Pickled Eggs

True Christian Compassion Part 2

2012-02-05T14:53:00.001-05:00

True Christian Compassion Part II

True Christian Compassion Part 1

2012-01-29T20:57:00.001-05:00

Playing with my Sunday School notes. Feel free to ignore.

True Christian Compassion Part I

Daily Encouragement

2011-11-13T17:02:00.000-05:00

Daily Encouragement

“…encourage one another daily”

Hebrews 3:13

Mark Twain has been credited (or charged) with saying “It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” If I look into my own heart, I have to admit that I too am sometimes bothered by what I do understand. The simple plain teaching of Scripture so often contradicts my life that I find myself bothered and forced to make irrational excuses to justify my disobedience.

Take the words at the top of this page for example. Here the author of Hebrews is giving a command to the people of God. In light of the challenges and trials associated with living the Christian life faithfully, he issues this order to help us along: “encourage one another daily.” It is neither complicated nor unreasonable.

If we were to break it down, we would see that these 4 words contain:

1. A clear command: Encourage. The word is neither foreign to our ears nor difficult to accomplish. Almost any kind word would qualify. He prescribes no set form or pattern to which this encouragement must comply. Great liberty is apparently allowed as to the manner in which we carry out this duty. Just encourage. Lift someone up, cheer them. Promote the welfare of another through some tangible medium of communication or activity. Encourage. Life is hard. The Christian life, lived well, is even harder. Therefore encourage.

2. A clear audience. The object of this command is very simple: “one another.” The author is telling Christians to encourage other Christians. The assumption is that there are believers whom you have access to in one way or another. This command was issued before modern communication technology was available. How much less of an excuse do we have today, when the opportunities to encourage another believer in Christ are almost unlimited due to postal services, telephones, computers and email. No doubt there is someone in your church who could use encouragement. Some missionary that could use a letter. A college student who wouldn’t mind some cookies. A shut in that would appreciate a visit or a call. A Pastor who might like to know you were actually listening. Encourage another Christian. Any Christian. Take your pick.

3. A clear frequency: Daily. The word is not complicated or obscure in the original. First century Christians would not have understood this differently than we do. It means every day. Once every 24 hours. Seven times a week. The context is not poetical and the language is not figurative. Encourage one another every single day. The words that follow this text make the point even more emphatic: “Encourage one another daily, while it is called Today.” The command means that every day, from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep, I ought to encourage (at least) one other Christian.

This command, therefore, really could not be made more clear:

· Encourage.

· Encourage another Christian.

· Encourage another Christian every single day.

Not rocket science. Pretty simple really. What’s not so simple is the answer to this question: Why don’t I do it? Why do I allow so many days to roll by without lifting my voice or directing my pen into the way of encouragement? I cannot claim this verse is too hard to understand. Like Mark Twain, maybe it is the very clarity of the command that bothers me so much. I squirm under the crushing weight of a clear and reasonable expectation from the Lord. How about you? Maybe it is just me.

I am making a plan to change this. That is, ultimately, what repentance is all about: changing. Repentance means making a plan to change some pattern of behavior from disobedience to obedience. I know a few Christians. I’m making a list. Does that seem too artificial? Too mechanical to qualify as obedience? Maybe it is somewhat artificial and mechanical. But I tend to think that mechanical obedience is safer than comfortable sin. And maybe, just maybe, this is the way we change.

A LIFE OF VALUE

2011-09-05T06:17:00.000-05:00

"And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.”"

1 Samuel 26:24

A Life of VALUE

Is there anything worse than feeling worthless? Have you ever felt as though your life was of no real value to anyone? Undoubtedly this is one of the most uncomfortable and devastating emotions we can experience. Maybe you have never struggled with this. Most, however, have known to some degree the pain, the tears and the crushing effect this feeling of worthlessness can produce. Industries aimed at alleviating these thoughts are both profuse and profitable. Everywhere we turn we find advertisements from chemistry to counseling which promise to restore a person’s sense of value and well-being. These have a place. I do not wish to undermine the sincere efforts or to minimize the serious suffering endured by those who benefit from them.

The verse at the top of this page got me thinking about what makes a life truly valuable. The words are those of David who had been fleeing for his life from King Saul. David had the chance to kill his enemy, but he would not do so. And when David had retreated to a safe distance he cried out these words to Saul: “...as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.” What David had done for Saul, in sparing him, he now desires the Lord to do for David. David valued Saul’s life. He calls upon the Lord to value his life.

From these words I draw this conclusion: there is such a thing as a life that is valuable to God. We find this taught elsewhere. The Lord, speaking of Israel, says “you shall be a special treasure (i.e. valuable) to Me above all people (Exodus 19:5).” Scripture speaks of a ‘precious’ life. “Since you were precious in My sight” said the Lord through Isaiah the prophet. Jeremiah speaks regretfully of a people who were once “valuable as fine gold (Lamentations 4:2).”

All of this, I suppose, raises the most important question in the world: Is my life valuable to God?

This verse from 1 Samuel 26 sheds some light on the subject. In this text I find some things that help me to understand what we might call: The Valuable Life.

I. First, the text implies that there is a difference between a life valued by men and a life valued by God. Notice David’s words. He did not say: “Saul, I valued your life. Now I want YOU to value my life.” Rather, he said (as it were): “Saul, I valued your life. Now I want the LORD to value my life.” There is a difference. It is one thing to have a life valued by men. It is another thing to have a life valued by God. We may be valued by men for many different reasons. Sometimes people value us simply because we are useful to them. Sometimes people value us because we provide them with security or pleasure. But God never values a man because He needs him. We cannot be “useful” to God in the same way we might be useful to our employer. Our value in God’s eyes is not based upon what we can do for God, but rather on what God is doing in us. Maybe we could put it this way: We become more valuable to God when God becomes more visible in us. There is, therefore, a vast difference between being “valuable” to men and being “valuable” to God.

II. Secondly, these words express to me this: : It is better to have a life valued by God than a life merely valued by men. David valued Saul’s life and spared it. But in return David looks for something more. David asks for a life that is valued by the Lord: “so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the LORD.” When is the last time you or I prayed that prayer? “Lord, more than anything else, grant me to live a life valued by You. Empty my world of those things that are worthless. Purge from all my plans what is profitless. Rid my soul of all that rubbish I too often relish. Lord, make me useful and valuable to You, regardless of what people may say. Father, what good is my life if it only charms the eyes of men but does not delight the eyes of my God?”

I write this as an encouragement to those who, in striving to be worth something to God, have felt they are worth nothing to this world. Paul knew this feeling. He writes to the Corinthians “we have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now (I Cor. 4:13).” Paul knew what it was like to feel “worthless” in the eyes of the world. But for him, being valuable to God was worth it. Christ Himself was rejected as worthless by the world. Peter writes of Christ: “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious (1 Peter 2:4).” Christian – you may feel at times utterly useless to the world – but you are “valued much in the eyes of the Lord.”

III. Finally, I think this verse tells us, in part, how to live a life that is valuable to God. Do you want to live such a life? Are you ready, if necessary, to make changes to the way you have lived so far? Are we ready to re-evaluate all of our priorities and goals so that right now it might be said of us: This life “is valued much in the eyes of the Lord?”

The verse concludes with these words, and I think they give some helpful direction: “and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.”

A. A life valued by God may be a difficult life to live. David speaks of “tribulation.” This means trouble. Maybe that isn’t what you wanted to hear. But for those trapped in troublesome trials you need to know that a life can be VERY valuable to God that is loaded with troubles on earth. Let me say that again. A life can be VERY valuable to God that is loaded with troubles on earth. David’s was. And that means you don’t need to wait for your troubles to go away before you become valuable to God.

B. A life valued by God looks steadily at the Lord for deliverance and help. David said “let Him deliver me.” Note: God doesn’t value our life by OUR strength, but by our dependence upon HIS strength. That is the truly valuable life. More than anything, that means first and foremost looking to Jesus Christ to deliver you from your sin. Let Him deliver me! Yes…yes…dear reader…let Him deliver you. No life is truly “valuable” to God that does not first look to Christ for deliverance. And then, having done so, a valuable life looks steadily and faithfully to Him for help. Are we ready to simply wait upon God in the midst of our problems? Too often our response is anger with God for our troubles, rather than humble submission to His purposes. A life valuable to God says “not my will but Thine be done.” What trial is in my life today, for which I need to trust God more for deliverance? The key to a truly valuable life is not worldly success but submission to God. When He wants, and not before then, let “Him deliver me.” That is what a Christian should say when confronted with trials and temptations: Let Him deliver me. When confronted with sorrow and loss: Let Him deliver me. When overwhelmed by temptations and defeat: Let Him deliver me. Christian, is that your cry and mine? Oh the value of that cry in the ears of the Lord! Full surrender and submission to the Lord in all things…that is a life “valued much in the eyes of the Lord.”

REASON 6 - JOHN 6: DOUBTERS ARE WELCOME!

2011-08-21T05:45:00.002-05:00

Today we arrive together at REASON 6 for studying John's Gospel, and especially to take advantage of the opportunity to hear preaching on this gospel at Immanuel Chapel in Upton, MA beginning on Sunday September 4, 2011 (11:00AM). As you will have noticed from previous posts, we are taking 1 reason for each chapter of John's Gospel.

Reason 6 – John 6: Doubters are Welcome

You'll have to read to the end to figure the picture out

Reason #6: Doubters are welcome. What? Are you saying I can read the Bible and come to church even if I’m not entirely sure any of this is true yet? Yes, yes I am. And the great proof of this fact is found in the Gospel of John chapter 6. Not sure about Jesus? Allow me to let you in on a little secret: neither were His disciples. And much of Jesus’ ministry was directed to teach them who He was. John chapter 6 might be entitled: Who Am I? That is what Jesus is trying to teach them, and teach us. That is what much of John’s Gospel is all about. Do you know who He is? Philip (a disciple) still wasn’t sure. So Jesus tested him about how they would feed 5,000 people. Jesus asked Philip a question: “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat? (John 6:5)” Philip answered: “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little (6:7).” Philip, you see, thought Jesus was asking an economic question. He reasoned: We can’t afford to feed this crowd! But Jesus was asking a theological question. Jesus was saying, as it were, “Philip – Who am I?” Jesus was addressing Philip’s doubts.

We see this again later in the same chapter. Our Savior, knowing their doubts, meets them right where they are at. This time it was in the middle of the sea. The disciples had been rowing hard and the wind was blowing against them. Things were looking bleak. “And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them (John 6:17).” Do you feel in the dark about spiritual things? As I said before – doubters are welcome. But Jesus didn’t leave them in the dark forever. Jesus came to them, walking on the water, and we are told “they were afraid.” And notice what Jesus says to them: “It is I, do not be afraid (John 6:20).” It is I! Jesus is saying – “Do you see? Do you understand who I am? Are you beginning to figure out who your Teacher really is?”

This chapter has good news for doubters. By the end it appears the disciples are starting to get it. When Jesus asks them if they too want to leave Him, they respond “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (John 6:68-69).” Amazing grace had overcome their doubting hearts.

A personal story and application: Yesterday I was out in a kayak on an unfamiliar lake. About 45 minutes into my paddling around the perimeter I could no longer see my starting point. The lake shore had many twists and turns (I’m told it actually used to be called “crooked lake” for that reason). I honestly wasn’t sure how long it would take to get back. But I knew if I kept paddling the shore line I would eventually get to where I started. And I did. Do you have doubts about religion, about Christ? Paddle the shore line of John’s Gospel with me. Let’s follow it together and see if it doesn’t bring us some answers we’ve been looking for. Don’t be like some in John 6 that gave up too quickly: “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more (John 6:66).” They stopped paddling the shore line. Friend, don’t give up just because of your doubts. Maybe as you round the final turn of this journey you too will say you have “come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

REASON 5 - JOHN 5: SPIRITUAL PRIORITIES

2011-08-20T06:41:00.000-05:00

"Do you want to be made well?"

John 5:6

I continue today with the 5th reason to study John's Gospel, and in particular, to come and hear a series of sermons preached on this book of the Bible beginning on Sunday September 4, 2011 at Immanuel Chapel.

Reason #5: Spiritual Priorities. Some time ago a little book was written entitled “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” The title was catchy – and picks up on our tragic preoccupation with relatively unimportant issues or problems. I suppose the flip side of that is equally true. While sweating over minor matters we often fail to deal with bigger problems or more serious concerns. We easily get our priorities out of balance.

The 5^th reason to study the Gospel of John is to focus our spiritual priorities. John 5 displays a contrast that we can all relate to. It is the contrast between “my rules” and “God’s rules.” It is the contrast between a life determined to do it “my way” and a life humbly prepared to do things “God’s way.” Let me try to explain this.

The “my ways” and “my rules” focus: In John 5 we find Jesus healing a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. But when the Jews saw it, rather than rejoicing, they said “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.” It is not lawful? Really? Whose law? The Lord had instituted the Sabbath Day (this was Saturday for the Jews) as a blessing and rest from 6 days of work. They were forbidden from conducting business on this day, including the importing and exporting of merchandise. But the carrying of a bed, particularly one from which you had just been delivered, was no sin. But many of the Jews of Jesus day, particularly the spiritual leaders, decided to create their own laws and doctrines, rather than the Lord’s. This whole approach ruined their reading of the Bible (the Old Testament at this point). Jesus said “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” They were so caught up in “their rules” and “their ways” they couldn’t see God standing before their very eyes.

“God’s rules” and “God’s Way:” Jesus presents a different priority. Listen to what He says in John 5:24 “Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” There is a lot in this little verse. But for now I just want to draw your attention to one statement: “not come into judgment.” In John 5 Jesus makes it clear that there is something far more important than our silly man-made rules about religion, namely, judgment. He spoke of this to the paralyzed man He healed when He said “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you (John 5:14).” What could be worse than 38 years in bed? The answer is clear: judgment. A few verses later John records Jesus saying that the Father has “committed all judgment to the Son (John 5:22).” A few more verses and He says it again, that Jesus has “authority to execute judgment (John 5:27).” And yet a few more verses and Jesus says in most sobering language that “the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth” and that some of these will be rising to the “resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28-29).” If our spiritual priorities do not take into account the reality and consequences of this judgment, then we are guilty of still doing religion with “our rules” and “our way.”

My friends, do you see the contrast presented in John 5? Do you want to go on living by “your rules” and “your way?” As we study John’s Gospel we are given a far better set of spiritual priorities than the ones we have been living by so far. As we read this Gospel, and especially as we listen to it preached (yep…I’m still trying to get you to come!) let us be willing to put our priorities before the Lord and evaluate them in the light of His Word. What is the most important thing in your life right now: money, success, friends, relationships, pleasures, parties, respect, healing, relief from trouble or trials? What will these things do for us on the Day of Judgment? These things will not help us in that Day if we do not have Jesus Christ. Many in Jesus’ day were not willing to believe in Him. He said “you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life (John 5:40).” What about you? Are you willing to come? Jesus Christ is a willing Savior, and ready to receive you today. Let me close by asking you the question Jesus asked of the paralyzed man, in a sense the most important question in the world: “Do you want to be made well?”

REASON 4 - JOHN 4 - COULD THIS BE THE CHRIST?

2011-08-18T05:27:00.000-05:00

“Come, see a Man who told me all that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”

Reason #4: In John chapter 4 we find a 4^th reason to study John. This series of encouragements have particularly been aimed at inviting you to sit under a series of sermons on John’s gospel to begin shortly at Immanuel Chapel on September 4, 2011. But they might equally be understood as a general encouragement to study this gospel. Solid, Biblical preaching is one of the best aids to the sincere study of any book in the Bible.

The fourth reason to study John is actually taken from the very mouth of a woman in John 4, the Samaritan Jesus met at the well.

Here it is: “Come, see a Man who told me all that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (John 4:29)

Notice:

1) This encouragement is to “come” and “see.” See for yourself. Friend, it is very likely you have heard a lot about Christianity. Your parents have, by word or example, given you their opinion. Your teachers have given you their perspectives. Your friends and the circle of people that surround you have some ideas about religion. No doubt the music you listen to, the books you read and the TV, movies and videos you have seen have all conveyed some impression of Christianity and of Jesus Christ. No doubt you have read of religious scandals and hypocrisies all carried out under the cloak of “Christianity.” You have, on the basis of all this various testimony, come to some conclusions. My word to you today is this: Come and see. See for yourself. Don’t rest solely upon the opinions you have formed so far. Inquire into the true nature of this “Man” called Jesus of Nazareth. Do not rely solely on those impressions which have been given to you by others. What have you got to lose?

2) This encouragement is not conditioned upon your worthiness or goodness. Notice what the woman at the well says to the people of her city “Come, see a Man who told me all that I ever did.” This woman was not a “likely” convert to Christianity (if we can put it that way). She is not someone who had her life “just right” before believing in Jesus Christ. She had 5 husbands before, and was currently living with a man who was not her husband. Her relationships were a mess. But more than that, this woman rightly perceived that Christ knew everything about her: “all that I ever did.” Jesus Christ is the only one who truly knows “all that I ever did.” He knows about the sins of your youth. He knows about the sinful patterns in your life and mine. He knows about those sins that are simply to shameful to mention. He knows. Yet He is the one who says to this woman, and to us, “if you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” Jesus used the idea of a never-ending supply of water to convey the fact that He was offering to her “everlasting life (John 4:14).” Friend, you don’t need to hide any longer. Jesus is a Savior who invites us to repent and believe in Him…BECAUSE He knows “all that I ever did.”

3) This encouragement may bring you to a surprising conclusion: “Could this be the Christ?” That is the real question that every soul born into this world must deal with. It is, in a sense, the whole reason that John wrote this gospel. Could this be the Christ? Could Jesus be the One? Look at His life, consider what He said, weigh in your heart of hearts what this Man did. Could Jesus Christ be the very Savior you have been looking for? Maybe you have been looking for help. Maybe you have given up all hope. Maybe you have begun to think life itself is not worth living any longer. This Samaritan woman got a new start on life through Christ. So did many in her city: “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him.” Maybe you will too. Friend, let me encourage you again, “come and see.”

Previous posts in this series:

Reason 1 - John 1

Reason 2 - John 2

Reason 3 - John 3

REASON 3 - JOHN 3

2011-08-16T05:34:00.000-05:00

You Must Be Born Again

REASON 1

REASON 2

Today I give to you my 3'rd encouragement to plan on attending this series of sermons on John's Gospel at Immanuel Chapel beginning Sunday September 4, 2011.

Reason #3: Our eternal destiny depends upon a new birth. This is a foreign concept to many of us. In this world virtually anything can be obtained by talent, time or money. Heaven, however, is not for sale. Admission cannot be bought by you or me. Naturally, we are all a bit like Nicodemus in John 3, and expect to gain entrance to heaven by good works, kind deeds and religious ceremonies. Or worse, we suppose that ultimately everyone gets to heaven, given enough time, in this life or the next. But Jesus says “you must be born again (John 3:7).”

Let me briefly remind you of Nicodemus’ advantages. We read of them in John 3:1 “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.”

Nicodemus was in a privileged position:

· He had a good name: “Nicodemus!” His name means “Conqueror of the people.” Wow. Impressive.

· He had the right parents: He was a “Jew!” He was born, therefore, with a great spiritual heritage.

· He had excellent training: He was a “Pharisee.” He was trained in the Scriptures and respected.

· He had significant power: He was a “ruler of the Jews.”

But neither a good name, nor good parents, nor religious training nor power were enough to save Nicodemus according to Jesus Christ. “You must be born again.”

Have you been born again? The Gospel of John does not allow us to place our hope for heaven anywhere but in Jesus Christ Himself. John 3 contains what may be the most famous verse in the Bible: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).” There are 2 things in this verse that are shocking. First – the extent of God’s love. He gave His Son for sinners! Being a father myself, I cannot fathom this. Second – the fact that many will miss it. Jesus said “the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil (John 3:19).”

I entreat you not to miss this series. But even more than that, I entreat you not to miss the love of God. In the end, it appears Nicodemus was conquered by the loving grace of God. At Jesus’ burial we find him there attending to the body of his Savior: “And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.” Dear reader – maybe now is the time for you to stop depending on your religion, your name or any process you have gone through – and turn in faith to Jesus Christ.

REASON 2 - JOHN 2

2011-08-15T05:41:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned yesterday, our church in Upton, MA (Immanuel Chapel OPC) will begin a series of sermons on the Gospel of John on Sunday September 4, 2011. Our worship service begins at 11:00AM.

Can you come? To help persuade you, I am writing a short series of...well...let's call them "encouragements." Reasons to come.

Yesterday I gave you my first reason, drawing on John chapter 1.

Today I give you reason #2, from John 2:

CASTIGLIONE, Giovanni Benedetto

Reason #2: Come hear preaching on John’s Gospel and be confronted with a Man who thought worship was important. Warning: this Jesus may shock you. In John 2 Jesus confronts the religious merchandisers of the day. He made a “whip of cords” and using this on the animals[1] being offered for sale He “drove them all out of the temple (John 2:15).” Returning, He then “poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables.” Really? Jesus? Gentle and mild Jesus? Why would He do such a thing? I think John Calvin was right, “to restore the worship of God to its integrity.” Worship matters. The way we worship says something about the God we worship. Our views of worship probably say something about our view of God. We cannot have a high view of God and a low view of worship.

