Of the Father's Love Begotten

(HT to Kevin DeYoung Of the Father's Love Begotten)

Of the Father’s love begotten,
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore!

At His Word the worlds were framèd;
He commanded; it was done:
Heaven and earth and depths of ocean
In their threefold order one;
All that grows beneath the shining
Of the moon and burning sun,
Evermore and evermore!

He is found in human fashion,
Death and sorrow here to know,
That the race of Adam’s children
Doomed by law to endless woe,
May not henceforth die and perish
In the dreadful gulf below,
Evermore and evermore!

O that birth forever blessed,
When the virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bare the Saviour of our race;
And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face,
evermore and evermore!

This is He Whom seers in old time
Chanted of with one accord;
Whom the voices of the prophets
Promised in their faithful word;
Now He shines, the long expected,
Let creation praise its Lord,
Evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heaven adore Him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him,
and extol our God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert sing,
Evermore and evermore!

Righteous judge of souls departed,
Righteous King of them that live,
On the Father’s throne exalted
None in might with Thee may strive;
Who at last in vengeance coming
Sinners from Thy face shalt drive,
Evermore and evermore!

Thee let old men, thee let young men,
Thee let boys in chorus sing;
Matrons, virgins, little maidens,
With glad voices answering:
Let their guileless songs re-echo,
And the heart its music bring,
Evermore and evermore!

Christ, to Thee with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant with high thanksgiving,
And unwearied praises be:
Honour, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory,
Evermore and evermore!

New Year, New Blog.

Well, maybe not so much a new blog as a refocused effort to post content on to the existing blog. My list of excuses for not posting could stretch for a mile, but the reality is that it all comes down to priorities. And, if the truth be told, that is the same for all of life. Not enough time for this. Too tired for that. Can't concentrate. Not interested. The list grows, but the underlying foundation is the same. We will prioritize what is important and can easily discard what is not.

So, when I look back over a sparse year or two of blog posts I can see that same thing. I could blame busyness or an inability to focus on topics, but the simple truth is that other things took precedence. Now, they may have been good things, even necessary things. However, as I sit here today, on the edge of the calendar flip into 2015, I sense the need to return to blogging with more regularity. The other stuff is still there. The excuses are still hiding in the weeds. But, by God's grace, my priorities toward this blog and how He might use it are changing.

One final thing. I know blogs can feel like a one way street. However for those who have a Google login, I have always allowed comments to my blog posts. I am notified of each one and read them all. So, if God uses some post down the line to inspire you or provoke you, feel free to let me know. Also, any one who reads this blog is free to share it or repost it or whatever the newest thing is. The more we can spread the truth about the grace and mercy and love of God as it is found in Jesus the better.

Soli Deo Gloria.

The Glory of God in the Mess

(preached Christmas Eve 2014)

Luke 4:16-21

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”


It has been said that other than funerals, sermons during the Christmas season are the hardest to preach. The expectations are high. The common texts are limited. The breadth of the audience is large. Add to this the reality that on Christmas Eve the focus of most of us is on what's coming next. Presents. An evening with family. Presents. Christmas lunch or dinner. Presents. Traveling. Presents.

So here I am, standing between you and...yes, presents. And yet I believe there is something that God would say to us tonight if we are willing to slow down just enough to listen. He may not proclaim it to us by angels. He may not testify to us by royalty. He may not reveal it to us through dreams. However as our value statement reminds us, God speaks to us through his holy, inerrant, unchanging Word.

To make this simple, because I know presents and parties are calling and that all of our attention spans are short, I will give you my single point right out of the gate. In reading through the Christmas narratives and considering how they tie to the rest of the accounts of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, I've become convinced that one of the reasons Jesus was born the way he was and why he lived the lifestyle he did was to demonstrate and declare that God is glorified in the mess. Let me say that again: The manner of Jesus' birth and the way Jesus lived his life was in part to show us that God is glorified in the mess.

Consider with me the events from the Christmas story. The first thing we see in Matthew's account is Joseph's relational turmoil over Mary's pregnancy. Say what you will about Joseph being a righteous man, what emotions did he have to face when he discovered Mary had apparently been unfaithful? Undoubtedly, many of us can relate to what I'm sure Joseph thought of as betrayal. But even in the depths of Joseph's emotional struggles, we see God at work. Joseph shows compassion and kindness where none was required. He shows a heart for the spirit of the Law rather than using the letter of Law to eliminate all pain from his life. And perhaps most God glorifying of all is Joseph's willingness to listen to God when he is told the most unbelievable thing. Here, in the midst of relational chaos, true fatherhood is displayed and God's glory shines all the brighter.

