Are You Serious?

Come to Christ!!

2009-07-16T23:46:00.002-05:00

In all we do as humans, as husbands, as fathers...nothing is as important as knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This wonderful short video put together by the folks at IllBeHonest.com featuring a portion of a sermon by Paul Washer does a powerful job of making the call to "Come to Christ!"

The Fire

2009-06-10T20:34:00.006-05:00

PLEASE take the 12 minutes to watch this young man's anointed petitioning of you to come to Jesus, and live a life of ever-increasing Christ-likeness and holiness.

Eternity is at stake...

(If the video doesn't work correctly, click HERE to get the original.)

I'll Be Honest...

2008-11-30T19:46:00.003-06:00

Thanks to J&J Bible Ministry at Truth Matters Blog, I have been introduced to a great website, I'll Be Honest.com. On this site you get real people with real testimonies about real conversions. Their purpose statement is as follows:

"I'll Be Honest is a web site that is focused on bringing Glory to God through video testimonies of Christians who have overcome the devil in their life through the Grace of God. Every single person alive battles the devil on a daily basis, and it is of great encouragement to see someone else testify to the saving power of the Grace of God. IBH is also focused on spreading the renown of Jesus Christ to the world through Open-Air Preaching and evangelism so that Christ might send revival!"

There are videos, online courses, blogs, and links on the site.

One of the videos that brought me to the site is included here. It is a young man who pulls no punches about his life and how it was transformed by the Gospel...NOT by a prayer said as an 8-year-old!

Ten Indictments

2008-11-09T19:54:00.003-06:00

This is a sermon from the Revival Conference 2008 in Atlanta. Pastor Paul Washer brings Ten Indictments of the American church and "nails them to the door," so to speak. It isn't your usual 30- to 40-minute "feel good" sermon. It takes time to listen.

Please do me a favor. Listen with a humble, contrite spirit. And as you listen, will you please quietly open your heart and instead of critiquing the sermon, ask God to show you where these indictments might be applicable to your life. Then in humble repentance, ask God to forgive you in the name of Jesus.

This is a sermon God could use to change the church...and I pray it would be so.

May you be blessed by the proclamation of the Word!

(If the embedded video doesn't work, click HERE to access it directly on YouTube.)

Fasting and Weeping

2008-11-09T19:41:00.002-06:00

Fasting and Weeping, another word from Pastor Paul Washer at the Revival Confercence 2008.

If the embedded video doesn't work, you can access it HERE.

How Revival Comes

2008-11-09T19:22:00.002-06:00

This is a clip from the "Revival Conference 2008" held recently in Atlanta, Georgia. Paul Washer speaks eloquently about the reality of how revival comes.

More video clips can be found HERE.

It is all of grace....

Post-Election Musings

2008-11-09T17:11:00.007-06:00

In case you didn't see it on my HomeDiscipling Dad blog, I am reposting this post-election muse here:

You might be a political junkie. You might be a hard-working dad who doesn’t have time to pay much attention. You might be a stay-at-home mom, diligently raising the next generation, barely having time to catch up with the news.

And you might be a dedicated Christian who understands the liberty upon which this nation was founded, and last week’s election results have you fearing the worst for our future and for the future of your children. It is a justifiable fear, based in facts. You are frightened. You are angry. You are bitter. You are lashing out. You read much, yet it doesn’t help but to add to the fear.

I know. I am that person.

Of all that I’ve read, though, there are three articles that stand out to me.

The first is by Dan Phillips of "Biblical Christianity" blog. Dan reflects on the wholly proper Biblical example of mourning for our country in light of what has happened. Our response shouldn’t be fear, anger, or bitterness, as much as mourning and crying to the Father for mercy.

The second is a link I found on Dan’s post to Betsy Markman’s blog, “Just Another Clay Pot.” She carries the idea of mourning and grief farther, and brings out the very important point that America is not in mortal danger because of who we have elected to office, but rather, America elected these people to office because we are in mortal danger! We are no longer a nation under God.

The third is a sermon by John MacArthur that was originally preached at one of the National Day of Prayer gatherings in the spring of 2008. (The transcript and the audio are available HERE.) In this sermon, MacArthur discusses the devolution of society when God removes His hand as illustrated in Romans 1 and shows how American culture has moved significantly down that road. He Scripturally backs up the contention found in Markman’s blog that we are no longer a nation under God.

If you read these resources, you will find they are not pleasant thoughts, for they illustrate a culture that is hurtling headlong into the abyss and anyone with a Biblically informed worldview living in this culture will see the future with trepidation. How could anyone not be concerned, especially parents who see a bleak future for their children? I know the arguments about Christians having their hope in heaven, and as a believer, my ultimate hope truly is in Jesus Christ… but I still live in this world and envision how it will be turned upside down in very short order. I am still mourning as Jeremiah did.

So what to do? What would a person who trusts his life to God in Jesus Christ actually do in this case?

Maybe we ought to get more involved in politics, fighting to take back the Republican Party from the moderates! Let’s flex our political muscles as a group!

While that’s quite appealing to me in the flesh, I know it’s not going to work, for it is like a million people attempting to bail out the ocean with teaspoons. No matter how hard they bail, the water is being replenished faster. If MacArthur is correct, God has removed His hand of protection from our country and it is only a matter of time before we lose all this country once was because our culture has already changed. Nothing we do politically will work. More confirmation of that thought comes from an eye-opening book I am reading entitled, "Idols for Destruction: The Conflict of Christian Faith and American Culture" by Herbert Schlossberg. The author does a fabulous job of showing how far our culture has drifted from the authentic Christian faith. Humanism is the rule of the day, even in most of our churches, influencing and affecting most everything we do, whether we realize it or not. Many Christians aren’t even aware how much we really don’t follow a Biblical worldview, even when we say we do! The results of this election are wholly in accordance with the humanistic cultural viewpoints Schlossberg brings out in his discussion. As our culture drifts farther and farther from the remnants of our Christian heritage, we will move closer and closer to socialism, decay, and loss of freedom. While battling in the political arena may postpone the inevitable, it will not stop it from coming, for our culture has changed to the point of demanding this change occur.

Is there any good news? In a word…Yes!

This is a wake-up call to the church, not to more and greater political involvement, but to more and greater reliance upon God and His claim on our lives. We are about to have our reliance upon the material world shattered. It will be painful, but if we will turn to God now, confess our sins, conform our lives to Scriptural principles, we can minimize that pain.

Even more importantly, though, is the church that is actually being the church expands God’s Kingdom by witnessing loudly to a culture lost in darkness. This is a church where Christians aren’t just cultural, but are Biblically informed, doctrinally sound, living lives directed by God’s laws and commandments. Puritan Samuel Bolton in his book, “The True Bounds of Christian Freedom,” wrote the following: “The Law sends us to the Gospel for our justification; the Gospel sends us to the Law to frame our way of life.”

You don’t have to look very closely to see that virtually all of us “frame our way of life” according to the culture instead of according to the Law of God.

This has to change! As people who know the Lord of all, we need to frame our lives around the Word instead of around the culture. This isn’t in order to be saved, but as a result of our salvation. We need to live in Christian community, involved with each others’ lives in love. John makes it clear in His Gospel that it is by our love for each other that people will know we are Christians. Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr. at the Highlands Study Center says it best in their mission statement: “Simple, Separate, and Deliberate.” The Christians in their churches strive for lives that are simple. That way they have time for each other, both within the individual families and between families. They are separate in that they separate from the culture, not in a monastic fashion, but in the fashion that a life lived by Biblical principles will necessarily not follow the trends, but live in a manner that seeks the approval of the Father. This necessitates a Christian culture that is distinctly separate from the pagan culture of America. And of course, to do both of these, they must be deliberate in taking all things captive to the Word of God. This makes them a light on the hill that shines forth brightly in their little corner of the world. Imagine that being recreated all across this land! Imagine how the Kingdom would be expanded through true witness and conversions! Imagine how the culture would be impacted!

How about us? We go to our Bible Studies. We talk about being salt and light, but honestly…how’s that working for ya? Have you had many converts? Has your culture changed at all? Have you personally grown in holiness and sanctification? Salt is different than the surrounding food; light is different than darkness. If we continue to look like the culture, not only will we have no hope in changing that culture, but we will go down with them as God brings His judgment.

Let’s use these perilous times to call us back to the lives our Father would have us live: lives that are humble, repentant, growing in holiness and dependence upon our God, lives that every day reflect a new aspect of obedience to the commandments of our Lord, lives that live in Christian community and express Christian love for each other. In doing so, our Lord in heaven will be pleased, and maybe…He will show mercy to our land.

9/11- Seven Years Later

2008-09-11T07:51:00.002-05:00

As a person who works in one of the industries directly involved in the atrocity that was 9/11/01, today marks a day that indelibly etched in my mind.

Steve Camp posts a video that does a very nice job of remembrance, while pointing us to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ....

Since it's his video and song, rather than embed it, I will give you the link... go HERE to spend five minutes in remembrance of those who died and those who rose to the occasion.

A Lonely Christian?

2008-05-26T11:05:00.005-05:00

I have come across two posts from two different blogs that dwell upon similar topics. I would comment them both to you for consideration and meditation. Both involve quotes from A.W. Tozer about the realities of the true Christian life and its resulting separation from the world.

The first is from The Great Apostasy.

The second is from Scott Head at These are the Generations Of...

Enjoy...and be blessed!

Our Calling?

2008-05-22T23:50:00.003-05:00

Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr has a wonderful set of videos on YouTube (You can find them HERE). In this particular one, R.C. gives a quick, but concise answer to the question that plagues many a Christian: "What is our calling?" Wouldn't it be nice if there was a simple text that told me exactly what God wanted me to do with my life?

Ponder R.C.'s answer....

Church of Oprah

2008-04-03T14:50:00.004-05:00

How many women who go by the name of "Christian" spend time watching Oprah Winfrey's television show and listening to her advice on life? My guess is the answer would be, "far too many!" Although Oprah grew up in a Baptist household, her pontificating on all things spiritual has shown her to be anything but Christian. In fact, she is New Age to the core...which means pagan and lost. Unfortunately her prestige and popularity allow her to witness these beliefs to millions upon millions of people, leading them down the road to perdition.

If you are a Christian, like her or not, please understand the dangers of what Oprah preaches, for it is heresy and will damn those who follow it to an eternity in hell.

HT to Thabiti Anyabwile of Pure Church for the following video:

100% Profanity Free!

2008-04-01T09:36:00.001-05:00

I am glad the results of this widget turned out this way!!!

Created by OnePlusYou

Withholding Affection- Revisited

2008-03-04T21:03:00.004-06:00

My little blog is still small enough that I can go through the hit-tracker and look at what is leading people to visit. Aside from a few regulars, there is one particular google-search that continually brings people to my site. The words used in that search are "withholding affection." Last August I did a three-part series on the topic of withholding affection (Part One can be found HERE and links to the following two parts are found at part one) and it receives hit after hit...and the people usually stay and read for a while.

That tells me I hit an international nerve (the hits come from all over the world) with those posts and there are lots and lots and lots of people out there who are struggling with this issue in their married relationships (if you aren't married and this is a problem, it's an easy fix: quit fornicating...for you shouldn't even be in this situation in the first place!!!).

The purpose of revisiting this topic is to guide you to a five-part series of posts by a woman that discusses the concept of a woman being sexy for her husband. I won't even begin to try to play amateur psychologist and venture a guess as to why women wouldn't want to do this...but apparently it is a problem...and if it were addressed, it would lead to a solution to part of the problem with the withholding affection issue. Part One of this series can be found HERE and links to each of the subsequent parts are found at the end.

So...to the ladies who happen by, please click over and take what she has to say to heart. For the men... it's not a bad series to read to help develop an understanding of what your wife may be feeling regarding sexual intimacy.

Regardless... the glory of God is at stake in marriages, and God expects His children to thoroughly enjoy the gift of sexual intimacy within the bounds of marriage. That we don't is an indication of our fallen nature as well as the pains that have been introduced by the lies of our culture regarding sex.

Therefore, if you are married, don't withhold! If you are single and burning with passion, get married!

Brother Yun and the Western Church

2008-02-22T21:37:00.005-06:00

I recently became aware of a Chinese pastor by the name of Brother Yun, who now has an evangelical ministry to the West. He speaks no English, so his presentations are through a translator. His life story is told in the book, "The Heavenly Man," with Paul Hattaway (can be found at Amazon.com through the links on the left of my blog). It was compelling reading...which is code for "In a minute dear, I have to finish this chapter!" God's faithfulness to this man through trials like we in the West cannot imagine makes me desire God more. His life of nearness to God uniquely qualifies him to comment on the state of the church in the West.

He states (on page 295):

"Before I travelled to the West I had absolutely no idea that so many churches were spiritually asleep. I presumed the Western church was strong and vibrant because it had brought the gospel to my country with such incredible faith and tenacity. Many missionaries had shown a powerful example to us by laying down their lives for the sake of Jesus.

On some occasions I've struggled while speaking in Western churches. There seems to be something missing that leaves me feeling terrible inside. Many meetings are cold and lack the fire and presence of God that we have in China (Brother Yun notes elsewhere in the book that the house churches in China rejected any foreign preacher who would not preach for at least two hours at a time!!!).

In the West many Christians have an abundance of material possessions, yet they live in a backslidden state. They have silver and gold, but they don't rise up and walk in Jesus' name. In China we have no possessions to hold us down, so there's nothing preventing us from moving out for the Lord.

...It's almost impossible for the church in China to go to sleep in its present situation. There's always something to keep us on the run, and it's very difficult to sleep while you're running. If persecution stops, I fear we'll become complacent and fall asleep. (emphasis added)"

Asleep?! Cold and lack the fire and presence of God?! That is quite the indictment, yet it is so very, very true! Why is this? Brother Yun identifies the reason quickly and succinctly as our material riches. We rely on our bank account, on our job, on our political system, on ourselves, on anything but God! The devil doesn't have to inspire persecution here; he keeps us down with our own riches. Yun then attributes the life of the church in China to the high level of persecution. In essence, persecution is a good thing in the light of eternity! Isn't that just like God to turn something completely inside out with His truth?

We in America tend to think that we are the epitome of Christianity; it is from us that the rest of the world should learn. In God's economy, that just isn't so. I "happened" to receive an e-mail newsletter from Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr (Highlands Study Center) at the same time as I finished this book. He writes some thoughts as he returns from a short-term missions trip to Myanmar (formerly Burma). He says, "I come home deeply chastened for how western I am, rather than pleased with how Christian. I come home deeply disturbed by how much I take for granted the material blessings God has granted me and my family. I come home shamed by the passion, zeal, hope, and fidelity of the people I went to instruct (emphasis added). They, instead, instructed me. And, last but not least, I come home longing to go back."

How should we as believers respond? I don't have an answer... but I believe we could start by throwing ourselves at the foot of the Cross in repentance for not valuing our Savior as we should, for not following Him as we should, for not proclaiming Him as we should, for not fearing God as we should. We should seek Him with all our heart. We desperately need to find Him; we desperately need His presence; we desperately need to be changed by His grace. And the world desperately needs us to faithfully bring His love to them....

I intend to write more on Brother Yun's story and thoughts. I hope you will get the book for yourselves, for I know you will be blessed by it.

What Evangelism Isn't

2007-12-31T14:23:00.000-06:00

Mark Dever writes a very perceptive essay on evangelism, containing many points most Christians need to learn. Pay close attention to what evangelism IS NOT!

Charley

From Christianity Today Online

What Evangelism Isn't

We need to stop mistaking other Christian activities for the spreading of the gospel.

Mark Dever, excerpted and adapted from The Gospel and Personal Evangelism | posted 12/31/2007 08:45AM

I remember as a little child hugging my father's leg at a gas station only to realize it wasn't his leg I was hugging. I was embarrassed! It was a case of mistaken identity.

In the matter of evangelism, I'm concerned about a number of things that people take to be evangelism that aren't. And this case of mistaken identity can have consequences more serious than mere embarrassment. Let me mention five things mistaken for evangelism.

Imposition

Probably the most common objection to evangelism today is, "Isn't it wrong to impose our beliefs on others?"

Some people don't practice evangelism because they feel they are imposing on others. And the way evangelism is often done, I can understand the confusion! But when you understand what the Bible presents as evangelism, it's really not a matter of imposing your beliefs.

It's important to understand that the message you are sharing is not merely an opinion but a fact. That's why sharing the gospel can't be called an imposition, any more than a pilot can impose his belief on all his passengers that the runway is here and not there.

Additionally, the truths of the gospel are not yours, in the sense that they uniquely pertain to you or your perspective or experience, or in the sense that you came up with them. When you evangelize, you are not merely saying, "This is how I like to think of God," or "This is how I see it." You're presenting the Christian gospel. You didn't invent it, and you have no authority to alter it.

Personal Testimony

One of the classic testimonies was given by a blind man Jesus healed. When he was questioned after Jesus healed him, he responded, "Whether he [Jesus] is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" (John 9:25). The man disregarded the menacing threats of those more honored and respected than he in order to give this verbal witness to the power of God. It's a wonderful, powerful testimony, but it's not evangelism. There is no gospel in it. The man didn't even know who Jesus was.

An account of a changed life is wonderful and inspiring thing, but it's the gospel of Jesus Christ that explains what it's all about and how it happened.

Social Action and Public Involvement

Being involved in mercy ministries may help to commend the gospel, which is why Jesus taught, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). Displaying God's compassion and kindness by our actions is a good and appropriate thing for Christians to do. But such actions are not evangelism. They commend the gospel, but they share it with no one. To be evangelism, the gospel must be clearly communicated, whether in written or oral form.

When our eyes fall from God to humanity, social ills replace sin, horizontal problems replace the fundamental vertical problem between us and God, winning elections eclipses winning souls.

Apologetics

Other people mistake apologetics for evangelism. Like the activities we've considered above, apologetics itself is a good thing. We are instructed by Peter to be ready to give a reason for the hope that we have (1 Pet. 3:15). And apologetics is doing exactly that. Apologetics is answering questions and objections people may have about God or Christ, or about the Bible or the message of the gospel.

Answering questions and defending parts of the good news may often be a part of conversations Christians have with non-Christians, and while that may have been a part of our own reading or thinking or talking as we came to Christ, such activity is not evangelism.

Apologetics can present wonderful opportunities for evangelism. Being willing to engage in conversations about where we came from or what's wrong with this world can be a significant way to introduce honest discussions about the gospel.

By far the greatest danger in apologetics is being distracted from the main message. Evangelism is not defending the virgin birth or defending the historicity of the resurrection. Apologetics is defending the faith, answering the questions others have about Christianity. It is responding to the agenda that others set. Evangelism, however, is following Christ's agenda, the news about him. Evangelism is the positive act of telling the good news about Jesus Christ and the way of salvation through him.

The Results of Evangelism

Finally, one of the most common and dangerous mistakes in evangelism is to misinterpret the results of evangelism—the conversion of unbelievers—for evangelism itself, which is the simple telling of the gospel message. Who can deny that much modern evangelism has become emotionally manipulative, seeking simply to cause a momentary decision of the sinner's will, yet neglecting the biblical idea that conversion is the result of the supernatural, gracious act of God toward the sinner?

When we are involved in a program in which converts are quickly counted, decisions are more likely pressed, and evangelism is gauged by its immediately obvious effect, we are involved in undermining real evangelism and real churches.

The Christian call to evangelism is a call not simply to persuade people to make decisions but rather to proclaim to them the good news of salvation in Christ, to call them to repentance, and to give God the glory for regeneration and conversion. We don't fail in our evangelism if we faithfully tell the gospel to someone who is not converted; we fail only if we don't faithfully tell the gospel at all. Evangelism itself isn't converting people; it's telling them that they need to be converted and telling them how they can be.

From The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever copyright © 2007, adapted from pages 69-82. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.

Related Elsewhere:

The Gospel and Personal Evangelism is available from ChristianBook.com and other retailers.

John G. Stackhouse Jr. addressed "What Conversion Is and Is Not" in a 2003 article.

"Receiving" the Gospel

2007-12-08T14:31:00.000-06:00

Paul Washer's HeartCry Missionary Society publishes a quarterly magazine available for download from their website. In Volume 54, September-November 2007, the leading article is on the Gospel. In the article, the author muses upon and exegetes First Corinthians 15:1-4. ("Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,")

In particular, I found the section on "Receiving" the Gospel to be one of the best (and most challenging) explanations of both the requirements for and the implications of becoming a Christian.

For your edification, I reprint (via my typing, thus I take full responsibility for any typos) that section here. Any italics or bold are my emphases on the author's points. Please visit the links above to read the entire article or the entire magazine.

For men to be saved, the Gospel must be received. Yet, what does it mean to "receive" the Gospel? There is nothing extraordinary about the word "received" in English or biblical Greed, but in the context of the Gospel, it becomes quite extraordinary, and one of the most radical words in Scripture.

First, when two things are contrary or diametrically opposed to one another, to receive the one is to reject the other. Since there is no affinity or friendship between the Gospel and the world, to "receive" the Gospel is to "reject" the world. In this is demonstrated just how radical the act of receiving the Gospel can be. To receive and follow the Gospel call is to reject all that can be seen with the eye and held in the hand, in exchange for what cannot be seen. It is to reject personal autonomy, the right to self-government, in order to enslave oneself to a "messiah" who died two thousand years ago as an enemy of the state and a blasphemer. It is to reject the majority and its views, in order to join oneself to a berated and seemingly insignificant minority called the Church. It is to risk everything in this one and only life in the belief that this impaled prophet is the Son of God and the Savior of the world.

