A Throne and a Cross

In recent reading I came across a helpful illustration of the self-centeredness of sin:

William Whiting (Bill) Borden (1887–1913), the young missionary preparing to work among Muslims in China who died en route in Cairo of cerebral meningitis, had written in his notebook while a freshman at Yale University: "In every man's heart there is a throne and a cross. If Christ is on the throne, self is on the cross; and if self, even a little bit, is on the throne, Jesus is on the cross in that man's heart." (Garrett, Systematic Theology, 1:602)

I struggle daily with putting myself on Christ's throne. My way, my wants, my desires are given first place. I crucify the will of Christ and enthrone my own. What a tragic reversal. The way to which Jesus calls is much different than the one I want to (and often) walk:

"And [Jesus] said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23; cf. Mk 8:34).

I pray that Christ will be exalted in our lives as Lord and that we, by His grace, will take up our crosses daily and follow Him.

Grace & Peace,

J

Implications of the Incarnation for Evangelism

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made....And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:1-3, 14).

Christ's becoming man (His enfleshment or incarnation) has implications for the way in which we minister to others in the world. In particular, it has implications for the way in which we share the gospel (the good news of what God has done for us in Christ). John Stott has stated this very clearly in a passage I read last night.

“In all evangelism there is also a cultural gulf to bridge. This is obvious when Christian people move as messengers of the gospel from one country or continent to another. But even if we remain in our own country, Christians and non-Christians are often widely separated from one another by social sub-cultures and lifestyles as well as by different values, beliefs and moral standards. Only an incarnation can span these divides, for an incarnation means entering other people’s worlds, their thought-world, and the worlds of their alienation, loneliness and pain. Moreover, the incarnation led to the cross. Jesus first took our flesh, then bore our sin. This was a depth of penetration into our world in order to reach us, in comparison with which our little attempts to reach people seem amateur and shallow. The cross calls us to a much more radical and costly kind of evangelism than most churches have begun to consider, let alone experience” (John Stott, The Cross of Christ, 291).

Father, help us to consider the radical way in which you entered our world and live in light of it. May we not exalt ourselves above our master, Christ Jesus. Help us to love You more than our own safety or comfort or ambitions. You are our only hope and the only hope of the world. Let Your kingdom come.

"Beauty so old and so new"

I was struck by the following quotation from Augustine's Confessions tonight:

"Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours."--Augustine, "Confessions," 10.27 (38)

May God shatter our deafness by His voice, captivate our attention from the lovely things He has created, and put to flight our blindness by His beauty. May we taste of His goodness and hunger for His righteousness all the more.

P.S.--For a creative interpretation of this quote in music, see Blake Hicks' song "Beauty: Ancient Yet New" on his album, Songs of a Pious Heart..

J

Training Your Children to Manage Money - Resources - Eternal Perspective Ministries

Our children's ministry leader shared the following article by Randy Alcorn with families at our church. It offers 10 practical ways to teach our children to handle money in a God-honoring way. This is an insightful article that will take only a few minutes to read.

Here's the intro:

"In the days of the Klondike gold rush, two miners struck a huge deposit. Feverishly excited, they unearthed more and more gold each day. Meanwhile they neglected to store up provisions for the winter. Then came the first blizzard. Nearly frozen, one scrawled a shaky note explaining their predicament. Months later a prospecting party discovered the note, along with two frozen bodies lying on top of a huge pile of gold.

Today countless children grow up begging and grabbing and clinging onto all the things money can buy. As adults, they rarely outgrow this shallow self-centeredness, but simply graduate to more money and bigger toys. Living their lives on earth as if this were all there is, they fail to prepare for their eternal future.

Christ told the story of a rich fool, to whom God said, “This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:20-21).

Five minutes after we die we’ll know exactly how we should have lived. But then it will be too late. The good news is, God gave us his Word so we don’t have to wait till we die to discover how we should have lived. And God gave our children Christian fathers, so we could show them what the world will not—how to live now in light of eternity."

Read More...
Training Your Children to Manage Money - Resources - Eternal Perspective Ministries

J

Can I Park Here?

Obviously you can, but others won't be able to return their buggies.What this picture doesn't show is that the front bumper of the car is actually touching the cart return. I give this 4 stars for laziness.

Something Sweeter than a Championship

Well, after 4 years of college and about that many more of seminary intramural basketball I can now officially say that I have won a championship! Big accomplishment, huh? Ok, so not exactly. We had fun though and I managed to get into a little better shape in the process.

