Grace as a Gift

I was struck this morning by the verse after Romans 3.23. Have we heard the message of Romans 3.24? We are justified by his grace as a gift. Certainly as followers of Christ this is a concept that we've heard again and again...and again. Has it sunk in? We cannot earn grace. We cannot work for it. It is given. A gift. A gift is given and received, not earned. May we receive the gift of God's grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, with wonder and thanks and God-glorifying excitement, but without thinking we earned it.

Grace is the glory of God, not the merit of him who has been freed. Prosper of Aquitaine

A "Graced" Woman and a Servant of The King

Two compelling biblical characters today. First from 1 Samuel 1.20, we see Hannah whose name means "grace." She thought that her name was a mockery, since she was childless which was about the worst thing that could happen to a Hebrew wife. Yet in due time she who thought she was "graced-less" received a son of the Lord. He would be the greatest judge in Israel's history and a type of Christ (see Galatians 4.4). She who thought she was cursed of God discovered that her name was true. Hannah was graced by God in a marvelous and unmistakable way.

From Jeremiah 39.16 we find Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian whose name means merely "servant of the king." We aren't even told his Ethiopian name. Ebed saved the life of Jeremiah, no doubt because he believed Jeremiah's word and honored the God whom Jeremiah served. Ebed-melech is in some danger—he is fearful of those who oppose him at the (now destroyed by Babylon) court. Jeremiah promises him that he has nothing to fear because God will deliver him from these evil men. So the one who is nothing more than the "servant of the king," is proven to be the "servant of the True King."

Like Hannah, may we find God's grace in our greatest difficulties, and may we serve the True King with the devotion and commitment of Ebed-melech.

Unexpected Blessings

Thinking through the implications of Acts 28.9, this morning. The people of Malta gladly accepted and cared for the 276 survivors of the shipwreck, among whom were Paul and Luke. Because of this treatment when they brought their sick to Paul, he healed them. They provided sustenance to people in need, and in turn their own people's needs were met.

We do not provide aid and comfort for what we can get in return; we do it because that is who we are and what Christ calls us to do. However, sometimes God brings unexpected blessings to us when we do these things.

One further interesting note that Barclay makes in regards to this passage: Paul could exercise the gift of healing; and yet Paul had forever to bear about with him the thorn in the flesh. He healed others while he could not heal himself. Like his Master, in another sense, he saved others when he could not save himself.

A People of (Very) Hard Hearts

Thinking about Jeremiah 37.2 this morning. The people of Israel had everything that they needed to repent and turn away from their sins. They had the prophecy that Nebuchadnezzar and the army of Babylon would destroy them. They had Jeremiah's repeated warnings of God's impending judgment. They would not listen.

A couple of thoughts. First, God will do what he says. All of the hope in the world will not undo what he has said that he will do. King Zedekiah was hoping that the withdrawal of the Babylonian army after their first venture into Israel meant that Jeremiah was wrong. Zedekiah was the one who was wrong.

John Calvin makes the second point: For he intimates, that though God did not appear from heaven, it was sufficient to condemn the unbelieving, that he spoke by his Prophets. Hearing God's word through Jeremiah ought to have been enough to make them repent. They did not need for God to appear to them. The lesson for us is that we have God's word. It ought to be sufficient for us to repent of our sins and follow God.

Third, as Calvin also points out, the people exhibit a strange blindness to their position. They have already seen the king's own sons slain before his eyes by the Babylonians, and yet they do not listen to God's word through Jeremiah.

One Verse Gospel

From Acts 26.20 this morning. Paul summarized his message to all men in this way: Turn away from your sins. Turn to God. Prove the change in your life by doing good works.

Meditation = Groaning

Reading in Psalms 5.1 this morning. The ESV translation is pretty good here. My groaning is the noun form of the Hebrew verb ‏ הגה‎which means to groan or mutter or growl, or even to coo as a pigeon. It is the same word used in Ps. 1.2, and in his law does he meditate day and night, as well as in Josh 1.8, this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night. To my way of thinking this gives a certain color to meditation. We think of it as silent prayer or silent thought, but to the Hebrews it was more thought and prayer that was so deep and focused that it came out as groaning, or muttering.

May I meditate/groan/mutter/coo/growl ever more deeply on the Scriptures.

Delight in God's Word

Reading in Psalms 1.2-3 this morning, and I'm struck that the way to prosper is to delight in the law of God, or as we see it in the Church Age, in the Word of God.

Indeed the contrast between the righteous person and the wicked person seems to rest on whether or not they delight, treasure, desire God's Word. Thus the importance of being saturated, drenched, and bathed in the Scriptures.

Are you struggling with doubt? Get thee to the Word. Questioning God's character? Take and read. Wrestling with truth? Tolle Lege - Take up and read.

Samson's Death

In Judges 16.28 this morning where Samson brings God's judgment on the Philistines when they bring him to a giant party to mock him. One commentator points out that this is the only time we ever see him praying before he uses his superhuman strength, so the gouging out of his eyes and the time in prison, enslaved, have—we think—brought him to repentance. Did he have his own motives for vengeance in addition to bringing God's judgment? It's certainly possible. He wouldn't be the first follower of God to act by both God's direction, and personal motives, nor the last.

The things that stand out to me here are:

1. God accepts his prayer and answers it, so whatever else we can conclude, the event was God-ordained to bring exceptional judgment on the Philistines.

2. In the process, it is clear from the incident that Dagon did not bring about Samson's capture and humiliation, God Almighty, the God of Israel brought it about for his own sovereign purposes.

3. This is the only time we see Samson praying before he uses his greath strength.

4. When God's judgment falls, it is often swift and immediate.

5. As Matthew Henry puts it: That strength which he had lost by sin, he recovers by prayer. That it was not from passion or personal revenge, but from holy zeal for the glory of God and Israel, appears from God’s accepting and answering the prayer.

6. The Lord acts in response to prayer by his people.

Not What I Will

Christ praying in Mark 14.36. A fascinating picture of Christ's humanity as he approached the cross. He fully understood both the physical and mental suffering he would undergo. I suspect that the separation from his father was the worst pain of all, for to be righteous, God as the supreme judge had to punish sin.

Christ's willingness to suffer stands out clearly. "Not what I will but what you will." This is the foundation of the Christian life, that we submit our lives and livelihood to Christ and with him say, "not what I will, but what you will."

Raising Samson

Thinking through the implications of Judges 14.4. Samson demanded that his parents get him a Philistine as wife even though God had prohibited intermarriage. This was of the Lord though his parents did not know it.

Though Samson was sinning God would use that sin to bring judgment against the Philistines, meanwhile his parents would suffer the agony of watching him make poor decisions.

1. God might call us to raise a Samson.
2. God might call us to raise an Absalom.
3. God is sovereign even when our kids make poor choices.
4. We will still suffer when we see our kids make poor choices.
5. Thus the importance of resting in the reality of God's providence and control over all of life.

Manoah's Extraordinary Wife

From Judges 13.23 this morning. Manoah's wife is unnamed but the angel appeared to her alone both times. When Manoah thinks they will be killed because they saw the angel of God, she reasons that all of this wouldn't have happened if God was going to kill them. She becomes the mother of Samson an extraordinary but flawed judge.

