A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. (Lk 6:40)
I'm not sure I like the implications of this verse.
Actually, I can fully agree with the first phrase. None of us who claim to be disciples of Jesus will ever surpass him. Of that fact, there is no doubt. I can even weasel my way out of the second phrase. None will ever be fully trained, at least in this life. Right? Ah, the pressure is off.
Or is it?
It struck me this morning, maybe for the first time, how much lip service we (or at least I) pay to the concept of growing in Christlikeness. There is a great picture of this growth in Eph 4, but it is really spread throughout the New Testament, both explicitly (the whole book of James!) and implicitly (Paul's attitude in prison). I would dare say it is woven through out the Old Testament too (rend your hearts, not your garments). But do we really believe it? And, perhaps more tellingly, do we really pursue it?
Here's my big concern. I think we (or at least I) have lost track of the biblical concept of discipleship. The whole point, back in the day, was to commit your entire life to following, listening, learning, absorbing everything possible about your master so that one day the disciple would become his own master and do the same with others. This is the plan (the only plan) that Christ had for building the church. Read the Great Commission with this perspective in view.
So, what has happened? First, we've lost sight of the goal to be like our Master. Salvation has become the end game, instead of a glorious part of the entire discipleship process. Somehow, we've componentized Christianity so we can be saved and just live life for 40-50 years then go to heaven. And, if we get a little better along the way, praise God. Yet this is so far from the expectations of Jesus and the apostles that I have to ask, is it even biblical?
Second, we've lost the goal to be a master. No disciple is greater than his or her master. We established that fact earlier. Yet, in true biblical discipleship, being a disciple was not the final objective. It was a means to an end. Like college in a way. College set me up wonderfully for a successful career, but I never thought, "Wow this is so much fun. I want to stay in college forever" Our attitude toward discipleship should be the same. Now, every illustration breaks down at some point, as mine does here. We never graduate from being a disciple of Christ. We must always be learning from Him, because there is always more to know. But we must not think of ourselves as perpetual students. Instead, we should see ourselves as either masters-in-training or as masters-in-service. Either way, we need to be soaking in all that God has to teach us and pouring out all that He has taught us.
Well, where do we (or at least I) go from here. In the words of a church kids program I just participated in, I need an attitude adjustment. Or more precisely a perspective adjustment. I need to see that being a master is not just an o.k. goal, its expected (maybe I can use a better term, but it is biblical). I need to see that all Jesus is pouring into me by the Spirit is not just for me but for all who would follow me. And I need to not be afraid to embrace 1 Cor 11:1 with a confidence that is resting completely in Christ: "Follow me, as I follow Christ."
To God Alone be the Glory
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Producing thankfulness to God
You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. (2 Cor 9:11)
Honesty alert: These words have been hard to craft and harder to write. I don't know where God, by His Spirit, is pressing you, but my guess is these thoughts may strike close to home. Please know, I mean no offense. I am writing these thoughts as a challenge primarily to myself. If however, God chooses to use my words to probe your heart, I make no apologies for Him.
It did not begin this past Wednesday, but that was definitely a crescendo of sorts for me. A couple of brothers and I are working through Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges. The week's chapter was on unthankfulness. Entering our study time, my mind was on the myriad of ways that we (I) presume on God. We are thankful for the obvious stuff (new job, good doctor report, repairing a relationship) and even some times for difficult stuff (walking with us through loss or tragedy, closing a door that may have let to seriously poor choices, spiritually disciplining us so we can grow in Christ). But my mind was filled with the hundreds of things we get each day and simply assume they are ours, almost by right (life, food, electricity, heat, health, any job, educational opportunity, freedom to worship, freedom to pray, police and fire protection, loving families, loving friends, strong churches, huge amounts of Christian literature, the Bible in English and on and on)
This where our discussion started, but God lead us to ask the question: If I really presume on some (or all) of these things, if I don't spend as much time thanking God after He answers my prayer as I do pleading with Him in desperate need, where is my real trust in the provision of these things? To make this extremely personal, God has recently given me two opportunities to preach His Word to His people. I have desperately pleaded with Him to give me the right words to say and that He would use those words to affect His people. Weeks of prayers like that. Yet when the sermons were done, didn't God deserve more than a token thank you? Where was my overwhelming gratitude that He delivered on His promises? Where was the shear humility knowing you've done something way above your own ability?