Next, consider the journey described by Luke from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Either walking or riding on a donkey some sixty miles with Mary nine months pregnant, this was not an easy journey by anyone's standards. Luke doesn't mention it, but what did they do about food, water, sleeping, and dare I ask, potty stops? Yet, here is a young couple being obedient to the civil authorities over them. Here are two Jews with complete trust in God, despite all the inconveniences he is allowing to pour into their lives. But, God used them and this less than desirable journey both to fulfill the prophecy from Micah 5, but also to establish Jesus' credentials as God's chosen messiah.

And of course Luke also gives us the whole stable, manger, no place for a nine month pregnant woman adventure. The entire scenario simply begs for "are you kidding me?" The lack of hospitality, risk to both Mary & Jesus' health and the shear humiliation of being put out with the cows or sheep is almost too much to handle. Yet, despite all of this, God is massively at work. In the stable, perhaps better than any place in the gospel accounts except for the cross, God is showing us just how humiliating it was to become human. Ever wonder how broad and wide and deep and high is the love of Christ? First look at the blood soaked instrument of torture then look at the manure filled stable.

We can't forget about the shepherds. What you may not know about shepherds is that despite the Bible's high view of the role and task of shepherding, the 1st century cultural view was much different. Shepherds were viewed as a disreputable lot. They were not able to hold any kind of public office nor could they testify in court. They were often accused of stealing from the flocks they tended, so when they were paid in sheep, they had difficulty in selling those sheep to feed their families. So when God chooses to disclose what he has just accomplished in the birth of Jesus, he does so to the most unlikely, disreputable, untrustworthy, unsophisticated people around. God is glorified by using these outcasts to proclaim what he has done. And he is glorified by showing the value of all people despite what society might say about them.

Back in Matthew's account, when the magi come through Jerusalem on their way to worship Jesus in Bethlehem, Herod's wicked mind kicks into gear. His slaughter of the innocents sets off a pair of situations that were so much less than ideal.  First, Joseph, Mary and Jesus need to pack up quickly and flee to Egypt. While maybe somewhat less difficult than the journey when Mary was pregnant, relocating on the spur of the moment and moving to a foreign country with a less than two year old child is definitely something most people would avoid. Add to this the innumerable families that lost a child for no purpose other than Herod's insatiable quest for power and we have a mess that is both personal and societal. But even here God is glorified.  He is glorified as Jesus is protected and sustained by an attentive and obedient guardian. He is glorified as sin and sinner are shown in their true colors and we are given a glimpse of where we might have gone without God's intervening grace. And, he is glorified in the demonstration that no opposition can thwart the sovereign plans and purposes of God.

Do you see that God, in orchestrating everything around Jesus birth, did not choose the easiest path. All the struggle, all the turmoil, all the mess was to show that God knows and cares about our mess as well. And not only does he care but he can be glorified in it as well.

And what about us? Can we find our own mess in the messes of the Christmas accounts? Are there any broken or strained relationships in the room? Any lives that are just plain hard, with no relief in sight? Do we know rejection or humiliation for no real reason? Have our lives turned out so much less than we've expected that we doubt God's ability to use us for any noble purpose? What do we do with unplanned, inconvenient disruptions in our lives? And how do we process the chaos resulting from Furgeson MO or New York City or the Middle East? All of these situations are here, in the Christmas narratives. And all of them can be used by God for his glory and the ultimate good of his people.

As interesting and relevant as all of this is, what I really want to consider tonight is Jesus' ministry beyond the early days of this life. Luke records Jesus inaugurating his ministry by reading from Isaiah 61. From the very beginning Jesus was declaring that the messiah would be different than what the religious leaders expected. His mission would have a scope and a breadth that no one would have anticipated. He came for people that society had no use for. He came to rescue and redeem people that had rejected God. And he came to give people the one thing they couldn't give to themselves.

Look with me briefly at Luke 4. Here is what Jesus read from Isaiah at the beginning of his ministry: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Certainly Jesus worked all these things out through the physical miracles he performed. But beyond the physical, which is here today and gone tomorrow, I think Jesus and Isaiah both knew that the messiah would do more than treat a few physical issues; he came to live and glorify God in the mess.