We learn from her example that:

1. God shows up in unusual places.
2. Reason is important and God-honoring as long as it doesn't usurp faith.
3. Being a faithful mother does not guarantee that one's child will be faithful to God.

Pierced By the Lord

Jeremiah 25.33 today. One of those verses we'd rather not have in the Bible. God's judgment comes down on his own people. Those who are slaughtered by the Babylonian army "shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried."

How foolish we are if we do not take God's judgment seriously. He is righteous. He cannot let sin go unpunished or he would not be.

Be careful of Your Stubborn Heart

Reading in Judges 11.35 this morning where Jepthah says that he cannot take back his vow "For I have opened my mouth to the Lord and I cannot take back my vow." According to Lev 5.4-6, he certainly could have confessed his rash vow.

One can only conclude that he was either 1. Ignorant of this possibility, or 2. Too stubborn to confess that his vow was rash. I am inclined to think it was number 2.

This is an incredible level of stubborness, and a lesson for our own lives. How many times have I been too stubborn to confess a sin? Answer: Many. Beware oh hard-hearted one, lest you end up like Jepthah.

The Danger of Prosperity

Thinking through the implications of Jeremiah 22.21 this morning. I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, "I will not listen." The Hebrew word translated "prosperity" ‏בְּשַׁלְוֹתַ֔יִךְ is one that means "a time of ease or unconcern." So God is saying, "when things were going well for you, I tried to get your attention, but you would not listen." This is the danger of prosperity, the danger of having it too good. When all of our needs are met; when we are not in a crisis, we tend to forget God and rely on ourselves. It's no use damning the people of Judah if we do not bother to search through our own hearts and ask, "Lord, is this me?"

My own heart is prone to wander in prosperity; prone to forget about God, or, as the songwriter put it, Prone to wander, Lord I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love. Just so. What can keep us faithful? What can keep us obedient? My own theory is that saturation in the word of God is the first key, because it exposes our heart again and again as the Holy Spirit uses it—it is, after all, sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb 4.12)—to get at our heart and motives and remind us again and again how essential it is to obey God's word.

Are you saturated in the Word of God? If not, you are treading a thin plank indeed.

The Lord is...

The hope of Israel. The fountain of living water. Our healer. Our Saviour. The focus and end of our praise, all taken from Jeremiah 17.13, 14. One could chew on those truths for a while, couldn't one?

Thoughts on Anxiety, Worry, Concern, Etc.

The daughter of one of my high school teacher's is headed for Papua-New Guinea for 5 weeks to work with missionaries there. Alone. Think her mom is worried about the situation? Yeah, so do I. I got to thinking about worry after she posted a comment about it on her blog. This is how I commented.

If my daughter were headed for PNG for several weeks and I couldn't be in control of the situation, I'd be wrestling with worry too! Of course not being in that situation doesn't stop me from worrying. Give me 30 seconds and an issue and I'll find something to worry about. Seriously.

My view of worrying changed when I read through A. W. Pink's study of the life of Elijah. How could a guy who had just seen God work in one of the most powerful ways in history be running for his life virtually in the next instant? Pink says that God brought this about to keep Elijah humble and dependent (that worked pretty well - "Elijah, what are you doing here?"). In other words, God was responsible for the worry because he wanted to shape Elijah in a way that he couldn't without the worry.

This doesn't mean that we are free to delve into our worries and let them take control of our lives. To me it means that our worries humble us; they give us a chance to demonstrate our dependence on God; they keep us from pride. In this sense then, worries can be God-given and good, they force us to run to our Father again and again and again...and for me again!

Eyewitnesses to the Resurrection

So Peter describes both himself and the rest of the disciples in Acts 2.32. Christ has been gone only about 50 days and central to the testimony and preaching of his followers is that he rose from the dead; that he is not in the grave, but ascended into heaven and will return. Christ's followers will never change their testimony. He has risen; they were eyewitnesses of that fact.

Harsh Words for "Shepherds"

Harsh words for the shepherds in Jer 10.21, but then, everywhere in the Scriptures those who lead God's people are held to a higher standard. Here they are described as "stupid." The Hebrew word is ‏ ּ֙ורֲעְבִנ‎and means to be stupid, or in Syriac, "uncultivated." It's use in the OT always implies stupidity, not mentally, but is connected with those who do not believe in God, or those who do not do what he says. So the shepherds whose main job is to inquire of the Lord and explain to the people what God expects of them, do not do it. Because they do not inquire of the Lord, they have not prospered.

This is a sobering thought for anyone who aspires to be a shepherd, and for any man who heads a family because God calls him to be a shepherd of his household. High responsibility which we should accept gladly. May we (men) be good shepherds of our households and inquire of the Lord.

Irony or Obvious Command?

Reading through Matt 23.1-3 this morning. Is Christ' s command to practice and observe whatever they [scribes and Pharisees] tell you, an instance of a clear command delineating the difference between what they say [good] and what they do [bad]? I think I side with those who think that Christ is using biting irony here (Expositor's Bible Commentary for one), because Christ does emphasize whatever they tell you, then he proceeds to condemn all that they do. The Pharisees and scribes lived not only according to the Torah (Gen - Deut), but also according to the oral traditions which Christ condemns over and over.

Tom Constable describes the passage this way: Assuming the consistency of Jesus’ teaching we should understand His words here as ironical. This interpretation allows the Greek aorist verb ekathisan (“to sit,” v. 2) to have its natural force. This view also explains the chiasm in verses 2–4 in which the first two statements constitute irony and the second two give non-ironical advice.

A The leaders presumed to take on Moses’ teaching authority. v. 2

B Do what they say. v. 3a (irony)

B’ Do not do what they do v. 3b (non-irony)

A’ Their teaching merely binds people v. 4

Worshipping the Creator Rather than the Creation

In Psalm 148.13 this morning. I take the Psalmist to mean that the name of the Lord is exalted above every name to the point where it is the only name exalted. The reason for this is then stated his majesty is above earth and heaven. His majesty is above earth and heaven because he created them. This is why it is so foolish to worship the sun, moon, stars, or man (like the modern world). There is something far greater than creation in the universe, the creator of the universe.

This agrees completely with Paul: “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (Rom 1:20-23 ESV)

Praise Bubbling Forth

Into Psalm 147.1 this morning. For the people of the Lord it is good to sing praises to our God. The Psalmist does not say why it is good because he does not need to; the point is self-explanatory. He just says that giving praises is fitting and pleasant. We give praise to God because we cannot help ourselves, God created us to praise and so out it comes much like a fountain that is constantly overflowing.

C. S. Lewis gets the point correct - I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.

Exalting God To Eternity...and Beyond

This is the stated purpose of David in Ps 145.1. Forever and ever was just that—for as long as David could imagine—his aim, purpose, goal, and delight was to magnify, exalt, lift up, and make high, you, my God and King. David's aim and desire ought to be our goal and desire since we love, serve, and worship the same God.

The Curse of Riches

Isn't that what Christ is implying in Matt 19.23? Nothing is impossible with God—we will definitely see rich people in heaven—however, riches shield one to some extent from the difficulties of life which so often lead one to trust Christ for salvation. Thus what seems to be a great blessing (wealth) might turn out to be a curse. We in the West have great wealth. We are spiritually poor.

