The Gospel in 1 Cor 15

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures - 1 Cor 15:1-4


But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. - 1 Cor 15:57-58


"The Gospel is not in the first instance about something God has done for me, but about something God has objectively done in history. It is about Jesus, especially about his death and resurrection. We have not preached the Gospel when we have told our testimony and no more, or when we have conveyed an array of nice stories about Jesus, but not reached the telos (the goal or end) of the story told in the four Gospels.


"This Gospel saves us (1 Cor. 15:2). A great deal of theology is already presupposed by these few words: in particular, what we are saved from. Embedded here are Paul’s understanding of human beings made in the image of God, the awfulness of sin and the curse of God that has separated us from our Maker, our inability to make ourselves over. The Gospel saves us—and always we must bear in mind exactly what it is that we are saved from." - D.A. Carson, For The Love of God, vol 2


I can add little of value, except to say that I desperately cling to the connections between verses 1-4 and verses 57-58. I can be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord because of the victory of Christ, which is demonstrated profoundly in His resurrection, which is an integral component of Christ dying for my sins. This is the gospel that has saved me, is saving me and will ultimately save me.

To God Alone be the Glory

Edwards' Resolutions - week 9

My I intention, by God's grace, to post one of Jonathan Edward's 73 resolutions each Monday. As I read the list, it is convicting to me that I can only handle them in small doses, while Edwards reviewed the whole list each week The entire list of Edward's resolutions can be found here: the-resolutions-of-jonathan-edwards

To God Alone be the Glory

Preamble:

Being sensible that I am unable to do any thing without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him, by his grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.

Resolution 9:

Resolved, To think much, on all occasions, of my dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.

Salvation is from the Lord

(I've quoted in its entirety Spurgeon's morning devotion for Feb 26. I continually thank God for men like this)

Salvation is the work of God. It is he alone who quickens the soul "dead in trespasses and sins," and it is he also who maintains the soul in its spiritual life. He is both "Alpha and Omega." "Salvation is of the Lord." If I am prayerful, God makes me prayerful; if I have graces, they are God's gifts to me; if I hold on in a consistent life, it is because he upholds me with his hand. I do nothing whatever towards my own preservation, except what God himself first does in me. Whatever I have, all my goodness is of the Lord alone. Wherein I sin, that is my own; but wherein I act rightly, that is of God, wholly and completely. If I have repulsed a spiritual enemy, the Lord's strength nerved my arm. Do I live before men a consecrated life? It is not I, but Christ who liveth in me. Am I sanctified? I did not cleanse myself: God's Holy Spirit sanctifies me. Am I weaned from the world? I am weaned by God's chastisements sanctified to my good. Do I grow in knowledge? The great Instructor teaches me. All my jewels were fashioned by heavenly art. I find in God all that I want; but I find in myself nothing but sin and misery. "He only is my rock and my salvation." Do I feed on the Word? That Word would be no food for me unless the Lord made it food for my soul, and helped me to feed upon it. Do I live on the manna which comes down from heaven? What is that manna but Jesus Christ himself incarnate, whose body and whose blood I eat and drink? Am I continually receiving fresh increase of strength? Where do I gather my might? My help cometh from heaven's hills: without Jesus I can do nothing. As a branch cannot bring forth fruit except it abide in the vine, no more can I, except I abide in him. What Jonah learned in the great deep, let me learn this morning in my closet: "Salvation is of the Lord."

I will warn you whom to fear

(Editorial comment: Luke 12 is a treasure trove of truth. I noted at least five different topics that easily deserve their own blog entry. But, instead of one massive entry, or getting buried with five or more separate entries, my humble challenge is for you to prayerfully read Luke 12 and ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart (Eph 1:18) so that you may see Christ more richly and deeply and you may praise and worship and glorify our Father more fully and that you may know yourself better and realize your role in God's awesome redemptive plan more clearly.  All of this to the glory of the One to made us, died for us, redeemed us, is purifying us and will ultimately glorify us.)

I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.  But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!  Luke 12:4-5

God was very gracious to me today. Actually, He is very gracious to me every day, just the gift of waking up, plus walking, plus thinking, plus a loving family, and the wonderfully extravagant list goes on. But today, on top of all that, He allowed Luke 12 to "click" in my mind.  Narrowing my thoughts down to one item from a chapter packed with an incredible variety of truths was challenging, but I'm trusting that the Spirit will direct these words.

