EBF Blog

The Gospel is the Power of God, Not Discipleship

2011-11-07T09:59:00.001-08:00

“Contrary to what some might think, discipleship is not the engine of the church. The gospel is. Without the gospel, both discipleship and church fail. Without the driving force of the gospel, discipleship devolves into self-help religiosity motivated by conservative pietism. The church is reduced to a glorified non-profit in which people lose interest. But the gospel reactivates both church and discipleship!

The good news that Jesus has defeated sin, death, and evil through his own death and resurrection and is making all things new, even us, changes everything! In the gospel, God in Christ welcomes sinners and sends out disciples. The gospel, not discipleship, is central to the church. If we make discipleship the engine of the church, we’ll run quickly out of gas. But when the gospel is central, the church gets traction and disciples get depth.”

— Jonathan Dodson

Rob Bell and Universalism

2011-03-03T10:40:00.001-08:00

UPDATE: Read Kevin DeYoung's review of the entire book here.

There is a firestorm brewing over Rob Bell's newest book: Love Wins. It is early in the conversation, but it appears that Bell has cast aside any doctrine that teaches that God is wrathful toward sinners at all. Justin Taylor, from The Gospel Coalition, has written on his blog here. There is also an interesting response to Bell's introductory video by Denny Burk here. I particularly liked Denny Burk's example as follows:

Bell: But how could that God [so wrathful that we must be saved from Him] ever be good? How could that God ever be trusted? And how could that ever be good news?

Answer: You are asking how can God be good if He sentences sinners to eternal damnation, but I think you have the question backwards. The real question is how can God be good if He doesn't send sinners to judgment. In other words, how can God be good while forgiving sinners? This is the question Paul wrestled with in Romans 3, and he concluded that God set forth His son Jesus as a propitiation for sin. That means that all of the wrath and anguish that would have taken us an eternity in hell to endure, God poured out on His Son in the moment of the cross. God is good because He settles our sin debt in the cross of Christ, our substitute. This is good news because God clears away guilt through the cross and offers eternal life through the resurrection of Jesus. Anyone who believes in Jesus in this way can have forgiveness and eternal life. This is more than good news; it's the best of news.

Bell: This is why lots of people want nothing to do with the Christian faith. They see it has an endless list of absurdities and inconsistencies, and they say, "Why would I ever want to be a part of that?"

Answer: Sin will always appear as a trifle to those whose view of God is small. If you were to discover a little boy pulling the legs off of a grasshopper, you would think it strange and perhaps a little bizarre. If the same little boy were pulling the legs off of a frog, that would be a bit more disturbing. If it were a bird, you would probably scold him and inform his parents. If it were a puppy, that would be too shocking to tolerate. You would intervene. If it were a baby, it would be so reprehensible and tragic that you would risk your own life to protect the baby. What's the difference in each of these scenarios? The sin is the same (pulling the limbs off). The only difference is the one sinned against (from a grasshopper to a baby). The more noble and valuable the creature, the more heinous and reprehensible the sin. And so it is with God.

If God were a grasshopper, then to sin against Him wouldn't be such a big deal and eternal punishment wouldn't be necessary. But God isn't a grasshopper, He's the most precious, valuable, beautiful being in the universe. His glory and worth are infinite and eternal. Thus to sin against an infinitely glorious being is an infinitely heinous offense that is worthy of an infinitely heinous punishment.

We don't take sin seriously because we don't take God seriously. We have so imbibed on the banality of our God-belittling spirit of the age that our sins hardly trouble us at all. Our sin seems small because we regard God as small. And thus the penalty of hell - eternal conscious suffering under the wrath of God - always seems like an overreaction on God's part. If we knew God better, we wouldn't think like that.

The Gospel in a Nutshell

2011-02-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

D.A. Carson wrote this 25 years ago:

"God is the sovereign, transcendent and personal God who has made the universe, including us, his image-bearers. Our misery lies in our rebellion, our alienation from God, which, despite his forbearance, attracts his implacable wrath.

But God, precisely because love is of the very essence of his character, takes the initiative and prepared for the coming of his own Son by raising up a people who, by covenantal stipulations, temple worship, systems of sacrifice and of priesthood, by kings and by prophets, are taught something of what God is planning and what he expects.

In the fullness of time his Son comes and takes on human nature. He comes not, in the first instance, to judge but to save: he dies the death of his people, rises from the grave and, in returning to his heavenly Father, bequeaths the Holy Spirit as the down payment and guarantee of the ultimate gift he has secured for them - an eternity of bliss in the presence of God himself, in a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

The only alternative is to be shut out from the presence of this God forever, in the torments of hell. What men and women must do, before it is too late, is to repent and trust in Christ; the alternative is to disobey the gospel (Romans 10:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17)."

-D.A. Carson, "The Biblical Gospel" in For Such a Time as This: Perspectives on Evangelicalism, Past, Present, and Future, ed. Steve Brady and Harold Rowdon

To Be Visited of God

2010-11-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

I saw this on a friend's status today:

"Whether God come to his children with a rod or a crown, if he come himself with it, it is well. Welcome, welcome, Jesus, what may soever thou come, if we can get a sight of thee; and sure I am, it is better to be sick, providing Christ come to the beside and draw the curtains, and say, 'Courage, I am thy salvation' than to enjoy health..., being lusty and strong and never need to be visited of God."
- Samuel Rutherford

Of Men and Women

2010-11-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary writes some humorous lines on men and women in his book, God on Sex:

Is it a cat? Is it a woman? Maybe it's both! Why?

They do what they want.
They rarely listen to you.
They're totally unpredictable.
They whine when they're not happy.
When you want to play, they want to be alone.
When you want to be alone, they want to play.
They expect you to cater to their every whim.
They're moody.
They can drive you nuts and cost you an arm and a leg.
They leave hair everywhere.

Conclusion: Cats are tiny little women in fur coats.

Is it a dog? Is it a man? Maybe it's both! Why?

They lie around all day, sprawled out on the most comfortable piece of furniture in the house.
They can hear a package of food opening half a block away, but they can't hear you even when you're in the same room.
They leave their toys everywhere.
They growl when they're not happy.
When you want to play, they want to play.
When you want to be left alone, they still want to play.
They are great at begging.
They will love you forever if you feed them and rub their tummies.
They do disgusting things with their mouths and then try to give you a kiss..
They can look dumb and lovable all at the same time.

Conclusion: Dogs are tiny men in fur coats.

Reflecting on this with tongue firmly lodged in cheek, let us not be men and women who reflect the image and glory of our pets, but let us be genders that glorify God. And men, let us lead in the manner to which we have been called.

Let us be men who love their wives as Christ loves the Church, by laying down our very lives. Men who lead as Christ led, by washing feet, blessing children, and bearing others' burdens. Husbands whose faithfulness mirrors the faithfulness of Christ. Fathers who care for our children as our heavenly Father cares for His. Men who hold their God-given authority as those who are held responsible by God and will give account for how we spent it. Men like Christ, the First One who stepped down to become last.

(final paragraph adapted from a sermon by James Hamilton)

Your Passion, O Loving Christ, is My Refuge

2010-11-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

"You have offended the infinite God with your sins, but an infinite price has been paid. You ought to be judged for your sins, but the Son of God has already been judged for the sins of the whole world, which He received in Himself. Your sins ought to be punished, but God already punished them in His Son. The wounds from your sin are great, but more precious is the balm of the blood of Christ.

Moses pronounces a curse against you (Deut 27:26), because you have not kept everything that has been written in the book of the law, but Christ has been made a curse for you (Gal 3:13). The handwriting has been written against you in the court of heaven, but Christ's blood has deleted it (Col 2:14).

Therefore, Your passion, O loving Christ, is my ultimate refuge."

~Johann Gerhard, Sacred Meditations

God's Justice Defended at the Cross of Christ

2010-10-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

"By Jesus' sacrifice, God reveals and defends His justice in two ways. First, Jesus' suffering for the sins of His people means that any sins unpunished beforehand are now fully punished in Christ. God leaves no sin unpunished. Mercy and grace do not come at the expense of justice. Second, because the sins of the faithful are fully punished in Jesus, God may justly declare righteous those who have faith in Jesus. That's what it means to be justified in God's sight - to be declared righteous by faith in Jesus. The cross, rightly understood, is God's own answer to any objection that He is unfair to substitute Jesus for the unrighteous."

-Thabiti Anyabwile, The Gospel for Muslims, pp75-76

The Lord Rejoices Over Us

2010-09-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 62:5b - For... as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

How heart-cheering to the believer is the delight which God has in his saints! We cannot see any reason in ourselves why the Lord should take pleasure in us; we cannot take delight in ourselves, for we often have to groan, being burdened; conscious of our sinfulness, and deploring our unfaithfulness; and we fear that God's people cannot take much delight in us, for they must perceive so much of our imperfections and our follies, that they may rather lament our infirmities than admire our graces. But we love to dwell upon this transcendent truth, this glorious mystery: that as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so does the Lord rejoice over us.

-Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, September 21st

You Can Change

2010-08-05T10:48:00.001-07:00

I wanted to use this space to plug a book that I'm currently reading called You Can Change by Tim Chester. For those of us who have struggled against sin and often lost hope that we may ever have victory over those areas, then this book is awesome!

First of all, this book is about the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ and how His person and His work give us an expectation and power to change the way that we think, feel, and live. Some of us may struggle with lifestyles that we desire to change, but have a hard time actually changing. Some of us may have "decent" lifestyles, but our joy is almost completely gone and we find ourselves depressed, bored, joyless, and full of pessimism and complaining. Some of us may struggle with anxiety that overwhelms us or anger that controls us. The gospel is for us!

