Called to Be Here

Francis Chan:

A lot of people in my church and in my travels tell me, “I believe that God has called me to Simi Valley.” Or Wichita. Or New York. Or Greenville. Or wherever. And that very well may be the case, but it could also be a cop out because you like where you live. You have a good job. The school district is safe and has high ratings. Your family lives close by (or perhaps far away, depending on your relationship with them). It makes sense that you are “called” to be there, right?

And maybe you are called to be called to where you live, but if you say you are called to be in the place where you are a few questions need to be consider. For example, how would you be missed if you left this place? What would change? Basically what difference does your presence here make? Or as my youth pastor once asked me, what would your church (and the worldwide church) look like if everyone was as committed as you are? If everyone gave and served and prayed exactly like you, would the church be healthy and empowered? Or would it be weak and listless? …

It is true that God may have called you to be exactly where you are. But it’s absolutely vital to grasp that he didn’t call there to settle in and live out your life in comfort and superficial peace. His purposes are not random or arbitrary. If you are still alive on this planet, it’s because he has something for you to do. He placed us on this earth for purposes that he orchestrated long before we were born (Ephesians 2:8-10) Do you believe you exist not for your own pleasure but to help people know the love of Jesus and to come fully alive in him? If so, then that will shape how you live your life in the place where you are.

*****

We are most alive when we are loving and actively giving of ourselves because we were made to do these things. It is when we live like this that the Spirit of God moves and acts in and through us in ways that on our own we are not capable of.

From Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit

Source

A Definition of Evangelism

J. I. Packer defines evangelism:

To bear witness to Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that people may come to put their trust in God, through Christ; to acknowledge Him as their Savior; and to serve Him as their King, in the fellowship of His Church.

Do you see how this is more than just "getting people saved"?

Source

Priorities in Prayer

Jonathan Edwards:

If we look through the whole Bible and observe all the examples of prayer that we find there recorded, we shall not find so many prayers for any other mercy as for the deliverance, restoration and prosperity of the church and the advancement of God’s glory and kingdom of grace in the world...

The Scripture does not only abundantly manifest it to be the duty of God’s people to be much in prayer for this great mercy, but it also abounds with manifold considerations to encourage them in it and animate them with hopes of success. There is perhaps no one thing that the Bible so much promises, in order the encourage the faith, hope and prayers of the saints, as this...

For undoubtedly that which God abundantly makes the subject of his promises, God’s people should abundantly make the subject of their prayers. It also affords them the strongest assurances that their prayers shall be successful.

Source

You Can Change - Sample Chapter

This morning we announced that we will be encouraging our entire congregation to read the book You Can Change by Tim Chester, beginning in September.

To encourage you to consider this, here is a link to a sample of the book:

Introduction and Chapter 2

Here are some of the descriptions from the publisher:

A practical, interactive, and solidly biblical book designed to help Christians in all stages of life to find victory over sin by focusing on what God has already done in us.

*****

It's about heart change, not behavior change. That's the conviction of Tim Chester as he seeks to help everyday Christians "connect the truth about God with our Monday-morning struggles." This interactive book, laid out in workbook fashion, is for newer Christians struggling with sin and for more mature Christians who have plateaued in their faith as they seek to find victory over sin in their lives.

With a conviction that sanctification is God's work and the journey to holiness is joyful, Chester guides readers through a "change project"-beginning with the selection of one area of life they would like to modify. Each chapter includes a question (e.g., Why would you like to change? What truths do you need to turn to?) to guide readers as they deal with a specific sin or struggle, truths from God's word, and a reflection guide to help readers through their change project.

And an endorsement by Paul Tripp:

There are few books that are shockingly honest, carefully theological, and gloriously hopeful all at the same time. Tim Chester’s book You Can Change is all of these and more. He skillfully uses the deepest insights of the theology of the Word as a lens to help you understand yourself and the way of change and, in so doing, helps you to experience practically what you thought you already knew. The carefully crafted personal ‘reflection’ and ‘change project’ sections are worth the price of the book by themselves. It is wonderful to be reminded that you and I are not stuck, and it’s comforting to be guided by someone who knows well the road from where we are to where we need to be.

The books will be available on Sunday, August 29, and thereafter. I'll be blogging my way through the book right here, so stay tuned.

No Adjective

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, preaching on John 3:18, 17 February 1861.

The gate of Mercy is opened, and over the door it is written, ‘This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.‘ Between that word ‘save’ and the next word ‘sinners,’ there is no adjective. It does not say, ‘penitent sinners,’ ‘awakened sinners,’ ‘sensible sinners,’ ‘grieving sinners’ or ‘alarmed sinners.’ No, it only says, ‘sinners.’ And I know this, that when I come, I come to Christ today, for I feel it is as much a necessity of my life to come to the cross of Christ today as it was to come ten years ago—when I come to him, I dare not come as a conscious sinner or an awakened sinner, but I have to come still as a sinner with nothing in my hands.

Source

How to Receive Rebuke

Kevin DeYoung:

How to Receive Rebuke

1. Consider the source. If you are any kind of public figure there will always be complaints. Ditto if you spend any time on the internet. So it’s imperative we know what to do with criticism. Ask yourself: is this rebuke coming from someone I trust and respect? Is it from someone I know and someone who knows me? Is this person someone to whom I am accountable–a spouse, an elder board, an employer? We can’t take every rebuke to heart. But ignoring every unflattering assessment is foolish too.