For some reason, verses 4 and 5 always seem to resonate with me each time I read them. Perhaps its because there is an innate fear of man in me. Perhaps its because I have heard John Piper preach or work through this passage on more than one occasion. Or perhaps I'm uncomfortable with Jesus telling me that I should fear God, who can throw me into hell. And, if your hermeneutical defenses go up like mine saying "Context! He must talking to unbelievers." Read the passage again.  Both the broad (v1) and immediate (v4) context show that Jesus was primarily addressing the disciples. Believers. Us.

So, what is Jesus getting at when he tells us to fear the God who can both kill us and cast us into hell?  The first observation is one of proportion. Verse 4 and 5 fit together for a reason. In verse 4 Jesus essentially asks, what is the worst thing man can do to you? Torture? Rape? Destroy your family? Ruin your career? Kill you? All bad things. Without a doubt and no one actively seeks them out. But Jesus' point in verse 5 is that none of those things, as bad as they are, are permanent. Man can draw dramatic and ugly pictures on a dry erase board; only God writes with indelible ink. So why fear man, when nothing he can do will last. Instead, fear God, who alone has the power of permanency.

Another quick observation is that a true view of God gives us perspective.  A glance at verse 1 shows that thousands were now following this little band and that people were getting trampled to get to them. I don't know about you, but if I was part of the "inner circle" my ego would out of control. It seems Jesus sees the same thing. He is beginning to peel back layers of the disciples' pride, self righteousness and selfishness. This hits home even harder when we realize that this a sustained theme throughout the Bible. In and of ourselves, we have nothing of value, nothing of worth. Even the image of God that we are each created with is broken and tarnished and unfit to represent the One whose image we were designed to portray. Praise God that in Christ all of this is reversed!  He took on all that we were so that we could receive all that we were meant to be.

One final observation. We have proportion with what man can do to us versus what God can do to us. We have perspective in who we are versus who God is and what He gives to those who believe. And we also have a corrected view of our position (sorry I had to alliterate). Is God a God of love? Absolutely! We wouldn't be here if He wasn't. Every day since the rebellion in the Garden has been a gracious, merciful, loving gift from God. But yet, is God so simple?  Is love, true agape love so simple? What about God's holiness? I say all this to make the point that God is bigger than we realize.  Not just spatially bigger. Not just chronologically bigger. Not just morally bigger. Not just informationallly bigger. Not just powerfully bigger. Check out Job 26. Job sums his observations of God by saying: Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand? Job 26:14. Paul says it this way: "But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?" Rom 9:20.

This healthy view of our proportion, perspective and position before God should drive both our prayers and our praise. Our praise should be unfettered by what others think or expect or say. It will driven by the unimaginable reality that the God who owns everything and is perfectly complete in himself and can't even look upon us and against whom we have traitorously rebelled has designed, commissioned and executed a rescue mission and he has set his affections on us simply because he wanted to do so rather than send us to hell. And our prayers should be marked by a profound awe that we can even approach the One whose majesty and power and holiness should send us directly to the abyss. Not only that, but our prayers should be offered as humble supplications to the sovereign Lord of the universe who has chosen to breathe life into us and to adopt us into his family. Our confidence and assurance rises from the fact that God has given us the one big thing. He has given us Jesus. Anything else we ask, as big as it may appear to us, is really just icing on the cake.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

         “For who has known the mind of the Lord,

                    or who has been his counselor?”

         “Or who has given a gift to him

                    that he might be repaid?”

         For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Saturating Showers of Grace

If God gives a blessing, he usually gives it in such a measure that there is not room enough to receive it. Plenteous grace! Ah! we want plenteous grace to keep us humble, to make us prayerful, to make us holy; plenteous grace to make us zealous, to preserve us through this life, and at last to land us in heaven. We cannot do without saturating showers of grace. - Spurgeon

It is an interesting combination to read a quote like the one above from Spurgeon together with 1 Cor 12. There are many nuances and dare I say, many misunderstandings in 1 Cor 12, but one thing seems abundantly clear God, through the Spirit gives "grace gifts" to his people for their common good and for Christ's glory.  And because the Spirit gives his gifts with our best interests in mind, there is no room for pride, envy or doubt. (kudos to Carson). All that's left for us is worship, and humbly exercising the gift(s) we've been given. And the greatest gift, the gift that all believers receive without exception? The gift of grace, the gift of salvation, the gift of faith.