This book is also about hope. It's about hope in the power of God to transform our lives and our hearts, about connecting the gospel of grace with the "Monday-mornings" of our lives. It's about the promise of God to shape us into the image of Christ. It's about the hope that God is making us holy, and that is a great and wonderful thing.

Here's an excerpt from the book:

"One of our problems is that we think of holiness as giving up some things we enjoy out of a vague sense of obligation. But I'm convinced that holiness is always good news. God calls us to the good life. He's always bigger and better than anything sin has to offer. The key is to realize why change is good news in your struggles against sin."

To the glory of God,
Richard

Faith is Drawn and Driven

2010-07-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

Notes on Jacob's wrestling with God in Genesis 32:

"Jacob's faith lays hold of the Angel in sheer desperation. Here is the core of his lifelong desire for the blessing. He grasps the One who is the Giver and the Gift, the Lord of life and hope.

True faith is not a flaccid acceptance of a better state of affairs. It is drawn and driven: drawn by the bursting recognition that God is real, and that he is here with me; driven by the emptiness and horror of guilt and dread apart from his blessing.

Faith grips the Lord, lays hold on eternal life. What Jacob claims is God's promise; he cannot be denied, for God has bound himself."

-Edmund P. Clowney, Preaching Christ in All of Scripture, p91

God Isn't Interested...

2010-07-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

"Jesus shows us God's agenda for change.

God isn't interested in making us religious. Think of Jesus, who was hated by religious people.

God isn't interested in making us spiritual if by spiritual we mean detached. Jesus was God getting involved with us.

God isn't interested in making us self-absorbed: Jesus was self-giving personified.

God isn't interested in serenity: Jesus was passionate for God, angry at sin, weeping for the city.

The word holy means 'set apart' or 'consecrated.' For Jesus, holiness meant being set apart from, or different from, our sinful ways. It didn't mean being set apart from the world, but being consecrated to God in the world. He was God's glory in and for the world."

-Tim Chester, You Can Change

Do All Things Without Grumbling and Disputing

2010-07-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

Man, I haven't had the Lord hit me so hard with the conviction of the truth and my particular and pointed need of it as He did this past week. In our study of Philippians we have come to 2:14, where Paul admonishes, through the Holy Spirit, that we are not to be like the Israelites were in the wilderness, full of grumbling and disputing that things weren't as nice as they thought they should be. So, I'm pressing on with my study thinking that this is good stuff: the gospel, the Word of Life, is the way that I am humbled to not think too highly of myself and so look down on others and complain. All is seemingly going well...until my great friend Eric and I head off to find a few campsites for our home group. There's nothing like camping to test a man's practical holiness. I guess that's why God sent the Israelites into the wilderness and why Heaven is a city. There won't be a need for testing anymore, so why would we need tents?

We head up the McKenzie River and hope to grab a couple of sites at Clear Lake. None of my home group has been to Clear Lake (and as you'll read in a moment, they still haven't) and I think it's a beautiful site worth seeing, and it's the headwaters of the emerald McKenzie River, the fountain of my youth.

Of course, I arrive at Eric's house 15 minutes late, but don't think it's a big deal. We'll still get there before noon and should be able to grab a couple of spots for the 4 families that will camp. We're having a good time and some good conversation as we head up the beautiful water. Just past Sahalie my 1993 GMC 3/4 ton decides to overheat. Apparently, I lost my overdrive gear and have been plugging away since who knows when in 3rd gear. I can' t hear the engine well over the noise of the vacant window, which is open due to the absence of air-conditioning. Well, we didn't bring any water and, of course, I had unloaded my bottle of coolant for the 4th of July and forgot to place it back in the truck.

So, we arrive at Clear Lake campground and after 20 minutes of trying to figure out the signage of which sites were reserved and which were not we found one site that was empty. So, Eric places two chairs in the site and jumps back in the truck. Pulling out behind a mini-van with a tent trailer, which had passed us as we unloaded the chairs, we continued scanning for another site, preferably nearby and close to a bathroom because Eric's wife is 7 months pregnant. We find our friendly minivan family pulled into a multi-site space that would be perfect for our group. So, we roll down the window and ask if they're going to take it, explaining that we have a large group coming up. They really want some place to stay, and there doesn't seem to be much available, so they're considering it.

As they ponder the decision of paying the $30/night fee for the multisite, Eric and I decide to drive the loop again and check for another spot. Right in the front we spot one and Eric jumps out while I shut the truck off and let it cool down a bit. He climbs back up the hill and I notice that the site is closed for repairs. Yes, a campsite is closed for repairs. It's dirt, rocks, and pine needles, but apparently it's unsafe. So, we grab the chair and idle down the hill again.

By now I'm a little frustrated with myself that I didn't show up on time. Two minutes earlier and we would have had a perfect multisite for the group. As I daydream around a sharp left turn I hear Eric scream out in surprise. Hoping he spotted a good site I look his way and notice that he's clamped to the ceiling of the cab like Peter Parker with a huge puddle of ice-water filling his seat. Apparently I took that last turn a bit sharp, spilling the bucket of ice water for our drinks directly in his lap. Aaaah....that part was funny...for me, and my frustrations were alleviated in the chill of Eric's suffering.

After Eric scooped out some water and ultimately decided that the wet butt seat was actually an improvement on a hot day in a diesel truck w/o air-conditioning, we drove back around to the site we had placed chairs, to find that the site was reserved at 2pm that day. Of course. We grabbed and chairs and drove to the multisite to find Mrs. Mini-van standing in the driveway. We asked if they were sure they wanted the site and she said they did and that they had a couple of extra cars coming up. So, defeated, Eric and I headed to check the next campground downriver. At this point I'm not grumbling, but I'm frustrated that I didn't show up on time to pick up Eric. Now I'll have to contact everyone in my home group and let them know that we can't stay at Clear Lake because I'm a procrastinator.

We found two spaces next to each other at the next campground, Ice Cap. It's nice, with large sites perfect for us and RIGHT ACROSS FROM THE BATHROOMS!! Perfect! You can hear the river running down the hill (a glorious sound, it's no surprise that there's a river flowing through heaven), and it's even pretty close to the lake so we can all go swimming. So, I break out the cash and pay for the site, filling out the envelope and slipping it in that little slot in the post (which, by the way, is always about 3/4" too narrow for the envelopes so you have to smash them in there). We unload the coolers into the shade and discuss how we can tell the others that we're at a different campground when neither of us can receive a cell signal. Great, now we have to drive downriver to find a signal, too. OK, I'm starting to get a little bit grumbly.

Eric offers to fill up the bucket to put some water in the truck. I start unloading some other things when I hear Eric start laughing hysterically. He's snapped, I know it. The heat and icewater got to him. Nope, that wasn't it. He's laughing because the bathrooms are out of order. No water. Sign on the doors indicating that they are closed. OK, now I'm more grumbly and the recent days of study have started to disappear from my mind. Complaining just feels right at this point. So, I've paid for the sites already, but I can't ask our group to go without bathrooms, particulary when one is pregnant, one just had a baby 2 months ago, and one is my wife who just wasn't going to use nature's seating.

We decide that the best course of action is to eat our losses and head out to continue looking downriver. We end up at Trailbridge, near the resevoir, at which point I'm thinking that things are looking up. We may find a good place to swim at least. As is the disciplined hand of the Master's discipline, it was not to be. There were no places available. Now I'm actually getting a little worried that we're not going to get any site and have to cancel the trip. I know that everyone would be disappointed.

We get stuck behind another tent-trailer on the way out of Trailbridge where the road narrows to one lane and adds a few speedbumps near the dam. Now I'm downright frustrated and my selfishness has dumped all over the seat like that bucket of icewater. I begin to complain about people who camp in tent trailers and Eric laughs at my frustration. I notice the gold rims on the mini-van in front of us, pulling the tent-trailer and start to complain about people who would put gold rims on a mini-van. Yeah, I'm still not sure about that one. I'm not sure that's a complaint as much as it is obvious lack of style.

So, I'm complaining away as they pull over to the side and let us pass. Pulling up to the stop sign to turn back onto the highway Eric exclaims, "That's the guy! Richard, I'm not joking! That's the guy!" Confused, (because of the diesel fumes I'm sure) I ask, "What guy?" "The guy from the campground at Clear Lake!" No...way. That can't be. I mean, it's been over an hour and a half. What would they be doing down here at Trailbridge? You must be mistaken my energetic and wet-butted friend. Again, I was wrong. The van pulls up alonside of us and rolls down its window. "Yeah, there's no space here, either." "Yup," I say. "There were a few spaces at Ice Cap, one prepaid, but there's no bathrooms." "Well," the man tells me, "I think we'll just go back to that spot." Now it's not the truck that's overheating. "What spot?" I ask him. "The one back at Clear Lake."

I honestly thought about gunning it and pulling around him to sprint for the coveted multi-site. I mean, I could certainly beat a gold-rimmed minivan pulling a tent-trailer, right? At this point, overheating or not, 6.5l diesel be damned, I might just get that spot. The Holy Spirit must be working overtime on me, because we just watched them pull out and head back up the mountain. I sat there flabbergasted, at this point unable to complain outwardly out of sheer bewilderment. However, on the inside I'm just, well, ticked.

We try Olallie...no spots. Finding a hole in the cell signal black hole that is the Mckenzie River highway I pull over and call Katie to inform her of the dilemma. Through many repetitions and Sprint-esque "can you hear me now's" we get the message across. We have one more campground to try. If there's no space there, then we're out of luck.

