clear communication

As someone that travels the world I fully appreciate communication issues.

more love = more hate

Yes, the more you love the more you hate. John Murray explains in Redemption Accomplished and Applied.

If there is still sin to any degree in one who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, then there is tension, yes, contradiction, within the heart of that person.

Indeed, the more sanctified the person is, the more conformed he is to the image of his Saviour, 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 cautious will he be of the gravity of the sin which remains and the more poignant will be his detestation of it.

HT:JP

the death of death

Paul David Tripp in Forever: Why You Can't Live Without It:

The God of forever, who created people to live with him forever, set in motion a plan to deal with death, the one thing smack-dab in the way of forver. To the one who is the Author of life, death is unacceptable. For death to be alive and well is not all right. For every human being to face and fear death is not okay. Nor is it acceptable for the spiritual death of separation from God and the physical death that ends every person’e life to dominate the human story. This enemy of forever, this horrible intrusion, this painful interruption, must be defeated. Somehow death must be defeated. Death must die because it stands in the way of the forever we were created to enjoy. But there is nothing we can do about it. The story of the Bible is the story of God’s doing the one thing we don’t have the ability to do: kill death.

HT:OFI

right living

Psa 24.3-5

In Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster wrote, "The desperate need today is not for greater numbers of intelligent people or gifted people, but for deeper people."

To Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote, (1 Tim 4.6-8) "If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."

I like this from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: "Godliness, as denoting character and conduct determined by the principle of love or fear of God in the heart, is the summing up of genuine religion. There can be no true religion without it: only a dead “form” (2 Tim 3:5). The term is a favorite one in the Pastoral Epistles. The incarnation is “the mystery of godliness” (1 Tim 3:16)."

The discipline and outward change must flow from an inward recreation initiated by God Himself. When this is the sequence, godliness is differentiated from goodliness in no small way.

antipsalm

David Powlison sees that there are two ways of doing life. He writes:

From Jesus' point of view, there are two fundamentally different ways of doing life. One way, you're connected to a God who's involved in your life. Psalm 23 is all about this: "The Lord is my shepherd… and his goodness and mercy surely follow me all the days of my life." The other way, you're pretty much on your own and disconnected. Let's call this the antipsalm 23: "I'm on my own… and disappointment follows me all the days of my life." We'll look first at the antipsalm way of doing life.

Antipsalm 23

I’m on my own.

No one looks out for me or protects me.

I experience a continual sense of need. Nothing’s quite right.

I’m always restless. I’m easily frustrated and often disappointed.

It’s a jungle—I feel overwhelmed. It’s a desert—I’m thirsty.

My soul feels broken, twisted, and stuck. I can’t fix myself.

I stumble down some dark paths.

Still, I insist: I want to do what I want, when I want, how I want.

But life’s confusing. Why don’t things ever really work out?

I’m haunted by emptiness and futility—shadows of death.

I fear the big hurt and final loss.

Death is waiting for me at the end of every road,

but I’d rather not think about that.

I spend my life protecting myself. Bad things can happen.

I find no lasting comfort.

I’m alone . . . facing everything that could hurt me.

Are my friends really friends?

Other people use me for their own ends.

I can’t really trust anyone. No one has my back.

No one is really for me—except me.

And I’m so much all about ME, sometimes it’s sickening.

I belong to no one except myself.

My cup is never quite full enough. I’m left empty.

Disappointment follows me all the days of my life.

Will I just be obliterated into nothingness?

Will I be alone forever, homeless, free-falling into void?

Sartre said, “Hell is other people.”

I have to add, “Hell is also myself.”

It’s a living death,

and then I die.

The antipsalm tells what life feels like and looks like whenever God vanishes from sight. As we hear about Garrett and the others, each story lives too much inside the antipsalm. The "I'm-all-alone-in-the-universe" experience maps onto each one of them. The antipsalm captures the drivenness and pointlessness of life-purposes that are petty and self-defeating. It expresses the fears and silent despair that cannot find a voice because there's no one to really talk to. Our five friends are spinning out of control. They might implode. Something bad gets last say, when whatever you live for is not God.

And when you're caught up in the antipsalm, it doesn't help when you're labeled a "disorder," a "syndrome," or a "case." The problem is much more serious. The disorder is "my life." The syndrome is "I'm on my own." The case is "Who am I and what am I living for?," when too clearly I am the center of my story.

But the antipsalm doesn't need to tell the final story. It only becomes your reality when you construct your reality from a lie. In reality, someone else is the center of the story. Nobody can make Jesus go away. The I AM was, is and will be, whether or not people acknowledge.

When you awaken, when you see who Jesus actually is, everything changes. You see the person whose care and ability you can trust. You experience his care. You see the person whose glory you are meant to worship. You love him who loves you. The real Psalm 23 captures what life feels like and looks like when Jesus Christ puts his hand on your shoulder.

god is faithful

My dad sent me these Scripture references on God's faithfulness ...

Deuteronomy 4:31: “For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.”

Deuteronomy 7:9: “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.”

Deuteronomy 32:4: “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”

Numbers 23:19: “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”

1 Kings 8:20: “The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.”

1 Samuel 15:29: “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind."

1 Kings 8:56: “Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.”

Psalm 9:10: “Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”

Psalm 36:5: “Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.”

Psalm 40:10: “I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.”

Psalm 89:2, 8: “I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself... O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.”; (33) “but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.”