May we put to use the gift(s) God has given us for the glory of Christ and for the good of his Church. And may we stand in awe of the One who did not turn away from the cross, but embraced it so that by his atoning death we would receive new life and be adopted into the family of God.

To God Alone be the Glory

Imitate me?

"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." 1 Cor 11:1

Even as I write these words I cringe. This verse has stuck with me for a long time and every time I read it and some times when it "pops" into my mind, I want to run and hide. But today, instead of running, I want to reflect on what Paul is asking of us with this verse.

First, as always, Christ must be central. Whatever Paul is calling the Corinthians to be and to do, whatever he is calling us to be and to do, it must be centered on, focused on, reliant upon and give glory to Christ. Nothing else is ultimately worthy of imitation.

Second, there must be something, some component of who Christ was (and is) , some aspect of our Savior that is imitatable.  I will not take the time right now, but it might be a healthy spiritual exercise for each of us to reflect on what aspects of Christ we can in fact imitate.  I would submit that there are more than we care to admit.

Third and, in my opinion, the hardest, we not only need to actually begin to try to imitate Christ in the ways we are able to imitate Him (i.e. not sin baring for me, but I certainly can pray more), but we need to consciously lay our lives out to others as something worthy of imitation. If we read this verse carefully, Paul is not just saying "Imitate Christ" but he's saying "Imitate Christ as you see Him in me". To fully embrace what Paul is saying, we must imitate Christ, not just because he's worthy of imitation and such imitation is really worship, but also because we are part of progression of imitators.

I have no doubt this verse is daunting. It certainly is to me.  It is hard enough to strive to imitate Christ, but to publicly throw my life out there a call people to imitate me, as I imitate Christ, is very risky.  One can appear arrogant, one can be open to charges of immaturity and hypocrisy. It might just be easier to simply let others passively view our lives and possibly catch the one Christ-like thing we did and imitate that. Less risk? Absolutely.  But is God glorified in that? Is Christ-exalted in that? Is the Spirit indispensably needed in that? Is the gospel held forth in that? My resounding answer is No!

So my prayer today in the name of Christ through the power of his shed blood, by the working of the Holy Spirit in each our lives for the glory and renown of God our Father, that we may actively imitate Christ and that we may actively call others to imitate our lives, as we imitate Christ.

To God Alone be the Glory.

The Doctrine of God

Why study the doctrine of God? So that we can fall to our faces and together with the heavenly assembly, behold the Lion who is the Lamb, and proclaim "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and glory and honor and blessing!" God is not a buddy. We don't saunter up and slap him on the back, as if such casualness were a sign of intimacy. We bow to worship him as the triune God--the Father who elected us, the Son who has died in our place and the Spirit who grants repentance and faith and seals us for the Son's return.

God is not like you or me. He is unimaginably better. He is mightier, fiercer, more loving more majestic. He is holy, holy, holy  It is essential to get the doctrine of God right before moving on. Either God will be the center of one's doctrinal solar system, or something else will. What we believe about God determines what we believe about everything.

- from "God: Not like you" by Jonathan Leeman in Don't Call It a Comeback, Kevin DeYoung, ed.

A Tuesday Morning Prayer

Father,

I want to approach your Word differently today. I know its true and its your gracious gift to us who believe, but today, like no other day, allow it to penetrate into the core of my heart and soul. Allow your Word to affect me, to press on me in a way it has never done before. And, I humbly, reverently, yet boldly ask that you protect me from the external perspectives toward your Word. Help me today, by the power of your Spirit, to become a Christian, to become a disciple, to become a son. I ask this in the name of your Son, who alone gives life, who alone gives sight, who alone covers sin and who alone makes all things new.

To you Father, the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Tuesdays with Clyde Kilby

On Tuesdays I am sharing one of the 10 resolutions of Clyde Kilby that are referenced in The Pleasures of God by John Piper. They are profound. While I plan on sharing one per week, Kilby reflected on these 10 items each day! The entire list can be found here: 10-resolutions-for-mental-health

To God Alone be the Glory

Clyde Kilby's Resolutions for Mental Health:

8. I shall turn frequently to imaginative things such as good literature and good music, preferably, as Lewis suggests, an old book and timeless music.