Secondly, for a man to "receive the Gospel" is for him to trust exclusively in the person and work of Jesus Christ as the only way of right standing before God. It is a common maxim that to trust in anything exclusively is dangerous, or at best, a very unwise thing to do. A man is considered careless to not have a backup plan, to not have an alternative escape roue, to not diversify his investments, or to put all his eggs in the same basket and burn bridges behind him. Yet, this is the very thing that is done by the man who received Jesus Christ. The Chirstian faith is exclusive. To truly receive Christ is to throw off every other hope in every other thing but Christ alone. It is for this reason that the Apostle Paul declares that the Christian is of all men most to be pitied, if Christ is a hoax. To receive the Gospel is not merely to pray a prayer asking Jesus to come into one's heart, but it is to put away the world and embrace the fullness of the claims of Christ.

To "receive the Gospel" is to open one's life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This is quite different from the plea of contemporary evangelism that directs men to "make Jesus Lord" of their lives. What we must understand is that Jesus IS Lord of every man. The Scriptures declared that God has made Him both Lord and Christ. He has installed His King upon His holy mountain and scoffs at those who would rebel against Him. God does not call men to make Jesus Lord, but t live in absolute submission to the Lord He has made.

The man who receives the Gospel, and with it, Jesus as Lord, does a very dangerous and sensible thing. It is dangerous in a Narnian sort of way. After all, He is not a tame Lion, and He is certainly not safe. He has the right to ask anything of those who call Him Lord, but He is good, and worthy of joyful trust. Those who do not understand the danger of the Gospel call have heard it only faintly. The same Jesus, who calls the weary to Himself, may also ask of them everything, and send them forth to lose their lives for His sake in this dark and fallen world.

To receive the Gospel and Jesus as Lord is also a sensible thing to do. What could be more reasonable than to follow the omnipotent Creator and Sustainer of the universe, who has loved His people with an eternal love, redeemed them with His own blood, and demonstrated uncompromising commitment to every promise He has made? Even if He were not this way, and all this goodness was not in Him, it would still be most sensible to follow Him for who can resist His will? It is for these reasons and countless more, the Apostle urges us"to present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God", and calls it our spiritual or "reasonable service of worship."

To "receive the Gospel" is for the world and self to be dethroned and for Christ to become our new epicenter! He becomes the source, the purpose, the goal, and the motivation of all that we are and do. When a man receives the Gospel, his entire life begins to be lived out in a different context, and that context is Christ. Although the outward signs at the moment of true conversion may be less dramatic, the gradual effects will be monumental. Like a pebble cast in the center of a lake, the ripple effect of the Gospel will eventually reach the full circumference of the believer's life and touch every shore.

Finally, to "receive the Gospel" is to take it as the very source and sustenance of one's life. Christ cannot be received as "a part" of one's life or as an addition to all the other good things that one already possesses without Him. He is not some minor accessory that dresses up our life and makes it better. In receiving the Gospel, He becomes our life. In John 6:53, Jesus taught, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves." In Psalm 34:8, David cries out, "O taste and see that the Lord is good." What could make it clearer? To receive Christ into our lives is for Him to become for us not only a necessary meal that sustains us, but also an exquisite meal in which we delight.

Legalism?

2007-12-05T09:03:00.000-06:00

(h/t to Reformed Voices)

People toss around the accusation of "legalist" or "legalism" quite frequently. But I wonder if they have ever given thought to what it means to be a legalist or to what legalism truly means.

For your pondering, here is a quote from Paul Washer with a quick definition:

"Legalism is legalism when there is separation from the world and not a running to God."

People so often look at a person who is advocating separating from the world or has separated from the world himself and proclaim him to be a "legalist." I think Washer's comment is right on, because a separation from the world by itself would indeed be legalism, or the attempt to attain salvation through works. On the other hand, we are told to separate ourselves from the world...but unless we are separating ourselves unto God in the process, we do indeed practice legalism. When we separate from the world and unto God, we practice holiness and sanctification...which is what we as Christians are supposed to do!

Piper on Regeneration

2007-11-18T18:21:00.001-06:00

The root of many of our problems in the American evangelical church today is that many (most?) who populate our churches are false converts brought in by the ravages of the heresy of "decisionism." This is discussed over and over in other parts of this blog, often in the form of preaching by Paul Washer.

However, John Piper is joining the fray with a sermon series begun on November 18th addressing what it means to be "born again." The bottom line is a person who is born again actually is regenerated and thus exhibits the fruit of regeneration.

His first sermon on the subject can be found by clicking HERE and then scrolling down to November 18th. I highly commend the entire series to you...even though I have only heard the first one!!! It could well be the most timely sermon series for our church and for our nation. May his exposition be heard throughout our land....

Opportunity or Distraction?

2007-11-02T14:07:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of sitting for an entire weekend under the teaching of Gregg Harris. One of the many pearls of wisdom he illuminated for us was this: Often opportunities and distractions look the same; the only way to tell the difference is to have a goal and to compare them to that goal.

I know that often, people are overwhelmed with the considerable number of "good" things available in life. Just think how many opportunities your church offers. Then add in the good extracurricular activities for your children. Then add in your own personal time with God. It doesn't take very long for a person's calendar to become saturated and a person's life to become overwhelmed. And yet, the thought is that they are all "good" things and therefore shouldn't be missed.

Our church has a very good mission statement. It is broad enough to cover virtually anything that could arise at the church and yet specific enough to provide a good filter for maintaining direction. It is: "Bethlehem Baptist exists to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ." Take some time to consider this statement. Look at how general, yet how specific it is. There is a distinct direction, yet there is broad application. The statement itself is then broken down into its parts, with each part described and discussed, to include the Scripture and Biblical principles behind it. In practice, every new idea, every new program is processed through that mission statement. If it doesn't contribute to the mission, it isn't adopted...regardless of any other merit it may have. In effect, this statement gives our elders the ability to discern opportunity from distraction.

This is what we as families need. We need a mission statement that will give us guidance and set a direction for us. If we will work to develop a statement along the lines of what BBC has as a church (broad enough to cover most aspects of life, yet specific enough to provide direction) and if we will base it on Biblical principles...we will give intentional direction to our lives and to our families. Once developed, this statement becomes a filter through which you as a family can process all opportunities in order to discern true opportunities from distractions.

A person or a family with Bible-saturated, God-centered direction is a person or a family that is intentionally building the Kingdom of God in this dark and wicked world. They are intentional. They are focused. They are bound together in common work. They are witnesses to the world. And above all, they are witnessing the love of God through Jesus Christ to their sphere of influence.

May I challenge you to sit down with your spouse and begin to hammer out a vision, a direction for your family? You will be blessed in the long term for doing so.

Satan's Sifting...

2007-10-14T23:24:00.000-05:00

I am reading a wonderful little book I received at the Desiring God National Conference entitled, "Walk as He Walked." In the second section, the author is discussing how Jesus is going to allow Peter to be "sifted" by Satan, but has prayed that Peter's faith will not fail. He points out how, although Satan means for the sifting to be something that destroys Peter, he will actually be stronger for it. This is because Satan's "sifting" will take away all means of relying on self, thus forcing Peter to rely solely on Christ with no pretenses.

That should be the life of the Christian today. If we are following closely to Jesus, we should expect to be targeted by Satan for sifting, but we should also expect that Jesus will pray for our faith not to fail. We will endure hardships of all kinds, yet those hardships will draw us closer to Christlikeness as they strip away our self-reliance. The end result is a stronger, more Christ-dependent believer who makes a bigger impact for the Kingdom of God.

This entire thought is is stark contrast to the "health, wealth, and prosperity" message being preached at so many "successful" churches today. Below are John Piper's thoughts on these sorts of messages...and he pulls no punches and even loses some of his normal eloquence in the emotion of the moment.

A Pilgrim on Responsibility

2007-10-11T22:12:00.000-05:00

As I have been quite busy lately, I haven't had enough time to compose enough of my thoughts for a reasonable blog entry. However, I have read through the wonderful writings of some others and thought I'd link one here.

The Peculiar Pilgrim writes a wonderful muse that started with a Pyromaniacs post on a concept Dan Phillips terms as the "responsibility index." I would encourage you to click over and read the Pilgrim's thoughts. If you want to read the post that started it all, you can click on the Pyro link at the beginning of this paragraph or you can click on the link in Pilgrim's post.

HERE'S Pilgrim's post...enjoy and be edified!

The Conversion of Dying Man

2007-10-06T23:25:00.000-05:00

I've had two recent posts dealing with the sincere request from my heart that all who would read them would take the time to test themselves to see if they are in the faith. The first is an article (HERE) and the second consists of links to some wonderful sermons by Paul Washer on the subject (HERE). While I wouldn't think it would be too hard to read the article, I do understand the initial reluctance to listen to over four hours of sermons. I say "initial reluctance" because once you take the time to listen, you will want to hear them again and again to let God speak to you in all the details (I've listened to all of them three times!)

So, to give you a glimpse of what I'm trying to get across, here is a YouTube video of a portion of one of Washer's sermons in which he describes the conversion of a man who has been given only three weeks to live. It is anything but what we in America have been taught about how to "lead people to Christ." There is no question the man is saved in the end...not because a human being told him he was saved based upon the repetition of a canned prayer, but because the Holy Spirit confirmed it in the man's soul!!!

May we all know a salvation like this...and it can be found if you will just humble yourself, turn from your sins (repent), and throw yourself at the mercy of God at the foot of the Cross of Jesus. Don't stop until God Himself has made it clear you have been saved, for only the Holy Spirit can truly tell a man he's been saved.

The Correct Question

2007-09-18T08:52:00.000-05:00

"Why do bad things happen to good people?" That's the question that is so often asked, especially in times of suffering. However, it doesn't take a lot of consideration to realize how man-centered the question is and how its underlying assumption of people being "good" flies in the face of God's Word. A much better question is, "Why to good things happen to bad people?"

Jim Bublitz at OldTruth.com has a wonderful article/testimonial dealing with this question in real life...and how so many of our trite Christian responses just aren't correct. He ends with a YouTube video of a gentleman with a phenomenal testimony to God's grace through a lifetime of suffering. The next time you have something go wrong, think of these two gentlemen and how they place their whole life in God's hands, regardless of where it takes them. Take the time to watch and listen. You will be blessed.

You can get to it all by clicking HERE.

"Test Yourself" Sermons

2007-09-15T18:34:00.000-05:00

So if you read my last post and were convicted enough to spend some time in First John...and yet you are unsure about what to look for, God providentially showed me five sermons by Paul Washer that deal with this very issue...examining yourself to see if you are in the faith. They are free with registration.

Download them. Listen to them more than once...yes, all five of them! (I put them on my ipod in a playlist and listen when I am driving or walking or working in the yard.) Most importantly...apply what this man of God has to say to your life. It could be the difference between heaven and hell...for eternity....

Test Yourself...PLEASE!

2007-09-14T20:44:00.000-05:00

A.W. Tozer in The Pursuit of God writes, "How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of "accepting" Christ (a term, incidentally, which is not found in the Bible) and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him, we need no more seek Him. This is set before us like the last word in orthodoxy, and it is taken for granted that no Bible-taught Christian ever believed otherwise."

How many self-professed "Christians" have testimonies that center around "accepting Christ?" How many people who haven't darkened the door of a church for years and who haven't cracked a Bible in years still believe they are saved because they "accepted Christ?" The sad answer is, "many, if not most Americans." How many of these lost souls place their hope of eternal salvation upon a "decision" made many years previous, when their lives now reflect minimal interest in Christ?

We have the problem of how people are being "saved" in the first place. Many are being told all they have to do is give mental assent to some spiritual truths and then say a canned prayer. A "counselor" then assures them they are saved (which is something no human can do). Simply put, that is a false gospel and results in false conversions. Salvation comes through repentance and belief. In order to repent, a person must understand his sinful standing before a holy God such that he desires to turn from his sin. There is only one place that person can turn in order to find forgiveness and cleansing...and that place is the Cross of Jesus Christ. He must believe in the atoning sacrifice of God's own Son, embracing Him as his only Savior and only Hope...his Treasure. But the true convert doesn't do this just once! The Greek words translated "repent" and "believe" are in first person imperative...that means they are ongoing. A person repented and believed, is currently repenting and believing, and will repent and believe in the future!

John MacArthur in his recent podcasts on "Evidence of Faith" points out that no where in the Bible is a believer ever told to look in the past for assurance of faith. Rather, the believer is instructed to examine himself for evidence, and those tests for a saving faith are found in First John. You will find they have a lot to do with a continuing faith and a life that has changed!

Dr. Albert Mohler says, "Contemporary church sees itself as a voluntary association of autonomous members, with minimal moral accountability to God, much less to each other." These are not people who have changed lives. They have confused religious duty, morality, and a social structure with a passion for Christ. They may even value religious teaching. But as Paul Washer concludes, if that teaching "...doesn't lead to holiness, it is only vanity." Certainly, these people are generally nice...but they are lost. A major evidence of saving faith is a changed life that stands separate from the world in obedience to Jesus Christ and God's Word. How many professing Christians actually look significantly different from the world around them? I've heard two very good illustrations of this, both from Paul Washer.

The first is originally from Charles Spurgeon describing true conversion. If you were to release a pig onto a stage where on the floor were both a bucket of pig slop and a nice steak dinner, you would see the pig charge headlong to the bucket of slop, shove his head into it, and eat with joy. That's what you would expect; he's a pig and that's what pigs do! But if you had the power to instantly change that pig into a man, he would yank his head out of the slop, vomit up the contents of his stomach (for a man cannot eat what a pig eats), and sulk in shame when he realizes you have seen what he was doing.

Prior to our conversion, we are the pig, happily feeding in our bucket of sin. God changes our heart. Immediately we can no longer stomach the sin, yanking our head out. We feel revulsion and shame toward our sin, desiring to be as far from it as possible. But God, in His mercy, forgives us based on the sacrifice of His Son, separating us from our sin as far as the east is from the west. Although we may occasionally remember our days as a pig and stick our head back in the bucket of sin in hopes of finding a morsel or two, we will always find it to be wretched and turn back to our Savior. We cannot help but do otherwise, for we have been changed!

The second illustration is a story about a visiting pastor who is late for service. When he arrives, rather harried, but nevertheless clean and pressed, he explains his tardiness as follows: "I had a flat tire on the freeway. As I was changing it, I dropped a lug nut and it rolled into the middle of the lane beside me. Without thinking I ran out to get it and came face-to-face with a 20-ton logging truck doing 120 miles per hour!" Now obviously the congregation would assume he is a liar or a lunatic. Why? Because no one has an encounter like that with a 20-ton logging truck doing 120 miles per hour and isn't changed! How much more should a person be changed by an encounter with the living God, the holy Creator of all that is?

As a Christian, you simply MUST have a life that is changed, that is different from your culture, from the world. You must love Jesus to the point that His Word is a lamp unto your feet and a light unto the path of righteousness upon which you are walking. Anything less is strong evidence that your salvation is simply an empty system of religious morality and social construct...and that will cause you to ultimately hear those most fearful words in all the Bible: "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." (Matthew 7:23) Remember...those words are going to be said to people who stridently confess Jesus as Lord...in other words, people who are professing "Christians"!

Please. Please. Please...examine yourself.

Are you really different? Have you really been changed by God? Is Jesus Christ your true treasure? Get in a quiet place. Don't rely upon another human to confirm you are saved; test yourself! Open First John. Ask God to show you where you stand. If you don't pass the tests, fall on your face, mourn over your sin, and cry out to God for salvation. Grab the train of His robe and throw yourself at His mercy. Don't let go until He sends His Spirit to confirm in you eternal life.

(Note: Go HERE to a follow-on post that links to five sermons Paul Washer did on this topic.)

The African Spurgeon

2007-09-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of Pastor Conrad Mbewe? Probably not.

As the pastor of a church in Zambia, he has gained the well-earned reputation of being "The African Charles Spurgeon."

This 10-minute clip from YouTube is a portion of one of his sermons...powerful, strong, no-nonsense...a call to give your life to Jesus for the advancement of the Kingdom. You will have to listen carefully if your ears are not attuned to the African accent...but it is worth your time.

After viewing the video clip, if you wish to learn a bit more of his history, click HERE.

Be blessed by God's use of this man!

Serious Men Hug, Too....

2007-08-31T10:51:00.000-05:00

Christians who are "serious" can certainly enjoy a little laughter, too! In the past, our pastor has encouraged us to hug each other, something that in our part of the world doesn't go over well...especially between two men. So...here's a bit of help on the subject (thanks to Pastor Tim Bayly at the BaylyBlog).

P.S. Make sure you are in a place where you can laugh out loud before viewing this!

The Love of God for His Bride

2007-08-30T11:56:00.000-05:00

If you have listened to any of the links to the Paul Washer sermons I have provided both here and in my other blog, you have undoubtedly noticed that the content is generally fairly strong and in-your-face. Some in other venues have asked why he doesn't talk about the love of God.

Well...he does. The issue, though, is that to experience the love of God, one must first come through the deep, difficult pain of being convicted of one's sin and one's lostness and joy of being saved...and that is far more than a "decision" based on four "laws." But once you are soundly saved, oh...the love of God is deeper and wider and stronger than you can possibly imagine. If you aren't experiencing the love as Pastor Washer describes, you should again listen to his sermons on testing/examining yourself to see if you are in the faith (here). At the end of this post I will place two links (because the sermon is broken up into two clips) to a very lengthy, but extremely powerful sermon on the Song of Solomon as it illustrates God's love for His children. It requires an e-mail address and a zip code, but otherwise is free to download or to listen online.

Pastor Washer's sermon on God's love is so much deeper and more powerful than any you have probably ever heard. It is like comparing the following lyrics:

Jesus loves me, this I know
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong
They and weak, but He is strong.

For the Christian, those lyrics are true, but compare what they say and the way they say it to the powerful words in this hymn...and you will get an idea of how Pastor Washer soaks you in the love of God versus most other preachers:

Oh the deep deep love of Jesus
vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean
in its fullness over me,
underneath me, all around me,
is the current of thy love -
leading onward, leading homeward,
to my glorious rest above.

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth,
changeth never, never more.
How He watches o'er His loved ones,
died to call them all His own;
how for them He intercedeth,
watches o'er them from the throne.

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus,
love of every love the best.
Still an ocean vast of blessing,
still a haven sweet of rest.

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus,
'tis a heaven of heavens to me;
and it lifts me up to glory,
for it lifts me up to thee.

Find a quiet place and prepare to have God's love pronounced over you, restoring your soul and lifting your spirit to heaven!

BOLD!!! or humble....

2007-08-29T08:17:00.000-05:00

Steve Camp over at CampOnThis has a very good post on the need for Bold Orthodoxy, especially in the light of the "emergence" of the Emergent Church. And while the thesis of his article is truth regarding salvation, many of his points relate well to the ideas about post-modernism that I wrote about in a recent post at my other blog. Warning: both Steve's article and mine are somewhat lengthy...so you might want to go get a cup of coffee and settle in before clicking! ;-)

A Need for Bold Orthodoxy

It's That Time of Year

The Practical Word: Withholding Affection- Part III

2007-08-27T18:43:00.000-05:00

I have written two posts with musings on First Corinthians 7:2-5 and the Lord's admonition to avoid withholding intimate relations from each other. The first post is HERE and the second is HERE. I am revisiting the subject because I have been both surprised and amazed at the number of people accessing those two posts via Google specifically searching for something on a spouse withholding affection. If my little blog gets that kind of attention on a specific subject, then I have to conclude it is something that is happening throughout our culture, and for this subject, that is not a good thing.

It seems that our culture has come to believe that withholding affection, often with the excuse that there is "hurt" involved, is a normal response to arguments and irritations between married couples. No one gives it a second thought and no one calls their friends to account when they know they have been using that weapon. Here we come back to the need for Christians to be different in order to live lives that magnify our Lord and Savior. We must recognize that withholding affection is anything but "normal" and that it does massive damage to the husband/wife relationship. We must recognize that this type of response is sin and must deal with it like any other sin: repentance and forgiveness. In general, "repentance" means to turn around or to turn away from. When we repent of a sin, we turn away from it, and in the power of the Holy Spirit vow to never revisit it again. And we look to the Cross for the forgiveness as God separates us from our sin as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103).

I suspect that part of the reason we consider it normal to withhold affection is that we esteem individualism and devalue relationship. Anyone willing to engage in "silent treatment" or holding affection hostage to performance does not value the marriage relationship above all else but God. They are looking inwardly and holding themselves up as individuals supreme above the marriage, an institution designed by God where two are supposed to have become one. God is very serious about marriage, using it as an earthly example of the relationship between His Son and the Church. If God is that serious about marriage, then we should be as well. And the natural conclusion to that premise is to place a value on the husband/wife relationship that is so extremely high that one would do everything possible to never, ever do anything to intentionally harm it.

Don't let this make you think I don't realize both husband and wife are sinful humans at their core, and as such do hurt each other and act stupidly and rudely. I did this very thing to my wife just this past weekend. I was rude and stupid, but nothing I did was premeditated nor was it intended to cause her pain.

So what do we do? I think first and foremost we must make commitments to each other to always assume the best of the other spouse's intentions and love for you. This means you will take for granted that any slight or hurt caused by the other person is NOT premeditated or designed to harm you. Husbands and wives who think this way should be able to address and deal quickly with the problem at hand in a mature manner. If you aren't thinking this way, then it is all too easy to bring out the weapon of withholding affection. This weapon doesn't help...ever. It may allow you to "win" because the other spouse (men especially) can't stand in its path and will often cave to the other spouse's desires. But in the long run, using this weapon seriously damages your relationship by eroding trust, eroding communication, promoting secrecy, promoting a "walking on eggshells" relationship (just to name a few). If you value your relationship and if you value what God thinks of your relationship, you cannot, you will not use this weapon under any circumstances.