Psalm 92:1-2: “It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,”

Psalm 105:8: “He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations”

Psalms 111:5: “He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.”

Psalm 117: “Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.”

Psalm 119:89-90: “Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.”

Psalm 119:160: “All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.”

Psalm 143:1: “O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.”

Isaiah 25:1: “O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.”

Isaiah 46:11b: “What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.”

Isaiah 49:7: “This is what the LORD says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: "Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."

Isaiah 54:10: “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Lamentations 3:22-24: “Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

Romans 3:3-4: “What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge."

1 Corinthians 1:9: “God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”

1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

2 Corinthians 1:20: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.”

I Thessalonians 5:23-24: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it”.

Hebrews 10:23: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful”.

I John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Revelation 19:11: “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.”

technology

Trevin Wax posts an excerpt from John Dyer's From the Garden to the City. What did the Apostle John think about technology? Here is the excerpt ... what do you think?

We mentioned the apostle John’s view of technology found in 2 John 12, where he wrote, “Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.”

John was comfortable using the communication technology—pen and ink—of his day, but he did so with a set of values that were contrary to the tendencies built into the technology of writing. Whereas a letter requires that one isolated person write a message and then another isolated person later read that message, John says that his joy is never complete until he is physically present with his community.

And yet, aware of this problem, John used writing because he understood both its helpfulness and its problematic value system. From that perspective he was able to use technology in service of the embodied communal life that Christ taught him. When John could not be physically present with his community, he was comfortable using technology to communicate with them. But he was always careful to state that he considered technologically mediated relationships to be inferior to embodied relationships.

For John, both embodied and disembodied communication were “real”; he simply believed that only face-to-face reality offered him “complete joy.” The great temptation of the digital generation is to inadvertently disagree with John and assume that online presence offers the same kind of “complete joy” as offline presence.

Our problem is not that technologically mediated relationships are unreal, nor is the problem that all online communication is self-focused and narcissistic. Rather, the danger is that just like the abundance of food causes us to mistake sweet food for nourishing food, and just like the abundance of information can drown out deep thinking, the abundance of virtual connection can drown out the kind of life-giving, table-oriented life that Jesus cultivated among his disciples.

Social media follows the device paradigm in that it masks the long, sometimes arduous process of friendship and makes it available at the press of a button. Yet, just because social media follows the device paradigm does not mean that we should abandon it any more than we should abandon air-conditioning. Though such speculation is rarely useful, we can only assume that if the apostles were alive today, they would continue using the technology of the day. Yet, as John modeled for us, they would do so with their value system in mind, always seeking to use technology in service of embodied life, not as a replacement for embodied life.

biblical contradictions

There has always been those who would try to disprove or discredit the Scriptures. One tact is to attempt to show its contradictions. I think John Piper does an excellent job shedding some light on a weak attempt and in doing so increased my faith - not because I doubt the text but because when a regenerate person wrestles honestly with Scripture it is food to his soul.

Paul says in Romans 4:2,3: “If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? 'And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness'.”

James says in 2:21: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?”

Read Piper here to gain a clear understanding of the terms used by Paul and James. His bottom-line;

James 2:14-26 and Romans 4 are not saying the very same thing; their aims are different. James aims to confront the error of a man who has a kind of faith, but turns away his hungry brother unfed (2:16). Paul aims to confront a self-righteous Judaism which thinks it can boast before God on the basis of works (3:27; of 2:23). Confronting such varied problems we should not ask that they use the same terminology or say the same thing.

But do their viewpoints clash? There is ample evidence that Paul agreed with James that without deeds of love everything else is useless (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3; Romans 8:4,13; Galatians 5:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:6). When Paul refers to saving faith he includes obedience (Romans 1:5; 16:26) and works of love (Galatians 5:6).

Our Standing Rests Entirely on Grace

There is also evidence that James agreed with Paul that our standing with God rests entirely on grace and that there is no room for boasting before God in our righteousness. He refers to the start of Christian existence as a divine act of creation whereby we are “brought forth by the word” (James 1:18; i.e. by “the hearing of faith" [Galatians 3:2,5]) He refers to the continuation of the Christian life as a product of the “wisdom from above” (James 3:17) just as Paul describes it as the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). And finally, he calls for deep humility before God (James 4:10) in view of how “miserable” we are (James 4:9).

In view of these agreements, I would suggest that the tension between James 2 and Romans 4 is properly resolved when we recognize that “works” in James 2:14-26 is what Paul means by “faith working through love” in Galatians 5:6 or by the “obedience of faith” in Romans 1:5 and 16:26.

old age text codes

Text codes for my aging friends and family ...

ATD - At the Doctor's
BFF - Best Friends Funeral
BTW - Bring the Wheelchair
BYOT - Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM - Covered by Medicare
CUATSC - See You at the Senior Center
FWIW - Forgot Where I Was
FYI - Found Your Insulin
GGPBL - Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low
GHA - Got Heartburn Again
HGBM - Had Good Bowel Movement
IMHO - Is My Hearing-Aid On?
LMDO - Laughing My Dentures Out
LOL - Living on Lipitor
LWO - Lawrence Welk's On
OMSG - Oh My! Sorry, Gas
ROFL...CGU - Rolling on the Floor Laughing...Can't get Up!
WAITT - Who Am I Talking To?
WTFA - Wet the Furniture Again
WTP - Where's the Prunes
WWNO - Walker Wheels Need Oil GGLKI - Gotta Go, Laxative Kicking in!

sola scriptura

As Phyllis Tickle and others race along the path of misleading others regarding Holy Scripture, Michael Patton does a nice job outlining what Sola Scriptura really means and in doing so reminds me of why I so love God's Word.

