SIMIL JUSTUS ET PECCATOR: At once justified and a sinner

Keep that Kid Quiet...

2011-09-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

A friend on Facebook posted a link to an article and a quote that I found thought-provoking. Couldn't agree with the following sentiments more:

"Usually disruptions in services are regarded as coming from children. I really appreciate churches that regard the typical children noise as holy noise. One church I visited has taken cries of a child and said to the congregation, 'Turn that cry into a prayer that you're praying for the underserved people of the world whose needs are not being met.' But if a disturbance comes from someone in a tantrum, a child is having a tantrum, then I think that child needs to be removed from the service so that child is not embarrassed by their out-of-control behavior. So it depends on the nature of the disturbance, but to say there should be no disturbances in a worship service creates a very Western, cognitive-oriented worship service. Holy noise that is even sometimes distracting can be a great, beautiful sound to our God." Scottie May, associate professor, Wheaton College

Parents need to be sensitive to address unruliness. However, a coo or momentary cry should not be cause for panic, nor should it draw dirty looks from those around them. Rather than a hindrance to worship, these coos and cries should be aids to thanksgiving for the gift and prospect of glory that this little life represents.

Grace & Peace,

J

Ever Growing

2011-09-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

Karen and I are thankful to the Lord for the growth he is giving both our daughters. Both girls seems to be growing at exponential rates. The other day we noted how Emma has nearly outgrown her high chair. When we first put her in it she could barely see over the tray. Now her head from the neck up rises above the back of the chair and the foot rest has been lowered to the lowest setting. Abby has literally doubled her birthweight in two months and seems to have grown a few inches as well. We know this growth is a gift and a blessing. Tonight I am reminded that if they were to stop growing it would be a significant cause for concern.

In similar fashion, our spiritual growth should be viewed in the same way. Calvin makes the following statement on the progressive growth that should be characteristic of the believer:

An eminent man boasted that he grew old, learning. We are therefore thrice miserable Christians if we grow old without advancement, for our faith ought to progress through all stages of our life until it grows to full [maturity]"--Calvin, Institutes, 4.14.8

Such a thought is in line with what Paul says to the Ephesian church:

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,* 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,* to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV)

Here are some questions through which I am working and commend to you for consideration:
-Are we desirous of good spiritual food? Do we strive for growth in godliness?
-Do we view the loss of appetite for God's Word and righteousness as serious a sickness as if we were not interested in eating physical food?
-Is He, as the Psalmist says, our portion forever?
-Do we live by bread alone to the neglect of the very Word of God?
-Do we understand that our spiritual health or lack thereof is interconnected with that of those around us, because God has ordained that we "build them up in love" (see verse 16 above)?

I pray that we will become ever hungrier for knowledge, communion, and conformity to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May He be formed in us and may we glorify Him now and forever.

Grace & Peace,

Jonathan

Worship & Theology

2011-07-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

I am preparing to teach my first course in Systematic Theology this fall. One of the charges against such a study is that it is "too heady, too theoretical, and simply impractical." Certainly, the subject of theology can be pursued in such a way that it is all of these things. However, it need not be; in fact, it must not be if the church is to maintain her worship and witness within the world.

I found the following quote helpful for considering the proper relationship between theology and worship:

Worship is ritualized theology; theology is reflective worship. The quality of our worship is therefore an index of the quality of our theology (and vice versa). . . . Dogmatics [the formal study of theology] both begins in and leads to doxology (Vanhoozer, Drama of Doctrine, 410).

What do you think about when you worship God? When the songs are being sung, does the truth of their content evoke emotions of sorrow, joy, repentance, etc.? Theology aids worshipers by connecting the truths/themes of Scripture, bringing them into sharper focus, drawing out their implications for daily living, and much more. At its most basic level theology is the study of God's person and works. How can one look into these things and not be inspired to worship this God? If we find ourselves doing "theology" and not worshiping God more deeply and loving others more fervently than before, we are not doing theology well. At the same time, if we find ourselves "worshiping" and not reflecting upon the person and works of God deeply, we are not worshiping well either. May God grant us grace to worship Him in Spirit and truth with our entire being: heart, soul, mind, and strength.

J

Our Sin and God's Mercy

2011-06-27T04:41:00.000-07:00

"All sin at bottom is a sin against God. 'Against thee, thee only have I sinned' is the cry of a true penitent. How terrible is the sin against God! Who can recall the wasted moments and years? Gone they are, never to return; gone the little allotted span of life; gone the little day in which a man must work. Who can measure the irrevocable guilt of a wasted life? Yet even for such guilt God has provided a fountain of cleansing in the precious blood of Christ. God has clothed us with Christ's Righteousness as with a garment; in Christ we stand spotless before the judgment throne" (Machan, Christianity and Liberalism, 130–31).

This quote by J. Gresham Machen gives a great summary of repentance and faith. Billy Marsh's sermon yesterday at Redeemer Church, he mentioned that there is really only one work to be done once we hear the word of the Lord proclaimed: repent and believe. As I reflect on the numerous ways I've sinned against the God of heaven, I am brought low. He has given me life and all I need to sustain it, a wonderful wife and family, encouraging relationships, and most importantly He has accomplished my salvation in Christ through faith and sealed me with His Spirit. Yet I live in my own strength and wisdom. I am reminded that the good news of the Gospel, however, is that God is gracious and merciful to those who come to Him by the blood of Jesus Christ their Lord. There is now no condemnation, Paul tells us, for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8).

I pray that this day is marked by an intense awareness of God's grace in Christ. May He stir in us an attitude of faith and repentance and may He grant that every day is lived in this manner.

Grace & Peace,

J

Who's on Top?

2011-04-07T23:25:00.000-07:00

Within believers, a struggle often occurs between our own preconceived ideas and the truth of God's Word. A classic game of who's on top. Ulrich Zwingli, a sixteenth century reformer, summarizes this struggle well,

"Alas! Here we come upon the canker at the heart of all human systems. And it is this: we want to find support in Scripture for our own view, and so we take that view to Scripture, and if we find a text which, however artificially, we can relate to it, we do so, and in that way we wrest Scripture in order to make it say what we want it to say" (Zwingli, "On the Clarity and Certainty of the Word of God").

May God grant us His grace to be submitted to and changed by His Word and not to reverse this relationship.

J

False Gospel

2011-03-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you not familiar with the uproar surrounding the new release of Rob Bell's book Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every One Whose Ever Lived, a good analysis is provided by Al Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, here.

Recently Rob Bell was taken to task on MSNBC. Worth a look if you have a couple of minutes.

Rob Bell on MSNBC

I sent this to a few folks today and received an insightful response from my friend Matt Millsap worth repeating here:

"What I find particularly striking about the whole controversy surrounding Bell's book is that even (presumable) unbelievers such as Martin Bashir quickly realize the inherent contradiction present in Bell's assertions while he apparently does not. Even casual observers who don't have any vested interest in the Christian message whatsoever can see that Bell is trying to have it both ways with his Christianity. But what is especially sad is the level of influence Bell has on younger believers (with Nooma videos, etc.) who tend to hang on his every word. He is leading them down the path of a contemporarily repackaged liberalism; they don't realize it, and neither do they care to do so."

Bell's false doctrine demands a public and vigorous refutation. He is actively subverting the truth of the Gospel and doing so in a very public way. Such responses are readily found and I recommend that you familiarize yourself with them (see Mohler's Blog). At the same time, we also need to recognize the opportunity that this controversy and debate provide for sharing the true Gospel.

Here are some Scriptures that speak to the central claim of Bell's book:

Jesus is the only way of salvation: "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6 ESV).

Unfortunately Bell wants to say that those in other religions who are calling on the name of different gods and divine teachers are actually crying out for Jesus. But the Scriptures teach us differently: "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:11-12 ESV).

Bell's doctrine undermines any motivation for evangelism and missions by saying that all people will go to heaven regardless of their decision for or against Christ in this life. This is addressed in the following: "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. For the Scripture says, 'Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!' But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?' So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:9-17 ESV).

Other short summaries of the Gospel in the New Testament to keep in mind include Romans 3 (entire chapter); 1 Corinthians 15:1–8; Titus 2:11–3:7)

The temptation will be to gloat when Bell is made to look silly or to squirm in the incoherence of his position. While we should be thankful that the falsehood of his theology is being exposed, let’s pray for the following: (a) that he will repent, (b) that his congregation and those exposed to his ministry will not be led into error, and (c) that the Gospel will not be maligned as a result of this situation. May we watch our own lives and doctrine closely and be mindful of the sin that lies creeping at the door of our own hearts.

Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

J

Great Audiobook for Free

2011-02-05T14:04:00.000-08:00

This month at ChristianAudio.com they are offering Russell Moore's Adopted for Life for free! This is a great book that tells Moore's own experience of adopting two boys from Russia. Moore sets forth a solid biblical and theological foundation for understanding adoption through the lens of the Gospel. Hope you take advantage of this opportunity.