And this is a relevant issue today. We are, I believe, a religiously-saturated but worship-starved generation. We are all, to some degree, like those hypocrites in John 2 who enter God’s house merely “doing business (2:14).” For some, the “business” is entertainment. For others the “business” is their icons or tradition. For many the “business” is simply satisfying our pride that "we do worship right.” But God isn’t really interested in our business when it comes to His worship. And like the temple-tradesmen we are shocked when Jesus Christ “overturns the tables” of our ideas about worshipping God. Much of our worship, and I include myself in this critique, could be summed up by Proverbs 30:12 “There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness.” No, we don’t go to a “temple” to worship today. Rather, we bring our “temples” with us. “You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you (I Cor. 3:16).” But these temples need cleansing too.

True worship is, fundamentally, heart-worship. John 2 ends with these words about Christ: “He knew what was in man.” God knows what is in your heart and mine…right now. He knows the excuses in our hearts that keep us from really worshipping Him. He knows why we are trying to hold Him at a distance and avoid dealing closely with Christ. “He knew what was in man.” Reader, what is in your heart? As we prayerfully listen to these sermons from the gospel of John, let us ask God together to deal with our hearts. And if we are going to worship God aright we must begin by receiving Christ Himself. Let Him do the purifying work that we need. Don’t try to cleanse the temple of your heart yourself. Let Jesus come in with His whip and drive out our sin and guilt and shame. That is why, ultimately, He came. That is the purpose of the cross. Christ died for sinners. Receive Him. Only then will we truly be able to begin to worship God.

[1] Some question exists as to whether Jesus used the whip on the animals only, or also on the people involved. Although I have no doubt these merchandisers fully deserved a good whipping (dont' we all?)…I am presently persuaded that He used the whip on the animals.

21 Days...21 Reasons

2011-08-14T14:28:00.001-05:00

21 Days

21 Reasons to Come

21 Chapters

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

On Sunday September 4 2011 at 11:00AM at Immanuel Chapel in Upton, MA Pastor Mark Marquis will begin a series of sermons on the Gospel of John.

That’s 21 days from today.

I therefore want to encourage all my nearby friends and acquaintances that are not otherwise committed to a local church, to consider coming to hear this series of messages. Listening to solid, Biblical preaching through a book of the Bible is one of the best ways to begin to understand the Bible and its contents. It is free. It is only an hour. It may change your life.

But if those aren’t enough reasons, allow me to add a few more. Taking a verse or thought from each of the 21 chapters of John, I would like to give you 21 more reasons to plan on attending this series of sermons.

Reason #1: Your life is not God-centered enough. Neither is mine. Seriously. Take an honest assessment of your life right now. Are you as close to God as you ought to be? Does something of the Divine Presence attend your every action? Are you so filled with God’s Spirit that the aroma of Christ sweetens the very atmosphere around you? I, for one, am not there yet. What we need is to draw near to the Lord. And that is precisely what John calls us to.

The Gospel of John teaches us to draw near to God, because it presents a God who draws near to us. In John’s Gospel…God draws near. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 2, 14).” John’s Gospel simply does not allow us to hold God at a comfortable distance. The true God is a God who comes close to us, sometimes painfully close. John is saying to us “You, yes you, can know God…and here He is…allow me to introduce you…here is Jesus Christ.”

In a sense, all of my problems stem from 1 fundamental problem: I really don’t know God. Others have apparently come to a similar conclusion. A famous 19^th century preacher in London, Dr. Martyn-Lloyd Jones, once said this near the beginning of his series of sermons on the gospel of John:

"Do you know what is the matter with us? I will tell you. We, none of us, really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ! The trouble with all of us is that we do not know enough about him. So John says: "The thing you need above everything is to be brought to this knowledge of him - who he is, what he has done, and what he has made possible for us."

My life is not God-centered enough. It is not Christ-centered enough. Far too often it is “self” centered, “sin” centered or just “stuff” centered. But a Christian is “Savior” centered. That’s what I want to be. And that then is my first reason why you should plan to come and hear this series. Tune in tomorrow for reason #2.

Responding to the Unexpected Things in Life

2011-07-31T07:41:00.001-05:00

“…who was I that I could withstand God?”

Acts 11:17b

Responding to Unexpected Things in Life

I think one of the hardest parts about being a Christian is learning to cope with an unpredictable and incomprehensible God. Now, before I go any further, let me explain. I don’t mean to say God is inconsistent. The Lord is consistent. He never changes in His fundamental character and purpose. Nor do I mean that God cannot be known. He wants to be known, and this is a part of the reason He sent His Son. But rather, what I am getting at is the inescapable fact that we often can’t figure God out. Providence seems more and more unpredictable, the older I get.

Take the trials that come our way. Maybe it is just the uniquely ugly and sinful character of my own heart, but is not part of the difficulty in bearing trials bound up in the fact that we cannot usually figure them out? The hardworking Christian father loses his job, while the seemingly more careless employee gets promoted. The prayerful and diligent believing mother watches her children walk away from the faith, while others around her appear to embrace Christ from the womb. The Christian single, cautious over his or her purity, struggles to find a suitable spouse while a rather flirtatious and less modest friend plans her wedding. The diligent pastor labors prayerfully and watches the church dwindle while the less scrupulous shepherd enjoys a growing flock and a generous raise. One could go on. And add to all this the usual tendency to believe that our trials are harder than those endured by others, and it is not hard to see how Christians get discouraged. Never been there? Well, I’m glad for you. But I have been there more times than I care to admit. It is not pretty or flattering, but it is true.

But in meditating a bit on Peter’s words at the top of this page, I have found some help. Peter had learned to trust God, even when he couldn’t understand God. The encouraging thing here to me is this: Peter wasn’t always like this. Remember when Jesus began to teach about His death? Peter objected. It didn’t make sense to him. The cross was not a part of Peter’s plan for Christ. But the cross was a part of Christ’s plan for Peter. And so Peter was firmly rebuked. Remember when Jesus washed His disciples’ feet? Again, Peter objected. Peter thought, or so it seems, “this is not what God does, this does not fit my ‘formula’ for God, this cannot be right.” Once again, Peter was wrong. Finally, picture Peter and the rest of the disciples staring up into the sky as Christ ascends in Acts 1. The angel had to snap them out of it with these words: “Why do you stand gazing up into heaven?” I can imagine what Peter was thinking: “No…no…this is not right, this is not part of my plan, and this is not the way I saw this working out!”

Now, in all these things, and many more I suppose, it seems as if the Lord was telling Peter “Peter, stop trying to figure Me out…just trust Me.” And by the time we get to Acts 11, it appears that Peter has learned the lesson. Once again, God did the unexpected. The Lord poured out the Holy Spirit upon the Gentiles. Peter, who had probably grown up believing that God Himself was Jewish, now saw the saving gospel of Jesus Christ blossoming in the hearts of the unclean Gentiles. We would expect Peter to, once again, object strongly. But rather what we find is this: “Who was I that I could withstand God.” Grace had changed Peter. Grace had taught Peter to trust without questioning. Grace had strengthened Peter’s faith to trust in a Savior who sometimes worked in ways he could not comprehend.

I take these words and apply them to my own trials, struggles and burdens. I want to learn by faith what Peter learned. I want to humbly submit to the Lord’s purposes in my life, even when they make no sense to me. More than that, I want to glorify God through these unpredictable and incomprehensible events. That is what happened for Peter. We read in the verses following his words: "When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God…” Can I glorify a Savior who often does things in my life that puzzle me? Yes, by grace I can. And yes, by grace you can. “Who am I that I could withstand God?”

What I did on my 14,975th day...

2011-05-19T21:36:00.002-05:00

Today I turned 41.

According to THIS SITE that means I have lived 14,975 days.

Calculated out that means I have also lived...

359,400 hours or
21,564,000 minutes or
1,293,840,000 seconds

Sheesh. No wonder I'm tired.

Anyway....this is what my 14,975th day looked like:

5:00AM ....I got up!

Fed "Sponge" our Cat (I think my birthday wish is to be HIM for a day!). Here he is sleeping in a basket of laundry:

Made some COFFEE (Ahhh...French Vanilla...a favorite)!!!

5:30AM-6:30AM Prayer, Reading...

This year I have been using Robert Murray M'Cheyne's daily Bible reading plan. In addition, I usually begin with a devotional reading, which happens to be George Whitefield at the moment. Also, I try to read a section or two from the OPC book of church order every day. Portions of this book were updated in 2011, and I need to familiarize myself with it. I also spent a little time looking again at C.S. Lewis' book, The Great Divorce, as I hope to start up our discussion group on this book shortly. Below is my messy desk/table down in my office (aka the basement).

7:00AM or thereabouts...I began my work day. I work from home for Fingertip Formulary.

My daughter Kathryn (who, along with Joshua, are homeschooled) under the close supervision of my dear wife Bonnie, made me some cinnamon toast and fruit salad for a "Happy Birthday" breakfast!

I continued working. I didn't take a day off for my birthday. Poor me. LOL.

Joshua brought me down a couple pictures he drew for me. Apparently the big one is a monster. This was a relief, as I thought it was ME at first. He told me the monster wants to eat us, but I think he looks rather friendly.

I paused for a short time to finalize and sign a contract for getting our septic system repaired. Good 'ole Title V! Yes, a septic system that is working just fine...BUT...apparently falls below 2011 standards. Thankfully there is a pretty decent tax credit for the replacement...so that takes a "little" of the pain away. I solicited quotes for 6 contractors. I went with the best quote. Today he gets his first payment. Talk about literally "flushing" away your money....

For those of you who have town sewer...and have no idea what a septic system is...good for you!! But here is a basic sketch:

12:00 Noon - Lunch Break. Off to the gym. I have been running for the past 4 weeks. Please don't ask me if I have lost any weight. It is a bit depressing. I start to exercise...and my basal metabolism goes to zero. Really. I'm serious.

1:30PM - Back to work researching authorization criteria for DPP-4 inhibitors and discussing the clinical categories appropriate for some newer oral contraceptives. Sounds fun, huh?

5:00PM - Got word that Joshua's AA baseball game for the evening is cancelled due to the rain. Bad news for Joshua. BUT....that means we can go "out" for my birthday dinner. I get to pick the place. And yes...it will be 5 GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES!!!! There goes all my running down the drain...

5:30PM - Done with "work" for the day. Ahhhhh.

6:00PM - Off to 5 Guys Burgers & Fries!! Bonnie, Evan, Sarah, Kathryn, Joshua and I jump into the van and head to Worcester.

7:30PM - Back home. My family now insists that I open presents. They are so kind to me. Little do they know that, next to my Savior, they themselves are the most precious gifts I have ever received.

Below is what they gave me. In case you are wondering, the series of books in the middle is the 4 Volume set entitled "The Christian's Reasonable Service" by Wilhelmus à Brakel (1635-1711). Bonnie knows I have had my eye on this set for some time. I am really eager to begin working on it. The "Dad" letter is a poem written by my daughter Sarah. I scan it and paste it in below.

8:00PM - My brother calls from Michigan. His whole dear family sang "Happy Birthday" to me over the phone. We are so much looking forward to seeing Aaron, Lisa and all their kids in a few weeks. I also got calls from my parents and my wonderful in-laws as well.

8:15PM - 10:00PM

Watching the Boston Bruins at Tampa game 3 Eastern Conference Finals with Evan and Joshua.

And it couldn't be "birthday" without a chocolate cake (home made by Bonnie of course!).

And thus my birthday comes to a close. I wonder what I'll do on day 14,976?

Here is the poem from my daughter Sarah:

"But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord."

1 Corinthians 15:57

Of Blue Lights and Gasoline

2011-05-18T06:25:00.002-05:00

A TRUE Short Story about Nothing...

Or Everything

It was about 9:30PM and the speedometer on my Tundra traveled west as I slowed down approaching the Route 146 off ramp for Central Turnpike. As I approached the end of the ramp I observed that the vehicle before me maneuvered carefully around an inconvenient obstacle and exited the highway. That obstacle was a car. Inside the car was a man. I wondered about the wisdom and propriety of his chosen place to park. Then I noticed his flashing emergency lights. As I pulled up along the unfortunate fellow I rolled down my window. “Need a hand?” I said.

Before I go any further with my story you should probably be aware of the amusing absurdity of such an offer of help from me. I know almost nothing about cars. If this gentleman had pulled over because of a headache, and had paused to ponder the appropriate dosage of ibuprofen for his pain, then possibly I could be of assistance. If he was thumbing through his Bible looking for the book of Jonah I could probably offer my aid. But car trouble? Well, I suppose I could offer to call AAA.

Anyway, back to my story. As I leaned out the window into the starry night, he answered my inquiry with 5 words even a non-mechanic such as I could understand: “I ran out of gas.” Ugghh. Been there, done that. Poor guy. And unfortunately this exit had no service station for fuel. “Can I help?” I asked the stranded stranger. “It’s okay,” he replied, “I called a friend and he is bringing me some gas.” I offered to assist him get his vehicle to the side of the road. “Not necessary,” he said, “I’m a moose.” And as he exited the vehicle and began pushing his car he did in fact prove to be quite a sizeable fellow. “Alright” I responded and began to pull away as a number of cars were beginning to stack up behind me.

But as this stranger and his car grew smaller in my rear view mirror it suddenly occurred to me that his “friend” might be travelling from quite a distance to offer his aid. What if his “friend” was coming from Providence, Boston or Harford? Sure, he would get his gas, but only after a prolonged and possibly uncomfortable interval of time. I decided I would go home, grab our 5 gallon gas can, and return to help if he were still around. And so I did.

In less than 10 minutes me, my truck, and my gas can were returning to the site where I had left him. And there he was: still sitting, still waiting. I pulled over, grabbed the can, and approached my friend. As he exited the driver’s side of his car and approached me he exclaimed, very naturally and joyfully, “wow, you returned, what a blessing.” A blessing? Really? Not exactly the reaction I expected. So I responded that the Lord had blessed me very much and that it was a privilege to help him. “Oh, He’s blessed me too” the man replied. “That’s great,” I said “are you Christian?” “Why yes I am” he returned. And thus we began our conversation. We talked while his thirsty little vehicle drank down the 2 gallons of gas that my can had to offer. He told me about himself. He lost his vision in 1 eye a year ago while in an accident. He still suffered much discomfort and felt somewhat guilty about the continued need for pain killers. “I would rather just be healed by the Great Physician” he said. I reminded him that sometimes God gives healing…but sometimes God gives medicine instead. Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” came to mind.

As the gas can emptied this stranger and friend invited me to a men’s meeting at his church on Saturday. And while I explained that I had to work my words were suddenly surrounded by flashings of light. Beams of blues and reds bathed the landscape. A police officer had arrived. It suddenly occurred to me that any further roadside fellowship was probably finished. “Do you need anything else” I asked. “No” he said “and thanks.” The encounter was over. The moonlight and cool silence of the evening escorted me peacefully across the ramp and toward my truck. But while I was walking back a commanding voice from within the cruiser sliced through the evening air. “You know” came to authoritative and arid announcement “that’s why they put gas gauges in cars!” The Law had spoken: cold, harsh, merciless and true. With those unsympathetic words still echoing in my mind, I drove home.

Later I thought about the incident. I felt bad for my friend, whose name I never even obtained, who struggles with pain and was blind in one eye. But I think I felt worse for the officer. Maybe he was just having a bad day. Maybe his last interaction was still weighing heavily on his mind. Whatever the reason, it seemed to me this public servant was actually, for that moment, more blind than the other. He was blinder because he could only see an inconvenience, not an opportunity. He was blinder because he seemed to only see faults and failure, not faces and their frustrations. Sure, he was doing his job. And that is all he was doing. I wonder how many times I have done the same. Probably far more often than I care to admit. I think there is likely to be something of that officer’s comment in all our hearts.

What about the Law of God? There is something, on the surface of it, cold and harsh as well. God’s standard is holiness, perfection and righteousness. My life is unholy, imperfect and defiled. God does not lower His standard for sinners like me. My best efforts are stained with sin. “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” the prophet said (Isaiah 64:6). The preacher in Ecclesiastes summed up human nature quite well: "For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20).”

So then what is my only hope? John puts it this way: "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." We are all, spiritually speaking, out of gas. We are all dead on the side of the road; hopeless and helpless. And then He came. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." But Christ didn’t come with a can of gas. He came to bring us a whole new car. That old car won’t do. It will run out of gas again and again. Dear reader, stop trying to fill your old car with the gas of good works and religious tradition. What you need, what I need, is not more fuel…but merciful forgiveness. And this is offered to you in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.

And so that is my story. It is true. Maybe it is a story about nothing. Maybe it is a story about everything. I suppose it all depends on what you chose to do with it. What will you do?

HOW ARE YOU? "BUSY........."

2011-05-02T16:20:00.000-05:00

How ARE You? "Busy…"

Is it just me, or has the standard answer to the question “How are you?” become almost universally this single word reply: “Busy.” I confess to frequently using this or some similar remark myself.

Maybe it is just the area of the country I live in. Maybe it is just the particular stage of life I am at, or the circle of friends that I have. I would be interested to know if this response is merely my imagination or if, indeed, the “busy” answer has become the truly standard and acceptable response.

But as I ruminate over this rejoinder, I am beginning to wonder about it. What, exactly, does it mean? What does “busy” really tell me about how my companion is? Is it positive? Is it negative? Are they happy? Are they sad? What does it mean to say I am “busy?”

The answer to these questions is critical if one is to formulate and adequate response to this statement. I say “how are you?” You say “busy.” What now? What is my next line? Where, precisely, does this declaration of “busyness” take the conversation? I wonder….

Is sympathy appropriate?

“Oh, I’m so sorry, how long have you known about this?”
“Really? I had no idea...we’ll have to put this on the prayer chain!”
“Don’t lose hope, soon we’ll all be in heaven with nothing to do.”

Or are congratulations in order?

“Fantastic! Great! Glad to hear it! I envy you!”

“I just knew you could do it! All that hard work finally paid off. You have arrived. You are busy.”

“Rejoicing with you dear brother in your blessed busyness!”

You see, I am really struggling over the proper answer. What does “busy” really mean? And how is one supposed to respond?

I don’t think so meanly of my companion as to presume this is some sort of boast. “Ha…I’m busy…TOP THAT!” No, I don’t suppose that is the thinking. When I myself have given the “busy” reply, I don’t believe I was really bragging about it.

Maybe it is a sort pre-emptive defense tactic. The assumption is that “How are you?” is just a clever way of asking for a favor which inevitably will intrude upon my precious time. And so, this skillful reply is designed to ward off that possibility by securely enclosing the defender inside the formidable walls of “busyness.” Whatever you plan on asking me to do, don’t bother…you see…I’m busy.

Or maybe it is just a sort of unconscious excuse. A sort of blanket cover we have created to soften any accountability for forgotten events or commitments. If my life seems in disarray, the grass is overgrown, the laundry in piles and the children unruly...well...you have to understand: “I’m busy.” Thus, it appears, the lovely word “busy” is suitable to cover a multitude of sins.

But sometimes, unless my ears deceive me, it truly sounds like a cry for help. There is something about being so “busy” that doesn’t quite sit well with our souls. There is the faint echo of regret, the soft sigh of sadness in this “busyness” of ours. And the reply, “I’m busy,” carries something of a confessional tone. We don’t, really, want to be so busy. Our lives are often regrettably filled with mounds of the mundane and only very rare specks of significance. We are busy. It is almost like a disease. We would like to find a cure, but don’t really believe that one exists; at least not for me.

It is, therefore, to the “busy” that I would like to address a few words of comfort and encouragement. I do not have any quick fix for your situation. I offer no prescription that will suddenly alleviate all the stress and pressure our “busy” lives have created. But maybe, just maybe, I can suggest a new way to think about being busy. Consider with me, therefore, a few simple observations from Scripture, and particularly from the life of Jesus Christ.

1. Jesus was busy too. Very busy. We never read that He had time for hobbies. He never took a week-long vacation. He never, so far as we know, read a book purely for pleasure. There is no record of Him ever playing a game. Of course, no modern conveniences by way of transportation were available to Him either. He walked everywhere. What did an average day for Jesus look like? The gospel of Mark gives us a glimpse in the opening chapter. It was the Sabbath: a day of “rest,” right? But we are told “immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.” No sleeping in till noon time and reading the Saturday newspaper. And clearly this teaching was not some anemic presentation of dusty doctrines. “He taught them as one having authority (Mark 1:21).” There was clearly an intensity and vigor to His method. But then, having taught, surely He could expect some repose. Right? No. A demon possessed man came crying out into the synagogue. Jesus immediately rebukes the demon and delivers the man. “Be quiet and come out of him (Mark 1:25)” He said. Next Jesus had a lunch invitation. A rest? Hardly. He was surrounded by disciples “Simon and Andrew, with James and John” who surely would be looking for more instruction from their Teacher. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick, and “they told Him about her at once (Mark 1:31).” He heals her. And she serves them. But then, finally, evening comes and perhaps our Lord can take a break from this day of “rest.” Wrong again. “At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon possessed. And the whole city was gathered together at the door (Mark 1:32-33).” And so our Lord spends a long evening ministering to the sick and needy. And finally He sleeps. But even that doesn’t last long. For Mark tells us that “in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place, and there He prayed (Mark 1:35).” Welcome to a day in the life of Jesus Christ. And that was a day of rest! Imagine what the other days were like. Jesus was busy.

