Practicing God's Promises

Just a quick word from God's Word. Today I came across 2 Peter 1:4 as I was spending some time in the the Scriptures:

2 Peter 1:1-4 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Peter begins his letter with an exhortation for God's people to enjoy and savor the 'precious and magnificent promises' that are ours from God in Jesus Christ by the power of the Spirit. I was struck by how much the writers of Scripture revel in God's promises. They gloried in the promises recieved and presently at work in their lives. They eagerly hoped in the promises to come, "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised" (Hebrews 10:36). Consider as well that Peter sees our view and enjoyment, perhaps we may even say our practice of God's promises as a source of sanctification and a means to holiness.

I suppose there are several ways that this is true- but I'll just talk about one way that God's promises are a source and means of holiness and sanctification. Coupled with the blessing of deep and abiding joy, the promises of God as instruments of obedience and purification blessed my heart and mind yesterday.

Life in a fallen world is full of struggle. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but we live in an age that denies the patent reality of sin and falleness while desperately seeks to avoid or pass off the struggle. Life is hard, then you die. There is a great deal of truth to this sentence. And it is sheer silliness as a Christian to put on a big vapid grin and pretend the hardness of life and the fight for joy isn't necessary if you're saved (pronounced with a deep southern fried accent: say-ivduh). If anything, believers will face MORE struggle. Our fight will be more treacherous. We are strangers and aliens. "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (1 Tim 3:12). Those who are IN the world but not OF it have real and awful struggles in this life.

In my own life and in my ministry as a shepherd when I face these struggles and hardships I tend to paw and scratch feverishly about for some way to alleviate the pain and remove the struggle. In providing pastoral counsel I rack my mind for ways to minimize the struggle in a couple's marriage, or the minimize the pain of the alienation between a teenager and a father, or get the wife who lost her husband to keep her chin up. We do this through positive thinking: just watch a Joel Osteen broadcast; denial: it'll go away if you just close your eyes, ears, and mouth, or through human endeavor: I'll fix it! I work my way out! I'll make a list and attack the issues one by one! Most of the time we make a creative fusion of all three. In each case we miss out on enjoying the source for hope and joy and an instrument of holiness and growth.

Positive thinking and human endeavor, even denial in a strange way, is making much of yourself as a solution to your problems. It is exalting your mind and your words as a means of victory. It is exalting your power and your acheivements as a way to beat sin and struggle. No matter how great your words are- life is hard, then you die. No matter how hard you work- life is hard and then you die. No matter how much you deny and avoid it- life is hard, then you die.

In considering the promises of God that are ours through Christ and to be enjoyed in the world to come we make much of God and from such a perspective we minimize ourselves. As he increases, we decrease- and our problems and struggles are put into proper perspective.

Do you struggle with ongoing and ever present sin? Consider the promises of God - you have become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21); you have been given the sanctifying work of the Spirit (1 Pet 1:2); greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). Fight sin with the promises of God and their reality in your heart!

This can, indeed MUST be done in every arena of our life. In every circumstance, in every problem, in every conflict, we must sink our roots deep down in the promises of God. Let his Word, His promise, and the fulfillment of them (whether present or future) be fuel for joy, for relief, for endurance in our lives.

Yesterday, as I obsessed over a complex of issues that I faced for that day- the Lord said to me, "Son! LOOK AT MY WORD!" As I looked at Peter's letter I decided to drink deep the fountain of God's promises that poured out, and not go away thirsty hoping the world, the flesh, or the devil might offer me a cup.

All those problems are not solved. I have not found complete resolution in each conflict. I did not go through the day with a pristine attitude and total victory over all my sin. But, throughout the day God's promises energized me to take hope in the goodness and greatness of God. His promises were fuel for my weak heart when it tended toward despair or depression. It propelled me to holiness when my flesh enticed me to go down its path.

God has given precious and magnificent promises! As I dwell on his goodness and greatness my problems didn't go away- they were just put in their proper place.

Peter tells us in God's Word:
"we have received faith by the rigteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ"
"grace and peace are multiplied to us in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord"
"his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him"
"we have been called by His glory and excellence"
"he has granted us His preciaous and magnificent promises"
"by these promises we become partakers of the divine nature"
"by them we have escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust"
And, further down in 1:10-11 we find this great promise: Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

So, life is hard and then you die. By the promises of God we can look this reality in the face and say, "God is good and great and his promises are precious and magnificent!" I hope that these truths from God's Word might be fuel for joy and obedience in your life today by God's grace.