Secondly, as brothers and sisters in Christ, when we witness or are aware of one of our Christian friends using affection as a weapon, we must approach them and make them aware of their sin. If necessary, we should take it as far as Matthew 18 commands. This suggestion will probably never be pleasant, but it could help a brother or sister in their sanctification and it could stabilize and restore a marriage. These potential results alone illustrate how this confrontation is actually an act of love.

As Christians, our lives MUST glorify God. We can often hold out a false image to the outside world, but in reality, families in which withholding of affection is a common reaction to conflict cannot truly reflect the Christ/Church relationship. God sees and knows. And our children see and will grow to imitate!

Given the immense response to the first two posts, my prayer is for all who read this and employ the silent treatment and withholding of affection to be appropriately convicted, turn to our Lord in repentance and faith, and work to repair whatever damage has been done to your relationship by the wanton use of this horrid weapon. And may God be glorified by strengthened marriages as a result.

Are You Saved?

2007-08-06T17:45:00.000-05:00

Someone took it upon themselves to condense one of Paul Washer's best sermons into a four-minute video. It is a phenomenal summary of the most important question a person can ask of himself..."How do I know I'm saved?"

The full sermon can be found here, free for listening online or for download.

Click, watch, consider, and apply these wise words...and know if you are saved!

The Practical Word...Continued

2007-08-04T20:06:00.000-05:00

After publishing the last post, I continued to ponder God's command to not withhold affection/sexual relations from your spouse. So...muse number 7...

Why would God place this command in His Word? Verse 2 indicates it is due to sexual temptation. I'm sure that is a big part of the case. At least from a man's perspective, when my wife has been close to me, the sultry, attractive woman I see out and about doesn't even cause a second glance. My mind is focused on the love of the woman God gave me. Thus the ability to avoid lust (and any other horrid temptations and sin) is drastically increased.

But I also have to believe that God places an importance upon the closeness of the physical relationship because of the resulting closeness of the emotional relationship. If a married couple quit showing physical affection for one another, it isn't long before the rest of the relationship suffers. The reasons could be myriad, from focusing on "good" things like children, work, ministry, church...and thus not having the time or energy to devote to a physical relationship. Or it could be from the habit of using deprivation as a weapon in the relationship. Either way, God obviously values the marriage relationship over all the other things in life but Himself, and asks us to do the same, putting the physical relationship (and thus the emotional/spiritual relationship) above the children, above work, above ministry, above church activities, and certainly above any disagreements you have with your spouse. In fact, if each spouse is secure in the knowledge that they are loved unconditionally, my guess is the disagreements will be able to be worked out much more quickly than otherwise would be the case.

May all my married readers both give and receive the unconditional love God has provided for you in your spouse...for His glory!

(Further thoughts on this subject can be found in a subsequent post by clicking here.)

The Word Is Practical!

2007-08-02T21:46:00.000-05:00

In the past few weeks, I had the privilege of doing a little mentoring with a relative who is a new believer. One of the things that struck me as I looked anew at the Scripture from the perspective of a babe in Christ is how extremely relevant Scripture is to all aspects of real life, how practical, and how timeless. As I was looking for passages to discuss with him, I came upon this one: First Corinthians 7:2-5 (ESV) "But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." It started a time of musing and consideration.

Muse #1: In verse 5, God is commanding both husband and wife to NEVER deprive one another of sexual relations. There is only one exception: mutual agreement for a limited time of prayer that always should end with sexual relations. That's it. No other excuses; no other reasons; no other exceptions. If anyone claims Jesus Christ as their Lord, they are under this commandment and to withhold sexual relations/affections from a spouse is sin.

Muse #2: If God is commanding husbands and wives to never withhold the ultimate form of intimacy from each other, then a strong implication is they also should never withhold less intimate forms of physical contact, either. No excuses; no exceptions.

Muse #3: One of the consequences of extended periods of time without sexual relations with your spouse is sexual temptation by Satan. I'm willing to guess that most of the time that temptation is aimed squarely at the man at least in the form of lust and anger, and possibly even as bad as temptation to adultery. Women: Your willing and happy and regular giving of yourself physically to your husband protects him and protects your marriage! If you love him, if you value your marriage, you will want to protect both.

Muse #4: I know that withdrawal of affection is often used by women as a HUGE club in a marriage. Since men almost always relate love to physical affection, a wife who chooses to wield this club will painfully shred a man's heart and soul, all the way to the core of his being; it is devastating to him in ways a woman can never understand. Most of the time he will respond in withdrawal, which is, in turn, devastating to the wife. And she clubs him again in withholding affection. And he withdraws more. And round and round it goes. Obedience to this command prevents this ugly cycle from ever occurring.

Muse #5: As an implication of #4...since the wielding of the club of withholding affection harms a man to the core of his being, if he has a wife who uses that club, he will, even in the good times, likely not discuss things of depth with her because things of depth often can be contentious...and he knows that she will bring out her club again if things get contentious. So wives...do you want conversations and discussions of important issues? Do you want deeper relationship with your husband? You have to ask yourself, "Have I used the club of withholding affection?" If you have, you need to see that for the sin it is, repent before your Lord, ask your husband for forgiveness, and cast that club down, vowing to him and to God to never, ever pick it up again for it is a wicked, evil weapon. Only when the husband knows he is safe...that he trusts you to never again pick up that club...only then will he open up to you, and will you receive the deep, intimate conversations and relationship you so desire.

Muse #6: It's really not mine...it comes from Beth Moore at her blog. "And, now, let's just go ahead and get it over with. You knew to expect it. They want more intimacy. You know what I'm talking about. Don't make me say it. And don't act like they're making you do it either. God agrees with them on this one. He's the very one who inspired the Apostle Paul to tell us not to withhold ourselves from one another except for brief seasons of prayer. (Apparently, some of you have been in prayer a LONG TIME.) My beloved Sisters, take it from a woman who's been married a long time and seen a whole lot of marriages go down the drain. PHYSICAL INTIMACY IS PROFOUNDLY IMPORTANT TO A DECENT MARRIAGE. With tremendous love and compassion, I will tell you what I told the women in the resulting session. You can say "no" or act miserable and disinterested so many times that you teach your man not to want you. But you can't teach him not to want. (Emphasis added) My man is going to want. That's the way he's wired. SO, I want him to want ME. Want yours to want you, too."

Dear readers, understand that God knows what is best for us in our lives and that His commandments are for our good and for His glory. Do not fall for the wisdom of this world that says to live by our emotions and by our feelings. Trust God to bless you in your obedience to all of His Word, growing you in Christlikeness and holiness. Husbands, love your wives. Wives, respect (and love) your husbands. (Ephesians 5:33) Husbands and wives...NEVER withhold affection. When you love and show affection to your spouse, you honor God and will ultimately build your marriage into a happy, Christ-exulting institution that witnesses to the world Jesus' love for His bride, the Church.

UPDATE: A continuation of thoughts on this subject can be found here and here.

Ferguson on the Reality of Hell

2007-06-26T11:35:00.000-05:00

About a year ago I wrote a post on the Greek word, apollumi, and the reality of hell. In that post I lamented that there was little preaching on the subject and that I was aware of a great sermon by Sinclair Ferguson on the topic...but I couldn't find it.

Well...a year later...I came across a link to that very sermon. It is entitled "Universalism and the Reality of Eternal Punishment: Contemporary Preaching." You can access it here.

The Danger of Decision

2007-06-25T21:53:00.000-05:00

My post, "I Have a Peace About It" describes the error of using feelings over Scripture in debates, arguments, and life decisions. There is another serious error that needs to be addressed. I cannot take credit for most of the ideas here and thank Paul Washer for much of this material, as I heard him bring this up in numerous sermons.

The error is that of "decisionism"... relying upon a single "decision" made at some point in our past for our salvation. When, in a moment of serious reflection, we question our salvation, rather than look to First John for ways to "examine ourselves," we look back to a decision and consider that it is all OK...in spite of how we may be living! This is very dangerous...but oh so common today because of the methods used for evangelism that are not rooted in the Bible.

Let's pretend you are a pagan and a Christian engages you in an evangelistic conversation. First he asks you, "You know we're all sinners, right?" If you even slightly nod your head, he moves on to question number 2... "Would you like to go to heaven?" Now, who in their right mind would ever answer "no" to that question?! When you say, "yes," the Christian offers to lead you in a prayer that you can repeat. He then asks if you were serious about what you just repeated. Upon your affirmative answer, he pronounces you "saved" and "born again." (Yes, I know this is a bit simplified, but it is rooted in the truth of how most evangelism is done these days!) Even worse is that this is how it's done with children in Sundays Schools and Vacation Bible Schools all over this country. What little child could not be convinced to repeat a prayer after an adult? And then that same adult pronounces that little child a "Christian".... The thought of that both angers and horrifies me. Now... look at the first two questions. They are nothing but marketing. The pagan isn't the least bit concerned about having offended a holy and righteous God. He doesn't begin to understand the depths of his own depravity or his offense against God. And of course, he wants to go to heaven. Lastly, praying a "sinner's prayer" is akin to saying a magic incantation of some sort. No where in the Bible is a person asked to pray this sort of prayer to be saved.

And we then wonder why so few "saved" people are actually in a church on Sunday! And we then wonder why our country full of "Christians" is racing toward every form of immorality. And we then wonder why our country is heading toward its own demise.

My dear readers, if you are basing your salvation upon a "decision," I beg you to read and reread First John in order to examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. I would then ask that you ensure that your salvation is built upon the rock of repentance (turning from your sin) and belief (trust) in the saving sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. When these words are used, they do not represent a one-time action, but rather a continual repenting and a continual believing. You can't make a one-time decision and then live like the devil and expect to be saved.

I strongly suspect a time is soon coming where "cultural Christianity" is going to be shown for what it is: false. Pressures are already beginning to mount in the Western world that one day will require actual risk and persecution for professing Christ. At that time, those who have only engaged in the cultural Christianity will fall away, and the true church will finally be shown.

May each who reads these words be part of the true church. Amen.

The Latest from Voddie

2007-06-22T22:09:00.000-05:00

If you've read much of this blog, you have seen me promote the preaching and writings of Dr. Voddie Baucham, a Southern Baptist preacher and evangelist. Among other things, he spoke at the Desiring God Conference in September of 2006. His recorded presentation to the Texas Southern Baptist Evangelism Conference is one of my favorite sermons of all time. You can find that link here.

He has come out with a new book that just arrived on my doorstep courtesy of Amazon.com. I have to say that what I've read so far has been riveting, convicting, and God-honoring. If what I write on this blog and on my sister blog resonate with you, consider making Family Driven Faith part of your summer reading list this year.

Who's Bad?

2007-06-21T19:31:00.001-05:00

This video was just brought to my attention by my daughter...hilarious, yet so very true. All true Christians could stand to contemplate the message a bit.

Enjoy!

I Have a Peace About It

2007-06-05T21:46:00.000-05:00

There is something that has come to my attention lately as I witness Christians arguing for positions or justifying their decisions or their behavior, either verbally or in the blogosphere. I'm sure it isn't new...but it keeps popping up in front of me, and thus I feel constrained to write about it.

What is it?

It is the use of certain cliches as argument. In particular, I hear "I feel God wants me to..." or "I felt led by God to..." or "I prayed and fasted and had a peace about it." These arguments are supposed to be show-stoppers in that they invoke an image of a finite, sinful human being acting upon God's will when making a decision. Because a person has an emotion that validates his choice, he determines that it must be God's will...especially if he has done something spiritual in trying to arrive at that decision...something like praying or fasting. The granddaddy of them all is the third example. This person prayed and fasted (good things that are to be commended), but then made his decision because of an emotion, a peace. And woe be it to the person who challenges their decision, for you are challenging their feelings and emotions...and that is not allowed in today's society. In fact, these types of arguments are not much more than Christian versions of the post-modern argument, "what's true for me isn't necessarily true for you"...because "who are you to say that my feelings are wrong?!"

We desperately need to get back to objective truth!

Let's be real and understand that in most of these cases, the decision was already made and now needed to be justified. If a person is under the stress of making a decision, he will have a peace when the decision is made, simply because the stress is gone and the decision is made. There is no guarantee that peace is from God and is confirmation of a correct decision.

So how should a decision be reached?

The answer is a simple one: Search the Scriptures for the commands, principles, and precepts that apply and then do what God says in His Word! Will you "have a peace about it?" Maybe. In a difficult decision in which the answer causes you to buck societal customs and be separate from the world, you may not have a peace about it. In fact, depending on the amount of persecution you are likely to experience, you may be more worried than before! But, in faithfully following the direction of God through His Word, you will be able to rely upon His grace, His mercy, and His help in getting through whatever hard times may come as a result. Imagine the glory God gets in such decisions and their results! Imagine the closeness you will feel when you are forced to put your entire trust in God! Imagine how much better you will know God! Imagine what the experience will do to your testimony of your faithful Savior!

In short, if you are using feelings to make life-decisions or if you hear someone use these sort of "feeling-based" phrases in an argument, you are very likely misled. Remember, "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV). If you have "a peace about it in my heart"...you have no assurance it is from God. On the other hand, if you go just a few verses earlier in Jeremiah, you find "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord" (Jeremiah 17:7, ESV). In the Hebrew, a repeated word or phrase indicates emphasis, like when we use bold or italics. Jeremiah is being very emphatic when he says a man who trusts in the Lord is blessed.

So rather than depending upon feelings which may arise from a deceitful, sick heart, depend upon the Lord who has revealed His will in His Word. Search the Scriptures. Do the hard work. Pray for Scriptural guidance. And then act upon what God says through His Word. In doing so you are trusting in Him...and will be blessed!

Must-Hear Sermons

2007-04-25T01:11:00.000-05:00

Over on my HomeDisciplingDad blog, I have a YouTube video of a sermon by missionary and pastor, Paul Washer, given to a group of young people at an evangelism conference in 2002. It was such an incredible sermon that I searched for more...and found many, many more! Here I would like to commend a series of four sermons given to Jefferson Park Baptist Church. The links will take you to a site where you can either listen or download for free. Each is a bit over an hour, but is well worth your time. My suggestion...download them and either burn to a CD or put on your iPod and listen when you can concentrate, for there are many diamonds in these words!

I Am Under Obligation

The Gospel: The Cross of Christ (too big to burn to a CD)

Regeneration and True Christian Unity

Test of True Faith

If you have ever "accepted Jesus into your heart," you NEED to hear these sermons. You NEED to hear the Biblical description of saving faith and how it happens. You will hear depth, you will hear passion, you will hear love for the lost, and above all, you will hear honor and exultation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

May you be blessed by Pastor Washer's words.

Steve Camp and the "Church of St.Arbucks"

2007-04-09T22:44:00.000-05:00

I will get back to my musings about Tozer's Keys to a Deeper Life, but I was reading through Steve Camp's ministry blog and came across a wonderful devotional post that I had to put up here. Every once in a while he posts under the title "From the Church of St.Arbuck's"...quite cute! This is one of those posts. He starts with one of the quotes Starbucks puts on their cups, exposes the fallacy of it, and then moves to a wonderful musing on true life at the Cross.

Please grab a cup of coffee, click here, and enjoy Steve's thoughts. Beware...he puts thoughtful application questions at the end!

"Believing" Commands- Keys to the Deeper Life- Part 4

2007-03-05T20:30:00.000-06:00

A.W. Tozer chooses to end Chapter 2 of Keys to the Deeper Life with, “If we are alert enough to hear God’s voice we must not content ourselves with merely ‘believing’ it. How can any man believe a command? Commands are to be obeyed, and until we have obeyed them we have done exactly nothing at all about them. And to have heard them and not obeyed them is infinitely worse than never to have heard them at all, especially in light of Christ’s soon return and the judgment to come.” The chapter is entitled, “Panting After God” and is thus about a heartfelt, joyous seeking of a close, intimate relationship with God regardless of the cost. And yet he closes this topic with the above thought. In Tozer’s mind there is obviously a very direct and very important link between a close relationship to God and obedience to the commands in His Word.

If we have come to the point where we are “hearing” God through His Word and through a close, experiential relationship with Him, then we have gotten to a point of great intimacy with our Creator. It means we have come to know Him for who He really is: our Creator, our Savior, and our Lord. Think about the sort of “conversations” you would have: they wouldn’t be the typical chit-chat of friendship, but rather they would be your Lord instructing you on His desires for your life! In other words…commands! If we have gotten this close, we should already be well-versed about joyfully doing as He commands. We would have long since learned what a joy and a pleasure it is to follow Him wherever He might lead, doing whatever He might command.

The question then becomes, “What comes first, intimacy with the Almighty or obedience to the Almighty?” I’m afraid that more often than not we are seeking the intimacy first. We want the closeness, the joy of knowing God…and figure the obedience stuff can come later, if at all. Obedience might actually change us; we would rather know God on our terms. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. Tozer makes a very astute observation when he notes we cannot “believe a command.” The Bible is full of commands. Make a special note to look for them the next time you are reading. They are everywhere. Be this way. Act that way. Think in another way. Treat others in this manner. Look for the imperative in the sentence structure that makes it a command to the believer. We cannot say we believe in all of Scripture unless we take the commands at face value and actually obey them!

It is this obedience that will change our lives, for God will not leave us chasing a little white ball around a course while there is personal sanctification to be done and Kingdom work to be accomplished. If we insist on just hitting a little white ball with a club, then there is reason to doubt that you actually know God. And if you don’t actually know God, then you are not saved. Within 100 years, either Christ is going to return or you are going to die. There will be a judgment. Your golf handicap will not fare well before the judgment seat of Christ. Knowing God through the blood of His Risen Son and a sanctified life of ever-increasing obedience is what will enable you to stand before the infinitely holy and perfect power of God.

Knowing God- Keys to the Deeper Life- Part 3

2007-03-03T22:53:00.000-06:00

If you spend much time in evangelical circles these days and listen closely, you will hear about “Contemplative Prayer” as a way of getting closer to God. It’s one of the latest “crazes” to make the rounds through the evangelical church in America. There is much that is very, very wrong and dangerous with contemplative prayer…but what is right is that those who are attempting this have as their motivation a sincere desire to seek and know God more fully. Their motivation is right; their methodology is heretical and New Age.

In Chapter 3 of Keys to the Deeper Life, A.W. Tozer says, “When the apostle (Paul) cries, ‘That I may know him,’ he uses the word know not in its intellectual but in it experiential sense. We must look for the meaning—not to the mind but to the heart. Theological knowledge is knowledge about God. While this is indispensable it is not sufficient. …Christian truth is designed to lead us to God, not to serve as a substitute for God.”

Knowing God is the motivation for those seeking to learn Contemplative Prayer, but the flip side is also the problem that pervades much of Evangelical Christianity today. In those churches that have not yet become a watered-down pabulum of mush, good theological doctrine is still preached and taught. But Tozer accurately points out, “theological knowledge is knowledge about God.” We can have all the points of doctrine correct, verses memorized, all of our “i”s dotted and “t”s crossed…and still not know God. This is a very dangerous position in which to find one’s self. As evangelist Paul Washer points out in his sermon to a group of teens (video of this sermon is here), at the judgment people will come to Jesus, call him “Lord, Lord” (the double emphasis means they are serious), and yet Jesus will order them away because He never “knew” them.

To have a “deeper life” we must know God; we must know Christ. Lest anyone get the wrong message here, Tozer also points out that theological knowledge is indispensable for knowing God. This is what is wrong with contemplative prayer; it substitutes a New Age experience for Biblically-based, doctrinally sound experience. If one isn’t grounded in theological knowledge, he can be sucked into a dangerous trap like contemplative prayer.

Do you know God? Do you know Jesus? Is your faith only in your head…or is it also in your heart? Tozer speaks of Paul doing whatever it took to know Christ…enduring suffering, persecution, ridicule (maybe even being called a "radical" or an "extremist"!!)…and yet finding conformity to Christ “cheap at any price.” My prayer is that God would cause that intense desire to well up in all our hearts, now and forevermore.

Keys to the Deeper Life- Part 2

2007-02-16T22:41:00.000-06:00

At the inspiration of A.W. Tozer’s book, Keys to the Deeper Life, in my last blog post I discussed the need for a “radical life” in order to know God and to keep grace from being “cheap grace.” At the end of Chapter One, Tozer more fully defines a “radical life” by saying, “We must return to New Testament Christianity, not in creed only but in complete manner of life as well. Separation, obedience, humility, simplicity, gravity, self-control, modesty, cross-bearing: these all must again be made a living part of the total Christian concept and be carried out in everyday conduct.” He is making the case that all our prayers for revival are for naught if we are not actually living the New Testament life. I would like to explore some thoughts about his list. Obviously it’s not all-encompassing, but Christians who live their lives in this manner would most certainly be well on the road to sanctification and would certainly affect their culture. Here are my musings on Tozer’s list:

Separation

I was listening to an archived webcast of “Generations with Kevin Swanson” today where Swanson was interviewing Greg Harris, one of the pioneers of homeschooling and father of Joshua Harris, pastor and author. Harris made a point about “separation” that gave me an “ah-hah!” moment. He pointed out that separation is NOT isolation. He gave the analogy of a Christian’s home being an embassy for a foreign land. For example, one would expect to find Spanish cuisine and Spanish culture in a Spanish embassy in Australia. The Spanish embassy is in Australia, but it is not of Australia. It retains its own culture and flavor, while being physically present in a different culture and country. The same holds true here. As ambassadors of Christ, our homes are to be embassies of heaven. One should find the fragrance and culture of Heaven when they enter, even though we are physically here on earth. They can also find out how to become a citizen of Heaven as well. Obviously like all analogies, this one does break down. But, it does help us to understand that as Christians, we must live our lives according to the dictates of our real home: heaven. Our lives need to witness forth and glorify God. We do that best when we quit trying to be like the world, when we quit trying to be “relevant,” and instead actually practice New Testament Christianity. That will separate us, but will not isolate us.