Edward's Resolutions - week 8

My I intention, by God's grace, to post one of Jonathan Edward's 73 resolutions each Monday. As I read the list, it is convicting to me that I can only handle them in small doses, while Edwards reviewed the whole list each week The entire list of Edward's resolutions can be found here: the-resolutions-of-jonathan-edwards

To God Alone be the Glory

Preamble:

Being sensible that I am unable to do any thing without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him, by his grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.

Resolution 8:

Resolved, To act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings, as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.

A Hunger and a Thirst for Righteousness

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Mt 5:6

The combination of preparing a study on prayer, reading the sermon on the plain (Luke 6), and hearing the first sermon in a series on the sermon on the mount (Mt 5-7), has resulted in me reflecting on the most challenging of the beatitudes for me: Mt 5:6. While all of the beatitudes present their own challenges, and, in the spirit of the entire sermon on the mount, they leave us in desperate need of Christ, the 4th beatitude presses and probes me in a way the others don't.

Hunger and thirst seem to be such common traits. We don't do anything to become hungry or thirsty. Instead, they are both reactions to something lacking in our bodies, namely food and water. But how does this translate to a hunger and a thirst for righteousness? Where is the pang, where is the parchednees, where is the desperate, ravenous need to satisfy our hunger and our thirst righteousness? Why are we so easily contented for something less than a Christ-exalting righteousness? The cool thing, of course, is that as the Spirit increases our hunger and our thirst for righteousness, we will be satisfied.

To God Alone be the Glory

The Treasure of Jesus

This song was released by Steven Curtis Chapman in 2004. Download here. As I heard it today, the Spirit reminded me that these thoughts need to be in my mind continuously.

What can I do?
How can I live?
To show my world
The treasure of Jesus

What will it take?
What could I give?
So they can know
The treasure He is

Chorus:
And if I can sing
Let my songs be full of His glory
If I can speak
Let my words be full of His grace

And if I should live or die
Let me be found pursuing this prize
The One that alone satisfies

The treasure of Jesus

To God Alone be the Glory

Oh, to be truly humble

Thanks to John Piper for his insightful blog entry.

It was helpful to me to see that Jesus' parable in Luke 14:7–11 is really not about the balance of things in this life (although it can and does apply), but ultimately it is about our final vindication before God because of Christ. Reflect on Piper's words:

"So here’s the life-changing truth: It is better to be thought worse than you are now, and have the Lord set things right in the last day, than to be thought better than you are now, only to have Jesus put you in your place in the end.

In other words, don’t care much about whether your family and friends and acquaintances and enemies know what you are really like. Be true, be real, be humble, and let the Lord settle the matter in the end. In that day, the price of taking the lower place will be seen to be very small."

 To God Alone be the Glory

Stewards of the Mysteries of God

"This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." 1 Cor 4:1

"What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" 1 Cor 4:7

"Any many who has had some glimpse of what is it to preach will inevitably feel that he has never preached. But he will go on trying, hoping that by the grace of God one day he may truly preach." Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers. (thanks to Kevin DeYoung)

O.K. I'll admit it. This going to be autobiographical.  I pray that God, through the power of the Spirit can use my self reflective thoughts to exalt His glorious Son and the gospel that transforms lives.

As I read 1 Cor 4 yesterday, I was struck hard by 3 independent, but interrelated thoughts. The first was "We are all, in some degree, a 'steward of the mysteries of God'". Think about it. Not many (or any) of us are called to preach and clearly none of us are apostles or writing additional books for the New Testament. Yet, God has given each of us windows into His truth that He may not have given to others. Why has He done this? Certainly for our own spiritual good.  But, what if that isn't the only reason. What if the objective is not for us to be reservoirs of biblical, gospel truth, but rather to be a source of fresh water to a dry, parched, dying world?

Thought two was right on the heals and basically slapped down any pride I might have regarding being a steward of the mysteries of God. "What do I have that I have not received?"  There is no doubt that this verse can be broadly applied: loving spouse, good job, health, ability to write or sing or whatever. The list could (and should) go on and on to the glory of God.Yet, in its context, verse 7 is speaking of the mysteries of God. And trust me, we are no less shortsighted in this area than in any other. Whatever you know about God, whatever I can trace out about prayer, whatever measure of grace we have received, isn't it all a gracious, gift from God? And if its a gift, what is the proper response toward the giver?

