Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Guard the Good Deposit

By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. - 2 Tim 1:14

As I read this verse today, it dawned on me that there are several implications here for all of us who call ourselves disciples of Jesus. For now, I simply want to list them with a short comment or two. I pray God makes a connection for you with one or more of these and leads you into deeper study and prayerful reflection.

1) The good deposit is the gospel. This is fairly clear from the context, especially vv 9-10. I don't list this here to be pedantic, but because the gospel really needs to be first and central in everything we do. It really is the good deposit.

2) Whatever God is expecting of us in relation to the good deposit (ie the gospel), He is expecting it by and through the Holy Spirit. I have an ongoing, internal debate around my action vs my dependence on God, which is summed up beautifully in Phil 2:12-13. One thing that the Bible makes abundantly clear is that whatever God asks of us, He enables by his Spirit.

3) The gospel is worth guarding. This may seem redundant to the first item, but I think many of us might agree that the gospel should be central, but can easily step back from the fray when push comes to shove. Paul's day was no different than our day in this respect: someone is always looking to shade the gospel just a little. Add a little here. Trim a little there. Tweak something. Tune something. Polish something. Our command is simply to guard it. Protect it. Preserve it.

4) This responsibility has been entrusted to us. Some might argue that Paul is writing to Timothy as a pastor / mentor to an upcoming pastor. There is a sense in which this is true. However, there is a broader sense in which we all have pastoral roles, in families, Bible studies, friendships, so we too must take on this responsibility. Additionally, the call of discipleship is always to strive to be like the master. Or should I say the Master? Paul says in 1 Cor 11:1 "Imitate me as I imitate Christ" We can't walk on water, raise the dead or die for the sins of the world. But we can guard the gospel which has been entrusted to us.

5) Guarding isn't just a passive verb. I say this in equal parts as confession and exhortation. Guarding seems passive to me. I picture the night watchman, maybe walking the halls periodically, but mostly sitting around watching some cameras. I also picture some one disconnected to what he is guarding. Are they jewels or engine parts or food for orphans in Africa? The guard probably doesn't really care. But the gospel's claim on us is to care intensely and to guard it actively.

6) Finally, to come full circle, God is pulling this all together. Skip back 2 verses to 2 Tim 1:12 "I am convinced that he (God) is able to guard until that Day what he has entrusted to me"

So today, by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you and with confidence in the God who is accomplishing everything for His own purposes and glory, guard the good deposit of the gospel which has been entrusted to you.

To God Alone be the Glory

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Hungry for God?

In hearing this excerpt from a recent sermon by John Piper, God reminded me of a couple things.

1) Come to church (or any time with God) hungry

I don't know what it is. Every time I'm reminded of this reality, it makes sense. Yet in this case, head knowledge rarely produces heart ache. I come to church the way I come to any other event. Glad to see friends. Excited to gather for corporate worship. Ready to hear God's Word preached. But am I really hungry? Am I starving for fellowship? Am I famished for worship? Am I craving God's Word?  Where is the expectation that only God can fill? Not just anticipation, because I can conjure up those feelings. No, where is my expectation that God will actually be present in our services (or Bible studies or devotions or prayers)? Where is my ravenous need to be filled with the food that only God can provide?

2) My lack of hunger is not because I am full of God

Here's the thing about being hungry for God. I think we are completely deceived about why it may be missing from our experience. Maybe we've have an occasional encounter with a deep, gnawing hunger for God, but in general, I think its safe to say we all live feeling quite full. Why is that? Have we really experienced so much of God that we have all of Him that we could possibly want or need? Is He a spiritual miser that doles out one bread crumb at a time? If its not these things, then what is it?

Reflect on the conscience-jabbing words of John Piper:
If you don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great. God did not create you for this. There is an appetite for God. And it can be awakened. . . .