Thankfully, and completely under the purview of God's management, we pulled into Paradise campground and found two sites near flushing toilets and right down a trail from a riverrock beach near a rare slackwater on the upper McKenzie. It ended up wonderfully. And to top things off, as Eric and I walk around the campground we find over six people walking and chatting on their cellphones. Weird, but I was thankful for a signal. And not one single gold-rimmed minivan. It was going to be a great weekend.

In the end, I was humbled to see how quickly I doubted the wisdom and sovereignty of God. Some innocent family, simply out for a nice weekend together at Clear Lake (which is becoming rarer, too) fell under the full force of the silent wrath of my sinful heart. All of this (obviously making up for the months of silence on this blog with a few too many words) to say that the promise given in the immediate passage in Philippians took on a tone of triumphant expectation in my humbled repentance: "for it is God who is working in you even the will and the work to His good pleasure." Thank you, God, for working. Without Your gracious and ever-patient Spirit, I would be a lost cause of camping rage and tent-trailer rampage...although I'm sure that gold-rimmed minivans are reserved for the streets of Hell.

Grace

2010-07-06T05:55:00.000-07:00

Grace dismantles your confidence in you, while it gives you more hope and courage than you have ever had.

-Paul David Tripp

One Inestimable Gift

2010-06-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

"If we have regarded religion merely as a means of getting things - even lofty and unselfish things - then when the things that have been gotten are destroyed, our faith will fail. When loved ones are taken away, when disappointment comes and failure, when noble ambitions are set at naught, then we turn away from God. We have tried religion, and it has failed. Of course it has failed! God is not content to be an instrument in our hand or a servant at our beck and call.

Has it never dawned on us that God is valuable for His own sake, that just as personal communion is the highest thing that we know on earth, so personal communion with God is the sublimest height of all? If we value God for His own sake, then the loss of other things will draw us all the closer to Him; we shall then have recourse to Him in time of trouble as to the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. If here and now we have the one inestimable gift of God's presence and favour, then all the rest can wait till God's good time."

-J. Gresham Machen, What is Faith?

Joy-Based Repentance

2009-12-03T07:53:00.000-08:00

I love this quote from Tim Keller's new book, Counterfeit Gods:

“In fear-based repentance, we don’t learn to hate the sin for itself, and it doesn’t lose its attractive power. We learn only to refrain from it for our own sake. But when we rejoice over God’s sacrificial, suffering love for us – seeing what it cost him to save us from sin – we learn to hate the sin for what it is. We see what the sin cost God. What most assures us of God’s unconditional love (Jesus’s costly death) is what most convicts us of the evil of sin. Fear-based repentance makes us hate ourselves. Joy-based repentance makes us hate the sin.”

- Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2009), 172.

Idols of the Heart

2009-09-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

How is it that Paul boasts in his weaknesses? This is not the normal way of things in the world. We boast in power! In greatness! In success and achievement! The way of our hearts is to tell others of what we have done. Have you ever had a conversation where your friend is telling you of something that they had succeeded in, only to find yourself also telling of how well you had done in a similar success? How quickly we like to steal their glory and build our own reputations of power, success, wealth, and strength. In this boasting, you will notice, is no room for Jesus. There is no place for God’s gracious work in the Christ. It is performance-based religion again that has snuck its way into our hearts and out of our mouths. In fact, every worldview apart from Jesus has a system of which to boast of success and accomplishments. What is it about Jesus that calls Christians to radically boast of our inabilities?

My friends, it is the gospel of grace that calls us to weakness. Jesus won our salvation through losing his reputation and life on the cross, he achieved power through weakness and brokenness, he gained glory by giving it away. This is the way of the Kingdom of Jesus: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” It is the ones who know that they are broken, messed up, hopeless in their own power that find salvation in Jesus Christ. This does not change after our conversion, but is amplified and swells into a Holy Spirit empowerment of humble praise to Jesus.

Humility and brokenness, powerlessness and weakness, are the ways of the Christian, so that Jesus might be proclaimed as the all in all. Let us not pretend that we no longer struggle with sin, that sin is deep within our hearts to this day. The flesh remains to do battle with the Holy Spirit and the apostle John says in his first letter that “If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” So, why don’t most of us boast in our weakness? Why do we find ourselves building our own reputations and seeking our own glory through demanding power, respect, and service from others? Why do we get angry when someone points out our weaknesses? Why do we fret in depression and anxiety when we see our weakness? We do these things because we are not, at that moment, seeing Jesus and His gospel, His complete substitution for us. Instead, we find ourselves again setting up idols within our hearts, things in which we seek to find fulfillment, significance, and salvation through our performance.

The root of every sin on the surface is idolatry in the heart. We think that we need something in addition to Jesus to give us satisfaction or acceptance, and we depend on them to deliver it. This is simply idolatry.

These idols rule our thoughts and our emotions, and lead us to outwardly sin. We must go to the root of the sin in order to deal with it. So, let’s look a little closer at the idolatry of our hearts, so that we can apply the gospel of Jesus Christ to our hearts and see the freedom of weakness that the grace of God can bring in Jesus Christ as we turn to him in repentance of our idols and in the joy of our freedom.

Take a few moments of silence to search your heart and identify any idols that may be present. This will be a lifelong struggle, so please don’t see this as a one-time thing. We are more weak than we know and we will find that we have set up idols again and they must be torn down again for the sake of the gospel. But, right now think of your own heart: Where do I find myself anxious and fearful time and time again? What am I thinking that I must have to be happy, significant, fulfilled, to have meaning in my life? Where do I find myself getting angry a lot? What am I believing that I must have that somebody is keeping me from? What is that thing I am blocked from that I feel will give me meaning? Now, let’s apply the gospel.

Jesus says: “My grace is sufficient for you. My power is perfected in weakness.”

To the Glory of God Alone

Pierced to the Heart

2009-08-26T07:56:00.001-07:00

A friend stabbed me yesterday. Pierced my heart...with the hard truth. The brutal truth. In loving strength he laid me bare. I love him for it. It is no kindness to hide the cold reality of sin within a brother's heart. Evidence of self-centeredness and the heart that stacks the stones of "me" upon the stones of "right" built up into a castle of self-righteous anger needs to be revealed for what it is. It is that which separates me from the peace of God and places me under the discipline of self-kindled complacency and joyless tossing of vanity. It is horrible for me when I sin for I am disglorifying God and work and wail outside of the purpose for which I was made. A friend will move me away from the edge of insane idolatry and push me back toward the joy of Jesus...the Savior of sinners.

The Proverb says, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy." (27:6)

It is the act of an enemy NOT to call to account the sin which is seen in my life. It is the act of a true friend that reveals my sin as sin, not merely a psychologized response to some wound or victimization in my mottled past, but as SIN. I do not fear my sin's revealing, for in repentance and trust in Jesus I find my freedom and my hope. In repentance I find the ability and the strength to love others, to forget myself and reach out for the good of my enemy. It takes a real friend to stab me in the heart with the double-edged sword of God's Word and reveal, in biblical words, that I have sinned. Not merely that I have sinned, but that there is hope for transformation through the Holy Spirit of God applying the blood of Jesus Christ on my behalf. So, I do not fear the blade of truth, nor do I distrust my friend. He is a true friend, a righteous friend who can wound me when I have built my own kingdom and have become so self-myopic that I do not love.

So, keep crying aloud, Isaiah! Do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet, declaring to my people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins. May the clear tone of truth penetrate our hardened hearts and self-deceived minds until all that remains is the glory and praise of the One Righteous. Jesus alone is the righteous man, who did not seize the right of equality that He had with God, but took the form of a servant for me and for you. That is self-forgetfulness. That is love. That is humility, always speaking the truth, but always seeking the good of those around Him, even when it means aiming the blade for the heart.

Soli Dei Gloria

Jesus Wept

2008-12-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

Jesus wept. The tears of the eternal God fell to the ground because of His great love for me. The ancient One who walked upon the heavens amidst the fire of the first light bowed low to enter by the peasant’s gate for me. His heart is powerfully gentle and with humble courage he wept over hardened hearts. He bled to redeem me. God bled for me. I feel the humbling tide rolling over my soul. I am not worthy of such extravagance.

The great Father of eternities caught my tears in his bottle, comforting words of promise and of peace. This One, the catcher of my sorrow, so aloof in His splendor and infinity, did become the crier of the tear, humbled low in dullish insignificance. To a stubborn and obstinate people He succumbed to the deep well of saline sadness, to the excessive excruciation of the cross. The Son whose face had never hid from the glory of His eternal Father, laid down his hallowed communion to swallow up holy wrath for me.

Jesus wept. The joy of heaven’s radiant gaze obscured by the unlit darkness of rebels. The veil hanging between the holy and the hard-hearted, the sacred and the sacrilege. God wants it down, so He came down to rend apart the parting, dividing the division by His own flesh. Jesus tore it top to bottom when heaved his final breath. The wrath of God appeased for me in His righteous curse fulfilled in this weeping Son’s sacrifice.

What love is this that raises tears like these? What gracious mercy is it that wells up to such a gift? It is my Lord’s love! It is my Savior’s blood! It is my Jesus who weeps with pity and longs with such passion pursuing my salvation with joyous dread and woeful offering to the Father. It was my sin that brought Him to that wretched glorious tree, but it was His great meritless love that held Him there for me.

Oh for joy to God and man that Jesus wept for me. His tears of pity, warm with love, cleared his vision to Calvary. Up from the grave He lives for joy, leading salvation glowing from the pit of dark despair. Now though guilty I stand not condemned, for Christ my Savior lives.

I will draw near to Christ my God, so warm and gentle the scarred embrace. It was for me He endured the cross, now carrying joy to the Father. My sins, they were scarlet, now white as snow. His cheeks, once wet with tears for me, now stretched wide in welcoming gladness.