The sad reality that dawned on me Wednesday was that maybe I wasn't as God dependent as I thought I was. Oh, the prayers were real, and I knew (and know) that my sermons are useless without God's gracious intervention. At best I can convert dry bones to corpses, which isn't much of an improvement (see Ezk 37) Yet my unthankfulness showed that at my core, I crafted the sermon, I got to the church, I spoke the words, I demonstrated proper emotions, I responded in appropriate humility and I took in constructive feedback. What broke my heart was that I was at the core of it all. Not God, not Christ, not the Spirit.
Now, sitting here five days later, I'm still asking God what this all means. In one way, the Holy Spirit has pulled back the curtain for me to show me how black my soul really is.Any illusions I may have had about any intrinsic goodness in and of myself has been washed away. Yet, in that same glimpse behind the curtain stands the gospel. The love and grace and mercy of Christ has covered, removed and daily helps eradicate these core sin issues. Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!
One other question that has been rolling around since Wednesday is what do we do with 2 Cor 9:10-15. In six precious verses, Paul lays out the reality that the gospel and all other gifts He provides do not terminate on us. We are part of God's process, part of His economy. We are to see that everything He has given us not merely as ends, but as means to a better, more glorious end.
To God Alone be the Glory
Honesty alert: These words have been hard to craft and harder to write. I don't know where God, by His Spirit, is pressing you, but my guess is these thoughts may strike close to home. Please know, I mean no offense. I am writing these thoughts as a challenge primarily to myself. If however, God chooses to use my words to probe your heart, I make no apologies for Him.
It did not begin this past Wednesday, but that was definitely a crescendo of sorts for me. A couple of brothers and I are working through Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges. The week's chapter was on unthankfulness. Entering our study time, my mind was on the myriad of ways that we (I) presume on God. We are thankful for the obvious stuff (new job, good doctor report, repairing a relationship) and even some times for difficult stuff (walking with us through loss or tragedy, closing a door that may have let to seriously poor choices, spiritually disciplining us so we can grow in Christ). But my mind was filled with the hundreds of things we get each day and simply assume they are ours, almost by right (life, food, electricity, heat, health, any job, educational opportunity, freedom to worship, freedom to pray, police and fire protection, loving families, loving friends, strong churches, huge amounts of Christian literature, the Bible in English and on and on)
This where our discussion started, but God lead us to ask the question: If I really presume on some (or all) of these things, if I don't spend as much time thanking God after He answers my prayer as I do pleading with Him in desperate need, where is my real trust in the provision of these things? To make this extremely personal, God has recently given me two opportunities to preach His Word to His people. I have desperately pleaded with Him to give me the right words to say and that He would use those words to affect His people. Weeks of prayers like that. Yet when the sermons were done, didn't God deserve more than a token thank you? Where was my overwhelming gratitude that He delivered on His promises? Where was the shear humility knowing you've done something way above your own ability?
The sad reality that dawned on me Wednesday was that maybe I wasn't as God dependent as I thought I was. Oh, the prayers were real, and I knew (and know) that my sermons are useless without God's gracious intervention. At best I can convert dry bones to corpses, which isn't much of an improvement (see Ezk 37) Yet my unthankfulness showed that at my core, I crafted the sermon, I got to the church, I spoke the words, I demonstrated proper emotions, I responded in appropriate humility and I took in constructive feedback. What broke my heart was that I was at the core of it all. Not God, not Christ, not the Spirit.
Now, sitting here five days later, I'm still asking God what this all means. In one way, the Holy Spirit has pulled back the curtain for me to show me how black my soul really is.Any illusions I may have had about any intrinsic goodness in and of myself has been washed away. Yet, in that same glimpse behind the curtain stands the gospel. The love and grace and mercy of Christ has covered, removed and daily helps eradicate these core sin issues. Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!