2. Jesus got tired too. Maybe we are tempted to think that, although Jesus was busy, He was “God” and therefore had a bit more going for Him than we do. But such thinking betrays an incomplete view of His nature. Jesus was fully God. But Jesus was also fully man. And Jesus endured every weakness associated with humanity, apart from sin. Therefore, He got tired. He needed rest just like you and I. Getting up early was no easier for Him than for us. There is an interesting account in the gospels in which Jesus is on a boat with His disciples. A storm arose. The boat was being tossed. Winds were threatening and rocking the ship. Where was Jesus? “He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow (Mark 4:38).” Why was He sleeping? Was it because He had such a “peace” about Him that the storm didn’t bother Him? Have you ever tried sleeping in such circumstances? I suggest from the context of Christ’s ministry that there is a simple explanation for His sleep: He was exhausted! Only the sheer exhaustion of constant ministry and labor could explain His sleeping at this time.

Every temptation, therefore, associated with being busy and tired…Jesus endured. When we get tired, we are tempted to be discouraged. When we get tired, we are tempted to be angry, and are often easily provoked. When we get tired we are tempted to complain even about the smallest inconveniences. When we get tired, we are tempted to blame others for the stress and pressures we feel. When we are tired, we are sometimes tempted to simply give up. Jesus endured, in His humanity, every temptation associated with a busy schedule and the resulting exhaustion. "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15)

3. Busy and tired Christians must turn to Christ and look to Him for help. In the midst of our busy schedules and exhausting demands there is always the temptation to seek unbiblical or inadequate solutions. Some will indulge secret sins, justifying them because their uniquely busy and demanding schedule somehow justifies their occasional disobedience. Others grow cold, hard, withdrawn and unsympathetic toward others under the weight of their own self-pity and bitterness. But there is a better way. There is a way to deal with your present busy and stressful life that does not undermine your relationship with the Lord and your fellowship with others. That way begins by looking at Jesus Christ.

Looking to Christ will help us, as Christians, realize several important things:

First, realize that those who pour their lives out in serving others will likely, as Christ, be busy people. Did you expect something different? Did you think that the new priorities in your life to love God and love your neighbor would somehow make your life less busy? A full schedule, even an exhausting schedule as our Lord often endured, does not necessarily mean that something is wrong. It may mean, quite to the contrary, that you are doing exactly what God expects. Denying yourself sufficient sleep, exercise and nourishment is a recipe for both physical and spiritual disaster. I do not want to be misunderstood as promoting a style of life or ministry lacks adequate and necessary times of refreshing. But maintaining a schedule that is full, that offers few if any opportunities for leisure time or luxuries may very well be the plan of God for you right now. Our culture suggests that if your life isn’t decorated with frequent vacations, spa trips, entertainments and social events that somehow you have missed out on the best things of life. If so, then virtually every servant of God in Scripture seems to have missed out on life as well. Listen to these words of Christ. I know of no other phrase of Christ repeated 6 times in the gospels. It is found once in every gospel. Matthew and Luke record it twice, at different times. Sometimes the form is slightly altered. But here it is: "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it (Luke 9:24).” Meditate upon this. Consider it when you look at your schedule and literally do not see a spare hour anywhere in your foreseeable future. As you pour out your own life into the lives of those around you, remember Jesus’ words “whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”

Second, realize in looking to Christ, that busy and tired Christians can maintain communion with God. Fellowship with God is not ultimately dictated by our day-timer. Rather, fellowship with God flows from a heart that longs for Him. Psalm 82 is a Psalm that speaks of the joys of fellowship with God. It speaks of how “blessed are those who dwell in Your house (vs. 4)” and “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God (vs. 10).” But where does this communion with God, of which the Psalmist speaks, come from? A leisurely schedule? Hours of free time? A life of minimal responsibilities? No. Communion with God starts with the heart: "My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God (Psalm 84:2).” Jesus was busy. But in the midst of being busy and tired He always maintained perfect fellowship with His Father. He rose early to pray to His Father (Mark 1:35) and sometimes prayed through the night (Luke 6:12). He was always doing the will of His Father (John 5:30). He displayed the Father to His disciples (John 17:6). In fact, He said, “I am My Father are one (John 10:30).” Christ maintained fellowship with God. Busy Christians can maintain fellowship with God. And this is sure because Christ Himself now dwells in those who trust Him by His Spirit.

Third, realize that there is a spiritual rest offered in Christ that is not diminished even though we find ourselves busy and tired. Jesus speaks of it. He said "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).” Those who have been united to Christ through faith have true spiritual rest. We have the rest of freedom from sin. No longer are we held captive by sin or in slavery to sin. We have the rest of forgiveness. All our sin and guilt has been dealt with once and for all at the cross. And we have the rest of the future. The author of Hebrews puts it this way "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9).”

I close with a word to those who are busy, tired, but also unsaved. I ask you: What is your busy life leading to? Where is all your busyness getting you? Are you putting off the greatest priority, your eternal soul, because you are simply too busy to concern yourself with that right now? Dear friend, look at your schedule closely. Do you realize that nothing written there is guaranteed? You or I may not live to see the very next item on our agendas. I have yet to meet someone who scheduled death into their day timer. But yet it happens. It will happen to me, and it will happen to you. And then what will be next? What will all your busyness have achieved for you? God said to the busy man in Jesus’ parable: “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided (Luke 12:20)?” I, therefore, urge you not to delay dealing with Christ another moment.

What's So GOOD About Friday?

2011-04-17T21:12:00.001-05:00

Good Friday. It's the Friday before Easter Sunday, commemorating the day on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Various religious celebrations associated with this day have arisen over the years within the Christian church. Good Friday is called “good” either because of the more ancient definition of “good” which meant “holy” or because it was considered a more reverent way to speak of what was really signified, namely “God’s Friday.”

The point of this brief article is not to discuss this history of Good Friday within Christianity, nor to debate the usefulness of various traditions associated with this day. The question I want to consider, and the question I think we all must in some way answer, is this: what is so GOOD about it? Why is what happened on the cross a good thing? Why should something so seemingly horrible be called holy? Why celebrate an event so overtly unjust, callous and cruel? What’s so GOOD about Friday?

First, what happened on that Friday was GOOD because God planned it. Although those immediately associated with Christ’s death were motivated by their own sinful and selfish desires, nevertheless, Jesus’ death on the Cross was God’s plan. His death was the reason why Jesus, the eternal Son of God, became a man in the first place. Jesus' death was God's plan. Jesus explained it this way to His disciples:

"Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again (Luke 18:31-33)."

Jesus described His death as a part of what had been previously foretold: “all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.” And all the way through the gospels the death of Christ was portrayed as the great purpose of His coming.

John the baptizer called Jesus “the Lamb of God (John 1:29).” God's Lamb...God's plan. A lamb was killed, sacrificed, in the great Jewish celebration of the Passover. Jesus prepared His disciples for this plan, though they did not really understand it. We read in Mark 8:31 "And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again." The Old Testament prophets proclaimed this plan. Isaiah wrote over 700 years before the birth of Christ these words about Him “Because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many (Isaiah 53:12).” And all this was God’s good plan. Luke writes in Acts 2:23: "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death.” This was all done by the “determined purpose and foreknowledge of God.” The cross was not an unforeseen accident. The cross is not a cruel tragedy. The cross was no mistake. Good Friday is good because God planned it. Everything that God plans is good.

A quote to consider: “From all eternity God had predestined every detail of that event of all events [the cross]. Nothing was left to chance or the caprice of man. God had decreed when and where and how His blessed Son was to die… Not a thing occurred except as God had ordained, and all that He had ordained took place exactly as He purposed.” – AW Pink (1886 – 1952)

Second, what happened on Good Friday was GOOD because we needed it. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross was and is our only hope for salvation. We are sinners, all of us. Each one of us has enough sin to merit eternal punishment. The only reason we think otherwise is because we measure ourselves by a corrupted standard. But God measures us by the only righteous standard: His own. And according to that standard, we fall miserably short. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” We may not like it when a doctor tells us we have some disease. Yet it is true, whether we chose to believe it or not. The same is true for God’s diagnosis of mankind. "Every one of them has turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, No, not one (Psalm 53:3).” The Lord knows better than we do the condition of our own hearts. He says in Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Good Friday is Good Medicine for our souls. We needed it.

According to God’s Word then, we are all “debtors.” Our sins are like money we have stolen from God and cannot repay. Every day we live this debt grows larger. Every falling short of holiness puts us further in the hole. You, according to Romans 2:5, “…in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God (Romans 2:5).”

We therefore needed a substitute to pay our debt. We needed Someone to stand in our place. That is what happened on the cross. That is why it was “good.” God planned the cross, and Christ submitted to the cross, to pay the price for our sins. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).” The price we owed was offered by Christ. “He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5).” Good Friday was good because the cross was exactly what sinners like us needed.

A quote to consider: "When men talk of a little hell, it is because they think they have only a little sin, and believe in a little Saviour; it is all little together. But when you get a great sense of sin, you want a great Saviour, and feel that, if you do not have Him, you will fall into a great destruction, and suffer a great punishment at the hands of the great God.." –C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

Third, what happened on Good Friday was GOOD because it is offered to you. Jesus Christ invites you to receive the benefits of His sacrifice through faith in Him. The good news, the gospel, is about what Jesus Christ has accomplished to deliver us from our sins and the consequences of sin. And you can have it. "Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:6-7).” Good Friday is Grace Friday. The day is a grand declaration of grace to sinners. The cross is God’s love language to man. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).”

The cross is the reason for the good news. And the resurrection confirms it. Christ rose from the dead to declare, amongst other things, that His sacrifice was accepted, His death was sufficient, and His work was done. Friday was good. And Sunday was even greater. And now Christ reigns as Lord of all. "For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living." (Romans 14:9)

Dear reader, everything of any lasting value comes to you because of what happened on Good Friday. But nothing that happened on Good Friday will help you if you will not believe. How many Good Fridays have come and gone that have not been “good” for you? Will you let another Good Friday go by? Another Easter Sunday? "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul (Mark 8:36)?”

A quote to consider: “If Christ had not gone to the cross and suffered in our stead, the just for the unjust, there would not have been a spark of hope for us. There would have been a mighty gulf between ourselves and God, which no man ever could have passed.” –JC Ryle (1816 – 1900)

Rob Bell & Love Wins - A Book Review

2011-03-24T09:45:00.004-05:00

Rob Bell &

Love Wins

A Book Review

The Apostate: “Ah, Dick, I shall never forget some of our talks. I expect you’ve changed your views a bit since then. You became rather narrow-minded towards the end of your life: but no doubt you’ve broadened out again.”

Dick: “How do you mean?”

The Apostate: “Well, it’s rather obvious by now, isn’t it, that you weren’t quite right. Why, my dear boy, you were beginning to believe in a literal Heaven and Hell!”

I just finished reading Love Wins by Rob Bell. He is the pastor of the Mars Hill church in Grandville, MI.

Soon after finishing it I couldn’t help recall the above quoted section from C.S. Lewis’ classic story: The Great Divorce. The Apostate Bishop had just come from Hell (the “grey town”) into Heaven, but still could not be convinced of the reality of the place where he had been. “Ah, I see” said the Bishop “you mean that the grey town with its continual hope of morning (we must all live by hope, must we not?), with its field for indefinite progress, is, in a sense, Heaven, if only we have eyes to see it? That is a beautiful idea.”

No literal Heaven or Hell? Hell and Heaven really the same place, just different perspectives?

Lewis…are you serious? Would anyone actually suggest this?

Fast forward about 60 years: in walks Rob Bell and Love Wins. As Bell tries to explain heaven and hell from the parable of the Prodigal son he writes “In this story heaven and hell are within each other, intertwined, interwoven, bumping up against each other (p. 170).” A little later on and he will write: “The only thing left to do is trust. Everybody is already at the party. Heaven and hell, here, now, around us, upon us, within us (p. 190).”

Rob Bell, like the Apostate Bishop, rejects the idea of hell as a literal place of eternal punishment. Hell, he says, simply expresses “very real consequences we experience when we reject the good and true and beautiful life that God has for us (p. 93).” [There is a strange and sad irony in this, because Bell actually recommends The Great Divorce for "further reading" on the subject of Hell. Lewis, however, did not write The Great Divorce to teach about the nature of Hell (as Bell seems to believe) but rather about the Danger of Apostacy (amongst other things) which Bell apparently missed.]

But although Rob Bell’s view on Hell has gotten a lot of attention, his book primarily revolves around 3 shocking and radical suggestions. Bell, however, wants us to believe he is not teaching or proposing anything new. He says: “I haven’t come up with a radical new teaching that’s any kind of departure from what’s been said an untold number of times. That’s the beauty of the historic, orthodox Christian faith (p. x).”

Here are, in my opinion, the 3 radical and unbiblical views that Rob Bell is promoting in Love Wins:

1) Those dying in deliberate and conscious unbelief still have the possibility to be saved after death. Rob Bell leaves open the door for all men to turn to God at any time in the future. “At the heart of this perspective is the belief that, given enough time, everybody will turn to God and find themselves in the joy and peace of God’s presence (p. 107).” He even tries to snatch an endorsement from Martin Luther for this position. But of course to do so he has to pull the quote out of context, and hopes…I suppose…no one will call him on it. Well, some did. And for a good explanation feel free to read Carl Trueman’s excellent response.

Bell frequently quotes “restoration” verses, implying they argue against eternal punishment: “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely for my anger has turned away from them (Hosea 14, p. 86).” Therefore, Bell writes, “when we read ‘eternal punishment’ it is important that we don’t read categories and concepts into a phrase that aren’t there. Jesus isn’t talking about forever as we think of forever (p. 92).”

Reading Rob Bell reminds me of a quote from Orwell’s 1984, as the author of the “Newspeak” dictionary said “it is a wonderful thing, the destruction of words.”

Dear reader: the Bible teaches that mankind does not have a “second chance” after death. "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment," (Hebrews 9:27) Jesus' sobering parable of the 10 Virgin’s depicts the sad and final state of those who wait too long “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’" (Matthew 25:11-12) Reader, right now is given to you the opportunity, if you haven’t done so, to confess your sins to God and believe in Jesus Christ His Son to save you. Jesus Christ died on the cross as a substitute for sinners. He is the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Do not delay: "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31)

2) Other non-Christian religions are equally valid as ways of salvation. Christ will save them, even where He is not “named” as such. Bell builds this argument primarily in chapter 6, entitled “There are Rocks Everywhere.” Just as the "rock" in the Old Testament produced "life giving" water was actually "Christ" (though not named as such in the Old Testament itself), so other religions may be "saving" people even where Christ is not seen or spoken of as the source of life. He knows this will make Christian readers uncomfortable. He admits this. He says “As soon as the door is opened to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Baptists from Cleveland, many Christians become very uneasy (p. 155).”

But didn’t Jesus say that He alone was the way? “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” Sure, says Bell, this is true. He then proceeds to work his double speak again. He goes into vague and obscure language about “exclusivity on the other side of inclusivity (p. 155).” He develops odd definitions of the church so that it can embrace all faiths of all people: “A church is a community of people who enact specific rituals and create specific experiences to keep this word alive in their own hearts, a gathering of believers who help provide language and symbols and experiences for this mystery (p. 156).”

Dear reader, do not think that any can be saved apart from faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible says "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”" (Acts 4:12)

The world has always hated the "exclusivity" of the Christian faith. Rob Bell attempts to take the edge off exclusivity. He provides a Christianity that will not offend. But the trade off is a Christianity that cannot save.

Philip Ryken in his book “Is Jesus the Only Way” once wrote some words that readers of Bell should weigh heavily “Authentic, biblical Christianity has always been an exclusive religion. This became apparent during the Roman Empire. When the Emperor Alexander Severus heard about Christianity, he placed an image of Christ beside the other gods in his private chapel, just to be safe. The Romans were happy to welcome Jesus into their pantheon. What the Romans couldn’t understand was why Christians refused to reciprocate. If the emperor was willing to worship Christ, why weren’t Christians willing to worship the emperor? Yet the early Christians insisted that in order to worship Christ at all, they had to worship Christ alone. They were even willing to stand up for this conviction by playing “Christians and lions” at the Colosseum (p. 10-11).”

3) Eventually everyone will be saved (he couches this one carefully, but really it is the whole idea behind the title "Love Wins"). He argues that "God gets what He wants." God wants all to be saved. Therefore...well...you figure it out.

Bell frequently tries to make his position sound well within the boundaries of Biblical Christianity throughout the centuries. For example, “And so, beginning with the early church, there is a long tradition of Christians who believe that God will ultimately restore everything and everybody (p. 107).” He fails, however, to provide any real evidence to support this.

Bell creates straw men to build his case for the ultimate reconciliation of all people. He says things like “Could God say to someone truly humbled, broken, and desperate for reconciliation, ‘Sorry, too late?’ (p. 108)” It never seems to occur to Rob to ask if hell actually has any “truly humbled” and “broken” souls.

Dear reader, the most important issue in the world is not whether "everyone" will be saved. The question is this: Will you be saved? Consider these words of Jesus Christ: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves." (Matthew 7:13-15)

One Final Thought:

Maybe you are asking: Where did Bell go wrong? How did someone who probably started well end up so far out in left field? The answer, I think, is sprinkled throughout this book. Lurking behind Bell’s radical departures in these 3 key areas is a woefully inadequate and unbiblical view of sin. Our sins, even the worst of them, simply couldn’t (according to Bell) merit eternal punishment. Several times in the book Bell raises questions like this one “Does God punish people for thousands of years with infinite, eternal torment for things they did in their few finite years of life (p. 2)?” Again he writes of the supposed injustice of people “suffering infinitely for the finite sins they committed in the few years they spent on earth (p. 102).” Throughout the book Bell seems to only see sin with respect to the inconveniences it causes us, and the sad consequences it brings into our lives. There is nothing of the supreme offensiveness of sin to a holy God.

This low view of sin ultimately poisons, in my opinion, the rest of his theology. When we dilute the significance of sin we must, consequently, dilute the response of God as well. The significance of the cross is lost. And in this dilution, a totally different God is created. One more tame, one more safe, one less bothered by sin, one…more like ourselves. That is the real and final consequence of Mr. Bell’s book. He has created a new god. A god that will not punish sin. A god that has no wrath. A god that is not a “consuming fire.” Listen to what Bell says “Let’s be very clear, then: we do not need to be rescued from God (p. 182).” That is a very different God than the one depicted in the Bible as Judge of all the earth.

Bell thinks he has given us a better God. In reality, his god is worse. The true magnificence of God's love can only be understood in contrast with the severity of sin and the rightful punishment it deserves. Take away the wrath of God and you lose the love of God as well.

"...among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),"
Ephesians 2:3-5

Love Wins is NOT the good news.

Christ Wins IS the good news for all who believe and trust in Him alone for salvation.

"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39)

FAITH AND FEAR

2011-03-03T17:38:00.000-05:00

Faith and Fear

When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and observed the overthrow of the Egyptian army by the Lord, we read of their fear and faith. "Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD…." (Exodus 14:31)

Nehemiah speaks of Hananiah the leader as “a faithful man and feared God more than many.” (Nehemiah 7:2)

Noah, also, had both faith and fear. The author of Hebrews says "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark..." (Hebrews 11:7)

In thinking about the importance of both Faith and Fear this morning, I noticed that in my own life I am far more likely to ask the Lord for faith than for fear. A trial arrives and up goes my cry “Lord, increase my faith.” Doubts darken my heart and once again I plead with the Lord “increase my faith.” Temptations come like fiery darts and up again the prayer “Faith…I need more faith.”

While not diminishing the great need I have for more faith, I wonder if I have forgotten about the importance of growing in Godly fear. “The fear of the Lord is” we are told “the beginning of wisdom.” It is a “fountain of life” according to Proverbs (14:27). It was central to the growth of the church (Acts 9:31). Those men and women of God in Scripture, who seemed to serve Him best, also seemed to fear Him most. Noah (Hebrews 11:7), Abraham (Gen. 22:12), the midwives in Egypt (Exodus 1:17), Job (Job 1:1), Isaiah (Isaiah 6), and especially Christ Himself (Heb. 5:7).

And so, today, although I will continue to pray for more faith, I will also pray for more fear. A fear of God that will deepen my reverence and awe for His majesty. A fear of God that will weaken the grip of sin in my soul. A fear of God that provokes a holy watchfulness in my Christian walk. A fear that deepens my worship and love for God. A fear of God that puts His commandments before my convenience. A fear that stirs me to be a more loving husband, godly father and helpful friend. A fear that, above all, serves to mold me more and more into the image of my Savior Jesus Christ.

Dear Father, please grant my soul a more fearful faith and a more faithful fear.

"Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD."

Psalm 34:11

WHY THIS WASTE?

2011-01-26T22:13:00.000-05:00

“Why This Waste?”

Matthew 26:8

I was reading in Matthew chapter 26 this morning. You know the experience. There you are going through a passage that you must have read dozens of times before. You think to yourself, “yep…been here, read that.” Your eyes glide across the page, but are frankly not expecting anything to penetrate your heart. And then…unexpectedly…something strikes you. A text jumps off the page and pokes you in the eye.

I sat and stared. The passage was the familiar story of the anointing of Jesus’ head with the expensive perfume by the unnamed woman in the house of Simon the leper. I say “unnamed” as she is not given a name in Matthew 26 or Mark 14. A similar incident is recorded in John 12 when Jesus is anointed by Mary, the brother of Lazarus, but it is possible this was a separate anointing altogether. Her expensive gift, however, became the subject of severe criticism by some.