The tears that fell from the eyes of my brother; those were my God’s tears for me. The blood that was shed from the body of my King; that was God bleeding for me. What shall I fear in times of duress, when all around me the pillars of life are leaning? My God became man with tears of compassion and gave His life for me. He lives today with conquering power to hold me near forever. I will draw near to Him safely for rest and repose, His tearful love draws me close.

My First Day of Preschool

2008-09-23T06:49:00.001-07:00

Well, today I start my first day of preschool. You see, I don't ever remember actually going to preschool, but this time I am going as an "educational assistant" with my son, Ricky.

Ricky has been diagnosed on the autism spectrum disorder, or for those unfamiliar with such language: he has autism. Through many hours of therapy (~30hrs/wk) organized by his mother and performed by volunteers from the church (thank you guys soooo much!) and students from the local colleges (thank you, too!!) Ricky has grown exponentially in his ability to function in everyday situations.

It was a little over a year ago when we started this type of therapy, called Applied Behavior Analysis. It's basically one-on-one repetitive learning. Ricky learns by being shown the same things over and over again over a longer period of time than a typical child. The reason that we chose this type of therapy was that is has been shown to work effectively in preparing a child to function in typical life situations. Our ABA specialist, Jenny Fischer from Bend, has been tremendous with Ricky (and with his dimwitted father!).

Last year, Ricky had begun to injure himself by hitting himself in the face or legs, slamming his head into things repetitively, or by scratching himself with his fingernails. Needless to say, we strongly felt (through many tears) that we had to do something more drastic than group time a few times a week. There was no fear like watching your own child hurt himself and you didn't know why and couldn't stop him. We actually had Ricky wearing a bike helmet and mittens so that he would not bruise himself. It seems everywhere we went someone was looking at us with a look in their eyes that said, "What have you done to your child?!!" And we live in Eugene, where the strange is normal!

I guess the reason that I'm writing this is because I have seen the goodness of God in all of this. Through much struggle and many trials (try having different people in your house for 30 hrs/week when you're an introvert by nature! I love all of you IA's!!!) I have seen my little boy move from a child who sits by the wall and bangs his head into a little boy who plays with stuffed animals and loves to laugh. He no longer hits himself, is learning sign language, is using a few words, and all-in-all seems quite typical apart from his inability to speak (Ricky also has cleft palatte and is recovering from his 4th surgery, which was 2 weeks ago).

Going to school with him this year will be a challenge for me. I know that the Lord is going to be teaching me true heart patience and humility. Being Ricky's shadow has a tendency to weigh heavily upon my heart because my sinful flesh tries to wrest control from the Lord. I put heavy burdens upon myself to "fix" Ricky. I consider it, in times of small faith, my job to make sure that he succeeds in this classroom. In the light of the gospel, however, my little boy is secure. I know that if God loves us enough that He gave His Son in our place, then He will not hold back anything else that we need to find our joy in Him.

If it's one thing that Jesus brought when he established His kingdom is that He loves the marginalized, the weak, the outcast. He healed lepers, ate with brigands, and exorcised the demonic. God loves the weak, and any success in my boy's life is going to be due to the power of the Holy Spirit transforming his mind and healing his body. Now, I work with all that I've got for the growth of my son, but in the end I know that it is not due my work, or Katie's work, but the very Creator of my boy's mind that is doing His work of recreation. What sin has decreated, God is in the business of recreating. In this promise I take great joy!! Though I do not know the details of what the future may hold for Ricky, I know with great confidence that Jesus is restoring and recreating him. God's Holy Spirit is powerful to effect transformation, I have seen it happen time and again in the lives of people. If He has promised, He will follow through, for God cannot be untruthful to Himself.

So, I go with trepidation to sit on the floor and sing songs and glue stuff to other stuff with my son whom I love. My heart is seizing more of what Jesus meant when He said that we must become like children in order to enter the Kingdom of God. Through great trials comes great humility and a desperate cry out to the Lord. When we are made powerless, then God shines in power, to His glory and His honor. If this struggle is what it takes for me to find my joy in the Lord, then I cherish it as my treasure. Deep repentance comes in such strange ways.

Lord, I want to learn patience, humility, and deep self-giving love. Bring it on at whatever the cost, that you may be worshipped in joy for your self-giving love in Christ.

Soli Dei Gloria,
Richard

Salvation is Not Through the Perfection of My Repentance, but by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus

2008-08-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

It is not in the perfection of our repentance in which our salvation lies, any more than it is in the perfection of our faith. Rather, it is in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that our salvation lies, so it is objectively and divinely secured for us by our Savior, our Master, our God.

The reality of my soul's sin is that I am constantly finding myself trusting in things other than the Lord. I trust my intelligence, my morality, my own sense of being right, and I am always finding more contrition, more repentance, constantly turning away from putting my faith in myself. The Romans 7 reality of my struggle against the idolatry of my own heart and the sin which so easily entangles me must lead me to distrust even the perfection of my own repentance.

If I am trusting in the perfection of my repentance, where then does this lead me? Joy? Hope? No! Into utter fear and despair that my contrition might not be good enough and God's wrath may still be upon me! I am tossed about fearing that I may still not be good enough, contrite enough, repentant enough to earn God's mercy.

However, if my trust is not in the perfection of my repentance, but rather is in the death of Christ on my behalf, then I take great joy in HIS perfection of obedience and His atonement for my sins agaisnt God. HE has removed the wrath of God from me, which was justified because of my sins and has put His righteousness, the very righteousness of God, upon me. I trust in Him. God substituting Himself for sinners, of which I am coming more and more to understand my heart's propensity to join! What kind of grace is this?! Holy amazing grace of God, that You should die for me.

How vastly different from the pagan understanding of the gods is this? God appeasing His own just and righteous hatred of sin by becoming weak, so weak as to die under His own wrath. The pagan gods demanded sacrfices from humans. The biblical God demands sacrifice, and then pays it Himself!! The reality of our salvation is this concept of this self-substitution. John Stott says this,

“The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting Himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives which belong to God alone; God accepts penalties which belong to man alone.” (taken from The Cross of Christ)

There is joy! There is freedom from fear! There is hope! Jesus is my SAVIOR! He is my SECURITY! The Cross is my righteousness and by faith I will never be turned under God's wrath. To the repentant heart, with knowledge of the severity of his sin in light of the holy justice of God, this is truly GOOD NEWS! My debt is actually paid! My sins are actually cleansed! My life is actually secure because Jesus, my God, has removed the Father's righteous wrath and made me an acceptable son.

The blood of Jesus takes my sins away (1 John 1:7)!! Praise Jesus for His immeasurable kindness and unfathomable love!

Hebrews 10:19-22
"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

Let us draw near to the Lord with great hope and assurance that Jesus has opened the way for us into the holy place of the Father. Draw near to Him, for He has drawn near to you.

A Meditation on Psalm 32

2008-08-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Happy is the forgiven sinner who knows he's a sinner and knows that he is forgiven! There is no joy like the guilty shown mercy, the prisoner set free, the condemned delivered justly!

Happy is the man who has seen his iniquity and has not deceived himself about it. He has felt its weight and its severity. He hates it within himself and knows that God is righteous in judgment and holy in all His ways. He is not self-deceived, but grieves in reality, and then has found the LORD has not counted it against him! Mercy strong and vast and free!

SELF_DECEPTION: Hiding my sin consumed me and stole my joy. It sapped my strength and my soul wasted away. My life's juices dried up like a peach in the summer heat. The dryness of death overtook me. Wrinkled woe wasted up my thoughts in tossings upon my bed. My soul did not rest because of my sin hidden from You.

REPENTANCE: I declared my sin to you, and did not hide my iniquity any longer. I came clean concerning the hideous hidden sins and the destructive way of my own will. I will confess my transgressions to the LORD and you lifted up the inquity of my sin. You lifted up Your Son in the place of my sin! MY sin. Hidden no longer, Your holy light illumined the Cross and I weep in joyful sorrow.

RESTORATION: I can hide in you, O Lord. You are the stable rock of preservation and deliverance. We should cry out to You at all times, while we still have days on earth. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

ADMONITION: The Lord instructs me. He guides me in the way. I come to Him as the learner, the weak one, the ignorant, and the broken-hearted over my sin. He calls me to learn without stubbornness and insistence on MY way, as if I needed a bit and bridle to be turned from my rebellion. I don't want to be a stubborn beast, a brute to You. I want to follow Your ways, and not be turned by discipline and judgment. How good to me You are. Oh, so good. Lead me in Your ways and I will follow You all the days of my life.

REJOICE: Rejoice, you righteous! Be glad and sing for joy for you have been redeemed from your sins! The salvation of the LORD of all the Universe has come to meet you in your brokenness! Be glad for He has made you clean! Repent and Rejoice for the Lord is near to the contrite and dwells with the lowly in spirit!

Communities of Intolerance

2008-07-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

I've been reading through Timothy Keller's newest book, The Reason for God, lately and have come upon an interesting line of thought. In his book, Keller argues about skepticism and the many charges brought against Christianity and attempts to ask readers to evaluate and criticize their worldviews in the same light. One of the chapters that has recently caught my eye is the chapter that includes some thoughts on "Christianity as a straight-jacket."

