiency of the Scripture again takes center-stage.

                Think of some of the most recent controversies that have taken the Internet by storm. Debates over literal, six-day creationism verses theistic evolution truly amount to a question of the authority and accuracy of the Bible. Debates over gender roles in the home or in ministry boil down to the authority of Scripture. Hip controversies over the existence, justice, and eternality of hell are essentially debates over the authority of Scripture.

                But God reminds us that his word is true. Every one of his words is sound. We do not need to add to it. IN fact, if we attempt to make the Bible better by adding anything to it, we dishonor God and distort the teaching of our Lord.

                Imagine a mountain that a man climb to its peak. He stands on the top-most point. What will happen if he takes a step in any direction? Of course, he will go down. This is true of Scripture. When we stand on Scripture, we stand on the top point of Gods’ perfect revelation. Any step, either to ignore the Scripture or to add something to it, is a step down from the peak to something less than perfect. Let us learn to love and obey the perfect word of God.

Links of Interest 6/13/2011

2011-06-13T20:33:00.001-05:00

This piece on man-centered missions is extremely challenging and thought-provoking. It is also a bit cynical. However, the author raises valid points for our consideration as he argues for more indigenous missions.

Tim Challies argues that it is possible that the vast numbers of children who “leave the faith” after high school may be a result of churches that have lost the gospel and not of poor programming.

James MacDonald has some strong criticism of the congregational model of church government. While I would not follow him completely—there are strong biblical arguments for a form of congregationalism with elders—his criticisms need consideration.

The Good Old Days (Ecclesiastes 7:10)

2011-06-09T10:18:00.001-05:00

Ecclesiastes 7:10

Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

            This verse hardly needs any extra commentary, but it is a worthy thought for any day. Why do we think to ourselves that former days, former times, were somehow better than the times we are in? God tells us that such thinking does not come from wisdom.

            I have recently been reading with my daughter the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. As we read the stories of the Ingalls family during the late 19^th century, it is easy to think that those were the good days. Children had discipline and obeyed their parents. Law seemed to be obeyed. The courtship between Almanzo and Laura was sweet and innocent.

            But were those days better? OF course they were not. Sin still reigned in the hearts of men. Sexual immorality still happened in those days, it was simply less public. Drunkenness was still a vice. Racism against blacks and native Americans was prevalent. And the churches showed evidence of poor preaching, bad doctrine, and disregard of rightly-handled Scripture.

            In fact, in the chapter leading up to Laura and Almanzo’s wedding in These Happy Golden Years, Laura balks at the use of the word “obey” as part of the wedding vows. Almanzo points out to her that their preacher in their town did not use that word, and in fact, that the preacher argued against Paul on that topic. Regardless of one’s views of gender roles in the home, to hear that the preacher is praised for arguing against Paul on a topic is not the sign of faithful, biblical Christianity.

            The point I’m making is that, if we examine the former times, there was as much sin, as much hardship, and as much sorrow as we see today. OF course our sins are different today. Today’s lack of morality seems so much more brazen, so much more callous, than it did in years gone by. But the times were not better. Men were still sinners in need of grace. Men were still rebels against their Creator who needed to repent and turn to Jesus to find salvation.

            So, the next time you are tempted to long for the good old days, be they the 1950s, the 1880s, the first century, or just the days of that pastor you like so much more than the one you have now, realize that longing for the good old days is not from wisdom. The good old days were fraught with difficulty as well as beauty. So too are these present days. Instead of longing for days of old, let us obey God’s word and glorify Christ with all that we have in the time we have been given.

The Vanity of Having It All (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11)

2011-06-08T11:13:00.001-05:00

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11

10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

            King Solomon had it all. He was rich. He was famous. He had more stuff than any king before him. He had entertainment, wine, women, property, and success on every side.

            Interesting, isn’t it, that when he assessed what he had, he declared it all to be vanity. Like a little soap bubble that floats up, pops, and leaves no trace, so Solomon saw his success. If this life is all there is, there is absolutely no reason to think that success or failure matters. If this life is all that there is, Solomon had no reason for joy or hope.

            What Solomon found is not unusual for people to see. Watch Hollywood. Read the stories of the rich and powerful whose lives are miserable. Watch stars and politicians who have everything they ever dreamed of getting fall prey to the folly of drugs, affairs, and generally self-destructive behavior. Why? Because they see that all that they have gained is empty.

            Ecclesiastes would be a terrible book were it not for the conclusion. At the end of the day, Solomon understands that life’s only true meaning comes in being made by and serving a God who is far greater than you. Our only hope for lasting joy is found in the glory of the eternal God whose we are and to whom we owe all things.