Read his post here ... I've copied his conclusion below ...

In the end, the doctrine of sola Scriptura means that the Bible is the final and only infallible source of divine revelation and is, therefore, the ultimate source for the conscious of the Christian.

I think that this is an accurate way to put it:

The bible is carried by reason, aided by experience, guarded by tradition, but ruled by none.

7 billion

As we race toward a world population of 7 billion, these ladies wait in line for a Cesarean section (c-section) procedure at the Santa Ana public maternity hospital in Caracas.

From The Big Picture ... check out the other photos ...

don't occupy wall street

I'm not a big fan of the 'occupy wall street' gang. I've heard only one rationale issue that may be motivating some of the protestors but the rest of what I heard was rubbish. Regardless of what the point is and what I think of the specific issue, I think these wise words by John Mark Reynolds are overarching. 

Here are the money lines (pardon the pun).

Instead of occupying Wall Street, all Americans need to restore our ethics and our ability to self-govern.

Americans must recognize that greed and immorality come from “we the people” and not from outsiders. We have lived beyond our means. We have forgotten that just because a thing is legal does not mean it is good. We do not resent graft, but are angry we did not get our own cut.

Christian values are the solution, love of neighbor and self-restraint, but those values need to be lived in my life. God help us occupy ourselves in pursuit of goodness, truth, and beauty in our own lines and only then dare help our neighbor.

Read the post here.

gospel and marriage

John Piper on the power of the gospel in marriage ...

prepare for hell

C. Michael Patton wrote an excellent post to friends entitled How to Prepare for Hell - A "Just In Case" Letter to My Unbelieving Friends. It is so good I'll repost in its entirety. Please visit his site.

Dear friends,

This is written to those of you who I know and are without Christ. By that I mean you have never fallen on your face before Christ and asked for forgiveness. Many of you are friends—close friends—whom I have talked to about Christ, but you are unconvinced. I would love to be able to push a button, write a check, or perform a task that would make you believe as I do. However, the stark reality that I have to deal with is that many of you whom I love very dearly will die in this state. And, according to my deep convictions, you will not be in the presence of the Lord but in a place of terrible judgement.

Now, I know what you are thinking. Don’t quit reading though. Hear me out. I am not necessarily trying to evangelize you or make you love Jesus. I am trying to tell you how to prepare for hell. Just give me some slack here. Though what I am offering to you is still as far from heaven as the east is from the west, it may do some good. Though you do not believe in heaven or hell, you have to admit: you could be wrong. Yes, I admit, I could be wrong too. But if I am wrong, what awaits me? Eternal darkness? Nothingness? Fine and good. However, if you are wrong, something terrible is coming. I can’t prepare for nothingness. You can prepare for Hell. This is a “just in case you are wrong” letter.

You see, I believe that when we die, we will all present ourselves to God. Let’s put it this way for illustrative purposes. When life as we know it comes to a close, there will be two lines in heaven and two sets of book. One line will stand before Christ, one line will stand behind him. Christ will have two books: one which has the name of those who stand behind him written in it called “the Book of Life”. The other book is for those who stand in front of him called “the Book of Judgement”. In this book of judgement is written all the wrong things that those who have not trusted in him have done. Every selfish act, every sexual sin, every cutting word, and every time you failed to love your children. In short, every sin that you have ever left your fingerprint on will be represented. Your disbelief in God will find a prominent place as it is the reason the ink will have dried on the pages of this book.

If I am right, I will be in a line behind the judge, Jesus. I will have eraser residue all over me. You see, my name used to be written in the same book of judgement. My issues were just as bad as yours (if not much worse). I had many pages reserved in that book. However, there is an invitation given to everyone in the line of judgement. It says that God loves us and does not desire that we should stand in this line and be judged. It says that Christ took the judgement upon himself for all those who will accept it. It says that who ever wants to leave this line and stand behind Christ can do so. I got in the line behind Christ many years ago. Because of this, Christ took a blood stained eraser, turned to my pages in the book of judgement, and erased it all. He then wrote my name in the book of life with permanent ink. Look at me. I have more eraser pieces on me than anyone. But the point is, because of what Christ did and because I trusted in him, my sins are no longer in that book. Because you failed to believe that Christ is God’s eternal Son who died on a wooden cross for your sins, your sin remains in that terrible book. I elected to have Christ take my penalty; you elected to stay in the line of judgement and stand on your own. I elected to have Christ be judged in my place; you have said, “If it is true, I will make my case before the Lord and stand on my own.” Therefore, we are in different lines. While these lines become permanent upon death (i.e. the Bible does not present an after death chance to change lines), in some sense, we are in these lines right now.

However, since you are determined to remain in the line of judgement (which breaks the Lord’s heart and mine), I am trying to think of what I can do for you. I am scrambling here with tears in my eyes as your future is so bleak. Of course, if you reject Christ, there is nothing you can do to avoid the ultimate fate that awaits you: eternity away from God’s love, eternity in torment, eternity in hell. Hell is your decision; it is not the decision of God who loves you. However, I do believe that while hell will be unimaginably terrible for everyone, it will be less unimaginably terrible for some than for others.