Mother Teresa agrees with me. Mary Poplin comments about this issue in her fantastic book Finding Calcutta: "Mother told me how people in the West are poor. In fact, she considered us the poorest of the poor spiritually because our physical comfort makes us believe we do not need God and our busyness makes us ignore him."

Greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven

Greatness in the kingdom of heaven is inextricably linked with humility (Matt 18.4)

Becoming What We Pursue

Thinking through the implications of Jer 2.5 this morning. Pursuing worthlessness leads to becoming worthless. A strong statement from the Scriptures. Israel, in the process of pursuing worthless things, had become what it pursued. This is a forthright message to us that we will value the most what we pursue the hardest. Will we pursue God and his glory, or be content to pursue the creation rather than the creator?

Sovereign Over All Things in All Places

From Ps 135.6. A pretty clear statement on God's sovereignty over all things. He does whatever he pleases wherever he pleases. Heaven, earth, seas, and all deeps indicate that his will extends to every place in the known or imagineable universe. He does not need to ask anyone for permission to act; he does not seek any approbation for what he does. He will act whether we understand what he is doing or not, and he always takes responsibility for his actions, without shame or trying to hide it. I find this remarkable and profound.

Growing Slowly, Permeating All

My summation of Matt 13.33. The lesson of this parable is essentially the same as the parable that immediately precedes it. The kingdom of heaven will grow slowly and permeate the world and affect all that it touches. Like leaven, its effect will be obvious when it is mixed into the world.

What does this mean for us? Chiefly, I believe it means patience. If we do not see the gospel taking root in lives immediately, we turn to this parable for hope. The gospel's effects, like leaven, are many times not obvious.

Rebuking the Wind and Sea

Matthew 8.26 this morning. Normal people do not rebuke the wind and sea. They can and sometimes do curse at the wind and sea, but normal people do not talk to nature as if it were a little child that needed correction. This is just the way that Christ addresses nature, as if he were it's father and they were in subjection to him, which he was and they are.

Listen and Obey.

In Matthew 7.25 this morning. Listen! It behooves us to listen when Christ speaks that the one who hears and heeds! his words is like a wise man. I take several things from the point that Christ makes here. First, it is possible to hear and know all Christian dogma and not heed it. Second, Christ assumes that rain and floods will come into one's life, not if, but when. Third, Christ assumes that if my life is founded on the rock (of hearing and heeding Christ's words) then I can be assured that when difficulties come, my house (my life) will not fall. I take this as a promise from Christ. Fourth, any person who makes the claim Christ makes here is either the biggest egomaniac in history, or speaking the truth. Once again an absolutely stunning and mind-boggling claim from Christ...unless it's true.

God and...

While Christ uses the example of God and money in Matt 6.24, when he says "No one can serve two masters," the principle stated obviously applies to all things. You cannot serve God and...anything. In the life of faith it is never God and [insert anything] it is always God alone, God first, last, and always. Christ gives the warning here because he understands that we are prone to make our lives "God and..."

Blessed are the Pure in Heart

Augustine commenting at Matt 5.8: Whatever we do, whatever good deeds we perform, whatever we strive to accomplish, whatever we laudably yearn for, whatever we blamelessly desire, we shall no longer be seeking any of those things when we reach the vision of God. Indeed, what would one search for when one has God before one’s eyes? Or what would satisfy one who would not be satisfied with God?

Plodding Through The Valley of the Shadow of Death

Psalms 119.50 gives solid fuel for wading through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. God's promise gives me life.

Come, Thirsty One!

The first verse (Isaiah 55.1) in one of my favorite chapters. Here is an evangelical call to all: Come whoever is thirsty and partake of God's grace because it is free to whoever will have it.

If you are thirsty, come. If you have no money, come and purchase the stuff of life. It won't cost you money, it won't cost you anything. It will cost the Messiah everything. Such is the message of the gospel. Such is the nature of grace.

Worship Might Cost You Something

Reading through Matthew in my devotions and I came across Matt 2.11. The wise men saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. A couple of thoughts here. First, the wise men had come a long and difficult way. They could have used any number of excuses why they should not come to find Christ. "It's too far." "It's too dangerous." "I'm too old." They were willing to travel, to risk being put upon by thieves, to come and worship Messiah.
Second, when they had the opportunity, they worshiped!

Worship might (and often does) cost us something. No barrier was too great for these wise men to come and worship Messiah. No barrier should be too great for us. Also, we need to heed these traveler's examples, when we have the opportunity to worship, we should (must!) worship.

The Lord is On My Side...

...as helper. Wow, what else do I need to know? The God who created the universe, who spoke the words and it was done. He is on my side. Do I need to fear anything? Psalms 118.7.

Strength for the Journey

Revelation 21.3 is a precious promise and the hope of all believers. It gives us strength for the journey of life. There will come a day when we will dwell in the presence of God for all eternity. That promise gives us purpose in this life, and endurance in the ever present difficulties that come our way, patience in adversity, and confidence in the future. It's a promise that should fire our imagination and keep us from wasting our lives on trivialities. God is God and our God and the eternal God.

Plumbing the Depths of God's Mighty Deeds

I believe what the Psalmist is getting at in Psalms 106.2, is that it is impossible to plumb the depths of God by declaring all of his deeds or proclaiming all his praise. Which song writer penned the words, "In vain the first-born seraph tries to plumb the depths of love divine?" Just so, says the Psalmist. We will never get to the end of God's praises. Never exhaust the declaration of his mighty works.

He says this not to discourage us; he writes it to spur us on to more and more praise because we can never get to the end of it, and he wants us to understand the limitless depths of God's power and character.

As always, Spurgeon is great: Those who praise the Lord have an infinite subject, a subject which will not be exhausted throughout eternity by the most enlarged intellects, nay, nor by the whole multitude of the redeemed, though no man can number them.

Assignment for Old People...and Young!

Thinking through the implication of Psalms 92.14,15, this morning. There is a message that we are to be proclaiming when we are old, namely that God is upright; that God is my rock; and that there is no unrighteousness in him. Steve and Bonnie Opper, stuck in severe difficulty to which God has assigned them, are doing that incredibly well! Of course it is an assignment, not only for the aged, it is something every Christian should be declaring.

Steve: God has assigned this difficult task to us, particularly for Bonnie. He takes great care to make sure the assignment is the exact amount; measured and controlled.

Giving to God What is Due

Moses clearly explains to the Israelites in Deut 8.17, that success, wealth, and by inference, talent and opportunity, come from God. They (and we) ought to be very careful that, when they became successful, they not sit back and pat themselves on the back and say, "look what an incredible person I am." Unfortunately, the human tendency is to do just that.

Fuel for the Journey

Reading through Isaiah 35.4 this morning. The fuel that sustains God's people in difficulty—when they experience pain and suffering—is God himself; the promise that God will come and save us. The promise!

Calvin comments: That strength of which he spoke is breathed into our hearts by God through his word, as “by faith alone we stand” (2 Corinthians 1:24) and live; and therefore he adds the promise of grace yet to come.