The final thought was driven home by verse 14. "For though you have countless guides in Christ, you don't have many fathers" When I read this last fall, my focus was as if Paul were writing to me.  And the reality is I don't have many (any) fathers in Christ. I have guides (blogs and books and brothers, although not necessarily in that order!), but someone I would consider a spiritual father? Yet this time around, while those thoughts still linger, God, by His grace, brought a different, more pressing question to my mind: "why aren't you a father?"  Probing that thought will take another entry, but the thought and the challenge remains.

My prayer, here at the end, is that you would prayerfully, thoughtfully re-read 1 Cor 4 and allow the Holy Spirit to press you to the glory of Christ and for the sake of His gospel.

To God Alone be the Glory

No Other Foundation

"For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Cor 3:11

1 Corinthians 3 always captivates me. Each time I read it I am reminded (sometimes forcefully) of a few  gospel-driven, Christ-exalting truths.  The first truth is found in verses 1-4 and reiterated in Heb 5. We, as Christians, are quite capable of neglecting the gift that we have been given in Christ. And this is to our detriment and to the detriment of those around us. Listen to the tenor of Paul's argument. He is not saying that you need to graduate to an advanced Christianity or that you are is o.k.,. but there is something better ahead. No, his point is that our faith can degrade into a childish (not childlike) faith and this affects ourselves as  well as others and deserves a godly rebuke.

Another truth the sings in this chapter is that everything happening in the progression of the gospel, both personally and globally is in the hand of God. Look at verses 5-9. Are people involved? Absolutely. But it is God who brings the growth. I have planted many flowers (seeds and bulbs) in various gardens over the years and I have watered and fertilized them all. In all that time, I have not yet made one of them bloom (or whither). All my yearning, all my coaxing, all my TLC doesn't really make them bloom or not bloom and it certainly doesn't make a marigold into a rose. And don't get me started on the wild flowers in the field across the street! The same is true with the gospel. God brings the growth.

A third truth found in 1 Cor 3 is laid out in verses 10-15. Whatever service we do, whatever ministry we participate in, whatever Bible study we lead, they all are built (or should be) on the foundation of Jesus Christ.  This means who Christ is, what he accomplished on the Cross, the reality of His incarnation, His diety, His intercession, His imminent return and so much more must all inform and constrain and empower everything we do. And if it doesn't? Paul is clear: the quality of our work will be revealed. Verse 15 is both a comforting and a scary verse. It is comforting in that we, who trust Christ alone for our salvation will be saved. But it is scary in that everything that we've done, if not built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, could prove to be a waste. In my mind that is similar to graduating high school with a D- average.  Do you have a diploma? Yes. Did you even come close to maximizing your high school years? No.

So what's the big idea? The years (perhaps decades) between the Spirit opening our eyes to the truth of the gospel and His bringing us home do not belong to us. They belong to Christ. And when we grow and serve and depend upon Christ and seek to rely on the Spirit, God is glorified, Christ is exalting and His kingdom breaks through. And, in the end, our lives will be judged worthy of the gospel that we have received.

To God Alone be the Glory

Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

First, a testimony to God, then His gift via Oswald Chambers.

In an effort to present here what God wants presented here, I have begun to pray, even before opening my Bible or reading any blogs or devotionals, "Father, bring to mind and resonate in my heart, the thoughts and words You want expressed today". I share this because this morning I was antsy to get to this blog. So after my time in the Bible and reading one devotional, I fired up my browser to write...my words. Yet, (dramatic pause) once the browser launched I thought "maybe a quick read of My Utmost before the blog". And there God laid out the words and the thoughts and the heart of what He wanted to be shared via this blog today.

To God Alone be the Glory.

Today's full My Utmost for His Highest devotional can be found here.

Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

How many of us are willing to spend every bit of our nervous, mental, moral, and spiritual energy for Jesus Christ? That is what God means when He uses the word witness. But it takes time, so be patient with yourself. Why has God left us on the earth? Is it simply to be saved and sanctified? No, it is to be at work in service to Him. Am I willing to be broken bread and poured-out wine for Him? Am I willing to be of no value to this age or this life except for one purpose and one alone— to be used to disciple men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ. My life of service to God is the way I say “thank you” to Him for His inexpressibly wonderful salvation.