One common view of Christianity is that it is narrow and exclusive. Not only is it narrow and exclusive, but that it demands that its people hold up certain standards and beliefs. In the eyes of the world this is divisive and intolerant, therefore not a good community or acceptable faith. Keller goes on to describe that every community, no matter how liberally democratic, holds its members to commonly shared beliefs and standards. Our society, while claiming to be tolerant and "unified" holds to the personal beliefs such as "a preference of individual to community rights, a division between private and public morality, and the sanctity of personal choice." Therefore, even a liberal democracy like ours is based upon a common set of beliefs. And, these beliefs are by no means universal or commonly held throughout the world. He ends this paragraph by stating, "Every human community holds in common some beliefs that necessarily create boundaries, including some people and excluding others from its circle." I guess that's why we have prisons. Some people have not met the common standards or believe the shared beliefs of the community. If we were truly "unified" and "tolerant" we wouldn't have prisons, or a justice system. But because we do have some common assumptions of personal safety and personal and individual rights, we need a justice system and a penal system.

Keller asks people to evaluate communities with these tests: "Which community has beliefs that lead its members to treat persons in other communities with love and respect - to serve them and meet their needs? Which community's beliefs lead it to demonize and attack those who violate their boundaries rather than treating them with kindness, humility, and winsomeness? We should criticize Christians when they are condemning and ungracious to unbelievers. But we should not criticize churches when they maintain standards for membership in accord with their beliefs. Every community must do the same."

Sadly, I believe that this inadequate view of "tolerance" and "unity" has pervaded our churches, having hijacked the wondrous word of "grace." In our churches today it is deemed horrific if we hold our members up to the standard of Scripture and the belief of the gospel. How could we tell somebody that they don't believe correctly? That's not gracious! It's legalistic and pharisaical!How could we discipline a member for not living in line with the belief of the gospel, though they claim to believe in the beliefs of the church? Am I speaking of those who are unbelievers? No! I'm not. We do not judge those outside the church. However, we are called to judge those inside the church (1 Cor 5:9-13), to call each other to repentance and faith when we see each other wandering away from the truth of the gospel. In fact, true love of each would do these very things. The more we love each other the more we hate in them the sin that destroys and pulls them away from the joy of the gospel. Exhortation and admonition are to be held in great esteem, because the holiness and truth of God in the doctrine of the gospel is held in great esteem. Because Jesus has pardoned us for purity, not from purity. Where a passion for purity does not exist, then neither does a passion for the God of Scripture. As John Piper states, "The proof of your pardon is your passion for purity."

Let us seek to walk in-line with the gospel, to repent daily and turn away from and fight against sin in our hearts and behaviors. Let us make enemies of sin for God has made peace with us. But, if we make peace with sin we make ourselves out to be enemies of God, for we cannot make peace with sin and make peace with God. And if our community holds a shared set of beliefs and conduct to be a community, let it ever lie in the gospel of Jesus Christ and for His glory and our obedient dependence.

Peace to you.

Blessed Self-Forgetfulness

2008-06-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

I hate grass. No, I mean I really hate grass. At least during the pollen season.
I spent last Sunday huddling inside my own Notre Dame's belltower known as the couch, trying to avoid the repulsed reactions of disgust upon the faces of my brothers and sisters at church. My eye was swollen up as big as a congresssional ego (well, maybe not that big) so that I looked like Rocky after his fight with Apollo. It was not fun!

There's something good about being very irritated and uncomfortable, though. I tend to take my health for granted (hence the thrice-used treadmill in the garage). It's not until some body-part isn't working correctly that I really take notice of it, seemingly without taking a break in its attention grabbing endeavors. I don't think about how nice it is to breathe at night until I've awakened for the 25th time to blow my nose, only to find that even after expelling the tissue I am plugged up again. In the same way I don't realize how nice it is to see well until your eyes itch so badly and swell up until you can see parts of them that you shouldn't naturally be able to see.

My ego is like that, too. It's broken and sick. It wants to be noticed all the time, calling attention to itself through complaining and gossip, challenging others and feeling wounded when its brokenness is revealed. I'm always feeling my ego drawing attention to itself like an itchy pollen laden eyelid. It cares so much about what other people think, comparing itself to others trying to gain an advantage over them so that it will think that it's good. It's not working correctly.

According to our Lord, it is in humility that we find salvation. It is in contrition, not competition that we find our redemption. My ego so wants to perform and achieve so that I can boast and control my own life. Jesus calls me to come and die. You see, humility is not merely not bragging, or in viewing oneself as low and worthless. Even when we view oursleves as low and worthless we are still looking at our ego! We're still comparing and defending. Only when we forget about the ego are we at peace. Only when we are at rest in the work of Christ for us as complete, sufficient, adequate, and powerfully eternal are we humbled and emboldened enough to forget about us and place our eyes upon our illustrious Redeemer. Here is where true humility lies.

When my eyes are upon Jesus and His work I may be attacked and wounded by others, but my soul rests in Him and clings to Him. I am not devastated by failure or others' recognition of my ego's weaknesses. I can agree with it and rejoice in the work of my Jesus. I have forgotten about myself and cease to compare myself to others, but rather rest myself in Christ. I do not need to defend myself and my achievement or failures, for I am wrapped in the achievement and holiness of Jesus. Blessed self-forgetfulness.

When my body is working right I do not notice it. When my ego is working right, humbly secure in Christ, I do not notice it. The world thinks that the only way to cure low self-esteem is with a bigger ego, but that's no answer for the bigger my ego the more that I notice it and am hurt and angry and bitter when it gets snubbed. The cure for low self-esteem is to forget self-esteem and find Christ-esteem. "I am more sinful than I can dare to admit. Yet in Christ I am more loved than I can even dare to imagine." Blessed self-forgetfulness in the clarity of vision that is Jesus, who gave Himself up for me that I might be called a child of God. Who am I to fear? Who am I to boast? I cannot fear and I cannot boast when I believe the gospel, for I was chosen by God's grace and I am deeply loved for all of eternity by the One who made eternity. Blessed Self-forgetfulness.

May the allergens of life's woes call you to humiliation and the joyful rest of blessed self-forgetfulness in Christ. He is trustworthy, so trust Him.

2008-02-25T11:13:00.000-08:00

Another 3 weeks! I was supposed to write in this blog every week. Well, that tells us something about me, doesn't it?! It truly does.

Some brothers and I were wrestling together in the book of Galatians this morning. Through their help I was thinking about the distinctiveness of the "gospel of Christ." In Galatians 1:4 Paul defines the work of Christ, the gospel, as the "rescue." "He gave Himself for us to rescue us from this present evil age..." Rescue. Jesus the Rescuer. Richard the Rescuee. I'm not sure that's a word, but I'll use it anyway (go figure, I make up words).

I think that too often I don't treat Jesus as my rescuer, but rather as my teacher. Not that Jesus doesn't teach, I believe that His teaching is fundamental and necessary to know God. However, I don't think that His primary work in the gospel is to instruct us, but rather to rescue us. I imagine that if you asked Christians what a Christian is, many would reply that a Christian is "one who follows Christ." A good definition of a disciple, but it really implies that what defines a Christian is not their rescued state, but rather their power to follow the teachings of Christ. I think that this falls woefully short of the gospel.

The gospel is the good news for lost sinners that there is a Rescuer who is willing and able to save us from our desperately woeful condition in sin, enslavement, death, and God's wrath. In this paradigm there is no room for "my righteousness" or even my values as the delineating factor in God's approval of me (or, by extension, of anybody else). When I live in the light of Christ as my Rescuer I cannot rely upon moralistic success or "good values" to give me any position of acceptance before God. I needed rescued, completely rescued b/c I was completely lost! Therefore, I cannot look down on those living in sin. I cannot withdraw from those who are still lost. I must tell them of the Rescuer, rather than condemn them with their moralistic failures.

The religious heart (who sees Jesus as the teacher whom they emulate) thinks that God owes them good things because they have followed the teachings. And the Scripture tells us that Jesus did not come to those who think that they are righteous, but to those who know that they are sinners (Luke 5:32). To the "righteous" (in their own estimation) Jesus has nothing to offer! He is not merely a Teacher who shows us how to live "righteously" so that God will accept us. He is the Rescuer who "gave Himself in our place." Through His blood He has rescued us. By His death He has satisfied the wrath of God and placed us into the New Kingdom where He sits enthroned for all eternity to be honored, worshipped, and joyfully enjoyed forever. This Rescuer moves us with great affections to love Him. The Teacher demands respect, but the Rescuer compels love!!

Learn with me daily that Jesus is our Rescuer to be loved and honored in the infinite gratitude of a soul set free from the death of sin and condemnation. This humble rest springs forth from the powerfully effective working of the Spirit of God into the joyful exuberance of God-honoring grace-filled worship.

Oh, Jesus, my heart longs to see you again. To know You as You are and to rest in the lavish wonder of the fullness of Your grace. Break my heart away from its foolish wandering and draw my by Your Spirit within me into the joyful wondering of Your glorious grace.

~ To the Glory of God Alone

Atrocities of My Culture

2008-02-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

I've been studying this week the truth that the church is God's display of His powerful authority over all that exists. How the assembly of the redeemed, simply by the fact that we are the recipients of God's gracious plan of salvation through Jesus Christ, display His power to overcome sin and its disasterous effects and to produce for Himself the glorious reconcilation.

Then it struck me how we don't always look different than the world. Some cases in point:

My home group has been reading God's Word in the book of Judges. Just last week we came to the story of Jephthah in Judges 12 and his horrific sacrifice of his own daughter. Human sacrifice!! He offered her up as a burnt offering! How ugly is this?!! It completely offended my nature that a man would do such a heinous thing and call it good. In our home group we wrestled with how much Jephthah's culture had impacted how he functionally believed and behaved. To him, because his culture understood it as OK to sacrifice humans to the gods, what he was doing was OK. He was not living according to the revealed Word of God (God hates human sacrifice; Deut. 12:31) but rather according to the accepted principles of his culture.