Obedience

As I’ve written numerous times in this blog before, there is no question that God wants our obedience to His Word. That obedience is what will separate us from the culture. This is not obedience in order to earn our righteousness, but is the obedience that is part and parcel of sanctifying us after conversion.

Humility

As a people who have peered into our souls and found them wanting, we know the depths of our depravity and the amount of forgiveness we have received from God (and if you haven’t done that…you might want to question your salvation, for you probably don’t even know what you are saved from!) We cannot be anything but humble toward others when we truly understand the grace that has been extended to us by God. Pride is the natural mode of the flesh, and we must fight it at every turn. Do be careful, though, not to misinterpret humility as lack of conviction of the truth. One can stand for the truth in a humble manner.

Simplicity

This relates to the separate life. A separate life is a life of simplicity. We in the Disneyland of America get so completely tied down with our toys and our activities that we are like the rat on the treadmill…running, running, running, running, yet never getting anywhere. We justify all the activities as being good things or as exposing our children to different aspects of life, but in the process we miss out on the truly important things in life…things like relationships, service, love of our neighbor, time together as a family in daily worship. A simple life is not a boring life, but rather is a calm life, and a shelter in the storm that is our culture. Imagine your neighbors seeing your home and life as a shelter when their lives are raging in the storm…and then you will see the Gospel-witnessing power of simplicity and separateness.

Gravity

I had to ponder this one a bit, but found it made a lot of sense. Our lives here are pitifully short in light of eternity. As ambassadors for Christ, we only have a short time to bring the Gospel, to advance His Kingdom. Those are critically important things…far more critical than the “bread and circuses” of our culture. Does it mean that we are grumpy and never smile? Of course not! We have our joy in our Lord and we most certainly can enjoy our lives. But it does mean that we understand the importance and the brevity of our lives and the difference we can make in our world…thus we go about our task with gravity and zeal. I think of the closing scene of the movie, Schindler’s List, where Schindler realizes the difference he had made in the lives of so many Jews…BUT he grieves because he realizes how many more he could have saved had he truly applied himself wholeheartedly. As Christians, we don’t want to look back on our lives and say, “If only…”

Self-Control

This is obviously a fruit of the Spirit. But how does it relate to living a life in the vein of New Testament Christianity? A person who is self-controlled is a person who is able to resist temptation, and thus is able to progress toward a holy life and more Christlikeness. A self-controlled person isn’t buffeted by the whims and pressures of the world because he understands where his life and his joy is…and it isn’t in this world! A person who is self-controlled reminds me of the meditation I did on “meekness.” A meek person would certainly be a self-controlled person. And if you think being meek is being wimpy…you need to read this post! A self-controlled person is a steady person, a rock and an anchor in a storm…and thus a witness to the world as they whirl about in the storms of life.

Modesty

Do I need to even stress how modesty isn’t even on the radar screen of today’s society? And I don’t mean just in terms of dress, but also in terms of lifestyle. Do we keep up with the Joneses in ostentatious lifestyle choices? Do our children use pop culture to determine style of dress? Is the world our standard? Modesty says we should be using the Bible as a standard, both in dress and in lifestyle. In dress, our women certainly don’t have to be dowdy or wear a Christian version of a burqua…but they DO need to uphold a standard of virtue in the way they dress so as not to communicate messages of sexual availability. They also need to be sensitive to how their dress may cause their Christian brothers to stumble. (Ladies…ask your husband or your dad, and then listen to what they say; they see things you don’t when it comes to suggestiveness in dress.) In lifestyle, do we need to live in a mud hut? Of course not. But we do need to be cognizant of what we are spending our money on; our spending habits are the best indicator of what we truly love. Does our lifestyle promote relationship and service? Does it bring people to us in ministry opportunity? Is our home a haven into which we bring the unsaved? These are outworks of modesty in lifestyle.

Cross-Bearing

Jesus made it clear that the world will hate us just as it hates Him. After all, we are His hands in the world right now. We bear His image. As a result, we can certainly expect persecution if we are to attempt to truly live a New Testament life. As long as we are tepid, the devil is quite happy to let us just roll along. After all, we aren’t really affecting anyone, and because we lack introspection, we ourselves may not even be saved! He’s happy if we just stick with cultural Christianity. But if we look to start a life patterned after this list…look out! There will be roadblocks everywhere…from family, friends, church members, and even strangers! There will be a cross to bear. But remember that Jesus bears that cross with us, enabling us to endure beyond anything we considered possible. And there is joy in the endurance, in the journey.

The premise of this chapter in Keys is that our prayers and appeals to God for revival in our country as the solution to our societal problems are not effective as long as we as Christians are not actually living as Christians. As long as we have compromised with the culture, we don’t offer the culture any hope, anything that is different. We as Christians may very well be the answer to our own prayers! Imagine the effect of the culture actually seeing authentic Christianity lived out in front of them. There would be those who would turn away in disgust…but God would move in the hearts of many who would see God’s active hand in our lives and want the same. That is called revival! And revivals change cultures for the glory of God.

Radical, Dude! Keys to the Deeper Life- Part 1

2007-02-11T19:31:00.000-06:00

This is the first in a series of posts on A.W. Tozer's, Keys to the Deeper Life. It's difficult to know where to begin...there are so many good "jumping off points." So I guess I'll start with some quotes (in red) out of Chapter 1: "Leaning Into the Wind."

Most evangelicals no longer initiate; they imitate, and the world is their model. The holy faith of our fathers has in many places been made a form of entertainment....

It's not difficult to see that for most of the evangelical world, our Christian faith doesn't inform our entire life, our entire being. Rather, it is compartmentalized, brought out when it fits, and kept firmly locked away when it doesn't. We aren't initiating by living a life that is separate and distinctly Christian. Instead we are living a lot like the world, investing in the trinkets and comforts, educating our children in the same manner, living lives so busy we can't begin to form relationships with anyone outside our families, and in some cases, so busy we can't grow the relationships inside our families! And yet we go to church, read our Bibles, pray, have quiet time...but still live in most ways similar to the world. It's duplicitous…and James 1:8 tells us a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways....

That note of protest which began with the New Testament and which was always heard loudest when the Church was most powerful has been successfully silenced. The radical element in testimony and life that once made Christians hated by the world is missing from present-day evangelicalism. Christians were once revolutionists -- moral, not political -- but we have lost our revolutionary character. It is no longer dangerous or costly to be a Christian. Grace has become not free, but cheap. We are busy these days proving to the world that they can have all the benefits of the gospel without any inconvenience to their customary way of life. It's "all this, and heaven, too."

The church once stood in stark opposition to the world…in today's vernacular, the church would be “radical," and that's meant to be a pejorative. Jesus reminds us that the ruler of this world is Satan, so one would expect when the light that is the church shines brightly into the world, exposing its offerings for the lies that they are, there would be opposition...hatred! Being a “radical” Christian was dangerous and costly. Do I want danger and cost? Honestly? No. But do I want a real, authentic, close, intimate relationship with Christ, one that fills and stirs my soul in only the way Christ can? Absolutely. What if that means danger and cost? Well…if the choice is between knowing Christ in a close, intimate way or staying at a distance in order to remain “safe,” then bring on the danger and cost! It is the fruit of that close relationship with Christ, especially in the face of danger and cost, that witnesses the saving power of the Gospel to a dark and hurting world! God promises us the grace to endure, and while that type of grace is free, it most certainly is not cheap!

Tozer decries grace that has become cheap, and given that grace is God’s means of salvation, to cheapen it is to slap Jesus and His sacrifice in the face. Paul makes it very, very clear that we are not to continue to sin so that grace may abound (Romans 6:1-2). A Christian is to abhor sin, to mortify it, to strive in the power of the Holy Spirit for holiness and Christlikeness. When we proclaim the Gospel as “free” and mean there is no post-conversion requirement for obedience, for change, and for holiness, we proclaim “cheap” grace and a false gospel. And worse…when we as Christians “prove” to the world through our own example, the benefits of “Gospel without inconvenience”, we are living a life of cheap grace that both misrepresents our Savior and lacks the power to stand in the face of any opposition at all. A life of obedience to Christ will be inconvenient in the eyes of the world, but it is the only life that is truly fulfilling because it is the only life that draws us closer and closer to our Savior in a real and tangible way.

A person who strives to live this kind of life, to know Christ in a manner that is more than an intellectual exercise, to bring His light into the darkness of this world will be labeled a “radical”…and it’s appropriate, because he is radical compared to the milque-toast, culturally-relevant, culture-embracing, seeker-sensitive evangelical church of today.

Wear the label with the same humility of another “radical”…your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Join Me!

2007-02-10T23:58:00.000-06:00

I am reading a new book by A.W. Tozer entitled, Keys to the Deeper Life. Many bloggers and writers write book reviews, and they are helpful when determining whether you would like to take the time with a book. In my case, though, I would rather use my format to muse upon quotes and sections of the book that strike me as important and interesting. My writings will be my way of considering, thinking about, and applying what he is saying. If you find my posts causing you to want to read the book, I was able to find it at Amazon.com at a very reasonable price.

In the meantime, please join me in the journey into Keys to the Deeper Life.

Philoxenia

2007-01-21T15:46:00.001-06:00

Philoxenia- Now that's not a word that is heard every day...probably because it's Greek! It's English pronunciation is a bit more common in speech, but unfortunately not so common in practice. It's not even a nuanced translation; philoxenia literally means "love of strangers"...and we translate it as the word "hospitality."

I did a word search for "hospitality" in the New Testament and found four instances of its use.

The first is in Romans 12:13, (ESV) "Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality." This is in a list of commands under the summary heading of "Marks of a True Christian." Obviously "Marks of a True Christian" is not part of the original text of the Bible, but is the publisher's commentary on that set of verses. Yet it is a worthy summation of the verses. So God is saying that one of the marks of a true Christian is that he seeks to show love to strangers.

The second is in I Timothy 5:10 (ESV) "and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work." This verse is in regard to the older widow's qualification for the widow's list... a list of women to be cared for by the church in their older years as needed. So one of the qualifications is that this woman has shown love to strangers...and look at the list in which this requirement is embedded! It's obviously not an afterthought or a meaningless task.

The third is in Hebrews 13:2 (ESV) "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." This follows verse 1 where we are commanded to let brotherly love continue. It would seem then, that showing love to strangers is tied to letting brotherly love continue.

The fourth is in I Peter 4:9 (ESV) "Show hospitality to one another without grumbling." This verse is in the middle of two verses commanding Christians to keep loving one another and to keep serving one another. Thus it would seem that showing love to strangers is directly related to loving one another and serving one another. In this instance, the one another is obviously other Christians, so the "stranger" here would be a brother or sister in Christ whom we don't know. By showing them love, we get to know them and thus encourage the love and unity for which Christians are to be known.

It seems that God is pretty serious about hospitality being practiced by the saints. So two questions seem to arise.

1) Just who is a "stranger?"

The immediate thought that comes to mind when asking that question is the question asked in Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan, "Who is my brother?" It would seem that a stranger is anyone you don't know well. That could be another Christian at church. It could be a person in the next cubicle at work. It could be someone you just met.

The bottom line is that God is interested in you as a Christian establishing and growing relationships! God cares about people...and He obviously wants his adopted children to care about them as well. After all, relationships with people (believers) are going to be eternal! If the person is a believer, you are strengthening his faith and ministering to him and his family. If he isn't, you are putting practical effort forth to witness the Gospel to him (and maybe his family) through love and service in your own home. Either way, the person won't be a "stranger" for long!

(Does that mean you can't have anyone you know over? Of course not! Relationships are important to God, and strong relationships witness to the world. There isn't a much better way to build a relationship than over a comfortable meal!)

2) What would "hospitality" look like?

I think there is a huge difference between "hospitality" and "entertainment." There is a place for both, but one should not confuse one with the other.

"Entertainment" is the huge bash a family might put on for Thanksgiving, going all out for days to prepare a fabulous meal with all the trimmings, decorating the house and setting a table to celebrate. It requires a tremendous amount of expense and work (especially for mom!), but provides a special time for all the guests. Think, "Martha Stewart!"

"Hospitality" on the other hand is a simple inviting of a person (or family) to join you in your everyday meal. It has the feeling of "family." There isn't a huge imposition on you, other than maybe making the meal in a slightly larger quantity than you would have otherwise. Your guests are welcomed into your home to delight in a new-found relationship. The ultimate in hospitality would be to create a feeling where your guest would be comfortable enough to lie down on your couch for an after-meal nap! Obviously, that is an extreme example...but the idea is to create an environment that is genuine, comfortable, warm, inviting, and friendly. You are witnessing the love of Christ in a very direct manner. A person who feels comfortable is much more open to talking of things that are important...like the Gospel!

The guest who is being "entertained" will undoubtedly have a special time, but it is very unlikely he will feel comfortable. He won't feel like family; he will feel like a guest. And that's the whole point of hospitality. If you "love a stranger," he will feel the connection...like family.

Think of how effective this would be in sharing the Gospel! Think of how this attitude of hospitality would affect your children; they would see their family actively and intentionally ministering to both the saints and to the unsaved. They would see the Gospel in action and in word. Think of how easily they could be involved in something this concrete! Think of how they will learn to serve and to love others. Think of how you would actually get to know your neighbors! I don't know about you, but most of our neighbors would easily qualify as "strangers!" That's a sad admission, but I suspect it is true of most people in today's world. A Christian family who intentionally and regularly practiced hospitality just within their neighborhood would be a witness to the Gospel through the first Fruit of the Spirit: love...and they would stand out from the rest of the "Christians" (see my post on the sad state of American Christianity here) in their acts of love and service through their hospitality.

So...start practicing hospitality! It is both commanded and commended by God. It shows the Gospel to an unbelieving world. It teaches your children through example.

You don't have to do it every day, or even every week at the beginning. Start with once a month...or even once every two months. But be intentional. I suspect it will be habit-forming, and would happen much more often over time. But you have to start.

How about this week?

Joy in the Journey

2007-01-17T20:35:00.000-06:00

I don't like to keep referencing my other blog, but some of what I have written there lately applies to the purposes of both of these blogs. So rather than create the post twice...I'll just send you there through a link.

I heard a wonderful quote on Kevin Swanson's radio program today. His guest, Steve Maxwell said (paraphrased), "If our joy comes from entertainment, our joy is limited by income. But if our joy comes from serving others, we have the potential for a lifetime of joy."

I used that thought as a springboard for commentary and application. You can read about it here.

Lord Foulgrin on "Radical Obedience"

2007-01-14T15:39:00.000-06:00

As I continue to reread Lord Foulgrin's Letters by Randy Alcorn (previous post here and website here), I keep coming across excellent observations about how we, especially in America, are confounded regarding living a full Christian life. Here are a few more examples. Remember this text is from a letter to a demon underling on how to disrupt a Christian's life, in this case a man named "Fletcher."

From Chapter 21:

Focus Fletcher on yesterday or tomorrow. Let him celebrate past obedience and anticipate future obedience, as long as he doesn't obey in the present. Distract Fletcher from what the Carpenter has for him today. If nostalgia or regrets concerning the past consume him, fine. If his plans for world travel or changing jobs or building on to his house consume him, fine. The Enemy wants his service today. Everything which distracts from today's obedience serves us. (Emphasis added)

If he must be a Christian, make him a moderate one, the kind who makes sure he "doesn't go overboard" or "get radical" or "go to extremes." (emphasis added) Let his Christianity be one more category of his life, alongside business, sports, and hobbies. If that's all it is, it'll do us little harm and the Enemy little good.

In the last post from this book, I ended the quote with the thought that "an unholy world will never be won to the Carpenter by an unholy church." and the observation that the only way for the church to be holy is for the individuals within that church to be holy. Today's quotes show two distinct ways we avoid the holiness God desires for us.

The first is obedience; and not just any obedience, but obedience today, now. Each and every moment of every day should be considered in light of obeying God's commands in Christ. Today's Sunday School lesson dealt with the same issue: We show we love God most when we "hunger for righteousness." So... am I obeying now? Where have I disobeyed today? That disobedience, either active (through a conscious act of disobedience) or inactive (through inaction when one should have obeyed), is sin. As Christians we need to confess that sin before the Throne of Grace in prayer, appropriating the cleansing Blood of Christ to cover it and separate it from us as far as the east is from the west. And then...obey!

The second is the fear of being "radical" or "extreme." If we actually were to obey God, our lives would look far different than the world around us. Even those within the church would drag out the labels "radical" and "extreme" in an attempt to bring us back in line with the prevailing evangelical culture. (I've been called those names by people who have read what I have written in my blogs, and I must admit it's encouraging to read respected authors who think similarly to what I've written!) Unfortunately, those labels work very well to squelch the fire of many a well-meaning Christian who desires to go hard after Christ. Alcorn is making the point that we don't make Christianity our life but rather just one more category to go alongside all the other things we do. Especially when we have children, we "fit it in" alongside all the sports and activities instead of letting it regulate what we do and how we look at all those sports and activities. What would our lives look like if we actually lived as Christians and not as people of the world who also wear the cloak of Christianity?

Even more importantly, how would we impact our world of we actually lived as Christians instead of as "...a baptized version of the world with mere cosmetic differences?"

Can we start focusing on the present when it comes to obedience?
Can we actually be radical and extreme and not worry about the labels?
Can we actually show Christ to the world through our very lives?

My prayer is the answer would be "YES!"

Post on Prayer

2007-01-08T19:22:00.000-06:00

Over at my Home Discipling Dad blog, I have posted regarding prayer. The majority of the post is generic and outlines John Bunyan's thoughts on what true prayer is. As such, it is applicable to the mission of this blog as well and I would commend it to you.

May we all learn more about the wonderful privilege of approaching the Throne of Grace in prayer!

Living the Radical Life

2007-01-08T10:07:00.000-06:00

"Our people are laid waste with sexual temptation and failure and guilt because their soul and their mind have shriveled down to the size of a TV sitcom."

It's not often that I simply direct you to another website, but there are two articles/blog posts that seem to have immense practical application to holiness and serving Jesus as Lord. The quote above comes from the first. It is the written version of a sermon given by Pastor John Piper to Passion 2007 just this last week in Atlanta. The article deals primarily with sexual sin, but its point could just as easily be applied to any sin and that sin's accompanying guilt, both of which paralyze us to radical service to our Lord. Although somewhat lengthy, I would commend it to you in its entirety. Print it out, sit down with a cup of coffee...read/muse/pray...and take action on what you read!

It can be found here.

A second link is a set of blog posts is by Joshua Harris, senior pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD. These posts flow out of a couple of sermons given at the beginning of the year on Psalm 90. In particular, Harris focuses on the verse, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." When you consider what God has to say about himself versus us as finite humans and then compare it to what A.W. Tozer has said in Knowledge of the Holy (blog post here, here, and here), it will help you to continue to put God in His proper sphere, while teaching us to consider what it truly important in our short lives.

Harris makes several posts on the topic and the sermon on the subject can be accessed from the first few posts as well. They can be found:

here, here, here, here, here, and here.

May you be blessed by these wonderful gentlemen's writings... and may they help you serve the Lord in a radical, life-changing, Kingdom-advancing, Gospel-bringing manner.

Lord Foulgrin on "Feelings"

2007-01-06T21:43:00.000-06:00

Randy Alcorn of Eternal Perspectives Ministries is a prolific author of both fiction and nonfiction. I am particularly drawn to his fictional works because of the truths that are so effectively taught through his stories. I've read most of his stories more than once. Right now I am rereading Lord Foulgrin's Letters and came across a good quote to launch a post. Letters is in the same vein as C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters, but it includes an ongoing story about a human family currently being plotted against by the demons. This passage is from a letter from Lord Foulgrin to his protege, so it is written from the perspective of a demon.

What's most exciting is how we've served up moral relativism to the forbidden squadron. Relativism reigns in the church--the sludgebags improvise morals as they go. Ask Conhock about it. One of his patients recently walked away from her marriage because "the Holy Spirit gave me a peace about it." And her so-called Christian friends offered no argument! After all, they were to "judge not," and show love to their friend by refraining from disagreement.

There've always been Christian sludgebags who disobey the forbidden book. But there have never been so many who kept right on going to church and claiming the spiritual high ground in the midst of their disobedience.

The vermin explain their sin with sanctimonious language like, "We've prayed about it and sought counsel, and we feel it's the right thing to do." Don't let it dawn on them that to the Enemy what they feel is inconsequential (emphasis added). His moral laws--confound them--don't give a rip about how any of us feel. The sludgebags have no more power to vote them in and out of existence than they have power to revoke the law of gravity.

...the forbidden squadron will never be more than a baptized version of the world, with mere cosmetic differences.

Take cheer, Squaltaint. An unholy world will never be won to the Carpenter by an unholy church (emphasis added).

In just a few paragraphs, Alcorn has targeted two of the major problems in the church today: the misapplication of "Judge not lest you be judged." and the reliance upon feelings rather than obedience to determine truth and direction.

"Judge not" is a post-modernists dream, for its misapplication almost immediately silences all criticism and discernment. However, we as Christians are called to judge (discern) all the time. This verse is more pointed...we cannot judge as God judges. That's a huge difference. We should absolutely judge when it comes to the breaking of God's moral statutes, especially by those who claim allegiance to Christ.

In this therapeutic age, we give far too much credence to "feelings" when determining right and wrong, determining truth or falsehood, or determining direction in life. God's patterns, principles, and precepts are not subject to how a person "feels" about them on a given day. Rather, they are absolute. As a believer, God expects you to invoke the power of the Holy Spirit and act according to His commands...regardless of how you feel! To do so will result in that pattern of action becoming normative in your life...and you are one more step along the path of sanctification!

Both of these attitudes, the lack of discernment and the reliance upon feelings, cause the church to be a mere "baptized version of the world." If there is to be an impact upon our world, we must be a holy church, and to be a holy church, we must be a holy people. That will only happen if we are a separate people who live according to God's revealed Word.