J

A Thought for Worship

2011-01-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

Clement of Rome wrote the following in a conclusion to one of his works (Paidagogos). A wonderful thought as we go to worship our risen and soon returning Lord:

King of Saints, almighty Word
of the Father, highest Lord;
Wisdom's head and chief;
Assuagement of all grief;
Lord of all time and space,
Jesus, Saviour of our race.

Similarly, Paul writes, "To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen" (1 Tim 1:17).

May His name be praised and honored in us both today and forever.

J

A Throne and a Cross

2010-11-11T14:38:00.000-08:00

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

2010-09-13T19:35:00.000-07:00

"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"

2010-07-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-06-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

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.

-------------------

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

2010-04-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-04-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

"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

2010-03-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-06T18:03:00.000-08:00

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:

Do I trust that God is faithful to fulfill his promises?
Does my worship of God involve ascribing truthfulness to Him, His promises, commands, and judgments?
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?
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

2010-02-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-02-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

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"

2010-01-09T10:11:00.000-08:00

“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

2010-01-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

"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

Am I Ready...?

2009-11-14T22:06:00.000-08:00

As most readers of this blog will be aware, K and I are awaiting the birth of our firstborn, Emma. Emma is proving to be a bit late like her mo..... as people sometimes are :) This week has entailed a good bit of walking and waiting for signs of her arrival. The fact that I am writing this blog is a sign that we are still waiting. One of the thoughts on my mind is "am I ready for this?" Emma is like a thousand questions rolled into one tiny little package. Right now the package resembles a large basketball, but I imagine it will take on a much more animate shape within the next few days. How does one raise their child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? What does it look like to shepherd a child's heart, helping him or her to be confronted by their sin and to see their need for the Gospel? What will it take to prepare them for the fierce attacks on their faith that are sure to come should they follow Christ? These are questions that are coursing through my mind.

I am reading a book by Alister McGrath called Heresy. The book offers a historical-theological examination of the concept of heresy as well as prominent examples of it. Essentially, McGrath is arguing that heresy develops within the context of faith, often from the desire to make the Christian faith intelligible to the contemporary culture in which one lives. (For those interested in the topic, I think you will find the book accessible even if you have had not had much exposure to church history. While it is extensively sourced, it reads on a popular level. McGrath does a good job of explaining the personalities and circumstances of those with whom he is interacting.)

In this book McGrath touches on the role of apologetics for building up or maintaining the faith of the faithful. To summarize this notion, McGrath includes a quote from a twentieth century theologian, Austin Farrer. I find Farrer's quote to be an excellent summary of what I feel to be the main function of apologetics, namely the preservation of faith:

For though argument does not create conviction, the lack of it destroys belief. What seems to be proved may not be embraced; but what no one shows the ability to defend is quickly abandoned. Rational argument does not create belief, but it maintains a climate in which belief may flourish.

It is important that we not confuse apologetics and evangelism. We cannot argue someone into faith; faith is the gift of God and comes through the proclamation and hearing of God's word about Christ (see Romans 10 and 1 Cor 1:18-2:16). As my pastor has said, "What you can argue someone into, someone else can argue them out of." This is a liberating distinction. Knowing that our call to evangelism is simply to share the Gospel and allow the Spirit of God to bring conviction, repentance, and faith. We need not be great orators, heady philosophers, or well-read theologians to participate in this mission. We simply need to know the Gospel and be faithful to share it (see Romans 3:10,20-26 or 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 for summaries of the Gospel).

That said, we are called to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, MIND, and strength. Part of this lifestyle worship includes thinking biblically about every aspect of life and considering the difficult questions that people may ask of us (believers and non-believers alike). We must recognize that we are called to prepare ourselves to give a defense for the hope we have in Christ:

"But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15).

I invite you to ask the following questions along with me:
1. Am I spending consistent, daily time reading, listening to, memorizing, and meditating on God's Word?
2. Am I actively applying His word to my life?
3. Am I sharing His word (esp. the Gospel) with others?
4. Am I considering the questions that people are asking about the Christian faith and seeking out the answers?

With this new being called Emma poised to enter our everyday lives at any moment, I am more aware than ever that the Gospel and its defense are of the utmost importance. Her eyes will be looking and her ears will be listening to the testimony of mine and Karen's witness for Christ. She will know if our talk matches our walk. I pray we will be faithful to know and share the Gospel as well as prepared to offer a defense for the hope we find through it. What a privilege to be used of God to participate in the creation and preservation of faith in the lives of others (especially our children)! God grant Your grace that we all might walk faithfully in this calling.

Grace & Peace,

J

How long...?

2009-11-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

Today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Our pastor shared with us that the estimated number of Christians who lose their lives each year is 171,000 around the world. Research indicates that this number has been constant for each of the last 15 years (roughly 2.5 million total)!

The prayers being offered up today, according to the Voice of the Martyrs website, is not for the cessation of persecution, but rather, that those facing it will remain faithful.

"9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, a how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been" (Revelation 6:9-11).

May we be faithful to our Lord and to pray for our persecuted family members around the world. "Come Quickly, Lord Jesus!"

Grace & Peace,

J

christianaudio.com - christianaudio.com

2009-11-01T20:43:00.001-08:00

christianaudio.com - christianaudio.com

Posted using ShareThis

During the month of November ChristianAudio.com is offering Desiring God by John Piper as a free download audio book. I highly commend this work to you. Use the code NOV2009 to redeem this offer.

Grace & Peace

Jonathan

The Heart of Worship?

2009-11-01T11:08:00.000-08:00

Imagine the following exchange: Someone walks up to you and says, "I just want to say 'thank you.'" "For what?" you reply. "For nothing...just 'thank you.'" This exchange really doesn't make sense does it? It is simply nonsense to say thank you to someone if there is nothing in view for which the thanks is being given. The act of giving thanks is dependent upon truth.

Jesus told the woman at the well (Jn 4), Christian worship is worship in Spirit and in TRUTH. As we worship God individually and corporately, that worship must be centered on God's truth and, specifically, the truth about who He is and what Has done in Christ as revealed in Scripture. Only insofar as we do this can we truly express thanks to God. It boils down to this: no truth, no thanks, no worship.

Paul writes, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16 ESV). It is significant that the singing of "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" is connected to letting the "word of Christ dwell"in us. Paul goes on to connect the attitude of thankfulness to this truth-filled worship.

Our church is blessed to have a very dynamic worship leader, Gary Brumley. Gary does as good a job of integrating biblical truth and quality music as anyone I know. The music portion of our worship services involve a variety of elements, including corporate Scripture reading and songs that focus on biblical truth. I am appreciative of his approach because by putting God's truth at the center of our worship, we as a congregation are encouraged to dwell deeply upon God's truth and return thanks to Him for His great person and work.

Gary has put the words of 1 Timothy 1:17 to music. I recommend that you check it out. Lyrics, sheet music, and a demo can be found on his website: http://www.newmonikermusic.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=143&Itemid=124.

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible,
The only God, eternal, immortal, invisible
Be honor and glory, honor and glory,
Forever and ever, Amen,
Forever and ever, Amen.

Lyrics: 1 Timothy 1:17
by Gary Brumley © 2009 New Moniker Music.
www.newmonikermusic.com

Grace & Peace,

Jonathan

A Must Hear...

2009-10-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

Today in chapel, my PhD supervisor, Dr. Jason Lee, presented a sermon on Ephesians 6:1-4.

"1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 'Honor your father and mother' (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 'that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.' 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." (Eph 6:1-4)

This sermon is one of the best I've ever heard on the issue of parenting. What is the aim of biblical parenting? In what ways are parents models of the Gospel to their children? What does it mean for children to obey "in the Lord"? What is at stake with this matter? Dr. Lee addresses these questions and more.

I strongly urge you to listen to this at your earliest convenience. I believe that regardless of one's marital or family status that the content of this sermon will be of great value to you now or in the future.

May God grant us His grace to honor and obey Him in order that He alone may receive glory and honor and praise.

Jonathan

Vatican Creates New Structure to Convert Anglicans, Episcopalians

2009-10-20T20:59:00.000-07:00

This is an event with momentous implications for the course of Church History. Check it out:

Vatican Creates New Structure to Convert Anglicans, Episcopalians

Evangelism Defined

2009-10-05T20:03:00.001-07:00

This week, my Pastor, Tim Presson, preached a sermon on the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). If you would like to listen to the sermon in its entirety, you can do so by clicking here. In that sermon he cited what I feel is one of the best definitions for evangelism I have ever heard from a man named William Temple. The definition is as follows:

Evangelism focuses on Christ, depends upon the power of the Holy Spirit for results, and seeks to make disciples of Jesus who recognize His lordship in all of life (every part without distinction) and plant themselves in the fellowship of a local church. I pray that everyone who reads this blog has become a disciple (or follower) of Christ. However, I realize that there will be some who have not.