One other question that has been rolling around since Wednesday is what do we do with 2 Cor 9:10-15. In six precious verses, Paul lays out the reality that the gospel and all other gifts He provides do not terminate on us. We are part of God's process, part of His economy. We are to see that everything He has given us not merely as ends, but as means to a better, more glorious end.
To God Alone be the Glory
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Our faith needs the right Object
I've wrestled to articulate what Oswald Chambers says quite succinctly, yet quite eloquently regrading our faith. He captures at least two strong threads about faith that are continually weaving through my mind. The first is that our faith must terminate on Jesus, not on facts about Him or things that get us to Him or even on our faith in Him. The second is that because our faith is so often in these secondary things, we lose the the majesty and the power of what our faith should really produce. Feel free to read the whole devotional at Faith or Experience. I have provided some lengthy excerpts below.
Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit. Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!
We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.To God Alone be the Glory
Monday, November 14, 2011
To Save Those Who Are Eagerly Waiting for Him
So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. - Heb 9:28
For the record, there is a risk in taking Ps 63:1 seriously. It may lead you to honestly pray something like Ps 25:4. And that may lead you to being undone by verses like Amos 3:8 and Heb 9:28.
As I've reflected and prayed through these verses, Heb 9:28 struck me as an indictment of how complacent my walk with Christ has become. The question in my mind and in my heart is not, "is Christ returning?" nor is it "is He coming back to save/deliver me?" Rather the question raised in me today was, "why am I not eager for His return?"
Do I want Christ to return? Absolutely! Do I expect and hope that He will return soon? Without a doubt. But where is that dimension of eagerness. Like little kids on Christmas eve. Like a young couple on the morning of their wedding. Like a parent and child separated by years of military service. Have I become so intoxicated with this life that I am no longer hungry or thirsty for the next?
It was helpful and convicting to realize the creation is eagerly waiting for Christ's return (Rom 8:19). If rocks and trees and rivers somehow know that the futility which binds them will be released and relived when Christ returns, why I can't grasp the deeper more profound truth that the consummation and fulfillment of my salvation will occur at Jesus return. And all that He intends to accomplish, all of God's plans for the new heavens and the new earth will gloriously unfold. Where is my groaning for that day?
To God Alone be the Glory
For the record, there is a risk in taking Ps 63:1 seriously. It may lead you to honestly pray something like Ps 25:4. And that may lead you to being undone by verses like Amos 3:8 and Heb 9:28.
As I've reflected and prayed through these verses, Heb 9:28 struck me as an indictment of how complacent my walk with Christ has become. The question in my mind and in my heart is not, "is Christ returning?" nor is it "is He coming back to save/deliver me?" Rather the question raised in me today was, "why am I not eager for His return?"
Do I want Christ to return? Absolutely! Do I expect and hope that He will return soon? Without a doubt. But where is that dimension of eagerness. Like little kids on Christmas eve. Like a young couple on the morning of their wedding. Like a parent and child separated by years of military service. Have I become so intoxicated with this life that I am no longer hungry or thirsty for the next?
It was helpful and convicting to realize the creation is eagerly waiting for Christ's return (Rom 8:19). If rocks and trees and rivers somehow know that the futility which binds them will be released and relived when Christ returns, why I can't grasp the deeper more profound truth that the consummation and fulfillment of my salvation will occur at Jesus return. And all that He intends to accomplish, all of God's plans for the new heavens and the new earth will gloriously unfold. Where is my groaning for that day?
To God Alone be the Glory
Sunday, November 13, 2011
I read the following quote from D.A. Carson in For The Love of God Vol 2. It was a refreshing reminder that the gospel does not terminate on us but rather terminates on God's saving work in Christ.
We must always remember that: The Gospel is not admired in Scripture primarily because of the social transformation it effects, but because it reconciles men and women to a holy God. Its purpose is not that we might feel fulfilled, but that we might be reconciled to the living and holy God. The consummation is delightful to the transformed people of God, not simply because the environment of the new heaven and the new earth is pleasing, but because we forever live and work and worship in the unshielded radiance of the presence of our holy Maker and Redeemer. That prospect must shape how the church lives and serves, and determine the pulse of its ministry. The only alternative is high-sounding but self-serving idolatry.To God Alone be the Glory
Friday, November 11, 2011
Rend your hearts and not your garments
For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome;
who can endure it?