Dependence

Meditating on Isaiah 33.2 this morning. (By the way, the Hebrew word for "meditate" means "to growl, or mutter," implying that we ought to ponder and chew on God's word aloud in some sense). It's a verse that screams out "dependence," which is exactly what we do not want to be. This is probably the most difficult part about growing in the faith. We want to continually be our own god, at the root of things. The people of Judah are in deep trouble and independence is not an option when the Assyrian army is literally knocking on the gates of Jerusalem. Thus God severs us from our inclination to depend upon ourselves.

This is our God!

The song that we will sing to our God on the day of salvation as described in Isaiah 25.9. We (saints) have waited for God and on the day of salvation, we will wait no longer. God will finally and fully save his people and we will sing with every breath that we have of his salvation. We will be glad. We will rejoice. This is our God!

Exultation, Jubilance, Gladness

Three characteristics of those whose hope is in God from Ps 68.3.

Called to Suffer

Peter is quite clear in 1 Pet 2.21, we are called to suffer if we are true followers of Christ. No one wants to suffer. We are not Christian masochists. This is simply the reality of being who we are. The world hates us. We will suffer. As one commentator puts it:

Peter does not ask us to view suffering as inevitable in the world under the curse. He does not ask for stoic resignation. A life of suffering is our calling, not our fate. It is our calling just because we are God’s people. It is our calling because it was Christ’s calling. He calls his disciples to follow him.

Rejoicing in the Lord (and in Him Alone)

Thus David implies in Ps. 64.10. David calls for those who are God-followers to rejoice in the Lord. He does this because there is no higher nor more worthy being in which to rejoice. By rejoicing in God we are putting our satisfaction as high as it can possibly be. There is nothing inside or outside of the universe in which we can rejoice that will give us more satisfaction than in God alone. I'm happy to follow David's admonition here.

Living By Faith in God's Word

I was reading Psalm 56.4 this morning and struck by David's statement of trust in God and his word. When David was running from Saul, he fled to Gath and there pretended to be crazy so that he could both escape Saul, and not be killed by his mortal enemies, the Philistines. Note that David does not lay responsibility for his escape from the Philistines at the wiliness of his actions. He lays it at the feet of God. In God I trust, I shall not be afraid. The primary cause of his safety in Gath, was not dribbling on his beard like a madman, but God and his promises.

Hardened By Sin

The writer of Hebrews warns in Heb 3.13-14, for his readers not to become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. This is such a dangerous trap. I do what I want to, and the more I do it, the less real God becomes. This is something which Dietrich Bonhoeffer saw clearly. He once wrote, "When lust takes control, then God becomes unreal." Just so. Beware, Oh Christ-follower that you do not become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Beware, O my heart, that you do not become hardened by the deceifulness of sin.

God and Mystery

3000 years after Solomon penned Ecclesiastes 11.5, we still have no clue how the spirit gets implanted into a child in the process of pregnancy, just that it does. Men have learned a lot about science and how the world works, and yet we still cannot understand the complete working out of God's plan for man. This is very humbling.

Trusting in "His holy name"

Bible reading highlight is from Ps. 33.21 today. Spurgeon comments: The root of faith in due time bears the flower of rejoicing. Doubts breed sorrow, confidence creates joy.

A Wise Heart

I love the way the ESV translates the last half of Ecc 8.5: The wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. While this is set in the context of interaction with the king, it is applicable to any person at any time. For this reason, we ought to cultivate a wise heart, by fearing the Lord, so that we will know the right thing to do, and the proper time to act. Lord, give me a wise heart!

Inhabiting the Praises of Israel

Reading in Ps 22.3 this morning and the ESV translates the second line as "enthroned upon the praises of Israel." This is not a very exact translation. It is put more literally as "inhabiting the praises of Israel." The point, however, is not changed. God inhabits or is enthroned upon the praises of his people. I like to think of it this way. Since it glorifies God to lift him up as the only infinitely holy and worthy being, in doing so God himself dwells or is enthroned upon those praises. When God's people praise him, God is glorified.

Christ, Our Hope

Reading in 1 Tim 1.1 this morning where Paul simply describes Christ as our hope. On this beautiful Easter morning, just so. Christ is risen! He is our (only) hope. He who knew no sin, became sin on our behalf. I praise God for the hope we find in Christ.

An Anchor in the Storm

Paul tells the Thessalonians in 2 Thess 3.3, that in contrast to wicked and evil men (who are not faithful), God is faithful. This is such a solid anchor of truth for us to lash ourselves to in the inevitable storms of life. God's character is that he is faithful. We can rely upon that. We can believe it. We can count on it.

Jesus Wants the Rose

This is a beautiful illustration from Matt Chandler's life of thinking correctly about the mercy and grace of Christ. Very moving. We need to really live out grace rather than preaching grace, but living law.

The Virtue of Patience

My Bible reading highlight was from 1 Thess 5.14 today. Paul tells the Thessalonians to admonish the idle, help the weak, and encourage the fainthearted. Then he says, be patient with them all. I believe that he says this because he understands men. Few people who have deeply rooted problems change quickly. It takes many starts with a lot of stops on the way; it takes failure; it takes starting over. Thus the virtue of patience. Patience means understanding that people are human and frail.

The Christian's One Calamity

I was reading 1 Thess 4.1 this morning and Chrysostom had a great comment on that verse:

There is only one calamity for a Christian, this being disobedience to God.

Fervent Prayer

Reading in Col 4.12 this morning and I was struck by Epapharas' fervent prayer for the church in Colossae. Paul calls him a "slave of Christ Jesus" and says that he was "agonizing in prayer" for the church. This humbles me because I struggle to "agonize in prayer" for my family, more less anyone else. Thomas Constable, commenting on this passage writes: Epaphras’ fervent agonizing in prayer (cf. Luke 22:44) reflects his understanding that God would provide illumination and continued growth in proportion as people requested these of Him (James 4:2). This is spiritual work that only God can do. Just so. However, if only God can do it, then why am I not praying more fervently for those to whom I minister?

Christ to Mary Magdalene: Don't Cling to Me!

One of the first statements that Christ makes after his resurrection is to command Mary Magadalene not to cling to him (John 20.17). What to make of this command? Commentators have offered different opinions and who knows who is correct. I tend to agree with Thomas Constable. He says that Mary was holding onto Jesus as if she would never let him go and he needed to point out that there was work to be done on her part and on his part as well. He is also implying that there will be a new relationship to him soon, one in which his disciples will not be able to see and speak to him.

Constable: Thomas needed to touch Jesus to strengthen his faith. Mary needed to release Him because He would not depart immediately, and Jesus had something else for her to do.

Tongues That Cut/Tongues That Heal

How powerful the tongue is to do either harm or good. Whoever came up with the childhood ditty—Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me—had probably never been hurt by words. Words are often more powerful than sticks and stones and do more lasting damage. This is certainly what Solomon is getting at in Prov 12.18. May we have a tongue that brings healing and encouragement, an honest tongue, but a healing tongue.