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ involves coming to Him in faith and repentance. In faith, one must believe to the point of trusting and staking one's life upon the fact that Jesus is who He said He was, that is, the Christ, the Son of the living God (cf. Matthew 16:13-17), the only way to reconciliation of humans to God (John 14:6). It also means affirming that He did what He said He would do and which his followers and the Scriptures gave witness. All of what one must believed about Christ is summarized in one word--the "Gospel" (or "Good News"). The Apostle

Paul summarizes the Gospel as follows: “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word 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 in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” (1Corinthians 15:1-8 ESV)

Believing this truth also involves believing another one, namely that all humans are sinful by nature, condemned before God, and unable to reconcile themselves to God (cf. Romans chapter 3, esp. vv. 10-26). True discipleship also involves repentance--a turning away from sin and self and a turning to God in faith and obedience. Jesus said that those who love Him will keep his commandments (John 15). Our works do not improve our standing before God. On the contrary, God saves us by His own mercy. However, in view of God's mercy, we offer our lives as living sacrifices to God for His purposes (cf., Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Matthew 5:16).

The Apostle Paul summarizes these points well: “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works...” (Titus 3:3-8 ESV).

Both our coming to faith in Christ and our living the remainder of our lives in faith and obedience to Christ are the gracious work of God. He alone is worthy of glory for saving us in spite of ourselves (Romans 11:33-36). The Scriptures tell us that those who place their faith and trust in Christ will have eternal life and fellowship with God, but that those who do not believe will be condemned (John 3:16-21). I pray that we will all recognize His glory and reflect that glory in the grateful sacrifice of our lives to Him. If you have never placed your faith, hope, and trust in Jesus Christ as your sole means of reconciliation with God, repented of your sins, and cast yourself upon God's mercy, I beg you to do so without delay.

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner,"

Jonathan

Repost: No "Except That"

2009-10-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

One of the elders at my church, Dale Stonecipher, sends out a weekly e-mail in which he reflects on Scripture and makes application. They are devotional in nature and I cannot remember reading one from which I failed to draw encouragement. God has truly blessed our body with his service, a gift for which I am truly grateful.

This week's e-mail was especially challenging/encouraging and I wanted to share it with you. Thanks be to God for the ways He uses others to encourage and lift us up through His Word. I pray that we will not be characterized the the phrase "except that."

Soli Deo Gloria,

J
---------------------
Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

I am listening to the blessing of the rain from our gracious God as I write this. How many ways He blesses us!

As I was reading from 1 Kings this morning, two words jumped out at me. Those words were "except that." The passage is regarding Solomon's being established as king of Israel after the death of King David. Scripture states that Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. The "except that" is the problem in that sentence.

The "high places" had been pagan worship sites and the Israelites had been told to destroy those sites and build their own for the worship of the Lord. Others before Solomon had built altars for the worship of God prior to the construction of the Tabernacle.

Solomon apparently continute worship at the established high places thinking it was not a big issue and would not lead to any problems. In the previous verses, we are told he also married Pharaoh's daughter and made a treaty with her father, probably a political move, but still marrying a foreign woman rather than one of Israel. These might seem to be small things at the time, but later Solomon's heart was turned from God and he even built high places for the worship of pagan gods for his other wives.

This tragic story of Solomon made me question my own life and what I allow in my life that I might consider to be small issues, but which are not pleasing or acceptable to God. Might if be said of me that I love the Lord, "except that".......

Even sins we might consider to be small are a big deal to a holy God. Indulging in sin, even those we consider small, is an offense against our God.

It is scary to think of small allowances we might make and where they might lead. Might an issue that we think is not a big deal lead to a turning away of our hearts later, as did Solomon's. God calls His people to "be perfect", an impossible task, of course, but nevertheless a goal for which we strive.

May God give us grace to remove the "except that" from our lives and love Him with our whole hearts.

Dale

Calvin on "the anchor" of Faith

2009-09-28T21:23:00.001-07:00

Excellent quote by Calvin on the nature of faith. Commenting on the phrase "anchor of the soul" in Hebrews 6:19 (“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain"), Calvin writes:

"It is a striking likeness when he compares faith leaning on God’s word to an anchor; for doubtless, as long as we sojourn in this world, we stand not on firm ground, but are tossed here and there as it were in the midst of the sea, and that indeed very turbulent; for Satan is incessantly stirring up innumerable storms, which would immediately upset and sink our vessel, were we not to cast our anchor fast in the deep. For nowhere a haven appears to our eyes, but wherever we look water alone is in view; yea, waves also arise and threaten us; but as the anchor is cast through the waters into a dark and unseen place, and while it lies hid there, keeps the vessel beaten by the waves from being overwhelmed; so must our hope be fixed on the invisible God. There is this difference, — the anchor is cast downwards into the sea, for it has the earth as its bottom; but our hope rises upwards and soars aloft, for in the world it finds nothing on which it can stand, nor ought it to cleave to created things, but to rest on God alone. As the cable also by which the anchor is suspended joins the vessel with the earth through a long and dark intermediate space, so the truth of God is a bond to connect us with himself, so that no distance of place and no darkness can prevent us from cleaving to him. Thus when united to God, though we must struggle with continual storms, we are yet beyond the peril of shipwreck. Hence he says, that this anchor is sure and steadfast, or safe and firm. It may indeed be that by the violence of the waves the anchor may be plucked off, or the cable be broken, or the beaten ship be torn to pieces. This happens on the sea; but the power of God to sustain us is wholly different, and so also is the strength of hope and the firmness of his word." (Calvin's Commentary on Hebrews)

Father, may the anchor of our faith be securely grounded on You and the truth of Your Word.

Grace & Peace,

Jonathan

Al Mohler Blog Post - International Blasphemy Day

2009-09-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, has blog that offers excellent cultural commentary and theological insight. I highly recommend it to you. Today I was struck by the post linked below. It offers a good example of the kind of issue Mohler frequently examines and the solid biblical approach he brings to such an issue. The topic is sincerely disturbing, but the wisdom he offers is equally encouraging.

http://www.albertmohler.com/2009/09/25/why-do-the-heathen-rage-international-blasphemy-day/

I pray that we will engage the culture in which we find ourselves with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Grace and Peace,

J

Reflections on a Life Cut Short

2009-09-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

Today I learned that a co-worker's wife lost her baby. This news is always sad, but I find myself sympathizing with them more than I often do. The past few weeks Emma has been growing stronger and stronger, kicking more and more. The realization that God has formed a new life within Karen is washing over me daily. As I place myself in this co-workers shoes, I am drawn to tears at the loss he and his family must be experiencing. Life is indeed a frail and temporary gift from God.

Jonathan Edwards offers some vivid insight on this issue. He writes, "The world tries to prove that a man is not on the very brink of eternity, and that the next step will not be into another world, but to no avail. The unseen, unthought-of ways and means by which people suddenly go out of the world are innumerable and inconceivable. Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are countless places in this covering that are so weak that the covering will not bear their weight, and these places are not seen. The arrows of death fly unseen at midday; the sharpest sight cannot discern them" ("Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God").

Life is a trust. It is an opportunity to recognize our Creator and Redeemer and live lives for Him and His purposes. He has granted us a few years in which to live for His glory and to declare His glory to everyone we know.

Father, grant Your peace and comfort for this grieving family. May they place the faith and hope in You and Your goodness in the midst of their pain. Help us to recognize that we constantly walk "on the brink of eternity." Help us to see that life is a gracious gift and not an entitlement we receive by virtue of some inherent good in us. May we be good stewards of these few days together. May we never throw a day away as though we will have a million more. May we urgently share the good news of the Gospel of Your grace in light of the bad news of ours/others sinfulness and condemnation apart from that grace. May we fear and honor You and be found in Christ when he comes or You call us home.

Grace and Peace,

J

ho apseudeœs theos - The God Who Never Lies

2009-09-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

Our pastor is preaching a ten-part series on the core values of our church. This morning's sermon was on the importance of doctrine and one of the key texts was Titus 1:1-2.

“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began” (Titus 1:1-2 ESV).

Over the last 4-6 months I have been drawn to the book of Titus. In three brief chapters Paul lays forth one of the clearest explanations of the gospel and its implications for good works, relationships, and worship. Today I was reviewing the verses from the sermon cited above and was struck by the great hope that is contained in the title Paul ascribes to God: ho apseudeœs theos - "the God who never lies."

God is worthy of our worship simply by virtue of his position (i.e., creator of the universe and the ground of all being). However, it is wonderful to know that God's character is worthy of praise and honor as well. We are able to honor Him for His goodness as well as His position!

This thought finds great contrast when I think of the limited amount of authority God has given me in the workplace. Those who work under that authority are called to respect that authority by virtue of my position. However, I am weak and fleshly and often fail to lead with clarity, vision, gentleness, etc. (the list could go on and on). In short, there is a disconnect between the honor owed to my position and the honor warranted by my character, person, and work. For God the honor owed His position is synonymous with that owed to His character, person, and work. He is worthy of infinite honor and worth, a worthiness that exceeds our ability to express in its fullness.