In the Bible, Christ says as much. Comparing hell to being whipped, he said that some will receive ”many lashes” and some will receive “few” (Luke 12:47-48). Hell will always be eternal. Hell will always be outside of the grace and love of God. But for some it will be worse than for others. I would that you would just trust in the God who loves you and sent his Son to erase your part in the book. I would that your name was written in the “Book of Life” not the “Book of Death and Judgement”, but, again, I have to deal with the reality that you may never change your heart toward God. For this reason, I want to give you some advice about how to make, what I believe

to be, your terrible future, less terrible. Here is how to prepare for Hell:

1. First and foremost, whenever the Bible is being taught, run.

I know that this sounds kind of odd (especially coming from me), but it is true. If you are determined to remain an unbeliever until death, don’t go to church where the Bible is taught, don’t listen to the Bible on your iPod, don’t even pick up a Bible and thumb through it. Stay far away from that book. Let me illustrate. The other day, I yelled from the living room to my daughter Katelynn to get to bed. Fifteen minutes later, she was still up. I became upset with her. I thought it was a deliberate act of disobedience. However, when I talked to her about it, she said that she did not hear me. Once I believed her, my anger went away. Why? Because she did not actually know that I told her to go to bed. Now, she was still in a little bit of trouble because she already knew what her bedtime was. But her trouble would have been more severe had she not only known what her bedtime was but heard what I said and still disobeyed. The point is the more you hear what I believe to be God’s word and disobey, the greater the offense.

Listen to what Christ says about this:

Luke 12:48 “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”

2. Don’t try to persuade others, especially children, of your unbelief

Christ said some terrifying word to those who are evangelists of unbelief:

Mark 9:42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.”

3. Whatever causes you to sin, get rid of it

I think that this one will be the hardest of the three so far, but if you can do it, it is sound advice. If your television causes you to neglect your family, get rid of it. If your iPad is distracting you from productivity, throw it away. And (and this is going to sound crazy), if your eyes are causing you to lust (i.e. pornography?), cut them out. It is that serious.

Mark 9:43-48 "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where ” ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’"

This does not mean that if you do these things, your deeds will cover all the other things written in that book, but it does mean that you will have fewer pages in that book than you would otherwise.

4. Take care of your family

Don’t neglect to work hard and provide for them. Whether it is your parents, wife, husband, or children, take care of them with all your might. Love them dearly. Let me get real practical here. Some of you men are divorced and are failing to pay for the support of your wife and children. Don’t do that. Some of you have parents who are elderly and you are more concerned about the advancement of your career than caring for them. These type of things are written in bold in the book of judgement. Listen to what Paul tells Timothy:

1Tim. 5:8 “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

5. Don’t give yourself too much credit

If you were in the same line as me, I would simply say “Give credit to God for every good thing”. But I cannot say that to you since you do not follow or believe in God. However (and I am doing the best I can here), you have to do whatever you can to remain humble. Pride will create a full chapter in most people’s section in the book of judgement. It causes your heart to be darkened in so many ways and leads to the sins of vanity, selfishness, and the devaluing of others. Even in your worldview without God, you can understand that you are not essentially better than anyone else can’t you? If you are an atheist, you are the way you are due to fate, not your own ingenuity or efforts. I would that you would give credit to God for all things, but I will have to settle for second—a far distant second—best: just don’t pat yourself on your back too much.

Paul sees the wrath of God as centered on people’s lack of thanksgiving to him.

Rom. 1:21 “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Again, you cannot thank God, but you can keep from thanking yourself.

I have more to say . . . much more. But I fear that you may become overwhelmed. I may write more someday.

However, although I said that this was not written primarily to evangelize you, I must pass this invitation from God over to you once again. You do not have to stay in that line. As long as you are still breathing, you can join me over here behind Christ. You don’t have to pay anything, give anything, or do anything to join me. Just have to turn to Christ and ask him to erase your pages in that book. God is beckoning you to come.

Listen to this from John 3:18: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

One more thing. The line illustration is not really original with me. John uses a similar theme in a book in the Bible called “Revelation”:

Rev 20:12 “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.”

I would that your name was written in the book of life.

making babies

How a baby is made ... human from the moment of conception ...

grace in the trinity

From The Message of 2 Peter & Jude by Dick Lucas and Christopher Green:

Grace means the generous heart of God who determines to treat sinful men and women as he lovingly wishes rather than as they actually deserve. It is God the Father’s sovereign good pleasure, totally unmerited by us, which raises us from the ash-heap to a throne of glory. It is the servant-like manner of God the Son who became a man, lived, taught, died, rose again and reigns for us. It is the humble work of God the Holy Spirit who equips us to love and serve him now with his grace-gifts (charismata), and who is the down-payment for the day when we shall be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ himself.

The gospel is grace, God’s good pleasure to delight in people who do not deserve it.

HT:OFI

false teaching

J.C. Ryle warns against tolerance of false teaching.

If we would hold fast that which is good, we must never tolerate or support any doctrine which is not the pure doctrine of Christ’s Gospel. There is a hatred which is downright charity – that is the hatred of erroneous doctrine. There is an intolerance which is downright praiseworthy – that is the intolerance of false teaching in the pulpit. Who would ever think of tolerating a little poison given to them day by day? If men come among you who do not preach “all the counsel of God,” who do not preach of Christ, sin, holiness, of ruin, redemption, and regeneration, and do not preach of these things in a Scriptural way, you ought to cease to hear them.