Tuesdays with Clyde Kilby

On Tuesdays I am sharing one of the 10 resolutions of Clyde Kilby that are referenced in The Pleasures of God by John Piper. They are profound. While I plan on sharing one per week, Kilby reflected on these 10 items each day! The entire list can be found here: 10-resolutions-for-mental-health

To God Alone be the Glory

Clyde Kilby's Resolutions for Mental Health:

7. I shall sometimes look back at the freshness of vision I had in childhood and try, at least for a little while, to be, in the words of Lewis Carroll, the "child of the pure unclouded brow, and dreaming eyes of wonder."

Edwards' Resolutions - week 7

My I intention, by God's grace, to post one of Jonathan Edward's 73 resolutions each Monday. As I read the list, it is convicting to me that I can only handle them in small doses, while Edwards reviewed the whole list each week The entire list of Edward's resolutions can be found here: the-resolutions-of-jonathan-edwards

To God Alone be the Glory

Preamble:

Being sensible that I am unable to do any thing without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him, by his grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.

Resolution 7:

Resolved, Never to do any thing, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

Have You Not Read?

How often does Jesus ask that question? How often does He ask it as a stinging rebuke to leaders who were leading God's people down the wide road of destruction? How often does the question hit us hard in the gut because we have in fact read it many times?

That's the real indictment, isn't it? Not Jesus' contemporaries who have become biblically illiterate. Not the Jewish leaders who seemed blind to the truth of God's Word. Not the world around us that seems to daily devise new ways of ignoring God. No, the real sting of Jesus' question is to us who claim to be his disciples.

Sure we read His Word (I pray that you do and exhort you to start, if you don't), but do we really grasp it? Do we ask the Spirit to illumine the Word written by men, yet inspired by God and crafted over 2 millennia to have a single unitary message? Do we ask, seek, probe the Word itself to see the beating heart, not just of the human author, but that of the heavenly Author? Can we say with Jesus "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God"?

The next time we sit down with the Bible, let this question linger:  "Have you not read?"

To God Alone be the Glory.

Godly rebuke

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy."  Prv 27:6

"It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools."  Ecc 7:5 

"Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it."  Ps 141:5

Why is it that we have lost the fine art of the godly rebuke?  Perhaps its because we are so mired in our pride and self-centeredness that we either don't have any confidence that our rebuke is biblically true or we are unwilling and unable to graciously receive the rebuke that is given. And, as I reflect on it, this is like any relational issue that has gone a distance down the road, most actions serve to further the problem rather than to fix or repair it.

So, where do we start to turn the corner? As it is with so many things in our walk with Christ. we must start with prayer.  Prayer that we can both give and receive godly rebukes.  On the receiving side, we need to pray that we hear the Spirit through the rebuke.  Some (maybe most) of the rebuke might be way off target. But we must be alert, prayerfully alert to any element that resonates with Scripture and Christ's call on our lives.  On the giving side we must always keep Matt 7:5, Eph 4:29 and Phil 4:8 in mind. My personal, selfish, sinful preferences and opinions can easily seep into what I am trying to communicate to a brother or a sister. This, in turn, either renders the rebuke ineffective or it keeps me offering it in the first place. So, we must pray; pray for right hearts and submissive spirits.

But, I think there is a second part to this puzzle. It is distinct and subsidiary to prayer, but yet it is tied to it. It is cultivating a heart attitude that is desirous of rebuke. Even as I write that, I know it sounds foreign and almost sacrilegious. Yet, if we pause for a moment and consider how God actually brings growth in our life, isn't usually through some form of correction? And if God's correction leads to our growth in Christ-likeness, shouldn't we be expecting it or even seeking it? And if God's correction can be mediated through our brothers or sisters via a rebuke then ...

Here's the bottom-line, at least for me.  I want to be attentive to the Spirit-directed rebukes of those who love and care for me in Christ. And I want to love others within the church of Christ enough to lovingly rebuke them when the Spirit prompts me to do so.

To God Alone be the Glory

Great hearts can only be made by great troubles

A another "home run" by Spurgeon.  The full devotional is here.

When the black clouds gather most, the light is the more brightly revealed to us. When the night lowers and the tempest is coming on, the Heavenly Captain is always closest to his crew. It is a blessed thing, that when we are most cast down, then it is that we are most lifted up by the consolations of the Spirit. One reason is, because trials make more room for consolation. Great hearts can only be made by great troubles. The spade of trouble digs the reservoir of comfort deeper, and makes more room for consolation. God comes into our heart-he finds it full-he begins to break our comforts and to make it empty; then there is more room for grace. The humbler a man lies, the more comfort he will always have, because he will be more fitted to receive it.