2. Consider the substance. Pray about the hard word spoken to you. Ask others what they think. Maybe this rebuke needs your blind eye and deaf ear. Jesus was rebuked by Peter, so not every correction hits the mark. If you take an honest, humble look at the rebuke and it doesn’t seem to fit. Don’t wear it. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4 “My conscience is clean.” That didn’t mean he was necessarily acquitted before God, but as far as he could tell, he had not sinned. So he moved on.

But sometimes we do screw up. Even the best of men are men at best. I doubt many of us are over-rebuked. Most of us, myself included, would probably do well to receive more specific correction. So consider the source, consider the substance, and be prepared to grow.

3. Consider the sin. We will never benefit from rebuke (and our friends will be scared to tell us the truth) if we are never open to the possibility that we might have sin that needs rebuking. There are few things more necessary in a child of God than being teachable. “A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool” (Prov. 17:10). Or more to the point: “He who hates reproof is stupid” (Prov. 12:1).

4. Consider the Savior. Jesus sees all your sins right now. Why not see them for yourself? The way of godliness is the way of confession, cleansing, and change. One of the reasons we aren’t really changing, is because we aren’t really confessing. And we aren’t really confessing because we aren’t really seeing. And we aren’t really seeing because few of us love enough to give a rebuke and very few are humble enough to receive one.

But in the end, we have a lot to gain with rebuke–a restored brother, a conquered sin, a greater sense of the Savior’s love–and we’ve got nothing to lose but our pride.

This is from a series of posts on giving and receiving rebuke: 1, 2, 3

Glancing and Gazing

Joni Eareckson Tada:

I want to stay in the habit of 'glancing' at my problems and 'gazing' at my Lord.

Source

A God-Bathed Universe

Frank Sheed:

The test of anyone’s mind is what is in his mental landscape. And it is not even enough that we should see the same things as other people plus the things the Church teaches. Even the things that we and they both see will not look the same or be the same. . . .

It is like a physical landscape at sunrise: it is not that you see the same things that you saw before and now find yourself seeing the sun as well. You see everything sun-bathed. Similarly it is not a case of seeing the same universe as other people and then seeing God over and above. For God is at the center of the being of everything whatsoever. If we would see the Universe aright, we must see it God-bathed.

Source

Bearing No Burdens

Galatians 6:2

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Jonathan Edwards (language updated):

In many cases, we may, by the rules of the gospel, be obliged to give to others when we cannot do it without suffering ourselves. . . . We should be willing to suffer with our neighbor and to take part of his burden on ourselves. Otherwise, how is that rule of ‘bearing one another’s burdens’ fulfilled? If we are never obliged to relieve others’ burdens except when we can do it without burdening ourselves, then how do we bear our neighbor’s burdens when we bear no burden at all?

Source

Hipster Christianity

Brett McCracken is the author of Hipster Christianity: Where Church and Cool Collide, and according to the book, he considers himself a Hipster Christian (or would that be a Christian Hipster?). But this week in a guest column for the Wall Street Journal, he writes:

If the evangelical Christian leadership thinks that "cool Christianity" is a sustainable path forward, they are severely mistaken. As a twentysomething, I can say with confidence that when it comes to church, we don't want cool as much as we want real.

If we are interested in Christianity in any sort of serious way, it is not because it's easy or trendy or popular. It's because Jesus himself is appealing, and what he says rings true. It's because the world we inhabit is utterly phony, ephemeral, narcissistic, image-obsessed and sex-drenched—and we want an alternative. It's not because we want more of the same.

The Glory of God

We've been working through our church mission statement in our sermons this month. We say:

Our Passion Is the Glory of God in Jesus Christ

Savored through Worship

Strengthened through Discipleship

Spread through Witness

If you'd like to learn more about the concept of the glory of God in the Bible, check out this chapter "Toward a Theology of the Glory of God" from a new book titled The Glory of God.

Here's a section that gets at the interesting, intersecting ways the word/idea of glory is used in Scripture.

It is important to notice that these multiple meanings are distinct but

related. We might think of it this way: the triune God who is glorious displays

his glory, largely through his creation, image-bearers, providence, and

redemptive acts. God’s people respond by glorifying him. God receives glory

and, through uniting his people to Christ, shares his glory with them—all to

his glory.

Faith Is...

J. I. Packer:

Faith is...

knowing the facts of the gospel (the person, place and work of Jesus Christ),

welcoming the terms of the gospel (salvation from sin and a new life with God) and

receiving the Christ of the gospel (setting oneself to live as his follower, by self-denial, cross-bearing, and sacrificial service).

Source

Free Audio Book - Ministries of Mercy

For the rest of this month, you can download Tim Keller's book Ministries of Mercy for free at ChristianAudio.com with the coupon code AUG2010.

Here's how the publisher describes the book:

Like the wounded man on the Jericho road, there are needy people in our path - the widow next door, the family strapped with medical bills, the homeless man outside our place of worship. God calls us to be ministers of mercy to people in need of shelter, assistance, medical care, or just friendships.

Here Timothy J. Keller demonstrates that caring for needy people is the job of every believer - not just church deacons - as fundamental to Christian living as evangelism, nurture, and worship. But Keller doesn't stop there. He shows how we can carry out this vital ministry as individuals, families, and churches. Along the way, he deals perspectively with many thorny issues, such as the costs of meeting needs versus the limits of time and resources, giving material aid versus teaching responsibility, and meeting needs within the church versus those outside.