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the LORD your God? -- Joel 2:11c-14
I'm not sure why, but I am always amazed and excited when I see the gospel in the Old Testament. Perhaps I've bought into the incorrect notion that Israel had the Law, but we get the gospel. Maybe I've gotten sucked into the wrong headed idea that the God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath, but in the New Testament He is a God of love. Or there is the possibility that I've slid into the misguided school of thought that proposes that God's first plan was for Israel, but when they messed up, He sent His Son with the gospel.
Well, whatever the case, passages like the one above from Joel, strongly remind me (and all of us) that God had (and has) a singular plan of redemption. Starting in Gen 3 and culminating in Rev 22, God's plan has always been to rescue and restore His people and His creation through the redemptive power of the Cross.
What is interesting to me about the passage from Joel is there is no plea for action other than heartfelt repentance. Even here in the midst of the post exile disaster, God is saying "I want your heart". I don't know about you, but I can begin to feel the of the passion God has to be reunited with his children. To borrow from another post exile prophet, Ezekiel writes, "Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?" (Ezk 33:11)
At the end of the day, these two Old Testament passages sum up our singular response to the gospel. We must turn to God. By grace? Absolutely. In the power of the Spirit? Without a doubt. Yet there must be a turn. Our lives must somehow be different. And we must rend our hearts, not our garments. External grief and surface level responses do not cut it with God (check out Mt 7:21-23).
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. -- Ps 51:17
God wants your heart.
To God Alone be the Glory
who can endure it?
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the LORD your God? -- Joel 2:11c-14
I'm not sure why, but I am always amazed and excited when I see the gospel in the Old Testament. Perhaps I've bought into the incorrect notion that Israel had the Law, but we get the gospel. Maybe I've gotten sucked into the wrong headed idea that the God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath, but in the New Testament He is a God of love. Or there is the possibility that I've slid into the misguided school of thought that proposes that God's first plan was for Israel, but when they messed up, He sent His Son with the gospel.
Well, whatever the case, passages like the one above from Joel, strongly remind me (and all of us) that God had (and has) a singular plan of redemption. Starting in Gen 3 and culminating in Rev 22, God's plan has always been to rescue and restore His people and His creation through the redemptive power of the Cross.
What is interesting to me about the passage from Joel is there is no plea for action other than heartfelt repentance. Even here in the midst of the post exile disaster, God is saying "I want your heart". I don't know about you, but I can begin to feel the of the passion God has to be reunited with his children. To borrow from another post exile prophet, Ezekiel writes, "Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?" (Ezk 33:11)
At the end of the day, these two Old Testament passages sum up our singular response to the gospel. We must turn to God. By grace? Absolutely. In the power of the Spirit? Without a doubt. Yet there must be a turn. Our lives must somehow be different. And we must rend our hearts, not our garments. External grief and surface level responses do not cut it with God (check out Mt 7:21-23).
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. -- Ps 51:17
God wants your heart.
To God Alone be the Glory
Thursday, November 10, 2011
A sermon
Humbly offered by your affectionate, though unworthy brother and servant in Christ.
To God Alone be the Glory
The Paradox of God
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest (Heb 4:11)
There are so many things about God that are paradoxical. For example
I will not delve into the nuances of the word strive. Rather, I would like us each of us to consider how we (each of us personally today) should be striving to enter God's rest? Will it be different for each of us? Sure, since the things that cause us unrest, the sins that so easily entangle and distract and allow us to drift away from our Savior are different. But the reality is that the author of Hebrews loved is church so much that in the power of the Spirit he commanded them (and us) to strive to enter God's rest.
Can we do that today? Can we begin to see and respond to the reality that God's economy is multi-dimensional and that we each have roles and responsibilities and expectations that go way beyond simply praying a prayer, acknowledging and creed and coasting for 50-60 years waiting for our eventual rest? The author of Hebrews sees this as a recipe for disaster.