I was shocked this week to hear again of Al Qaeda's use of mentally handicapped women, having Down's Syndrome, as "suicide" bombers in Iraq. I was angered and disgusted that these evil men would go so far as to use these weakened humans, made in God's image, to carry out their plans. John Piper said it well when he states, "This was not this was not suicide bombing, but the detonation of retarded girls at a distance." Did this news anger you?! Did it send you into a fury over the depths of this evil? It did to me. "How could they do that?! They are so evil!!"

Then Dr. Piper made an interesting parallel to our culture that blew me away. Not that it was true, but rather that my heart was not angered by its truth. Piper drew the parallel between what Al Qaeda did to those two women and what we in the U.S. and in England do when tests show that our unborn children have Down Syndrome: 90% of the time these children are aborted. They are torn limb from limb, "blown up from a distance." For the studies and to read Dr. Piper's blog, click here.

Why am I not as angered to this truth of such terrible atrocities toward the weak and helpless? Shouldn't my heart cry, "How can we do this?! We have been so evil!!" My culture has affected my heart more than I realize and I need to be transformed by the renewing of my mind to come into line with God's revealed Word. Am I speaking out on the horrors of evil here? Now? Am I challenging my culture's accepted norms in order to defend the weak, the helpless, the destitute?

So, what are you going to do about it?

Losing My Righteousness

2008-01-28T11:34:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I haven't posted in awhile, and I feel like I should. However, I really don't have anything that's weighing on my mind like I usually do. I guess blissful ignorance still has its pull on me. :)

Functional faith. What am I actively trusting to give me "righteousness" before God and others? For me, it's usually somehow related to parenting, preaching, or intellect. Let me try and explain how this works itself out in my life.

First, it may help to think of the concept of "righteousness" and how we base our acceptance before God on whether or not our "righteousness" is adequate. The gospel teaches us that we are given the passive righteousness of Jesus Christ by faith, or reliance, upon His sacrificial death on the cross and the power of His resurrection to hold us secure. However, we typically live according to our own righteousness in any of a number of different spheres. For me, some of these (not an exclusive list, I might add) are parenting righteousness, preaching righteousness, and intellectual righteousness.

When I am not functionally believing the gospel (passive righteousness of Jesus) in my parenting, I will functionally depend upon my parenting righteousness to make me OK with God. So, I will look down on parents who cannot "control" their children like I can mine. So, my pride and disdain are the sins rooted in my self-righteousness of parenting b/c I'm functionally not believing the gospel. As God tends to do, He has promised to discipline me to trust Him more and myself less, to bring my functional faith in-line with the gospel. So, in my parenting righteousness, He has given me an autistic son! Oh, the grace of God! Now what can I stand on concerning my parenting righteousness?!! When my son breaks others children's toys and my discipline has little to no effect?!! When my son slams his head into the ground repeatedly and I can offer no answer to curb his disturbing desires while strangers with shopping carts give me dirty looks?!! I have no parenting righteousness left!! God brings my righteousness crumbling to the ground!! Blessed be the Lord for not letting me stay in my self-righteousness, but working to open the eyes of my heart through such good and excellent discipline.

When I am not functionally believing the gospel in my preaching, I will trust my preaching righteousness to make me "good" with God. So, I will look down "lesser" preachers and idolize great preachers. I will become depressed when I my sermons are lousy and become angry when people challenge my preaching righteousness, because I feel (functionally) that they are challenging my "goodness before God," my righteousness. So I must defend myself vehemently and I will try and tear my accusers down so as to elevate my own righteousness. How petty! How ungospel-like! How arrogantly unbelieving of the gospel! So, God brings my righteousness crumbling down again by revealing to me His grace toward me. He challenges my pride by working in spite of my perceived failures in preaching. My most effective sermons of spiritual transformation are usually the ones that I perceive to the be the biggest failures. How gracious of God!

There are many examples of self-righteousness in various spheres of my life. What are yours? Where do you find yourself becoming arrogant? Depressed over failure? Angry when attacked? Maybe it's parenting, like me? Maybe it's your career or profession? Maybe it's competitive sports, music, art, wookworking, how nice your yard is, car looks, or the size of your house? Where do you find yourself comparing yourself or your performance to others? and whether you succeed or fail in your comparison dictates your feelings of pride or envy, disdain or hatred? This is where you have functionally forgotten the gospel of grace, where Jesus died, not because we were beautiful or wise or had nice yards, but because HE IS GRACIOUS!!

So, we must repent!! Not merely of our active sins, but of our righteousness. That's right, repent of your righteousness!! Turn again to the gospel of grace, where Jesus has done it all on our behalf and has born the wrath of God in our place, even for our current self-righteousness, and has given us all the restful blessings of God.

When I see you next, I want to hear where you are growing in repentance of your righteousness. Where are you struggling to depend upon the passive righteousness of Jesus? Boy, my preaching righteousness needs to crumble, and I know that we all have righteousness that needs to be shattered. By the grace of God, He has the power to do just that!

to the glory of Jesus, peace

Men With No Repute

2008-01-14T09:44:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have those days where you think to yourself, "I really have no idea what I'm doing!" and there comes a severe revelation in your soul that most of what other people see is a complete farce?

I'm having one of those days. It's like unwrapping gifts, only underneath the tightly creased edges of the box and past the perfect placement of the ribbon-tied bow lies a broken gift, shattered by its own weight. Broken, ugly, and sharp enough to cut whoever tries to handle it. That's how I feel today.

I know that some of my brothers and sisters, if they read this, would try to encourage me and "put me back together," some may even try to rewrap this brokenness with pretty paper and ribbon. But I know that this is where I need to be. I am not in despair over my brokenness, and I know that a rewrap is just a thin facade of useless shimmer, not the Real. I want the Real. So, forget the wrapping paper, the shine, the perfect-looking folds. I want you to see the broken man, the shattered man, the weak man.

I am a self-centered and arrogant piece of work. My sense of justice usually revolves around my enjoyment, not the Word of God. I am prone to turn my eyes from suffering, rather than run to help or to cry out in anger when I see injustice. Why is this? Why, when I know in my head the grace of God in Jesus toward me, do I not love like Him? Why do I not weep over the cruelty of inaction within my heart? How long, O Lord? Come again to sweep away my self-reliance with the powerful wind of your Spirit! Let me not stay on this course, but blow me another way, to the leading of change...again.

I will not run from brokenness, from weakness, from the reality of my ineptitude or even my inaptitude. Jesus is my strength of change. Jesus is my source of love. Jesus is my soul's cry for redemption and hope and peace and joy! Jesus! Your beloved needs you now. Perfect my weakness and be my all in all.

My prayer for you is the same my friend. Be broken, take off the wrapped facade of repute, and see Jesus as your only strength and hope for REAL redemption and change and joy. Let us be men with no repute of our own, so that Jesus would be revealed as the Sovereign King of Grace. Then, and only then, will we mount up with wings as eagles, walk and not grow weary. In complete reliance we find our wings and ride the updraft of the powerful Holy Spirit of God. Faith producing the powerfully effective fruit from the very heart of God.

Join me in my prayers, to the glory of God alone.

Give Me Your Hand

2007-12-31T09:30:00.000-08:00

Wow! Almost three weeks since my last post. Time flies when you're...busy with holidays! :)

Peace. Do we have to agree to worship together? Well, on some central points, I believe that we do. Let's be honest, we must worship the same God, base our salvation upon the same Savior, see our redemption as by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. But why is it so hard to disagree AND love each other on other issues?

We've had some people leave the church recently, wrestling with my view of what the Bible teaches on the doctrine of election. Of course, the first response of my heart was to revel in how "right" that I was and that these brothers and sisters just didn't get it. You know, I thought that I was becoming less arrogant, but the Holy Spirit has a unique way of revealing to me again how desperately presumptuous that I still am. Jesus asked me again, "Why did I have to die for you, Richard? Are you so right that I died unnecessarily? Is it your righteousness in the doctrine of election that saves you?" Well, what could I answer to that?! Humbled again.

I am so prone to stand at a distance with those whom I disagree with. My propensity is to write them off and let God wrestle with them...without me. I still have a lot to learn about humility and love. I still long to wrestle messily in humility and truth-seeking, and I need you to help me do so.

I guess that's what bothers me most about a break in fellowship over differing opinions. Not that we disagree, but that we don't wrestle together, stretching our doctrines out over the Word of God together IN LOVE. Wesley puts it well, speaking on Christian love when we penned,

"Is your heart right with God? If it is, give me your hand. I do not mean, 'Be of my opinion;' you need not. Neither do I mean, 'I will be of your opinion;' I cannot. Let all opinions alone; only give me your hand."

Why can't we disagree together, wrestle to understand God's Word in truth together as we seek the Lord, and do it in love. Humbly realizing that we are only OK with God at all because of Jesus Christ, not because of our wisdom or righteousness or "having it all together doctrinally." I am not trying to minimize the importance of doctrine, it is eternally significant, but cannot we wrestle to love each other within our struggle. That seems to be the import of Christ's instruction and the work of His Spirit within us. It seems to me that Christ is more interested in HOW we wrestle together than necessarily over what we wrestle with. Octavius Winslow wrote such:

"Oh! It is a tragic thing to stand aloof from a holy man of God because he is not in all things of our own opinion! Such a violation of the first law of Christianity does despite to the Spirit of grace, the Spirit of love, the Spirit of God, and either proves our own utter destitution of the Spirit, or must result in the withdrawal of His sensible presence, and a consequent spiritual leanness, darkness, and desertion of the soul."

And oh how right he is! For when I hold aloof from my brothers and sisters who differ from me, it is I who suffers the dry destituion of the soul wandering from Christ! And an unwillingness to wrestle together means that we are trusting our own righteousness that has made us right with God, not the righteousness of Christ! We have forgotten the gospel once again and are living like we don't functionally and presently need Jesus! Damn this sin within me, and it has been damned. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory in Jesus Christ our Lord!