Leprosy, Doeg the Edomite, and an Unjust Manager.

What is a disease you might really want to steer clear of, a terrible name for your next child, and the dude you worked for at McDonalds your sophomore year of high school?

If you are doing a 'thru the bible' reading plan, you might be wading through Leviticus right now. Today I read Leviticus 14, which bears the scintillating title: "Laws for Cleansing Lepers" in the ESV. [By the way, I picked up a pretty cool ESV journaling bible-
http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Bible-Standard-Journaling-Original/dp/158134838X
It has nice wide margins for notes, with a bible reading plan in the back.]

Leviticus 14 is one of those chapters in the Bible that, upon first read, makes most of us scratch our head (in bewilderment, hopefully not because of a nasty leprous scalp condition) and inquire of God as to what He was thinking in giving such laws and requirements. And not only this, He then inspired Moses by the Spirit to put them down in Scripture to confound modern enlightened folk such as you and me. I took a peek at tomorrow, where it only gets better: "Laws about Bodily Discharge". File under , "Sermons Never Preached at Willow Creek Community Church".

We must ask, however cautiously and reverently, 'What is the deal, Lord?'

Let me just throw out some thoughts, blog out my ruminations, and lead you into some deeper thoughts about a hard, dare I say, weird passage such as Leviticus 14 (and 15). First, I'll give you a handful of verses from this rather intriquing passage,

14:1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "These are the regulations for the diseased person at the time of his ceremonial cleansing, when he is brought to the priest: 3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine him. If the person has been healed of his infectious skin disease, 4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. 5 Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. 6 He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the infectious disease and pronounce him clean. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields.

This passage is dealing with sin and its consequences. It deals with our sin, our uncleanness. Yet, it also deals with the means by which God graciously provides atonement (at-one-ment, covering of sin for the sake of communion and fellowship). If we are going to talk about grace and mercy, we must first talk about the need for grace and mercy (whether it is grace in the form of answered prayer, grace in the form of a healed affliction, grace in the form of a ritual sacrifice pointing to the atoning work of Christ, or grace, the ultimate grace, in the atoning work of Christ). Because of our sin, we are dependent, utterly dependent, upon God's grace to provide atonement.

Now, you might ask, is a disease like leprosy the consequence of sin? Yes. Of course. Was there leprosy in the garden before the fall? Is leprosy a disease that kills, especially in the Ancient Near Eastern world? Yes. Aren't the wages of sin death? Yes. This is a passage that addresses, very acutely, the reality that we are, in our sin, unclean. Of course, I do not mean to say that all evils, such as disease, afflictions, various crises and disasters are necessarily a direct consequence of our own sin. Jesus addressed this over in John 9 when his disciples asked why a certain man was born blind. Jesus says the man was born blind to bring glory to God (specifically through the healing power of Jesus giving him sight), not as any immediate consequence of his own sin or the sin of his parents.

But, Jesus is not speaking absolutely about all disease, afflictions, and evils. There are many examples where we may say that diseases or afflictions are the direct consequence, or wage, of our own or another's sin (the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers; a baby born with fetal alchohol syndrome; the ravages of drug addiction). However much we love to go the way of our culture and avoid dealing with our sin and its consequences by removing any and all personal culpability and responsibility for our choices and our actions, we cannot escape the reality of our lives and our predicament. We are sinners and we need atonement. We are unclean, dying, sick, aging, weak; for some the leprosy is painfully evident upon the skin, but for all of us it is deep down in the heart. God has displayed our sin to us, and he has displayed his righteousness to us in his law. But, he has also, in his law, displayed his mercy, his atoning, forgiving power that is in a shadowy way held forth in the sacrifice of a bird (or a ram, or a goat) to cover sin, and the release of another bird (or goat- cf. Lev. 14:7 and 16:6-10) to point to deliverance and freedom through a substitutionary sacrifice.