The following is by J. Gresham Machen in Christianity and Liberalism [emphasis mine]. It confronts the weak and false notion that we should not judge. In fact we must judge - but we must do it in a Christian way. I think Machen does a fine job of providing on Biblical example.

The Christian movement at its inception was not just a way of life in the modern sense, but a way of life founded upon a message. It was based, not upon mere feelings, not upon a mere program of work, but upon an account of facts. In other words it was based upon doctrine.

Certainly with regard to Paul himself there should be no debate; Paul certainly was not indifferent to doctrine; on the contrary, doctrine was the very basis of his life. His devotion did not, it is true, make him incapable of a magnificent tolerance. One notable example of such tolerance is to be found during his imprisonment at Rome, as attested by the Epistle to the Philippians. Apparently certain Christian teachers at Rome had been jealous of Paul's greatness. As long as he had been at liberty they had been obliged to take a secondary place; but now that he was in prison, they seized the supremacy. They sought to raise up affection for Paul in his bonds; they preached Christ even of envy and strife. In short, the rival preachers made of the preaching of the gospel a means to the gratification of low personal ambition; it seems to be about as mean a piece of business as could well be conceived. But Paul was not disturbed. "Whether in pretense, or in truth," he said, "Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice" (Phil. 1:18). The way in which the preaching was being carried on was wrong, but the message itself was true; and Paul was far more interested in the content of the message than in the manner of its presentation. It is impossible to conceive a finer piece of broad minded tolerance.

But the tolerance of Paul was not indiscriminate. He displayed no tolerance, for example, in Galatia. There too, there were rival preachers. But Paul had no tolerance for them. "But though we," he said, "or an angle from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Gal. 1:8). What is the reason for the difference in the apostle's attitude in the two cases? What is the reason for the broad tolerance in Rome, and the fierce anathemas in Galatia? The answer is perfectly plain. In Rome, Paul was tolerant, because there the content of the message that was being proclaimed by the rival teachers was true; in Galatia he was intolerant, because there the content of the rival message was false. In neither case did personalities have anything to do with Paul's attitude. No doubt the motives of the Judaizers in Galatia were far from pure, and in an incidental way Paul does point out their impurity. But that was not the ground of his opposition. The Judaizers no doubt were morally far from perfect, but Paul's opposition to them would have been exactly the same if they had all been angels from heaven. His opposition was based altogether upon the falsity of their teaching; they were substituting for the one true gospel a false gospel which was no gospel at all. It never occurred to Paul that a gospel might be true for one man and not another; the blight of pragmatism had never fallen upon his soul. Paul was convinced of the objective truth of the gospel message, and devotion to that truth was the great passion of his life. Christianity for Paul was not only a life, but also a doctrine, and logically the doctrine came first.

But what was the difference between the teaching of Paul and the teaching of the Judaizers? What was it that gave rise to the stupendous polemic of the Epistle to the Galatians? To the modern Church the difference would have seemed to be a mere theological subtlety. About many things the Judaizers were in perfect agreement with Paul. The Judaizers believed that Jesus was the Messiah; there is not a shadow of evidence that they objected to Paul's lofty view of the person of Christ. Without the slightest doubt, they believed that Jesus had really risen from the dead. They believed, moreover, that faith in Christ was necessary to salvation. But the trouble was, they believed that something else was also necessary; they believed that what Christ had done needed to be pieced out by the believer's own effort to keep the Law. From the modern point of view the difference would have seemed to be very slight. Paul as well as the Judaizers believed that the keeping of the law of God, in its deepest import, is inseparably connected with faith. The difference concerned only the logical - not even, perhaps, the temporal - order of three steps. Paul said that a man (1) first believes on Christ, (2) then is justified before God, (3) then immediately proceeds to keep God's law. The Judaizers said that a man (1) believes on Christ and (2) keeps the law of God the best he can, and then (3) is justified. The difference would seem to modern "practical" Christians to be a highly subtle and intangible matter, hardly worthy of consideration at all in view of the large measure of agreement in the practical realm. What a splendid cleaning up of the Gentile cities it would have been if the Judaizers had succeeded in extending to those cities the observance of the Mosaic law, even including the unfortunate ceremonial observances! Surely Paul ought have made common cause with teachers who were so nearly in agreement with him; surely he ought to have applied to them the great principle of Christian unity.

As a matter of fact, however, Paul did nothing of the kind; and only because he (and others) did nothing of the kind does the Christian Church exist to-day. Paul saw very clearly that the difference between the Judaizers and himself was the difference between a religion of merit and a religion of grace. If Christ provides only a part of our salvation, leaving us to provide the rest, then we are still hopeless under the load of sin. For no matter how small the gap which must be bridged before salvation can be attained, the awakened conscience sees clearly that our wretched attempt at goodness is insufficient even to bridge that gap. The guilty soul enters again into the hopeless reckoning with God, to determine whether we have really done our part. And thus we groan again under the old bondage of the law. Such an attempt to piece out the work of Christ by our own merit, Paul saw clearly, is the very essence of unbelief; Christ will do everything or nothing, and the only hope is to throw ourselves unreservedly on His mercy and trust Him for all.