Let's wrestle together over truth, God's Word. Let's tussle with what the Word of God actually teaches. And let us do it with love for each other and the humble truth of the gospel that we are all in desperate need of Jesus today, to heal our broken minds and bring us home...together.

I want to invite all of you who know me, please don't fear that I will throw you out if you disagree with me. Please do not fear that I will try to throw you down or belittle you when we see things differently. Now, I do believe what I preach, and any preacher is a fool, a hypocrite, and a people-pleaser who does not (and I fear God, not man), so please don't expect me to just agree with you because you see something one way either. Expect to wrestle together, to struggle to see the Truth of God's Word together, but we can do it hand in hand, each seeking to benefit each other in love. Please, if you're tempted like me to run from a wrestling match, think of the call of Christ to love one another and to speak truth to one another. Let's wrestle together, like Jacob. We may come away with some bruises and limp, but we will have seen God together and the gain of this kind of growth greatly outweighs the pain of letting the ego go.

And above all, pray for me, that I would know Jesus more day by day and by seeing Him I would see less of myself and live for His glory. Because when it comes down to it, none of us changes by sheer force of the will or the power of the intellect. We change by the power of the Holy Spirit who works all things according to the counsel of His will.

No Worthy Title

2007-12-11T11:28:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I cannot even believe how quickly I wander from the Truth. My capacity for hypocrisy is really quite extensive. Case in point:

This past week I preached on how God's sheer grace leads us to have hope that God can change anybody, that we do not need to coerce anybody, and that we have respect for everybody who disagrees with us. Objectivelly and Scripturally it makes perfect sense: if God saves us by sheer grace and NOT due to our wisdom and if He chose us so that we chose Him, then we have no leg to stand on in comparison to anyone else.

And yet, here I am again, running away from those who disagree with me. I find myself frustrated with people because I think that they should be perfect (of course, I don't expect that from myself). And instead of staying and wrestling with them (see previous post on the messy church) I run from these encounters. It's in these moments of messiness, when other don't see the disagreement as a problem and I see it as very important, that I completely lose patience and lose hope that God is working. I write people off and presume that I am wise. It's amazing how quickly I lose sight of Jesus and His glorious grace toward me, THE sinner!

Even in prayer with others, I find myself judging their prayer, as if their words and understanding of deep spiritual truth were indicative of whether or not God is working in them! I believe that corporate prayer is vital to a deepening dependence upon God and our part in His glorious redemptive plan in the world, and yet I stay away from prayer groups where the predominant prayers are different than mine. Now, I'm not saying that it doesn't matter who we pray to, it must be to Jesus (and that's the Jesus as the Bible reveals Him). However, though these are my brothers and sisters, I can't get past our theological differences. And rather than stay and wrestle for the Truth, from Scripture, I simply complain and stay away!

Oh, Jesus! Come quickly!

Some Family Time

2007-12-02T21:04:00.000-08:00

Katie, the kids, and I went up to the Northern Lights Christmas Tree Farm in Pleasant Hill yesterday to pick out our Christmas tree for this year. I guess that makes sense that we went to get a tree, huh? It was a wonderful time together with much-needed outdoor mud play, even if it was a little brisk. Here are the kids riding on the hay. The girls are their normal selves, happy to be picking out a tree and very excited for cookies and hot chocolate afterwards. Ricky seems a little pensive with the jostling of the haycart and the noise of the diesel tractor droning on through the puddles. Of course, I think he also saw a cow, which was very exciting. He can say "moo." So can the cow. It was a big day.

It seems like we get these days too far apart, and I hate to sound cliche, but the days do tend to pick up speed as we grow older. Katie and I are almost 30 years old, and where we are today is not where I expected to be at 30 years old. We are pleasantly surprised at what the Lord is doing in our lives and have to take a few moments to breathe every once in awhile, because amidst all the turmoil of raising three children, pastoring a church, and generally staying sane, God has been incredibly gracious to us. All I have to do to remember that is look on these three little faces and see the fingerprints of God on the canvas of my life. These ones are a few of the greatest gifts that God has graced us with and we are honored and overjoyed to call them our own.

The Glorious Dance

2007-11-20T12:37:00.001-08:00

I bought a digital keyboard around 10 years ago. For those in the know, it's a Kurzweil PC-88mx. I still don't know what 90% of the keyboard buttons do. There's nothing like a little technology to reveal my ignorance and bring me down to size.

I recently found the buttons that play a demonstration of the keyboard's capabilities by playing music in different voices and modes. My daughter, Charlotte, who is 7 years old and learning the piano, asked how I made the piano play that song.

In hindsight, I should have feigned technological ignorance again. Now, at this moment, I am listening to a song that I'm pretty sure was a part of Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade for about the 45th time since I got home 20 minutes ago.

As much as I am growing to hate that Kurzweil (time will hopefully fade out the distaste), I am blessed to be able to watch the energetic joy of these little girls whom I call my own. They dance and dance and dance, completely oblivious to the fact that they received their father's "white man" gene, which renders one's legs completely insensitive to rhythm. It's a genetic disease. I've never even seen my father try to dance...and I'm not sure that I want to. But, in spite of the epileptic motions that my daughters consider as graceful as the most beautiful ballerina, I am enthralled at their joy.

I wish I had that joy. To be able to be completely unaware of myself and how I appear, just to dance in the glory of the music. I guess that I am more a product of my culture than I know. Lowered expectations and my failure of even those has hardened me to a sense of hope. What I know in my head, a lot like understanding music theory and notation, cannot replace the simple joy of the dance. It's not as if joy has completely moved out, but cynicism has moved its furniture into the living room.

It's time for another eviction. A gaze again at the great Musician. To hear the genius of grace and the glory of the gospel symphony, where God's mercy counterpoints God's holiness at the cross. I need to dance again, to feel the gospel move my soul to joyful, if not graceful, movement.

Holy Spirit, work your magic upon the lyre of my heart and set my soul to dancing, completely oblivious to how I appear, lost in the wonder of the music of your gracious love.

A Message from Mary

2007-11-13T10:18:00.001-08:00

I thought that I would pass on an e-mail from Mary Haag, freshly back in Cambodia:

Hi you all.
I just wanted to let you know that I'm here! Currently in the OMF
library which has aircon. One of the missionaries hooked me up for
WiFi and now I'm off! The trip went well though I got very little
sleep even with a sleeping pill. Though I had a headache earlier, I'm
actually not tired though being awake for over 36 hours, minus maybe 4
hours of sleep on the plane. I think I must be getting by on
adrenalin. I'll not go to bed till night, so still have 8 hours or so to go. I had some amazing conversations on the journey.
Strange and wonderfully confirming. I had three extended conversations
which lasted for hours and hours. Two were Filipinas and one was a
Cambodian American who was returning to Cambodia for the first time
since escape from Pol Pot in 1979. I admit that with the first lady I
just felt exhausted at times by the heavy conversation and sometimes
wished she would be quiet. But when I sat by another Filipina and she
warmed to me I began to just go with it trusting to give energy and to
see how God might lead in just using counseling skills indirectly. I
feel I really was able to help these ladies, and practice my skills.
It was fun (most of the time). They thanked me many times for
listening. I'm left with some thoughts about it all. First, is the
very real opportunity of doing counseling naturally with Asians.
Amazing that they really did warm up to me, a stranger. But another
thought has to do with my own sanity. It was a bit intense. I can see
the danger of doing it naturally without boundaries. Also, I feel
confirmation of the need for me to have a safe home where I'm not going to need to do more intense interacting with an extrovert housemate or her ministry friends.
I was able to get my visa smoothly as everything happened just as I'd
been told. There was a man with a sign from the airport waiting for me
and had my government letter of attestation to get my visa. I was
directed to the head of the line with my official document. A good
group of old friends were at the airport to greet me. I felt so warmly
welcomed. We laughed with joy all the way "home" to the mission home.
So fun to see the folk from the team. Oh how blessed I feel to know
these wonderful folk! I've already seen three students. Two lovely
ones came with flowers. Over the weekend I'll be hanging with one
couple mostly unless others invite me out. The mission home staff are
on a retreat so no meals are planned. All is well as it gives me a
chance to be with the team in smaller groups. So, nothing much else to
tell you at the moment. The thought, I could actually send me in a
picture now that I have a digital camera. But, won't at the moment.

Thanks for all! Much love, Mary

The Church of the Messy

2007-11-05T10:16:00.000-08:00

I have been pondering this past year, its goals and successes, failures and necessary changes. I'm constantly surprised at all that the Lord does behind the scenes of what I see. I mean, I am that arrogant. So arrogant as to believe that nothing really happens in people's lives unless I guide them and show them and reveal things to them. Oh, Come quickly Lord Jesus, for your preachers are prone to arrogance and presumption!

I'm reminded of my propensity to pride as I saw two of my sisters this week struggling to understand one another. One of my goals for this year was become more transparent, to be quick to repent and lose my power. And I lauded it as a goal for the church, too. And here I was seeing the Lord working out Spirit-led transparent community between these two women.

As they struggled to be understood, each desiring so badly for both to see Jesus and to honor His Word, I saw the messiness amidst the struggle. And it hit me amidst all the emotion. The severity of growth is only accomplished in the messiness of other-centered transparency, of letting oneself be vulnerable and open to criticism and painful response. Each of my sisters were wrapped up in this struggle to know and be known, to wrestle with the Lord over what His Word actually teaches. Coinciding with each move toward understanding came the counter-reaction of hurt feelings and wounded fear. Not fear of the struggle, but fear of losing each one another in the struggle. Fear of rejection and the bruising of the soul. And they humbly and openly pressed on, spurning their egos their love for each other was evident. And the incredible outcome of these two amazing women's struggle was a deepened love for each other and a new sense of togetherness that did not exist before. I saw God bringing all things together under Jesus as He brought these women together soul to soul.