And so, we read a hard, or at least culturally dissonant, passage like Leviticus 14 and 15 and are able to see how it points us to our own sin, our own need, and the gracious means for atonement that God provided in the Law to point to the mediating work of Christ. We stand this side of the cross, and we read the Law and see it as, "a shadow of the good things that are coming-- not the realities themselves" (Heb. 10:1), the reality being the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

What does Doeg the Edomite and the Unjust Manager have to do with all this? Like I said above, I was reading Leviticus 14 in the context of my daily reading plan. On the same day we read of the 'Laws for Cleansing Lepers' we read as well from Psalm 52. The introductory 'superscription' for this psalm gives us this historical context, "To the choirmaster. A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, "David has come to the house of Ahimelech". You can read more about this scene over in 1 Samuel 21 and 22. In a nutshell, Saul is still King of Israel, and David is fleeing from Saul's designs to kill him. David comes to a place called Nob, where we find a company of priests in the house of Ahimelech. Ahimelech gives safe haven to David, due mostly to David's falsification of the reason for his visit. David and his men are given provisions from the table of consecrated bread. 2 Samuel 21 tells us that the chief of Saul's herdsmen, named Doeg, from Edom, is in the wings and later reports to Saul that David found refuge from the house of Ahimelech. By Saul's command, Doeg the Edomite kills Ahimelech and 84 other priests who served the Lord at Nob. Doeg then proceeded to 'put the city to the sword, woman, child,infant, ox, donkey, and sheep'. Doeg, and indeed Saul, were bloodthirsty and cruel men, chasing with great hate and wrath the future king of Israel, wantonly killing all who stand in their way.

With this historical context, we read Psalm 52: 6-9:
The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying, 7 "Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!"8 But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. 9 I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

What I love about reading through the bible with an Old Testament passage from the Law, the Historical books, or the propthets, along with a chapter from the Psalms, and then a chapter from the New Testament is that we are able to catch glimpses of what Paul called 'the whole counsel of God' over in Acts 20:27. In Leviticus we find the promise of healing and atonement through the mediation of the priest, the substitute of the sacrifice, the portrait of redemption in the rituals of cleanness. We find that we are sinners and God has made a way for sinners to be cleansed and redeemed. In Psalm 52 we find that in the face of bloodthirsty men, in an age of sin and destruction, God will provide refuge and vindication for those who hope in Him and not in themselves.

Over in Luke 16, the New Testament passage for the day, we are told the parable of the Unjust Manager by Jesus. The story is told and then Jesus gives us this summary sentence, "No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money" (Luke 16:13). In the next passage we find further context for this story, "The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves befor men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (vv. 14-15).

Don't trust in your bodies. Don't trust in your power and the strength of the sword. Don't trust in your riches. Don't trust in that which is exalted in this world. Trust only in God and lean only on his grace and mercy. Whether you're a leper, a fleeing king, a powerhungry tyrant, a priest under the sword of a wicked man, an unjust manager, or a money loving pharisee, there is only one way for you to be saved. There is only one refuge for your soul, and it is God's grace and the work of Christ on the cross.

That is the story of redemption, it is the 'whole counsel of God' from Leviticus to Psalms to Luke. From Genesis chapter one to Revelation chapter twenty two.

The Beauty of Obedience

Scripture says, "Obey [your leaders] that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you... " (Hebrews 13:17) The exhortation for the members of the local church to be supportive and obedient to the leadership indicates that this might be a problem for us sinners. I know this is the case for me. I often chafe against the godly rule of duly ordained men over my soul. I want to be the master of my own destiny, which, roughly translated, means 'get off my back'. And the shepherds of the flock should be soul watchers, not back riders. Nonetheless, the principle is true in my life, and I confess it: I am a rebel, I want my way, and not yours, or God's (though I'll spend a good deal of time trying to convince you, through some exegetical acrobatics, that my way is in fact God's way).

So we find this call to obey. And not just obey, but to obey in such a way that brings joy to the master!

You remember it well: the stiff necked, clenched fist of stubborn-but-just-barely -yielding obedience. A 16 year old needs the car on a friday night but must ride his bike so mom can go to coffee with friends. Yes, there will be obedience. But it will cost the mistress her joy. The mother's fellowship that evening will be tarnished by a steely glare as she walks to the door. The evening will be long and painful for unsuspecting siblings who are the objects of adolescent wrath. There will be the stern words of the father and further restrictions for continued contempt exhibited in countless ways and in countless rooms throughout the household. There will be teenage dreams of life in some other house where teenagers have unlimited access to cars and the parents are libertarians, not tyrants.