To God Alone be the Glory
There are so many things about God that are paradoxical. For example
- God is the creator and sustainer of all things, yet He calls us to be stewards of His creation
- God is the holy and perfect judge, yet is gracious and merciful
- To God, the nations are dust on His scales, yet he cares about the smallest insect and the least of his children
- God's grace is free, yet it must be clung to tenaciously
I will not delve into the nuances of the word strive. Rather, I would like us each of us to consider how we (each of us personally today) should be striving to enter God's rest? Will it be different for each of us? Sure, since the things that cause us unrest, the sins that so easily entangle and distract and allow us to drift away from our Savior are different. But the reality is that the author of Hebrews loved is church so much that in the power of the Spirit he commanded them (and us) to strive to enter God's rest.
Can we do that today? Can we begin to see and respond to the reality that God's economy is multi-dimensional and that we each have roles and responsibilities and expectations that go way beyond simply praying a prayer, acknowledging and creed and coasting for 50-60 years waiting for our eventual rest? The author of Hebrews sees this as a recipe for disaster.
To God Alone be the Glory
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The Edge of a Knife
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. Heb 2:1
I imagine most of us, if we're honest, would admit that there are times, spiritually speaking, when we feel like we are standing on the edge of a knife.
I am confident the list could go on, just based on my own experience. But my point is not to beat myself to a pulp or to have anyone reading this beat themselves up either. Instead, it is my meager attempt to take Heb 3:13 seriously. The author of the book of Hebrews challenges his church to exhort one another each day so that none them will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
I plead with you, as a fellow pilgrim on the journey to the Celestial City, do not be afraid to examine your lives in light of God's holy Word. The reason sin has so much power, the reason Satan has so much success is that we somehow think we can live the Christian life on our own. God has given us His Word and His Spirit to go before us, to come behind us and to walk along side of us on this very perilous journey of faith.
As an encouragement, there are two verses the press into my soul, whenever I find myself on the edge of the knife. The first is in John 10 where Jesus emphatically states that nothing can snatch his sheep out of his hands (Jn 10:28) Since Jesus gave us the salvation we are resting in, doesn't it make sense that he will complete what he started?
The second verse is really a set of verses from Rom 8. Rom 8:1 bookended with Rom 8:38-39, communicate an amazing truth. Since there is now no (zero, zilch, nada) condemnation for those who are in Jesus, I am convinced that nothing (no one, no event, no power) can ever separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus.
To God Alone be the Glory
I imagine most of us, if we're honest, would admit that there are times, spiritually speaking, when we feel like we are standing on the edge of a knife.
- It could be the allure of a new job with the increased pay and prestige but yet will cost ministry opportunities and family & marital time.
- It could be the young man (or woman) at the gym who really listens to you and genuinely cares about your opinions and feelings yet could cost you the devotion and love you've pledged to your husband (or wife).
- It could be the praise and gratitude offered to you for a service rendered to God which causes you to rejoice in praise but may also draw you down the path of pride and may subvert the very service you intended to render to God
I am confident the list could go on, just based on my own experience. But my point is not to beat myself to a pulp or to have anyone reading this beat themselves up either. Instead, it is my meager attempt to take Heb 3:13 seriously. The author of the book of Hebrews challenges his church to exhort one another each day so that none them will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
I plead with you, as a fellow pilgrim on the journey to the Celestial City, do not be afraid to examine your lives in light of God's holy Word. The reason sin has so much power, the reason Satan has so much success is that we somehow think we can live the Christian life on our own. God has given us His Word and His Spirit to go before us, to come behind us and to walk along side of us on this very perilous journey of faith.
As an encouragement, there are two verses the press into my soul, whenever I find myself on the edge of the knife. The first is in John 10 where Jesus emphatically states that nothing can snatch his sheep out of his hands (Jn 10:28) Since Jesus gave us the salvation we are resting in, doesn't it make sense that he will complete what he started?
The second verse is really a set of verses from Rom 8. Rom 8:1 bookended with Rom 8:38-39, communicate an amazing truth. Since there is now no (zero, zilch, nada) condemnation for those who are in Jesus, I am convinced that nothing (no one, no event, no power) can ever separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus.