So, it was I who needed again to be taught this week. And I was taught, not through my books or articles, but through the messy proclamation of these two sisters. Authentic struggle with the Lord and the humbly honest seeing of Jesus together results is messy but glorious growth.

And I have to ask myself: Am I willing to get messy? Am I willing to reveal my deepest vulnerability and be weak? Am I becoming like a child, a messy, unconcerned about how I appear to the adults, child? I would like to think that I could handle this seeking of Jesus in a similar manner and come out of the hunt with a deeper love for my brothers and sisters, a greater sense of comaraderie, and a higher vision of God's glory in my relationships.

Lord, I want a messy life, one of deep growth and severe love. I want it for your people, too. Make us a messy church, one of brokenness, humility, honesty and a perseverent pursuit of love for each other and above all, of You. Make us a church of the messy, that our deepened love for and understanding of each other would glorify You and You alone.

Soli Deo Gloria
To the Glory of God Alone,

Richard

Fidgety Loneliness

2007-10-27T02:04:00.000-07:00

My wife is gone for the night visiting a friend up north. So, after playing with the kids and doing a few things around the house (in case you're reading this, Katie, I did do the laundry!) I thought that I'd go to bed. Well, I made it to bed, alright...but not to sleep.

Isn't it weird how we get so used to being close to someone that we cannot function properly when they're not there? It's like when you dive deep into the water and you don't realize how uncomfortable not being able to breathe is until your lungs start to burn and you start to stretch for the surface of the water, aching for that ecstatic moment when you break through the surface and inhale all the heavens into your lungs. Missing someone is like that.

When Katie is gone I get fidgety. I wriggle and itch and hear myself breathing (I'm not sure how she puts up with me, by the way. I just realized that I'm very annoying at night). I talk to myself and no matter how long I lay there, I simply cannot sleep. So, here I am at 2:09am, fidgeting.

What shocks me is really how often that I take her presence for granted. She's simply there, being a great wife and mother, a beautiful daughter of God, but I come to expect that and not really appreciate her and her beauty in my life. I guess that's a good thing about being away for a night. Reality. Just like breathing, we don't realize how sweet air is until we cannot have it.

Maybe this is part of what the Lord said through Jeremiah when He told us that the heart is so deceitful and desperately wicked. We are so prone to take beauty and blessings for granted, until the Lord takes them all away. Then we realize how truly gracious that He is. He does the same thing with sin. He gave us over to sin so that we would see and feel the emptiness and return to Him. In a sense, He gives us what we are wanting, knowing that it will not fulfill this deep God-shaped hole within us. Even His judgments are from a gracious heart. I so don't deserve His kindness. So, I look for the discipline of the Lord until the sweet sweet breath of His glorious grace fills my heart again and I realize how truly beautiful He is and again delight in Him.

I so don't deserve my Katie's kindness, either, but I rejoice in her love. And, I cannot wait for my love to return, to delight in her again, for her presence to fill my evenings with life...and sleep.

To the Glory of God

Prone to Presume

2007-10-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking this past few months of my own attitude towards the kindness of God, particularly how I am so prone to take it for granted. I have grown up in a world where it’s in vogue to be the victim, where blame is always cast upon the “other” person (I mean, we all know that the world’s problems are entirely the fault of the previous generation and we have all the answers if only the world would listen to us!).

I have grown up with an attitude of entitlement and presumption. Presumption, there’s the word. I presume to do better than others, think more clearly than others, be better than others. All of this is an incredible stroke of pride and self-centeredness, really the root of most of my sin and the destruction of many of my relationships.

The amazing thing about sin is that it deceives us into thinking that it is right and good. So, we transfer this presumption onto the ultimate Good, God Himself and His glorious gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. We presume that we are good enough, that we deserve God’s grace, if not in conscious thought, than in our subconscious emotive person. It shows in how we treat God (especially when He tells us “no!”) and how we treat others (with jealousy, bitterness, and unforgiveness.) To this end, our presumption is revealed by our desire to be recognized and honored for our performance, and our unspoken (and possibly unrealized) expectation that God doesn’t take our self-righteousness too seriously. I mean, since He forgives us we can sin as much as we want, right?

PRESUME – The word itself comes from the Latin prae, meaning “before” and sumere, meaning “to take.” It is the act of seizing or occupying without right.

Like I wrote above, in my own life I struggle with presumption. It is so easy, because of God’s love, to begin to take His kindness for granted. I find that it is easy to function as if my sin does not really matter because God has forgiven me in Christ, so I treat sin lightly and in a nonchalant manner. This is the slippery slope of pride and it begins with a very low view of God’s holiness.

In the early church (very early!) there was also a couple who acted in presumption upon God’s kindness. Let me set the stage. In Acts 2 the gospel was preached in the power of the Holy Spirit and many people were saved to follow Jesus. As the early church started we find that Luke describes this community in this manner:

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” ~Acts 2:42-45

Here we see the early believers selling their possessions and giving to those who had need. We move on to Acts 4:34-37 and we see as specific man named Joseph and nicknamed Barnabas (son of encouragement) selling his land and giving his proceeds to the apostles. This man Joseph must have been a very likeable person, possibly popular. After all, he was given a nickname by the apostles and was so known by his deeds of encouragement.

On cue enters our presumptive couple, Ananias and Sapphira. After seeing Joseph’s gift dropped at the apostles’ feet, they figured that they would be an encouragement, too. Now, that doesn’t sound bad, does it? Is it wrong to follow other people’s examples to be an encouragement? Well, no, but what we see from A&P is not a desire to encourage others, but rather a desire to be noticed for encouraging others. Notice what Peter asks Ananias in 5:3, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?”

Herein lies the sin: they presumed that it was not that bad to lie to God. Not only was not that bad, but Peter claims that Satan has filled Ananias’ heart. This is in direct contrast to the filling of the Holy Spirit that Peter received before preaching in Acts 4:8 and the filling of the HS of the church in 4:31. I don’t believe that this recorded contrast is a coincidence. There is a deliberate contrast of “fillings” being revealed here.

You see, Satan wants us to seek our own glory, to try to build our own reputation and kingdom, rather than the glory of God and His Kingdom. Ananias was performing an outwardly righteous act to be seen as righteous by men. He was trying to build his own reputation and his own glory. But, God saw his heart and knew his deception. How serious is presuming upon God’s grace? How severe is the holiness of God! Ananias and Sapphira’s presumption cost them their lives. This is not a common belief in the church, but God took their lives because of their presumptive attitude toward HIM. God’s holiness and glory are His alone!

How are our attitudes toward impressing others with our own righteousness? Are we performing good works so that others will see that we have it together? Are we hiding our failures so that others will not see our weaknesses (just another way of wanting others to see our presumed righteousness)? I’m afraid that I find myself falling into this trap again and again. Is there hope for presuming people like me? Absolutely! Learn to hate your egocentricity and the presumption that so easily ensnares you. Learn, by the Holy Spirit and through repentance and faith in Jesus’ power to change you, to reveal your weaknesses to others and to perform good works to build His glory and His kingdom.

An old pastor once said, “You either risk or rust.” In other words, are we willing to risk failure, being seen as failures, to build God’s Kingdom and His glory to the world? The truth is: if we are not risking our reputations, our glory, our lives for the sake of Jesus Christ, then we are rusting into the hardness of self-righteousness and self-centeredness where every joint must be broken free by the painful blows of the Master Metalsmith.

Let us not presume on the kindness of God, but rather be always grateful for His absolute grace towards us in Jesus. He has saved us and blessed with every spiritual blessing in Him! Count on it, but do not presume upon it. Be grateful in joy and we will resist, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the oxidizing presence of self-righteousness and self-glory to the praise of His glorious grace in Jesus.

Soli Deo Gloria (To the Glory of God Alone)
Richard

First Attempt at Blogging

2007-10-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

I hate death. I know that this sounds quite trite, but I really hate death. It's not supposed to be this way. I know all of the theological imports of the necessity, and even the merciful aspect, of death. But, I still hate it.

Death is never comfortable, never quite right. Even when there is hope, there is also grief and loss, even though it's temporary, it's still loss. And it's of the most personal kind of loss: relational. I guess in this aspect, there are many around me walking dead. Broken relationships, a precursor to death. The kind of temporary, yet man-made infinitude of separation.

I hate death...in all its forms.

I will praise the Lord, Jesus Christ, who unites and reconciles under His glorious grace! He who defeated and defeats death, in all its forms. He is the one who equalizes us all, enemy and friend, at the cross. There we find that we are all equally screwed-up in our sin and our self-deception, unable to fix ourselves, save ourselves, comfort ourselves, but where we simply see that we have disowned the One Truth, God Himself.

Thank God for God!! He who stoops down to fix us, reconcile us, save us, make us right, simply by His gracious heart and powerful act of redemption when He offered up Jesus in our place. What kind of God is this? He hates death, too? And in another strange paradox, He defeats death with death. He reconciles us by the death of His Son! I will speak good of Jesus!

I still hate death. But I will not wallow in this hatred, but rather I will speak of the One who has defeated death in all its forms. Jesus, the One who is bringing all things together under His Kingship. The One who defeated death by laying down His own life in all His glory and rising up from the ashes never to die again, to rule over all that is created, bringing life from death. O worship Him, my soul. Let us not again take Him for granted and wallow in the dread, but let us build up His reputation as the Life-Giving King over all.