Links of Interest 6/8/2011

2011-06-08T11:12:00.001-05:00

Russell Moore takes a look at some of the major political scandals of recent months. In each of these, people who are generally very smart people make unbelievable mistakes. Why?

Matt Purman reminds us that a lack of theological education is a tremendous hindrance to global mission.

Jared Wilson points out three things that pastors must do, but which are almost never listed on his job description.

Arguing with a Fool (Proverbs 29:9)

2011-06-07T10:37:00.001-05:00

Proverbs 29:9

If a wise man has an argument with a fool,
the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.

            Would you agree with me that the art of civil debate has been lost in our society? It certainly seems that way. Just turn on one of those TV news programs where they maintain they will give both sides of a discussion on an issue, and what do you see? You see yelling, name-calling, interrupting, and cheap sarcasm.

            Of course, the Bible has seen these tendencies in the nature of fools for thousands of years. The more foolish you are, the more likely you are to yell, scoff, make fun, and fail to listen in a discussion. Wise people listen, are polite, and treat others with respect.

            How are you when you get into a debate or discussion? Are you polite? Can you let the other person finish a point? Must you get in little sarcastic jabs, or can you be kind? Be careful, your style of arguing says as much about you as the argument you are trying to put forward.

Open Rebuke and Hidden Love (Proverbs 27:5)

2011-06-06T11:26:00.001-05:00

Proverbs 27:5

Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.

            The Proverbs often offer us sweet and simple nuggets of wisdom. That wisdom often challenges us greatly regarding our relationships with others, be they friends or enemies. One such a wisdom nugget is found in the above verse which communicates two things to consider.

            Open rebuke is better than hidden love. Open rebuke is actually a very good thing for the life of any wise person. When you or I do wrong, we need people who will, with grace and charity, come to us and let us know. This is far better than someone seeing us ruin our lives and refuse to tell us what they see.

            How often have you heard one person complaining about the failings and shortcomings of another? How often has the complainer actually first gone and told the one against whom they are complaining? So often our rebukes are hidden, or worse, they are told as morsels of gossip intended to wound. O how much better we would be as believers if we would talk to one another about our concerns instead of spreading them abroad.

            The second half of this proverb, the opposite of good rebuke, is a strange thing to consider an opposite. While open rebuke can be a very good thing, hidden love is not. Think about your own experience in your local church. Do you love your pastor? Do you love your Sunday School teacher? What about other sweet and godly believers in Christ? If so, do they know? It is great that you love your fellow Christians, but if they cannot see that you love them, you need to do what you can to rectify that.

            I’m not telling you to go all sappy here and get weepy over everybody. But letting people know that you care for them, that you appreciate them, or that you are praying for them is a very good thing to do. Why not take a moment to examine your life and see where your love of brothers and sisters in Christ might seem hidden.

            I can think, in my own life, of times where I have been reminded that I need to show my concern for brothers and sisters in Christ more clearly. That led me to do more pastoral visits, to make more phone calls, and to make it a point, each Sunday, to stop by the senior adult Sunday School classes just to let them know that I’m thinking of them. These are small things, but they can go a long way in helping believers to understand that you actually do care. What can you do that would do the same?

Links of Interest 6/6/2011

2011-06-06T09:37:00.001-05:00

Thabiti Anyabwile uses the NBA and the barber shop to help us learn something very important about church membership.

Russell Moore, who has done much to champion the cause of Christian adoption over recent years, writes an interesting reflection on the adoption storyline in Kung-Fu Panda II.

Tony Paynhe offers some good advice for those who struggle to deal with the philosophical question of the goodness of God in the light of suffering and evil. HT: Challies

Links of Interest 5/31/2011

2011-05-31T14:23:00.001-05:00

Elyse Fitzpatrick has some excellent challenges for parents reminding us of the dangers of moralistic parenting.

Tim Challies writes a very interesting response to John Piper’s interview with Rick Warren, pointing out that, while the interview was very interesting, several important issues were not addressed. Challies concludes that, though much Warren said in the interview was very good, until certain major problems with Warren’s ministry track record are addressed, critics will still have legitimate concerns.

Russell Moore offers his answer to an ethics question about a man whose wife disagrees with him on issues of gender roles in ministry. Should such a man continue pursuing serving as a pastor if his wife and he are not on the same page?