Avoiding the Washing Machine

I was reading in Eph 4.13-14 today and was struck by the word that Paul used which is translated "tossed to and fro by the waves (κλυδωνίζομαι)." It's a good translation of this passage and brings to mind body-surfing in L. A. when I was a kid. You would get caught in one of the waves and flipped over and over, sometimes so badly that you didn't know which way was up for awhile. We called it, "being in the washing machine." It was a terrifying experience as a kid. The aim of Christian maturity is that one is not dumped into a crisis of faith every time one hears—as Paul puts it—every wind of doctrine. May we grow to maturity so that we can withstand the inevitable attacks that come against the teachings of Scripture.

Don't Give Up!

Paul gives us the law of the reaper in Gal 6.9. The promise is that we will reap in due time if we do not give up. It is a call to perseverance in the work of ministry, in the things that God has called us to do. John Brown commented that "Christians frequently act like children in reference to this harvest. They would sow and reap in the same day." True enough. God's way seems to be just the opposite, we do not always see the result of our ministry. God often only shows us this years down the road. Persevere. Stick with it. Don't give up.

The Heart of a Pharisee

My Bible reading highlight today was John 9.34. It is the Pharisees' response to the man who was born blind and healed by Christ. They make a tacit admission that the man was healed by Christ without even realizing it! In addition, in the Greek they emphasize the second person singular: "YOU were born in utter sin, and would YOU teach us?"

We need to be very careful that we do not have the heart of a Pharisee. The Bible Speaks Today makes this point in its commentary on this section:

The Pharisees are not an extinct breed. Whenever we find ourselves valuing the letter of God’s law above its spirit; whenever we find ourselves unable to rejoice in the saving and renewing of lives simply because the instrument used was not someone who dots all the i’s and crosses all the t’s of our theological group; whenever we lose the daily, hourly sense of joy in the grace of God by which alone we know him and live before him, then we need to beware.

I Am the Light of the World

Reading in John 8.12 this morning where Christ makes the (now) familiar claim, I am the light of the world. In a day without electricity, where the world was lit only by fire and where darkness reigned half of the time, light was perhaps the key commodity one could have. It is a metaphor that would resonate with the people very strongly since light was not taken for granted so much as it is now.

Throughout Israel's history, light was associated with God as Johnson points out in his commentary at this verse. The people understood what his claim was. It is one of several statements in John that are breathtaking. What kind of person makes claims like this? Either one who is indeed the light of the world, or someone who is crazy or a liar. Christ's works, message, and resurrection attest that what he said was true.

Ministry of Reconciliation/Message of Reconciliation

Paul says in 2 Cor. 5.18-19 that God gave us both the ministry of reconciliation and the message of reconciliation with the motivation for our own ministry of reconciliation being the pattern of how God reconciled us to himself through Christ. Reconciliation here is the word καταλλάσσω which means to reestablish proper friendly interpersonal relations after these have been disrupted or broken (the componential features of this series of meanings involve (1) disruption of friendly relations because of (2) presumed or real provocation, (3) overt behavior designed to remove hostility, and (4) restoration of original friendly relations) — ‘to reconcile, to make things right with one another (Louw and Nida).
Is our ministry of reconciliation here one of reconciling other people to God, or reconciling other people to ourselves? Judging from the very next verse it would seem that Paul is speaking of the reconciliation between God and man because he calls it the message of reconciliation. So we are to both do (live out) reconciliation and preach reconciliation of God to man through Christ.

Children and the Kingdom of Heaven

Reading in Luke 18.16-17 this morning. As usual when Christ sees a teaching moment, he seizes it. In this case the disciples obviously assumed that Christ couldn't be bothered with little children since he had much more important things to do, like healing the sick and preaching the gospel. Christ demonstrates both compassion and concern for little children as well as teaching the disciples that if one were to enter the kingdom of God, one must do it with child-like faith.

It seems to me that one of the key ingredients of the faith of a child is dependency. The child is dependent upon his parents and doesn't spend a lot of time wondering how or where the next meal is going to come from, that is for parents to worry about, not children. As Thomas Constable puts it:

Obviously infants are not humble in the same sense that adults show humility, but infants are humble in the sense of being totally dependent and unable to provide for themselves. They receive rather than provide, and in those qualities they are good examples of humility.

The Purpose of Prayer

Reading 2 Cor 1.11, this morning where Paul gives a short lesson in prayer. We are to pray, first so that the one we are praying for gets the help that they need. In this case it was for Paul and his traveling companions to be spared from "deadly peril." However, another purpose in prayer is so that those who pray and see God answer, will glorify God. Pretty cool. We both see God move and are blessed by seeing that he answered our prayers.

Two interesting words in this verse. The beginning of the sentence is συνυπουργούντων, which is a compound word consisting of three words meaning, "with," "under," and "work." So Paul implies that prayer is a working together with, or as Thomas Constable put it, "It paints a picture of laborers bowed down under some heavy burden that they are working hard together to lift." Beautiful imagery.

The second interesting word is one you don't see in the English. Again from Thomas Constable, "“Persons” (Gr. prosopon) is literally “faces.” A literal rendering presents the attractive picture of many faces turned upward toward heaven offering thanks to God for His answers to the united prayers of Paul and his readers." Got to love the Scriptures!

The Heart of a Pharisee

Reading in Luke 15.2, this morning.  The Pharisees and scribes—in contrast to Christ—did NOT receive, nor eat with sinners.  The heart of a Pharisee says, "I will not be infected by consorting with filthy sinners."  The heart of Christ says, "I will go where a physician is needed most desperately."  May I have the heart of Christ. 

The Heart of a Pharisee/The Heart of Pharoah

While reading in both Ex 10.27 and Luke 13.14 this morning, I was struck by the similarities between the heart of the ruler of the synagogue and the heart of Pharoah. Both men see God's power demonstrated in as mighty acts as he ever demonstrates on earth. In the ruler's case a woman who has been in slavery to a disabling spirit for 18 years is freed. In Pharoah's case, he has seen God use nature in a supernatural way to destroy his country. Pharoah still won't let the people go even after 9 plagues. The ruler of the synagogue still won't recognize the hand of God in Christ's miracle, choosing rather to focus on the fact that Christ healed on the Sabbath!

Two very different men, and yet two hearts that are the same, closed off to God even when they see his power demonstrated in mighty ways. May we purpose not to miss God's power because he doesn't act like we assume he should act (the ruler of the synagogue) or because we do not believe in him (Pharoah).

The Syro-Phoenician Woman III

The woman's response to Christ's comment in Mark 7.27 is remarkable. Christ essentially says, "Jews are first. Gentiles are second," yet in a seemingly harsh way. However, he leaves open the possibility that there will be "food" for the Gentiles. In the Greek (where word order often indicates emphasis), Christ says, "Permit first, the children to be fed." The woman immediately picks up on his meaning (Mark 7.28).

Chadwick paraphrases her response: “'I thank Thee, O blessed One, for that word! That’s my whole case. Not of the children? True. A dog? True also: Yet the dogs under the table are allowed to eat of the children’s crumbs — the droppings from their master’s full table: Give me that, and I am content: One crumb of power and grace from Thy table shall cast the devil out of my daughter.' Oh, what lightning quickness, what reach of instinctive ingenuity, do we behold in this heathen woman!"

Second place is good enough for her. As a Gentile who follows this unnamed woman, I gladly embrace second place as well. Jews are first. No problem. There is enough grace left over for me (a Gentile) coming second.