But in my mind, it was only Judas who objected to this display of loving extravagance bestowed upon Christ. Judas is specifically identified in John’s account. "But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”" (John 12:4-5)

I guess Judas’ indignation made sense to me. He never had any true love for Christ. He was a thief. He had no true appreciation for the great work of redemption, no true love for the kingdom of God and no personal interest in the Savior of souls. Maybe that is why this passage in Matthew 26 surprised me. In this account, and in this anointing, we read: "But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?" (Matthew 26:8)

When His disciples saw it! Whether this was a different anointing or not, the fact is that Jesus’ other disciples, His true followers and His sincere sheep did not appreciate the beauty and love of this gift bestowed generously upon the precious head of Jesus Christ. In fact, they called it a waste. “Why this waste?”

And this nailed me. It was the "Christians" who were complaining. This got me thinking. How easy it is to justify time and money spent on material things. How generous I am, even extravagant, in the hours devoted to pleasures, hobbies and personal interests. But so stingy I become when it has to do with pursuing spiritual interests! It is as though, with respect to these matters, my greedy and selfish heart cries out “why this waste?” “Hours” spent easily on me. “Seconds” painfully parted with when spent upon others. Worst of all, my sinful heart actually tries to justify these pitiful priorities, not unlike the disciples when they cried "For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”" (Matthew 26:9)

We are greatly mistaken when we think it is only unbelievers who have misplaced spiritual priorities. Disciples can sometimes be deluded. God gives us His precious Word, but we neglect it. What? Actually invest serious time and energy into heart-searching study of the Scirptures? Why this waste? God gives us unlimited access to Him in prayer, but we avoid it. What? Set aside a block of time from our already over-scheduled lives for communion with our Creator? Why this waste? God gives us churches, but we don’t appreciate them. What? Actually invest some energy into loving others outside my immediate family circle? Why this waste? God gives us pastors, but we typically don’t value them. What? Thank the Lord and treat with honor and respect and generosity those entrusted with the care of our immortal souls? Why this waste? Above all, we have been given Christ Himself, as Savior and Lord…but how rarely do we seek Him and strive to please and obey Him! What? Pour into the pursuit of Christ resources which might be spent on me or my children? Why this waste?

Why this waste? When I look back soberly over much of what I have poured my time and efforts into through the past 40 years...that is really the question I am left with: why this waste? Hours wasted that cannot be regained. Energies wasted that should have been spent loving Christ and loving others. And all the feeble excuses and arguments I have used to try and justify my unbelief. Why this waste? That good woman’s perfume was not wasted. Not a drop was lost. And in the end, the only thing wasted will be the moments spent in sin and selfishness. Christ did not consider His own blood “wasted” when He bled and died for sinners like you and I. Dear reader, let us not consider our lives “wasted” if spent entirely and exclusively for Him.

My New Year's Resolution

2011-01-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

“God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth.”

Genesis 1:17

O my soul. What wonders do the skies contain! The sun in all its fiery majesty, the moon in all its silent beauty, the stars in all their vast dominion invite our finite minds to behold a bit of infinity. They existed before our birth - all births - and they observe our brief lives until the day they shed light upon our graves. And yet for all their grandeur and ancient wisdom God constructed them for service: “to give light on the earth.”

There is a lesson to be learned from these lights. Greatness is not measured by the number of servants we have. Greatness is measured by the number of people we serve. The greatest souls have always been the greatest servants. This is what Jesus taught. “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant (Matthew 23:11).” Oh that I might learn from the Heavenly Academy this lesson in Celestial Humility!

J. Gresham Machen (1881 – 1937) seemed to know this. I read a brief account of his life today, written by a man who may be the last living student who sat under this theological giant. Few have ascended to Machen’s level in Biblical scholarship and insight. But those close to him remember most his humble service and love toward his students. He opened his home and table to their fellowship. He opened his wallet and gave liberally to provide meaningful times together, even taking his students to football games and fine restaurants. “Don’t be a tightwad” he would whimsically chide his pupils. He would host a “checker club” in his apartment, a time for games and snacks and mixing with the young seminarians. His greatness was demonstrated in service.

The supreme example of greatness exemplified in service is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is the greatest heavenly Light, the “Sun of Righteousness” arising with “healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2).” Though He was God, He “made Himself of no reputation, taking on the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7).” No greater service has ever been rendered on earth. The blood of Christ has done more good to more souls than we will ever fully know in this life. The hymnist put it well:

“When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glaring sun,
When we stand with Christ in glory,
Looking o'er life's finished story,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know -
Not till then - how much I owe.”

What about you, o my soul? As 2011 stands here before you…what goals have you set, what plans have you made, what resolutions have you written? Maybe the focus I should have is that lesson learned from the sun and stars, learned from men like Machen, and learned most fully from Christ Himself. "Give light on the earth." Set thy soul on service! Help more, give more, love more, assist more, pray more in this coming year than ever before. This is my resolution…so help me God!

DEAR 2010

2010-12-21T12:46:00.002-05:00

DEAR 2010

“Also He has put eternity in their hearts…”

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Dear 2010,

I’m not exactly sure how to say this. Maybe there is no easy way. No, please don’t interrupt. I guess I just need to come out with it: darling…we’re through, it’s over. The time has come for us to say goodbye. It isn’t working out, and I need to move on. I know at times it seemed like there was some hope for us. For a little while I thought we could work things out. But we can’t. And there is no use in pretending any more.

Yes, it really is over. Of course you knew this was coming. Don’t pretend you didn’t see it. We’ve been drifting apart for months now. I know you felt it too. In fact, our relationship was doomed from the start. It was never going to work out. We were…well…incompatible. What? You thought I would change? But don’t you see; that is just the problem. I was always changing, and you never were. I need to keep changing too. This, I hope, is just the beginning. You, however, will always be the same: cold, still, lifeless. This relationship has been a bit like prison for me, and I just need to escape.

So if you are looking for some closure, here it is. I am writing this letter to say goodbye. You will not hear from me again. What was done; was done. What was said; was said. We can’t change that. We can’t go back. There is really no sense in going on about it. I really need to move on with my life. Please don’t take this personally. It is really more about me than about you. What? Yes, I do recall the good times. We had some laughs for sure. But the fact is that you and I were always moving in opposite directions.

And, well, I have a confession too. You see…there is someone else. No, it’s not 2011. Sure she is full of mystery and intrigue, a bit younger too. There is always that measure of excitement that comes with the uncertainty of a new year. But that’s not it. It’s…well…Eternity has taken hold of my heart. That’s right; I’m trading you in for an older model! I simply cannot settle for weeks and months and years any longer. Not since the change. I need more than moments. All days leave me somewhat dreary. The four Seasons are now a sort of stockade to my soul. Why settle for carpé diem when I can carpé aeternitatem instead?

I must be going now. No hard feelings? The fact is that, regretfully, you will never be short of suitors. Hundreds give you their hearts every day. Thousands trade away eternity in exchange for the fragile trinkets of time. Their lives are scribbled away in their schedules. Days and weeks are their gods and goddesses. They are children of Cronus. The calendar is their creed. Today is all they have. Like fools we run our fingers through the sand while immortality is offered to our souls. Like drowning men we clutch for the frayed rope of days and hours. All the while the Everlasting Arms are stretching out ready to embrace us. Reader, you have been invited to the Feast of Forever. Stop trying to satisfy your soul with the crumbs which fall from the Table of Time. Hear Him who is both Beginning and End, and who says to us: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Our Spiritual Nativity

2010-12-07T22:20:00.000-05:00

Our Spiritual Nativity

“Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan…”

Ezekiel 16:3

Our word “nativity” has roots which linger back many centuries into the history of our language. We may trace it back in time to the Old French nativité, meaning “birth” or to the Latin “nativus,” meaning “born.” “Nativity,” according to standard and modern usage, refers to the process, place or circumstances of a birth. It is then, first, a biographical term. Thus our Southern friends from the Volunteer State sing accurately, and with forgivable partiality, “Oh, Tennessee, my Tennessee, thy hills and vales are fair to see…the land of my nativity.” In due time, however, the word ‘nativity’ came to signify more specifically the birth of Jesus Christ. When so used we typically capitalize the word Nativity to indicate this sacred and special use. Once a year in late December Christians commemorate this Holy birth with Nativity sermons, Nativity scenes and Nativity songs. And well we should.

There is, however, another important nativity that we as Christians sometimes tragically forget. The nativity to which I refer is our own spiritual nativity. Not our personal Christian heritage or tradition, but rather the true spiritual origins of our relationship with God Himself. What were our “beginnings” with respect to our fellowship with the One True and Living God? It is this nativity to which the Lord refers, when speaking to His people through Ezekiel the prophet, saying “your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan.” God reminds them, as it were, of the spiritual sewer from whence they came. Jerusalem, and by extension her inhabitants, had a shameful and sordid past. “Thou hast” writes Matthew Henry upon this text “from the very first, the spirit and disposition of a Canaanite.” Ezekiel was to expose their “abominations” by unveiling Jerusalem’s ancestry: “Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite (Ezekiel 16:3).” The city of David had once been a culture of death. If the old mountains and ancient trees around Jerusalem could talk, they would, like Able’s ground, cry out of guilt and blood.

This, we must see, is the ‘beginning’ or ‘nativity’ of every Christian. Every spiritual child of Abraham must remember that “your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan.” No matter how many generations of faith we might trace, here is our nativity: you “were dead in trespasses and sins…and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others (Ephesians 2:1, 3).” Our spiritual ‘Bethlehem’ is the City of Destruction. The wax tablet of our nature enters this world notched and etched with sin already. We are all born spiritually upside down, in un-uprightness, if you will. The pedigree of our hearts is full-blooded ‘heathen’. Interestingly, early usage of the word “nativity” signified especially one who was born a slave. That is precisely the way Scripture describes us: slaves of sin. Thus coming into the world undone, we were also entirely unable to help ourselves. Paul describes this aspect of our spiritual nativity with these words “when we were still without strength (Romans 5:6).” Finally, we not only came into this world unable, but we were un-pitied as well. “No eye pitied you (Ezekiel 16:5)” said the prophet.

How then shall we apply this principle of our Spiritual Nativity?

First, remember it is only against the ghastly backdrop of our nativity that The Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ truly stands out. This is the contrast that moves this Season from sentimental to simply staggering. He came for me?! Really? The wonder of Christmas is not only that God became man, but that God became man for me! Our nativity points to our depravity. Christ’s Nativity points to His humility.

Second, this consideration of our own spiritual nativity ought to change the way we think of ourselves. Remember, Christian, where you came from. “But we are all like an unclean thing (Isaiah 64:6).” Paul warns each one “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think (Romans 12:3).” We entered this world with Canaanite blood streaming through our spiritual veins. Put away that foolish pride! We have nothing of which to boast.

Third, our spiritual nativity reminds us that God can produce Christians out of Canaan. With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. This is what He did for Jerusalem. “When I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, Live!...and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful (Ezekiel 6:6-7).” Reader, wherever you are right now…God can save you. You may think yourself the worst of sinners, but He stands ready to redeem you. He will wash away your sins and bestow upon you the splendor of His grace in Jesus Christ. He did so for His people in Jerusalem: “My splendor which I had bestowed on you (Ezekiel 6:14).” He will do so for you. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

Finally, my beloved friend, beware of turning back from this grace that has been given you. The ungrateful inhabitants of Jerusalem turned back, and Ezekiel had to come to them with “Woe, woe to you! (Ezekiel 16:23)” Peter’s warning is both severe and necessary “For if they, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning (2 Peter 2:20).” Remember your Spiritual Nativity…and don’t go back!

FIRE PROOF

2010-11-14T08:44:00.000-05:00

Fire Proof

“…and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power”

Daniel 3:27

Great fires take only a small spark to get going. Once begun, it spreads rapidly and destroys completely. Sin is like fire. Sometimes the very smallest temptation is all that is needed to set it ablaze. Before long it has destroyed all we valued. “See how great a forest a little fire kindles” says James (James 3:5). We cannot escape the fires of temptation in this world. Even the monastic life, as Luther discovered, is no protection from those sparks of sin we carry about in our flesh. How much harder however, for those who must trade and travel in the streets of Sodom, to remain unharmed by the flames and untouched by the fire. Lack of success in resisting and conquering sin brings discouragement, depression and doubt. A Christian may wonder if there is any hope of escape. The fire is so hot and always so near.

It may be therefore somewhat surprising to read of these 3 friends of Daniel, upon whom “the fire had no power.” It was no ordinary fire either. The flames were fueled not merely to injure these fellows, but to incinerate them. Nebuchadnezzar ordered it 7 times hotter than normal. The soldiers who bound them and brought them to the furnace were themselves burned to death by the blaze. Hell itself, as it were, took up residence for a few moments in this province of Babylon. All that is evil, all that sets itself up against God, all hatred, envy, murder, strife and the like came with unrestrained appetite to devour these holy men. And yet, for all this, “the fire had no power.”

Oh my soul, if ever the grace of God at work in the hearts of man was seen, here it is. Let us give glory to this God of all grace and inquire after the true source of their survival. By what means did the Lord preserve these Israelites from the wrath of Hell? And how may you and I also escape both the scorching flames of sin in this life, and the eternal flames of judgment in the next? Let us look closely, though briefly, at Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego and ask the Lord to open our eyes that we might see.

The first thing I see is men who would not negotiate the praise of God. Even upon the threat of death for not bowing to worship the sacred image they would not surrender their devotion to God. God’s glory was not on the bargaining table, if you will. Thus they said to the king “we have no need to answer you in this matter.” That is, our minds are made up, our intentions are firm: we will serve the Lord. Oh my soul…when the flaming fires of temptation surround you, can you say with these men that you have “no need to answer.” The question has already been settled long ago. Is my heart so committed to Christ’s glory that I refuse even to negotiate with sin?

The second thing I see is a faith that is fully persuaded of the power of God. Sin looks strong. Satan looks strong. Hell looks strong. But these 3 men knew of a power that was greater than all these. “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace.” Oh my soul, how much need do I have to meditate on and consider deeply the infinite power of the God we serve. When sin seems strong, and the Devil flexes his muscles of malice toward us, and the forces of the enemy seem to surround us…remember the sovereign power of God Almighty. “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).”

The third thing I see is men fully at peace with the providence of God. They will not argue with the Lord’s plan for them, even if that plan involves a fiery furnace. The Lord could deliver them they knew full well. “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” A great defense against the fires of temptation is a humble submission to the will of God. This was Job’s defense. “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Dear reader, are you afraid that if you forsake that beloved sin you will die? Can you not bear the thought of life without that precious ornament of Hell? Then die. Cut it off; pluck it out, even if you must lose your life in doing so. Jesus said “he who loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 10:39).” Die to sin and live to God. That is the ultimate submission of true faith to the perfect plan of God. Well spoke the hymnist who wrote:

Whate’re my God ordains is right:
Though now this cup in drinking,
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it all unshrinking.” (Samuel Rodigast, 1676)

Finally we find in these men the blessed presence of the Son of God. These 3 alone, it seemed, stood up to this wretched king and his treacherous demand. These 3 alone, it seemed, stood their ground while all of Babylon bowed. These 3 alone, it seemed, were cast into the fatal fire. These 3 alone, it seemed, would suffer a fearful demise. But were they, Oh my soul, ever alone? Consider what this king did see: “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” The great reason for their victory was the effective presence and protection of Christ Himself. None are safe without Him, but all are safe who come to Him in faith. Do remember, dear reader, the presence of Christ in the midst of your own fiery trial! “I will never leave you nor forsake you” He said. This promise has not expired, and will never expire, through all eternity for those who love Him.

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine...when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you."

Isaiah 43:1-2

BETTER LEFT BROKEN

2010-10-25T07:11:00.000-05:00

Better Left Broken

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise."

Psalm 51:17

God fixes things. Is He fixing you? Right from the beginning of the world He has been about setting things right. Adam was created first, without a wife, and the Lord said “it is not good that man should be alone, I will make him a helper (Genesis 2:18).” But our God’s grace in restoring and repairing is displayed even more vividly after man fell into sin. Our relationship with God was ruined by our rebellion. But God through Christ has undertaken to repair this by the Cross for all who believe: “For He Himself is our peace.” Where ruining sin abounded, restoring grace abounded much more. The whole of heaven and earth are even now awaiting this Divine Repair. God fixes things. It is, in fact, His name: “and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to dwell in (Isaiah 58:12).”

The Scriptures, however, speak of one broken thing which God will not try to fix. Everywhere else He makes gracious provision for repair. But here alone He, as it were, restrains His very nature and leaves this thing broken. He is pleased, if you will, by its brokenness. This thing, dear reader, is a broken heart. So says the Psalmist: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart – these, O God, you will not despise (Psalm 51:17).” A broken heart in man is a great delight to God. He draws near when He finds it. “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart…(Psalm 34:18)” He who gives sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, strength to the lame and even life to the dead…comes to this broken heart and says, as it were, “ah…better, much better, if this is left broken.” A broken heart is a beautiful thing to the eyes of God.

But what exactly is a broken heart? What do the Scriptures mean by a broken heart? How can I know if I indeed have a broken heart? These questions come to my mind. I suppose there are many more. At best we can scratch the surface of this important truth. But the answers to these questions should get us driving in the right direction.

A broken heart is, first of all, a sin-sick heart. A broken heart is broken under the weight and reality of its own sin. The holy law of God stands in righteous judgment over this heart that knows it is a sinner. “God be merciful to me a sinner” is the cry of a broken heart. This heart no longer seeks to justify sin. This heart no longer seeks to excuse its sin. This broken heart sheds holy tears of sorrow and godly repentance over his sin. Reader, does your own sin sicken you and sadden your soul? Does your heart cry, like Paul, “Oh wretched man that I am?” That, I believe, is a sign of a broken heart. God loves this broken heart because it is He, by His Spirit, who broke it. Charles Spurgeon, that great London Baptist preacher of the 19th century, said this in a sermon about the work of God’s Spirit in the heart of man: “The Holy Spirit lays bare his heart, lets him see the loathsome cancer that is there eating away his life, uncovers to him all the blackness and defilement of that sink of hell, the human heart, and then the man stands aghast.” A broken heart is a sin-sick heart. Have you, dear reader, stood aghast at the sight of your sin? If not, then I fear you have not a broken heart.

A broken heart is, secondly, a sin-slain heart. Knowledge of his sin and misery has left him helpless and hopeless of saving himself. He that has a broken heart knows he can do nothing to please God. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” He is, as Paul says to the Ephesians, “dead in trespasses and sins.” Reader, has your own sin crushed you and killed you? Or, in your own mind, is it not so bad as that. Every sin has death written on it. “The wages of sin is death.” Do you believe the words of this old and wise confession “All people are conceived in sin and are born children of wrath, unfit for any saving good, inclined to evil, dead in their sins, and slaves to sin; without the grace of the regenerating Holy Spirit they are neither willing nor able to return to God, to reform their distorted nature, or even to dispose themselves to such reform?” A broken heart is a sin-slain heart. This heart sings, with the hymnist, “nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.” A broken heart has given up all hopes of saving itself. Reader, do you believe this? If not, then I suspect you have not a broken heart.

A broken heart is, thirdly, a sin-surrendering heart. It longs to be rid of sin. “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” A broken heart longs for heaven, longs for God, longs for Christ. A broken heart wants be rid of all the remnants of sin within, “earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven (2 Cor. 5:4).” Dear reader, are you ready to leave every sin this very moment? The broken heart is like Moses who chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin…for he looked to the reward (Heb. 11:25).” The broken heart says, with Augustine, “Lord, save me from that wicked man, myself!” Do you desire to be saved from yourself, your sin, your corruption, and all your evil desires? If not, dear reader, you have not a broken heart.

Finally, a broken heart rests in the only Savior for sinners, Jesus Christ. Broken hearts come to Jesus Christ. They say, with the Psalmist “My flesh and my heart fail me, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73:26).” My dear reader, if you are seeking to deal with your sin in any other way than coming to Christ, you have not a broken heart. It must be said of you, as Peter said to Sorcerer, “your heart is not right in the sight of God (Acts 8:21).” . Believe this: Jesus Christ only dwells in broken hearts. A broken heart is the closest thing to heaven on earth. God dwells there. “But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word (Isaiah 66:2).” Listen to these words of the Puritan pastor Thomas Watson: "Faith lives in a broken heart. 'He cried out with tears, Lord, I believe.' True faith is always in a heart bruised for sin. They, therefore, whose hearts were never touched for sin, have no faith. If a physician should tell us there was a herb that would help us against all infections, but it always grows in a watery place; if we should see a herb like it in colour, leaf, smell, blossom, but growing upon a rock, we should conclude that it was the wrong herb. So saving faith always grows in a heart humbled for sin, in a weeping eye and a tearful conscience." God loves a broken heart. It is, in fact, the one thing that is better left broken.

10 TIPS FOR NEW CHRISTIANS

2010-09-02T06:00:00.003-05:00

10 TIPS FOR NEW CHRISTIANS

“I have been young, and now am old…”

Psalm 37:25a

I don’t know how old David was when he penned those words above. Somewhere “over the hill” I suppose. Clearly he was mature enough to have gathered some experience and wisdom in the things of this life. "I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread." David’s age and personal experience lend weight to his argument and appeal. Time can be a great tutor. We instinctively trust those whose thoughtful teaching is drawn from the deep well of a long life. The observations of those who are older are like road maps handed down to the younger in the journey of life. Rejecting the good advice of older folks can be ruinous. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, went astray when he “rejected the advice that the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him (1 Kings 12:8).”