To God Alone be the Glory
Monday, November 7, 2011
The Desolate Agony of the Cross
“My God , my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mt 27:34, Ps 22:1
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied. Isa 53:10, 11
Last week I posted a quote by John Stott (read it here). I used this same quote this weekend to close out a sermon. But as I read it out loud, one phrase stuck hard in my mind: the desolate agony of the cross. What hit me is that in one simple phrase Stott captured the real scandal, the real tragedy and the real beauty of the cross.
Think about it. Sure Christ had to go through intense physical suffering. It was part of bearing our griefs and our sorrows. And yes He had to endure humiliation and rejection, since those are exactly the crimes we are most guilty of before God's holy throne. But neither the physical torture nor the psychological abuse solved our ultimate dilemma. We are a sinful, rebellious people. We are broken to the very core of who we are. We are the servant who owes his master over 5,000 lifetime salaries.(Mt 18:23-27)
Think about the garden of Gethsemane. What could possibly cause the Son of God, the one who could raise the dead, heal the sick and feed the multitudes to sweat drops of blood? What was it about the upcoming 24 hours that caused the eternal second person of the Trinity, the one who created and sustains all things, the one who was infinitely loved by the Father to say "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death"? (Mk 14:34)
The simple yet astounding reality is this. As Jesus bore our sins, God, who dwells in unapproachable light, could no longer look upon Him. The desolate agony of the cross is that in the majesty and mystery of the Trinity, the Father and the Son were ripped apart. Christ needed to endure the effects of hell, the despair, the total isolation, the unquenchable anguish and the absolute separation from God. Trust me when I say as alone as any of us may feel, we have never been as alone as Jesus was on the cross.
So today, can we bow (or kneel, or lay prostrate) before the savior who humbled himself to endure the desolate agony of the cross for us? Remember, Jesus did not do this for the fun of it or because he had to. He willingly and purposefully endured all of God's just wrath to rescue and redeem save you and me specifically. We have been on His mind and in his heart a long, long time.
To God Alone be the Glory
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied. Isa 53:10, 11
Last week I posted a quote by John Stott (read it here). I used this same quote this weekend to close out a sermon. But as I read it out loud, one phrase stuck hard in my mind: the desolate agony of the cross. What hit me is that in one simple phrase Stott captured the real scandal, the real tragedy and the real beauty of the cross.
Think about it. Sure Christ had to go through intense physical suffering. It was part of bearing our griefs and our sorrows. And yes He had to endure humiliation and rejection, since those are exactly the crimes we are most guilty of before God's holy throne. But neither the physical torture nor the psychological abuse solved our ultimate dilemma. We are a sinful, rebellious people. We are broken to the very core of who we are. We are the servant who owes his master over 5,000 lifetime salaries.(Mt 18:23-27)
Think about the garden of Gethsemane. What could possibly cause the Son of God, the one who could raise the dead, heal the sick and feed the multitudes to sweat drops of blood? What was it about the upcoming 24 hours that caused the eternal second person of the Trinity, the one who created and sustains all things, the one who was infinitely loved by the Father to say "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death"? (Mk 14:34)
The simple yet astounding reality is this. As Jesus bore our sins, God, who dwells in unapproachable light, could no longer look upon Him. The desolate agony of the cross is that in the majesty and mystery of the Trinity, the Father and the Son were ripped apart. Christ needed to endure the effects of hell, the despair, the total isolation, the unquenchable anguish and the absolute separation from God. Trust me when I say as alone as any of us may feel, we have never been as alone as Jesus was on the cross.
So today, can we bow (or kneel, or lay prostrate) before the savior who humbled himself to endure the desolate agony of the cross for us? Remember, Jesus did not do this for the fun of it or because he had to. He willingly and purposefully endured all of God's just wrath to rescue and redeem save you and me specifically. We have been on His mind and in his heart a long, long time.
To God Alone be the Glory
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Let my words be filled with His grace
As I step before God's people today, I re-posting these song lyrics. My desperate prayer is that "if I can speak, let my words be filled with His grace"
SDG
This song was released by Steven Curtis Chapman in 2004. Download here.
