Christ, His work, and His word

Not WWJD?, but WHJD?

In this interview with Christianity Today, Michael Horton explains that the more important question is “What has Jesus done?”

Also in the interview:

• How many Americans subconsciously embrace more Hindu tenants than Christian ones.
• The difference between instructions and good news.
• A criticism of the line from Francis of Assisi, “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.”
• The problem of individualism in American Christianity, and how the gospel creates community.

Here’s the link again: Christ at the Center

Why We Come Together

Ever wondered why we Christians come together each week? Go listen to a very encouraging message by Gary Hendrix on the subject. It is well worth the 50-some minutes that it takes to listen.

Here’s the link: Our Ministry to One Another in Music

Here’s his answer: Not just to worship God, but also to minister to one another. He even makes a compelling argument that the New Testament seems to place more emphasis on coming together to teach and strengthen one another than on worshiping God.

Reflection on NC Baptist Pastors' Conference

Last week was the Annual Session for the Baptist State Convention of NC. The Pastors’ Conference this year included speakers Alex McFarland, Jonathan Falwell, Phil Ortego, Ed Litton, Bryan Loritts, and Alistair Begg. Here’s my brief reflection of the Pastors’ Conference.

I am so thankful for the men who preached at our annual pastors’ conference. I praise God for men like these, who are striving to please the Lord. As a young pastor, I came to the pastors’ conference to learn and to be refreshed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Two messages in particular stood out to me as Gospel-centered and Christ-focused – the ones by Bryan Loritts and Alistair Begg. They didn’t assume the Gospel; they explained it. Jesus wasn’t tacked onto the end of moral challenges; He was woven throughout as our hope, salvation and sustaining grace. Overall, I left the pastors’ conference hopeful for North Carolina Baptists and excited to hear more messages that preach Christ as the main point of every text, the fulfillment of every promise of God and the all-sufficient Savior of all who trust Him. Perhaps the Gospel was assumed in some messages because the audience was made up of pastors. It could be argued, though, that we as pastors need more than anyone else to hear that Jesus died for sinners, of whom we are the greatest. Thank God His grace is greater.

You can read a couple other reflections on the conference here.

The Dad I Want To Be

I don’t want to be the dad who yells. I don’t want to be the dad who is intimidating. I don’t want to be the dad who doesn’t hug or kiss his kids. I don’t want to be the dad who is never there. I don’t want to be the dad who gets mad because his little child disturbs him while he’s reading.

God has given me grace to avoid most of those things most of the time. I’m not close to being the perfect dad. But I want to be the dad who rejoices over his children.

So even when the kids have been unbelievably challenging, when I lay them down to sleep, I rejoice over them with gladness. I kiss him. I lean down close to that little ear and whisper, “You are my beloved son. I am well pleased with you.” I kiss her and lean close to whisper, “You are my precious daughter. I am well pleased with you.”

And here’s the kicker for me. Here’s what blows my mind for those of us who have been adopted by God in Christ. If I being evil know how to rejoice over my children with gladness, how much more will our heavenly Father rejoice over his children with gladness. How much more lovingly will he lean down and whisper, “Because of Christ, you are my beloved son. Because of him, I am well pleased with you.”

The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

Why Some* Christians Don't Adopt

Here’s why: It is difficult.

If you think it’s difficult…

• filling out all the paperwork
• talking to your family and friends about why you’re adopting
• coming up with the cash for the adoption fees
• waiting, hoping, and praying for a child
• waiting for 7 days to see if the birth-parents are going to change their minds (for domestic adoptions in our state)
• answering questions from strangers about your child
• making sure you send pictures and letters to the birth-parents
• answering questions from your child about adoption
• answering questions from your child about his birth-parents

…it is.

Adoption is difficult. There are more reasons why adoption is difficult. But here’s one of the payoffs: it’s worth it. It’s worth it to look into my son’s eyes and my whole being rejoices, “My son!” It’s worth it to look into my daughter’s eyes and and think, “My precious baby girl!”

And since when did we Christians think we were called by Christ to do only things that are easy? I’m not above this. I choose the easy path way too often.

But let us have this mind among us which is ours in Christ Jesus, who took the difficult road that we might be adopted into God’s family. He didn’t seek the path of least resistance. No, he carried a cross (and stumbled) down a path to a hill called Golgotha. He took the path that led to nails piercing through skin, muscles, tendons, and bones. He took the difficult way so that we who trust him could become his brothers and sisters and sons and daughters of God. The Father adopted us at the great cost of his son’s life.

Don’t let the difficulties of adoption keep you from adopting. Don’t adopt because it’s easy. It’s not. Adopt because it’s worth it.

*I’m not saying this is the only reason Christians wouldn’t adopt. I’m not saying there aren’t some good reasons for Christians not adopting. I just want to point out one big reason I think some Christians don’t adopt.

What is Success in the Church?

Here’s the answer the Hughes’ give in their book, “Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome.”