I gather from this that the experiences and observations of older Christians can and should be passed along to those who are younger in the faith. King David is saying in this Psalm, as it were, “allow me tell you what I’ve seen.” Those who have walked with the Lord longer should have something helpful to pass along to those that find themselves nearer the beginning of this path. Jesus seemed to have a special love for children. He gathered them around Himself saying “let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them.” Christians should love every believer, but especially those whose faith is young or newly born. Hence John, pouring forth loving counsel in his first epistle, in 5 short chapters does 9 times specifically address the “little children.”

I have been a Christian myself for just over 20 years. By some standards I’m still in the “young” category. Frankly, I still have much to learn and much more to grow. I certainly have not “arrived.” I deeply appreciate the good counsel and sound advice I have received along the way from those far more mature as Christians than I ever hope to be. Yet 20 years seems long enough to have something to say to the younger saints. Though not as old as some, I am older than some, and would thus like to pass along a few tips to new Christians. I am not going to defend each of these points with a Biblical text or with endless quotes. My purpose is merely to share a few observations and suggestions in the simple spirit of “I have been young, and now am old…” This is what I have seen. These suggestions are not arranged in any particular order of importance. I simply wrote them down as they came to me. The fact that there are “10” was mostly unplanned.

My advice for new Christians:

1. Find a good local church, join it, and get involved. Without getting into too much detail about what is a “good” church, suffice it to say that they will believe in the authority of God’s Word and teach it. The pastor will preach the gospel and tell you how to live as a Christian also. But my main point is this: join and get involved. Do not be forever shopping and hopping from church to church looking for that perfect expression of the “ideal” church you have in your mind. I have rarely found a mature Christian, active and useful to the Lord, that is not connected with and serving within a local church. Become a member and find something to do.

2. Make friends with an older Christian and get to know them. If you are male, find an older and mature Christian man to befriend. Ladies…find a mature Christian woman and get to know her. Ask them to meet you for breakfast. Find out what their interests are and see if you can strike up some common ground for discussions and friendship. This doesn’t have to be a Bible study. I am simply suggesting you find someone further down the Christian road than yourself, and learn to tag along with them when you can. Some of the most helpful experiences of my younger Christian life occurred while sitting across a breakfast table at a local restaurant with some older believers.

3. Begin the life-long habit of daily devotions. By this I mean that you should make daily time for Bible reading and prayer. Pick a time that you can be consistent. Use a Bible reading plan to help you make steady progress through the Word. In my eagerness as a young Christian, I actually wrote out my own plan for reading the Bible. I still have this in my Bible today. But you can use any number of plans already made. Church and good preaching are important, but I have never met a healthy growing Christian that is not regularly reading his/her Bible and spending time in prayer. How long every day? I will leave that for you to prayerfully consider. If you want to read the whole Bible in a year, it will involve reading about 4 chapters a day. But quality time is more important than mere quantity. While reading, think about areas of your life that need to change to match what God is saying in Scripture. If you do this, you will grow. By the way, if you don’t have a cover for your Bible, pick one up. Make sure it has a pocket or room for a little notebook and a pen.

4. Keep a journal/notebook. I suggest you keep a little notebook in which you keep track of your Bible reading and notes. If you always read in the same place, just leave this notebook there with your Bible. Otherwise, make sure it is small enough to slip into your Bible cover. Inside, record the date and what you read. If you have time, write down any specific verses that spoke to you and what thoughts came to mind. Take this notebook with you to church and any other studies you attend and use it to write down notes in. In the BACK, write down any particular things you are praying about. I wouldn’t include anything too personal or private, as this book could be lost. With that in mind, put your name and contact information inside the front cover, just in case. It might not seem important now, but over the years I believe this habit will bear fruit and you will find yourself more productive in your reading, diligent in your prayers, and generally more knowledgeable in your Christian walk. I can recall how I would write down my thoughts on particular verses that struck me. I still have this journal, and I still employ this method of learning and reading.

5. Memorize Scripture. I recommend, along with your little notebook, that you purchase some 3x5 lined note cards. When you read a verse that is especially helpful, write it down on these cards and begin to commit the verse to memory. Go slow. Have some cards with you wherever you go. Having God’s Word memorized will strengthen your faith and equip you to share it like no other discipline I know.

6. Get involved in some mid-week Bible study or group. It is a long time between Sundays. Meeting together, when possible, with other Believers ‘mid-week’ will keep you accountable, help you to keep in touch with one another’s needs, and allow you additional opportunities to study and pray. I can tell you from my own experience that long absence from any sort of weekday involvement with other Christians tends toward a drying and dulling of your spiritual life. One of the first signs that a Christian is beginning to backslide is their absence from the prayer meeting. If your job or schooling makes this impossible (and it might), and you cannot make any changes in your schedule to allow it, then at least try to contact another Christian by phone or meet for breakfast at some point in the week. If your church does not offer such a meeting, speak to your pastor, offer your own home or apartment as a meeting place, and volunteer to get the word out to others. Have a mature Christian lead a little study with you and a few others if necessary.

7. Get involved in some good works. Give a little time to helping a local charity. Volunteer some time with a food bank. Visit a homeless shelter. Write letters to someone who needs encouragement. One of the best ways to combat discouragement is to focus your attention on the needs of others. You are in a spiritual battle my friend. And one of the key strategies of our “enemy” is to get us absorbed in our own issues and struggles so that we are virtually useless to those around us. Plan to do something good for someone else every week.

8. Share your faith. Pray for and look for opportunities to tell others about Jesus Christ. Invite a friend to church. Take home a handful of tracts from church and have them handy so you can give them out when the opportunity arises. I have gone door to door with a Pastor, handing out information about the church. I have distributed tracts in a downtown area with a friend. Don’t be afraid that you might not know the answer to a question. You can always say “I don’t know.” Then ask someone who does. The very activity of telling others the gospel, about how you came to know the Lord, and inviting them to church will mature you and strengthen you in your walk. Don’t be discouraged with what appears to be limited results. Leave that with the Lord. Just keep spreading the seeds.

9. Read some good books. Just as befriending and older Christian will prove useful, I believe “befriending” some of the important Christian books of our past will go a long way in helping you mature as a Christian. I could recommend some. But really, I think you would do best to ask the advice of your own pastor or that mature Christian friend for some suggestions. Your church may have a library. If so, use it. Read something every day if you can. Keep 1 book in the car at all times, as you never know when you might be stuck somewhere and have some unexpected time on your hands. Write down what you are reading in that notebook that I suggested back in tip #4.

10. Remember the Lord’s Day. This one may seem strange to some Christians. But I would suggest to you that a careful remembering of the Lord’s Day (Sunday) to keep it special is an important element to your spiritual maturity and growth. Granted, this is largely forgotten today. At best, one hour on Sunday is reserved for church, and the rest of the day is typically spent on recreation or personal entertainment. I truly believe this is one of the key reasons why there is so very little true Christian maturity in our generation. You may disagree, and I don’t want to argue it here. But I can tell you from my own experience that Christians who generally treat Sunday like any other day – except for the hour they give for worship – rarely seem grow as quickly as those who improve this day by setting it aside for the Lord. Use this day to rest and refresh your body and your soul. Use this day to serve others and better prepare yourself to be a blessing to those around you. Habitually attending a morning and evening worship service is a very helpful way to protect this day from other encroachments. And if you must work this day, I highly recommend you pick some other day during the week and treat it equally as carefully and respectfully in honor of the Lord.

If you are reading this and are not a Christian, it is the sincere desire of my heart that you would embrace the provision God has made for sinners like you and I in the Person of Jesus Christ. The punishment that we deserve fell upon Him. This is the gospel: “By His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5) and “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).” Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. And if you are a Christian, particularly a new believer, then my prayer is that you may “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).” My young friend...“I have been young, and now am old…” I hope you will consider these suggestions, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

Your soul’s well-wisher,

Jason

EARRINGS AND EPHODS....HOW TO MESS UP A GOOD THING...

2010-08-07T06:53:00.000-05:00

Earrings and Ephods

How to really mess up a good thing…

"Then Gideon said to them, “I would like to make a request of you, that each of you would give me the earrings from his plunder….then Gideon made it into an ephod [a statue or image] and set it up in his city…. it became a snare to Gideon and to his house."

Judges 8:24, 27

Grace made Gideon a godly leader and great judge. Hebrews 11 speaks of him, and others, who “out of weakness were made strong” (Hebrews 11:34). Though he began fearful, yet he became faithful. God made him into the man he needed to be. Soldiers followed him, enemies feared him, and they all cried “the sword of the Lord and of Gideon (Judges 7:20)!” Thus the Angel of Lord prophesied truthfully when approaching Gideon hiding in the winepress and saying of him “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor! (Judges 6:12)” So great was the esteem of Gideon in the eyes of Israel that they wanted to make him king. But Gideon would not submit, for he wanted all the glory to go to God. “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you, the Lord shall rule over you (Judges 8:23).”

But choice men sometimes make foolish choices. Gideon, being careless of the spiritual consequences, made an image of the earrings they had plundered and “set it up in his city.” These harmless adornments became the occasion of horrible decay: “it became a snare to Gideon and to his house.” The gold which was a token of God’s salvation became a temptation to Gideon’s soul.

What is the spiritual lesson here? I suspect there are many. But one thing that strikes me is this: we need just as much grace to manage our blessings from God as we do to manage our burdens from God. A special watchfulness over the heart is needed as much in triumphs as it is in trials. Satan took special note of Job’s wealth and health. While God is blessing, our enemy is planning. If the Devil cannot slay you in the battle, he may nevertheless snare you in the victory. Beware, Christian, of how you handle the success God gives you. This plunder was safe when it hung beneath the ears, but it became a snare when it was constantly set before the eyes. Boasting can quickly ruin God’s blessings. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).” When the earrings became an ephod the focus shifted from what the Lord had done for Gideon to what Gideon had done for the Lord.

Much is written, and rightly so, on managing conflicts and trials to the glory of God. We need grace to praise and thank the Lord while under the shadow of dark Providences. We must learn to humble ourselves under the mighty Hand of afflictions and bless the God who not only “gives” but sometimes “takes away [Job 1:21].” James teaches us to cultivate that spirit that will “count it all joy” when various trials and troubles come. But Christians must learn how to manage their triumphs, as well as their troubles, to the glory of God. We must learn “how to be abased” but we must also learn “how to abound (Phil. 4:12).” Oh my soul, be very careful with the gifts of God. Think often of Paul’s question to the Corinthians “What do you have that you did not receive? (I Cor. 4:7)” and his humble assessment of his accomplishments: “by the grace of God I am what I am (I Cor. 15:10).” Remember Mary who, though greatly blessed among women, “kept all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19).” Success, to an unwatchful heart, may quickly become a snare.

Oh my soul…what are the blessings you enjoy this day? Pray for grace and a humble heart to manage them well, lest they become a snare to your soul. God’s blessings are sometimes trials in disguise. The “tree of life” was a blessing, but also a trial. The “manna” in the wilderness was a blessing to Israel, but also a trial and a test, as Moses told them “that He might test you to do you good in the end (Deut. 8:16).” Wise Solomon said to his soul “Come now, I will test you with pleasure (Eccl. 2:1).” The Lord may test us as much with pleasure as He does with pain. Even the unbeliever knows some of this testing by blessing, “not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance (Romans 2:4).”

Gideon was a man of faith, but he failed to manage God’s blessing well. Reader…how are you managing the Lord’s blessings in your life? It is possible to mess up a good thing. Grace sweetens trials and sin can sour blessings. Without taking time to develop these thoughts, allow me to just share in closing several cautions and directions. They are as much for my own soul as for yours.

1) Make much of God’s grace in all your blessings

2) Stay especially close to God’s commandments in the midst of your blessings

3) Take special care how you publish God’s blessings

4) Whatever your blessings, let the cross of Christ be your only boast

FRIEND, GO UP HIGHER!

2010-06-27T14:45:00.000-05:00

“Friend, go up higher”

Luke 14:10

What a keen observer of human nature was our Lord Jesus Christ. He who made man, and had now become Man, was and is the greatest interpreter of man. Here He was a guest in the home of a Pharisee. Here, if ever, He might be excused for a few moments from serving souls. Here He might be allowed some remission from His relentless ministry to man. And yet as they came to be seated for supper our text observes that He “noted how they chose the best places (Luke 11:7).” Even when our Savior was not speaking, still He was always watching. The Psalmist says “His eyes behold His eyelids try the children of men (Psalm 11:4).” So it ever was with our Lord. Many foolishly flatter themselves. Some folks think that because they cannot hear God, therefore God cannot see them. Do not be deceived. “He who formed the eye, shall He not see (Psalm 94:9)?” Even when Christ was not speaking, yet He was watching.

And Jesus proceeded to teach them something. Yet it is, upon first reading, one of the strangest lessons of our Lord in all of Scripture. In the midst of such unconcealed pride we would anticipate a lecture like “the loveliness of lowliness.” Or perhaps He might develop a prolonged polemic on the “devilish disease of pride”. These hypocrites had cornered themselves with their own conceit. Christ could clearly score an easy point on His opponents. The puffed up Pharisees and lawyers were like sitting ducks in a pool of their own pride: “They chose the BEST places.” Yet strangely our Savior does not take the easy shot. They were like fish in a bucket, and Jesus seems to let them off the hook. Rather than aiming His arrow of rebuke at their arrogant hearts, He seems to present them with an even better way to secure their lust for honor. “When you are invited” He tells them “go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’” Jesus says to them, it seems, “if you want honor, recognition and praise…let Me show you a better way.” And having taught them this trick, He tops it off with “Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.”

What is the real meaning of this mysterious message? Why does He who said elsewhere “blessed are the poor in spirit” here tell this company the quick road to “glory in the presence of all?” Why does Christ seem to cater to their crust on this occasion? How are we to understand this strange sermon?

First, it seems there is a hint of sarcasm here. Christ appears to be telling these false-faced honor-loving lawyers and Pharisees that if what they really want is worldly respect….here…let Me show you a better way. It is a sobering truth that the Lord sometimes gives you exactly what you want. Be careful what captivates your heart, you may just get it. Israel wanted a king, and the Lord granted their foolish and rebellious request. They begged for meat in the desert, and the Lord gave it, according to Moses, “until it comes out your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who is among you (Numbers 11:20).” If we love money, we might very well get it, and all the evil that comes with such a love as well. If we want fame, we may very well get it, and all the pressures and impurities that such prominence often produces. Christian…if what you really want from this life is more friends, more money, more influence, and more experiences…the Lord may let you have them, and it may cost you your soul. Want to be the most important person in your church? You may have it. Want to be the envy of your circle of friends? It may be within your reach. If the reward you want is glory now, Christ may grant it to you as to the hypocrite of whom He says “I say to you, they have their reward (Matt. 6:16).”

But I think the heart of this lesson lies somewhere else. Jesus is not really teaching us how to get what we want in this life. This story is not about worldly advancement or the secrets to social success. Christ is contrasting two radically different choices. The attitudes displayed around this table were typical of two entirely opposite ways of living in this world. Choosing “the best places” or choosing the “lowest place” is a metaphor for those who live for this life and those who live for the next. To seek the “best places” is the way of this world. To seek the “lowest place” is the way of Christ’s kingdom. "The best places" are sought by those who "mind earthly things (Phil. 3:19)" but we are to have the "mind of Christ (I Cor. 2:16)." Jesus is saying “take the low seat now.” Here, in the banquet of this world and this life, take the lowest seat. Don’t look for honor right now. Resist that natural pursuit of popularity. Be content with the humblest place, be satisfied with the station of a servant, and let others have the honors, glory and respect. Be willing to go unnoticed now. Moreover, be content to be mistreated, misunderstood and maligned. “Blessed are you,” said Jesus “when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven (Matthew 5:11).” The great danger we all face is that we want our heaven right now. But as Jeremiah said to his servant “Do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not (Jeremiah 45:5).”

Christ’s very life modeled the true meaning of this message. He took for Himself the most humble seat in the house of humanity. Though being God Himself, He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5).” His whole life was one of humble obedience, “even the death of the cross (2:8).” Had He chosen a throne on earth, no king could have risen and asked Him to step down. But He chose a cave in Bethlehem for a cradle and the epitome of poverty for parents. In birth, life and death Jesus came and sat down in “the lowest place.” But when Christ’s life was done, God the Father said to Him (as it were) “Friend, go up higher.” And then He was “highly exalted” and given “the name which is above every name (2:10).” And oh Christian soul, you who suffer and sorrow now, one day Christ shall say to you “Friend, go up higher!” Then all the sorrows of this world will be left behind, fears will be forgotten, groans will be gone. “For I consider” says Paul “that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18).”

Dear reader: which end of the table are you aiming for right now? Do you want the best places in this life? Do you want the world’s esteem, praises and honor? Are you ashamed to consider Christianity for fear of what your friends might think? Are you trying to fit in with the crowd? Those who choose honor now must face the shame of their choice later. Christ, in this story, mentions that some who aim high will be brought low. Oh the dreadful day approaches when Christ commands you to step down and “then you begin with shame to take the lowest place (Luke 14:9).” The lowest place on earth cannot compare to the lowest place in Hell forever. Oh humble your heart now and repent and believe in Jesus Christ. Then shall the true meaning of this message not be lost upon your soul. “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11).”

RANDOM THOUGHTS

2010-06-21T07:40:00.000-05:00

I just started learning the guitar. Those who have done so can feel my pain. Chords hurt. My fingers ache. The very thought of forming an "A" or "G" or "D" on those steel instruments of torture creates a sort of dread in my sore hand. There is a constant tingling that now goes on in the tips of my fingers. Pressing the strings is agony. They say it will get more comfortable when calluses are developed. Until then: OUCH! It strikes me that our consciences are like this with sin. At first it hurts. It bothers us. It feels uncomfortable and wrong. But persistent sinning builds calluses on our heart and conscience. What bothered us at first now hardly impresses us at all. Soon we sin easily, comfortably, skillfully. Have you grown comfortable with some sin? Have I? Surely we have. Pray for tender consciences. Pray for more pain when we sin. I want calluses to develop on my fingers, but I dread the calluses of my soul that allow me to sin without pain. O Lord...make me hurt again!

I saw a dead chipmunk yesterday. There it lay: lifeless and hopeless. The maggots, however, were FULL of activity. They were swarming, chewing, wiggling, moving all over the poor dead creature. Oh my soul...don't ever be alarmed that dead religion seems to be surrounded with furious activity by its followers. The truth sometimes seems to be moving slowly. But the truth is alive. False religion is dead religion, no matter how much activity seems to be going on around it.

Some seem to mistake reading MUCH with reading WELL. I think I have fallen into this from time to time. Don't confuse these. Reading well is not the same as reading much any more than speaking well is the same as speaking much. Just because one eats much, we do not say he has eaten well. Seek to read well, not to simply read much.

WHEN THE POWER GOES OUT

2010-06-09T14:47:00.003-05:00

When the Power Goes Out!

“Somebody touched Me, for I perceived POWER going out from Me.”

Luke 8:46

O my soul. Our passage may not be immediately striking. Here toward the end of Luke 8 we find a sick woman and a healing Savior. She touched His garment and was completely restored. But others have been healed by Christ, and so we may be tempted to simply glance upon her case and move on. But there is something special here. There is something Christ discloses in this miracle that He typically conceals. Here He reveals, in no uncertain terms, that the source of this work is HIS OWN POWER.

Other servants of the Lord worked miracles through a "borrowed" power. The Scriptures say that "The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people (Psalm 68:35)." To His own disciples Christ promised that He would "give" them power. The enemies of Christ have, for a time, a "granted" power (Rev. 13:15). To Pilate Christ said "you could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above (John 19:11)." But here, in our text, we find Jesus Christ works by virtue of His own power.

“I perceived power going out from Me.” Let us take a moment then and consider carefully the power of Jesus Christ.

What kind of power was this that flowed from Christ to this weary woman, and what kind of power is this that Christ offers to you and I?

1. It is a DIVINE POWER. This power, says Christ, was “from ME.” It is the power of the Omnipotent God Himself. It is the power of Eternal and Everlasting Divinity! Power before which angels fall and devils tremble. It is the power that brought all the worlds into existence in a moment. “For by Him [Christ] all things were created (Colossians 1:16).” No fair minded person can read the gospel accounts of Christ’s life and be unconvinced that He possessed in His own person the very power of God. Even nature knew His voice. “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him? (Matt. 8:27)” He healed the sick without medicine, fed five thousand with nothing but a few fish, predicted the future perfectly, knew men’s thoughts, forgave men’s sins, raised the dead. Even His own life He could end and begin again by His power. “I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again (John 10:18).” The power of Christ is the power of God, for He is Divine, and His power is Divine Power. As it is written: “Christ, the power of God (I Cor. 1:24).”

2. It is an IRRESISTIBLE POWER. You can’t stop this power. Sooner could you snuff out the sun between your fingers than you could arrest even one ray of this irresistible power. Sooner could swallow all the water in the sea than you could stop even one drop of the power of Christ. You and I often try and fail. This power has NEVER failed. When this power proceeds from Christ every enemy must surrender and every opponent concede. “No one can restrain His hand (Daniel 4:35).” This woman had a seemingly incurable flow of blood, but it was no match for Christ’s flow of power. “I perceived power going out of Me.”