So, as a start in countering the falsehoods put forth by the demons (and our culture):

1. Judge in a discerning manner according to the Word of God!

2.Don't listen to feelings (feelings lie), but rather obey God's Word in the power of the Spirit!

Out of the Office...

2006-12-19T22:22:00.000-06:00

Gone on vacation...sans computer!

Merry Christmas!!!

Recovering a Huge Vision of God

2006-12-07T13:21:00.000-06:00

The final chapter of The Knowledge of the Holy (two earlier posts here and here) is perhaps the best because it puts application to the thoughts and musings of the previous 100 pages. Tozer’s desire is that the name of God be glorified in the church again, and for that to happen, the individual must glorify God through personal revival.

He says there is only one secret… “Acquaint thyself with God.”

Tozer then goes on to present a brief summary of the conditions necessary in order to do this acquaintance.

First… “We must forsake our sins.”

Second… “There must be an utter committal of the whole life to Christ in faith.” He describes this as involving a “…volitional and emotional attachment to Him accompanied by a firm purpose to obey Him in all things.” Consider some of my earlier posts (here and here) on the necessity of obedience. And note his intentional use of the words “utter” and “whole” and their implications to how we live here in America.

Third… “There must be a reckoning of ourselves to have died unto sin and to be alive unto God in Christ Jesus, followed by a throwing open of the entire personality to the inflow of the Holy Spirit.”

Fourth… “We must boldly repudiate the cheap values of the fallen world and become completely detached in spirit from everything that unbelieving men set their hearts upon, allowing ourselves only the simplest enjoyments of nature which God has bestowed alike upon the just and the unjust.” This one really sounds difficult to me. However, I suspect that as I accomplish the first three, the fourth will naturally follow.

Fifth… “We must practice the art of long and loving meditation upon the majesty of God.” Tozer warns that as we progress deeper in becoming acquainted with God, we may for a time, lose friends and gain a passing reputation for being holier-than-thou. But he also states that if we were to turn from this effort simply because of these things, then we are not fit for the Kingdom of God. We fear the world more than we fear God.

Sixth… “As the knowledge of God becomes more wonderful, greater service to our fellow men will become for us imperative. This blessed knowledge is not given to be enjoyed selfishly.”

Tozer concludes that as we develop an intensified knowledge of God, there is no way it cannot begin to affect those around us, especially those in our circle of Christian friends. We must purposefully share our increasing light with our brothers and sisters. As this happens, the church as a whole grows to bring more glory to God.

Implications of Knowledge of the Holy

2006-12-06T13:25:00.000-06:00

Tozer says that it is often easier to understand about God from the negative. In other words, when we consider what He is not like, we better understand what He is like. For instance: God had no origin; He had no beginning; He requires no helpers; He suffers no change; He has no limitations in His essential being; there is no place God isn’t; nothing can sway His hand.

What does this mean to us in everyday life? In a word…majesty. We have such a low view of God, often (if we are brutally honest) as not much more than the big vending machine in the sky. Think how often our prayers are nothing more than a list of requests! Yes, we have been adopted as sons of God and have been given permission to address Him as “Abba.” But in no way does that change Who He is relative to who we are. But since we now consider Him to be our “big buddy in the sky,” we feel free to live our lives in whatever way we see fit. We don’t see our sin as a big deal…yes, maybe our bigger sins, but certainly not the smaller ones. We don’t strive for holiness. We don’t fall on our faces in awe of God, especially in light of what He did for us on the Cross! God and His demands on our lives fall to a distant second place when compared to the demands and cares of the world.

Oh, how I want to go back and study, internalizing the insights Tozer has compiled here, praying that the Holy Spirit will help me to develop a massive view of God that leaves me in stunned awe and adoration. Just consider what a motivation such a view would be when it comes to the difficulties of challenging our culture with a life lived wholly sold-out to Christ.

Aircraft Operating Manuals

2006-12-04T21:28:00.000-06:00

As a short reprieve from A.W. Tozer, I'm going to continue my airplane analogies a bit further.

In the airline world we have massive books that tell us about the systems of the plane, how they work, how they are to be operated, and how to handle things when they don't work as advertised. We also have books that tell us how to most efficiently fly the plane within the safest parameters.

For instance, let's say the book tells us to fly a final approach speed of 142 knots. That would be the designer's calculation as the speed which gives us the best stall protection (assuming we are flying something that could actually stall...not an Airbus) and maneuvering capability while giving us the least energy necessary to dissipate on landing.

As the pilot, I can override the designer's calculations and increase or decrease the speed. If I increase it, I then the result will be a longer landing roll. This could result in something as minor as hotter brakes, or in something as major as going off the end of the runway! If I decide to fly slower than the designer's calculated speed, I could stall the airplane and crash.

The bottom line is the designer built the plane. He knows how it is best flown. If I am smart, I will listen to what he has to say and do it!

The spiritual lesson is that God "built" the human being (us). He knows how we are to operate best. He has given us a "manual" telling us the best way for us. If I am smart, I will heed what it has to say and live according to its patterns, principles, precepts, and commands. If I don't, I can expect anything from minor difficulties to major crashes...and perhaps an eternity in hell!

Bottom line... Read your Bible. Repent and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins if you have not already done so. And then follow the Bible, thus becoming more and more like your Lord Jesus every day, and thus operating the human being that is you in the "best way possible according to the Designer!"

In the Center of the Cross

2006-12-01T21:47:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of the Primary Flight Display on an Airbus A320. It shows our attitude in relation to the horizon, our heading, our airspeed in knots, our altitude, our mach number, our vertical velocity, and the particulars of our automation.

Specifically what I would like to draw your attention to are the two lines that form a cross right in the center of the instrument. Those form what is called the "Flight Director." There is a little black box that is right in the center of the cross. By pitching the plane up or down or rolling it right or left, you move that box to center it up underneath the crosshairs. The function of the crosshairs is to tell you where to put the airplane in order for it to fly in the manner you have asked it to. In short, if I were to set the automation up, you as a non-pilot could fly the little box into the cross, and you would be able to make the plane do something you would not be able to do on your own. On the other hand, if you were to ignore the cross, really bad things usually happen!

I took one of our pastors in the simulator one day and after learning how to keep the box under the cross, he came up with the following insightful application to real life:

If you want to get to your proper destination in this life, you must stay in the center of the Cross. When you are not in the center of the Cross, really bad things usually happen!

A Message from the Grave

2006-12-01T21:34:00.000-06:00

We recently returned from a wonderful week-long tour of Plymouth, Boston, Salem, and Lexington/Concord. Believe me when I say that being in Plymouth over Thanksgiving is something everyone should endeavor to do once in their lifetime!

Anyway, if you were to tour Burial Hill Cemetery in Plymouth (William Bradford is only one of many famous people from our history buried there), you would find many, many gravestones from the Puritan era. One of the things the Puritans tried to do was communicate a message with what they put on those stones. Here is a quote I found that relates to one of my previous posts.

Short is our longest day of life
And soon its prospect ends.
Yet on that day's uncertain date
Eternity begins.

The Knowledge of the Holy

2006-11-28T13:30:00.000-06:00

A.W. Tozer has a wonderful little book (slightly over 100 pages) entitled, The Knowledge of the Holy. The premise is that our view of God is far too small, which in turn inhibits our ability to experience the transforming power of the Spirit in our lives. My family attends a church that has a much higher view of God than most, but as I read this book, I find that we are sorely lacking as well. “The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him—and of her.”

The purpose of this post is to outline and summarize the attributes Tozer brings out about God, to include their definitions. An “attribute” is something God has revealed as being true about Himself. It isn’t a definition of Him, but rather is something intrinsic to His nature. We must also consider all of the attributes as one, with each attribute contributing to the others. You will note that most every one of these attributes deals with the concept of infinity, something of which finite man can scarcely conceive, yet it is still worth our efforts…for without the attempt, we can never know about our God. Tozer says we absolutely must break ourselves of the habit of thinking of the Creator as we think of His creatures. Please take some quiet time and muse and wrestle with the implications of each of these attributes. Look at how often we define God in a manner similar to that of a creature. Even better…get the book, and see some of the musing and implications Tozer comes up with.

God Incomprehensible- An infinite God is not comprehensible by man. Bits and pieces as He chooses to reveal, yes; otherwise He cannot be known. We tend to reduce Him to manageable terms, and the result is a God we can in some measure control…in other words, not God at all. I think of the things I teach about God. I can have confidence they are true and I can proclaim them confidently. However, this particular attribute opens my eyes to how easily I come to think I have God “figured out.” The only things I can “figure out” about God are those which He tells me, and even then it will only be partially since I as a finite being cannot begin to comprehend His infinitude.

God as the Holy Trinity- No matter how hard one tries or how many deep theological words he uses, this attribute cannot be satisfactorily explained, only believed as “truth for the heart.” Three, yet One. Separate, yet in total, perfect, complete unity. Perfect in love.

The Self-Existence of God- Origin can only apply to that which is created. That God was not created means He has no origin. He is “Someone Who was made by none.”

The Self-Sufficiency of God- God is what He is in Himself, and as such, He has no need. “Need” can only be referenced to a creature, and not to the Creator.

The Eternity of God- Since time came into being at the creation, God is outside of time. God is unaffected by the farthest reaches we can consider in both past and future. “God dwells in eternity, but time dwells in God.”

God’s Infinitude- This is something we cannot grasp, yet we must at least make the attempt for it will help us to come to grips with the other attributes. Infinitude can only belong to One, and it says God is measureless. Measuring is something we do as Creatures. The infinite cannot be measured, and when we try, we end up with something that isn’t God!

God’s Immutability- God never differs from Himself. He never grows or develops. Since He is already perfect, any change is impossible.

God’s Divine Omniscience- God possesses perfect knowledge and has no need to learn. It also means God has never learned and cannot learn.

The Wisdom of God- God’s understanding is infinite, and this infinite wisdom is the root of all truth. Among other things, it “…is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means.”

The Omnipotence of God- Because God is infinite and He is self-existent, He must have limitless power as well. This perfect, complete, limitless power must go hand-in-hand with the idea of sovereignty as well.

God’s Divine Transcendence- God is exalted far above the created universe. He is not just the highest in an ascending order of beings. He stands fully and completely apart.

God’s Omnipresence- “God is everywhere here, close to everything, next to everyone.” “In His infinitude He surrounds the finite creation and contains it.”

God’s Faithfulness- To be unfaithful is to change. Since God cannot change, He is absolutely faithful in all He does. He is perfectly consistent, with all He does in perfect agreement with all He is.

God’s Goodness- This is the attribute that disposes God to be “…kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of good will toward men.” It is this goodness that allows a distinction between kindness and cruelty and even between heaven and hell.

God’s Justice- Justice and righteousness are almost perfect synonyms in Scripture. Justice is the way God is. His acts are the perfect definition of justice. In no way should we ever attempt to think of God as conforming to an external, independent criterion.

God’s Mercy- This is “…an infinite and inexhaustible energy within the divine nature which disposes God to be actively compassionate.” Mercy is God’s goodness confronting human misery and guilt. Tozer also goes to great length to dispel the idea that God in the Old Testament is a God of justice whereas the God of the New Testament is a God of mercy. Remember…God is immutable!

God’s Grace- While similar to mercy, grace is God’s goodness directed toward man’s debt and demerit.

God’s Love- God is not literally “love” as is so often ascribed, but love is an essential attribute of God. It’s very difficult to actually define “love,” but we can describe how love manifests itself. Good will, friendly, giving freely to the object of its affection, self-sacrificial, taking pleasure in the object of its affection are examples of this manifestation.

God’s Holiness- “We cannot grasp the true meaning of the divine holiness by thinking of someone or something very pure and then raising the concept to the highest degree we are capable of. God’s holiness is not the best we know infinitely bettered.” God’s holiness is something “…unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible, and unattainable.” Holiness is who God is; He is the standard.

God’s Sovereignty- This is the absolute freedom of God to do that which He desires. Nothing can hinder, compel, or stop Him.

I know this resulted in a long post. I hope you will take the time along with me to ponder these attributes in a heart-felt attempt to know and thus love the God of our salvation more and more. I hope to place another couple of posts on this book, one involving some implications of furthering our understanding of God’s attributes and another summarizing Tozer’s final chapter wherein he “puts feet to the ideas” and challenges us to rise to the occasion of glorifying God more and more.

Giving thanks to my Lord, Who is far more than I could ever imagine…

HYPOCRITE!!!

2006-11-19T14:11:00.000-06:00

Some people who read my blogs and who know me personally have leveled the charge of "hypocrite" at me, claiming that my life and what I write here and on my HomeDisciplingDad blog don't match.

You know what?

They are right.

My life does not conform with what I write here, and I doubt that most of the people who read this blog could state that their lives do either. My purpose in writing these blogs is not to expound from on high as a person who has "made it," but rather to compile thoughts and musings of what I find in the Bible and what I read from respected authors that show what my life should be like...almost like a series of goals at which to aim.

I can honestly and sadly say that I fall far short of most of what I write. But if I don't at least have these thoughts in front of me, then I don't have direction. I would like to be the person who has made great strides against idolatry, whose life illustrates strong obedience to God's commands, who always loves his wife as perfectly as Christ loved the church, who has shepherded his family away from the ways of the world and into following Christ unashamedly, who witnesses the Gospel and the love of Christ daily to a lost and hurting world, who prays unceasingly, who loves God with every ounce of his being, 100% of the time.

But I fall short, often very short. I know that.

But without vision, the people perish; and these blogs are places for me to compile what I hope is a God-centered vision for myself and for my family... and just maybe, for those who do me the honor of reading them as well.

So, yes, in a sense, I am a hypocrite; but in another, I am a sinner, justified by faith, living in grace, and praying for a life more conformed to Christ.

A Foolish Life

2006-11-16T21:54:00.000-06:00

I was reading a back-issue of Randy Alcorn's Eternal Perspectives Newsletter (free subscription at Eternal Perspectives Ministries) and came across the following quote:

"Any life that leaves us unprepared for death is a foolish life."

This has a similar flavor to the couplet inscribed on a Puritan-era tombstone in Boston:

As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be.
So prepare for death,
And follow me.

We in America absolutely detest even thinking that our lives are finite. It is an uncomfortable subject for many reasons, not the least of which is that we unconsciously consider this life to be superior to the next. As Christians, we should know better!

But the bottom line is that each of us will face death, and only God knows the span of our life. Both Randy Alcorn and this voice crying out to us from the grave are pleading with us to consider our lives in light of their finitude. To a Christian, this should call us to consider if we are truly living our lives in a manner worthy of our status as God's adopted children. Are we building His Kingdom? Are we finding joy in doing His will? Are we shining light into a dark world?

Or...are we living for ourselves, for our "Disneyland" experience here in America (as my pastor likes to put it)? Are we so chummy with the culture that we cannot begin to fathom God's radical call on our lives?

How does one prepare for death? I propose that one prepares for death by the intentional living of his life, becoming more and more like Christ every day, obeying Him, and doing His will. By the end of our lives, our only plea on our deathbed should be, "Oh, that I had more time to show the love of Christ to the world...but to die is gain!!!"

We should be striving to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant"...not "Well done, good and faithful servant, for you broke that sporting record" or "Well done, good and faithful servant, for you died with the most toys" or even "Well done good and faithful servant, for you attended church faithfully." The key word here is servant. We serve the risen Lord, doing His bidding in the world. We don't ascertain that bidding through circumstance and feeling, but rather through careful study and application of the Scripture. And I dare say that most of what we in the American Evangelical Culture are doing reflect the intent of the latter comments above, and will burn up as the chaff it is.

Trust me when I say part of the reason I write is to preach to myself. I admit it... I love my vacations. I love my home. I love my toys. I love the accolades I get from my job. I take for granted God's blessings in my life. And NONE of these things will amount to a hill of beans from God's viewpoint. In fact, there is a good argument to be made that they may even be idols! And if you've read some of my earlier posts on idolatry, you know how God abhors idolatry. Where is my focus? When will my actions match my words?

Oh Lord, in the name of your Son, Jesus, please make it so!!! Please give me, and all who read this, the desire to conform our lives to that of our Savior. And when that desire is there; please turn it into action. Give us a vision for what You want from us on this earth. Give us a vision of what truly matters, and grant the joy and desire to do those things! Then Lord, take all the glory from our transformed lives!! Amen!

May we have a healthy understanding of death... and how to prepare for it....

Tozer on "The Exaltation of God"

2006-11-16T01:02:00.000-06:00

A.W. Tozer has something to challenge me on almost every page I read. In his book, The Pursuit of God, he has an essay on The Exaltation of God. In it I found the following quotes:

"Every soul belongs to God and exists by His pleasure. God being who He is, and we being who we are, the only thinkable relation between us is one of full Lordship on His part and complete submission on ours."

This is the point that the evangelical culture in our country seems to have conveniently forgotten. The EC ignores Lordship...especially "full Lordship." And if you don't recognize full Lordship, then complete submission is not even on your radar screen. Do we really take time to get quiet before the Lord for an extended period of time and ponder who He really is? Maybe if we did that, we would arrive at the same conclusion as Tozer.

"The pursuit of God will embrace the labor of bringing our total personality into conformity to His. And this is not judicially, but actually."

Tozer makes the point of mentioning "judicially" because he understands that we are justified by faith alone, which makes us right with God judicially. But we then have the challenge of sanctification, which is the act of bringing our total personality into conformity to God's. This is an actual, intentional, laborious process, and it involves, in the power of the Holy Spirit, actually changing who we are.

"The moment we make up our minds that we are going on with this determination to exalt God over all, we step out of the world's parade."

Doing the above means determining to exalt God... and that means being different from the world. How many of us quickly get defensive here, professing that we don't really love the world, but are just living in it? God's way and the way of the world are completely antithetical; you can't have it both ways. Tozer goes on to quickly cut our excuses out from under us with the next quote:

"Our break with the world will be the direct outcome of our changed relation to God. For the world of fallen men does not honor God. Millions call themselves by His name, it is true, and pay some token respect to Him, but a simple test will show how little He is really honored among them. Let the average man be put to the proof on the question of who or what is above, and his true position will be exposed. Let him be forced into making a choice between God and money, between God and men, between God and personal ambition, God and self, God and human love, and God will take second place every time."

(In Tozer's day, he probably didn't have to deal as much with this one: Between God and sports!) When the rubber meets the road, which choice will it be? If the answer isn't 100% "God," then we are not honoring Him and He is not our true Lord. Note that Tozer phrases it as "forced to make a choice." This is not an intellectual agreement; he means it to be real life. If we know what God is asking of us, and yet refuse to willingly conform ourselves with a joyful heart, then we are dishonoring our Lord...and that raises the question of what we truly believe. That's the whole point of this blog. Are you serious about your faith? If so, then it has to show as you grow in Jesus' righteousness. You can't sit still; you must be becoming more like your Lord.

And I write/preach this to myself as well....

May we all seriously consider what we need to do to pass Tozer's test on honoring the Father of our Lord and Savior.

Practical Tips for Obedience and Change- Part II

2006-11-11T22:08:00.000-06:00

This morning I had the pleasure of sitting under the teaching of Dr. John Piper as he conducted a seminar on "Christian Hedonism." (Yes...sounds like an oxymoron, but it's not!) The purpose here isn't to describe or defend Christian Hedonism. If you would like more information on it, go to Desiring God and put it in the search box. You will have more information than you can possibly digest! While you are there, purchase a copy of Desiring God for a more thorough treatment of the subject...AND a life-changing view of our Lord and Savior!

I took away from his seminar several items that relate to obedience and Christ's Lordship. First and foremost is that Christ IS Lord, but that for the believer, it is not a thing of duty and burden. In fact, if you are acting out of simple duty, you probably don't really know Christ! Instead, our actions...including the keeping of God's commands...are to be motivated by joy! We are actually commanded to have joy! I won't go into the theological defense of how God can command an emotion...go to the website for that. So bottom line... obedience to the commands of God is a joyful thing! But Pastor Piper also said that it is a continual fight...you must fight for joy, probably on a daily basis...or even more often! And he gave some strategies that are applicable (there are more, probably available on the website or through some of the other books he's written).

1. Meditate on Scripture day and night. That means reading it, memorizing it, and musing upon it.

2. Pray. Pray for joy. Pray for what you are learning in your meditations on Scripture.

3. Preach to yourself instead of listening to yourself! I highlight this because it struck me as important, yet immensely practical, simply because it is something we don't do! We wake up in the morning and listen to ourselves grumble. We listen to ourselves all day long, and if we were to actually pay attention, we would be amazed at how often what we are telling ourselves is negative and joy-killing. Quit doing that! Instead, preach to yourself sermons based on the Scripture you are reading and meditating upon. Preach about God's goodness and glory. Preach about His promises. Preach about His expectations of you in your sanctification. Train yourself to listen only when you are preaching and not when you are grumbling.

Becoming more like Christ isn't a burdensome work of drudgery. Make no mistake; it IS work and it DOES require change. But it is a joyful thing to become more like our Lord! Let's make the most of every day in doing so!

Toward more joy and more Christlikeness!!!

Practical Tips for Obedience and Change

2006-11-09T13:40:00.000-06:00

In my last post I challenged every Christian reading it to consider God's commands for obedience to His Word and how that would require a person to change his attitudes, his actions, and his life in conformity with Scripture. That's a huge challenge. In fact, it is a challenge that will take your entire life!

So how would one go about this? Here's a suggestion for how to start. If you are serious about this, you should already be reading your Bible. The next time you are reading, ask God to reveal his commands, principles, and patterns to you. Get a journal and write them down. Then take some time to muse and pray over how you would apply that particular command, principle, or pattern to your life personally, to your relations with those in your family, to your relations with those in your circle of influence, and to the world at large. Each command, principle, or pattern will not necessarily apply to each of these realms, but consider each as you muse. And then make a point of actually applying what you are discovering!