Good news to the poor? What good news? That God had come. The angels proclaimed there was a savior, a deliverer, a redeemer born in Bethlehem.  The people were not abandoned. We are not abandoned. That neither physical nor spiritual poverty could keep the love of God at bay. There is light in the darkness. There is hope in the hopelessness. There is mercy and grace in the face of hatred and despair. In fact there is no situation too dark, no sin so bad, no relationship too toxic for God's grace to overcome and overwhelm. God is glorified in the mess.

Liberty to the captives and those who are oppressed? Think about what sin does to us. Even if you don't call it sin, everything we do has its effect. We may feel good for a moment, but then we are under its weight for a lifetime. Slavery, bondage, guilt. And it doesn't have to be the big sins either. Even our respectable sins like anxiety, pride, envy and impatience will eventually ruin our lives. These are just some of the ways sin controls and captivates us. But Jesus declared that he is here to free us from this bondage. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free and if Jesus sets us free, we are free indeed. And God is glorified in the mess.

Sight to the blind? So much of this life, both the good and the bad take our eyes off of God. We become blind to what is right and true. We make up religious rules to keep us safe and comfortable. We get swallowed up in our despair and can't see what God is calling us to or what he is doing all around us. But Jesus steps into this mess to remove the scales from our eyes so that we can see both God's love and his mercy. Jesus allows us to see that every good gift is from God and that even the broken dreams around us serve as stepping stones back to him. He is glorified in the mess.

The year of God's favor? We often think of ourselves as blessed by God and rightly so. But when Isaiah first wrote and when Jesus claimed his fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, God's favor was not upon his people. Think of the pharisees. Their focus was not on God, but upon their own religious system. The Romans, they had their pantheon and couldn't care less about the one true God. And everybody else? They were perfectly content in their own spiritual bubble. They were all lost, wretched, poor, pitiable, blind and naked. But this mess too serves as the stage for Jesus to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. And it allows God to be glorified in the mess.

The reality is that Jesus' life continued to be one of bringing God glory in the mess. Over the course of his ministry he really had no home. He was often low on resources, depending on the generosity of others. He was quite often misunderstood, even by the guys he was training. People were following him not because he was the messiah or even a good moral teacher. They simply wanted food to eat and their diseases cured. Most of the religious leaders wanted him shutdown and even killed. And even his birth family thought he was insane.

That is the mess Jesus lived in. That is the mess Jesus glorified God in. He hung out with the outcasts and brought glory to God. He touched the untouchables and brought glory to God. On Good Friday he stood unjustly accused and died on a bloody cross and brought God glory. Mess at the beginning, mess in the middle and mess at the end. And God was glorified in it all.

So, the presents are waiting. The food is calling. Many of us will leave here and have a truly joyous Christmas season. But some of us won't. Some of us are neck deep in the mess. To the joyous, Jesus says "I am the source of God's favor. Rejoice in me and declare my goodness to those around you" To those in the mess, Jesus says "I have walked where you are walking. I have been rejected. I have lost all things. I have been tested to the extreme. I came in the mess. I lived in the mess. I died in the mess. And because of all this, even now, even if you don't see it, I am bringing God glory and I'm working for your ultimate good in the midst of the mess."

Merry Christmas

The Gospel For Good People

Let me be frank at the outset. These thoughts are much better expressed in the sermon with the same title by Jim Shaddix http://9283b62adf4cad736e46-46e4f035c5679c79ce7534d08f6f25e9.r5.cf2.rackcdn.com/audio/2284.mp3

With that being said, I still feel compelled to write this down at least for my own blessing, if not for others as well. The set up is to consider David's life prior to 2 Sam 11. By any definition he was a "good" person. We would be hard pressed to find a very big chink in his armor. And yet somehow his affair with Bathsheba occurs as does the cover up and the resulting murder of Uriah.

We could easily spend a lot of useful time considering the how and the why of David's sin, because my guess is the drivers are not much different for us today. However, I'm moved by two verses that book end the account of David being confronted in his sin. The first is at the end of 2 Sam 11:27 "But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." This is a piercing reminder that no matter who we are, no matter how good we are, our sin displeases God. I know we don't like to hear this or think about it, but even as Christians our sin displeases God.