The Syro-Phoenician Woman II

Persistence. Mark's description of the woman's approach to Christ is to say (Mark 7.26) that she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. The verb tense used (imperfect) implies that she kept on begging, that she was persistent; that she would not stop. Matthew's version of the incident (Matt 15.23) makes this explicit. He writes: And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us (NASB).

The woman is persistent as Christ throws up several obstacles to her getting her request. She keeps on begging, because she is not going to be stopped by a few obstacles. We learn from this that faith requires persistence if it is truly faith. A "faith" that gives up at the first obstacle tossed in its way is no faith at all. This woman had a living, active faith that Christ could (and would) do what she asked.

The Syro-Phoenician Woman I

Context. Mark doesn't just set this story (Mark 7.24-30) will-nilly as if it suddenly popped into his mind. The two pericopes that come before this demonstrate how the Pharisees lambast Christ's disciples for eating without ceremonial cleaning. In turn Christ lambasts the Pharisees for being legalists. Next Christ explains that, in contrast to the Pharisees' theology, it is not what comes into a man that defiles him, but what is inside of him. Then comes the story with a Gentile, Canaanite, pagan-therefore-unclean, woman. She tells Christ that second place (behind the Jews) is okay with her, if she can just have the demon cast out of her daughter (incredible faith). Here is the way one writer puts the contrast between this woman and the Pharisees:

Ironically, the unclean Gentile girl is cleansed of the unclean demon (Mark 7:30) by her mother’s decisive and intercessory faith in Jesus, but the clean Pharisees remain unclean because their evils come from unrepentant and unbelieving hearts that reject Jesus (Mark 7:15, 23).

Thus the importance of context.

"You Humble Now, Holmes."

A line from the movie, Tin Cup, where Cheech Marin is acting as Kevin Costner's caddie at the U. S. Open. Before his first round, Costner says, "Lord keep me humble." You see him hitting balls all over the place, then in the next scene they are at the finish and Marin is counting up Costner's scorecard. He says, "82. You humble now, Holmes."

The line came to mind as I was reading 1 Cor 4.7, this morning. While Paul was speaking in the context of the church, it is a truth which can be applied to all things. You are a talented basketball player? Who gave you all that talent? Did you give it to yourself? A concert pianist? Where did you get that talent and the opportunity to bring it alive? An architect? A politician? A banker? Wealthy? Beautiful? When one thinks about it, so much of our lives are not our own choices. We'd like to think that we "picked ourselves up by our own boot straps," but the truth is, did we give ourselves our own will?

It's a very humbling truth from Paul, here.

Elizabeth and Mary

What to say about Elizabeth's response when Mary came to visit (Luke 1.43-44). She speaks out—as Luke notes—in the power of the Holy Spirit and declares that this relative that is decades younger than her (40 years?) is the mother of her Lord! Whatever Mary felt about the greeting at the time, we assume that through the years as she watched Christ's life, ministry, death, and resurrection, the words made more and more sense to her. Since we assume that Luke got this information straight from Mary's mouth (which would have been 4 decades or so later), we can see what an impact they had on her.

Elizabeth's humility is well illustrated because she shows not the least sign about being reticent to blurt out what the Holy Spirit had put on her tongue, even though she is the older and wiser one.

The Liberty (and Responsibility) of the Believer

When it comes to the liberty of the believer, we are called to desire the twin qualities of peace and mutual upbuilding (Rom 14.19). I suppose that this works itself out by asking myself the question, "in regards to x, will my pursuit of it bring about peace and edify other believers?" Obviously each person's working out of the answer to that question will be different. Our problem is that we tend to do what we want and then justify it, rather than desire peace and edification and act accordingly. May we stand out, as followers of Christ, for our peacemaking spirits.

The Great Tribulation

Mark 13.19 is not a verse to be taken lightly. It could not be any clearer that the tribulation that is to come will be one for the ages—thus the sobriquet "The Great Tribulation." I am aware that there is a segment of Christianity that says we do not have to worry about this because the Church will be raptured. It is not a view with which Christ seems to be aware in the gospel.

I suppose the wisest thing would be to prepare as if one was going to endure the Great Tribulation. To my mind this means to apply oneself to growth in grace. Certainly a tribulation such as Christ describes will tend to separate the dross from the gold—as it were. One's deepest beliefs are only truly tested in the fires of persecution or difficulty. Those who have given themselves over to following Christ will endure—will endure! Those who have only followed by lip service will not.

How Can I Be Right (On Matters of Faith)?

Glad you asked. Christ is pretty clear in Mark 12.24. The Sadducees, to whom he is speaking, are wrong (they do not believe in a resurrection). Christ tells them that they are lacking two things and because of it they are wrong (for emphasis he repeats this in Mark 12.27, "you are quite wrong.")

I take from this verse that in order to be right about matters of faith we need to correctly understand the Scriptures (τὰς γραφὰς, or "the writings" a technical term for Scriptures), and we need to believe in the power of God to raise people from the dead. The Scriptures are doubly important because in them we find the power of God demonstrated and the truth about things like the resurrection. If we want to be "quite right" as opposed to "quite wrong," we will saturate our lives with the Scriptures.

Joseph, God, and Our Abilities

Joseph ascribes the interpretation of dreams to God, not to his own ability!

Gen 41.16 is a favorite verse because Joseph so quickly shifts attention from himself to God. It is not me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer. While we are generally not dream-interpreters would that we would be as quick as Joseph to give God glory for what abilities that he has given us—and they are from him.

It is not in me to open a person's heart to understand the gospel. It is not in me to forgive the unforgivable. It is not in me to use my God-given talents in a God-honoring way. What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? Paul asks in 1 Cor 4.7. It's a stunning revelation when one thinks about it, not to mention humbling.

Confession and Belief

Meditating (which in the Hebrew means to growl or mutter) over Rom 10.9 this morning—a favorite verse. One might take from this verse a salvation of works—do this and be saved. We can rule that out because Paul calls it a word of faith in the same sentence (Rom 10.8). I believe that he is speaking of the inward and outward evidence of salvation here. If you confess Christ and believe in your heart, you will be saved. Salvation is not a formula of doing this or that, the "doing" stems from the "believing" and the belief is a gift of God (Eph 2.8,9). May we worship the God who gifts us with both faith and grace!

Help My Unbelief!

Mark 9.24 is one of my favorite verses. I love it because it so eloquently communicates the human condition. The father wanted to believe that Christ could cast the spirit out of the child, but knew that his own heart struggled to believe. It is a genuine and heartfelt cry for help. Calvin beautifully captures what is going on here: "He declares that he believes and yet acknowledges himself to have unbelief. These two statements may appear to contradict each other but there is none of us that does not experience both of them in himself."

Just so. Especially when it comes to promises. Do we really have faith to move mountains? If we ask anything in Christ's name, will God really do it? My heart is just like this man's...only more so.

Do Not Be Ashamed

Ruminating on Mark 8.38 after my Bible reading today. Sobering words from Christ. The Greek word for ashamed is in classical greek "The root aisch- refers originally to that which is ugly and disgraceful. aischyno (Homer onwards) thus meant originally to disfigure, make ugly. It is found in Gk. literature almost exclusively in the mid. or pass. with the meaning to feel shame, be ashamed, or to be confounded, be disconcerted (NIDNTT)."