Could we rewrite the memory? It would perhaps take another turn. In the quiet room (or as quiet as a teenage room can possibly be) there is a pang of love. There is a wince at words that can't be retrieved. There is the whisper of God's hidden word in the chambers of the heart. There is a bike ride in the evening to the grocery store. There is precious money spent. There are words carefully chosen. There is a flower and a card on the counter for mother as she returns.

This rewritten history: stubborn obedience leading, by grace, to repentance, forgiveness, and joy.

But could we go further back? Could we rewrite the memory where our story began? It would be willful deference. It would be happy concession. It would be a quickly submitted spirit. There would be no sour faces, no venomous words, no heavy hearted mothers, no angry and indignant fathers, no slighted or maligned siblings.

These things, sadly, can't be rewritten. So let today not be filled with disobedience and hardness of heart, surely to be regretted tomorrow. Today will be full of obedience and holiness, which the bible says, brings joy. And is only done by a supernatural work. Thankfully, supernatural work is what our Father does best.

Some Thoughts on Comfort and the Heidelberg Catechism

I do not like pain. I have never had a stitch, never a broken bone, and my only extended stay in a hospital was after little Esther’s birth. From what I gather all the above are usually quite painful or the result of some sort of painful experience (I will say Esther’s arrival came after seven hours of labor and some screaming and yelling- though I was only a queasy onlooker, I did most of the screaming and yelling). Some go through life with the inspiring yet nauseating, ‘No Pain, No Gain’ motto oft uttered from their lips. I, on the other hand, offer a more reasoned and sensible motto: “No pain…well, no pain”.

Besides pain, I also try to steer clear of discomfort. I like to be comfortable, and I feel that comfort suits me quite well. This is one reason I often avoid camping trips like the plague. Sure, I’ll go if you pay me, because it is the right thing to do as a good American. But if you have the pleasure of my company on a campout, you can be assured that I will remind you of my discomfort with regularity. I feel that mosquitoes and other creeping and crawling things are my enemies, and tents are often smelly habitations that I can neither assemble nor sleep in with any sort of success. Tori and I were able to spend part of our honeymoon at Yosemite National Park in Northern California. While others were hiking and camping, we enjoyed the sights and the beauty of God’s creation while eating ice cream cones from the quaint café in the middle of the park. Another motto of mine goes like this: “Why camp when you can get a room with cable and a hot shower?” I have yet to find a reasonable answer to this question.

As one who is not a fan of pain, and seeks to avoid discomfort, I am intrigued by the first question put forth in the Heidelberg Catechism, “What is your only comfort in life and death?”. Before I tell you the answer to this question, let me tell you a bit about the Heidelberg Catechism itself. The word ‘catechism’ comes from the Greek word meaning ‘to teach by word of mouth; to teach the sayings of another by way of repetition’. Throughout the history of the Church catechisms written in a question/answer format have been used as tools for communicating the doctrines and truths of Scripture to new converts and children in a systematic and straightforward manner. Two young theologians in Heidelberg, Germany penned the Heidelberg Catechism at the height of the Reformation in 1562. The chief author was a man named Zacharias Ursinus, a professor of theology at the University of Heidelberg. The other contributor was Caspar Olevanius, court preacher of one of Germany’s princes, Frederick III. Though only 28 and 26 years old, respectively, these men penned a document, which has become one of the shining stars of the Reformation. Most of the traditional Reformed Churches in America have adopted this catechism and still use it to teach children in the church (some of you from a Dutch reformed background may remember long hours of catechism class from your childhood). Clearly articulating the truths of the Reformed faith, the Heidelberg Catechism seeks to deal not only with the rational and cognitive aspects of Christian doctrine, but the affective, or emotional and experiential, aspects as well. This more ‘holistic’ attempt in the Catechism is conveyed in the question and answer with which it begins.