3. It is an INEXHAUSTIBLE POWER. Christ was already on the way to heal the dying daughter of Jairus when this woman reached out and touched Him. In fact, by the time she touched Christ, the daughter of Jairus was already dead, for the Scriptures say “while He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, ‘Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher (Luke 8:49).” Christ was on His way to raise the dead when this woman sought strength from Him. Never could her timing have been more ill managed. What strength, what energy, what unspeakable resources would be needed to raise this young girl back to life from death! Could Christ spare any power for another? Yet what does the text say? When she touched Him “she was healed immediately (Luke 8:47).” Christ is a wellspring of power without any bottom. One day by His power every dead body that ever lived will be raised, yet this shall not make the slightest dent into the resources of our Lord.

4. It is a SIN CONQUERING POWER. The power of Christ to remove this woman’s illness was but an illustration of His power to remove sin. Sin is the great sickness of mankind. We cannot remove it. We can’t even relieve it. And we do not recover from it. Jeremiah says that the heart of man is “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9).” The word “desperately” in the Hebrew means, literally, “incurable.” So it was with this woman. She spent all her money on physicians, but to no avail. Men may expend all their energies and efforts for all their lives and never have the power to remove a single sin. But Christ’s power is sin-conquering power. “The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins (Matt. 9:6).” This woman was losing her battle with illness, and all men lose their battle with sin unless they come to Christ. But once touch Christ and you discover “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).”

5. It is a FREELY OFFERED POWER. This poor woman who had nothing to give received the healing power of Christ. She had previously “spent all” and was utterly bankrupt as she pursued our Savior through the crowd. She had no obvious invitation. Christ was not looking at her. Yet so free and plentiful is the power of Christ that the mere touch of faith was sufficient for her to receive all she needed from him. Thus said the prophet to Israel “You who have no money, come buy and eat (Isaiah 55:1).” Thomas Watson, the puritan pastor, once said “Christ is the most inexpensive physician; He takes no fee. He desires us to bring nothing to Him but broken hearts.”

6. It is an IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE POWER. Our text says, upon just the touch of the border of Christ’s garment, that “immediately her flow of blood stopped (Luke 8:44).” There was no delay in her recovery once she had connected with Christ. What? Will you wait for this power when it is immediately available to all who come? The power of Christ is never on backorder. Christ is more willing to save men than they are willing to come.

7. It is a SOUL CHEERING & PEACE PRODUCING POWER. Christ said to this woman “Daughter, be of good cheer, your faith as made you well. Go in peace.” There is nothing in the world so well-suited to cheer the soul as the power of Christ. All of the trials in the world cannot discourage the soul who leans on the power of Christ. “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world (John 16:33).” No one knew such troubles as Paul. Yet what did he say? "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18).” Paul knew the power of Christ. "And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9).” No soul can remain sad long, once convinced of the power of Christ.

8. It is an EMBOLDENING POWER. Those who meet this power must tell others about it. “She declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately (Luke 8:47).” Have you been in contact with the power of Christ? Tell someone! Whom have I told this very week of the power of Christ? Tell the world about the strength of the God who delivered you from sin. “Telling to the generations to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength…(Psalm 78:4).” Paul wrote to Timothy about this power. He said to him that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of POWER, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).”

9. It is a FEARFUL POWER. This power is as fearful as it is wonderful. As much as this power is FOR those who believe, this same power is AGAINST all who refuse. “His power and His wrath are against all who forsake Him (Ezra 8:22).” By Christ’s power He now opens to you the door of salvation. And by Christ’s power He shall one day close that door forever. Jesus is “He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens (Rev. 3:7).” Dear reader, the power of God is nothing to play with. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:31).”

Personally I find the most fearful thing is that this power can be SO CLOSE and yet not be seen, we being blinded by our own willful unbelief. Crowds pressed around Christ, but for all we know only 1 reached out to touch Him. “The multitudes throng and press You” His disciples observed. “Somebody” touched Me, said Christ. Many were there. One reached out. Even after the miracle of the healing men were unmoved. While Christ was still speaking a servant came to announce the death of Jairus’ daughter. “Do not trouble the Teacher” (Luke 8: 49) he said. What…all this power and they still doubted? How about you? Will you not reach out and lay hold of Jesus Christ now? All His power is available to save you, if you will but come. But if you will not, then one day that very power will be set against you forever.

10. Finally, this POWER IS RECEIVED BY FAITH ALONE. Jesus said to the woman of our text “your faith has made you well (Luke 8:48).” Not her works…she did none. Not her strength…she had none. Not her riches…she owned none. Not her courage…she trembled! Not her reputation…she is given no name other than “a woman.” FAITH in Christ saved her. Faith alone was her hope. Oh sinner…come as you are…but by all means come by FAITH! Well said the hymnist “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.” Nothing more than faith you need…but nothing less will do. Faith lays hold of Christ and all His power. It is a power before which nothing stands. It is a power by which all may be moved.

Dear reader…have you this faith? Has the saving power of Christ gone out to you? If so, then like the woman in the story, “be of good cheer, your faith has made you well, go in peace.”

GIMME THAT OLD WINE RELIGION!

2010-05-30T06:51:00.002-05:00

Gimme That Old Wine Religion

"And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”" Luke 5:39

We want a religion that is like old wine: reliable, dependable, and consistent. We want a religion that doesn’t change much, and likewise doesn’t change us too much either. We want a religion that is consistent with our traditions, our habits, our way of thinking, our system of values and priorities. Simply put, we want a religion without surprises. “Gimme that Old Wine Religion!” we cry.

But then in comes Jesus Christ. He turns the tables of our traditions on their heads. He calls mankind to radical change and repentance. He upsets our way of doing things, our way of thinking, behaving, and living. He brings radical grace into the lives of the undeserving. He says “Man, your sins are forgiven you (Luke 5:20)” and calls us into a surprising walk of faith “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house (Luke 5:24).” And like those observing these events we are filled with fear and say “We have seen strange things today (Luke 5:26)!” Christ disturbs our spiritual status quo.

“The old is better” our stubborn hearts stammer, willfully resisting this radical intrusion into our religious rest. We like it the way things were. We like a God we can control. One who does things the way we are used to. Who shares the same system of justice, right and wrong, deserving and undeserving. We pick and choose our converts from the commendable classes. But Jesus sits with the sinners. He offers forgiveness to the lowest of the low. He dares to bring into His own fellowship and family the dregs of society. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinner, to repentance (Luke 5:32).”

New wine breaks the old wineskins of our religious patterns. We want the old wine that does not demand any changes in our way of thinking about things. Old wine is safer, old wine is comfortable, old wine makes no demands and expects no response! Gimme that old wine religion! We want our set times of fasting and prayers. This is the way it has always been done! With the Pharisees we question Christ “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink (Luke 5:33)?” We prefer a long distance relationship with God, rather than the radical intimacy of coming near to Jesus Christ and rejoicing in His grace.

Old garments would be torn by new material, and our old sins would be torn if ever we were born again through faith in Christ. “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old (Luke 5:36).” I don’t want changes, I don’t want to tear the old garments of my comfortable religion, I don’t want to be stretched. That living, changing, growing new wine of reckless faith in Christ would break me.

Praise God He changed me! He didn’t pour the new wine of regeneration into my old-ways-wineskin. He gave me new skins: a new heart, and new life, a new love. This new religion isn’t safe, it isn’t easy, it isn’t comfortable…but it is the only one which God approves. Oh my soul…no more old wine religion! I had said “the old is better” because I was terribly afraid of what the “new” would do. But now I want the new! I want the changing, the fearing, the crying, and the rending of my old sinful heart and practices as I grow into the new fabric of holiness, trust and mercy.

Dear reader, how about you? Are you still comfortable with your old wine religion? Do you like a relationship with God that is predictable, easy and undemanding? That old religion will never surprise you and it will never save you. The new way of faith in Christ brings shocking salvation to all who believe. “Will you keep to the old way (Job 22:15)?” Will you continue to resist new grace, crying out from your soul “the old is better?” The old and unchanging wine of a religion built upon self-righteousness and works is incompatible with the new covenant of God’s grace. New wine religion requires me to change every day. I have to grow. Sins must be killed, obedience must be kindled. I don’t know what God is going to do next in my life. But it is a new life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

THE COMMON PEOPLE HEARD HIM GLADLY

2010-05-23T15:59:00.000-05:00

Mark 12:37

“And the common people heard Him gladly.”

A few words to encourage the souls of them that publish Christ

I write these words to minister to the hearts of those involved in publishing Christ to the world. By “publish” I mean any and all who proclaim Jesus Christ. You may do so from a pulpit. You may do so also as a teacher, a neighbor, an employee, a friend, a father or mother, a son or daughter, a young man or woman, or an aged saint in the faith. You may do so as a writer, a blogger, a singer or an artist. Proclaiming Christ is the business of every Christian, but there is a great variety in the manner and method which the Lord has equipped believers to do so. And all who publish Christ meet with discouragements along the way, and these words are intended for your comfort.

In this passage Christ was being published and proclaimed, by none other than Christ Himself. He proclaimed Himself in a parable in the beginning of the chapter. He proclaimed Himself by a puzzle in the immediate context of our passage. Jesus said “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?” He set their minds to thinking about Christ. Is that not what you have done? You write of Him, you speak of Him, you try to imitate Him and acknowledge Him before a watching world. Here in a tract, there in a sermon, again and again in a lesson. Over coffee in the shop, over tea in the parlor, in an email, with a flyer, by a book…you have set others to thinking upon Christ.

Maybe you have met with much success. Praise the Lord! But most likely you have had your share of discouragements and disappointments as well. Here we find the Lord Jesus Christ Himself performing the office of a prophet and proclaiming Himself to men. Let us learn 3 things for our instruction and encouragement:

Learn that…

I. Those that publish Christ will not be gladly received by all men. The text says “And the common people heard Him gladly.” The crowd, that is, was pleased to hear Him. But this was said by way of contrast. The great throng was glad to hear Him, but the Scribes and Pharisees were not. What you say will not be well received by all men. What you write will sometimes be written against. Some will scoff, others mock, and many simply laugh and leave. Do not be surprised that your sermons are sometimes ignored and that your pleas do not impress. Do not wonder that even from within the circles of the church you will find some who oppose your efforts to proclaim Christ. Remember what our Savior said in Luke 6:26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” The scribes were not glad that Christ spoke. Do you expect it otherwise for yourself? Dear reader, you who seek to publish Christ, but find your efforts often ill received; know that you are in the very company of Christ Himself.

II. Those that publish Christ sometimes will be hated by great men. “And the common people heard Him gladly.” Note: it was the “common” folks the “general crowd” that were pleased by Christ. Those in higher positions, those of greater authority, those of more means and influence all opposed the preaching of Christ. It is an interesting observation that when the nation of Israel was beginning to press into the Promised Land that the Holy Spirit says this of their enemies “all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan…gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one accord.” The kings are singled out, though surely it was the soldiers who fought. But the kings especially hated them. Those with greater authority are often the most aggravated with the advancement of the kingdom of God. So it was with Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar and Herod and Nero and so forth. “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His anointed (Psalm 2:2).” So it was with our Lord. “So they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to catch Him (Mark 12:13).”

Paul and Barnabas found this out at Antioch. They preached the Word. They published Christ. But the Jews were “filled with envy (Acts 13:45)” and they “stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecutions against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region (Acts 13:50).” Notice: prominent women and the chief men. Things haven’t changed much in 2000 years.

You, who publish Christ, do not be surprised when great men or women oppose you. Do not be shocked by those who put on religious airs, who quote Scripture, who sit in churches sometimes, who have some measure of influence over the opinions of others when they stand against you to tear you down. Do not be discouraged when politicians and leaders distance themselves from you and your message.

III. But finally, be absolutely persuaded of this: those that publish Christ will be gladly heard by many men. “The common people heard Him gladly.” There was a listening and attentive crowd. Many were moved by His message. A great throng were hungering and thirsting after Him. There may be at any moment unnamed and unnoticed multitudes that have heard of Christ through you and rejoice. Our text simply says “the common people.” They may be the ordinary bunch. We do not know their names. They were not the high and mighty. They were not the people of great influence, great means, or great status. They were the “common people.” This is the way of the Lord. "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty (1 Corinthians 1:26-27).”

Many more than you now know are listening as you publish abroad the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scriptures say “who can number the dust of Jacob?” And who, I say, can number the lives your words, your music, your lessons, your tracts, your sermons, your witness may have touched. Those “common people” may be some students in your school, some co-workers in the shop, an email recipient, a total stranger overhearing your conversation about Christ, an internet surfer thousands of miles away. They heard gladly! Keep up the good Word! “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16).” Sow bountifully! Cast the bread of life upon the waters of this world. “Blessed are you who sow beside all waters (Isaiah 32:20).”

Dear reader let this also remind us not to aim too highly with our message. Do you seek the praises of high men, dignitaries, the wealthy, the popular, and the influential? “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not (Jeremiah 45:5).” Christ called you to feed the lambs, not the giraffes. Publish Christ gladly among all classes of men, but especially among the common folks, amongst those who are sometimes otherwise neglected and the children, because “the common people heard Him gladly.”

I TURNED 40 TODAY

2010-05-19T17:14:00.000-05:00

I TURNED 40 TODAY

I turned 40 today. Funny, it feels just like any other day. I got up around 5:30, took out the dog, made some coffee, read a chapter from the Bible, a section in a book, and spent some time in prayer before beginning my work. I don’t really know what I expected 40 to feel like. But for those who haven’t hit 40 yet, I can tell you it feels just about the same as 39 did, just a little more so.

I turned 40 today. This, for those who may not know, means that I spent just about half my lifetime so far running from God. I was born into a Christian home and raised by godly Christian parents. I went to a Christian school and to church every Sunday (twice usually). But for my first 19 years on this earth I could not for the life of me understand Christians. They seemed to enjoy being Christians, I’ll give them that. But it made no sense to me. I figured they just didn’t know what they were missing out on. Not to mention the very thought of God just made me uncomfortable. So I kept running, kind of like a hamster on a wheel.

I turned 40 today. This means I have spent about half my life now getting to know the God I formerly ran from. My life changed forever about 20 years ago. The Bible text that best captures what happened to me is Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” I was saved by God’s grace through a gift of faith in Jesus Christ. I did not expect to be saved, but the Lord saved me. The particular verse of Scripture He used was a few short words from the Old Testament book of Haggai: “Consider your ways!” I was living my “way.” I was headed in the way of destruction. I was on the road to Hell. “Consider your ways!” Christ Himself met me on that road. I’ve never been the same again. And now I get to spend the rest of my life getting to know Him. He still makes me uncomfortable…but in a different way, an inviting way, an accepted way.

I turned 40 today. I have a lovely wife whose outward beauty is surpassed only by her inward beauty, and whom I have enjoyed the company of for almost 17 years. I have four children, two boys and two girls. I love them so much and it is my heart’s desire and prayer that they would come to know my Savior as well. There are many other precious people that the Lord continues to bless me with: my parents and in-laws, my brother and his beautiful family, my church family who are all so dear to me, my other friends and wonderful acquaintances I have made along life’s way. I have a good job doing work that I enjoy. At age 40 I am quite humbled by the goodness of the Lord toward me and can say with David “Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that you have brought me this far (2 Samuel 7:18)?”

I turned 40 today. That makes me a 40 year expert in the field of sin. I am not a great man. But I have a great Savior. I am a transgressor. But as I read in Mark 15:28 this morning, a quote from Isaiah 53, “He was numbered with the transgressors.” That is why I am what I am today. Christ died for me. And I died with Him. And if the Lord is pleased to give me 40 more years I want to spend them all getting to know Christ, and helping others to know Him too. Do you know Him? I do not ask if you have a religion, or a church, or if you have been baptized. Those may be good things. But do you know Christ? Or have you, like me, spent a good portion of your life running from Him? If so, “Consider your ways.” Where are you headed? What do you hope to accomplish? "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul (Matthew 16:26)?”

HE MADE IT AGAIN

2010-05-09T15:49:00.001-05:00

Jeremiah 18:4

"And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make."

Oh my soul. These 4 words - "he made it again" - proclaim a Sovereign Savior who has not allowed my sin to be the last words in my story. I ruined my life. He made it again. I polluted my heart. He made it again. I forfeited my soul. He made it again. The Lord God is not only the Creator. He is the re-Creator. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

These words remind me that every life is a gift of God. Whoever you are or wherever you are, God made you. Like the clay vessel in the potters house was made by him, so your life was made by God. “The Lord who made you and formed you from the womb,” says the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 44:2). He planned your birth. He chose your parents. He determined the hour of your first breath. He framed every circumstance and influence you ever had. “He made it.” Men proudly call themselves “a self-made man.” You did not make yourself. God made you. Rich or poor, black or white, male or female, healthy or sick…the Lord God made you. The very God who made the sun, moon and stars also made you a living soul. Have you given this much thought? Have you ever paused to consider that a holy God, for His own good pleasure, chose to make you? He did not have to. No force compelled your creation aside for the force of His own desire, His own will, His own plan. God made you. “The breath of the Almighty gives me life (Job 33:4).”

These words remind me also that every life has been wrecked and damaged by sin. If God is making “again” it can only be that we have ruined this gift of life by willful disobedience. We have polluted our souls in pursuing evil. "Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.”" (Ecclesiastes 7:29) Not a day has gone by in which I have not willfully added to the ruin of my own soul. Not a moment passes that does not find me in some neglect of God’s law or some violation of His command. “Oh wretched man that I am” (Romans 7:24) is the cry of a soul that really understand the weight and seriousness of sin. Do you think your life successful? The only thing we are successful at is ruining our lives. I may have money, friends, influence, power, good works and a good name, but God has said “treasures of wickedness profit nothing (Prov. 10:2).” People today want a good life. What we need is a new life. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Mark 8:36)

But these words finally remind me that our God alone can rebuild what we have ruined. “He made it again.” Oh my soul, and you my dear reader, have you engaged the help of this God who came and died and rose again to give you new life through faith in Jesus Christ? You have tried to rebuild on your own. You have sought to “build again the things [you] have destroyed (Gal 2:18).” You only make it worse. Repent and believe the gospel. What are you waiting for? Why do you linger? I fear that many today do not come to Christ because they really do not want a new life. They want a new wing added to their home, but they do not want to demolish their home and start again with God. You need a new foundation altogether, and His name is Jesus Christ. When God “makes it again” He does not make half a life, half a home, half a new creature. With God it is either all made new, or not at all. You must die to all that was before: old thoughts, old patterns and old priorities. Only the grace of God can do this. And He will do it for all who call on Him. "For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you." (Isaiah 41:13) Dear reader…linger no longer! Your life is not ruined beyond repair. His grace saved a wretch like me. I wrecked my life, but this is what He did for me through Jesus Christ: “He made it again.” Praise be to God...Glory to God in the Highest....for "He made it again!"

Killed by Kindness

2010-04-18T16:01:00.001-05:00

Matthew 21:31
“Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.’"

Love is kind. But there is a type of popular Christianity in the world today that is ironically cruel in its kindness. Not the generous and gracious kindness that looks out for the well-being of others, but rather a fiendish sort of friendliness which spares your feelings but forfeits your soul. It is a selfish kindness of sorts that avoids awkward confrontation because it abhors the unpleasant experience of being uncomfortable, even for a moment. This type of religion would never dare to openly offend. Its preaching is always pleasing; its atmosphere is always approving. It grants you not merely the right to your opinions, but the rightness of all opinions, so long as they are sincere. It is a sort of be-cordial-at-all-costs religion. Simply put, this religion tells no one they’re wrong.

Now whatever you wish to call this faith, it is certainly not Christian and it is certainly not kind. It may boast the same Bible, it may tout the same traditions, but it certainly cannot claim the same Christ. In the text above our Lord was exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He told them a story of two sons. One said he would not obey the father, but afterwards repented and did. The second said he would obey, but afterwards did not. These Pharisees were like the second son. And just in case the story was not clear enough, Jesus looked these religious leaders in the eyes and said “tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.” Before YOU! It would be hard to imagine words more calculated to offend and upset.

O my soul, do you understand what you have read? The point of this parable is plain. Our minds miss the message because it is too painful to ponder. Let me state it bluntly: Heaven is for bad people who repent, hell is for “good” people who won’t. Do you think yourself a good person? So did these Pharisees. Are you basically kind, generous, and good to others? Hell is filled with similar folks whose lives were far too respectable to merit repentance in their eyes. Do you have a certain moral standard you try to model, a personal code of conduct as your creed, a list of do’s and don’ts by which you measure yourselves and others? Who doesn’t measure up in your mind? He or she, if they repent, enters heaven before you. “Tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.”

Dear reader, are you bad enough to be a Christian? Or are you too good for the gospel? The only place men get to on the basis of good behavior is Hell. Heaven is for sinners who repent. I may not have spared your feelings, but I hope to save your soul. You may count me unkind. So be it. Better to be accounted cruel for telling the truth than to kill you with kindness. Better the somewhat bitter boldness of Christ than the sweet lies being served and swallowed in so many sermons today. Unless we repent, we cannot be saved. Continue just as you are, go on in the way you’ve been going, be true to yourself…but know this…“tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.”

Allow me another moment for 4 brief points of application:

1. Is it not clear that you and I have failed to divide this world up the way God does? We tend to split mankind into the blameless and the bad, the worthy and the wicked, the saint and the sinner. Christ says that the real difference is between those who repent and those who do not. The gospel does not call upon men to be nice; it calls all mankind to repent. C.S. Lewis once put it this way “We must not suppose that if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world." The religion of our culture calls all men to be kind. The religion of the cross calls all men to repent.