Christ does not define what he means by whoever . Does he mean both the righteous and the unrighteous? Does he mean that if you are ashamed of him and his words by definition one cannot be righteous (and therefore he is speaking only of those who do not believe in him?). Whatever he does mean, the implication for a follower of Christ is clear—do not be ashamed of Christ. Do not live one's life in shame of whom one believes. One might compare this to being in love. One's partner might be a little mystified and less than impressed if the opposite party does nothing but hide the relationship from others. Love is meant to be proclaimed and demonstrated to the world. How much more Christ?

Don't Eat the Bread of Anxious Toil

Thanks to my nephew for turning me on to this sermon by John Piper from Ps. 127.1-3. Excellent, and very timely.

How Do I Keep My Prayer's From Being Repetitive and Stale?

Glad you asked. Leave it to John Piper to come up with a list of everything that is prayed for in the New Testament. He has a copy that he sets near his prayer bench. Good idea, I think.

God Delights in Taking Responsibility

It never ceases to amaze me how God positively delights in taking responsibility for stuff that we would prefer to explain away. Take Psalms 147.17, for instance (my Bible reading highlight for the day). Whatever the natural explanation for snow and ice, the Psalmist claims that God is behind it all, that God is the primary cause. It is God who hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs. God is ultimately responsible for all that happens in nature and no one else. He allows earthquakes and natural disasters and storms and the writers of Scripture were never hesitant to assign this to him. It is a breath-taking acceptance of responsibility by God.

As usual, Charles Spurgeon (who is my favorite commentator on the Psalms by far) manages to be both rigorously scriptural and brilliantly devotional at the same time. He writes:

That which God sends, whether it be heat or cold, no man can defy with impunity, but he is happy who bows before it with childlike submission. When we cannot stand before God we will gladly lie at his feet, or nestle under his wings.

Graduating to Glory

My beloved childhood pastor, Bob Warren, used to say that believer's who died had graduated to glory. I've always remembered that and find that particular concept quite true. God calls us to faithfulness on earth, to do the work that he gives us, to—as John Piper puts it—"not waste our lives." Our death then is a graduation of sorts, a completion of our work and a going home to glory, not because of what we have done, but because of the righteousness of Christ imputed (applied, reckoned) to us.

Cherie's mom will soon graduate to glory. From our perspective the parting is difficult and painful, but not so great that we do not recognize the joy of her homecoming and the celebration at her graduation party.

Getting Serious About Joy

My buddy and I are reading through a book on the spiritual disciplines for our accountability meetings. We just read a chapter on joy. In the course of thinking through the chapter, I've decided that I need to get serious about joy, that is, I need to pursue it with purpose.

The older I get, the more clearly I see that it is joy that separates the believer from those who do not follow Christ. Joy should bubble out of the nooks and crannies of our lives like an underground spring that keeps discovering new and unusual ways to reach the surface of the earth. Where do we go to learn joy? The writer of our book suggests a "joy mentor," someone you think of who stands out for their joy. Little kids are another good place to become suffused in joy which knows no boundaries. Certainly, the more we study and delight in the works of God the creator, the more joy we will have in all that he is and does.

Christ Magnified in my LIfe...or Death

My Bible reading highlight this morning was Phil 1.20. I am wondering what Paul meant that his eager expectation and hope was that Christ would be magnified in his body, whether in life or death. I'll reveal heavy influence from Jonathan Edwards via John Piper here. Christ is magnified in Paul's life (and in mine) when he is the object of our devotion above all other things. Is there something I hold more dear than Christ? Then he is not magnified in my life. If he is all and everything; if he is the object of my devotion, then he is magnified (BDAG interprets the Greek word in this way: to cause to be held in greater esteem through praise or deeds, exalt, glorify, magnify, speak highly of ). Piper puts this as "making Christ look great" both in my deeds and devotion. May Paul's desire, be my desire. May Christ be all.

My Grandson and Delighting in All God Has Made

We went over to my son's house last night to celebrate our grandson's second birthday. He is a great kid. I'm convinced that God gives us grandkids as a reward for enduring as parents. At any rate, he's at the age where he knows what is going on. He'd had some M&M's so he was already bouncing off the walls, literally running from one end of the house to the other because he could not contain his excitement, not so much at the prospect of presents, but just because there were a bunch of people there and he was, well, excited!

He dug into his cake with his hands—searching for M&M's—and then zestfully opened his many presents. As I watched him I got the sense that what God wants us to learn from excited little grandkids is radical and unflinching joy in all that God has made. No effort is required, one just lives in the moment of effervescent exuberance because everything is new and fresh and people are so fun.

God grant me to see life through the eyes of a two year old kid!

God's (Apparent) Absence in Difficulty

I am pondering Ps 88.14 this morning and the fact that it is often in our deepest difficulties that God appears to be no where in sight. I am reminded of C. S. Lewis' comment in A Grief Observed:

“Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him…you will be—or so it feels—welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become.”

John Calvin points out that this kind of question is proof that the writer has not given up on God, that: The Psalmist does not proudly enter into debate with God, but mournfully desires some remedy to his calamities.

I agree with Calvin's thinking on this passage, although it does not make the experience any easier. In all of the tests and trials of a believer, this is probably the most difficult, persevering when God is silent.

Chrysostom on God's Motivation in Salvation

Pondering Eph 1.6 this morning, specifically with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. Thanks to Accordance Bible Software, I pulled up the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and Chrysostom had this to say about the passage:

So that our love for him may become more fervent, he desires nothing from us except our salvation. He does not need our service or anything else but does everything for this end.

It's nice to see that John Piper's emphasis on God's being glorified is nothing new. Chrysostom (a favorite Early Church Father) believed that God's motive in salvation was so that we would praise him for salvation. Our understanding of redemption will make us praise him more for what he has done. It's that easy...and that deep.

Financial Disaster and the Christian

We are in a 100 year storm financially. I am not kidding. It only remains to see how bad things will get and it appears that they will get pretty bad. Bad as in Great Depression bad. Storm as in, it will affect the rest of my working life, storm. Words at this point probably cannot do justice to what will come. What is a follower of Christ to do here?

1. Remember that God is in control of all things, everywhere, at all times (Dan 4.34-35).
2. Recall that John Calvin wrote that since God is sovereign we ought to have praise in prosperity, patience in adversity, and hope in the future. So patience in adversity is in order here.
3. Willingly and humbly submit to the situation that God puts us in—Indonesian and Indian believers are losing their houses and even lives right now because they are Christians. Some of us will end up in difficult living/financial situations because of this storm. So be it. God is still God and has promised to provide our needs (not wants or desires, just needs - Phil 4.19).
4. Make wise financial decisions. Conserve cash. Don't take on more debt. If you are going to invest in this environment, either absolutely know what you are doing, or invest to conserve principle (which at this point means pretty much only U. S. Treasuries, a bank savings account (under $100,000), or a CD. Be careful with Money Market Funds.
5. Don't waste your life worrying about your retirement funds (or lack thereof). Pour yourself into ministering to people (to immortal beings as C. S. Lewis put it) Matt 6.33-34.
6. Difficult times offer opportunities to preach the gospel. Look for opportunities!