He is the God who never lies and who has promised eternal life to all who are in Christ. What He promises will surely come to pass. May we praise Him for his character and for the great work of salvation He has accomplished through Christ and given to all who place their faith and trust in Him.

Grace and Peace,

J

A Timely Reminder...

2009-08-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

The Friday before the first week of classes is typically the busiest day of the year for the housing office. Normally, ten to fifteen leases is a busy day for us, but on this day we usually have thirty to thirty-five leases. Further, this is also the day on which the school typically schedules its mandatory all-employee meeting for the last two hours of the day. This year was typical in this regard. So on a day in which we have almost three times the number of people to process than any other day in the year, we have two less hours with which to do it. Lest this turn into a gripe session, let me move on to the real reason for which I am posting.

I woke up this Friday morning with stress all over me and in many ways dreading the headaches that I knew would come as the day wore on. I took the two minute commute from my house to the parking lot in front of the Memorial Building where I work to say a short prayer and listen to forty-five seconds of a Jack Johnson CD (my standard go to on stress-filled days). As I got out of my car I saw something that melted the stress that was already building...a rainbow.

After taking in the site for a few moments I walked into work with a renewed sense of God's presence, faithfulness, and goodness.

Thank you Father for this timely reminder in the midst of life's busyness. Help us to fix our eyes on Your goodness, rest in the security of Your faithfulness, and walk in the peace of Your Spirit each day.

Grace and Peace,

J

John Stott on the Proper Understanding of God, man, and the Atonement

2009-07-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

I often struggle to remember the greatness of God's majesty and the ugliness of my sin for which Christ died, was buried, and rose again (Rom 5:6-11). I find in the quote by John Stott below a wonderful explanation and reminder of this truth.

"All inadequate doctrines of the atonement [i.e., the covering and removal of human sin by Jesus Christ] are due to inadequate doctrines of God and man. If we bring God down to our level and raise ourselves to his, then of course we see no need for a radical salvation, let alone for a radical atonement to secure it. When, on the other hand, we have glimpsed the blinding glory of the holiness of God, and have been so convicted of our sin by the Holy Spirit that we tremble before God and acknowledge what we are, namely 'hell-deserving sinners,' then and only then does the necessity of the cross appear so obvious that we are astonished we never saw it before.

The essential background to the cross, therefore, is a balanced understanding of the gravity of sin and the majesty of God. If we diminish either, we thereby diminish the cross. If we reinterpret sin as a lapse instead of a rebellion, and God as indulgent instead of indignant, then naturally the cross appears superfluous [i.e., unnecessary]. But to dethrone God and enthrone ourselves not only dispenses with the cross; it also degrades both God and man. A biblical view of God and ourselves, however, that is, of our sin and of God's wrath, honours both. It honours human beings by affirming them as responsible for their own actions. It honours God by affirming him as having moral character."--John Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downer's Gove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 109-10.

J

Repent Again?

2009-06-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

"When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said 'Repent', He called for the entire life of believers to be one of penitence."--Martin Luther

The first of Martin Luther's 95 theses has been a reoccurring thought to me this year. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that it is true. Repentance is not merely the event whereby one crosses over from death into life (i.e., is converted). While it is certainly that, it is not only that. Repentance is both initial AND ongoing in the life of the believer. One might say it is to be a lifestyle. Anytime the believer finds himself or herself outside of the way of obedience they are called to repent.

In his book Disciplined by Grace Jerry Bridges quotes a passage that gives a wonderful summary of what biblical repentance looks like:

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up* as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalms 32:1-5 ESV).

Father, help us to humble ourselves before you in daily repentance. Let not our hearts grow hard from the deceitfulness of indwelling sin. Surround us by Your people who have Your Word ready upon their lips. Lead us by Your Spirit to avoid the sin that so easily entangles us. Help us to live by Your grace without abusing it.

J

P.S.--For the few people I know read this blog, I wanted to invite your comments and/or reflections here. Some of my posts will not be worth your time. Hopefully, some will be used to provoke some thoughts, applications, or additional insight. Please feel free to share. I plan to continue posting regardless of comments. However, I was told the other day that I don't write in such a way as to invite comments. If you have insights into how I might do that better I welcome those too. Thanks for being apart of the ongoing conversations I am having with myself and with the Lord. I pray God uses it for His glory.

Greater love...Greater hate

2009-06-15T20:25:00.000-07:00

"The more sanctified the person is, the more conformed he is to the image of his Savior, the more he must recoil against every lack of conformity to the holiness of God. The deeper his apprehension of the majesty of God, the greater the intensity of his love to God, the more persistent his yearning for the attainment of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, the more conscious will he be of the gravity of the sin which remains and the more poignant will be his detestation of it."--John Murray, Redemption--Accomplished and Applied (London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1961), 144-45; as quoted by Jerry Bridges in The Discipline of Grace, (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2004), 104.

Praying that our love for God and hatred for sin increases each day,

Jonathan

Meditating on the Cross

2009-06-01T22:11:00.000-07:00

The following quote is from Living the Cross Centered Life (C. J. Mahaney):

"What was your spiritual focus [this past week]? Was it on the spot where God most reveals His personal love for you--the cross? Or was it on your own circumstances, your own condition, your own concerns? Was your preoccupation with your personal pursuit of godliness? Growth in godliness must be pursued, but never apart from joyful gratitude for the cross. . . . Let there never be a length period of time where you aren't receiving inspiration and instruction related directly to the cross, since that is where we find a fresh, sustaining conviction of [God's] personal love" (106-07).

I feel the following Scripture reflects Mahaney's words above:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

There is a temptation in the Christian life to move beyond the Gospel to "deeper" things (for a brief description of the Gospel see 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). This notion is ultimately flawed in that the entirety of the Christian life is a pursuit of understanding and application of the Gospel. It is the Gospel that the Holy Spirit uses to bring us to faith in Christ and repentance before God, and it is the Gospel that the Spirit uses to lead us through the Christian life. How should I react to my obnoxious co-worker? Answer: just as God has dealt with me, in mercy, grace, and forgiveness. What should determine the ways I spend my time, money, and energy? Answer: Since I have been redeemed by Christ, my life is not my own, I have been bought with a price (cf. 1 Cor 6:19-20; 2 Cor 5:15). Further, the Gospel tells me that Christ will come again to receive His own and to judge the world. My time is to be spent in light of the immanent return of Christ (also a facet of the Gospel). As believers our responses are grounded in the love God has demonstrated to us in Christ's death in our place, taking upon himself the wrath of God that we rightly deserved and the present hope of His immanent return.

I pray that I do not "move past" the Gospel, but rather center my gaze each day upon the work of Christ on the cross, His vindication by God in His resurrection, and the hope of His imminent return. As we seek to encourage one another, we should keep the Gospel (i.e., the person and work of Christ) at the center of that encouragement. I pray that all who read this post know and are submitted to Him. If you do not know Jesus in the manner described above, please let me know. I would love to talk through any questions you might have. Please do not delay in responding to God's call to repent and believe (Mark 1:15).

Jonathan

Karen + Jonathan + Baby = Family

2009-05-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been some time since I last posted a blog. As you might have surmised from the title, we have a lot going on these days . . . Karen is 16 weeks pregnant!!

This is something for which we have prayed for about four years. However, God in His infinite wisdom did not see fit to answer our prayers until His timing was complete.

We could not be happier and are excited about the prospects and challenges of parenthood. What an overwhelming responsibility! We know that it will only be by God's grace that such a task can be faithfully undertaken.

We have shared this news with many, but there are many others with whom we have not had time or opportunity to tell. We wish we could talk to each of our friends and family directly and share this news in person, but there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. Most likely we will begin a separate blog just for family updates. I will post a link here once that is up and running, so please keep checking in on us.

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. . . . Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!” (Psalms 127:3-5). God of heaven and earth, You are the giver of every good and perfect gift. There is no shadow or indication of unfaithfulness toward us. You are a God who can be trusted and to whom we must entrust ourselves. We give you praise, adoration, and honor for Your merciful and gracious gift of this pregnancy. Help us to believe when we are weak and forgive us when we follow our flesh and become anxious. Let us not presume upon tomorrow, but rest in You each day. Your mercy is more than we deserve. Our hearts, our lives, our family is Yours. Be the center of our home. Amen.

J

Eyes to See and Ears to Hear

2009-03-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

Karen and I are reading (slowly) through the book of John. The slowness is more a result of our sporadic reading than of careful study. Nonetheless, we recently read chapter 5. In this chapter Jesus heals a paralytic on the Sabbath. Upon healing the man Jesus commands him to take up his bed and walk. The Pharisees observe the man carrying his bed on the Sabbath (i.e., "working") and question him about it. When they found out it was Jesus who had healed him and told him to carry his bed on the Sabbath it became an occasion for the Pharisees to oppose Jesus. To make matters worse in their eyes, Jesus refers to God as His Father, thus, as John notes, "making himself equal with God" (5:18). Though they saw that work (i.e., healing by Jesus and bed carrying by the ex-paralytic) was being done on the Sabbath, the Pharisees failed to recognize that Jesus was doing the works of the Father. The remainder of the chapter is Jesus' response/explanation of the works that He is doing and how He is doing them, namely, the Father is doing them through Jesus.

