Christ, His work, and His word

Not WWJD?, but WHJD?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:37:14 -0500

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

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:30:00 -0500

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

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:59:25 -0500

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

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:34:00 -0500

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

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:24:46 -0400

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?

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:30:00 -0400

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

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:30:00 -0400

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

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:36:00 -0400

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

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:00:00 -0400

“…[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.

The ABBA Fund blog has posted a great quote on adoption and the gospel.

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0400

The ABBA Fund blog has posted a great quote on adoption and the gospel.

Here's the audio from the "God Exposed" conference at Southeastern Seminary

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:00:00 -0400

Here's the audio from the "God Exposed" conference at Southeastern Seminary

No Heart Too Hard

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:30:00 -0400

“We must never say of any one that he is too wicked, or too hardened, or too worldly to become a Christian. No sins are too many, or too bad, to be forgiven. No heart is too hard or too worldly to be changed. He who called Levi still lives, and is the same that He was 1800 years ago [or 2000]. With Christ nothing is impossible.”

-JC Ryle, commenting on Jesus calling Levi the tax collector in Luke 5:27-28 (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels)

The Mission Board's Problem

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:00:00 -0400

“Mission boards are hesitant to answer the question, “What is the Gospel?” Thoroughly to answer that would condemn what many of their own missionaries preach. It would destroy the mission society, which is a federation of churches who have differing answers to that question. To adopt the position of one church would be to lose the support of five others. The whole system built on unity and generality would crumble.”

-Walter Chantry in Today’s Gospel

Are you really humble or do you just act like it?

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:00:00 -0400

Are you really humble or do you just act like it?

Good Counsel on Calling

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:30:00 -0400

Here’s some good advice from Justin Nale on discerning a call from God.

“So, here are the two things we should look for in discerning whether or not we have been called to a particular ministry: 1) a desire in our own heart, and 2) the encouragement of wise, mature believers who love us. And by the way, it doesn’t always happen in that order. It might be that you haven’t even considered a ministry, and yet brothers and sisters in Christ come to you and mention to you that you seem particularly gifted for that ministry. Then, maybe all at one, or perhaps gradually, God gives you the desire to serve there. Sometimes you have the desire and then you need to look your brothers and sisters for affirmation; other times it may be they who realize that you will do well in a ministry before you have even felt an inkling in that direction.”

“Be careful about over-spiritualizing this. Don’t think of it as some mystical will that God has for you which you need to discover in your heart. Rather, trust the Lord, seek to obey Him, and then see where He appears to lead you both in your heart and with the godly counsel of others. This will help you find your proper place of service among God’s people.”

Read the rest of the sermon here: Paul’s Calling and Ours.

The Servant's Motto: I Am Third

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:30:00 -0400

My 10th grade Sunday School “shepherds” were Jeff and Sharon Maner. If any of us were absent from class, sick, or not doing well, Jeff and Sharon would check on us to make sure everything was okay.

One weekend our class took a beach trip. We were all having a good time. There were a few guys out swimming. Some others of us were on the shore. But as time passed, the guys who were swimming went out deeper and deeper. After a bit we could only see the tops of their heads. A few minutes later we couldn’t see them at all. That’s when Jeff, our class shepherd, decided it was time to act.

He was a cross-country runner in good shape, but he was still getting over a bout with mono. The story I heard from one of the young men later at the hospital was that Jeff had grasped onto his arm but then was pushed under by a wave. The three young men made it, but Jeff didn’t. In trying to save the young men, Jeff lost his own life. He was willing to give his life for the lives of these young men.

What makes this story even more compelling is what was on Jeff Maner’s specialized license plate. It read in all capital letters with no spaces, “IAMTHIRD.” God was first. Others were second. Jeff was third. This is the motto of the servant. This is the motto of one who places others before himself. This is the motto of those who follow Jesus Christ.

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mt. 20:25-28)

Share Your Thoughts on Adoption

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:15:00 -0400

There’s a conference on adoption coming up at the beginning of October called Together for Adoption. Go to the blog and share your thoughts on adoption for a chance to win an album from Sovereign Grace Music, Sons and Daughters.

Here’s what I wrote: When I see my child (who happens to be adopted) I smile, and my heart beats and my mind thinks, “My son!” What joy to feel this way over my son. And what joy to know our Father rejoices over us in this way because of Jesus Christ.

A Good Message from President Obama

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:56:00 -0400

I know there was some fuss about the speech President Obama made today. John Piper (Post 1, Post 2) and Albert Mohler both had some good thoughts on the controversy and the speech.

As Piper points out, “Given that he is not directing them to Christ, which would be the best counsel, his advice is a wonderful gift of common grace from God to the students of our land.”

I was genuinely inspired and impressed with President Obama’s message to the students. That’s exactly the advice and motivational speech we would want our children to hear.

Some of this is what I wish I’d have heard when I was in school. For instance, I was told I could be whatever I wanted to be. I wanted to be a pro basketball player (insert chuckles here). But the President says, “I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work - that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.”

Here’s a closing challenge from the President’s speech:

“I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I exprect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down - don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.”

So go read the speech yourself. Then go read it to your kids. Let’s be able to affirm the good we see our president do whether he’s a Democrat, Republican, or an Independent. Here are the Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama, Back to School Event.

What is Greatness?

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:30:00 -0400

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mt. 20:25-28)

When we play by the world’s definition of greatness:

We want people to know our names.
We want to use our power to fulfill our desires.
We want people to serve us.
We want people to recognize our faces.
We want to be first.
We want to be the most popular person in the room.

When we go by Jesus’ definition of greatness:

We learn the names of others.
We use our power to help others.
We serve others.
We recognize our neighbor as more important than ourselves.
We genuinely want others to be first.
We are unaware of whether we’re popular or not.

As We Forgive Others

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:00:00 -0400

The radio program, Issues Etc., has some good teaching on the Lord’s Prayer. Here’s the audio for each section:

Our Father Who Art in Heaven
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Thy Kingdom Come
Thy Will Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
Forgive Us Our Trespasses as We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us
Lead Us Not Into Temptation
But Deliver Us From Evil
The Lord’s Prayer Conclusion

The program on forgiveness was especially enlightening and devotional. Rev. Wil Weedon talks about praying for those who have wronged you. Usually, he says, we might pray that God would give us the strength or grace to forgive someone. Instead though, he says we should pray God’s favor upon them just like Jesus did for those who crucified Him: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34).

“Father, have mercy on him. God, please place your favor upon her.” Have you prayed like that for those who have sinned against you?