Commitment

Chuck Colson:

The basic building blocks of society simply erode without commitment. Any sensible society must address this problem by educating people that commitment is the very essence of human relationships.

At the least, we need to teach this in our churches. How can you begin as a Christian without death to self and total commitment to Jesus Christ?

But beyond the ramifications for society as a whole, beyond even the obvious necessity of Christian commitment, when we refuse to commit, we miss out on one of the great joys of life. When we obsess over ourselves, we lose the meaning of life, which is to know and serve God and love and serve our neighbors.

The rest of the article, titled "The Lost Art of Commitment," is here.

Everyday Sacrifices

Elisabeth Elliot:

We are not often called to great sacrifice, but daily we are presented with the chance to make small ones — a chance to make someone cheerful, a chance to do some small thing to make someone comfortable or contented, a chance to lay down our petty preferences or cherished plans. This probably requires us to relinquish something — our own convenience or comfort, our own free evening, our warm fireside, or even our habitual shyness or reserve or pride. My liberty must be curtailed, bound down, ignored (oh, how the world hates this sort of thing! how our own sinful natures hate it!) — for the sake of the liberation of others.

From A Path Through Suffering

Source

Virtual Temple

Here's what a team from UCLA developed as a simulation of what the Temple Mount would have looked like in Jesus day, before it was destroyed in A.D. 70.

Mark 13:1-2

¹ And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Source

A Different Attitude toward Suffering

Charles Spurgeon on suffering:

I have learned to kiss the wave that strikes me against the Rock of Ages.

Source

A Dynamic Church

Jason Helopoulos:

I tell every one of our new member classes, “If we all walked into church each week and had a list of people we were going to try and ‘touch,’ encourage, or minister to, do you know how dynamic this church would be? Just on Sunday mornings, let alone if we did it during the week. If we each were concerned about the other person and walked in each Sunday with that in the forefront of our mind instead of, “Why didn’t he talk to me?,” “Why doesn’t anyone care about me?,” “Why isn’t anyone ministering to me?” Start ministering to others and you will find that you are being ministered to.

What Do We Depend On?

Colin Smith:

"Our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction."

1 Thessalonians 1:5

When Paul went to Thessalonica, amazing things happened. Then he moved on to Athens and to Corinth. You'd think that after his great success in Thessalonica, Paul would have arrived in Corinth full of confidence, but he says the opposite: "I came to you, in weakness and fear and with much trembling."(1 Corinthians 2:3)

Why does Paul say that? Because the power does not reside in him. He knows that it comes from above, and every time he stands up to speak, he's absolutely dependent on God. When the Holy Spirit moves, the word Paul preaches is the means of bringing blessing and transformation to many lives. But apart from the Spirit of God, he knows that he's only a man talking, and nobody's life is changed by that. So, he prays.

If you think one life can be set free from the power of darkness by my preaching or by your parenting, you're greatly mistaken. It is God who opens blind eyes, and softens hard hearts. It is God who drives back the dark powers that keep people bound. It is God who brings new birth, sends new power and grows new fruit. When you see that you will pray-not out of duty, but out of sheer gratitude and joy that we have the privilege.

This means we need to be praying if we want these things to happen among us!

That's What the Promise Is For

Today is the anniversary of my wedding to Katie. Here's a song that captures the perilous wonder of marriage.

From Andrew Peterson's album Counting Stars

Source

Jesus Was... Modest?

Elyse Fitzpatrick:

Hebrews 4:15 informs me that my Savior has been tempted in “every respect” as I have, yet without sin. Could this possibly mean that Jesus was tempted to immodesty but didn’t sin? Because we don’t usually think in these terms about Jesus, perhaps at this juncture it might be helpful for me to define what I mean by “modesty.” Christian modesty is simply a refusal to show off out of love for God and one’s neighbor. Jesus refused to show off His power. For instance, when tempted by Satan, He refused to show off His ability to turn stones into bread or cast Himself off a high tower (Matt 4:1f). When attacked by His accusers, He “opened not His mouth” (Isa 53:7). When facing the humiliation and excruciating pain of the cross, He refrained from appealing to His Father for legions of angels who were waiting to bring Him deliverance (Matt 26:53). Jesus didn’t show off His power or authority because He loved His neighbor, His bride. Jesus was modest because He loved the church.

Conversely, immodesty flows out of the heart of a show off. Maybe we’ve worked hard at the gym or purchased an expensive new pair of jeans. Maybe we want to prove how free we are to dress in any way we choose, no matter how scandalous. When we show-off we’re failing to love our brother (and sisters) who may be tempted to lust or covetousness or sinful imitation. Showing off is a fruit of pride and love of self. Immodesty demonstrates a cold unconcern for the church.

The beauty of the gospel, however, is that it informs us about who we are and what Jesus has already done. While it convicts us that we’re all unloving show-offs (in some way), it also assures us that we’ve been loved and that we no longer need to show off to get other people’s approval because (here’s the best news of all!) the record of our Modest Redeemer is ours! Our identity isn’t wrapped up in the approval or envy or lust of others. Our identity is found in Christ’s life, death and resurrection. Christ is our life. He loved us and refrained from showing off so that we could be His and freed from the need to prove that we’ve got a great body or wardrobe or … because we’ve been lavished with His love instead.

Supernatural Revival

Ray Ortlund:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” Acts 1:8

In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit does come upon them, revealing four things about revival:

One, revival is miraculous (verses 1-4). Humanly uncaused. “Suddenly there came from heaven . . .” (verse 2).