“…This is our testimony: we found success in a small church that was not growing. We found success in the midst of what the world would call failure.”

“We had… come to see the basic plan for biblical success. To the best of our ability we were striving:”

1. To be faithful (obedient to God’s Word and hardworking)

2. To serve God and others

3. To love God

4. To believe he is (to believe what we believe)

5. To pray

6. To pursue holiness

7. To develop a positive attitude”

“This was our liberating and, may we humbly say, our success.”

Praying When You Don't Feel Like It

Do you ever feel like you’re not making any headway in prayer? That God doesn’t hear you or that nothing happens? That’s why we say that prayer is a discipline. It takes training, commitment, and consistency. And we wouldn’t say that it makes any less of our relationships that we work at them or are committed to them would we? Of course not. Read this illustration from Sidlow Baxter and see if you can’t relate:

“As never before, my will and I stood face to face. I ask my will the straight question, “Will, are you ready for an hour of prayer?” Will answered, “Here I am, and I’m quite ready, if you are.” So Will and I linked arms and turned to go for our time of prayer. At once all the emotions began pulling the other way and protesting, “We’re not coming.” I saw Will stagger just a bit, so I asked, “Can you stick it out, Will?” and Will replied, “Yes, if you can.” So Will went, and we got down to prayer, dragging those wriggling, obstreperous emotions with us. It was a struggle all the way through. At one point, when Will and I were in the middle of an earnest intercession, I suddenly found one of those traitorous emotions had snared my imagination and had run off to the golf course; and it was all I could do to drag the wicked rascal back….”

“At the end of that hour, if you had asked me, “Have you had a ‘good time’?” I would have had to reply, “No, it has been a wearying wrestle with contrary emotions and a truant imagination from beginning to end.” What is more, that battle with the emotions continued for between two and three weeks, and if you had asked me at the end of that period, “Have you had a ‘good time’ in your daily praying?” I would have had to confess, “No, at times it has seemed as though the heavens were brass, and God too distant to hear, and the Lord Jesus strangely aloof, and prayer accomplishing nothing.”“

“Yet something was happening. For one thing, Will and I really taught the emotions that we were completely independent of them. Also, one morning, about two weeks after the contest began, just when Will and I were going for another time of prayer, I overheard one of the emotions whisper to the other, “Com on, you guys, it’s no use wasting any more time resisting: they’ll go just the same.” That morning, for the first time, even though the emotions were still suddenly uncooperative, they were at least quiescent, which allowed Will and me to get on with prayer undistractedly.”

“Then, another couple of weeks later, what do you think happened? During one of our prayer times, when Will and I were no more thinking of the emotions than of the man in the moon, one of the most vigorous of the emotions unexpectedly sprang up and shouted, “Hallelujah!” at which all the other emotions exclaimed, “Amen!” And for the first time the whole of my being… was united in one coordinated prayer-operation. All at once, God was real, heaven was open, the Lord Jesus was luminously present, the Holy Spirit was indeed moving through my longings, and prayer was surprisingly vital. Moreover, in that instant there came a sudden realization that heaven had been watching and listening all the way through those days of struggle against chilling moods and mutinous emotions; also that I had been undergoing necessary tutoring by my heavenly Teacher.”

(Quoted in “Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome” by Kent and Barbara Hughes)

Problems Some People Wish They Had

Inspired by the twitter tag #firstworldproblems, Jared Wilson posted some inconveniences that we see as problems, but people in third world countries would never think of. Here are a few of his:

• So hungry but “nothing sounds good.”
• The water coming out of the faucet “tastes funny.”
• It’s hard to get up for church because the bed feels so good.

And here are some I thought of… problems people in third world countries wish they had:

• I can’t get rid of that ugly crabgrass in my yard.
• It takes like 2 whole minutes for the shower water to get warm.
• Being bored because LOST is another rerun.
• Facebook is taking soooooooo long to load.

What do you have to add?

Martin Luther Arguing with the Devil

“…[W]hen the devil tells us we are sinners and therefore damned, we may answer, “Because you say I am a sinner, I will be righteous and saved.” Then the devil will say, “No, you will be damned.” And I will reply, “No, for I fly to Christ who has given himself for my sins. Therefore, Satan, you will not prevail against me when you try to terrify me by telling me how great my sins are and try to reduce me to heaviness, distrust, despair, hatred, contempt, and blashphemy. On the contrary, when you say I am a sinner, you give me armor and weapons against yourself, so that I can cut your throat with your own sword and tread you under my feet, for Christ died for sinners. Moreover, you yourself preach God’s glory to me, for you remind me of God’s fatherly love toward me, that ‘he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16). And whenever you object that I am a sinner, you remind me of the benefit of Christ my Redeemer. It is on his shoulders, not mine, that all my sins lie, for ‘the Lord has laid on him the iniquities of us all… for the transgression of my people he was stricken’ (Isaiah 53:6, 8). So when you say I am a sinner, you do not terrify me but comfort me immeasurably.”“

-Martin Luther in his commentary on Galatians.