Here's an example (I just went to a book of the Bible and looked to find a command.)

I found First Peter 4:9- "Show hospitality to one another without grumbling". First I would ask what "hospitality" means. If I'm going to show it to someone, I'd better know what it is as God defines it. Use a Vine's Expository Dictionary for this sort of thing...it works great for the layman like me!

So how do I show hospitality to my immediate family? Could it be in the atmosphere I create in my home? Could it be in how I express my love for each of them? Could it be regular meals around the dinner table instead of on the run?

How do I show hospitality to my circle of influence? Do I invite people over to share meals regularly? What kind of meal- fancy or normal? Do I make them feel a part of the family? Are they comfortable in my home? Do they feel the love of Christ in me and in my family as we converse?

How about to the world at large? Am I quick to invite someone I've just met to break bread in my home?

And of course, we can't forget the last part. How do I do this without grumbling? Prayer, of course. But what should my attitude be toward showing hospitality to anyone? Am I not showing them the love of Christ in a real, tangible way and thus witnessing a changed life in action? Does that not take grumbling out of it?

I hope this will challenge you to take seriously God's commands, and to strive to apply them daily in your life such that you look more and more like your Savior each day!

Obedience and Change

2006-11-09T11:03:00.000-06:00

Using my computer NAS Bible softward, I did a search of the New Testament for the words, "obey," "obedient," and "obedience." It generated forty-four hits. A quick scan of them showed that the first five pertained to the water "obeying" Jesus when He calmed it. The rest typically had something to do with believers and their relation to God, His Son, and His Word or to their carrying out of everyday life in reference to the Word.

Here are links to the ESV Online Bible with the individual words searched:

Click here for a search of the NT for the word, "obey."
Click here for a search of the NT for the word, "obedient."
Click here for a search of the NT for the word, "obedience."

If you were to do the same search and peruse these verses, you would come away with the understanding that God actually cares that we as believers obey Him! That is something that goes against almost everyone's basic nature, especially here in America. We loath being told we have to do something a certain way; we cherish our independence and our right to do and to act in the way we please. We prefer to focus on grace, and ignore that God has a claim on our lives. But we are not our own; we are bought with a price and are now slaves of Christ. He has every right to command us how to live our lives and to expect our obedience.

Also consider the analogy of a parent and a child. We as parents expect obedience from our children for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that we typically know better than they what is good for them. One of the steps of salvation is "adoption," where we as believers become adopted children of God. In this case, though, we never grow up. We will always be His children, and He has every right as our Father to expect our obedience and we should expect that His commands for us result in what is best, even if we can't see it.

The bottom line is that Christ obeyed perfectly. If we are to become like Christ in sanctification, we also should be obeying more and more each day. Obviously we won't have perfect obedience this side of heaven, but we certainly should be progressing that way.

...which brings me to the second point. If we are progressing in obedience to the Word of God, then our lives are going to change. You cannot be the same person this year that you were last year if you are concentrating on conforming your life to God's commands. For example, you will be more patient, more loving, more God-centered, more service-focused, more joyful, more ______ (you fill in the blank). Your life should be more organized according to the standards in the Bible rather than the standards of our culture. You cannot be the same person; your life must reflect more of Christ and His way today then it did at a previous point in time. (The longer the time frame, the more obvious the change should be.) If you are the same person and haven't been moving toward Christ-likeness in obedience, then you should seriously question your progress in sanctification. And if there is a problem with sanctification, then you should have a serious self-examination of your salvation.

The bottom line for the Christian is that a major part of your sanctification is obeying God as He revealed His will in the Word, thus conforming your life to that of Christ. That requires work. It requires the power of the Holy Spirit. It requires that you actually renounce/repent of the way you are and change, sometime dramatically, the way you act and live. If more people who go by the name, "Christian," would do this, then we would actually look different to the pagan world, and would be a far better witness.

Praying for obedience and change, both in my life and in the lives of those I love....

"I 'Made' Jesus my Lord!"

2006-11-05T21:21:00.000-06:00

I've been doing some reading lately of material by John MacArthur as well as listening to different podcast programs. I have blogged on the Lordship issue previously, but I want to return to it in light of some of the things I've learned.

First, it was pointed out that every time the term, "Lord," and the term, "Savior," are used together, "Lord" is always given first billing. It is always "Lord and Savior" and never "Savior and Lord." This indicates the relative importance of the two in God's eyes. Unfortunately we in the evangelical culture see it in the latter when in reality, God sees it in the former. This results in our pretty much ignoring the implications of Jesus as Lord while enjoying the benefits of Jesus as Savior. This is to our peril.

Secondly, how often do you hear someone say they "made Jesus Lord of my life" or something similar? MacArthur points out a glaring error in this sort of thinking. It requires quite a large amount of arrogance to even consider that you as the creature made your creator your Lord, as if it were up to you! The fact is, Jesus is Lord and there is nothing you or I can do about it. In fact, there is no question that one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father!

The real issue isn't that Jesus is suddenly Lord of one's life; He's always been Lord of one's life. The real issue is that you have been disobedient. A more thoughtful way to put it is something like, "Jesus has always been Lord, and I've sinned in disobedience. In the power of the Holy Spirit, I am endeavoring to grow more and more like Jesus through obedience to His Lordship!"

So, how about it? Shall we put Jesus' Lordship in its proper place and focus on obedience as we strive in the power of the Holy Spirit toward sanctification? I fear this is missing in most every evangelical heart today, including mine.

Let's change that, starting now....

Anemia or Power?

2006-10-30T23:31:00.000-06:00

As I continue upon my A.W. Tozer readings, I am finding him to be immensely quotable, with pearls of wisdom and challenge sprinkled liberally throughout his writings.

In The Pursuit of God, Tozer addresses why we in modern Christianity are so devoid of "spiritual receptivity." Spiritual receptivity is crucial because it is the ability for us as saved sinners to "hear" God as He speaks in His Word. It is only when we hear God speaking to us personally in the present tense that we experience the power of a transformed life. Tozer points out that we often view God as having been silent, then speaking as the Word was written, and then going silent again. We say "God spoke" in the past tense. But he contends that God has never been silent and that His Word "speaks" (present tense) today to those who are spiritually receptive enough to hear. And the fruit of hearing that speaking is a changed life that is decidedly counter-cultural, yet undeniably powerful.

But he contends that far too few people who go by the name "Christian" ever develop this spiritual receptivity. Instead they develop, in the manner described in the following quote, the theology and standards they apply to their lives...and the results are powerless and anemic at best.

"We have been too blind to see, or too timid to speak out, or too self-satisfied to desire anything better than the poor average diet with which others appear satisfied. To put it differently, we have accepted one another's notions, copied one another's lives and made one another's experiences the model for our own. And for a generation, the trend has been downward. ... It will require a determined heart and more than a little courage to wrench ourselves loose from the grip of our times and return to biblical ways. But it can be done."

In other words, we look around and endeavor to copy others we think of as "spiritual" and "mature" and compare ourselves to still others who are not as spiritual, and then say we are doing well, or "growing." Tozer describes that as distinctly unbiblical, as he should because what he describes is the making of a standard out of our friends' and peers' lives. If our standard for anything in our life is "That's the way 'Joe Smith' (or 'the Smith family') does it," then we are living as Tozer delineates. Note that he says it will require a determined heart and a large amount of courage to turn from this pattern. A person who desires to break out will be going against not only the worldly culture, but the church culture as well. He will be different, and that difference will not be appreciated by those unwilling to consider how their lives are being lived.

What is Tozer's answer? How can this be accomplished?

"Let any man turn to God in earnest, let him begin to exercise himself unto godliness, let him seek to develop his powers of spiritual receptivity by trust and obedience and humility, and the results will exceed anything he may have hoped in his leaner and weaker days. Any man who by repentance and a sincere return to God will break himself out of the mold in which he has been held, and will go to the Bible itself for his spiritual standards, will be delighted with what he finds there."

Note some specific parts of this quote, with some expounding thoughts in amplification:

"Exercising one's self unto godliness."
Exercise is work. It is a determined effort with a particular goal in mind. In this case, it is hard work toward godliness. (No, this isn't works righteousness; this is for the Christian who is saved by grace through faith, and is in the sanctification process.)

"Trust"
Trust that God intends for you to achieve that godliness and that His Word is sufficient.

"Obedience"
Obey the commands, precepts, and patterns you find in God's Word, trusting that God knows better than your peers, and if He desires your holiness and godliness, He alone knows how to achieve it in you.

"Humility"
Humble yourself before God and His Word, acknowledging the weakness of your own strength and knowledge, along with your willingness and desire to learn by listening to God speak.

"Repentance"
The action of repentance is "to turn." Turn away from and question your current practices, no matter where they came from (for example, family worship...or lack of it...how you conduct your personal time with the Lord, how you raise and educate your children, how you interact with your neighbors, how you and your spouse organize your home, the impact of sports, vacations, how money is spent, and on and on and on...don't leave a stone unturned, understanding this is a process and isn't something that will occur or change overnight; but it needs to start). Until it is validated in Scripture, each and every practice you bring forth is suspect as being cultural instead of Biblical. Repent before God of how you've always done things, and humbly ask that He speak through His Word in direction for your life and the way you live it.

"Sincere return to God"
The flip-side of the repentance coin is when you turn from your life as you've always known it, you are sincerely, humbly, obediently turning to God alone as your source.

"Go to the Bible itself for spiritual standards"
This is the key to the entire list. The whole point of not being spiritually receptive, and thus lacking in spiritual power is that we don't use the Bible as our standard; we use one another! The exercise, the trust, the obedience, the humility, the repentance, and the return to God all hinge on making the Bible the final and complete standard for life. Anything else will lead right back down the path to spiritual weakness and anemia.

"Delight in what one finds in the Bible" (like what was found in my post on Psalm 1?!)
This isn't to be drudgery. What we find in the Bible is Life!!! It is a salve to the injured soul. These spiritual standards are an easy yoke and a light burden. In short, they cause delight. And as we saw in Psalm 1, a delight in the Law of the Lord produces a solid life characterized by fruit that nourishes all who cross our path.

So what will it be? More of the same anemic, powerless faith? Or a break from the standard of man to the Standard of God, His Word... and the Kingdom power to affect our world and win souls for eternity... all in joy and delight?

Doesn't seem to require a lot of debate in my mind....

True Spirituality

2006-10-28T23:24:00.000-05:00

In today's day and age, many talk about "spirituality" instead of "Christianity" or "religion." It is as if being spiritual is the name of the game. Here is what A.W. Tozer (from That Incredible Christian) said were the marks of someone who is truly spiritual...and it is a far cry from anything that passes for "spirituality" today!

1. First is the desire to be holy rather than happy.

2. A man may be considered spiritual when he wants to see the honor of God advanced through his life.

3. The spiritual man wants to carry his cross.

4. Again, a Christian is spiritual when he sees everything from God's viewpoint.

5. Another desire of the spiritual man is to die right rather than to live wrong.

6. The desire to see others advance at his expense is another mark of the spiritual man.

7. The spiritual man habitually makes eternity-judgments instead of time-judgments.

Muse on these for a while, asking honestly if they describe you. If your answer is similar to mine, then some humble appealing to your Heavenly Father is in order....

The Dangers of Intellectualism

2006-10-28T21:27:00.000-05:00

A.W. Tozer says in the book, The Pursuit of God, "God will not hold us responsible to understand the mysteries of election, predestination and divine sovereignty. The best and safest way to deal with these truths is to raise our eyes to God and in deepest reverence say, 'O Lord, Thou knowest.' Those things belong to the deep and mysterious Profound of God's omniscience. Prying into them may make theologians, but it will never make saints."

I am all for theology, for good doctrine, for the solid meat of Biblical truth, for these things keep us on the narrow road that leads to salvation and ultimately to God. But I can understand what Tozer is getting at here.

He's not saying to never study these things. Rather, I think he is warning us against two very real dangers.

First, it is very, very easy to get lost in the intellectual deepness of the Bible and miss out on actually having it work in our lives. We feel spiritual because we are studying Bible, but in reality, we are far from God.

A second danger is that intellectualism can allow us to keep God and His commands for us at a safe distance. We can pick them up, mull them over, discuss and bicker about them...and then put them down again, never allowing them to actually impact our lives and change us.

How do I know this? Am I just that smart? No. I know it because I've done it...and it is a lie, and it is sin.

Tozer is crying out for us to know God, to seek Him while He may be found, to be spiritually receptive to God's stirring in our heart. This is what I want! Yes, I want to stir around in the deep, wonderful doctrines of God and to understand Him more by understanding them more. But I want to be careful that it isn't intellectualism, but instead leads me to actually know God and to be more like His Son. That requires that I not "put the commands back down again," but rather own them and keep them through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I want to be as Tozer says at the end of his quote: A saint.

May all of us understand and fight the dangers of intellectualism, and instead keep the study of the Bible in its rightful sphere...as a path to knowing God and being like His Son!

Musings on Destiny

2006-10-25T22:48:00.000-05:00

I suppose it's probably against some unwritten blog-rule to link to my own post on another blog. But the topic addressed is one that works for the mission of this blog as well.

So click here to link over to my HomeDisciplingDad blog for some musings on "Destiny."

Meek as Jesus!

2006-10-22T18:27:00.000-05:00

"Meekness"

To our culture, the term implies weakness, wimpiness, shyness...certainly not something to which most people would aspire. But the Bible calls Jesus "meek" and speaks highly of meekness in several places. Does that mean Jesus was a shy, wimpy weakling... and that we should all aspire to the same? Of course not!

The term "meekness" doesn't translate easily from the Greek word "prautes". Another possibility is "gentleness." But that doesn't do it justice either because it implies outward action whereas the actual word focuses primarily upon a heart condition. Vine's Expository Dictionary refers to it as "...that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting." It goes on to say that meekness is "...the fruit of power." Note carefully that this is NOT a sulking resignation, but is rather a firm, heart-felt understanding that what God is doing in our lives is GOOD, regardless of how it may feel at the moment. The result is an intensity of character that comes with the power associated with it. Just think about Jesus. Weak and resigned would never describe Him; instead think of His single-minded focus on His Father's will, think of His cleansing of the Temple, think of His raising of Lazarus. This is power in meekness!

Now combine that with "quietness," as is commended for women in I Peter 3:4. The idea of quietness (or leading a quiet life) is listed elsewhere as a commendable quality for all, but here is the only place the two ideas are placed together. "Quietness" could easily be rendered "tranquil."

In effect, quietness could very well be the result of meekness. A person who is accepting of God's dealings with them as good would find it very easy to be tranquil.

Think of a large body of water where there is nothing to disturb it. It is "tranquil." Also consider a small puddle that is also tranquil. Now toss a fairly good sized rock into the puddle. It will splash about, rock and roll, and be quite disturbed overall. Now toss that same rock into a mile-wide tranquil lake. It will cause a splash, but the lake will quickly soak up the energy from the rock and return to its tranquil state, the majority of it having never felt its effects.

The large lake is a picture of the fruit of meekness and of quietness. The "rocks" that come into our lives are quickly absorbed and our countenance retains the tranquility of godly affections. People with these qualities can witness the love of God in Christ when others around them are falling apart because these people have a strength and power of character to persevere in dignity, calmness, and tranquility through times of difficulty.

While I would commend the qualities of meekness and quietness to all Christians, Peter obviously commended them both as a grouping to women in particular. Does that mean women are to be silent, weak fixtures in the background? Of course not. Based on what we know above, it means that a woman of meek and quiet spirit will exude a strength to absorb the hard things of her world, which allows her to carry on as the massive rock that supports her husband as his helpmeet. The world may attempt to dash her about, but she will remain steady...and that solid foundation is exactly what enables her husband to affect his world (i.e. sitting in the gate...Prov 31). If she breaks, he falls alongside her. Make no mistake... a woman of meek and quiet spirit in her role as helpmeet to a husband with vision is an indispensable part of God's order in the family and His plan for their effectiveness as Kingdom-bearers to the world. With her, her family is strong and powerful; without her, they are weak and ineffective. She is vital in her role.

Are we there yet? Probably most are not... both because they do not understand what it truly means to be meek and quiet, and because these have not been qualities prayed for and sought after.

So I pray... for me and my family, and for the church at large... through the power of the Holy Spirit, may we all seek and gain the power found in a meek and quiet spirit.

Musings on Psalm 1

2006-10-02T11:31:00.000-05:00

The ESV rendition of Psalm 1 can be found here and will open in a separate page for reference.

This is not meant to be an be-all and end-all commentary on Psalm 1, but rather my musings as I contemplated it during and after my quiet time today....

Blessed is the man...

Obviously being "blessed" is a good thing to which we should want to aspire. It implies favor with God, joy, contentment, and happiness. So how is one to be "blessed?" The author of Psalm 1 points to three negatives and then a positive. The negatives are:

Don't walk in the way of the wicked.
Don't stand in the path of sinners.
Don't sit in the seat of scoffers.

These are all ways we would humanly try to acquire "blessing," and yet they will not work. There may be temporary, earthly riches, but there will not be blessing by God. Note they all entail a willful, decisive activity...walking, standing, sitting, and they involve using that activity to pursue the ways of the wicked, the sinner, and the scoffer.

In looking for other usages of the word translated, "wicked," I came across a strong description in Psalm 10:2-10. The wicked have pride at their core, pursuing the afflicted, boasting of his heart's desire, haughty in countenance. There is greed and a desire for material gain. He curses and spurns (same as a scoffer) the Lord, intentionally not seeking Him and thinking, "There is no God." And it goes on...but this is sufficient.

The word translated "sinner" brought up many of the same verses, although it is not the same word as wicked. Literally is could be rendered "sinner," "sinful," or "offender." This person may know of God and His ways and intentionally violates them.

The word "scoffer" brings with it the connotation of scorn. This is scorn for God and His ways.

So in effect, we are to practice an avoidance ethic of sorts (in spite of what I have said in other sections of this blog). We are to avoid the way of the wicked, the path of the sinner, and the seat of the scoffer.

But alone, this isn't enough. There is a positive requirement as well. To be blessed, a man is to delight in the Law of the Lord and to meditate on it day and night. Note carefully the requirement to "delight." This isn't a command to dutifully go through the motions of doing the commands of God, which would be similar to physical activities alluded to in the three negatives. Instead, think about "delight." There are internal components of joy, of child-like excitement, of wonder,... These are feelings and emotions that arise from our inner being, not something that can be conjured up. They must be brought about by the Holy Spirit. He is the only One who can bring you those feelings, so if you don't have them, pray for Him to give them to you. And once one delights in the Law of the Lord, would it be necessary to encourage meditating on it day and night? It almost seems redundant to say that! Of course you would meditate on it day and night.

So what are the results of avoiding the way of the wicked, the path of the sinner, and the seat of the scoffer, all the while delighting in the Law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night?

You become solidly grounded in the ways of the Lord, in His wisdom. And if you delight in the Law of the Lord (Scripture), you cannot possibly keep it to an intellectual enterprise. You will implement the commands of the Lord in your life. As such, your life becomes more and more conformed to the likeness of Christ, and less and less conformed to the likeness and desires of the world (do you really want to be like the wicked???).

And as you become conformed to the likeness of Christ, you become like the tree planted by the water...always yielding fruit, firmly planted with deep roots that enable it not to yield, regardless of the pressures around it. And there is blessing, both for you and for those around you. If you are yielding fruit, who is going to eat it? Those who encounter you! Your fruit nourishes others, showing them the beauty and glory of Christ. And what better witness could there be?

So note the progression:

Avoid the wrong ways of the world.
Delight in the Law of the Lord (the Scripture)
Meditate on it, and conform your life to it.
Your changed life is strong in the storm, and provides nourishment and blessing to others.
You glorify Christ!

May God grant us delight!!!

The Will of God- Part II

2006-10-01T22:51:00.000-05:00

This morning we had a guest preacher, Dr. David Wells of Gordon-Conwell. He put some theological terms on what I was trying to describe in my previous post on the will of God.

He called them by two names: "Particular Will" and "Moral Will."

He said particular will is very difficult or impossible to discern. That is what I meant by watching out for people who claim special revelation from God. If I were to say God told me to take my family, marry some more wives, and move to Waco to resurrect David Koresh's compound...well...let's just say anyone in their right mind would be correct to run the other way. In effect, I would be trying to ascertain God's particular will...and not doing a very good job at it!

On the other hand, he mentioned that His moral will IS possible to understand, for it is found in Biblical revelation. When God commands, or gives precepts, or establishes patterns, then we can say with great confidence that organizing our lives in response to them would be living in God's will.

The Will Of God

2006-09-30T19:27:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been told you can't know the will of God? Or have you been counseled to run away from anyone who says he does know the will of God? In almost every case, those statements form the premise of an argument for rejecting some part of the Bible. They are a straw man argument in that they shift focus from the conclusion of the argument to supposed damning evidence in the premise. Think about it for a minute. If those statements are true, then they are denying that God's will can be known. If that's the case, then you might as well put up your Bible, for it would be a book of nice stories. If that's the case, then you might as well quit going to church to hear a sermon (at least a good, expository one) because the preacher can't possibly know that what he is preaching is true.

So...can one know the will of God? And can he do it without a doctorate from seminary? In a word...yes!!!

How? Simply by looking at the Scriptures and seeing what He is requiring of you. Love your neighbor as yourself...and you are doing the will of God. Love your enemy...and you are doing the will of God. Raise up your children in fear and admonition of the Lord...and you are doing the will of God. Take the Gospel to your neighbors...and you are doing the will of God. This is not hard. And anyone who is carefully expositing Scripture can discern the will of God. Of course, anyone who is claiming special revelation ("Last night God spoke to me...") commanding something...well...you better exercise some seriously critical discernment on that person. But if it is simply a matter of a person putting feet to the commands of Scripture...that is nothing more than pursuing the Lordship of Christ, and that certainly is the will of God!