Paul certainly was right. The difference which divided him from the Judaizers was no mere theological subtlety, but concerned the very heart and core of the religion of Christ, "Just as I am without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me" - that was what Paul was contending for in Galatia; that hymn would have never been written if the Judaizers had won. And without the thing which that hymn expresses there is no Christianity at all.

Certainly, then Paul was no advocate of an undogmatic religion; he was interested above everything else in the objective and universal truth of his message.... Paul was not interested merely in the ethical principles of Jesus; he was not interested merely in general principles of religion or of ethics. On the contrary, he was interested in the redeeming work of Christ and it effect upon us. His primary interest was in Christian doctrine, and Christian doctrine not merely in its presuppositions but at its center. Christianity {cannot} be made independent of doctrine.

photomicrography

No photomicrography looks like something I could get into ...

imputed righteousness

Horatius Bonar in How Shall I Go to God?

Imputed righteousness must come first. You cannot have the righteousness within—until you have the righteousness without; and to make your own righteousness the price which you give to God for that of His Son—is to dishonour Christ, and to deny His cross.

The Spirit’s work is not to make us holy, in order that we may be pardoned; but to show us the cross, where the pardon is to be found by the unholy; so that having found the pardon there, we may begin the life of holiness to which we are called.

HT:OFI

creation

God separated the light from the dark ...

gospel in 4 words

Great post by Ray Ortlund; The Gospel in Four Words quoting C.H. Spurgeon from The Treasury of the New Testament.

“‘Come unto me,’ he says, ‘and I will give you.’ You say, ‘Lord, I cannot give you anything.’ He does not want anything. Come to Jesus, and he says, ‘I will give you.’ Not what you give to God, but what he gives to you, will be your salvation. ‘I will give you‘ — that is the gospel in four words.

Will you come and have it? It lies open before you.”

mike winslow

Mike Winslow doing the Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin ... great!

walking with god

Thomas Watson on walking with God ...

If you desire to walk with God, take hold of His arm. Those who walk in their own strength will soon grow weary and tire. ‘I will go in the strength of the Lord God’ (Psa. 71:16). We cannot walk with God without God. Let us press Him with His promise: ‘I will cause you to walk in my statutes’ (Ezek. 36:27). If God takes us by the hand, then we shall ‘walk, and not faint’ (Isa. 40:31).

HT:TOG

truth is truth ... nothing else

Charles Spurgeon on trifling with divine truth ...

There are some truths which must be believed; they are essential to salvation, and if not heartily accepted, the soul will be ruined.

Now, in [the early church], the saints did not say, as the sham saints do now, "We must be largely charitable, and leave this brother to his own opinion; he sees truth from a different standpoint, and has a rather different way of putting it, but his opinions are as good as our own, and we must not say that he is in error."

That is at present the fashionable way of trifling with divine truth, and making things pleasant all round. Thus the gospel is debased, and "another gospel" propagated.

I should like to ask modern broad churchmen whether there is any doctrine of any sort for which it would be worth a man's while to burn or to lie in prison. I do not believe they could give me an answer, for if their latitudinarianism be correct, the martyrs were fools of the first magnitude.

From what I see of their writings and their teachings, it appears to me that the modern thinkers treat the whole compass of revealed truth with entire indifference; and, though perhaps they may feel sorry that wilder spirits should go too far in free thinking, and though they had rather they would be more moderate, yet, upon the whole, so large is their liberality that they are not sure enough of anything to be able to condemn the reverse of it as a deadly error.

To them black and white are terms which may be applied to the same colour, as you view it from different standpoints. Yea and nay are equally true in their esteem. Their theology shifts like the Goodwin Sands, and they regard all firmness as so much bigotry. Errors and truths are equally comprehensible within the circle of their charity.

It was not in this way that the apostles regarded error. They did not prescribe large-hearted charity towards falsehood, or hold up the errorist as a man of deep thought, whose views were "refreshingly original"; far less did they utter some wicked nonsense about the probability of there living more faith in honest doubt than in half the creeds. They did not believe in justification by doubting, as our neologians do; they set about the conversion of the erring brother; they treated him as a person who needed conversion; and viewed him as a man who, if he were not converted, would suffer the death of his soul, and be covered with a multitude of sins.

They were not such easygoing people as our cultured friends of the school of "modern thought", who have learned at last that the Deity of Christ may be denied, the work of the Holy Spirit ignored, the inspiration of Scripture rejected, the atonement disbelieved, and regeneration dispensed with, and yet the man who does all this may be as good a Christian as the most devout believer!

O God, deliver us from this deceitful infidelity, which, while it does damage to the erring man, and often prevents his being reclaimed, does yet more mischief to our own hearts by teaching us that truth is unimportant, and falsehood a trifle, and so destroys our allegiance to the God of truth, and makes us traitors instead of loyal subjects to the King of kings!

already conquered

God does not send out his church to conquer. He sends us out in the name of the One who has already conquered. We go only because he reigns. — Kevin Deyoung and Greg Gilbert, What is the Mission of the Church?

HT:OFI

who's there

From Ray Ortlund ...

. . . there am I among them. Matthew 18:20

“There am I, not only I will be there, but I am there; as if he came first, is ready before them, they shall find him there.”

Matthew Henry, Commentary (McLean, n.d.), V:262. Italics original.