Another reason why we are often most happy in our troubles, is this-then we have the closest dealings with God. When the barn is full, man can live without God: when the purse is bursting with gold, we try to do without so much prayer. But once take our gourds away, and we want our God; once cleanse the idols out of the house, then we are compelled to honour Jehovah. "Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord." There is no cry so good as that which comes from the bottom of the mountains; no prayer half so hearty as that which comes up from the depths of the soul, through deep trials and afflictions. Hence they bring us to God, and we are happier; for nearness to God is happiness. Come, troubled believer, fret not over your heavy troubles, for they are the heralds of weighty mercies.

To God Alone be the Glory

They Had Been With Jesus

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13

I must give credit where credit is due.  The Spirit provoked these thoughts via Spurgeon's morning devo:

If we were what we profess to be, and what we should be, we should be pictures of Christ; yea, such striking likenesses of him, that the world would not have to hold us up by the hour together, and say, "Well, it seems somewhat of a likeness;" but they would, when they once beheld us, exclaim, "He has been with Jesus; he has been taught of him; he is like him; he has caught the very idea of the holy Man of Nazareth, and he works it out in his life and every-day actions."

Spurgeon goes on to make some more excellent points, but what struck me the hardest is the idea that Christianity is not something we do or join or simply acknowledge. It is something we become.  Here is a less than perfect analogy: I do many things a manner much like my dad. Do I think about them? Do I intentionally do things or say things to mimic him? Do I walk around asking 'what would my Dad do in this situation?' The answers are no. I have simply picked up various traits of the man I lived with and interacted with for nearly 30 years. In some sense, I have become my father. And if someone knew him, they could say :"He is just like his father"  And if someone didn't know him, I can say (in a small, human way) "If you know me, you know my father"

The bottom-line? We need (well, at least I do) to move from thinking about our Christianity as something external, as something we put on. Rather it needs to be something internal, something that affects the very fiber of who we are. And, when someone who knows our Father sees us they will say, "They are just like their Father"  And if someone doesn't know our Father, whatever else they may say, I pray they would say, "They have been with Jesus"

To God Alone be the Glory

Preaching that is Faithful

"However well intentioned and biblically rooted may be a sermon's instruction, if the message does not incorporate the motivation and enablement inherent in a proper apprehension of the work of Christ, the preacher proclaims mere Pharisaism. Preaching that is faithful to the whole of Scripture not only establishes God's requirements, but also highlights the redemptive truths that make holiness possible. The task may seem impossible. How can we make all Scripture center on Christ's work when vast portions make no mention of him? The answer lies in learning to see all of God's Word as a unified message of human need and divine provision."  - Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching

To God Alone be the Glory

The Answer to the Biggest Blunder

"The cross is the answer to the biggest blunder in human history, and it is more than sufficient for any blunders we can make. In fact, the Redeemer of sinners loves to redeem the mistakes forgiven sinners make. He loves to remind us we’re not God. And he wants to teach us from the mistakes we make so we don’t continually break important things that don’t need to be broken."

found on Desiring God blog by Dave Harvey

To God Alone be the Glory

Is Forgiveness Possible?

I found this clip referenced on a blog by Denny Burk, but the original source was on a blog by Trevin Wax. It is a great illustration that true guilt and true questions can only be addressed by true, solid answers. I only wish the clip had the answer -- Jesus.



To God Alone be the Glory

The Gospel for Christians

"As I’ve said before, I once assumed (along with the vast majority of professing Christians) that the gospel was simply what non-Christians must believe in order to be saved, while afterward we advance to deeper theological waters. But I’ve come to realize that once God rescues sinners, his plan isn’t to steer them beyond the gospel, but to move them more deeply into it. The gospel, in other words, isn’t just the power of God to save you, it’s the power of God to grow you once you’re saved. After all, the only antidote to sin is the gospel—and since Christians remain sinners even after they’re converted, the gospel must be the medicine a Christian takes every day." from Tullian Tchividjian's blog

Tuesdays with Clyde Kilby

On Tuesdays I am sharing one of the 10 resolutions of Clyde Kilby that are referenced in The Pleasures of God by John Piper. They are profound. While I plan on sharing one per week, Kilby reflected on these 10 items each day! The entire list can be found here: 10-resolutions-for-mental-health

To God Alone be the Glory

Clyde Kilby's Resolutions for Mental Health:

6. I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their "divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic" existence..