Links of Interest 5/26/2011

2011-05-26T11:03:00.001-05:00

Kevin DeYoung has written an excellent piece challenging Christians to theologically consider the concept of patriotism and the church as memorial Day approaches. DeYoung’s point is that there is nothing wrong with loving your country, but during Sunday morning worship is not the venue to express that love.

Michael Horton writes a very thoughtful piece on using the Bible for the creation of America’s foreign policy regarding Israel.

Timmy Brister shares with us several key problems with our present pattern of meaningless church membership and the lack of church discipline.

Thabiti Anyabwile shares with us some heartbreaking statistics concerning pastors and their view of ministry. It is frightening to see how many pastors feel under-qualified, depressed, or friendless.

Links of Interest 5/25/2011

2011-05-25T09:57:00.001-05:00

Thanks to a slightly related tweet, I came across this article from 9 Marks on altar-call evangelism. IT is worth some thought.

Stephen Altrogge, looking back at last week’s rapture-mania, says something very wise about why the rapture did not happen last Saturday. And, no, it is not because of God’s promise that nobody knows the hour or day.

Mark Driscoll, at the Gospel Coalition, has some interesting things to say about friends. He offers some new categories for us to consider when we call people friends that I think are worth considering.

Long for Heaven (Revelation 7:15-17)

2011-05-24T09:03:00.001-05:00

Revelation 7:15-17

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

        No matter how hard this life gets, there is a home for all of those who have sought shelter in Christ. There is simply nothing to compare to the beauty of what we see before the throne of God.

        Those who have been forgiven of their sins in Christ will serve God like priests in the temple. They will find shelter, rest, and peace in the presence of the Almighty. No dangers will ever frighten them. No hardships will ever hurt them again. No hunger or thirst will ever weaken them.

        Those who enter heaven will never again feel the harshness of nature—no tornados, no floods, no blizzards, and no heat waves. Never again will they worry about a drought. Never again will they feel discomfort. Never again will a day be too hot or too cold, too humid or too dry.

        But verse 17 is most beautiful to me. The Lamb of God, Jesus himself, will be the shepherd of God’s people. Just as you have often read in Psalm 23, Jesus will lead his sheep beside still waters. Jesus will give his followers the true, soul-satisfying, living water that will never fade. Never again will we thirst in any way. We will not desire something that we cannot have. All of our needs will be met in the perfection of the presence of the Lord.

        Then we see the glorious promise that the Lord will wipe away every tear from the eyes of his children. There will be no more crying. There will be no more sorrow. There will be no more grief. Finally, for all eternity, there will be perfect joy, perfect peace, perfect rest, perfect satisfaction.

        Christians, God wants you to hear these words, and he wants you to long for heaven. He wants you to set your heart on what you see here. He wants you to desire the satisfaction that only he can give. Do not settle for less. Do not settle for the petty pleasures of this life. Hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God, and he will fill your soul with joy.

Links of Interest 5/24/2011

2011-05-24T09:02:00.001-05:00

The folks at Sovereign Grace Music are working to make sure you know how to play their songs by putting out training videos, free sheet music, chord charts, etc.

John Piper has shared some well-written thoughts on the proposed Minnesota marriage amendment.

It’s not Christmas time, and so we are not currently inundated with people fussing about whether the Wal-mart Greeter says anything about Jesus to us when w come into the store. So, now is a great time to read this piece from National Review that reminds us of the crazy measures that are being taken in our public schools to violate the constitutional rights and religious freedoms of our children.

Praise for Preservation (Revelation 7:1-3)

2011-05-23T11:37:00.001-05:00

Revelation 7:1-3 (ESV)

1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

            John looks and sees four angels holding back the four winds. Remember, this is a vision, and there is much symbolism. When the Bible talks about the winds blowing here, it is referring to the coming judgment, the wrath of God. The angels are not to let that wrath be poured out on the earth until a fifth angel places the seal of God on his servants.

            What is the point of the seal? An official seal might do many things. In this instance, the seal marks ownership. It says that those who bear this seal belong to God and may not be harmed by the outpouring of his wrath. It parallels something we see in the Old Testament, in Ezekiel 9:1-7. There God had plans to destroy Jerusalem for the sin of the people. However, God would not pour out his anger on those who were his, those who bemoaned the sin of the people. So God sent out someone to place his mark on the foreheads of his people in order to protect or preserve them from the wrath to come.

            The same concept is in view in Revelation 7, and it should give you great encouragement. God will not pour out his anger, his fury, his wrath on his people. No, if someone belongs to God, they will bear his seal. If someone belongs to God, they will be protected by God from the fury that he will unleash on the lost world. Praise God for preserving his people. If you are one of God’s people, rejoice that God protects you from his fury. If you have not given your life to Jesus, do so to be under his protection before it is too late.