After we won they gave us some t-shirts and we took a team photo (sorry, don't have a picture to post just yet). This morning at work I received the e-mail message below from my PhD supervisor who also played on the team with us. The story is priceless as is the challenge he offered those of us he sent it to. May this be so in our homes.

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Dads and Future Dads,

I was reminded this morning about something that is sweeter than any sports victory, even a championship. I noticed last night when I came in late that my boys (Hayden and Graham) had foregone their regular pajamas and were sleeping in their basketball jerseys. This morning when I was getting dressed, Graham woke up and I sat down with him in a chair for a precious, morning hug. As I sat with him, I noticed that he had put another t-shirt over his jersey. So, I asked him, “Graham, why are you wearing two shirts?” Without a pause, he said, “So, I could be just like you.”

Fellows, if and when the Lord grants us children, He blessed us beyond measure. Moreover, He is giving us stewardship over one of His precious creations (Mt.18:4-6,10 and 19:13-15), which comes with an awesome responsibility. Men, I appeal to you to remain (or become) an avid discipler in your home. Our wives need our loving, spiritual leadership. Our children best learn how to walk in the ways of the Father as they walk in the ways of dad. I am humbled by the role of being a dad. I am desperate for God’s grace so that I might reflect His Spirit and not my flesh.

A Prayer: Lord, help to walk in the wisdom of the Word so that when my children follow me, they are becoming “like YOU.”

Blessings,

[Jason K. Lee]

My Song is Love Unknown

Here is a most appropriate song for Resurrection Sunday. Our song leader, Gary Brumley, introduced it to our congregation this week.

MY SONG IS LOVE UNKNOWN
My song is love unknown,
My Savior’s love to me;
Love to the loveless shown,
That they might lovely be.
O who am I, that for my sake
My Lord should take, frail flesh and die?

He came from His blest throne
Salvation to bestow;
But men made strange, and none
The longed for Christ would know:
But O! my Friend, my Friend indeed,
Who at my need His life did spend.

Sometimes they strew His way,
And His sweet praises sing;
Resounding all the day
Hosannas to their King:
Then “Crucify!” is all their breath,
And for His death they thirst and cry.

Why, what hath my Lord done?
What makes this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run,
He gave the blind their sight,
Sweet injuries! Yet they at these
Themselves displease, and ’gainst Him rise.

They rise and needs will have
My dear Lord made away;
A murderer they saved,
The Prince of life they slay,
Yet cheerful He to suffering goes,
That He His foes from thence might free.

In life, no house, no home
My Lord on earth might have;
In death no friendly tomb
But what a stranger gave.
What may I say? Heav’n was His home;
But mine the tomb wherein He lay.

Here might I stay and sing,
No story so divine;
Never was love, dear King!
Never was grief like Thine.
This is my Friend, in Whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.

Words: Samuel Crossman, 1664
Tune: John Ireland, 1918 (LOVE UNKNOWN)
Public Domain

Do you believe this?

"17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? 27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world" (John 11:17-27).

Do I believe this? Do I live in the light of this glorious truth? While I seek to turn my heart in faith and repentance to my risen Lord, I find myself weak and needy. I do not love as my Savior loves nor do I hope as I should in His return and the resurrection He will bring. Though He came to minister to the poor, weak, and needy, I am selfish. While He humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross, I am prideful and disobedient. In short, I am still a sinner. It has been rightly said that our best deeds, even as believers, are shot through with sin. In myself and my deeds there is no righteousness, no hope.

Thankfully, God has provided a righteousness, a right standing before Him, from outside of us. Christ was crucified and buried in our place and for the sins of the world. On the third day he rose as the conqueror of sin and death, vindicated against everyone who mocked and still mock him, and declared to be the Son of God in power. He has ascended to Heaven where He now intercedes on behalf of all who believe and will believe in Him. In him, believers have a covering for their sin and hope of eternal life as sons and daughters of God.

The salvation of God can be received by all who believe. Paul writes, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved" (Rom 10:9-10).

Thanks be to God for His grace, for His salvation. May our hearts trust ONLY in Him. Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ is our resurrection and life. Praise the RISEN Savior! He is the exalted King and coming righteous judge of the world. "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

Grace & Peace,

Jonathan

Truth as a Protection Against Idolatry

I am currently reading selected works of John Calvin (Protestant reformer from the 1500s) and works about him. Tonight I found the following that I was challenged by. It relates to the importance of knowing the God whom we worship. The basic idea is that if we do not know God in truth (i.e., as He has revealed himself through Christ and through the Scriptures), we will inevitably fall into idolatry in our worship of Him.