Two, revival is mysterious (verses 5-13). Humanly inexplicable. “What does this mean?” (verse 12).

Three, revival is meaningful (verses 14-36). Humanly undeniable. “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth” (verse 22).

Four, revival is mighty (verses 37-41). Humanly irresistible. “There were added that day about three thousand souls” (verse 41).

God grant it.

Training Your Children to Manage Money

Going along with the Proverbs series that concluded this past week, here are some tips from Randy Alcorn on teaching your children about money. You can go here to see how he explains each point.

1. Give your children something greater than money—your time.

2. Use life’s teachable moments to train your children.

3. Take a field trip to a junkyard.

4. Teach your children to link money with labor.

5. Teach your children how to save.

6. Get your children started on the lifetime adventure of giving.

7. Provide your children with financial planning tools.

8. Teach your children how to say “No.”

9. Show your children how family finances work.

10. Never underestimate the power of your example.

Source

How Love Comes from Hope

Ed Welch:

A little while ago my wife left for a week—nothing personal, she was visiting her parents on their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Within two hours of me dropping her off at the airport, our typically tidy house looked like something from Animal House or at least a combo of a men’s dorm and a smelly locker room. I had reverted back to my feral state. My wife, on the other hand, enjoys visual order and cleanliness when they are possible. She is flexible. She can go to Africa and stay in less sanitary conditions, but her natural state is one of ordered beauty and cleanliness.

During the first few days that she was gone, I was a bit sad and occupied myself with what I though were useful projects. With two days left, hope kicked in. I was looking forward to picking her up, thinking about our reunion, imagining how she would be pleased with my projects, and just seeing her again.

With twenty-four hours left before I had to pick her up, hope took on a different form. Whereas the previous form of hope was limited to random imaginations, this kind of hope felt urgent and was decidedly active. First, I made the outside of the house as nice as possible. Nothing too new there in that I usually do that, but I definitely added some flourishes I thought would catch her eye. Then on to the inside. Cleaning is not my passion, but, with this new version of hope, I suddenly became borderline compulsive and was loving it. Dish washer empty, everything vacuumed, dust bunnies vanquished, candles lit in order to overpower the locker room smell, and cut flowers. I was becoming civilized again. I was becoming…. my wife.

This is real hope.

You know the person well.

You can’t wait to see the person.

You create an environment suitable for the person so that, when he or she comes, everything will be just right. You work to bring the agenda, character and interests of the other person into the present.

You begin to take on some of the characteristics of that person.

So, real hope means that as you wait expectantly for Jesus, you find yourself wanting to bring heaven to earth. You are not content to simply wait, patiently imagining what is to come. Real hope wants to embody, right now, the character of the coming King. That character, of course, is love. Real hope in Christ compels us to love today. To paraphrase Paul, the only thing that matters is hope expressing itself in love.

What a lovely way to be sanctified: look forward to knowing the love of Jesus in person, dream about what it will be like to love him with a pure, sinless heart, and then head back to today and see if you are inspired to love.

The apostle John reiterates this approach.

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. (1 John 3:2-3)

The New ESV Online

You may find this helpful-- an online Bible that allows you to bookmark passages, save your own notes, track your reading schedule, etc.-- and it's free. Take a look below. Oh, and here's the link to the site.

The ESV Online (30 Sec) from Crossway on Vimeo.

Making a Difference in Your Church

Kevin DeYoung gives a list of suggestions on how to be a difference maker in a local church:

• Find a good local church.
• Get involved.
• Become a member.
• Stay there as long as you can.
• Put away thoughts of a revolution for a while.
• Join the plodding visionaries.
• Go to church this Sunday and worship in Spirit and truth.
• Be patient with your leaders.
• Rejoice when the gospel is faithfully proclaimed.
• Bear with those who hurt you.
• Give people the benefit of the doubt.
• Say “hi” to the teenager that no one notices.
• Welcome the old ladies with the blue hair and the young men with tattoos.
• Volunteer for the nursery.
• Attend the congregational meeting.
• Bring your fried chicken to the potluck like everybody else.
• Invite a friend.
• Take a new couple out for coffee.
• Give to the Christmas offering.
• Sing like you mean it.
• Be thankful someone vacuumed the carpet for you.
• Enjoy the Sundays that “click.”
• Pray extra hard on the Sundays that don’t.
• And in all of this, do not despise the days and weeks and years of small things (Zechariah 4:8–10).

This list comes at the conclusion of his conference message titled simply, "The Church" (audio available here). I think I'll try to listen to this on the road next week.

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Broken or Triumphant?

Dane Ortlund:

“He has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.” –Hosea 6:1

Are Christians to be broken or triumphant?

Both. But—let’s be clear what we mean.

Are Christians to be broken? If by broken we mean downcast, long-faced, perpetually discouraged, hand-wringing, abject, ever grieving over sins—no. If by broken we mean contrite, low before the Lord, poignantly aware of personal weakness, self-divesting, able to laugh at ourselves, of sober judgment, sensitive to the depths of sin within us—yes.

Are Christians to be triumphant? If by triumphant we mean self-assured, superficial, obtuse to personal weakness, beyond correction, self-confident, quick to diagnose others’ weaknesses and our strengths, showy, triumphalistic—no. If by triumphant we mean confident of God’s unconquerable purposes in the world through faltering disciples, bold with a boldness that accords with the outrageous promises of the Bible, quietly abandoning ourselves to God in light of Christ’s irrepressible victory, relentless in reminding the enemy of Christ’s emptying of the power of Satan’s accusations, risk-taking fueled not by reputation-seeking but God-fixated faith—yes.