The Lord isn’t saying, “If you show up, so will I.” He is saying, “If you gather to be with me, I’m already there. I will so not withhold myself from my seeking friends.”

be careful

Another example of why we need to be so careful in our speaking, listening, writing, etc... Not all is as it appears (or sounds). Here is the McGurk effect in action ... it doesn't matter how well you understand he truth, we still get it wrong.

 

missional evaluation

Len Hjalmarson at NextReformation posts an evaluation of the missional movement. In this he proffers two metrics to to make the assessment:

• success in mobilizing believers into a life of mission
• growth in depth of faith, character, knowledge of God, obedience, and richness in shared life

I accept both.

He then makes the keen observation that sadly we often separate these. We either grow inward with discipleship programs providing little more the head knowledge or outward but lacking in "nurture for those who are working all day in the hot sun".

Len writes:

The rhythm of life in Christ is inward in community, and outward in mission. We live this rhythm because we are the Body of Christ, the expression of God’s life in the world. And God is an eternal community of love, overflowing into mission (the sending of Jesus and then of the Spirit).

The picture that works well for me is the bicycle. Being formed spiritually and living the Christ life always involves two dimensions: discipleship (formation in community) and mission (formation in following). Mission is the back wheel – the back wheel generates traction. It is on mission that we are challenged to really LIFE the Christ life, and we learn new questions about our world and about God. Mission helps us keep it real and keep the edges sharp.

Discipleship is the front wheel – the front wheel provides direction and reminds us of the goal out beyond the horizon — the image of Christ and his coming kingdom. As we gather for worship, prayer and to hear the Word, we are reshaped in our identity and being, restored and healed, and then we go out again to give away what we have taken in.

The wheels have to keep moving, or the bicycle falls down. The traction is provided by mission. We can’t reverse the wheels. You won’t get traction on discipleship, you will spin the wheels. Discipleship provides telos – direction – memory of the end goal. If we try to get traction with the end goal we become driven, activists.

But working together, we can really go places!

happy hour

Is it really happy hour? Seriously ... how does it feel to you and does that matter?

would you attend

Al Mohler in response to Joel Osteen's position regarding homosexuality and marriage.

"Joel Osteen sees homosexuality as a sin and same-sex marriage to be contrary to God’s will. He cannot perform same-sex marriage ceremonies or endorse same-sex marriage, because he is bound by Scripture. On the other hand, he can attend a same-sex ceremony, if the participants are friends, and thus endorse by his presence the credibility of the ceremony itself and join in the celebration of what he believes, or says he believes, is sin. This is beyond mere incoherence. It is moral and theological nonsense. More than that, it is a massive statement of ministerial malpractice."

I have to disagree with Mohler on this. If I were invited to a same-sex marriage I think I'd have to weigh other factors. If I had opportunity to communicate they were in sin and that I was not there to condone the marriage or their practice but there to let them know that I love them, I think I would go. That is, I do not think attending alone is the same as condoning. If there was no chance to communicate God's truth in this, no, I would not go - well unless I heard a clear message from God to do so ...

Jesus managed to hang out with sinners without condoning their sin.

How do you handle this?

indicatives and imperatives

Thabiti Anyabwile lists the imperatives (the done) and indicatives (the do) found outlined by Dr. Danny Akin based on Galatians.

For those that are curious, here are the 29 gospel indicatives and 13 gospel imperatives Akin highlighted:

29 Indicatives

1. The gospel is rooted in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:1).
2. The gospel delivers us from the present evil age to the glory of Christ (Gal. 1:3-5).
3. There is only one gospel and to desert it is to be damned (Gal. 1:6-9).
4. The gospel is ours by divine revelation and not human imagination (Gal. 1:10-12).
5. The gospel is grounded in a gracious election (Gal. 1:15).
6. The gospel is constantly in danger of being lost and needs to be defended (Gal. 2:4-5).
7. The gospel that saves Gentiles is the same gospel that saves Jews (Gal. 2:7-9).
8. There are ethical imperatives that follow the gospel (Gal. 2:11) and no ethnic distinctions in the gospel (Gal. 2:12-14).
9. The gospel is good news that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ and not by works of the Law (Gal. 2:15-16).
10. Through the gospel, we are identified with Christ and His work on the cross (Gal. 2:20).
11. The love of Christ for sinners is made evident in the gospel (Gal. 2:20).
12. We receive the Holy Spirit by faith in the Gospel, the same Spirit who justifies and sanctifies (Gal. 3:2-5).
13. The gospel that saved Abraham in the past is the same gospel that saves us in the present (Gal. 3:7-9).
14. Relying on good works not only does not save but actually curses (Gal. 3:10-11).
15. The gospel is the good news that Christ has redeemed us from the curse as our penal substitute (Gal. 3:13-14).
16. The gospel is rooted in a covenantal promise that precedes the law (Gal. 3:17).
17. The law is good because it shows us our sin (Gal. 3:19, 21).
18. The law is good because it is our school teacher who leads us to Christ to be justified by faith (Gal. 3:25-26).
19. The gospel unites us to Christ where we’re all one in him–soteriological not ecclesiological (Gal. 3:27-29).
20. The gospel is grounded in Trinitarian theology (Gal. 4:4-6).
21. Gospel redemption leads to adoption as a child of the Father (Gal. 4:7).
22. The gospel gives us a knowledge of God freeing us from rules (Gal. 4:8-11).
23. Faithful ministers will be passionate for the ministry of the gospel even if it results in anguish and a broken heart (Gal. 4:12-20).
24. Works-salvation leads to slavery, while Mt. Sinai leads to freedom (Gal. 4:21-31).
25. To pursue salvation by works obligates us to keep the entire law perfectly (Gal. 5:1-3).
26. To be justified by works is to fall away from justification by grace through faith (Gal. 5:4-6).
27. The gospel that saves us and sanctifies us (Gal. 5:7-8).
28. To preach a false gospel invites judgment and calls for the strongest condemnation from the faithful (Gal. 5:10-12).
29. The indicative of the gospel naturally leads to the imperatives of the gospel (Gal. 5:13-6:20), which opens onto the imperative section of the letter:

13 Imperatives

1. We will not indulge and pander to the flesh (Gal. 5:13, 16-21).
2. In love we will serve others (Gal. 5:13-14).
3. We will not brutalize one another in word or action (Gal. 5:15).
4. We will live in the Spirit whom we received when we believed (Gal. 5:22-26).
5. We will engage in spiritual restoration (Gal. 6:1-2).
6. We will be humble (Gal. 6:4-5).
7. We will serve and do our part in the body.
8. We will bless those who teach us (Gal. 6:6).
9. We should embrace and reaping (Gal. 6:7-8).
10. We won’t grow weary in well-doing (Gal. 6:9-10).
11. We will accept persecution for the cross of Christ (Gal. 6:11-13).
12. We will boast only in Christ and His cross (Gal. 6:14-15).
13. We will pursue peace, mercy, grace and Christ (Gal. 6:16-20).

spiritual play

"To grow strong spiritually we need to learn how to play, rest, celebrate and enjoy pleasures rightly ... namely, in Christ." ~ Matt Massey

trinity in the bible

So where can we read about the Trinity in the Bible? Kevin DeYoung responds:

Although the word “Trinity” is famously absent from Scripture, the theology behind the word can be found in a surprising number of verses. For starters there are verses that speak of God’s oneness (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 44:6; 1 Tim. 1:17). Then there are the myriad of passages which demonstrate that God is Father (e.g., John 6:27, Titus 1:4). Next, we have the scores of texts which prove the deity of Jesus Christ, the Son—passages like John 1 (“the word was God”), John 8:58 (“before Abraham was born, I am”), Col. 2:9 (“in Christ all the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form”), Heb. 1:3 (“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of his being”), Tit. 2:13 (“our great God and Savior Jesus Christ”)-not to mention the explicit worship Christ willingly received from his disciples (Luke 24:52; John 20:28) and the charges of blasphemy leveled against him for making himself equal with God (Mark 2:7). Then we have similar texts which assume the deity of the Holy Spirit, calling Him an “eternal Spirit” (Heb. 9:14) and using “God” interchangeably with the “Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 3:16 and 1 Cor. 6:19; Acts 5:3-4) without a second thought.

The shape of Trinitarian orthodoxy is finally rounded off by texts that hint at the plurality of persons in the Godhead (Gen. 1:1-3, 26; Psalm 2:7; Dan. 7), texts like 1 Cor. 8:6 which place Jesus Christ as Lord right in the middle of Jewish Shema, and dozens of texts that speak of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the same breath, equating the three in rank, while assuming distinction of personhood (Matt. 28:19; Gal. 4:6; 1 Cor.12:4-6; 1 Peter 1:1-2; 2 Cor. 2:21-22; 13:14; Eph. 1:13-14; 2:18, 20-22; 3:14-17; 4:4-6; 5:18-20; 6:10-18).

The doctrine of the Trinity, as summarized in the seven statements earlier, is not a philosophical concoction by some over-zealous and over-intelligent early theologians, but one of the central planks of orthodoxy which can shown, explicitly or implicitly, from a multitude of biblical texts.

180 movie

A lot of people dislike Ray Comfort ... there is a lot of good stuff in his 180 movie ...

india thriller

Indians sure know how to rock it ... Michael Jackson's Thriller as I've never imagined it ...

strandbeests

BBC One's report on Theo Jansen's Strandbeests ...

"... you discover all the problems which the real creator must have had creating this world."

happy christians

From Ray Ortlund:

“A Christianity which does not make you happy is not worthy of the name. But as long as you are just moral you will never be happy; you will never know the joy of the Holy Spirit. But the kingdom of God, the faith of the New Testament, is vibrant with joy. Look at the people on the day of Pentecost. ... They were elated, exalting and triumphant.; they were glorying in Him. That is Christianity.” ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Kingdom of God (Wheaton, 1992), page 83.

sarducci on artists

Father Guido Sarducci on being an artist ... I missed the boat ...

the fear of the lord

From Justin Taylor, What is "The Fear of the Lord"?

“According to the book of Proverbs, ‘the fear of the Lord’ is a continual (Prov. 23:17), humble, and faithful submission to Yahweh, which compels one to hate evil (Prov. 8:13) and turn away from it (Prov. 16:6) and brings with it rewards better than all earthly treasures (Prov. 15:16)—the rewards of a love for and a knowledge of God (Prov. 1:29; 2:5; 9:10; 15:33), and long life (Prov. 10:27; 14:27a; 19:23a), confidence (Prov. 14:26), satisfaction, and protection (Prov. 19:23).”

—Douglas Sean O’Donnell, The Beginning and End of Wisdom (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), p. 37.

how we see

Ok - this has already made the internet rounds but I've been gone and I want it here for posterity ... how we see other parts of the church ...