The question, “What is your only comfort in life and death?” is an interesting one. It gets right to the heart of things. Sometimes, in fact often times, the Christian life can be difficult and filled with trials. As Christians we need to be reminded constantly of our true source of comfort. During our time together on Sunday mornings we have been looking at a letter from the Apostle Paul while imprisoned in Rome. We can be sure that his imprisonment caused him no little discomfort. But, rather than seeking an escape from his pain and discomfort, which is the natural (or carnal) reaction, Paul realized that his discomfort served as a sort of tutor, leading him to a better understanding of the sufferings of Christ on his behalf. Paul also realized his discomfort became the vehicle that God used to advance the Good News about Jesus Christ. Throughout his ministry the Apostle Paul began to see that the purpose of his life was to bring glory to God. And this was achieved in his discomfort as well as his comfort. No matter what, Paul wanted the truth of Christ to be proclaimed in every circumstance. This is why he could say so boldly, “For me, to live is Christ…” (Phil. 1:21). With such an attitude, Paul could look at his imprisonment and impending martyrdom without fear. If his whole life were lived to glorify Christ and herald His truth, then eternity would be spent in the very presence of the King of Glory. And so he could finish the verse begun above, “…and to die is gain.”

As one who rarely seeks God’s glory in my discomfort, I stand under great conviction as we move through Philippians, which may be subtitled, ‘Paul’s letter of rejoicing in times of trial’. I need to hear Paul’s words to the church in Rome, “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Romans 14:7-8). I often live to myself, seeking carnal comforts and worldly substitutes for the Christian’s only real comfort in this life: Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. If we live for worldly comfort then we are unable to see God’s purpose and providential hand in our trial and pain. This leads us to the answer given by the Heidelberg Catechism to its first question, “What is your only comfort in life and death?”

Answer: That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own,
but belong to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ; who, with his precious
blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all
the power of the devil and so preserves me that without the will of
my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yes, that all
things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by His
Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me
sincerely willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him.

It is my prayer that we will affirm this sentiment written some 450 years ago by two German theologians, because it is rooted in truth written some 2000 years ago in Paul’s letter to Corinth, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” (2 Cor. 1:3-5).

A Jealous God? Some Thoughts on Remembering Our First Love

Our first four months of marriage got off to a rocky start. No, we weren’t questioning our vows or despairing over whether we did the right thing or not. We were married at the end of May and I was supposed to be accepted into the University of Florida in June for summer classes. A couple of weeks into marital bliss and I found out that, because of bureaucratic glitches and other things (like a couple of below average grades my freshman year in Community College- but I like to think it was just because of a faulty bureaucracy), I was not accepted into my college at the University of Florida. This meant that we would not be able to live in student housing. This meant we would not have a place to live. After speaking with the dean and putting on the old Braun charm- I wept and begged – she told me that I would be accepted on the condition that I take a summer humanities course at the community college and get an A. It so happened that this class was taught by an openly gay Marxist atheist who wasn’t fond of born again Republican youth pastors preparing for seminary. All this was par for the course during the summer of 1995. So we spent our first summer together wandering from one house-sitting job to another, working part-time jobs, with me in school every Wednesday night cowering in the back of the room praying for an A.

The class time that summer was spent mainly in attacking Christianity and Western Civilization. It was not uncommon for the students to show up on Wednesday nights armed with some new glitch they found in the Bible or some horrific crime perpetrated in God’s name some time in the past. As the token fundamentalist doofus, I was the main target each week and was expected to know the intricacies of Old Testament history and Levitical law at the drop of a hat, being the spokesman and representative of some 400 years of protestant biblical criticism, responsible for the actions of all those everywhere who bear the name of Christ.

On one occasion the debate turned to the Ten Commandments. One student asked me why God tells us in the tenth commandment that we should not covet, but in the second commandment He tells us that He is a jealous God. Rather than getting into the obvious difficulties and logical fallacies of this young man’s argument, I decided that I could use this question to relate a bit about what it means to be a Christian. His comment also caused me to examine the nature and character of God and why I am happy He is a jealous God. My response went something like this (at least this is the way it is replayed in my head):