The following quote comes from Calvin's Commentary on Acts 17:24. Paul is here declaring to the men of Athens the true nature of the "Unknown God" to whom they have erected an idol. The verse reads as follows: "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man (ESV)."

Calvin's writes,

“For this is the true rule of godliness, distinctly and plainly to know who that God whom we worship is. If any man will entreat generally of religion, this must be the first point, that there is some divine power or godhead which men ought to worship. But because that was out of question, Paul descends unto the second point, that [the] true God must be distinguished from all vain inventions. So that he begins with the definition of God, that he may thence prove how he ought to be worshiped; because the one depends upon the other. For whence came so many false worshippings, and such rashness to increase the same oftentimes, save only because all men forged to themselves a God at their pleasure? And nothing is more easy than to corrupt the pure worship of God, when men esteem God after their sense and wit" (emphasis mine).

Calvin rightly interprets the significance of what Paul is proclaiming to the Athenians. If God made you and you make the idols and temples, then it is foolish to think that God is something made by human hands?

We sometimes think that idolatry is something to which only primitive people are in danger. However, often times we are guilty of worshiping a God of our own making too. Maybe false image is that He is a heavenly grandfather that ignores our sins. Or maybe the false image is that He is high, aloof, and uncaring of us in our weaknesses. Both of these idols are torn down by the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. His sufferings and death to take the punishment of our sin tells us that God takes our sin seriously. Yet the fact that God would give His only begotten Son in our place tells us that He is not insensitive to us in our suffering. In fact, Christ currently intercedes for us as a Mediator who has suffered in every way we suffer yet without sin (Heb 4:15-16). May we know our God truly and may our worship be in accordance with and in grateful response to who He is and what He has done for us in Christ.

Grace & Peace,

Jonathan

Ascribing Truthfulness to God: Luther on the Function of Faith

In the last week the Holy Spirit has consistently been reminding me of the necessity of faith. Last Sunday I heard an excellent sermon about the persevering faith of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28 by Dr. Greg Welty. The theme has been repeated in my conversations. Further, this morning Karen and I read the story of Jesus healing a demon possessed boy (Mark 9:14-29). The boy's father came to Jesus and begged him to heal the boy from his affliction, for it caused epileptic seizures that threatened his life. Jesus said that he could heal the boy if the father had faith. The father's response is so descriptive of our weak condition. He cries, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (v.24).

In one of Martin Luther's most famous works, The Freedom of a Christian, he offers a helpful explanation of the function of faith. Simply put, Luther sees faith as ascribing truthfulness to God. However, Luther deserves to be heard in his own words:

"It is a ... function of faith that it honors him whom it trusts with the most reverent and highest regard since it considers him truthful and trustworthy. There is no other honor equal to the estimate of truthfulness with which we honor him whom we trust. Could we ascribe to a man anything greater than truthfulness and righteousness and perfect goodness? On the other hand, there is no way in which we can show greater contempt for a man than to regard him as false and wicked and to be suspicious of him, as we do when we do not trust him. So when the soul firmly trusts God's promises, it regards him as truthful and righteous. Nothing more excellent than this can be ascribed to God. The very highest worship of God is this that we ascribe to him truthfulness, righteousness, and whatever else should be ascribed to one who is trusted. When this is done, the soul consents to his will. Then it hallows his name and allows itself to be treated according to God's good pleasure for, clinging to God's promises, it does not doubt that he who is true, just, and wise will do, dispose, and provide all things well."--Martin Luther, The Freedom of a Christian (in Three Treatises, 284-85).

This quote has come to mind several times throughout the day in various contexts. Tonight, I find myself wrestling through the following questions:

1. Do I trust that God is faithful to fulfill his promises?
2. Does my worship of God involve ascribing truthfulness to Him, His promises, commands, and judgments?
3. In what ways am I failing to acknowledge the truthfulness of God and His Word? In particular, do I question His truthfulness in the face of adversity?
   
4. Do I recognize the frailty of my own faith? Am I looking to God for help in sustaining and strengthening this weak faith?
   

May God grant us faith as well as the continued strength to believe and ascribe truthfulness to Him.

Grace & Peace,

J

P.S.--If you have never read anything by Luther, you should start by reading The Freedom of a Christian. It contains a classic exposition of his understanding of justification by faith alone. The edition of the work pictured above contains two other treatises that will give you a great feel for Luther's reformation efforts. I highly recommend it for your personal library.