Toward knowing His will more and more...

Individualism

2006-09-27T22:06:00.000-05:00

America is known as being a land of "rugged individualists" who "pull themselves up by their own bootstraps." Movie heroes such as John Wayne epitomized the person who stood alone and took on their world.

But is that an accurate portrayal? Is individualism a good thing for our society? And even more importantly, is it a Biblical idea?

As for accuracy in portraying Americans as individualists, one would have to ask what time frame was being examined. When DeTocqueville came over from France to do his study of the United States in the early 1800's, he actually had to bring a word to describe "individualism," for it was starting to emerge here, but was so new we didn't have an accurate word to describe it in the English language. Prior to that time, people were typically known by their family. They were a part of a group larger than themselves, to which they owed allegiance and upon which their actions reflected. Individualism didn't really start taking hold until late in the 1800's.

But does it really matter? I would say it does. Individualism decreases some of the most important facets of societal life: the family and the community.

When families are collections of individuals without a familial identity and without a group allegiance, then they become entities that go in every which direction, burning their candles at both ends in attempts to please everyone and to give every child their launch to a successful "individual" life. As a Christian witness, they are ineffectual.

This problem with the family then spills over into the community at large. There is no commitment to the people of a community. There is no incentive to put up with someone's irritable personality for the sake of relationship...just move on! Everyone is doing their own thing. Woe be it to the community that suffers a catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina...or a terrorist attack. They no longer have the bedrock of relationship that would allow them to hold themselves together. Instead, they fall apart like so much dry clay...and then cry for the government to come in and pick up the pieces.

And it can also be argued that a lot of the issues in the culture war can be traced partially to a radical individualism that really came to fruition in the '50s. Judge Robert Bork wrote a compelling book in 1996 entitled, "Slouching Toward Gomorrah." His thesis was that the cultural problems of today could be traced back to two overarching cultural characteristics that came to a head in the 1950's: Radical Egalitarianism (the equality of outcomes rather than of opportunities) and Radical Individualism (the drastic reduction of limits to personal gratification). When you are part of any group (family, community, etc), limits to personal gratification come naturally because you have responsibilities to that group. If you want to be free from those limits, then you must break free from the group and do your own thing as an individual. I'll leave it to you to read the rest of the book...just know it's frightening reading.

What about the Bible? I can see it from a couple of perspectives. When it comes to salvation, the Bible is absolutely individualistic. Each person must come to a saving faith in Christ individually. No one is saved by virtue of membership in a group--racial, family, or otherwise.

But what about from a cultural perspective? I can't think of specific commands, but I can think of examples which would serve as a pattern. First is the culture of the original people of God: the Israelites and their Hebrew culture. That culture was based around family. Children were raised as part of that family, with the education usually coming from the family and culture handed down through the family. The second is the church as it was formed after Pentecost. Those people were from all walks of life. They needed each other. They had to minister to each other; monies were given to help those less fortunate. Paul reminds us using the illustration of the body, that all parts are required in order to function. That is the case with the church. We must help each other...and the only way to do that is to be in each other's lives. You can't do that as a bunch of individuals, even as a bunch of individuals who happen to meet together once a week as a small group.

We have to see ourselves first as members of our respective families with a single family direction. That family direction may make our family an "eye" or a "hand" or a "mouth" or a "foot." And then we must see our families as part of the larger group of the bride of Christ, preparing for the day of the wedding by adding our specialized direction to the church by actually being in each other's lives.

Neither of those will happen if we keep looking like a spiritualized version of the world. Being a family with a single direction that is then part of the church preparing for meeting our Bridegroom implies priorities that aren't currently at the forefront of most people's thinking. Both of those things imply a change of heart and an intentional change of direction from that of individuals to that of a Christian family...and a church.

And should both of those things come about...the pagans will see Christian love in action, for we will be known by our love for one another, which eventually spills out into the world. That's a far different witness than we now have...and what a spectacular witness that would be!

Praying for an end to individualism in the church....

(Note: I have added more thoughts as to how this plays out in the individual family over at my HomeDisciplingDad blog.)

Lordship and Salvation

2006-09-20T10:50:00.000-05:00

One of the themes that seems to run throughout many of my posts on this blog is that of Jesus as Lord of a Christian's life. I recently was reminded of an article written by Dr. John Piper on the issue of "Christian Lordship," so I wandered over to Desiring God to reread it. The gist of the article (here's the direct link to the article, which will open in another page) is an answer to a friend's question about "two-step salvation." A very common testimony is that a person repents, prays for God to forgive them based on Jesus' atoning sacrifice...and then many years later they finally "make Jesus Lord of their life." John's letter is to dispel the idea that there was a time-gap in which a person was "saved" but in which Jesus was not yet "Lord." For those who have similar experiences, it is a good article to help you get a grasp on what has really happened in your life.

So how does that apply here on this blog? It applies because John also points out that Jesus MUST be Lord of a Christian's life, or that person is not saved. Period.

The sanctification process will bring a Christian closer and closer to obedience to that Lordship, so a mature Christian can look back and see a time when he didn't really behave as if Jesus was his Lord. Yet a person who has been a Christian absolutely must move in his life toward obedience to the Lordship of Christ, for obedience to the commands of God makes one more and more like Jesus, which is what sanctification is all about. Will we be perfect in this life? Of course not; to be so would be to be without sin. However, we will be moving in that direction, as obedience and Lordship are part and parcel of sanctification.

So the challenge to all Christians (but especially to those who have been professing believers for a while) is to ask yourselves if you are noting in the Scriptures the commands of God and are actively pursuing implementing them in your lives with the help of the Holy Spirit. If you aren't, then either your growth is stunted, or you need to seriously question your conversion.

Bottom line:
No Obedience=> No Lordship.
No Lordship=> No Sanctification.
No Sanctification=> No Salvation.
No Salvation=> A False Conversion!

Don't Worry About the Small Stuff?

2006-08-17T00:12:00.000-05:00

In keeping with the line of thinking of Jesus being our Lord and with being serious about living our lives in a manner consistent with our faith and consistent with the commands of our Lord, I came across a really good article on "The Small Sins" written by Tim Challies (He often blogs really respected national conferences...and will be live-blogging Desiring God's conference at the end of September).

You can find the article here. I highly commend it to anyone reading my blog, for the small sins really DO lead to the large ones, and a person committed to holiness and sanctification cannot let this pass.

Is Idolatry REALLY That Serious?

2006-08-15T22:54:00.000-05:00

In my earlier post on Ezekiel and idolatry, I mentioned that the first thought that came to mind when reading a particular verse was "Quit playing games!" Over and over again, God warns Israel to stop their idolatry and turn to Him alone. How serious is God about idolatry?

Look at Ezekiel 23 for the a clue to the answer. Samaria and Jerusalem are compared to women who are prostitutes. The language is graphically disgusting in its ugliness.

These women are said
..."to lust"
..."to be defiled by"
..."to flaunt her nakedness"
..."to long for the lewdness of your youth"
..."to commit adultery"
..."to be worn out by her adultery"
..."to whore after"
..."to whore after"
..."to whore after"
..."to whore after"

Going after idols is compared to the ugliest, most degrading action a woman can take: the intentional giving of her body to numerous men for money...with no regard to the holiness of the act. She is defiled. God says He "turned from her in disgust." Can you imagine? God turning away in disgust?! What does that say about the depths of depravity associated with the act?

This is idolatry. This is how seriously God takes it. How can we possibly gloss it over, ignoring the fact that God isn't reigning in our hearts and lives? Do we want God to turn away from us in disgust? That thought alone is terrifying!

Please...I plead with anyone reading this...implore God to search your heart and to reveal idolatry where He finds it. Then do as He instructed in Chapter 20...cast out the idol; stop defiling yourself. There is no doubt that it will be hard, for we love our idols; they are a part of us and a part of our lives. But the more we muse about what God is saying in Chapter 23 about the seriousness of idolatry, the easier it will be....

Toward more holiness and away from idolatry....

The Dominion Mandate

2006-08-15T01:29:00.000-05:00

If we are to "stop playing games" as advocated in the previous post, one of the ways to do that would be to bring the Dominion Mandate to the forefront of our thinking.

In Genesis 1:28-29, God presents what is commonly referred to as "The Dominion Mandate," the command to take dominion over creation. This was an original command, presented in the Garden prior to the fall. It has never been revoked. Thus, it is still applicable for the Christian today and should guide his every thought.

"How is what I am doing today helping to take dominion over the earth and advance the Kingdom of God in my sphere of influence?"

How would a question like that affect our lives if asked and answered each and every day? How would it affect our spending patterns? How would it affect our prayer life? How would it affect our relations with our neighbors? How would it affect our recreational choices? How would it affect our choice of vocation? How would it affect our family relations? How would it affect the way we choose to raise our children? How would it affect...you fill in the blank!

When you consider the implications of our responsibility as Christians to take dominion and to work to spread the Kingdom, it should jar your thinking out of the rut that is our evangelical culture. What a massive vision! What an incredible responsibility! We have only been given so much time on this earth. Will we let another day pass without turning our hearts and our minds away from the trivial items which so often clog our lives to the big picture of what our Lord and God has commanded us to do? Will we let this command serve as a framework in which we organize our lives? Can you imagine what a different culture we would live in if all those who named the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior actually started living in such a manner that they took dominion and spread the Kingdom?

Hoping and praying for more Dominion-takers....

Quit Playing Games

2006-08-14T09:40:00.000-05:00

As I am making my way through Ezekiel, I am struck by a couple of passages in Chapter 20. They can be found here and here.

Over and over and over again, God continually tells the Israelites through his prophets to quit worshipping idols, to tear them down. And over and over and over again, the Israelites turn back to worshipping the idols of wood and stone.

In verse seven, God is telling them to cast away their idols and to not defile themselves with them. Why? Because He is the Lord their God! That means he has every right to command them to cast away those idols, and they have the responsibility to do so because they know He is their God.

In verse 39, it appears God is through playing games. If the Israelites will not listen to Him, then he consigns them to serving their own idols forever. But He will no longer tolerate the double-mindedness of their attempts to be His people and yet worship and serve idols.

Let us never forget that Israel is a "lesson book for the nations"...and for all of us who claim the name of Jesus Christ. Their lives, as well as what God's direction for them and response to them applies right here and right now for each of us.

So what is my idol(s)? What is yours? I seriously doubt many of us bow down to a carved image of stone and wood. But what are we serving? In America, I can almost guarantee each of us struggles with serving money and materialism. We succomb to the marketing strategies of the advertisers that convince us that we are discontented with what we have. What are we serving? An idol doesn't have to be material; it can be anything that sits in the throne of our heart, the throne that is rightfully God's. When we allow that, and yet claim to be Christians, we are being double-minded. Scripture says that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8).

So what is the solution? Start with, "Quit playing games!" That is the first thought that came to mind when I read verse 39. God is tired of it. If we are listening to God, then turn away from the idols. Who exactly IS your God? The triune God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Or something else? Ask God to show you what is uppermost in your heart...that's what I did this morning, and it will be a continual request until I can say with confidence that the Lord alone occupies the uppermost of my affections. And as God allows you to discern your idols, do what He says in verse 7: Cast out your idols and quit defiling yourself. Idols may look nice, and we may even have them packaged in nice spiritual language...but they defile us in the eyes of God. It's going to be very difficult to continually be defiled by our idols and yet move toward our wedding day when we will be the spotless bride of Christ. We must take action. We must cast them out. We must make the conscious, active decision to live as one for whom Christ died.

May God grant each of us the wisdom and insight to identify our idols...and to quit playing games with them, turning wholly to God with ALL our heart!

Vacation and Brain Freeze

2006-08-06T22:03:00.000-05:00

Well...
Go on vacation...
Have a great time...
Don't post for a while...

And watch your brain freeze up for topics!

"Stepping" Out in Faith

2006-07-19T15:20:00.000-05:00

How many times have you asked God to "sanctify you," or to "change you?" And then you sit back and wait for the heavenly "zap"... and when it doesn't come, it's easy to assume God doesn't want you to change.

Sanctification is absolutely required for salvation. We must be becoming more and more like Jesus every day. Yes, we will still sin...but the overall trajectory is upward toward Christ-likeness. But the thing that most Christians don't realize is that sanctification requires action. It is not a heavenly "zap," but rather an action taken by us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, according to the guidance of Scripture.

A perfect example of the result following action/obedience is that of the Israelites crossing the Jordan. Joshua 3:13 (NASB) says, "And it shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above shall stand in one heap."

Note the priests weren't to stand on the side of the Jordan, waiting for God to stop the waters. They were to step out in faith...taking the step into the water, knowing God will do what he says in His Word. In this case, He had promised to stop the waters. In your case, what might it be? Bring peace to a relationship? Or deal with a besetting sin? Or draw closer to the Lord? Or disciple your children? Or, Or, Or.... If it involves sanctification (changing you into Christ-likeness) or obedience to God's commands, then you will have Scriptural guidance for how you are to act or what you are to do. You MUST step out in faith, doing that which Scripture commands, and then watch the Holy Spirit move to confirm your action!

No Matter What...

2006-07-16T22:45:00.000-05:00

I was reading through Jeremiah today in an effort to "catch up" my OT with the rest of my read-through-the-Bible bookmarks when I came across a short section that really piqued my interest. It's the story in Jeremiah 42 of the remnant left after the exile of Judah to Babylon. You can get Jeremiah 42 in another window by clicking here.

The background to the event is that all of Jeremiah's prophecies concerning Judah have come to pass with the Babylonians taking virtually all of Judah into captivity, along with their king. A remnant of the very poor was left under the rule of a Babylonian governor. Jeremiah prophesies that a specific person is going to murder the governor. The governor doesn't believe him...and is murdered. The murderer takes the remnant captive...but they are freed by the actions of Johanan and return to Jerusalem. Chapter 42 opens with all of them approaching Jeremiah, asking him to intercede for them and asking him to find out what God wants them to do. In verse 6, they promise to obey the Lord, no matter what. So far, so good.

Jeremiah comes back and announces that God wants them to stay in Jerusalem and not go to Egypt out of fear of the Babylonians. He announces that God will destroy them if they should do so.

And he announces that God already knows they are going to disobey.... It was ten days from their original request to God's answer, and they had already decided on a course of action.

And of course, chapter 43 and 44 chronicle that journey and their destruction.

So what do we learn?

When we are in a tight spot, we often turn to God for help. We intend to listen and obey, since we believe He will help us out of that tight spot. However, we also have our own plan on the side...just in case...just in case we don't like the answer or don't like God's timing. Then, assuming we have actually gone to the Scriptures to ascertain God's position on our plight, we decide we really don't like God's way of doing things. It doesn't sound logical; it requires faith and trust. It isn't like what our "Christian" friends and neighbors counsel.

So what do we do? All too often, I'm afraid that answer is that we follow our own plans, ignoring God's. Is the result destruction like the remnant of Judah? Not usually. But the result is that we miss out on God's blessing, on the joy of seeing our faith worked out, on the witness to our trust in our Lord and Savior. And in essence, we have sinned using the original sin from the garden: wanting to do things our way.

God's way will often be a direction that doesn't look normal, that appears to leave us open to further harm. That was certainly the case for the remnant...they were defenseless against the Babylonians who may or may not believe they were responsible for the death of the governor! Yet, had they chosen God's way, He would have protected them. Good grief! They had just seen that Jeremiah's prophecies were accurate...yet they had already cooked up an alternate plan as they waited for God to speak through him.

So...how about you (and me)? What will we do? Follow God's ways through a careful study of His Word (commandments, patterns, precepts) or will we follow the oldest sin from the garden...and do things our own way?

No Spiritual Switzerland

2006-07-07T00:10:00.000-05:00

Doug Wilson has a great essay (rather lengthy) from which I drew this section. I commend the entire essay to you to read (here's the direct link), but just this short section applies to the overall mission of my blog, to be serious about our faith. As you read through the latter parts of this quote, ask how the information applies first to the Evangelical Culture in which we partake, and then to yourself personally. The answer is convicting to me, that's for sure! The next question, though, is what to do about that conviction. Part of the EC is to acknowledge a convicting sermon, and even feel bad for a while...but then shrug it off and not actually change.

And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad (Matt. 12:25-30).

Jesus is speaking in the first place about the kingdoms of God and Satan respectively. He had been accused of fighting Satan even though His accusers said He was on Satan’s side. Jesus responds by saying that a house divided cannot stand, and so Satan would not be so foolish (vv.25-26). Jesus goes on to say if His power over Beelzebub was a demonic power, then what power was being used by His adversaries’ children (v. 27)? But if Jesus is empowered by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God really had come to them (v. 28). And, continuing the argument, if the kingdom of God has come, why should anyone be surprised that the strong man’s house was being pillaged? The strong man was bound, wasn’t he? And then Jesus says what we all need to hear—one who is not with Christ is against Christ. One who does not gather with Christ is attempting to scatter (v. 30).

The claims of Christ are therefore total. There is no way to read through the New Testament and miss this. The claims of Christ are total. He is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and over any creature that can be named. Christ is King. Jesus is Lord. This is the basic Christian confession (Rom. 10:9-10). And here, if you are not with Him, you are therefore against Him. There is no spiritual equivalent of Switzerland. In the cosmic war between in light and darkness, there are no neutral parties, and there is no third way. There are only two activities in every realm of human existence, and those two activities are obedient gathering and disobedient scattering. Only two.

Obviously, for modern and momentary man, these total claims on the part of Christ just won’t do. We need to have our personal space. We need to protect our favorite forms of autonomy. But at the same time, those of us who are religious, particularly in the Christian Lite Community of Faith, need to give some sort of lip service to the language of totality that comes up so often in Scripture. We should want to bring every thought captive, the apostle Paul says (2 Cor. 10: 5). Obviously, we have to figure out a way to use this kind of total language while ensuring that it remains partial in effect. God calls this sort of thing by the name of hypocrisy.

But we have developed various intellectual tricks for doing this, and we may describe these tricks as forms of American individualism, gnosticism, constitutionalism, or rationalism. A man can pick one of the following, or mix up his own combinations. Disobedience is protean and can take many forms.

Individualism: in this view, Jesus is Lord of my heart, and not that which is outside the realm of my heart. This is not thought of as partialism because the heart is what counts, right? But Jesus is Lord of your toes as well as your heart, and your world as well as your heart.

Gnosticism: in this perspective, Jesus is Lord of all spiritual things, not thought of as the Lord over foreign policy, sewage disposal, botany, law, and weed control. But Jesus is Lord of both heaven and earth, and every manifestation of culture.

Constitutionalism: this excuse points to the non-establishment clause of the First Amendment, misunderstanding that amendment in a grotesque fashion. But even if the amendment said what its distorters claim, that just makes it laughable instead of being bad constitutional interpretation. Regardless of what we, Congress, or the Supreme Court may think about it, Jesus is still the King of the United States.

Rationalism: this is the approach that appeals to natural law, but to a natural law that is sure to exclude the revelation of God in Christ. But natural law is fulfilled in Christ.

These evasions will not work. All culture is religious, and the only question to consider is whether it is faithfully religious or idolatrously religious. It has been said that all culture is religion externalized, but even this helpful insight can be interpreted in too weak a fashion. All culture is religion. Turning Henry Van Til’s insight around, we should say that all religion is culture internalized. So the question is not whether our culture has a god, but rather which god it has. The question is not whether we will impose morality, but rather which morality it will be. The question is not whether we will restrict blasphemy, but rather which blasphemy. And it is not whether we will embrace sexual politics, but rather which sexual politics it will be.

Apollumi...The "Ignored" Doctrine

2006-07-02T17:49:00.000-05:00

At my other blog, I wrote a series on issues with raising children, culminating with a post concerning the drastic number of children from evangelical homes who turn from their faith once free from their home and the influence of their parents. That got me to wondering why Christian parents don't take more serious and more drastic steps to disciple their children, given the enormity of the problem and the implications of anyone (but especially one's own child) rejecting the Savior.

As I pondered, it came down to one major point: we don't really believe in the reality of hell. Sure, we give it lip-service...but when was the last time you pondered what it would really be like? (I'm writing to myself here as well!) When was the last time you heard a sermon on the subject? (Here's one by Dr. John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis.) It's been said that Jesus spoke more of hell than he did of heaven! At the 1990 Bethlehem Conference for Pastors, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson preached a message on the realities and justification of the doctrine of eternal punishment and hell. It was one of the finest sermons on the topic I've encountered (unfortunately I can't find it at the Desiring God website.)

So I thought this would be the appropriate blog to bring the topic of eternal judgment and hell to the forefront.

In Romans 1, Paul says he is under obligation both to the Greek and to the barbarian. This obligation is for the Gospel. It can easily be considered that we, too, are under that same obligation. If we really believed in the eternal conscious torment that is hell, then I truly believe we would structure our lives differently, for who would want anyone to end up there, especially those we love and care about? We would own up to our obligation and wouldn't be so casual and fearful about witnessing. We wouldn't be so casual about discipling our children. We wouldn't be so casual about our own faith!

An understanding of the reality of eternal conscious punishment at the hands of an infinitely holy and powerful God would take captive our every thought with concern for the lost. Is it not love for the lost that would bring about that concern? Would we not be fulfilling the second greatest commandment, to love our neighbors as ourselves, by seeking their salvation?

Give consideration to John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." Note particularly the word "perish." In our language, "perish" often brings with it the imagery of annihilation. For example, when I squash the mosquito on my arm in the Minnesota summer, it "perishes"...it "ceases to exist." However the Greek word translated "perish" doesn't translate that easily into English. "Apollumi" literally means both "to destroy" and "to perish" but it carries with it a more complex understanding. Vines Expository Dictionary (pp 164) says this "...idea is not extinction but ruin; loss, not of being, but of well-being."