“I was married just a month or so ago. On May 20th I made serious vows to this woman because I love her with a powerful and deeply intimate love, a love that involves commitment, integrity, and trust. Would you agree that I would be justified and right to feel angry and jealous if she came to me one evening and told me that she had met someone new and was forsaking our vows to each other? Some of you have been betrayed and hurt in relationships based on trust and integrity. Was your hurt- your jealousy- wrong? The bible tells us that from the beginning God has been calling a people to himself for a loving, personal, and intimate relationship. The bible describes the relationship between God and His people as a marriage relationship. But God’s people often wander from the one who created them for Himself and loved them with an unrivaled passion. They turn to petty and trivial delights which never satisfy and give no love in return. The fact is that God’s words in the tenth commandment are established in the second. When we covet our neighbor we are turning away from our God and his provision for us. But he is jealous- he won’t let us forsake him for long. He will seek us out and bring us back into a loving and personal relationship with Him. Ultimately, the coming of Jesus Christ to pay for sin and provide forgiveness flows out of the jealousy of God. He eagerly desires our love and our fellowship. He has renewed the vows, so to speak, in the work of Jesus Christ. This is why the New Testament calls the church a Bride and Jesus Christ the Bride-Groom. So, I am glad that my God is a jealous God.”

No one walked the aisle that evening, actually, no one seemed to buy my response. But my professor was intrigued by what I said. We had a long discussion about it after class, and I could tell that something of what I said rang true for him. From then on, we actually began to develop a sort of quasi-friendship (always tempered by his suspicions about my Christian commitments). I did get an A that summer and ultimately I was accepted to UF and we lived in married housing. But I began to think hard about my remarks that night. How often do I break the second and tenth commandments? How often do I turn from the loving relationship provided by my heavenly Father through His Son, worshipping the gods of self and materialism, coveting my neighbor and questioning God’s loving hand in my life? 1 John 4:10 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” In 4:19 we read, “We love because he first loved us.” God was so jealous for my affection that He sent His only Son to restore me as His bride, and reconcile our sin-fractured relationship.

If all this is true, then why do I not spend more time in adoration of my Bride-Groom? Why do I so often bring the idols of pride and self aggrandizement into worship with me? The relationship between a bride and her bride-groom is one of adoration, intimacy, and righteous jealousy. But so little of my worship is characterized by heart felt adoration for the God who bought me at such a price. My worship often is so shallow and skin deep, concerned more about my earthly needs than God’s heavenly demands. I rarely am jealous for more time with my Savior and my God. My time in worship is governed and prioritized mostly by the trivial urgencies of my own design rather than the eternal realities revealed in God’s Word.

And what is the remedy? In a word, repentance. This is the message of a jealous God to His adulterous bride in Revelation 2: 4-5, “You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” I recall that first summer Tori and I spent together. Our marriage became a word picture for me to relate the truth of the gospel to hostile unbelievers. As I often have to reflect upon my love vows to my wife in the mundane pace of daily life, so I also need to remember the zeal with which I have served my Savior in the past. Not because I am duty bound by legal obligation, but because I was saved from sin and made a son by my heavenly Father who is a jealous God.

Lessons from the 'School of the Pulpit': Prayer

I have mentioned before in my sermons that God works mightily in my life through the ‘school of the pulpit’. It seems that whatever we have before us in the text from week to week becomes a point of great conviction in my personal life. As I meditate upon the passage at hand, spending time in my study to prepare and work through my sermon, God is thumping away at my heart. One great Bible scholar, Bruce Metzger, said it best when asked what role intense study has in the preparation of sermons, “Apply yourself wholly to the text and apply the text wholly to yourself.” I have been grateful to God that he continues to soften my heart with personal application as I apply myself to the study of God’s Word from week to week.

This past week was a particularly intense one for me in the school of the pulpit. We took some time to jump from Philippians into the topic of prayer. I meant what I said about my trepidation in approaching such a theme in a sermon because prayer is one of my great failings. For every moment of sermon preparation I was convicted that I needed to spend more of my preparation upon my knees. For every hour of administrative business throughout the week I need to spend two in prayer. Not only am I too lazy to apply these principles, but I am faithless. My tendency towards ‘works righteousness’ leads me to a belief that prayer is ok, but it’s the duty- bound Pharisee in me that will make things happen. If only this recovering Pharisee would believe that the real ‘business’ and ‘duty’ of the believer who lives under grace is to fall upon his knees and surrender to the living God!

How can we become more disciplined and ardent pray-ers? Let me put some challenges before you that God has used in my own life to help me along the way.

“And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed.” Mark 1:35

Set aside time to retreat and pray. Trade mornings with your spouse to cover the hectic goings on and find a secluded place to pray. If you can get away one morning a month and enjoy fellowship and intimacy with your Father, it will refresh and revive your daily and weekly prayer life.