*****

In the gospel are we liberated to experience simultaneously fall and redemption, crucifixion and resurrection, brokenness and triumph. Jesus tells us to take up our cross daily (Matt. 16:24) while Paul tells us we have been raised and are seated in heaven (Eph. 2:6; Col. 3:1). How can both be true? Because the only person who was ever in himself triumphant-without-brokenness switched places with those who are only in themselves broken-without-triumph so that now the greatest triumph—restored sonship to God—is freely ours, even as brokenness remains. As any seasoned saint will attest, the strange way God brings us to treasure this triumph is through, not by circumventing, present brokenness. But brokenness is never an end, only a means. There is no brokenness in the first two chapters of the Bible and none in the final two chapters.

Think Theologically

True Liberty

W. G. T. Shedd:

Liberty within the immeasurable bounds and limits of God’s truth, is the only true liberty. All else is license.

Source

Free Song - Lazy Bones

Sovereign Grace Music has just released a new album of music for kids based on the book of Proverbs called Walking with the Wise, and they're offering one of the songs as a free download here. I thought I'd point it out to you, especially in that it fits so well with what we've been talking about in our current sermon series.

Lazy Bones

Inspired from Prov. 6:6-11; 16:3
VERSE 1
Have you heard about Mr. Lazy Bones?
You can find him sleeping on his couch at home
When there’s work outside for him to do
He is working hard to find another excuse

VERSE 2
Mr. Lazy Bones tells you he’s afraid
Never ever finishes the plans he’s made
When you want his help around the house
You can try to find him but he’s never around

CHORUS
Lazy Bones can help us see
What we never want to be
Doesn’t have a hope or a clue
When we work to please the Lord
God will make our plans secure
And He’ll be glorified in all we do

VERSE 3
See the busy ants working all the time
No one has to tell them how to stay alive
Getting ready for winter days ahead
Gathering their food until the times comes to rest

© 2009 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

Encouragement

Tom Goodman:

His parents called him Joseph, but his friends had another name for him.

Barnabas.

The nickname means “Son of Encouragement.” People looked at Joseph and said, “His father must have been the embodiment of encouragement itself, and Joseph’s a chip off the old block.” Every time we meet him in the pages of Scripture, he’s cheering someone on.

What does it take to be a Barnabas?

First, seek out new or unconnected church members.

Second, offer special attention to new believers.

Third, encourage Christian workers to keep going.

Fourth, employ unemployed kingdom citizens.

Fifth, encourage those who need a new opportunity after failure.

Go to the link above to read the whole post, where he gives the Scripture references and explanation behind each point.

Denominations

The EFCA Leadership Conference starts tomorrow in Columbus, Ohio, and we will be there for it. Our church was started as a church plant from another Evangelical Free Church, and while we are influenced by others, the EFCA is our family and heritage, under Christ.

Ed Stetzer recently wrote about the continuing, though perhaps declining, influence of denominations in American church life. Here's the conclusion:

To paraphrase Churchill's comments about democracy: Denominations are the worst way to cooperate—except for all the others. They are riddled with weak, ineffective, and arrogant leadership, prone to navel-gazing, and often move more slowly than they should. But these aspects are products of human fallibility and sin. Every time churches work together, ego, failure, and inefficiency will arise. And when they don't work together, ego, failure, and inefficiency will arise. People, not denominations, are the source.

Denominations at their best are not places to get something but places to give and to serve. Our gifts, passions, and experience have greater influence through a worldwide denominational network. Through a denomination, we can provide resources to people we will never meet, reach places we will never go, and preach the gospel to lost souls who are beyond our personal reach. We can find what we need and give as much as we want—because the key to cooperation is to both give and receive.

A healthy denomination ultimately gives us strength. It's a home, not a prison. It allows us to share specific theological convictions, practice expressions of ministry relevant to our communities, and serve a common mission in the one thing that brings true unity: the gospel.

Bitter?

John Flavel:

Affliction is a pill, which, being wrapped up in patience and quiet submission, may be easily swallowed; but discontent chews the pill, and so embitters the soul.

Source

Leaning

Josh Harris:

God's word says in Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."

Trusting God wholeheartedly involves actively not trusting in yourself--not trusting in your own comprehension, your own experience, your own perspective. The point is don't lean on your own limited and flawed understanding, lean on the perfect Lord.

The leaning described here isn't the shifting-your-weight-to-one-foot variety. It's talking about the kind of leaning in which you place all your weight on something or someone so that they are holding you up, supporting you.

Here's a simple test: you're truly leaning on something if you'd fall over if it wasn't there.

That's a picture of the kind of trust God wants us to have in him. Trusting in the Lord with all your heart involves leaning on him in such a way that you're completely dependent on him.

When we're leaning on God we're going to feel off-balance. Too often we want to trust God but still be independent. We want to trust while feeling in-control. We want to lean while standing on our own two feet. But that's not real trust is it?

Seeing the Future

This post isn't about predictions, but about the way we view time and our use of it. In last Sunday's sermon on diligence and laziness from the book of Proverbs, we saw several verses that speak of disciplined diligence in light of the future. For example...

Proverbs 20:4

The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;

he will seek at harvest and have nothing.

Proverbs 24:27

Prepare your work outside;

get everything ready for yourself in the field,

and after that build your house.