The more deeply you walk with Christ, the hungrier you get for Christ . . . the more homesick you get for heaven . . . the more you want "all the fullness of God" . . . the more you want to be done with sin . . . the more you want the Bridegroom to come again . . . the more you want the Church revived and purified with the beauty of Jesus . . . the more you want a great awakening to God's reality in the cities . . . the more you want to see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ penetrate the darkness of all the unreached peoples of the world . . . the more you want to see false worldviews yield to the force of Truth . . . the more you want to see pain relieved and tears wiped away and death destroyed . . . the more you long for every wrong to be made right and the justice and grace of God to fill the earth like the waters cover the sea.  (A Hunger for God, 23)
All of that to say "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied." (Mt 5:6)

To God Alone be the Glory

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

It Starts With A Humble Heart

I have been blessed by a series of posts on the Gospel Coalition web site by Paul Tripp. And while his focus is primarily on folks in ministry, there is much truth and application to those who are not.  Here is one sample from his latest post, If You Still Think You've Arrived:
You live in the middle of the "already" and the "not yet." There is temptation all around. In the middle you are still susceptible to its draw. In the middle there is still an enemy lurking around looking for his next meal. In the middle we are capable of self-deceit and personal delusion. In the middle we still need to be rescued from ourselves. In the middle we must always live humble, concerned, and protective lives. In the middle we constantly need grace's rescue.
How true is this? I almost feel as if Tripp is writing about me. I think this because he has tapped into a reality that we all face, whether we admit it or not. By God's grace, we can (and do) face these temptations, but how often do we forget that we need to fight with the armor that Christ himself provides (Eph 6:10-20)?

My plea to God is for a serious reordering, refocusing of my own view of who He is, Father, Son and Spirit and who I am, a man of dry bones, dust and ashes. Can we be instruments in the Master's hands? Absolutely! And we should allow Him to make music with and through us. But we must always remember that even a Stradivarius receives its glory not from itself, but from the One who made it and the One who plays it.

Let me conclude with a final quote from Tripp:
The great spiritual war doesn't only rage outside of us. There is ample evidence every day that it still rages inside of us. Gospel-driven, Christ-centered ministry, one that gives grace to those who hear, doesn't start with theological knowledge; it starts with a humble heart. It starts with recognition of your own need and the acknowledgment that you and I are more like than unlike the people to whom God has called us to minister. And for this we have the grace of Jesus.
To God Alone be the Glory

Saturday, October 13, 2012

An Application to Divine Wealth

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. - Phi 4:6

Any who know me, know that I have grappled with prayer most of my Christian life. Its not that I have devalued it or questioned it. Its more that as I sought to grasp it so I could rightly practice it, I've continually realized that prayer is much bigger, much more dynamic, and much more intrinsic to our walk with Christ than I realized. And this "unfolding mystery" of prayer simply keeps coming at me.

A few days ago, I was blessed to read in CH Spurgeon's Morning by Morning devotional the following:
The act of prayer teaches us our unworthiness, which is a very salutary lesson for such proud beings as we are. If God gave us favours without constraining us to pray for them we should never know how poor we are, but a true prayer is an inventory of wants, a catalogue of necessities, a revelation of hidden poverty. While it is an application to divine wealth, it is a confession of human emptiness. The most healthy state of a Christian is to be always empty in self and constantly depending upon the Lord for supplies; to be always poor in self and rich in Jesus; weak as water personally, but mighty through God to do great exploits; and hence the use of prayer, because, while it adores God, it lays the creature where it should be, in the very dust.
This perspective on prayer, while maybe not new, is certainly not what is usually in the forefront of my mind. It is great reminder and prayer is a great reminder, that we are the utterly dependent ones and that God is the only sufficient One. Oh, how I need this reminder, day after day!

To God Alone be the Glory

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Though He Slay Me

For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake - Phil 1:29

Though he slay me, I will hope in him; - Job 13:15

I continue to be struck by the reality that suffering is not just allowed by God; it is often a gracious gift.

This reality is in stark contrast to every other message in the world around me. Success. Comfort. Retirement security. Health. Ease.

Are these things evil? No. In fact they can be gracious gifts from God as well. But consider the testimony of Scripture and of your own life. When does God speak most clearly? When do his children cry out most passionately? When are they most easily distracted and drawn into sin?