But thankfully, that is only one bookend of David's account. The other end is in 2 Sam 12:13 "And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die." Much could be said about the consequences of our sin and rightly so. But what has captivated me is the gospel truth contained in the first 13 verses of 2 Sam 12. Consider the following:

• David did all he could to cover up his sin, yet God confronts him. No sin is hidden.
• David knew God was holy and requires justice 
• David did not seek any type of restoration, yet God pursued him and brought him to the point of repentance.
• David did not outsin the grace that God had lavished on him.
• Even "good" people need the gospel

I'm not sure where anybody reading this may be at. But I am continually amazed by the extent of the gospel and how much more I need to own it today than I did when I first believed. On top of that, there is the reality that God's love in Christ so wide and high and long and deep that it will cover even our deep, dark sins. I think we will be astounded, as David probably was, when we finally are confronted with the reality of our sin and that all of that offense has been taken from us and given to Jesus.  Amazing grace indeed.

Soli Deo Gloria

Lessons From The Fiery Serpent

And YHWH said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” - Num 21:8

At the beginning of Numbers 21 there is the account of the people grumbling (again) against God and Moses. The result of this grumbling was an infestation of "fiery serpents" whose bites were lethal. As I read this account today I wondered what relevance such a passage could have for me today. Here are a few thoughts I trust God desires for us to see out this text.

All Sin Has A Consequence

This may seem too obvious since in the text the people of Israel complain in once verse and receive the fiery serpents in the next. While this is very true and there is clearly a relationship between the grumbling and the sending of the serpents. However, there is more to the story. In the larger context of Numbers we need to remember why Israel is in the wilderness in the first place. Not too many chapters prior (Num 13-14), the people rebelled by not trusting God to deliver them safely into the promise land. Their forty years of wandering is a direct result of that lack of obedient faith. Sin always has a consequence.

God's Grace Overwhelms Our Sin

This account is a great example of the reality that God doesn't simply wink at sin or somehow simply erase our sins from the permanent record.  God is supremely and perfectly holy and righteous, so no sin is ignored and all sin must receive its just and equitable payment. In the case of the grumbling people, God provides a way for their faith to save them. They did not trust God to deliver them into the land. They did not trust God to continue to provide manna and water for their journey. Would they trust God to provide a way of escape from the fiery serpents? God's gracious provision of a bronze serpent on a pole provides not just an opportunity to believe, but actual salvation from the deadly bites of the serpents. And the same is true for us. God's grace will always overwhelm our sin.

Jesus Was Lifted Up So That We Might Live

Take a look at John 3:14-15

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

The imagery / typology is powerful.  Bronze serpent on a pole. Jesus on a cross. People dying for lack of faith saved by God's provision of a bronze serpent. People dying for lack of faith in God saved by God's provision of Jesus. Israel needed to look at the bronze serpent and trust that God would save them. We need to look to Jesus and trust that God will save us. The bronze serpent was, in essence, sacrificed for the sin of the people. Jesus was, in reality, sacrificed for sins of his people. Jesus was lifted up so that we could live.

To God Alone be the Glory

Our Great High Priest

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. - Heb 4:14-16 ESV

How often do we forget or ignore the reality that Jesus is our great high priest?

Do we know that he is our Savior? Check.

Redeemer? Got it.

Substitute? Yep.

Son of God? Amen!

Lord? Harder, but I think we usually get this too.

But High Priest? I'm not sure we know what to do with Jesus in this role. So instead of pressing in and allowing the Spirit to bring the Word to bear, we just move on. After all, it is easier, isn't it? What's the old saying? Ignorance is bliss...

And yet, as one reads through the book of Hebrews, one gets the sense that Jesus as High Priest was significant both to the author and to the people to whom he was passionately ministering. Here are just a few thoughts to whet your appetite and I pray pull you deeper in to both seeing and savoring more of who Jesus is.

First, Jesus, as our high priest, is not approaching the throne from the outside like every other high priest before him, but he is coming out from the altar. He is coming from heaven itself. He really is the Son of God, with all that reality implies. Later the author of Hebrews will clearly state that Jesus does not have to continually offer a sacrifice for himself as all prior high priests did. And, the sacrifice he did offer was not for his sins but for ours. Jesus is the one and only high priest sent from heaven for us.