Proverbs 27:18
Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,

and he who guards his master will be honored.

I also mentioned by way of illustration the different ways that we saw Zambians relate to time during our trip. Our missionaries had prepared us for this, and it was a fascinating study in culture.

Here is an excellent excerpt of a lecture on this topic that is made more engaging by the running whiteboard graphics. I couldn't embed it, but it's worth the click.

The Secret Powers of Time

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Continual Repentance

John Calvin:

Plato sometimes says that the life of a philosopher is a meditation upon death; but we may more truly say that the life of a Christian man is a continual effort and exercise in the mortification of the flesh, till it is utterly slain, and God’s Spirit reigns in us. Therefore, I think he has profited greatly who has learned to be very much displeased with himself, not so as to stick fast in this mire and progress no farther, but rather to hasten to God and yearn for him in order that, having been engrafted into the life and death of Christ, he may give attention to continual repentance. Truly, they who are held by a real loathing of sin cannot do otherwise. For no one every hates sin unless he has previously been seized with a love of righteousness

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Source (who added the emphasis above)

The Gospel Prepares You for Sharing It

Tim Keller:

The gospel produces a constellation of traits in us:

1. We are compelled to share the gospel out of love.
2. We are freed from the fear of being ridiculed or hurt by others, since we already have the favor of God by grace.
3. There is a humility in our dealings with others, because we know we are saved only by grace, not because of our superior insight or character.
4. We are hopeful about anyone, even the “hard cases,” because we were saved only because of grace ourselves.
5. We are courteous and careful with people. We don’t have to push or coerce them, for it is God’s grace that opens hearts, not our eloquence or persistence or even their openness.

From Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything

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Because God Works, We Work

John Murray (with line breaks added):

God’s working in us is not suspended because we work,
nor our working suspended because God works.
Neither is the relation strictly one of co-operation
as if God did his part and we did ours
so that the conjunction or coordination of both
produced the required result.
God works in us and we also work.
But the relation is that
because God works
we work.
All working out of salvation on our part
is the effect of God’s working in us,
not the willing to the exclusion of the doing
and not the doing to the exclusion of the willing,
but both the willing and the doing....
The more persistently active we are in working,
the more persuaded we may be
that all the energizing grace and power is of God.

From Redemption, Accomplished and Applied

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Over-Practice

Ed Welch:

When in doubt, over-practice.

Musicians face this all the time. They set out to learn a piece of music. At some point they nail it. They play through the entire piece without mistakes. But then, just when we think that they should move on to master the next piece, they practice some more. Why? Because every musician knows that there is a big difference between practicing and performing. What our fingers do effortlessly in the privacy of the practice room is not the same as what they will do in a performance. Fingers have been known to betray us when people are watching. So, concert musicians practice until their fingers play the piece no matter what the circumstances.

When in doubt, over-practice. It is one of life’s basic rules.

We go to church and hear the same thing. Jesus died for sins and is now risen. Okay, got it. Now I don’t need to pay attention too much. Occasionally I will perk up when the preacher inserts a new insight from biblical history. I like the illustrations but they are more for entertainment. Intellectual mastery is all I need. (I teach at a seminary, and I have found that seminary students are experts at this line of thought). Read the Bible? I’ve read it before. I know the basic gist of it. Nothing new.

Then it comes time to “perform”.

The performance takes place in thousands of different venues. Disappointment at work or school, frustration with a roommate or spouse, broken relationships, health fears, a computer with pornography just a few characters and clicks away, discord at church, rebellious kids. The list goes on. And, all of a sudden, we are all thumbs.

We need to over-practice. Here are a few ways.

Go here to read the rest. But I can't resist pasting part of his application here:

I can see a style of thought in myself that goes something like this. If my “thankful” list is longer than my “complaint” list, then I am on the right path. The problem is that I can have dozens of items on the thankful list and only one on the complaint list, and the severity of the complaint outweighs everything I am thankful for. Only the blessings we have received in Christ are weighty enough to counterbalance those especially hard events of life. But these blessings in Christ won’t outweigh our difficulties unless we over-practice reciting them.

Prayer before Punishment

John Paton was a Scottish missionary to the New Hebrides islands in the mid-nineteenth century. In his autobiography, he shared how his father responded to his children's disobedience:

If anything really serious required to be punished, he retired first to his "closet" for prayer, and we boys got to understand that he was laying the whole matter before God; and that was the severest part of the punishment for me to bear! I could have defied any amount of mere penalty, but this spoke to my conscience as a message from God.

We loved him all the more, when we saw how much it cost him to punish us; and, in truth, he had never very much of that kind of work to do upon any one of all the eleven—we were ruled by love far more than by fear.

The autobiography is John G. Paton: Missionary to the New Hebrides.

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Are We Living in the Last Days?

Justin Taylor provides an answer based on the biblical data:

According to the vocabulary of the New Testament, the “last day“—the ultimate day of judgment and wrath—is not yet upon us (see 1 Thess. 5:1-11).

However, the “last days” are already here. Biblically, this expression refers not just to the final events immediately before the final consummation, but rather to the entire period between Jesus’ death/resurrection and the final judgment.

This is why John can tell us that “this”—now—”is the last hour” (1 John 2:18).

It’s why Peter says that Jesus was made manifest “in the last times” (1 Pet. 1:20).

It’s why the author of Hebrews tells us that God has spoken to us decisively through his Son “in these last days” (Heb. 1:2).