On the Nature of Sin

I am pondering Ray Boltz's announcement that he has fully chosen a gay lifestyle. His most painful (to me) words are:

“This is what it really comes down to,” he says. “If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live. It’s not like God made me this way and he’ll send me to hell if I am who he created me to be … I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself.”

Just so. One wonders if Mr. Boltz would accept this sort of justification in his children for instance. "Dad, I know I'm not supposed to lie and steal, but the fact of the matter is that I have an uncontrollable urge to lie and steal. I can only conclude that God made me this way, and if he made me this way I'm going to live this way. I'm only being who God created me to be ( a liar and thief). I really feel closer to God being a liar and thief."

I know, sounds crazy doesn't it, but it's the natural outworking of Mr. Boltz's theology.

This is the nature of deep and abiding sin. I cannot control it, so I give in to it and call it "the way God made me," despite the clear biblical teaching that it is, well, sin. It's why Psalm 66.18 is so important.

The Christian's badge of belief is that he fights sin to his last breath. He does not give in to it when the struggle becomes too much. He keeps fighting. Fight sin!

Heart Idols and Discerning God's Will

I've been pondering Ezekiel 14.3 today. A comment from the Expositor's Bible Commentary on the verse got me thinking. The commentator said: This verse is important for those who come to Scripture seeking guidance. No true direction can be given to those who have erected idols in their hearts. This has profound ramifications for discerning God's will. If one comes to him with a heart given over to idols of whatever kind, any attempt to seek God's guidance will be disastrous.

What this means in a practical sense is that, with a heart full of idols, I can convince myself that what I want to do is God directing me. This is a dangerous place indeed and ought to give me pause to analyze very carefully my own heart. To do what I want and call it "God's will for me" is an affront to God and takes his glory and attempts to put it on me. Not good.

Salvation and God's Power

What does it mean today that the Lord is not constrained to save by many or by few (1 Samuel 14.6)? Surely it means the same as in Jonathan's day—God will fight our battles and will win for us, no matter if we are many or few, if it is in his will to win—but what is the application for us? We are not part of God's army doing God's work through physical battle. Does not Paul say that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6.10)?

I think the application here is to spiritual battles, whether that be a battle on a personal level, or whether it be on a social level, in other words the battle for another person's soul, or a spiritual battle in the church. God is fully capable of using one person or many persons to bring about spiritual victory in the lives of people whom we least expect to come to faith, or to be swayed by our arguments or efforts. Jonathan had a sign from God, we have the promises of God (in the Scriptures). God is the same. He is not constrained to save by many or by few.

Dark Night of the Soul

Dan Cummings who is a pastor in suburban Detroit has a nasty form of cancer, a life-threatening form of cancer. His latest blog post discusses the valley of the shadow of death through which he is walking:

C.S. Lewis in A Grief Observed expresses what so many, including me, experience in the dark night of the soul: “Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him…you will be—or so it feels—welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as [well] turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become.”

I have no answer for this, only humble silence. Lewis is correct of course and the life of the Psalmists generally support him (Psalms 42:3). Surely Joseph went through a dark night of the soul when he was thrown into prison by Potiphar with no hope of any help since the only people who knew he was in prison hated him. There is some solace in the fact that it is a common experience, that other's have gone through it, that when I experience it, I am not alone in the experience.

The Christian and Culture

Social critic Jacques Ellul issues a challenge we should heed: “The Christian has a prophetic mission to try to think before events become inevitable.” (Doug Groothius)

I've been pondering this issue some. I believe what Mr. Ellul meant was that we of all people should be thinking ahead about issues so that when we address them we speak prophetically. In some ways we have done this—abortion comes to mind—in other ways we have not. Take television for example, or cyberspace, or our addiction to entertainment. Have we really thought through the long term implications of giving ourselves over, night after night, to sitting in front of a box that projects electronic sounds and image at us? How does this affect the soul? Our interaction with our neighbors? Our own development?

We don't know because we've never given it any thought, and what affects us will affect the culture at large, only more so.

Solzhenitsyn on Sacrifice

This is an excerpt from Solzhenitsyn's Nobel Prize lecture. It is an astounding lecture.

The spirit of Munich has by no means retreated into the past; it was not merely a brief episode. I even venture to say that the spirit of Munich prevails in the Twentieth Century. The timid civilized world has found nothing with which to oppose the onslaught of a sudden revival of barefaced barbarity, other than concessions and smiles. The spirit of Munich is a sickness of the will of successful people, it is the daily condition of those who have given themselves up to the thirst after prosperity at any price, to material well-being as the chief goal of earthly existence. Such people - and there are many in today's world - elect passivity and retreat, just so as their accustomed life might drag on a bit longer, just so as not to step over the threshold of hardship today - and tomorrow, you'll see, it will all be all right. (But it will never be all right! The price of cowardice will only be evil; we shall reap courage and victory only when we dare to make sacrifices.)

He was, unfortunately, absolutely correct. Prosperity breeds inevitably a lack of will because all we want is to be comfortable, to avoid trouble. There are some things more important than my own personal peace. Or as Kevin Costner's character put it in Open Range: "There's things that gnaw at a man worse than dying."

Get Busy Living...or Get Busy Dying

I'm working on a novel and had cause to think about the movie The Shawshank Redemption during the latest chapter. I love the line where Red tells Andy (who is new to the prison),
"you can get busy living...or get busy dying." In other words, you can accept your circumstances and deal with them, or you can start dying today, and it will be a long and bitter death.

It's a good philosophy to live out. We can't choose much of our circumstances or of the events that come our way, but we can choose to accept them as they are and deal with them. One of the things I need to model for my kids is exactly what Red was saying in the movie. I need to model how to "get busy living" no matter what my particular circumstances.

OBTW, The Shawshank Redemption is a great movie.

Dark Knight

Yep, watched it. I actually thought it was a pretty good movie, mostly because it explored themes deeper than "how many buildings and vehicles can we blow up in one movie." The movie dialed down into the nature of good and evil and how good ought to confront evil. It also explored the morality of fighting evil with evil. Interesting.

While I don't agree with the way the movie worked out all these themes, it is nice to see a film that ponders meaning beyond simple entertainment, and Dark Knight to it's credit, did just that.

Oh, and Heath Ledger, despite all the hype, was incredible as The Joker. Sad to see such a wasted life. Too bad people won't learn from it.

More on Marriage

I had the privilege of speaking at the wedding of Josh Sawyer, one of the guys that Cherie and I have seen go all the way from 7-12 grade in the youth group (and then on to two years at NTM Bible school in Jackson). I labored over those 5 minutes, wording and rewording it again and again because I just couldn't get it "right." I ended up framing it around Roman 1.16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation for all who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

I wanted to communicate the cross-centered, Christ-exalting nature of marriage. In the process I got to think back over my own marriage and thank the Lord for Cherie and for 24 awesome years with her. God was very good to bring us together and very good to allow us these years of close companionship. I couldn't imagine life without her. I rely on her for advice and for comfort and as a sounding board, not to mention as my biking partner. Funny how the "I" of being single gave way to the "we" of marriage so easily. I've always compared living single with living married as going from like in black and white, to life in color.

Thanks beautiful!