An important observation in Jesus' response is His emphasis upon hearing (i.e., listening to Him and believing). Jesus states, "Truly, truly I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. . . . An hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live" (Jn 5:24-25). NOTE: Jesus here has the spiritually dead in view. Those who receive eternal life by believing Jesus' testimony will also be raised when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead at the end of the age (1Th 4:13-17; 2 Tim 4:1).

A significant part of Jesus' reply deals with the witnesses that testify of who Jesus is (cf. Jn 5:30-47). Though the Pharisees were looking for the Messiah in the Scriptures (v.39) they were failing to see that Jesus was the fulfillment of those Scriptures. Jesus concludes, "If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" (Jn 5:46-47). It seems evident that Jesus here has the following prophecy in mind:

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me [i.e., Moses] from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the LORD said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:15-19 ESV).

Moses' message is simple: "God will raise up a prophet greater than me. Listen to Him." Jesus, as the only begotten Son of God, knows God like no other prophet (Jn 1:18) and has delivered to us the words of life (Jn 6:68). The Pharisees failed both to recognize the works of God and to hear the testimonies of Scripture. It is ironic that on the Sabbath, a day set aside for the remembrance of God's mighty acts of salvation (Deut 5:12-15), their focus on their own legalistic rules to preserve the Sabbath led them to overlook the work that God was doing before their very eyes. In these works God was showing Jesus to be the prophet who was greater than Moses. Nonetheless, they failed to heed Moses' command and did not listen.

I pray that God will give us eyes to see and recognize Christ for who He is and ears to hear His words of life and embrace them in faith. May we accept the demands of these words and joyfully live them out in eager anticipation of our great Savior's return!

Grace and Peace,

J

We are Beggars...

2009-02-17T20:48:00.000-08:00

"We are beggars! That is true."--Martin Luther, February 16, 1546 (2 days before his death)

This quote came to mind tonight as I conclude an evening of study. Reflecting at the end of his life, Luther, who spent practically his entire adulthood pouring over and proclaiming the Scriptures, recognized how feeble his understanding truly was. All of us (even the greatest theological and philosophical minds of all time) are in need of God's gracious lisp as Calvin put it. Our minds are too feeble to understand the infinite depth of God's character nor can we fathom His purposes from start to finish. While he has truly revealed Himself by His Word and Spirit, we cannot wrap our minds or our words around the breadth of His being. Our infinite and eternal God exhausts the ability of our frail and finite minds to contemplate. He is incomprehensibly bigger than us.

Christians throughout history have acknowledged that the more we know about God, the more we realize how little we know (a.k.a., "the cloud of unknowing"). What a helpful reminder for us when we ever feel we have arrived or are "getting close." Such thoughts actually reveal quite the opposite: we are getting farther away rather than closer. True understanding of God leads to humility and worship of Him for who He is and what He has done. If our study of God results in pride and self-worship, we have missed the mark miserably.

Father, grant us humility and meekness in our learning. Take the feeble words that we speak and write about you and use them for Your glory and the spreading of Your Gospel. We thank You that it is in our weaknesses that You demonstrate your strength. Help us to humble ourselves before You, to rely solely upon You, and to lead others to know You and make You known. We look forward to the day when Your Son will return and we will no longer "see in a mirror dimly, but [rather] face to face," no longer only "know in part" but rather "know fully, even as [we] have been fully known” (1 Cor 13:12).

Declaring God's Glory...Together

2009-02-07T15:38:00.000-08:00

“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:1-6).

This week in our Care Group meeting we discussed the nature of Christian fellowship. Since our meeting I read the passage above. It reflects much of what we discussed.

God has called all his children (i.e., those who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior--Matth 16:16) to consider each other and how we might edify ("build up") each other (Phil. 2:1-4).
As with all areas of the Christian life, Christ is our model. The Son of God humbled himself, leaving the glory of heaven, to seek and save those who were lost (cf. Phil 2:1-11).
God in His providence has supplied us with His Word written--the Holy Scriptures. As we are led by His Holy Spirit in reading and hearing this Word, we be convicted of sin and led in paths of righteousness (ways that please God) (cf. Jn 16).
As we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, humbly seek God and seek to live in the humility of Jesus Christ, God will produce a unity among His children. This unity and fellowship will lead us to a particular mission.
Our mission as a people called by God is to "glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ [with one voice]." This is our great calling, to adore and declare the glory of our great, holy, loving, and gracious God.

Paul's prayer for the Romans is my prayer for you: "May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

J

An Inspiring Aspiration...

2009-01-30T16:22:00.000-08:00

“And thus I [Paul] make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, 'Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.'” (Romans 15:20-21 ESV)

I came across these verses last night and have been thinking about them all day. My mind and heart has been directed to friends--brothers and sisters in Christ--who are living in North Africa, Egypt, and Malaysia for the sake of Christ and His Gospel. They are being obedient to God's call to "Go and make disciples of all nations..." (Matt. 28:19-20).

Father, protect these dear saints. Encourage their faith and their families. Strengthen their marriages. May their children grow up in your ways and be protected from bitterness and rebellion. Meet their needs with your provident grace. Use them to bring the light of Your Gospel to the darkness of these lands. Amen.

J

Bringing them together...

2009-01-28T12:58:00.000-08:00

Today I've been reflecting on how difficult it is to bring and keep the inner life of faith together with outer life of faith. By the inner life of faith, I mean prayer and yieldedness to Christ. By outer life of faith, I mean obedience. On the one hand, if the inner life is greater than the outer life, the result is spiritual selfishness and or deadness (i.e., failing to return to God proper praise for His good gifts). For me this means reading, meditating, and musing over the great truths of God's Word and failing to act upon them or resisting the Holy Spirit's use of these truths in me. I guess a failure to allow these truths to produce good fruit simply demonstrates that my "inner life" is simply one of contemplation and not of faith.

On the other hand, if the outer life is greater than the inner life, the result is spiritual hypocrisy and emotionalism. For me this looks like manufacturing responses to corporate worship or private conversations that look like they arise from a vibrant relationship with God but in reality do not.

In the end, there is really only one life of faith. It is not possible to have a truly vibrant inner life (i.e., faith and yieldedness) that fails to produce good fruit in the outer life (i.e., properly motivated obedience). Conversely, it is not possible to have a truly vibrant outer life (i.e., properly motivated obedience) that is sourced in anything other than a heart filled with faith. Genuine faith cannot be divided into inner and outer parts--one being good and the other being bad. True faith issues forth in a singular life; one that is not infatuated with truth for truth's sake (mere contemplation) or distracted by what anyone but God sees (emotionalism and hyposcrisy). Bringing the inner and outer facets of our lives together in sigularity is not something we accomplish with the glue of our wills. Singluarity only happens when we fix our gaze upon the One who has redeemed us, the One to whom we belong, the only One worthy of such a worshipful gaze--Jesus (Heb. 12:1-3). Singularity is a fruit produced by God's Spirit when Christ--not singularity, spiritual vibrancy, or sophistication--becomes our ultimate aim and goal.

Father, grant us vibrant communion with You, through your Son, and by Your Spirit. Let our lives be singular; may we serve You and only You. Help our worship to arise from hearts overjoyed at who You are and whose we are in Christ. May we never manufacture false demonstrations of spirituality, but rather fill us with true hearts of faith that worship and obey in Spirit and in truth.

Make War | Make Peace

2009-01-18T22:54:00.000-08:00

Well, it's 2009 and it's been a while since I last posted. I always find the breaks between semesters difficult. I get lazy and undisciplined on nearly every level. However, God has used several brothers to encourage me recently and it seems to be having some fruit.

This past weekend I attended a men's seminar at my church: Make War | Make Peace. The theme was taken from Hebrews 12:1-17 and captures two main thoughts of the passage: make war (on self and sin) and make peace (with others). These messages were challenging to me because on the one hand I realize how little I have striven against sin in my own life and on the other hand how weakly I have striven for peace with others.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood" (Heb. 12:1-4).

The conference began with an audio clip from John Piper on making war against sin and self. Key thought: My primary enemy is not someone or something else; my primary enemy in the battle against sin is me (James 1:13-15). How easy it is to pass the blame to anything or anyone other than myself!

Sin is the enemy of all that we are called to be and do as believers. This truth is easy enough to swallow. However, it is also true that sometime valid plans, activities, and desires become weights that slow us from the pursuit of God's purposes and His glory. It is entirely possible that virtues themselves can become vices that distract us from the main thing (i.e., fixing our eyes on Jesus). For example, if I become infatuated with an act of love, compassion, giving, humility, etc. it becomes a vice to me (incidentally, this is an awkward sentence for me to write because I am so slow to do these things or to do them at all). In this sense, humility can be a source of pride (C. S. Lewis depicts this well in his Screwtape Letters).

"Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). In one of the discussion groups in which I participated it became clear that "striving for peace with everyone" ( means more than simply making peace with my enemies (although that is a major part), but it also means seeking and praying for reconciled relationships (vertically and horizontally). Those who have become God's children by faith in Christ are called to consider one another in such a way as to ensure that "no one fails to obtain the grace of God" and "that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy..." (Heb. 12:15-16a). I should be concerned that friends, family, and acquaintances be at peace with God (vertically) and with each other (horizontally). This concern is not a peace-at-any-cost kind of concern, but rather, it is a concern centered in the Gospel. The Gospel is a message of peace at the highest cost...the life of God's only Son at the hands of sinful humanity (John 3:16).

I am grateful for the encouragement I received this past weekend; for Christian brothers who are faithful to speak truth into my life and to live it out in front of me. God has truly used them to "lift my drooping hands and strengthen my weakened knees" (cf. Heb. 12:12). I pray that I will be diligent this year to make both war and peace in the manner spoken above. I pray that I will be vigilant and aware of the spiritual war in which we are situated. I long for the day in which the victory (which is already ours in Christ) is realized fully. Father, grant us the grace to strive faithfully against sin and self and compassionately for peace with everyone to the end.

J

Why Church?

2008-10-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine posted a question on his blog asking "Why do you go to church?" This is a great question. I would love to hear your thoughts on this too. Here is my response:

I go to church for several reasons. First, Christ died for the church. Paul writes, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27 ESV).

If the main point of Christ’s death was to redeem the church and set her apart for himself, I want to be a part of the church, devoting myself to Christ by devoting myself to His body and His bride.

Second, the church is the primary means through which God is accomplishing His divine mission in the world. Luke writes, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 ESV). I want to participate in that mission.

Third, through the church God supports and chastens the believer to become more like Christ. I want to be like Christ; so I seek to actively give and willingly receive admonition and encouragement. Paul writes, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1-2 ESV). And in Hebrews we read, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:12-14 ESV).

Fourth, I go to church because I am imperfect--a work in progress. I imperfectly remember and strive after God in all arenas of life. Indeed we are all still imperfect and in need of God’s continued sanctification in our lives. I go to church, not because I’m perfect, but because I’m not. I need God’s grace and help. Thankfully he offers this help to us in the hands and feet of His body and bride, the church.

Finally, God is glorious and holy. He is the rightful end of all things and worthy of all praise. “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36 ESV). God is deserving of worship for no other reason than His character alone. However, He has graciously accomplished salvation through His Son and by His Spirit in the lives of everyone who places their faith and trust in Christ. I choose to go to church, because it is a congregation that has been called and is devoted to the praise, honor, and glory of God through worship. In the congregation of the church I am able to fulfill my calling to worship my Creator and Redeemer alongside others who share the same calling.

Recognizing Christ’s great love for His bride, God’s purpose and mission for the church, my own need of encouragement to be and become who He has called me to be, as well as the calling of every believer to lovingly encourage others toward the same goal and worship our God, I choose to participate in the Christian church.

Am I Promoting Idolatry?

2008-09-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

I found a link to a great post on another blog via a blog (if that makes sense) about the temptation to create your own disciples rather than pointing people to Christ. If you are a pastor, teacher, or church leader of any kind I highly recommend reading it.

The Day They Tried to Recruit Me

Here is an excerpt:

The cult of professor worship is perhaps the most dangerous and reprehensible cult in the theological world. It is no respecter of theological position, afflicting the left just as much as the right. It is no respecter of intellectual ability, as the psychology of leader-follower is predicated more on personality and relational qualities than brainpower. And it is no respecter of souls: nothing so destroys a Christian leader, or his followers, than the mutual flattery involved in the uncritical adulation of a fan-base for a professorial rock star (and I use that term advisedly). Hence, while every instinct in me told me that the offer was a great opportunity to start up Team Trueman on campus, I chose to go against my fallen desires and immediately declined the offer.

The First Entry of My Journal

2008-09-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

While I attending college I was inspired to start a journal after reading In the Shadow of the Almighty a book about Jim Elliot (a missionary to South America) that contains many entries from his personal journal. Unfortunately I lost that first journal in Hurricane Katrina. However, I do still have my second journal. Ironically, it's first entry is dated 9:31am, September 11, 2001. I always find it interesting to rewind and re-read old entries and thought I'd share this one with you:

The second tower of the world trade center has just fallen! Both towers were struck by 2 separate commercial planes. About 50,000 people work at the World Trade Center.We just learned that another hijacked plane is en route to Washington as I write! All commercial flights as well as private have been grounded.

[Time?]Another plane crashed into the Pentagon which is now on fire and part of it has collapsed.

[Time?]Another plane has crashed over W. Pennsylvania. Right now my body is numb. My mind keeps wondering if this is not the judgment of God on our country. The affects of this attack will be far reaching. Twenty minutes ago it was reported that money was flowing into the Euro and the Pound.

I'm [now] sitting in chapel. Psalm 46 is of great comfort right now as was the hymn "Crown Him With Many Crowns."

As I wrote these words I thought that tens of thousands of people had just lost their lives. I am so thankful that God in His mercy spared us from the worst. Nonetheless, I am reminded of the loss we did sustain and pray God's peace for the thousands of friends and families that are no doubt remembering and re-living the emotions of that day even as I write.

Tonight I am encouraged by the Scripture and hymn that God used to minister to me that day seven years ago:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” (Psalms 46:1-3 ESV)

God is our refuge. What peace there is in knowing Him. Christ our King is seated on His throne and is worthy of all the praise we can give Him regardless of life's circumstances. He has promised to be with us always (Mt 28:20) and given us His Spirit to comfort and to guide (e.g., John 14:16, 26).

Father, thank you for Your providential care for us. Jesus, may we honor you as King in every circumstance and stage of our lives. Spirit, may we seek your guidance as strongly in the good times life as in the bad. O God, have Your way in us today.

Will the real Ocho Cinco Please Stand Up?

2008-09-06T15:16:00.001-07:00

As many of my friends will vouch, I have the sports news awareness of someone who lives under a rock. I watch SportCenter once a week if I'm lucky. I play fantasy football because I like the interaction I get with the guys. I catch the scores and check the standings more than I actually watch the games. Nonetheless, as I was checking my fantasy team I noticed that Chad Johnson has now officially become Chad Ocho Cinco. At first I thought this was just a ruse but no...he legally changed his last name to Ocho Cinco.

Here's the article if you want to read it: Click Here

Thanks Mr. Ocho Cinco for reminding us how easily we can lose touch with reality and get wrapped up with ourselves. You're not alone. I readily admit that I'm right there with you. You've helped us all by putting a face and (now) a very visible name to the problem.

Jonathan

1970's Christian Ska Music...(Thankfully) There's Nothing Like It

2008-09-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

This is both funny and sad at the same time. Please check out this video.

Disclaimer: By posting this video I in no way endorse its theology. First, Jesus has not taught us how to save our souls; he saved our souls. Second, whatever we might say about salvation, God zapping us is a poor description. Finally sinless perfection is not a possibility in this life (I don't care what Wesleyans say). There is a very good chance that these guys are Canadian (or at least that would explain a lot) :)

Katrina Remembered

2008-08-29T20:08:00.000-07:00

Three years ago today Katrina rolled over the gulf coast, devastating everything in her path. Last night K and I were retelling our Katrina story to some new-found friend from church. As we retold the many ways God provided, comforted, encouraged, restored, and even enriched our lives through this "tragedy" I was convicted of how forgetful of God's providence and faithfulness to us I've become. Unfortunately, the further we get away from the experience of God's grace we tend to forget his mighty acts. Deuteronomy 6:10-12 offers a prophetic word for me:

10"And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

As Gustav stares down the gulf coast, I am mindful of God's faithfulness in storms of the past, I am prayerful for His mercy for today and tomorrow, and hopeful that my brothers and sisters in the projected path of this storm will not lose heart. Our God has, is, and ever will be faithful. You are in our thoughts and prayers. If any of you need a place to land for a few days, weeks, etc. please let us know.

In Christ,

Jonathan

Taking Delight in the Word of God

2008-08-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday Dr. Ishwaran Mudliar, a professor of OT and Hebrew at SWBTS, preached a sermon entitled "Taking Delight in the Word of God." The text for his sermon was Psalm 119:9-16. I found this message both encouraging and challenging all at the same time.

The sermon should be posted within the next few days at www.redeemeraudio.org. I will not attempt to duplicate the points of the sermon. However, his questions for application are succinct enough to be reproduced here. There are twelve:

1. Are you convinced that the Bible is the Word of God? How do you demonstrate this belief/conviction on a daily basis?

2. What is your view of revelation? Do you believe that man is in need of it or can he figure things out on his own?

3. What is your worldview? Do you look at the world the way God looks at the world; do you love what He loves, hate what He hates, and value what He values?