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
SDG
This song was released by Steven Curtis Chapman in 2004. Download here.
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
Friday, November 4, 2011
A desperate prayer
(Author's note: What follows is simply a compilation of various prayers that I have offered to God this week. My goal is not to engender your pity or your sympathy or even your empathy. Instead, my hope is that we can all be real with God and abandon ourselves in our desperate need of Him)
Father, Abba, Daddy,
Why do I so often come to you wearing a mask? You know all things. You've created all things. You control all things. You know me. You've created me. You are sovereignly at work in my life. Who do I think I am to try to hide from you or pretend that I am someone other than who I am? Perhaps this is just another reminder of how deep my rebellion and arrogance go. And it reveals how desperately bankrupt I am.
But, I need to thank you for the infinite grace and mercy that you have shown me in Christ. I am only now, 20 years into this journey with you, beginning to realize the immensity of the ocean of the love of Christ. I am incredibly grateful for all that Christ has accomplished on the Cross and that you have applied his finished work to my traitorous, treacherous life. And yet I am still standing on the shore holding all I know about you and your Son and the Spirit in a thimble. I desperately need to dive into the ocean of your grace and majesty, power and holiness. I desperately need to drink deeply from your fountain of patience, humility, compassion and forgiveness.
As I consider Christ's promise on your behalf that you would give good things to your children, I want so much to ask and seek and knock in childlike faith not childish pride or selfishness. I regret that too many of my prayers are one dimensional and treat you as a genie or a vending machine and have a view that this life is our ultimate objective. Forgive me, please. How often do I forget Jesus' very words "Your Father knows that we need them all (life's necessities). But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added onto you"?
So here I am, open and exposed. The more I look at myself, the more I see leprosy and gangrene, rotting teeth and cancer to the bone. There is nothing I have to offer you and nothing I can do on your behalf without you. Quite frankly, I'm desperate. If you will, take this rebellious, traitorous, willful, arrogant coward and use him in a way that brings you the most glory and impacts Christ's kingdom in a way that only you can. And empower me to turn any success or setback into an opportunity for your praise and testimony of your great grace and mercy and love and power. Please take my values, my priorities, everything that drives me and reorient them in way that is radically aligned with your values, priorities and what drove (and drives) Christ.
I can only lay this before your throne humbly and with tears because of and through and in alignment with your Son, my savior, Jesus. Amen.
To God Alone be the Glory
Father, Abba, Daddy,
Why do I so often come to you wearing a mask? You know all things. You've created all things. You control all things. You know me. You've created me. You are sovereignly at work in my life. Who do I think I am to try to hide from you or pretend that I am someone other than who I am? Perhaps this is just another reminder of how deep my rebellion and arrogance go. And it reveals how desperately bankrupt I am.
But, I need to thank you for the infinite grace and mercy that you have shown me in Christ. I am only now, 20 years into this journey with you, beginning to realize the immensity of the ocean of the love of Christ. I am incredibly grateful for all that Christ has accomplished on the Cross and that you have applied his finished work to my traitorous, treacherous life. And yet I am still standing on the shore holding all I know about you and your Son and the Spirit in a thimble. I desperately need to dive into the ocean of your grace and majesty, power and holiness. I desperately need to drink deeply from your fountain of patience, humility, compassion and forgiveness.
As I consider Christ's promise on your behalf that you would give good things to your children, I want so much to ask and seek and knock in childlike faith not childish pride or selfishness. I regret that too many of my prayers are one dimensional and treat you as a genie or a vending machine and have a view that this life is our ultimate objective. Forgive me, please. How often do I forget Jesus' very words "Your Father knows that we need them all (life's necessities). But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added onto you"?
So here I am, open and exposed. The more I look at myself, the more I see leprosy and gangrene, rotting teeth and cancer to the bone. There is nothing I have to offer you and nothing I can do on your behalf without you. Quite frankly, I'm desperate. If you will, take this rebellious, traitorous, willful, arrogant coward and use him in a way that brings you the most glory and impacts Christ's kingdom in a way that only you can. And empower me to turn any success or setback into an opportunity for your praise and testimony of your great grace and mercy and love and power. Please take my values, my priorities, everything that drives me and reorient them in way that is radically aligned with your values, priorities and what drove (and drives) Christ.