Bonheoffer on Genuine Christian Fellowship

I read the following passage last night and was challenged by its call for authentic/transparent Christian fellowship.

"Confess your faults one to another" (James 5:16). He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners!

But it is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. "My son, give me thine heart" (Prov 23:26). God has come to you to save the sinner. Be glad! This message is liberation through truth. You can hide nothing from God. . . . You do not have to go on lying to yourself and your brothers, as if you were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner. Thank God for that; He loves the sinner but He hates the sin.--Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 110-11.

Bonhoeffer will go on to spell out how one should go about such confession, namely to a trusted brother or sister in the faith. It is important to understand that he is not encouraging us to take sin lightly. Sin is serious; serious enough for God to send His only begotten Son to die the death that sin deserves so that we might have life through Him (cf., Bonhoeffer's classic The Cost of Discipleship). Bonhoeffer's point is that all men sin, even Christians. While we have been freed from the bondage to sin, we must still struggle against it until we die or Christ returns (cf., Hebrews 12:1-3ff.). He rightly contends that Christians will not have true fellowship with one another until, in their struggle against sin, they begin confessing their sins to one another and praying for one another (cf. Galatians 6:1-2; James 5:16).

Father, help us to hate sin as You do. May we fight against the desires of our old self and seek assistance from our brothers and sisters in the faith through humble confession. Build in us the image of Christ and assist us to image Him well by the aid of Your Spirit. Help us to give our hearts to You completely. As we do, may others see Your light in our attitudes and actions and give glory to You for the work You are doing in and through us.

Grace & Peace,

Jonathan

Whether you, eat, drink, or watch sports...

Today I received a link to a blog post that I found insightful with regard to our approach to watching sporting events. As a believer we are called to do everything to the glory of God, to let our light shine in such a way that when they see our good deeds they will give glory to Him alone for what they see (cf., 1 Corinthians 10:31 & Matthew 5:16). This call extends to every area of our lives even to the most mundane events and activities.

I encourage you to check this post out and ask yourself the question: "How should the Gospel affect the way I watch sporting events?" By this I mean, how should one's new identity and life in Christ guide him or her to watch "the big game?" What does it look like to remember and honor our Savior even in this seemingly unspiritual activity?

Here's the link. I hope you will take a few minutes to check it out.

http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Blog/post/Thoughts-on-Super-Bowl-XLIV.aspx

Grace & Peace,

Jonathan

"God, Be Merciful to Me a Sinner"

“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” (Luke 18:13 ESV)

I am reading through portions of Calvin's "Institutes of the Christian Religion" in preparation for my last doctoral seminar. I ran across a passage that well expresses the theology of the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18 and wanted to share it with you:

"Therefore if we would make way for the call of Christ, we must put far from us all arrogance and confidence. The former is produced by a foolish persuasion of self-righteousness, when a man thinks that he has something in himself which deservedly recommends him to God; the latter may exist without any confidence in works. For many sinners, intoxicated with the pleasures of vice, think not of the judgment of God. Lying stupefied, as it were, by a kind of lethargy, they aspire not to the offered mercy. It is not less necessary to shake off torpor [sluggishness] of this description than every kind of confidence in ourselves, in order that we may haste to Christ unencumbered, and while hungry and empty be filled with his blessings. Never shall we have sufficient confidence in him unless utterly distrustful of ourselves; never shall we take courage in him until we first despond of ourselves; never shall we have full consolation in him until we cease to have any in ourselves. When we have entirely discarded all self-confidence, and trust solely in the certainty of his goodness, we are fit to apprehend and obtain the grace of God. “When,” (as Augustine says), “forgetting our own merits, we embrace the gifts of Christ, because if he should seek for merits in us we should not obtain his gifts."--Calvin (Institutes, 3.12.8)

Father, have mercy upon us for we are sinners and unfit to stand before your seat of judgment on our own. Help us trust only in Christ and in His righteousness for our hope and salvation. May this faith be found to live in us each day.

Grace & Peace,

Jonathan

Bonhoeffer on the Privilege of Christian Community

"Between the death of Christ and the Last Day it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things that Christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship with other Christians. It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God's Word and sacrament. Not all Christians receive this blessing. The imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely, the proclaimers of the Gospel in heathen lands stand alone. They know that visible fellowship is a blessing" (Dietrich Bonheoffer, Life Together, 18).

Father, thank you for the gift of Christian fellowship. May we never cease to thank You for this gift and may we never let ourselves grow weary of or forsake the traversing of life's difficult ground together.

Grace & Peace,

Jonathan