4. Do you put the Scriptures above other books/magazines/news articles/blogs/etc.? Not merely in ranking but in time spent digging into them?

5. Are you familiar with the basic passages of the Bible? Do you know the 10 commandments, 12 apostles, books of the Bible, love chapter, sermon on the mount, etc.? Can you locate these?

6. Do you have a habit of reading the Bible regularly (esp. cover to cover)? Dr. Mudliar encouraged the congregation to begin systematically reading through the Scriptures.

7. Do you know key passages about salvation so that you could explain it to someone?

8. Do you memorize/meditate on Scripture? Note: Eastern meditation = emptying one's mind of everything. Christian meditation = filling one's mind with the truth of God's word and actively turning it over and over in one's mind (i.e., mental chewing gum). This means thinking about the truths of God throughout the day.

9. Do you have personal and family devotions?

10. Are you over-committed in other areas of life that preclude you spending time in the Word of God?

11. Do you keep high standards for church leaders? They must be an example to the body (able to teach).

12. (a) Do you have a genuine interest in knowing Christ through His word (cf. 1 Pet. 2:2-3)? If not, you should consider whether or not you have ever come to a saving knowledge of Christ? (b) Are we seeking maturity in Christ (cf. Heb. 5:11-14; 2 Pet. 3:18).

If you have made gains in these areas, please share what you've learned. I have not been able to stop thinking about this message all day today. I highly encourage you to listen to this sermon if you get a chance. I pray you have a strong week in the Lord, seeking Him in prayer and in the study of His word.

Looking for His Return,

Jonathan

"To contribute cheerfully and regularly to ... the relief of the poor"

2008-08-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

For those of you reading this post whose church publicizes or uses a church covenant, these words may sound familiar. Many baptist churches throughout history have employed church covenants as a means whereby the membership of a particular local body of believers expresses and recommits to walk together in love by the power of the Holy Spirit. My church (Redeemer Church) has adapted with some slight modifications a version of a covenant which originally appeared in J. Newton Brown's Church Manual (1853). To read it click here (see the very bottom of the document entitled "Our Church Covenant").

We often reaffirm this covenant around the Lord's table as a (further) reminder of the fellowship we share in Christ and the responsibilities we share toward one another as a result of this mutual union with Christ (incidentally this is a major function of the Lord's Supper that is sometimes [perhaps often] overlooked). Thus, the focus of the covenant is horizontal (i.e., on the various responsibilities each member has with respect to the corporate body) but this focus is rooted and grounded in the vertical (i.e., in the relationship with and resultant responsibilities one has before God the Father, through Christ, by the Holy Spirit).

Tonight in our care group we discussed in passing the phrase with which this post is entitled ("To contribute cheerfully and regularly to ... the relief of the poor"). This is something that I struggle to understand and fulfill...something I long to understand and fulfill. It is to this end that I write. Thus, this post has two main purposes. First, I want to share some practical reflections that K and I have had regarding this issue. Second, I would love to hear back from the other person who reads this blog as to what he or she has come to understand about this issue.

Without further ado, here is my short list of reflections: five biblical-philosophical and three practical (with some overlap):

Five biblical-philosophical observations:

We give because everything we have has been given to us by God. “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:16-17 ESV). “And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD'”(Job 1:21 ESV).
The focus of our ministry to the poor should be upon the helpless, destitute, and outcasts of our society. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, and the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”(James 1:27 ESV). Orphans and widows are quintessential examples of those upon whom we should target our care giving ministries. The able bodied hobos that line our street corners should not be the first thought in our mind when we think about the poor. Surely we must prayerfully witness and (when led by the Spirit) give to these person in wise and discerning ways (i.e., buy them food, not give them money) but they are not the main focus. How much better to aid the struggling single mother or widow or disabled person. We must be on the lookout for these sort of people. They are in desperate need of our help. Without it they will likely turn to unwholesome means of sustenance which will drag them lower and further perpetuate the cycle of poverty in their children.
Physical inreach within our churches is a pressing need and necessary expression of our discipleship to Christ. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”(John 13:34-35 ESV).
Physical outreach beyond the fellowship of the church is also a fruit of discipleship. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,* you did it to me’”(Matthew 25:34-40 ESV).
Giving is as much about attitude as it is about action. “Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”
(2Corinthians 9:7 ESV). Note the intentionality implied by the phrase "made up his mind." Giving isn't something that finds us it is something in which we must actively engage ourselves.

Three practical suggestions:

Budget for giving. Set aside percentages of your income, food, time, etc. to give to specific areas of ministry. Remember that giving isn't just about money it's about meeting needs. Since giving is a mandate of Scripture its parameters are broad enough to include all believers rich and poor alike. Whether it's lending a helping hand, sharing canned goods, or writing a check, giving will require intentionality and planning (see #3 below).
Target your giving. Prayerfully seek to meet the physical needs in your local church, within your local community, and globally by the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Locally (within the church). Why not set aside a percentage of our monthly income to give to needy couples/individuals in our own congregations? If one answers, "I don't know who the needy members of the congregation are," my suggestion is twofold. First, in the longterm, you need to become more involved in the body life of your church. If you are involved (i.e., getting to know on a personal level) members of your church within the context of a small group needs will surface. Second, in the short term you can talk to your pastor. If your pastor is shepherding the flock he will know of people within the church's fellowship who could really use some help.
Locally (outside the church). See the note below "Globally."
Globally. A plethora of organizations are available that can meet the needs of others globally. However, as we must always be about fulfilling the Great Commission we must not indiscriminately give our money to just any organization that meets physical needs around the world. An organization to which I recommend giving is Compassion International. It is an explicitly Christian organization that affirms the core doctrines of the faith and seeks to fulfill the Great Commission (to read their mission statement and statement of faith click here). In addition to their own testimony, Compassion has been consistently endorsed by many notable evangelical voices as a faithful and efficient hunger and educational relief arm to underprivileged, third world children. The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention will also sponsor hunger and disaster relief funds that missionaries draw from around the world. For more information click here. The main point I am trying to make is that we should give to organizations that truly meet physical needs but that do so with an eye toward faithfully advancing the Gospel.
Note: While the last point is important, I do not want to reduce relief of the poor outside of the church to a $25 a month check in the mail. We need to be engaging our neighborhoods and communities with the Gospel and meeting practical everyday needs of the poor within those circles too. Admittedly this has always been my weakest area of involvement. I must further qualify this last statement by saying that all of these areas are weak in my life; so take "weakest" to be relative to the weakness of the other two (i.e., inreach and outreach-global).

Be joyful, regular, and intentional about your giving. Set goals for giving whatever it is you've set aside to give (i.e., personal time, food, money, etc.). The mandate to give is perpetual and must be a staple of our daily, weekly, monthly activities. If we fail to discipline ourselves in this activity, we won't do it for any sustained length of time.

In sum, "contribut[ing] cheerfully and regularly to ... the relief of the poor" is a clear mandate of Scripture. It is part of our Great Commission calling to make disciples and extend the kingdom of God to all nations. As such it isn't something with which we should wrestle in terms of "should I or shouldn't I?" While the specifics will necessarily change with the circumstance in which we find ourselves, giving is one of many disciple activities that should characterize our lifestyles as believers. I covet your prayers as I seek to live out this calling in my own life. Please be assured that you have mine.

In Christ,

Jonathan

P.S.--Please note that this post on "giving to the poor" was written with the assumption that one is already giving his/her tithe to their local church. Supporting this presupposition goes beyond my purposes here. If you have questions about tithing, please let me know and I will be happy to discuss that at a later time.

Acknowledgments: Wes Mills led our discussion on church covenants and many of the things written in this blog were precipitated by the discussion he facilitated. Ben Arbour actually raised the particular focus question for this post and had intriguing thoughts as well. I welcome any additional thoughts or comments you may have about this subject.

London Debriefed

2008-07-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

Here are a few highlights from our trip to London for those of you I haven't talked to already:

Day 1 (TUE)--We flew out of DFW that morning and arrived in Chicago where we had a 5 hour layover before our flight to London. Highlight: I finally finished reading book 7 of the Harry Potter series at the airport (awesome conclusion). We had an 8 hour flight to London and arrived there around 9am on Wednesday morning.
Day 2 (WED)--Checked-in to our hotel, toured West Minster Abby, took pictures of famous buildings (e.g., Buckingham Palace, Big Ben/Parliament, Trafalgar Square), and recovered from jet lag. Highlights: (1) We met up with Harry Katz (a member of the youth group at our church in New Orleans) for dinner at a great Italian restaurant near our hotel and walked through Hyde Park. While the first day was filled with many interesting and funs things, catching up with Harry was a big highlight. God is doing some great stuff in his life and it was encouraging to hear about it. (2) Later that night we went for a walk beside the Thames River and took night pictures of Parliament and the Tower Bridge.
Day 3 (THU)--We went to Wesley's Chapel and Bunhill Fields, the manuscripts room at the British Library, and toured the tour of London. Highlights: (1) The Tower of London is England's most famous prison and fortress. The tour guides are both funny and informative. If you are going to tour something in London that costs money, this is the tour I would recommend. (2) Bunhill Fields (Old English for "Bonehill Fields"). This old protestant graveyard is the final resting place for some of my heroes in the faith (i.e., John Bunyan, Isaac Watts, and John Owen). It was a big reminder that death is the end of all men (even those whom we tend to idealize).
Day 4 (FRI)--We visited the Tate Modern (Art) Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, and the British Museum. Afterward we went shopping at Covent Gardens where we ate some amazing cookies (Ben's Cookies). If you go to London you should track down Ben's cookies (very good). Highlight: Seeing the paintings of masters such as Seurat, Renior, Da Vinci, Monet, and Van Gogh was surreal (you might say it left a real "impression" on us :). If you visit London you should definitely take advantage of the museums (even if for no other reason than that they are free!).
Day 5 (SAT)--We headed home. Highlight: sleeping in our own bed.