The last hour/times/days are already here—the last day is yet to come.

Bible Quiz

A Different Kind of Bible Literacy Quiz
So you can name the 12 disciples, the 10 Commandments, and the 7 days of Creation. But do you know how they fit together?

1. What lesson from the life of Jonah did Jesus talk about?
(a) Jonah learned to obey God, because disobedience is punished.
(b) God forgives the repentant as he forgave Nineveh.
(c) God rescues us as he rescued Jonah when he was cast overboard.
(d) Jonah spent three days in the fish as Jesus would spend three days in the tomb.
(e) People are as wicked today as they were in ancient Nineveh.

2. Melchizedek, king of Salem, met with which biblical figure? How is Jesus like Melchizedek?

3. Besides Jesus, name five biblical figures who rose from the dead.How were these incidents different from Jesus' resurrection?

4. Name four biblical instances where the number 40 is important.

5. Whose faithfulness is contrasted with the Israelites' grumbling in Exodus 16-18?

6. Name the four women besides Mary who are included in Jesus' genealogy (Matt. 1:1-17), and describe their circumstances.

7. "No prophet is accepted in his hometown," Jesus said after his inaugural sermon (Luke 4:14-30). He then gave examples from the lives of two other prophets. What were they?

Answers here, at the end of the source article titled, "Why Johnny Can't Read the Bible"

Shake It Off?

Josh Harris:

I was sobered this morning reading Judges 16:20 about Samson and his final flirtation with sin: "And he awoke from his sleep and said, 'I will got out as at other times and shake myself free.' But he did not know that the LORD had left him." When we indulge in sin, we often think we'll be able shake it off and walk away unharmed. Don't believe that lie! Fear God and flee temptation today.

Knowing and Loving God

John W. Woodhouse:

Knowing God is real, not abstract; personal, not just intellectual; and will be displayed in your character and conduct, not your cleverness. That is why I think it is always helpful to link knowing God with loving God: we seek the kind of knowledge here that changes our affections.

*****

We know God, not by a mystical experience beyond words, but by hearing the Spirit-breathed word of God. This Spirit-breathed word of God is meant to be understood. It tells us the truth, and by his Spirit and through his word, God reveals to us himself, his promises and his purposes. …When the Bible says, ‘Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!’ (Rom. 11:33), we are not being discouraged from seeking to understand. Rather, we are being reminded that we can never think of ourselves as having finished our exploration and our growth in understanding. What happens next is quite striking. Once we grasp just a little of the ‘riches’ and ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ of God, all other thinking about everything is affected.

Source

What's Narnia All About?

A few days ago, we started reading The Chronicles of Narnia aloud with the boys.

Here's Wheaton College professor Alan Jacobs on this series of children's books by C. S. Lewis:

If we then try to consider the seven Narnia stories as a single story, what is that story about? I contend that the best answer is disputed sovereignty. More than any other single thing, the story of Narnia concerns an unacknowledged but true King and the efforts of his loyalists to reclaim or protect his throne from would-be usurpers.

*****

There is a King of Kings and Lord of Lords whose Son is the rightful ruler of this world. Indeed, through that Son all things were made, and the world will end when he ‘comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead’, though ‘his kingdom will have no end’, in the words of the Nicene Creed. Meanwhile, in these in-between times, the rulership of Earth is claimed by an Adversary, the Prince of this world. And what is asked of all Lewis’s characters is simply, as the biblical Joshua put it, to ‘choose this day’ whom they will serve.

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Spiritual Pride

Jonathan Edwards (lightly modernized by Ray Ortlund):

Spiritual pride is the main door by which the devil comes into the hearts of those who are zealous for the advancement of Christianity. It is the chief inlet of smoke from the bottomless pit, to darken the mind and mislead the judgment. It is the main source of all the mischief the devil introduces, to clog and hinder a work of God.

Spiritual pride tends to speak of other persons’ sins with bitterness or with laughter and levity and an air of contempt. But pure Christian humility rather tends either to be silent about these problems or to speak of them with grief and pity. Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others, but a humble Christian is most guarded about himself. He is as suspicious of nothing in the world as he is of his own heart. The proud person is apt to find fault with other believers, that they are low in grace, and to be much in observing how cold and dead they are and to be quick to note their deficiencies. But the humble Christian has so much to do at home and sees so much evil in his own heart and is so concerned about it that he is not apt to be very busy with other hearts. He is apt to esteem others better than himself.

Thank You for the Testing

Don Carson has some reflections on worship from Psalm 66:8-12:

There the psalmist begins by inviting the peoples of the world to listen in on the people of God as they praise him because “he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.” Then the psalmist directly addresses God, and mentions the context in which the Lord God preserved them: “For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance” (66:10 -12).

This is stunning. The psalmist thanks God for testing his covenant people, for refining them under the pressure of some extraordinarily difficult circumstances and for sustaining them through that experience. This is the response of perceptive, godly faith. It is not heard on the lips of those who thank God only when they escape trial or are feeling happy.

Source

Reading the Bible

J. C. Ryle on how to read the Bible:

1) Read the Bible with an earnest desire to understand it.

2) Read the Scriptures with a simple, childlike faith and humility.

3) Read the Word with a spirit of obedience and self-application.

4) Read the Holy Scriptures everyday.

5) Read the whole Bible and read it an orderly way.

6) Read the Word of God fairly and honestly.

7) Read the Bible with Christ constantly in view.