Consider the cross. On the surface there is no comfort, no success, no security, no health, no ease. Christ put all of that (and so much more) aside so that he could stand in our place. Ultimately, he purchased for us comfort, success, security, health and ease. But today we only have a taste of the glory that will be revealed. And, we still need pruning

So rejoice in God's blessings, but rejoice more as you suffer for the sake of Christ. Know that we are really simply unworthy servants, but we have been given worth in Christ and have been adopted into the family of God. And, rest in the reality that "this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison," (2Co 4:17)
It is a true faith which holds by the Lord's faithfulness when friends are gone, when the body is sick, when spirits are depressed, and the light of our Father's countenance is hidden. A faith which can say, in the direst trouble, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him," is heaven-born faith. - CH Spurgeon
To God Alone be the Glory

Thursday, October 4, 2012

The Greatest Draw

I could not sound bite Spurgeon's "Faith Checkbook" entry for 10/4. There were too many gems and the overall truth was too profound. Jesus is the greatest draw, whether it be in building a church or the friendship, a marriage or a career. Anything else, everything else, will fall way short. So, I prayerfully share these 100+ year old thoughts, which seem as real today as they were when they were written. And, along with Spurgeon, I urge all who read this to avoid the quakeries of our day and depend solely on Jesus for your life, beginning, middle and end.
Come, ye workers, be encouraged. You fear that you cannot draw a congregation. Try the preaching of a crucified, risen, and ascended Savior; for this is the greatest "draw" that was ever yet manifested among men. What drew you to Christ but Christ? What draws you to Him now but His own blessed self? If you have been drawn to religion by anything else, you will soon be drawn away from it; but Jesus has held you and will hold you even to the end. Why, then, doubt His power to draw other? Go with the name of Jesus to those who have hitherto been stubborn and see if it does not draw them. 
No sort of man is beyond this drawing power. Old and young, rich and poor, ignorant and leaned, depraved or amiable—all men shall feel the attractive force. Jesus is the one magnet. Let us not think of any other. Music will not draw to Jesus, neither will eloquence, logic, ceremonial, or noise. Jesus Himself must draw men to Himself; and Jesus is quite equal to the work in every case. Be not tempted by the quackeries of the day; but as workers for the Lord work in His own way, and draw with the Lord's own cords. Draw to Christ, and draw by Christ, for then Christ will draw by you.
To God Alone be the Glory

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Just Keep Pedaling

Last week I read a post with this same title by Chris Castaldo. Read his full post here. In the middle, he shared comments from an old missionary from Africa that struck me as wonderfully descriptive of the Christian life.
To understand the Christian life, imagine riding a bicycle in the middle of a two-way street heading up a steep hill. Your job is to keep the bicycle wheels on the yellow line and keep pedaling. If you veer to the left or to the right, with cars zipping past you on both sides, you're road kill. And as you get further up the hill, the forces of gravity and fatigue make pedaling more difficult (so get it out of your head that elderly people go on spiritual cruise control). The challenge continues until the end, and there is no reprieve until we finally arrive home. 
Of course, we do veer off the yellow line. Every single day. And when we do, Jesus' victory---the cross, resurrection and pouring out of the Spirit---provides forgiveness and healing. But we are nevertheless called to pedal. When our legs feel shot and we're unable to proceed, we pray for divine strength, and somehow it comes. This is God's promise: "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6).
When I read this I think of Heb 2:1 (pay attention, don't drift) and Phil 3:12-14 (forget what is behind (our righteous stuff) and press on toward what is ahead (Jesus)). This a day by day (maybe an hour by hour) task. But praise God, the Holy Spirit walks with us, to allow us to keep pedalling.

To God Alone be the Glory

Monday, October 1, 2012

Simply a test

In my attempt to be modern, I am trying to post from a tablet. We'll see how it works...

As I read Ezk 34 and Eph 1 this morning, I had twin, Spirit directed thoughts. One was, despite the quality of our earthly shepherds (or our ability as shepherds), God himself will always be the Shepherd of his people (See Jn 10)

The other was this: we have been given so much more when we were saved, rescued, redeemed, adopted in Christ than we can possibly grasp that any (and every prayer should really be at least 99% praise, worship, thanksgiving and awe. I'm not there yet, but God is working on me.

To God Alone be the Glory