Next, we hold on to our faith because Jesus is our high priest. Elsewhere the Bible is clear that Jesus preserves us. John 10 is a great example of this. And yet the author of Hebrews is exhorting his flock hold fast to their confession. The reason he gives is simply because Jesus, the Son of God, came from heaven to be our great high priest. Maybe it goes without saying, but I find it quite compelling that the Biblical writers don't often feel the need to coax or cajole us into obedience. For them it is a simple reality. If Jesus is who he says he is, obedience is not an option.

Beyond this is the truth that the role of high priest was to represent men and women before God. The high priest needed to identify with God and his holiness and yet also identify with mankind and our falleness. The priests in the Old Testament could not do this perfectly because they were just as sinful as the rest of us and thus couldn't really identify with God.  And, if Jesus had simply been God or even an angel, he couldn't identify with us. But in his incarnation Jesus, Son of God, sent from heaven for us can now sympathize with our temptation to sin. He now knows hunger and grief and humiliation and abandonment. Yet without sin. Because Jesus came here, not just as an observer, but as a participant, we can never claim that he doesn't get it or that my temptation or sin or circumstance is somehow greater than the Spirit can overcome. And because he is our sympathetic high priest, he is ready to forgive us and accept us when we confess, repent and believe.

And finally (at least for this post) Jesus, Son of God, sent from heaven to be our sympathetic high priest, has opened the door for us to the very throne of God. This is significant because it is a reversal of the at least part of the curse from Genesis 3. Man and woman were banished from God's presence due to their rebellion. But now, in Christ, we can return to the God who loves us. And we can return not as conquered foes nor as groveling servants, but as confident, beloved children. And as children our confidence is in our loving Father who will richly give us grace and mercy. It is amazing to think that God is always going to give us what is best in response to our prayers. Not always what we want, but always what is best.

So Jesus is our great high priest. He is certainly many other things, but let us remember that it is because he is interceding for us right now that our faith has not failed, we are able to have victory over sin and we are confident that there is an inheritance kept in heaven for us that is unfading, in unblemished and imperishable.

To God Alone be the Glory

Its Friday...

but Sunday's coming!

Thanks to Justin Taylor: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2014/04/18/its-fridaybut-sundays-comin

The audio is from Easter meditation S.M. Lockridge (1913-2000), pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in San Diego from 1953 to 1993.

http://vimeo.com/39886827

It’s Friday
Jesus is praying
Peter’s a sleeping
Judas is betraying
But Sunday’s comin’

It’s Friday
Pilate’s struggling
The council is conspiring
The crowd is vilifying
They don’t even know
That Sunday’s comin’

It’s Friday
The disciples are running
Like sheep without a shepherd
Mary’s crying
Peter is denying
But they don’t know
That Sunday’s a comin’

It’s Friday
The Romans beat my Jesus
They robe him in scarlet
They crown him with thorns
But they don’t know
That Sunday’s comin’

It’s Friday
See Jesus walking to Calvary
His blood dripping
His body stumbling
And his spirit’s burdened
But you see, it’s only Friday
Sunday’s comin’

It’s Friday
The world’s winning
People are sinning
And evil’s grinning

It’s Friday
The soldiers nail my Savior’s hands
To the cross
They nail my Savior’s feet
To the cross
And then they raise him up
Next to criminals

It’s Friday
But let me tell you something
Sunday’s comin’

It’s Friday
The disciples are questioning
What has happened to their King
And the Pharisees are celebrating
That their scheming
Has been achieved
But they don’t know
It’s only Friday
Sunday’s comin’

It’s Friday
He’s hanging on the cross
Feeling forsaken by his Father
Left alone and dying
Can nobody save him?
Ooooh
It’s Friday
But Sunday’s comin’

It’s Friday
The earth trembles
The sky grows dark
My King yields his spirit

It’s Friday
Hope is lost
Death has won
Sin has conquered
and Satan’s just a laughin’

It’s Friday
Jesus is buried
A soldier stands guard
And a rock is rolled into place

But it’s Friday
It is only Friday
Sunday is a comin’!

Take Heart. Get Up. He is calling you.

And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. - Mar 10:49-50

The more I reflect on this seemingly insignificant passage in Mark's narrative, the more implications I see and the more challenged I become. After you read the passage (Mk 10:46-52), I would ask you the prayerfully consider the following:

It is always Jesus who calls.  Sure, Bartimaeus was calling at the road side, but until Jesus said "call him" nothing changed in Bartimaeus' life.