Source

It's the Cross

Kenneth Woodward:

Clearly, the cross is what separates the Christ of Christianity from every other Jesus. In Judaism there is no precedent for a Messiah who dies, much less as a criminal as Jesus did. In Islam, the story of Jesus' death is rejected as an affront to Allah himself. Hindus can accept only a Jesus who passes into peaceful samadhi, a yogi who escapes the degradation of death. The figure of the crucified Christ, says Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh, "is a very painful image to me. It does not contain joy or peace, and this does not do justice to Jesus." There is, in short, no room in other religions for a Christ who experiences the full burden of mortal existence--and hence there is no reason to believe in Him as the divine Son whom the Father resurrects from the dead.

Even so, there are lessons all believers can savor by observing Jesus in the mirrors of Jews and Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. That the image of a benign Jesus has universal appeal should come as no surprise. That most of the world cannot accept the Jesus of the cross should not surprise either.

NEWSWEEK March 27, 2000

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When Satan Takes Over

Michael Horton:

What would things look like if Satan really took control of a city? Over a half century ago, Presbyterian minister Donald Grey Barnhouse offered his own scenario in his weekly sermon that was also broadcast nationwide on CBS radio. Barnhouse speculated that if Satan took over Philadelphia, all of the bars would be closed, pornography banished, and pristine streets would be filled with tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The children would say, “Yes, sir” and “No, ma’am,” and the churches would be full every Sunday ... where Christ is not preached.

From Christless Christianity

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Four Points of Intersection

Tim Chester:

Here is a framework that may help talk about the gospel in the context of ordinary conversations.

Four points of intersection
Everyone has their own version of the ‘gospel’ story:

creation – who I am or who I should be
fall – what’s wrong with me and the world
redemption – what’s the solution
consummation – what I hope for

When we hear people expressing their version of creation, fall, redemption or consummation, we can talk about the gospel story. Talking about Jesus begins with listening to other people’s stories and sharing our own story of Jesus.

Technology Basket

Do you have a tech basket at your house? Should you?

I think this is a great idea, simply for the sake of recognizing and setting boundaries for the sake of prioritizing family relationships.

Source

Feeling Guilty?

Kevin DeYoung asks, So why do so many Christian feel guilty all the time?

Here are his reasons. Click here to read his elaborations on each point.

1. We don’t fully embrace the good news of the gospel.

2. Christians tend to motivate each other by guilt rather than grace.

3. Most of our low-level guilt falls under the ambiguous category of “not doing enough.”

4. When we are truly guilty of sin it is imperative we repent and receive God’s mercy.

Dissatisfaction and Idolatry

Mack Stiles:

Ask yourself this question: In what ways are you dissatisfied with how God is running things? If you can identify your dissatisfaction with how God is running the show, you can identify the place where you are tempted for idols to become your God.

Kill the idols in your life by making Christ your life.

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Whitefield on True Charismatic Theology

George Whitefield:

In order to walk closely with God, his children must not only watch the motions of God’s providence without them, but the motions also of his blessed Spirit in their hearts. “As many as are the sons of God, are led by the Spirit of God,” and give up themselves to be guided by the Holy Ghost, as a little child gives its hand to be led by a nurse or parent. It is no doubt in this sense that we are to be converted and become like little children. And though it is the quintessence of enthusiasm [extreme, unbiblical forms of charismatic teaching] to pretend to be guided by the Spirit without the written Word, yet it is every Christian’s bounden duty to be guided by the Spirit in conjunction with the written Word of God. Watch, therefore, I pray you, O believers, the motions of God’s blessed Spirit in your souls, and always try the suggestions or impressions that you may at any time feel, by the unerring rule of God’s most holy Word: and if they are not found to be agreeable to that, reject them as diabolical and delusive. By observing this caution, you will steer a middle course between the two dangerous extremes many of this generation are in danger of running into; I mean, enthusiasm, on the one hand, and deism, and downright infidelity, on the other.

From his sermon "Walking with God"

Get Happy...in the Lord

From George Muller's diary, on this date in 1841:

I saw more clearly than ever that the first great primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord . . . not how much I might serve the Lord, . . . but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers . . . and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit. Before this time my practice had been . . . to give myself to prayer after having dressed myself in the morning. Now, I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, by means of the Word of God, whilst meditating on it, my heart might be brought into experimental communion with the Lord.

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New Sermon Series from Proverbs

This Sunday we begin a new sermon series from the book of Proverbs that will cover a variety of topics related to wealth and work. The Scriptures must be our authoritative guide as we consider what we have, what we want, how we get it, and what we do with it. Join us for each of these eight weeks as we pursue the biblical way of wisdom!

May 9

Wisdom for Wealth

How We Should See Money

May 16

The Distortion of Wealth

Money Changes How We See

May 23

Contentment and Envy

You’ve Got What I Want

May 30

The Roots of Poverty

Whose Fault Is It?

June 6

Diligence and Laziness, Part 1

Working Hard

June 13

Diligence and Laziness, Part 2

Hardly Working

[June 20 will not be part of this series]

June 27

Honest and Dishonest Gain

Cheaters Never Prosper?

July 4

Generosity toward the Needy

It’s the Givers Who Get

Zambia Photo and Video

I've been back from Zambia for over a week now, but the blog has been silent as I've been preparing for the quarterly congregational meeting and a new sermon series.

At the meeting Sunday night, Dave mentioned his site with a lot more photos and videos from our trip to Zambia. You can peruse them here.