Edwards' Resolutions - week 6

My I intention, by God's grace, to post one of Jonathan Edward's 73 resolutions each Monday. As I read the list, it is convicting to me that I can only handle them in small doses, while Edwards reviewed the whole list each week The entire list of Edward's resolutions can be found here: the-resolutions-of-jonathan-edwards

To God Alone be the Glory

Preamble:

Being sensible that I am unable to do any thing without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him, by his grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.

Resolution 6:

Resolved, To live with all my might, while I do live.

We are debtors

Rom 8: "So then brothers, we are debtors..." Paul is in the middle of presenting his sweeping conclusion to the doctrinal realities he has laid down in the first 7 chapters. There is no condemnation, we have the Spirit, our minds are reset, we have true life. This all before v12.  Later comes the fact that we are not slaves but children and heirs, that a day of ultimate renewal is coming, that the Holy Spirit is interceding for us with groans, that God works all things out for our ultimate good, that if God didn't spare His own Son in our justification, why would He then condemn us or withhold from us that which we need? and that there is nothing imaginable that can separate those loved by God from the love of Christ.

So then brothers, we are debtors. In John Piper's book Brothers, We are not Professionals, there is chapter entitled "Beware of the Debtor's Ethic".  I respect and agree with his thesis, but I would want to come back to Paul's straightforward observation: So then brothers, we are debtors.

In Spurgeon's morning devotional for Feb 3, this thought is articulated well:

"But then, because we are not debtors to our Lord in that sense, we become ten times more debtors to God than we should have been otherwise. Christian, pause and ponder for a moment. What a debtor thou art to divine sovereignty! How much thou owest to his disinterested love, for he gave his own Son that he might die for thee. Consider how much you owe to his forgiving grace, that after ten thousand affronts he loves you as infinitely as ever. Consider what you owe to his power; how he has raised you from your death in sin; how he has preserved your spiritual life; how he has kept you from falling; and how, though a thousand enemies have beset your path, you have been able to hold on your way. Consider what you owe to his immutability. Though you have changed a thousand times, he has not changed once. Thou art as deep in debt as thou canst be to every attribute of God. To God thou owest thyself, and all thou hast-yield thyself as a living sacrifice, it is but thy reasonable service."

So then brothers, we are debtors...

 To God Alone be the Glory

Innocent Suffering

The whole book of Job is a case study in suffering and a proper (and improper) response to it. As I'm reading through Job and tracking with D.A. Carson's For the Love of God devotional, I was struck by these thoughts from Carson:

"At this point believers must ask painful questions. Doesn’t this sound as if God is using Job in some fantastic experiment? Why should the poor chap have to lose his wealth, his family, his health, and (as we shall see) his reputation, merely to prove God right in a challenge God might well have ignored?

That question could call forth a very long book. I have no final, exhaustive answers. But some things should be borne in mind. (a) We belong to God. He may do with us as he wishes. There is something deep within us that rebels at being reminded of that elemental truth. But truth it is. Indeed, our rebellion in the face of it is a reminder of how much we still want to be at the center of the universe, with God serving us. That is the heart of all idolatry. "

 I pray that we, that I, can read Job and see it not just as some historical event that teaches us some abstract truths about God and suffering and how one ought to react and respond.  Rather I pray that we see both the intimate care God has for us, his people but at the same time see the transcendent nature of who God is and that He always has the end in view.

To God Alone be the Glory

A theme for daily contemplation

"Here is a theme for daily contemplation. The eternal purpose to redeem us from our foreseen ruin, to cleanse and sanctify us, and at last to glorify us, was of infinite antiquity, and runs side by side with immutable love and absolute sovereignty. "  - C.H. Spurgeon

Tuesdays with Clyde Kilby

On Tuesdays I am sharing one of the 10 resolutions of Clyde Kilby that are referenced in The Pleasures of God by John Piper. They are profound. While I plan on sharing one per week, Kilby reflected on these 10 items each day! The entire list can be found here: 10-resolutions-for-mental-health

To God Alone be the Glory

Clyde Kilby's Resolutions for Mental Health:

5. I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. I shall stop boring into myself to discover what psychological or social categories I might belong to. Mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work.