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

Continuity: London is a fun place to visit since it's history is so closely connected to our own country's. The experience is heightened by the fact that you can actually communicate with shop owners and people on the street since you speak the same language (well almost; e.g., Karen ordered "Raaanch" dressing at Subway and it took the guy a little while to figure out what she meant...as the saying goes: you can take the girl out of Louisiana, but you can't take the Louisiana out of the girl :)
Cultural Diversity: London is a culturally diverse place. Everywhere we went we heard people speaking a different language (i.e., German, Russian, Italian, Spanish, etc.).
Free stuff: While most everything (esp. food) costs twice as much in London, there are lots of things you can do for free. As I mentioned above there are numerous museums that you can visit for free. You even get a free newspaper when you walk through the subway (aka the "tube"). When you are at a restaurant be sure and order tap water. The waiter may look at you like you're cheap but it's actually very good and...you guessed it...it's free.
Transportation: The tube is the best way to get around the city. We purchased a three day unlimited pass and felt like it was a bargain. The maps and signs are easy to decipher. Plus as an added bonus you get to hear a guy with a cool accent remind you to "Mind the Gap" every time you get on the train.
Weather: The days are much longer there than here in the states since England is so much farther North (sunrise was at 5am and sunset was at 9pm). The weather averaged around 70 degrees Fahrenheit (I still can't make the conversion to Celsius on the fly :). It rained a little for two days of the trip but it didn't stop us from seeing anything nor did we consider it a nuisance.
Funny Facts: Instead of "Yield" signs they have "Give Way" signs. Jalapeño peppers are called "chilies." Instead of "Caution" signs you have specialized "Mind the _____" signs. Karen needed a band-aid while we were there but we had trouble finding them until we found out they are called "cushioned plasters." Native food is not that great and in some cases just plain weird (one place is famous for its Cornish hens that are stuffed inside a pig's bladder...when in doubt just order Fish 'n Chips).

We feel blessed that God opened the way for us to go. I pray you have been able to get away this summer to recharge and reconnect. I find myself eager for school to begin. If you want to see additional pics, visit my facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=166000031

In Christ,

Jonathan

Going to the land of Coldplay

2008-07-13T20:52:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know K and I will be heading to London for a few days this next week. We have wanted to take a trip to the UK for a few years now and things lined up so that we could do that this summer. Please pray for us as we travel from DFW to Chicago to London (Heathrow) on Tuesday and Saturday of this week. We will be staying at a hotel near Buckingham Palace all three nights we are in London. Tentatively we are planning a day trip to Oxford on Friday to tour the city. Some of the spots we plan to visit while in London are: Westminster Abby, Parliament, the British Museum, the London Tower (and Tower Bridge), St. Patrick's Cathedral, Bunhill Fields (and Wesley's Chapel) and whatever else we can squeeze into the extra long days they enjoy over there during the summer (sunrise happens about 5am and sunset around 9:15pm).

London is 6 hours ahead of central standard time. If you need to reach us the best way will be by e-mailing my work account (jwatson@swbts.edu) (I will be able to use my phone for e-mail but voice calls will cost $0.99/minute...yikes!). For those of you wondering what the weather will be like: today's high was 74 degrees (Fahrenheit) and the low tonight is projected to be 55. We hope to publish lots of pictures on our Facebook pages when we return.

This past weekend we traveled to Little Rock to surprise my mother for her 70th birthday. Thanks to the work of my sister, niece, aunt, the graciousness of Bayou Meto Baptist Church, hard work of many others, and God's grace we were able to surprise her with a large group of people (87) who know and love my mom. She was blown away by the magnitude of the event and the love shown to her by those who came.

I praise the Lord for a godly mother who taught me His word and lived it out before my eyes. "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" (Prov 31:30). God grant us the grace live each day in the righteous fear of You, to love you with all of ourselves, and to look eagerly for the appearing of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

jonathan

Faith's Fruit

2008-07-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
(Matthew 19:16-22 ESV)

This past week the Spirit has been reminding me that the Christian life is a life of faith. The author of Hebrews tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please [God]" (Heb. 11:6). Not too long ago my pastor preached from Ecclesiastes 11 about faith's response in light of life's uncertainties. From verses 1-6 he demonstrated that faith results in bold and confident living and giving. At care group we looked at Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler. While he had "kept" the law from an early age (cf. Lk 18:21) he still lacked something. As we discussed Jesus' answer the truth became clear to me: the young man had kept the outward forms of the law but Jesus' demand that he sell all his possessions demonstrated the true lack of the young man, i.e., he lacked faith.

While the text does not come right out and make this point for us, I think it is clear when put alongside other passages of Scripture. Apart from faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). If the young man already had faith, this new demand that Christ made of him would have been met with a much different result. We know that Simon and Andrew "left their nets and followed him" and James and John left a family business large enough to have hired servants (Mk 1:16-20). Matthew was a tax collector and Paul was a man of great respect and power. Nonetheless, all of these men and many others left their former lives and trappings when called by their Master to follow him. In short, faith looks like obedience.

Jesus' demand to "sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me" was met by sorrow because the young man did not treasure Christ as much as he treasured his possessions. Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, "Only the believer is obedient, and only the obedient one believes." Would that God would grant the genuine kind of faith that responds in obedience and joy.

In Christ,

Jonathan

Tomorrow

2008-06-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

"Tomorrow is the devil's day, but today is God's. Satan cares not how spiritual your intentions may be, and how holy your resolutions, if only they are fixed for tomorrow."--J. C. Ryle (Thoughts for Young Men; 9)

Procrastination is an old friend. He and I have hung out on many occaisions and waxed eloquent late into the evening about what the next day would bring. "Tomorrow will be amazing. I will be disciplined in the word and in prayer. I will lead my wife by spiritual example. I will accomplish great things at work. etc." Nonetheless, at the end of those conversations I am so tired the only thing I want to do is go to bed. Inevitably the next day dawns, its activities flurry, and before I know it I am back at home sitting on the couch with my old friend procrastination. He is always faithful to tell me that it isn't my fault that I didn't accomplish those things we talked about the night before. Indeed the day was just "hectic," "abnormally busy," and "beyond my control." In one sense he is right; nothing is ultimately in my control. In another sense, however, I have allowed him to excuse my sinful apathy. I have the command of my Lord to take up my cross and follow him and that each day I am to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Failing to act upon these words of truth is inexcusable, no matter how busy the day may have been.

I must not allow procrastination to ease my conscience and the conviction of the Holy Spirit by tricking me into thinking intentions are equal to acts. Motives are extremely important as the Sermon on the Mount teaches us. However, we must remember James' exhortation to be doers of the word and not hearers only (Jm 1:22-25).

When it is all said and done, our life is like a vapor: it comes and goes very quickly (Jm 4:14; cf. Isa 40:6-8). Thus, we must live each day by the grace and providence of God and must not presume that tomorrow will even come (Jm 4:13-17). However, even if death should not overtake us this day, we must not forget that our Lord and Savior has declared that He is coming soon (Rev 22:7,12,20). If we are to pray along with John "Come, Lord Jesus!" we cannot allow ourselves to think in terms of what will be done tomorrow. As J.C. Ryle so aptly puts it, "today is God's [day]."

I pray that I will neglect the late night chats with procrastination about what great things tomorrow holds and humbly act upon the revealed will of God for my life today. Even if the acts of today are not as grand as the ones I can dream up about tomorrow, ultimately it is only the actions of the moment that count.

Let us seek first the kingdom of God today (now) and let tomorrow's activities take care of themselves. If we fail to do this we will lose both today and tomorrow. For today will be lost thinking about tomorrow and tomorrow, when it becomes today, will be lost thinking about its own tomorrow. Indeed, it is as Ryle suggests, "Satan cares not how spiritual your intentions may be, and how holy your resolutions, if only they are fixed for tomorrow." Let us set our eyes upon our Savior and set ourselves about doing His will...today.

jw