2. Is it not clear that there exists a wide and comfortable road that goes straight to Hell, made up of good people? This crowded course permits men and women from various religions to travel together, differing in their opinions of each other, but quite uniform in their opinions of themselves. On this path the moralist blissfully meanders and the righteous ramble along. Here the church goes chugs, proud of his churchly ways. Here the spiritual independent strolls, equally pleased that she can be just as good without it. Here the atheist gleefully glides, calmly convinced he can be quite good without God. All are Pharisees in their own way. None are particularly prone to repent. Each one is happily on their way to Hell. William Secker, Puritan pastor and author once characterized such travelers in this way “Many have passed the rocks of gross sins – who have suffered shipwreck upon the sands of self-righteousness.”

3. Is it not clear, dear reader, that there is still time to repent? Jesus’ words may have stung the self-righteous Pharisees, but it was a sting designed to drive them to repent. What about you? Have these words spoken to your soul? At the end of this chapter we read of the chief priests and the Pharisees that “they perceived that He was speaking of them (Matthew 21:45).” Is He speaking of you? Is He speaking to me? There is still time to repent. This will not always be the case. A hundred years from now the case will be settled forever. A thousand years from now it will be clear how important this moment was. In a million years will Christ’s words be crying out to your condemned conscience “tax collectors and harlots HAVE entered the kingdom of God before ME?”

4. Finally, is it not abundantly clear that Christ came for sinners like us? Drink for the thirsty, food for the hungry, and Christ for sinners like you and I! Great sinners have already entered and more are yet to come. Christ Himself has said so. “Assuredly” He said “tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.” They enter…they enter!! Oh dear reader, will you not repent and believe the gospel and enter also? You can never be too bad to be saved, but you may sadly be too good. Are you bad enough to be a Christian? J.C. Ryle said this “Let it be a settled principle in our Christianity that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is infinitely willing to receive penitent sinners.”

YOUR KING IS COMING

2010-03-30T15:39:00.002-05:00

A Palm Sunday reflection...

“Behold your King is coming to you…”
Matthew 21:5

Oh my soul. This day thy Savior came into Jerusalem upon a colt. One day He shall return to this world upon a cloud. This lowly entrance to the holy city was prophesied of old (Zech. 9:9). His glorious return in holy splendor is promised to come (Rev. 22:20). On that first Palm Sunday opinions about Jesus were divided. The disciples cried “Hosanna.” The Pharisees cried “hush!” “Teacher, rebuke your disciples” (Luke 19:39) they said. But one day neither your opinion nor mine will matter because every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. And so now, oh my soul, there is a far more important “coming” to consider. Yes, “Blessed is the King who comes” Luke 19:38. But the question on my mind today today is this: “Have I come - have you come - to the King?” What is the response of your soul to this coming King? “Behold your King is coming to you…”

The King is coming. But have you come to Him? Have you come to Him tired and wearied by your own wicked heart and wicked ways? Have you come to Him burdened by a law you cannot keep? Have you come to Him casting off all hope of saving yourself? “Come unto Me” He said, “all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28)"

The King is coming. But have you come to Him? Have you come upon His terms? Have you, oh my soul, cast the cloak of your self-confidence upon the ground? Have you abandoned all hope of salvation by your own good works, your own religious exercises, your own sacrifices, sufferings and sorrows? By nature we are all too proud to come. Hence it is only by His grace we can draw near. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him (John 6:44).”

The King is coming. But have you come to Him? Have you come as a child, accepting and receiving Him at His word? Have you come trusting His promises, embracing His commands, and honoring His authority? Jesus said “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:14).”

The King is coming. Have you come to Him? Are His commands your delight? What place does His Word have in the home of your heart? Do you merely like the “thought” of Christ, while at the same time ignoring the “commands” of Christ? Oh my soul…be not deceived here. You cannot come to Christ while rejecting His right to rule your life. To love Christ is to obey Him. To come to Him and follow Him is to submit to His ways and His will. “Whoever comes to Me AND hears my sayings and does them...” (Luke 6:47) is the rule of the kingdom of Christ.

The King is coming. Have you come to Him? Does He have the first place in your life? Have you put your reputation behind Him? Have you put your family behind Him? Have you put your financial success, your friends, your popularity, your comforts and hobbies and habits all behind this Savior who must be FIRST if you will have Him at all? “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and even his own life also, he cannot be My disciple (Luke 14:26).”

The King is coming….and now Oh my soul…have you come to Him? What? Are you still waiting? If you have not come to Him, then He is not your King today. You do not belong to His kingdom. Oh dreadful day to not belong to the kingdom of this King when He comes! Won’t you come to Him today? Such coming is nothing short of life ordeath. It is heaven or hell. It is light or darkness. Oh may it not be said of thee, my soul, as it is of so many others, that “you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life (John 5:40).”

"Behold your King is coming to you..."

THE SEVENTY PALM TREES

2010-03-16T13:16:00.003-05:00

AN APOCRYPHAL ACCOUNT OF THE 70 PALM TREES

“Wonderful sermon today Moses” said the appreciative Israelite worshipper as she left the assembly and headed back to her wilderness tent. “May Jehovah be praised” respectfully replied her desert pastor as he shook her weathered hand. The warm sun was pouring down its dry heat onto their sandy sanctuary, and it seemed as though he could feel the very smile of God upon them. “It was an unusually effective message,” he thought to himself, as he recalled some of the pointed expressions and powerful illustrations that were artfully weaved into the fabric of his Sabbath sermon. More grateful expressions from the thankful congregation greeted him as his flock made their way toward the wells where they gathered to wet their thirsty throats. “Many dry mouths,” thought Moses, “but not many dry eyes today.”

That illustration with the wells really hit home. He could almost feel the Spirit descend upon the church as he pointed to each of those twelve wells surrounding them, reminding the wanderers of Jacob’s twelve sons and how the Lord had built for Himself a people out of nothing. “They were like twelve wells,” he had said, “out of which the Almighty drew forth a living nation as great as the sea.” Ah, that was good. “And just as the Eternal ‘I AM’ preserved our people in Egypt, so He is preserving you His children here in the desert.” Then, departing somewhat from his notes, but sensing something of the Lord’s leading, he had said “And I wonder, I just wonder, if this same great God of ours will one day raise up twelve more men who will carry His glorious message of salvation to the very ends of the earth itself.” You could see it on their faces. They knew they were a part of something much greater than themselves. They were worshipping like they had never worshipped before. A sobering sense of the awful majesty and awesome wonder of the Lord surrounded them. As the preacher pondered these things he could begin to feel a little surge of pride at this accomplishment. It was as though someone were secretly whispering in his ear “Moses…what would this people do without you? You are their leader, their prophet, their guide. Moses…you are the man! There is no preacher in all of Israel like you! Moses…you are their god!”

Moses shuddered. Without wasting another moment he cried out in his heart to the Lord “O Lord, humble me, make me to know my own meanness and lowliness and weakness. Forgive these proud and blasphemous thoughts. Crush my arrogant heart. Make me meek and lowly. Have compassion on me, O my God. I am an unprofitable servant at best. O LORD, deliver me.”

As Moses finished his silent prayer he opened his own wet eyes and saw little Benjamin walking toward him. He loved this boy. And Benny had seemed especially attentive today. Moses reached down and gave the lad an affectionate pat on the head. “I saw you making some notes in the sand during the sermon Benny,” said Moses, “what were you writing?” “Oh,” said Benny, “I was counting.” Moses grinned. “Ah, I see,” he said “counting the wells I presume, checking my numbers. Good boy. Contemplating the mercies of the Lord God, the provisions of the Almighty, the emblems of salvation planted here in the desert for our instruction.” Moses felt satisfied with himself again, and could feel those bubbles of pride beginning to rise to the surface of his heart. “Oh no,” said young Ben, “just counting the palm trees in the camp. There are 70 you know. I counted twice just to be sure. Oh, did you preach today?” And with that young Ben made his way over to a gathering of his friends.

Moses smiled and offered up a brief prayer of thanksgiving to the LORD. He walked back to his tent and pulled out the manuscript of their travels he had been working on. With a grateful and humbled heart he made a little inspired alteration to his journal. “Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters” (Exodus 15:27). He wondered if he should include a little explanation of the story of how the palm trees were counted. “No,” he thought to himself “I’m sure they will figure that one out all on their own.”

Where Are You?

2010-01-01T08:57:00.003-05:00

“…where are you?”
Genesis 3:9b

Oh my soul. This text above records for us the very first words spoken to fallen man by the mouth of God. It is, therefore, a suitable text upon which to meditate on the first day of this New Year. Where are you? Have you given this any thought as of late? Where are you in the timeline of your life? Where are you in the maturity of your thoughts? Where are you in the development and improvement of those relationships the Lord has set you in? But most importantly, and the question upon which I wish to focus my heart, where are you in your walk and relationship with Jesus Christ?

Where are you? It is interesting that the Lord, of course, knew full well where Adam and Eve were. The question therefore could not be one of mere location. The question, I believe, was designed to force our forefather to reflect upon the tragedy of his sinful rebellion against God. They were hiding. They had formerly walked with God in pleasant fellowship and delight. Now they were running from Him and hiding in the shameful awareness of their own transgression. So, my soul, where are you? Are you too hiding behind the foolish foliage of self-righteousness? Are you hiding from spiritual exercises to escape the painful presence of a guilty conscience? Are you avoiding Christ in order to ignore addressing your own iniquity? Where are you? The church bell rings, the Word of God sits collecting dust upon your shelf, the prayer closet is left vacant and unattended, spiritual friends avoided…all because you will not deal with these pressing matters upon your heart.

Oh my soul, and oh dear reader, listen to the New Testament answer to this Old Testament question. The triune God said to Adam, “Where are you?” Adam had fallen into sin, and with him the whole race of mankind fell with him. But Jesus Christ came to earth to find and rescue fallen man and calls to him with these words “Come unto Me!” Oh my soul, wherever you are hiding today, come out and run to Christ. Where are you right now? It matters not, so long as you turn your eyes upon Him who gave His life for you. He has come to “seek and to save that which was lost.” Are you, dear reader, lost in sin? Where are you? Are you fleeing the tents of your own wickedness for the solid ground of God’s righteousness provided for you in the person of Jesus Christ? Will you continue to sit and hide when Christ says “Come?” Will you let yet one more year roll by without coming out of the shrubbery of your own shame and forests of your own failure? Where are you?

And you, Christian, where are you in your walk with God and your relationship with Jesus Christ? Are you seeking to grow in grace by employing those means appointed by God for those ends? Will you seek with greater diligence to subdue and destroy those sins that still cling to your life? Will you humbly reach out this year to serve your neighbor’s needs? Will you, as William Carey once put it, “expect great things from God, attempt great things for God?” Are you headed for heaven? Then let us prepare for heaven now. Richard Baxter said “This life was not intended to be the place of our perfection, but the preparation for it.” Where are you right now? Dear reader, may we walk together this year as we head toward the Celestial City and our Eternal Home? I would be glad of the company, and certainly we would be mutually helped as we “stir up one another to love and good works.” Oh my soul…where are you?

Preaching God Loves!

2009-12-04T09:50:00.003-05:00

Ezekiel 3:27

“But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.”

Those reading this on Facebook will find it easier to read from the original blog site.

God loves preaching. In fact, He invented it. It was God who called Noah to preach to his generation about the coming judgment. It was God who sent the prophets to preach to Israel. And so it should be no surprise, that when God became man, what do we find Him doing? Preaching, of course! "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom… (Matthew 4:23)." Preaching is God’s idea. But as with every good idea of God, sinful man has found a way to corrupt it and misuse it.

What is the preaching that God loves? What sort of preaching pleases God? Is it the preaching that typically fills our sanctuaries today? Oh my soul, listen to our text this day and see in the Lord’s commission to Ezekiel the type of preaching approved by God.

1. First, God-pleasing preaching is a response to the command of God, not conditioned by the response of man. True preaching does not begin with what I want to hear. A preacher must come to terms with this as he constructs every sermon. “What is my first priority – pleasing God or pleasing man?” Ezekiel was told, basically, to forget about results. “He who hears, let him hear, and he who refuses, let him refuse.” The duty of the God-pleasing preacher is faithfulness to the message of God, and only such preaching truly cares for the souls of men. Paul says in Galatians "For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ (Galatians 1:10)."

Too much modern preaching is constructed to please and flatter men. Never offend! That is the slogan of the church today. Preaching seems to be driven by the consumer in a sort of sermon-by-survey approach. If flashy video and casual chats are more comfortable, then that is what the leadership of the modern church provides. But such methods are man’s methods and not God’s. The Lord told Ezekiel to preach and not to worry about the results. If they will hear, let them hear. If they refuse, let them refuse. God doesn’t adjust the message to make the truth more pleasing to fallen men. The Lord said to Ezekiel “I will open your mouth.” God-pleasing preaching flows from the mouths of men content to be the messengers of God. A preacher is, in some respects, God’s puppet. And the problem with much of modern preaching is that it has removed the arm of Almighty God and replaced it with the feeble hand of man.

2. Second, God-pleasing preaching demands serious attention to the words of God. “But when I speak to you…” No man can faithfully proclaim the word of God who is not carefully and humbly listening to the voice of God. This demands study. Preaching and teaching God’s word requires the labor and diligence of carefully examining the Scriptures. “Study” said Paul to Timothy “to show yourself approved unto God.” Too much preaching today sounds like it flows from studying the newspapers, the TV shows, or the bestselling novels rather than a diligent and painstaking study of the living Word of God. How many hours are spent anymore weighing carefully the words of preachers and commentators in previous generations? How much time is spent interacting with the original text to be sure that God’s main point in any verse or passage is actually our main point as well? How much time is spent to ensure the sermon is balanced with proper amounts of “doctrine, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.” How much time is spent weeping over the text so that a man can say, without hesitation, "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. (Acts 20:27)." Ezekiel was to pay close attention to what God said. Iain Murray put it this way “Sermons will not be marked by authority and power unless they are marked by truth that the Holy Spirit can honor. The word of God is to be exegeted and explained. That has to be the heart of the sermon.”

Preaching that fails to give serious weight and attention to God’s Word never gives true glory to God’s Son. The reason is simple. Jesus Christ is the Word of God. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14)." To play loose with God’s Word will always result in playing loose with God’s Son. It was His Son with whom God was perfectly pleased. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And God-pleasing preaching will always pay close attention to the Scriptures through which His Son is made known to us. Isaac said to him whom he would bless “make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me…”(Genesis 27:4)." Dear preacher, that is what the Lord is saying to you every week as you prepare your sermons: “Make me savory food, such as I love!” And the Holy Spirit only blesses those sermons that are sliced and seasoned with ingredients from the holy pantry of His inspired Word.

3. Third, God-pleasing preaching demands communicating God’s Word with God’s authority. “Thus says the Lord.” Away with your own thoughts, your own opinions, and your own perspectives! Keep your suggestions to yourself! Give us the Word of God, tell us what God has said, and declare with humble dignity the eternal truth for our eternal souls. “Thus says the Lord!” No man truly preaches with authority that is not sure his words are grounded in the Word of God. So says Peter “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God.” So it was with the teaching of Jesus Christ. He taught, and “they were astonished at His teaching (Mark 1:22).” Why? “For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Charles Spurgeon put it this way “The clearness of the testimony is spoiled when doubtful voices are scattered among the people, and those who ought to preach the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, are telling out for doctrines the imaginations of men, and the inventions of the age.”

The sort of preaching sought out today carries no authority with it. The whole atmosphere of modern worship is designed to downplay the importance and place of truth. I heard a sermon online recently preached by a man who, after a nice musical piece had finished, apologized to the congregation that they now had to “put up with his babbling.” This sort of false humility tends to demean and diminish the authority of God in preaching. John Gerstner put it well when he said “If preachers insist on competing with psychiatrists as counselors, with physicians as healers, with politicians as statesmen and with philosophers as speculators, then these specialists have every right to tell them how to preach. If a minister’s message is not based on “Thus saith the Lord,” then as a sermon it is good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of the specialists in the department with which it deals.”

Dear reader: Do you love preaching? Do you love the kind of preaching that God loves? Are you hearing it? If not, why not? How long can a child of God endure what their heavenly Father cannot enjoy? In the words of Isaiah "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance (Isaiah 55:2)." Are you afraid that maybe - just maybe - more serious preaching might demand of you more serious living? Have you grown comfortable with sermons that pat you on the back rather than poke you in the eye? I plead with you to carefully consider these things, as one who cares for your soul.

And you, O my soul, if you hear this sort of God-pleasing preaching…are you listening? Am I doing what I hear? Am I obeying the voice of the Lord? How many souls have soothed themselves to sleep simply because they sit under faithful preaching and think, therefore, that all is well? Hearing will not save you. Many heard the very sermons of Christ on earth who now hear nothing but cries of anguish in hell. Have you closed with Christ? Have you embraced by faith Him whom every God-pleasing sermon seeks to exalt? Oh be careful how you hear! "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them (John 13:17)."

More Sunday School Lessons

2009-11-30T07:49:00.002-05:00

Audio for this post is only available at the blog: Pickled Eggs

Continuing to post the Adult Sunday school lessons here taught at Immanuel Chapel OPC church in Upton, MA.

From Sunday November 22, 2009. The final lesson on Colossians 2:1-7, focussing primarily on verse 7.

"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving"

From Sunday November 29, 2009. This is the first lesson in a series on Colossians 2:8-10. Here Paul begins to address the Colossian heresy directly. We only dealt with part of verse 8 today:

"Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ"

The Manhattan Declaration

2009-11-25T21:40:00.007-05:00

Those reading this note from elsewhere, like Facebook, will find it easier to read from the original blog site:

http://www.jasonsavedbygrace.blogspot.com/

The Manhattan Declaration, begun in NY on September 28, 2009 and released on November 20, 2009, is a 4700 word document endorsed by 152 religious leaders, united to oppose the moral collapse of our society in the areas of marriage, abortion, and religious freedom. The document is intended to be a cooperative effort of “Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical Christians” to join forces and “speak and act in defense of these truths.” Prominent signers of the document from the evangelical community include men such as Chuck Colson, Dr. J.I. Paker, Dr. Robert Cannada Jr. and Pastor Al Mohler. Many other Catholics and Evangelicals have rallied support and signed this declaration. Professor Al Mohler argues for support from his blog in which he writes on November 23, 2009:

“I believe we are facing an inevitable and culture-determining decision on the three issues centrally identified in this statement. I also believe that we will experience a significant loss of Christian churches, denominations, and institutions in this process. There is every good reason to believe that the freedom to conduct Christian ministry according to Christian conviction is being subverted and denied before our eyes.”

But others, such as Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church, refuse to sign such a document on the grounds that it compromises the gospel. In a statement released on Tuesday November 24, 2009 he writes:

“Instead of acknowledging the true depth of our differences, the implicit assumption (from the start of the document until its final paragraph) is that Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant Evangelicals and others all share a common faith in and a common commitment to the gospel’s essential claims. The document repeatedly employs expressions like “we [and] our fellow believers”; “As Christians, we . . .”; and “we claim the heritage of . . . Christians.” That seriously muddles the lines of demarcation between authentic biblical Christianity and various apostate traditions.”

Who is right? To sign or not to sign…that is the question! Men of great intellect and accomplishment appear to be taking positions on both sides of the line. Does it matter? I believe that it does. Personally I am deeply saddened that so many good men and women from Evangelical churches no longer appreciate the significance of this compromise. They seem to believe that we can safely set aside our differences on the gospel to deal with matters of social sin. But my dear reader, the only means appointed by God to deal with sin IS the gospel. And although the Manhattan Declaration clearly states that it is “our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness” it has, in my opinion, utterly and entirely ignored this duty in the context of this document. I do not claim any sort of perfect grasp or understanding of the issues involved in the Declaration. Like you, maybe, I am just trying to think these things through as a steward and servant of Jesus Christ and, if possible, hope to help others to do the same. I do, however, feel compelled to speak. Allow me to lay out, in my opinion, the problems with the Manhattan Declaration:

Problem #1: Soft-peddling the Problem of Sin

The document deals with matters which the Bible clearly and unequivocally calls SIN. But the document fails miserably, in my opinion, to clearly call these moral failures by this name. Sin is not mentioned as a concern in the Preamble (page 1). Sin is not mentioned in the declaration (page 2). When dealing with the issue of abortion (page 3) the document does not call it sin, does not call it murder. The section on government tyranny (page 7) never speaks of sin. The section on marriage (which runs from page 3-6) only mentions sin in 1 short paragraph and in that context the emphasis, in my opinion, is clearly to downplay the seriousness of sin. There are 5 references to “sin” or “sinner” in this little paragraph (and nowhere else in the document). Here are 4 of the 5 references:

“Our rejection of sin, though resolute, must never become the rejection of sinners. For every sinner, regardless of the sin, is loved by God, who seeks not our destruction but rather the conversion of our hearts.”

This section does not call marital infidelity sin, does not call homosexuality sin, though I grant it seems to be implied. It only deals with God’s love and desire to restore sinners…but sadly never presents God’s just wrath and anger with our sin. Although it is right to speak of God’s love toward sinners, that concept has been divorced in this document from God’s anger with sinners. Both are Biblical. Psalm 7:11 says “God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day." It must be remembered (with fear and trembling) that God doesn’t send sin to hell…he sends sinners to hell. In fact, this section wrongly identifies the drive toward same-sex marriage as a symptom of the “the erosion of the marriage culture.” Is that what the Bible says? In Romans 1 Paul talks about homosexuality. He clearly identifies the cause. It is not because man has rejected “marriage” but because man has rejected “God.”