Links of Interest 5/19/2011

2011-05-19T10:24:00.000-05:00

Russell Moore shows how Christian romance novels are dangerous for the hearts of Christian women.
Kevin DeYoung offers five helpful and brief thoughts on worship.

Worldliness - A Review

2011-05-18T16:24:00.001-05:00

C. J. Mahaney et al. Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008. 192 pp. $10.39.

            While the Bible charges us not to love the world or the things in the world, our culture and our flesh often tempts us to love the world, even if just a little. In Worldliness, CJ Mahaney and friends look at multiple categories of ways for us to battle the pull of the world in our Christian lives.

            This book is short, sweet, and to-the-point. It is certainly not guilty of empty and meaningless repetition as so many larger works can be. The combination of multiple authors addressing separate issues is refreshing. It is simply nice to read different voices as different issues arise. The authors do a nice job of helping readers think more clearly and biblically about issues like music, dress, possessions, etc.; and they do so without driving the reader into a legalistic framework of “do this” and “never do that.”

            I would recommend this work with no major reservations. IT would make a fine tool for a small group Bible study or Sunday School class. The short chapters and different authors should help students of most ages remain engaged.

**        For this review, I listened to the audio version which I received for free from Christian Audio. As usual, this book was read well and clearly.

Links of Interest 5/18/2011

2011-05-18T16:24:00.000-05:00

David Schrock at the Gospel Coalition shares with us how God graciously rescued him from the theological error of open theism. This is a reminder of why the true doctrines of grace are so very beautiful.

Jennifer Smidt at the Resurgence has an absolutely wonderful post listing ten things that biblical submission is not. Her first point alone is well worth the time it takes to click over and hread her post. HT: Challies

Who Can Stand? (Revelation 6:12-17)

2011-05-17T09:49:00.000-05:00

Revelation 6:12-14 (ESV)

12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

            The scene that John saw when the sixth seal on the scroll of God was opened was utterly terrifying. The entire created order shook. The earth quaked. The sun went black. The moon shone blood red. The stars fell from the sky. Even the sky itself rolled up like a scroll. The mountains trembled and fled. The islands were displaced.

            I can’t describe this. Mankind has never imagined the horror of a scene like this. It does not matter how many movies Hollywood produces, they will never come close to depicting this kind of heart-stopping horror and world-crumbling destruction. This is the Day of the Lord, and nobody has ever seen anything like it.

            How will a lost world, a world that has rejected God, respond on this day? How will the strong ruler and the weak peasant react when God finally decides enough is enough and that his justice will be done forever?

Revelation 6:15-17 (ESV)

15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

            How will the world react? When the world sees the coming of our Lord to his earth, they will cry out in terror. Rich or poor, small or great, it really does not matter. They will beg for boulders to fall on them and crush them. They will beg for the seas to swallow them up. They would rather be buried alive under a mountain than to see the dreadful face of the Lord God returning to earth in justice and wrath.

            The question that the lost ask in the final verse of this chapter is the question that we should seriously consider: “Who can stand?” Who can stand before the Lord? Who can stand when he decides to do justice? Can you stand? Do you think, in the light of a blood red moon and falling stars and trembling mountains that you can boldly stand before God and challenge him? Do you think you can make excuses to him on that day for why you ignored his commands, treated people with cruelty, lived for your lusts, and found entertainment in the things he says he hates?

            Let me share with you very simply that nobody who stands on their own will be able to stand on that day. All people have sinned before God. All of us deserve his judgment. If you face God on the day we just read about, and if you do not have an advocate to shield you from God’s wrath, you will be doomed forever. You will go to hell and never finish paying the price for your sins against the holy God whose wrath we see here.

            But there is hope. Who can stand? The person who has been cleansed by the blood of Jesus can stand. The child of God can stand. The one who has been forgiven can stand. The one who knows that Jesus was punished in his place can stand. The one who turned from her sins and asked Jesus to save her soul can stand.

            None of us is good in ourselves. Certainly none of us is good enough to stand before God on our own. He is holy. We cannot be holy alone. But Jesus, God’s Son, came to earth to make the only way for anybody to be right with God. Jesus died for the sins of all who will ever trust in him. He rose from the grave, proving that anybody who comes to him in faith will truly be able to stand before God. If you will confess your sins and turn from them, if you will trust in Jesus and ask him to save your soul, he will clothe you in his righteousness, forgive you of your sins, and make you able to stand before the Lord.