Think about the implications of ruin and loss of well-being for eternity. Think about an eternal, unquenchable fire in which you are burning but not being destroyed. Think about a devouring worm eating you, yet not consuming you. Think about existing in this pain and suffering in the midst of complete and total darkness. And then think about the absolute lack of hope amidst this suffering...it will never end!! A person can endure tremendous suffering when there is a glimmer of hope. This was illustrated by the years and years of torture endured by our POWs in Vietnam, and is currently being shown by the suffering of millions of persecuted Christians around the world. But take away hope...and I can't even find words to describe the utter despair that would ensue. And this would be for eternity...forever...infinitely. Maybe this is part of the reason the Bible describes it as a place of "weeping and gnashing of teeth." What else could one so condemned do?

At least in this posting, I am not going to argue the case for the justness of hell. My only interest here is to try to encourage both myself and others to consider its reality and then act accordingly. Reread the first portion of the previous paragraph inserting the words "my child" in place of "you." That brings a whole new gravity to the doctrine of hell, doesn't it?

Andre Seu once wrote an essay in "World Magazine" where she mentioned the preoccupation of some with the "rapture." Her point was that a silent "rapture" is happening each and every day, with untold thousands of people departing this world for eternity.

And in eternity, there are only two options: heaven because you are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb...or eternal conscious punishment in the outer darkness of hell because you aren't. Do we love enough to do what is necessary to bring the Good News to our family and friends? And I mean doing it personally...not just in round-about ways or by bringing them to church in hopes that the pastor will do it. I mean living the Gospel in love and service to our neighbor. I mean actually regularly discipling our children. I mean going against both the worldly culture and the evangelical culture by being radically committed to showing the love of God in Christ to a lost and perishing world. So, I ask again, "Do we love enough...?"

Sadly, I think the answer is often, "no." Let us pray for God to change our hearts and give us the courage to do otherwise....

A Serious Conference

2006-06-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

If you aren't familiar with Desiring God Ministries and the preaching/teaching of Dr. John Piper, now is an excellent time to change that. Desiring God Ministries is putting on its annual National Conference from September 29 through October 1 of this year in Minneapolis, MN. The topic is "Above All Earthly Powers: The Supremacy of God in a Postmodern World."

Here is a link to my other blog where I have linked to the conference information.

Our Savior and ...What???

2006-06-17T22:03:00.000-05:00

How easily the words come out of the evangelical Christian's mouth once he has mastered the vocabulary of the modern Christian.

My "Savior and Lord."

They just roll off of the lips without another thought. And if asked, the response would be, "Well of course Jesus is my Savior and Lord!"

The problem is that the focus is mostly on the word "Savior." Is He a Christian's Savior? Of course. But He is also a Christian's Lord.

Lord. That word is devoid of most meaning within our modern American society. We don't have a societal concept for who or what a "lord" is. Sure, we may have read about it somewhere in one of our history classes when discussing the mediaeval times, but that's about as far as it gets.

However, the Bible does give us a little more indication. Jesus says in John 8:34 that whoever commits a sin is a slave to sin. I would venture that since we all sin, we are all slaves to sin. Now that is something we in America can relate to: slavery. To be a slave is to be under the complete control of another, to include your life, your well-being, the profits from your labor...in short, every facet of your earthly life. Prior to our conversion, we are slaves to sin. That would imply that sin completely controls us...our life, our well-being, our labor...everything. It may not have felt like it, but a Christian can look back from this side of redemption and see it.

The Bible also tells us we who are redeemed were "bought with a price." That price is the blood of Jesus Christ in His death...a very steep price, indeed. If we were bought, then it could be rightly understood that we as slaves to sin have been sold to another, to Jesus Christ Himself. We now belong to Him. We are not our own! Whereas we were once slaves of sin and unrighteousness, we are now slaves of Christ and His righteousness. He is our owner, our LORD! It is to Him that we now owe our life, our well-being, the profits from our labor...every facet of our lives!

In the days of slavery, a slave was obligated to do what his master commanded, to do the will of his master. There is no difference in that respect here. We are obligated to do that which our Master commands. Where do we find out what that is? Why, the Bible, of course. Over and over we are commanded to do certain things, to behave in certain ways, to respond in righteousness, and to believe certain things. We don't have the ability to pick and choose. We are to become like Christ, and to become like Christ means to live like He commands. It requires action and effort on our part, as well as the help of the Holy Spirit. But we must do it. After all, we acknowledge that He is our LORD.

Here are a couple of straight-forward examples from Ephesians 5 and 6.

"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Who is responsible for discipling the children? The fathers. We don't have a choice in this. If our methodology of discipleship provokes them to anger, is that OK? Obviously not.

"let each individual among you also love his own wife even as himself;" Do you have a choice about loving your wife? No. What if she isn't acting in a way that deserves your love? No. You don't have a choice. If Jesus is your Lord, He commands you to love her anyway and you are responsible to act on that command.

"and let the wife see to it that she respect her husband." But she thinks he's a cad and an oaf and doesn't deserve her respect. She considers most of what he does and many of his ideas wrong-headed. Does she have a choice to not respect her husband? No. If Jesus is her Lord, He commands her to respect him regardless of his actions and she is responsible to act on that command.

This could go on and on. But as you read your Bible, start to take note of the times when we as Christians are given commandments to be, to act, or to do something in a particular way. And then consider how to actually OBEY that command in your life. Does it matter if that is the way our society does something? Does it matter if that is the way everyone else in evangelical culture does it? No. If the Holy Spirit illuminates a commandment in the Bible for you, then your LORD says to obey it, even if it means being radically different from everyone else, for that is how you become more like Christ.

Only then will you truly be able to say that Jesus is your "Savior and Lord." And then you will be showing Christ to your circle of influence by the way you are living your life.

Wisdom and the Doctrine of Self-Sufficiency

2006-06-11T13:47:00.000-05:00

Musings on Job 28 and Isaiah 40

I am reading through the Bible using the technique advocated by my church and published by Discipleship Journal. We have a series of four bookmarks that have different parts of the Bible marked off for 25 days of each month (gives you some days to miss without getting horribly behind). Even so, I am behind/off schedule. But in God's timing He put Job 28 and Isaiah 40 together in one day's reading. Both together hit me like a ton of bricks. You can click on the links below and get the text of each in the English Standard Version (each will open in a new window so you can refer back as you like).

Job 28 (ESV)

Isaiah 40 (ESV)

In Job 28, God describes several capabilities of man regarding the dominion of the earth: mining of ore and jewels, smelting, agriculture, control of waters through dams, creation of light to dispel the darkness. In spite of all this, man cannot find wisdom. Why? Because it cannot be found in the land of the living...and even worse, man does not know its worth!! Let's face it...when man does not value something, he doesn't spend much time pursuing it. Since man doesn't know the worth of wisdom, he won't pursue it...and if he won't pursue it, he certainly won't find it!

And yet, wisdom is worth far more than all the things for which man continually strives: more than gold, silver, or jewels in any amount. What fools are we for not striving for wisdom?

So where is it? From where does it come? Job says it is hidden from all and only God understands the way to it and its place.

And yet, God does reveal that deeply held secret to us in verse 28: "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding."

Wow! That's it? That's all there is to wisdom, wisdom that is so incredibly important and worth so much as to be incomprehensible? Just fear the Lord? And it's counterpart, understanding, is to turn away from evil? Seems easy enough...

But...what does fearing the Lord entail? What does it mean to turn from evil? Oh, how deep those thoughts can be. In fact, I cannot begin to do them justice other than to say that fearing the Lord means to tremble before His might and His grace, to worship and obey, to contemplate His holiness compared to our sinfulness, to love and adore His Son. (Sidenote: Here is a link to a rather lengthy article on the fear of the Lord by John Bunyon, author of A Pilgrim's Progress, the second-most widely read book behind the Bible.) And it would seem that turning from evil would be a natural outgrowth of fearing the Lord. If one fears the Lord, then one would not want to turn TO evil, but would want to do that which pleases the Lord...turn FROM evil. When our eyes are on Him, our mind is in the Scriptures, and wisdom flows to us along with understanding. I think the Lord would be pleased, for someone with even a smidgen of His wisdom can do mighty works in His name.

So what about the Doctrine of Self-Sufficiency? How does that relate? A wonderful sermon by Bruce Ware, professor at Southern Seminary, on exactly what the Doctrine of Self-Sufficiency is can be found at Bethlehem Baptist's website. Click on the box on the right-hand side referencing "Toward the Fullness of God" sermons.

Why would that relate to this text on wisdom? I think it is primarily because the verses preceding God's revelation that wisdom is the fear of the Lord describe a portion of His self-sufficiency by discussing his power. Earlier in the verses, we are told of man's achievements and capabilities. Yet in verses 24-26, God is shown as one who is so far above man that He is incomprehensible. He even makes a way for the rain and for the lightning! The next time you see the lightning in a thunderstorm, consider that last statement. He obviously is not in need of us.

So shift to Isaiah 40, starting at verse 12. Read verses 12 through 28 nonstop. Then do it again. The impact of those statements when considered as a whole is huge! Who is this God who calls us to fear Him? According to these statements, He is one wholly and completely worthy of the fear and worship He commands. There are no other beings who can begin to do that which these verses describe.

And yet, "Do you not know? Have you not heard?" is repeated over and over. Just how dense are we? Do we not know? Have we not heard? The Lord, our God, is the Holy One, the Creator, the master of all things, completely self-sufficient, completely perfect, completely holy! How dense are we? Why do we continue to go our own way? Why does pride continually get the best of us?

Do I not know? Have I not heard? To use today's vernacular: "Well, duh!" Of course I know. Of course I've heard. And yet...I so often continue to go my own way. My own way is the way of death. My own way is the way of man's knowledge, not the way of wisdom. Knowing and hearing are not sufficient. Fear of the Lord is a more visceral condition, a condition of the heart, not just the brain. God's Word must penetrate my heart such that the knowledge gained from that Word results in fear of the Lord. Fear of the Lord causes a change, causes one to desire the way of the Lord, the commands of the Lord, the joy of the Lord. That fear makes one not want to be anywhere but in the bosom of our Lord and Savior. There is no better, no safer, no more profitable place to be!

When one is in the bosom of our Lord, one is waiting on the Lord, content in His way, content in His time. And what happens when we wait on the Lord? Finish Isaiah 40...we will renew our strength! We will run and not be weary! We will walk and not faint! In other words, we will be mighty for the Lord, doing massive damage to the kingdom of this world in the name of our Savior.

That sort of work/ministry requires strength. That sort of work/ministry requires wisdom. The root of both strength and wisdom is Fear of the Lord.

May He grant each of us the gift of fear....

Busy, Busy, Busy...

2006-06-07T00:27:00.000-05:00

In this day and age, it seems we are busier and busier each and every year. Many times it involves activities with the children/teens: piano lessons, violin, dance, ski team, track meets, swim meets, practices, recitals, and on and on and on. The more children, the more activities. Then add church activities into the mix. Every one of them sounds so good; every one of them when viewed solely in the context of the event itself probably is good! But you add all this up and you end up with a daytimer that has no room left on which to write (or I suppose a PDA that has used up all its memory!).

So what's the problem? The problem is that we are focused on so many activities that we have lost sight of what is truly important.

God asks that we "be still and know that I am God." When can we do that? Pencil in 5-10 minutes between the morning workout and the morning shower? How is one supposed to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength if there is little or no time for Him?

A second issue is that the second most important commandment, to love our neighbor as ourselves, cannot be accomplished in-between events. How are we ever to serve our neighbor (the acting out of the love we profess) if we don't even have time to know our neighbor? How are we to help a neighbor when we have a ballgame to attend? What exactly is our witness when we are run ragged by our schedule and have no time for the relationships that matter?

So should we withdraw our children from all activities and sit around the house waiting for that special moment to arrive where we can help or serve our neighbor? Of course not. But we absolutely should prioritize our activities. If we don't have time to even know our neighbors, then we need to back off something so we can get to know them. Once we know them, we need to have a priority within our home to watch for needs...and when we see them, we as a family should be ready to help meet those needs, even if it means canceling one of our activities! A family that ministers together not only grows together, but makes a huge statement about the Gospel without ever saying a word!

Could we seriously consider Jesus' commandment to love our neighbor? Could we actually reprioritize our life to get to know them and to serve them? Could we do that as a family?

And could we watch God bless our neighbors...and maybe bring revival to our neighborhood?!!! Now, THAT would be more exciting than any activity we could imagine!!

Decision-Making: Culture or Scripture?

2006-06-01T17:31:00.000-05:00

Every day we are faced with decisions...some trivial, some large, and occasionally some that are huge. In the long term, we are faced with the bigger decision of how to organize our individual lives. In what direction should we as individuals and as families go?

Often the answer to the above questions is a non-answer: we simply do that which we are used to doing because that is what our friends and our culture expect and do. Those of us who identify ourselves as "Evangelicals" often do not even realize there is an "Evangelical Culture" in which we swim. As in a previous post...we don't know we are "wet." Unfortunately this culture has its own set of problems.

First and foremost, it seems that the Evangelical Culture (EC, for short) is very, very similar to the overall secular culture. In general, we raise our children in a similar manner. We have the same overall goals for raising our children and for our later years in life. We are generally nice people. We are so focused on our children that we risk making idols of them (and then we wonder why they are so self-centered when they enter the teen years!). (See the series on Children or Idols on my Home Discipling Dad blog.)

So what's different about us? For one thing, we add to our schedule all the church activities, from Sunday mornings to Wednesday evenings to every extra good thing the church offers. The other thing we do differently is that we practice an "avoidance ethic." I heard Dr. John Piper in a sermon on http://www.DesiringGodRadio.org discussing how James and Paul can be reconciled. In this sermon he discussed the concept that our salvation is by faith, but that faith must work itself out it good works. He said that as evangelicals, we tend instead to "practice an avoidance ethic" and call it "good works" or sanctification. An avoidance ethic is nothing more than a series of rules, written or not, that we use to determine what to avoid in pagan culture. That is absolutely not sanctification, and it certainly is not good works.

As a pagan outsider (who may be a very nice person himself) looks at us, I have a hard time imagining why he would want what we have. He doesn't see anything terribly distinctive. He sees nice people living their lives in a busy fashion similar to himself, and then adding on church activities and practicing an avoidance ethic, causing them to be even more harried. What would be attractive about that? What would be distinctive?

The EC has failed us. We are not becoming more like Christ by participating in it. We must turn from determining our direction in life through our friends and our culture and instead look at Scripture. If we are truly becoming more like Christ by changing our lives to mirror His commands and by developing the wisdom that comes from a life immersed in Scripture, then we will definitely be distinctive. We will be different. We will be filled with joy. We will be able to handle the hard times when they come.

We must quit trying to bend Scripture to fit our culture and our ideas, and instead transform our thinking and our lives to fit Scripture. The EC will call that "legalism," especially when it involves actually obeying the commands of Scripture. What those who use that argument don't understand is that legalism is working to merit salvation. Obedience to the commands of Scripture after one is saved by faith isn't meriting salvation, but rather it is becoming like Christ. That isn't legalism.

We simply must transform our thinking through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12). We have to be willing to take the hard look inward, and then change accordingly. Will we look different? Absolutely. Will the EC try to pull us back? Absolutely. I heard a variation on the "boiling a frog to death" story that relates here.

A group of frogs were in a pot of water. The temperature of the water was slowly being raised. The frogs didn't realize it and sat comfortably in the water, even though it would soon reach a temperature that would kill them. But one frog noticed and started attempting to jump out. The other frogs were quite disturbed and tried to hold him back, both physically and through chiding and derisive statements. They didn't want their little world disturbed by a frog trying to leave it and be different. His being different called attention to the fact that they were doing nothing. Those are the members of the EC who don't want us actually looking to Scripture to organize our lives. It calls their lives into stark relief against what Scripture actually says. There will be numerous attempts of all types by many people, all trying to pull the "errant" believer who actually wants to follow Scripture back in line.

So...will we jump out anyway? Or will we stay and boil?

Two "Serious" Questions

2006-05-26T08:40:00.000-05:00

I love the ministry of Doug Phillips and Vision Forum (www.visionforum.com and www.visionforum.org). Repeatedly he asks two questions that relate to the question of "Serious Faith."

1. "Does a fish know he's wet?"

If a fish could communicate, would he have a clue about the concept of "dry?" Obviously the answer is, "no." The fish is completely immersed in its environment and doesn't recognize that there is another out there that is completely opposite to its own. This is an extremely important concept when it comes to us and our culture. We are thoroughly immersed in our culture and thus have a very difficult time understanding that God calls us to be different in a manner that is very, very foreign to us. We don't comprehend "dry" in our natural state. We find out about "dry" by studying our Bibles and then actually putting into practice what God says. We must come out of the culture. We must be different. It is that very difference that shows the Gospel.

2. "If you were plopped down on a deserted island with no cultural baggage and only the Bible, how would you organize, orient, and live your life?"

This is a challenge that assumes the Bible actually does have everything necessary to live a life the way God wants it lived. Would the life that you set up on that island look different than then one you are living now? If so, then the one you are living now has some serious problems.

So, introspection is necessary. We must find out about "dry." We must consider our lives in light of the truth of God's word. We must be willing to change as necessary, regardless of what the culture has to say. That is sanctification and that is the path that leads to salvation.

To God be the glory!

A Dog's Life

2006-05-23T19:31:00.000-05:00

I don't usually watch much TV, but I happened to click through (yeah...a guy thing!) and catch a portion of "The Glenn Beck Show" on CNN. He was doing a short piece on the latest and greatest for man's best friend. All I could do was shake my head in wonder at the lengths to which people will go to supposedly find contentment. The latest appears to be to buy expensive little pure-breds and the dress them up in the finest clothing available, give them spa treatments, and basically treat them like little people! This segment introduced us to two stores in New York...one a basic Ralph Lauren shop that had a whole section devoted to clothing for your dog! How about an alligator leash for a mere $500? A little poochie shirt with Ralph's logo on the collar for only $45? The other had whole lines of clothing, but specialized in "Day Care" to include hot oil massage in their spa!

My family owns a dog, and he spends his share of the takehome dollar, but not in the attempt to treat him like a person!

OK...I shouldn't be surprised at the length people will go to make themselves feel good. A small dog always loves you, and he never talks back (well...ours is a large dog, and he DOES talk back!). So what's wrong with spending big $$ to make little Fifi spiffy?

I can see the argument now...but you spend money on things that aren't absolutely necessary as well, don't you? I suppose I do. But at least I'm aware of it, and understand that the money has been provided by God, and I AM accountable for what I have done with it. And hopefully in that portion of the sanctification process, I am becoming more mature and seeing money as a tool to be used to God's glory.

Maybe I am blind, but I just can't see how God is glorified with designer clothing for a dog....

Augustine's Wisdom

2006-05-21T21:41:00.000-05:00

As I was perusing the posts over at Together for the Gospel (see my links on the left), I came across a wonderful quote by Augustine as posted by Ligon Duncan. It pretty much sums it all up!

"If you believe what you like in the gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself." (Augustine)

Really? Seriously?

2006-05-21T20:37:00.000-05:00

Are you serious? About what? About your faith, that's what! Many people are now of the belief that "Evangelical" can no longer be defined, and what amounts to American Evangelical Culture is woefully shallow and weak. Any honest evaluation of most people who call themselves "Evangelicals" would note that most look an awful lot like the culture around them, except that they've "spiritualized" it by adding church and all its attendant activities to an already harried lifestyle. On top of that, they have added the great, honored American tradition of the rugged individual to the mix..."my faith is mine and no one else has a right to critique it."

So why is it that the churches that are growing are doing so with mass marketing techniques? Why is it that these churches have very few "deep" Christians? Why is it that most Christians within these churches cannot argue the case for good doctrine? Why is it that so many Christians determine their direction based upon "feeling?"

I think the bottom line is that we have lost any and all respect for the doctrine of Sola Scriptura. God makes it clear through Paul in his letter to Timothy that all Scripture is profitable for all aspects of life. Sometimes determining how it applies to a given situation requires some study and work, but there is nothing under the sun that cannot be put in subjection to what God has told us in His Word.

The subset of Sola Scriptura is actual obedience to what the Word tells us. Jesus Himself tells us in the Gospels that obedience is tied to evidence that a believer loves Him. Paul writes in Romans that his goal is the "obedience of the Gentiles." James and John both dwell considerably on the topic of obedience. This is the doctrine of "Lordship." How often we use the title, "Lord," without actually comprehending what that implies. If Jesus is truly our Lord as well as our Savior, then we owe him the allegiance and obedience that a slave owes his master. Granted, Jesus loves us, and therefore serving Him should be a joy. But He is a master nevertheless. Our lives are not our own. We must set ourselves on the path to discerning what God has to say through Scripture and then actually doing it! It is through obedience that we show our love for our God. It is through obedience that we will be very different from our pagan neighbors. It is through obedience that we will show them the Gospel, rather than just telling them about it. It is through obedience that the love of God will shine through us to our family, our friends, our neighbors, and our world.

Does this obedience save? No. We are saved by grace, through faith. But Scripture also says that sanctification is required for salvation. And sanctification involves obeying the commands of Scripture in the power of the Holy Spirit so as to become more and more like Jesus.

So...are you serious? Are you ready to be different that then average evangelical Christian? Are you ready to see God's power in your life? Then do His will...which means living your life according to the commands, precepts, principles, and patterns of His inspired Word. We spend so much time trying to discern God's will for our lives or for a particular situation, and then often rely on feelings or circumstance to determine a direction. That is woefully inadequate. Any feeling or circumstance must be checked with Scripture. If it doesn't square, then it isn't a sufficient ground upon which to base a decision or a direction. If you want God's will, then do things His way...and you will be in His will!