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them…Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.” (Romans 1:18, 19, 27)."

I believe the section on abortion equally tiptoes around the issue of sin, and focuses the issue on the “loss of the sense of the dignity of the human person.” Though true, it misses the point. Man has sinfully rejected God and therefore loves death (Proverbs 8:36). The wages of sin are death. Murder (not simply “killing” as the document prefers to call it…which is misleading) is an attack upon God Himself. Men murder themselves and others ultimately because they want to murder God.

Problem #2: Avoiding the Solution to the Problem: Repentance and the Cross

The Manhattan Declaration, thus unwilling to deal with sin as sin, is unable to deal with the remedy provided in the cross of Jesus Christ. Since the cause is not really addressed, the cure is not really needed. Since the wrath of God against sin isn’t mentioned, it is appropriate that the cross is not mentioned either. Notice: the cross of Christ is never mentioned. This is a document on sin, serious sin, by those claiming to be Christians, and they never once mention the cross. But this should not surprise us. Paul said, writing to the Corinthians “…but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23)." The cross has long been an embarrassment to many in the church, so it is not surprising to find it absent from such public appeals. The world has no use for the cross, for a bloody Savior, for an atonement that would cost so much.

The cross of Jesus Christ is the central event in the history of the world which proclaims both the seriousness of sin, and God’s plan to deal with sin through a substitutionary sacrifice of His very own Son.

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7)."

"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7)."

Some will say that this misses the purpose of the document. I say again: this Declaration is intended to highlight the offense of three particular and pressing sins of our day. It is, if you will, a “sin soaked” document. And it has been drafted by professing Christians– not doctors, psychiatrists, or lawyers (well…not AS lawyers). Christians! And it has not one drop of the blood of Christ. The drafters, and signers, in my opinion, should be ashamed.

This Declaration also never calls sinners to repentance. The Bible has a solution for sin. Repent! But such a call is neither politically correct nor polite any longer. They gently ask Christians to repent of sin, but not others. While discussing the marriage failures of many believers they write “…we repent, and call upon all Christians to do the same.” Yes, we need to repent. Christians need to repent. Every day I must repent. But it is a sad day in Evangelical Christianity when representatives no longer have the courage or conviction to call all mankind to repent of their sins before a holy God. The late James Montgomery Boice put it well in his book called “Foundations of the Christian Faith” when he said “We often hear the "Savior" characteristics of God stressed – His love, mercy, goodness and so on – but the matter of his lordship is absent. The distortion is particularly clear in evangelism. In modern practice the call to repentance is usually called an "invitation," which one can obviously accept or refuse. It is offered politely. Seldom do we hear presented God's sovereign demand to repent or his demand for total submission to the authority of his appointed king, Christ Jesus.”

Problem #3: A Call to Discernment

One of the saddest elements of this document is the testimony it gives to the growing lack of discernment amongst evangelicals. Discerning Christians should recognize the evangelical names on this document and begin to see red flags immediately. J.I. Packer is the author of several books that I dearly love. He has helped me in many ways develop as a Christian. But several years ago, against the advice of many of the most prominent and faithful leaders in Reformed and Evangelical Christian circles, he signed the hotly debated Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT) document. Chuck Colson has made it abundantly clear for a long time that he believes the Catholic church to be just one expression of the body of Christ to which we all, as “Christians” are united. He has said “But at root, those who are called of God, whether Catholic or Protestant, are part of the same Body.” If this is so, it would appear that the Reformation was unnecessary, unfortunate, and wrong. The name “Al Mohler” should, I believe, be shocking, saddening, and sobering. This is the same Al Mohler who, several years ago, endorsed RC Sproul’s book on “Faith Alone” by saying “In a day of rampant theological confusion and compromise, R.C. Sproul provides a voice of conviction deeply rooted in Biblical truth and the faithful heritage of the gospel. He makes clear what is at stake in the current patterns of evangelical compromise.” Did he really ever mean that? Has he himself now fallen into that very compromise he warned others about? I hope and pray he did not, and that he will come to see the error of his endorsement.

Alistair Begg, pastor of Parkside Church near Cleveland, OH sums up his reasons for not signing the Declaration well in this statement:

"Are we wise to lay aside crucial differences of eternal significance so as to secure temporal advantages? George Smeaton, in his classic work on the atonement observes, "To convert one sinner from his way is an event of greater importance than the deliverance of a whole kingdom from temporal evil."
I do not believe it is possible to embrace the premises of ecumenical strategy and still draw the conclusions of evangelical orthodoxy."

It should also be a matter of awareness to discerning Christians that certain names are conspicuously NOT on this list. Those of us from a Reformed background have a wide range of godly and gifted men laboring for Christ in His church today, whom we especially respect and listen to. That is not to say they can’t be wrong. The best of men are men at best. Yet a humble attitude toward this issue should at least give us some pause when we consider who has opted to NOT sign. Shall we name a few? In no particular order, and with no intention on being comprehensive:

R.C. Sproul
Michael Horton
John MacArthur
Sinclair Ferguson
Joel Beeke
John Piper
Carl Trueman
Mark Dever
Tom Ascol
Iain Campbell
James White
Conrad Mbewe
Phil Ryken
Geoffry Thomas
Iain Murray
David Wells
Maurice Roberts
The Apostle Paul (okay…threw that one in for fun).

I recently read a book entitled “Risking the Truth” in which Martin Downes collected answers from 20 top Reformed men around the world on issues related to heresy in the church. Note: not one of these men signed the declaration. The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals has a website and blog with a variety of contributors. These men are on the cutting edge of issues affecting the church. Not one of them signed it [correction: Ligon Duncan signed]. The Banner of Truth holds a conference every year for Reformed men and ministers. Five men will speak in 2010 in Pennsylvania. Not one of which signed this document. For those who see this Declaration as “no big deal” I merely present these facts to give some support for re-thinking your position.

Dr. James White sums up the issue quite well in his blog I believe: “These are the matters that truly concern me about the Manhattan Declaration. Why does God have the right to determine human sexuality, marriage, and to define life itself? It all goes back to the gospel, does it not? If we are going to give a consistent, clear answer to our culture, we dare not find our power in a false unity that overshadows the gospel and cripples our witness.”

Problem #4: The Danger of Pride

This is not a problem with the Manhattan Declaration. But it is a real potential problem for those of us who are trying to wedge their way through this difficult issue, raise an awareness about the seriousness of the gospel, and provide some Biblical perspectives on this matter. If Satan cannot get us to fall into an error (as we perceive it) he will tempt us to pride over our position and accomplish, virtually, just as much a victory. Richard Baxter, the Puritan minister, put it this way “Self is the most treacherous enemy, and the most insinuating deceiver in the world. Of all other vices, it is both the hardest to find out, and the hardest to cure.” Therefore, whatever side of this issue you fall on, let us humble ourselves before the Lord. J.C. Ryle said “Let us watch against pride in every shape – pride of intellect, pride of wealth, pride in our own goodness, pride in our own deserts. Nothing is so likely to keep a man out of heaven, and prevent him seeing Christ, as pride. So long as we think we are something, we shall never be saved.”

I hope that nothing I have said has transgressed the boundaries of charity. There are men whom I deeply respect who have chosen to sign this declaration. I want to speak the truth in love. But I do want to speak the truth, to the degree I see it, and to the best of my meager ability. All that I have said is true to the best of my knowledge. Where wrong, I am willing to stand corrected. I am very disturbed by the moral climate of our culture, especially respecting these areas of abortion, marriage, and government tyranny. What is the answer? Personally I think the best answer is to pray and preach the gospel. Promote the gospel. Tell this dying world of a risen Savior. Let them see you weep over their sin, as Christ wept over Jerusalem. Finally, plead with heaven the promises of Scripture that "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14)."

Colossians 2:7 "Rooted in Christ"

2009-11-15T14:47:00.003-05:00

Colossians 2:6-7
"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving"
The New King James Version.

Well, I had hoped to finish Colossians 2:7 today. But alas, the theme of being "rooted" in Christ and the application of that truth exhausted our 25 minutes and I shall have to take up the last 3 participles ("built up" and "established" and "abounding") next week Lord willing. It is a good thing the Lord has given me such a patient church family, or else I would have been tossed out for such slow progress long ago.

Here again is the MP3 file, which I can post until I run out of free space at divshare.com. LOL. May you, my dear listener, know the joy, peace and comfort of being rooted in the unshakable and immovable soil of Christ Jesus the Lord.

For readers on other sites where this feeds to, the audio is only available back at the main blog:

http://www.jasonsavedbygrace.blogspot.com/

A Letter to Modern Worship Leaders

2009-11-06T19:06:00.009-05:00

Dear Worship Leader,

I am writing this letter to congratulate you on the long overdue success of a truly casual worship. Casual, comfortable and harmless worship is a magnificent masterpiece of our modern generation and must be maintained and encouraged at all costs. We have finally escaped the shackles of that stuffy reverence of the past, and I for one am glad to see it go. Well done! It is only through the innovation of this informal, care-free, friendly and frothy worship that we can really meet the needs of the spirit of our age and the soul of modern man. The church must recognize and respond to the climate of our current culture if it wants to provide a paradigm of worship that is relevant and meaningful. The modern trends in worship are doing well to further this cause, and I am entirely committed to promoting this progress.

Casual worship is necessary if the church wants to stir up within society any sort of interest in God today. If we want our neighbors to approach God, then our goal must be to make God approachable. The logic is simply irresistible. And once armed with the courage of this compelling argument, a whole army of opportunities come marching in. Deliberate alterations in church designs are a delightful development. Finally we have broken free from those architectural embarrassments such as pulpits and pews. Structures carry a silent but unmistakable message to our minds. The student’s desk makes it clear that the classroom is designed for study and instruction. Judges preside at benches to convey the solemn seriousness of the law. Kings sit on thrones to communicate greatness, power and authority. Therefore…barstools and soft chairs are perfect for church! Our message to the modern worshipper couldn’t be clearer now: chill, relax, make yourself at home, don’t worry…this isn’t going to hurt! By the way, big screen TV’s and Starbucks coffee were brilliant additions as well. Just keep your eyes open. Look at the structures in modern society that communicate “laughter, fun and entertainment” and do what you can to reproduce them in worship.

Let me just say that our modern worship music has gratefully come a long way in creating the right impression as well. Nobody goes to a pop-concert expecting to be changed or challenged. MTV doesn’t tend to engender deep contemplation or serious thought. And to the degree we can duplicate that design we will create exactly the same environment in church. And don’t think for a moment that it is only the quality and style of the music that have contributed to creating this valuable worship climate. That was the more obvious, but really far less important accomplishment. Our greatest advantage has been primarily the sheer quantity of focus and attention that has been given to what is helpfully called today “the music ministry” of the church. Until recently “music” was but one piece of furniture in the worship décor. Like a chair carefully selected and situated in your den, it occupies a place suitable to compliment the overall atmosphere of the room. But while Christians fussed and fought over the best fabric and color for this musical chair…we successfully managed to increase the size of the chair without notice! Our music today now occupies such a prominent and disproportionate place in worship that everything else is conveniently crowded out. However, even the best of our efforts sometimes fall flat, so wise worship leaders have learned to add sufficient servings of video and drama as well.

Oh, and kudos to all of you who have helped promote the most casual attire to accompany these helpful trends. This is so obvious; it is surprising the church has missed it for so long. Clothing communicates! A company dress code communicates to the customer what he or she should expect. If your heart surgeon were to show up in sandals, sunglasses and tattered shorts you might be inclined to reschedule! A serious message, matters of weight and moment, demand more formal attire. Thus the clever clergyman today will carefully choose clothing that is both casual and cool. Nothing about our worship must be taken too seriously! Trade in your ties for t-shirts and your jackets for jeans. Sermons in sneakers are easier to swallow, especially if they are short and sweet. Since the chief end of God is our comfort and happiness, we should get used to such comfort in church. Dress up for holidays and funerals and interviews and weddings…but by all means please dress down for church!

Finally, isn’t it just obvious that casual and comfortable worship puts the attention of our adoration back where it properly belongs…on you the worshipper! What sort of atmosphere makes you most comfortable? What environment tends to make you feel at home? The church must seek to create a worship service that caters to your wants, your needs, and your desires if it ever hopes to communicate something to our society, whatever that something might be. With all of the former adjustments now implemented, worshippers today will find themselves comfortably insulated from those touchy topics which often characterized the preaching of our past. Themes such as heaven and hell, sin and holiness, law and gospel, suffering and sacrifice, and the cross of Christ which is the real measure of God’s love…simply no longer fit in. Worship, once saturated with the superficial, is entirely safe from such serious stuff. And if, by some embarrassing blunder of poor planning these themes should accidentally appear, they will, with any luck, go entirely unnoticed. Keep your fingers crossed!

Well done my good and faithful servants,
Your affectionate father,
Lucifer

The Sunday Evening Worship Tradition

2009-11-03T06:46:00.006-05:00

The following post is actually a letter just sent to the editor of our local newspaper. I don't know if it will actually get printed. But I mention this only to explain the flavor and consistency of this little dish. It certainly lacks the depth and diversity of a full dinner. Space restrictions in local newspapers greatly impact what the menu can offer. Some will likely find even this tiny morsel a bit tough to chew and difficult to swallow. Others will consider it a virtual culinary catastrophe. But if I do nothing more than stir within someone a deeper desire to plunge into the scullery of Scripture and create a more robust regale, I will consider my labors worthwhile. Bon appetit!

Traditions. They are the sweet fragrances of the past casting forward with fond memories the rich aroma of days gone by. Many reading this letter will remember fondly the tradition of morning and evening worship on the Lord’s Day. Sundays were special. Shoppes and stores were closed and only those employments of absolute necessity or mercy were generally engaged in. Life slowed down on Sunday in a sort of humble reflection of our very Redeemer and Creator’s rest. But times have changed. Gone are the days of the “Closed – See you in Church” signs in business windows. Gone, for many, are the days of a warm home-cooked Sunday afternoon meal with friends and family gathered around a table at which Scripture was read, sermons discussed, and catechisms recited. And gone, it would appear, is the long standing tradition of Sunday evening worship. Of course, for many, the idea of any Sunday worship has been sadly forgotten. But today my heart and thoughts go out to those who remember the time when the curtain on this spiritual “Market Day” was closed by gathering with the people of God to worship, sing, and give thanks to the Lord.

This letter is written to encourage my neighbors in Upton and the Blackstone Valley to re-establish this helpful tradition from our past. Immanuel Chapel in Upton, MA has a Sunday evening worship service at 6:00PM. If your church cannot offer an evening service, would you consider coming to join us? You will hear the gospel of Jesus Christ - that glorious heaven-born provision for sinners like you and I - preached and proclaimed with passion, faithfulness and love. You can join us in singing psalms and the best hymns of our past and present; rich in content and penetrated throughout with holy affection and zeal for the Lord. But most importantly, Sunday evening worship offers us the opportunity to close this first day of the week in the worship and the presence of the Most High God. Psalm 92 is entitled a “Song for the Sabbath Day” and in it we read “It is good to give thanks to the Lord…to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and your faithfulness every night.”

I am under no illusion that beginning this tradition again will be easy. For some it may seem utterly impossible. But for those who sense the value of Sunday evening worship, and desire to commit this time to the Lord, allow me to offer a few brief words of encouragement and advice. First, let me assure you that it can be done. I am married, and a father of four children with busy lives, hoards of homework, countless commitments, and insane schedules. It is only by the grace of God that it happens, and I give Him all the glory, but He has enabled us to worship together as a family on Sunday morning and evening all the years of their lives. Second, let the Lord know the desire of your heart. Do you want to worship Sunday evening…but simply do not see how to do it? Bring this request to the Lord, and keep bringing it, until He shows you a way. Psalm 37:5 says “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” Third, plan for it. Think ahead to Sunday. What are you going to be doing at 6:00PM? Can you adjust your meal time, your shopping, your family events, or your work schedule? It is a piece of time-trusted wisdom that those who “fail to plan, plan to fail.” Proverbs says that “the plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty.” And I would pray that the Lord blesses your plans and leads you to worship Him on Sunday evenings, for He is worthy to be praised.

Colossians 2:6 Walk In Him

2009-11-01T15:04:00.003-05:00

Colossians 2:6-7

"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."

Still playing with my new MP3 voice recorder. Personally, I wouldn't cross the street to hear myself teach. But I'll post the lesson here anyway. This was taught at Immanuel Chapel OPC in Upton, MA on Sunday morning 11/1/2009.

If reading elsewhere, like on Facebook, the only way to get the audio is from the original blog:

A Divine Solace for Disquieted Souls

2009-10-27T21:05:00.002-05:00

Isaiah 41:10
“Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand.”

O Anxious Soul! You who fear tomorrow…that great unknown…that dark cloud of uncertainty that lies ahead. You who expect to be undone underneath the enormous weight of difficulties you bear. You…who see more foes than friends, more conflicts than comforts, more dangers than defenses and more sorrows than solace. You who sense the depths of your own inadequacy and the boundless reaches of your own iniquity. O dear soul that treads within the valley of death’s shadow and that “walks in darkness and has no light (Isaiah 50:10).” Hear now the words of the Lord: “Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand.”

First, notice that God Almighty bids your trembling heart to look at Him. Five times in one verse He directs our attention by “I.” “I am with you” “I am your God” “I will strengthen you” “I will help you” and “I will uphold you.” I…I…I! Oh dear soul, consider who it is that bids your gaze! The Eternal and Everlasting One invites you to look up from your present and momentary affliction. “I the Lord am the first, and with the last I am He (Isaiah 41:4).” He lived before ever your present trial was born and shall exist long after this affliction is gone. Men, angels and beasts all have their likenesses in the world. But this God who requires your regard has no equal in heaven or earth. “To whom will you liken Me and make me equal (Isaiah 46:5)?” Look up, dear soul, look up and take captive all the powers of your contemplation to consider Him, the Omnipotent Maker of all that is. “Unto You I will lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens (Psalm 123:1).” Let Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God-with-us, have your attention in the midst of this affliction. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2).” Spurgeon put it this way “Thou lookest within, and thou sayest, “There is nothing acceptable here!” But look at Christ, and see if there is not everything acceptable there.”

Second, notice dear quivering spirit that this God is now speaking directly to you. He who has no equal, He who “measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span”, and He before whose glory angels cannot lift their eyes, is now in these words speaking pointedly and personally to your very heart. Five times He said “I” and now five times He says “you!” “with you” and “your God” and “strengthen you” and “help you” and “uphold you.” Do you hear this dear reader? Will you pause for only a moment to meditate on what this means? In this text heaven has come knocking at your door. Oh wonderful grace, Oh unexpected and blessed intrusion! It is more than could ever be hoped for, and were the words not so clear…more than could ever be believed. But it is true! The Lord God sees you, has come to you, and is speaking to you! Dying Joseph said to his brethren “God will surely visit you (Gen. 50:24).” The “High and Lofty” condescends to deal intimately with the weak and lowly. Our God draws near His afflicted children. He speaks to you. It is a mystery and wonder that the Lord even notices rebellious mankind in general, “what is man that you are mindful of him.” But who can adequately express the surprise that God Almighty should so stoop to speak to you and I? The disciples on the road to Emmaus were sad, but then “Jesus Himself drew near (Luke 24:15).” Paul was in prison, but “the Lord stood by him (Acts 23:11).” And it is to you dear saint, for whom Christ died and rose and comes again, that our Savior says “I will never leave you or forsake you (Heb. 13:5).”

Thirdly, dear reader, consider from our text that this God who speaks to you knows precisely how you feel. He knows your anxieties, for He says “fear not.” He knows your confusion, for He says “be not dismayed.” He knows, more fully than you or I will ever know, your weakness…and He says “I will strengthen you.” He knows you are helpless, but He says “I will help you.” He knows you have been brought low, and from heaven He reaches down and says “I will uphold you.” Dear child of God…no one on earth knows you like this! Oh be convinced of this dear soul, be more convinced of this than of anything else, that our Great High Priest knows your heavy heart and your present trial. Forget not that our Savior too, and more so than any man, was a “Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3).”

Finally, as a conclusion to all these comforts, I would confirm them to your heart with two little words from our text: “your God.” You are, if you are in Christ, in an unbreakable and eternal relationship with God, sealed by the very blood of Christ, and written forever in the Lamb’s book of life. “I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands (Isaiah 49:16),” says the Lord. Through a faith implanted by heaven in your soul, by an irreversible transformation of your heart, and a down payment upon your eternal happiness by the Spirit of God Himself…He is your God! “What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32)” Your God is also your Father. The door to His chamber is ever open to you. “I am the Lord your God (Num. 15:41).” Remember in the midst of “your trial” to listen to the voice of “your God.” Your trial is but for a moment, but “the Lord shall reign forever – your God (Psalm 146:10).”

Oh stranger who happens to read these words…is He your God? Can you say with the hymnist “Our God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home?” If not, then I implore you to flee to Jesus Christ, cast down your good works and your evil works and leave all and go to Him. He has a righteous for you, prepared in Christ, and free to all who come to Him by faith. Those who will not come have much to fear. But once embraced by God’s provision for your soul in Christ, then to you He says “Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand.”