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

Find a prayer partner. Covenant with one another to hold each other accountable in your prayer lives. Look for someone who might mentor you in prayer. Seek out that righteous woman or man who will be able to pray effectively with you and for you. Be open with one another, confessing and laying your lives before them.


“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” John 15:7

Immerse yourself in the Word of God and in meditation upon the Word. The key to conforming your will to God’s is to ‘abide’ or ‘remain’ in His Word. Soren Kierkegaard said this: “A man prayed, and at first he thought that prayer was talking. But he became more and more quiet until in the end he realized that prayer was listening.” Spend a good portion of your prayer time listening to God as He speaks to you through His Word. Remember that the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). If we are reading, listening, meditating, and abiding in that Word, the Spirit will do His work “penetrating even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

“I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.” Psalm 104:33

Begin to integrate songs of praise and thanksgiving to God as you pray. This may seem awkward at first. You might not be Twila Paris, but your songs delight the ears of your heavenly Father. Go to the Christian bookstore and buy a songbook or hymnal and have it ready in your prayer time. Sometimes I think that bursting forth in song is the only appropriate response of a sinner saved by grace.

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2

Ask the Lord to make you a devoted and watchful pray-er. Don’t grow lethargic as the day progresses. When we are called to pray without ceasing we are called be ready to pray at a moment’s notice. Devotion to prayer is being open to the Spirit’s leading throughout the mundane activities of your day and responding in prayer. How often have I left a conversation with someone feeling that I have quenched the Spirit by not praying with them and for them? How often have I neglected prayer before going into a meeting or before calling someone on the phone? Is my heart a tender place where the Spirit may poke and prod throughout the day, leading me into prayer? The great prayer warriors aren’t those who can pray the longest, or use the most colorful and theologically precise language. A prayer warrior is one who is devoted to prayer, ever watchful, ready to go before the throne when necessary, whatever the situation.

Just some lessons and challenges from the ‘school of the pulpit’ that I thought I might pass on to the Four Oaks family. Let us heed the words of the Lord to Solomon in
2 Chronicles 7:14, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

More on the Beatitudes

My first message on the Beatitudes was an interesting study for me. As I studied to prepare an introduction to understanding and living the Beatitudes of Matt 5:1-10, I recognized a few important principles about Christ's teaching that reach into his whole sermon on the mount, and the Gospel itself. Let's look at the STANDARD and the MISSION Christ gives us in his sermon today, and we'll explore the other principles later.

First, we are given an impossible standard.

Consider the beatitudes for a second. Upon first reading, if you take inventory of the past few hours, days, and weeks you will find that your righteousness falls woefully short. Jesus echoes the Law when he establishes the God's requirements for holy living: Matthew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Consider this standard that Jesus establishes for his hearers:
Matthew 5:20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."
Now, when one discovers this holy standard he is faced with his sin, with his wretchedness in the face of Christ's purity and the awesome requirements of God's justice. At this discovery we then meet with the first beatitude, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit.' We are in desperate need of God's grace, the work of Christ, and the power of the Spirit to find any footing in God's kingdom. This is the heart of the gospel, which is a gospel not of human righteousness but of grace: Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Romans 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.


Second, we are given a radical mission.

What is the purpose of the sermon on the mount. Is it the key to better living? Is it a paradigm for leadership? Is it to give us the keys to getting along better with friends and family?
You can anticipate my response.
No.
The purpose of the beatitudes is the same as the purpose of Christ's teaching throughout the Gospels: to equip God's elect with a radical mission to glorify their heavenly Father in everything they say and do. And nothing glorifies God more than the spreading of the good news that Christ came to save sinners. Spreading the news of Christ's work on the cross to bring salvation to God's chosen people. And so Jesus' commission to his disciples is simple: Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

And what sort of life are we to live as believers in Christ with a radical mission? Well, we are to live as those engaged in a life and death struggle. A battle for the hearts and minds of our families, neighbors, friends, enemies, coworkers, bosses (everybody!). And here is the approach Christ gives us to our mission: Matthew 16:24-27 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.”

There you have it. Theres your mission and your mindset. If you are a follower of Christ, then you have reckoned with his words and I hope you have adjusted your life accordingly!