I can only lay this before your throne humbly and with tears because of and through and in alignment with your Son, my savior, Jesus. Amen.
To God Alone be the Glory
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
How desperate are you?
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jn 6:68-69
Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Cor 3::5-6
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Mk 9:24
I could easily add a dozen verses to the list above, but I think these are sufficient to make the point: Our christian life, beginning to end, must be built on desperation.
There is only one antidote for this malaise and it comes in three parts. First, we must see God for who is He is. Loving Father? Yes. Sovereign King? Absolutely. Holy! Holy! Holy! ? What do we do with that? The One who holds the nations as dust on the scales? How do we approach Him? The one who cannot stand sin and abhors those who commit it? (Ps 5:6) Not pretty. And it leaves us...desperate.
But, we must also see Christ for who He is. Sustainer of the creator and universe. The author and perfecter of our salvation. The only begotten of the Father.The one, true Israel. Our great High Priest All true. But, the only giver of faith? The only one who draws us to salvation? The one in whom all our spiritual nourishment will always flow? The only one worthy to stand in the immediate presence of God the Father? The one who, even now is interceding for us? These thoughts simply leave me...desperate.
Finally, we cannot neglect the Holy Spirit. Where would our salvation be without Him? Where would our growth in Christ be without Him? Where would our family or our church be without Him? How much of the Bible would make sense, much less connect at a heart level without the Spirit. Which talent or gift would bring glory to God and further the kingdom of Christ apart from the Spirit? All this buries me and drives me to a deeper sense of desperation.
I'm writing, as usual, with twin motives. First, I am simply sharing what God is pressing upon my heart. And, it is becoming clearer to me, that my confidence is more in me than it should be and that my desperation for God is way too low. Second, what I see in myself, I see around me. Maybe not with the same clarity or in the same degree. But, if we are honest, most of us are not desperate enough.
To God Alone be the Glory
Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Cor 3::5-6
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Mk 9:24
I could easily add a dozen verses to the list above, but I think these are sufficient to make the point: Our christian life, beginning to end, must be built on desperation.
- Desperation over our sin.
- Desperation over our growth in Christ
- Desperation over the depth and the breadth of our prayers
- Desperation over our attempts at true worship
- Desperation over out abilities to serve Christ and glorify God
- Desperation over the state of our hearts, and by extension, our churches
- Desperation over our lack of zeal and the ever present lure of lukewarmness
There is only one antidote for this malaise and it comes in three parts. First, we must see God for who is He is. Loving Father? Yes. Sovereign King? Absolutely. Holy! Holy! Holy! ? What do we do with that? The One who holds the nations as dust on the scales? How do we approach Him? The one who cannot stand sin and abhors those who commit it? (Ps 5:6) Not pretty. And it leaves us...desperate.
But, we must also see Christ for who He is. Sustainer of the creator and universe. The author and perfecter of our salvation. The only begotten of the Father.The one, true Israel. Our great High Priest All true. But, the only giver of faith? The only one who draws us to salvation? The one in whom all our spiritual nourishment will always flow? The only one worthy to stand in the immediate presence of God the Father? The one who, even now is interceding for us? These thoughts simply leave me...desperate.
Finally, we cannot neglect the Holy Spirit. Where would our salvation be without Him? Where would our growth in Christ be without Him? Where would our family or our church be without Him? How much of the Bible would make sense, much less connect at a heart level without the Spirit. Which talent or gift would bring glory to God and further the kingdom of Christ apart from the Spirit? All this buries me and drives me to a deeper sense of desperation.
I'm writing, as usual, with twin motives. First, I am simply sharing what God is pressing upon my heart. And, it is becoming clearer to me, that my confidence is more in me than it should be and that my desperation for God is way too low. Second, what I see in myself, I see around me. Maybe not with the same clarity or in the same degree. But, if we are honest, most of us are not desperate enough.
To God Alone be the Glory
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