It is right and good to call out to Jesus. Bartimaeus was calling out to Jesus to the point of annoying the disciples. In God's timing and providence, we may need to appear annoying to others as we seek out Jesus. We may need to be the persistent widow. But God does reward those who earnestly seek him.

There is an honor associated with Jesus calling us. I've lost sight of this. I'm too American, I guess, and think salvation and God's favor, grace and mercy are mine by right. They are not. So when Jesus calls us, it is an immense honor, privilege and it really, truly is a gift that is undeserved.

There is an unfettered joy (dare I say glee) in being called by Jesus. It is not just a religious transaction. It is not just a check box on a to do list. There is a joy in receiving something beyond expectation or imagination or deservedness. I've forgotten the immensity of my prior lostness. I've shrunk (in my mind) the gulf that had separated me and God. I've watered down the blackness of my sin. And yet Jesus' says of me: "call him"

I think one could find more here, but I need to stop and repent. Too often my approach to Jesus is much more like the the disciples (look back a few verses in Mk 10) than it is like Bartimaeus'. Perhaps today the Holy Spirit can open my eyes more fully to the powerful call of Jesus, to the need to be continually seeking after Christ, to the incredible honor of being called by Jesus all driving me to joyfully spring up and come to Jesus, my Lord and King.

To God Alone be the Glory

Do You Walk In White?

Today is an anniversary of sorts for me. In 1998, when I was first reading through My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, the devotional for Jan 15 hit me hard. (Honestly, many of devotional's entries hit me hard, but none quite like this one). On that morning 15 years ago, the Spirit helped me realize that I had not really died to myself. I was still trying to "do Christianity" instead of dying and letting what Jesus had already done be simply given to me. So, through Oswald Chambers, in the quiet of my kitchen, I had my "white funeral".

Below is a copy of my blog entry from Jan 15, 2011. In it there are a few references to the devotional itself, which I pray God may us to bring others to their last day.

To God Alone be the Glory

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Thirteen years ago when I read today's (Jan 15) My Utmost for His Highest entry by Oswald Chambers, I was cut to the heart. (full devotional here) I had been a Christian for 7 years, had served in various capacities and had even been to a few Promise Keeper events. Yet the challenge and conviction of what Chambers wrote haunted me.

You must agree with God and stop being the intensely striving kind of Christian you have been. We avoid the cemetery and continually refuse our own death.

Has there been a point in your life which you now mark as your last day? Is there a place in your life to which you go back in memory with humility and overwhelming gratitude, so that you can honestly proclaim, “Yes, it was then, at my ’white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God.”

So, by God's grace on Jan 15, 1998, I had my "white funeral". That was not the day of my conversion, but it was the day that through the Spirit I came to the end of my self. Is there effort involved in living the Christian life? Absolutely. But any effort I expend that further's the kingdom of Christ and brings glory to God is borne not by me but by the Holy Spirit.

Paul puts it in the form of a rhetorical question in Gal 3:3 "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" The implied answer is No!

Let end with two more quotes from Chambers:

No one experiences complete sanctification without going through a “white funeral”-the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crucial moment of change through death, sanctification will never be more than an elusive dream.

Are you willing to experience that “white funeral” now? Will you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends on you. 

To God Alone be the Glory.

The Spirit of Life

In reading Acts 2 in combination with a Martyn Lloyd-Jones devotional, I was struck today by my overwhelming debt and need of the Holy Spirit. Without exaggeration, everything in my spiritual life and my walk with Christ is dependent upon and was given by God through the Spirit. Here is a short, non-exhaustive list:

- a recognition of my sin and need for a Savior
- the willingness and ability to turn from my sin and to Jesus
- a certainty that God hears and answers my prayers
- the confidence that all of God's promises are "Yes" in Jesus
- a complete assurance that nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ
- a full realization that because of Jesus I am not condemned but loved, adopted and redeemed
- the knowledge that whatever I've been given by God, I've been given to share
- a growing sense that the same Spirit that walked with Jesus is walking with me
- the conviction that any use of the grace gifts without the Spirit is an empty exercise

I could go on, but the ache of my heart is first to say to God, and to the Spirit in particular, I am sorry for relegating you to second class status, for trying to do things on my own that were never meant to be done on my own and for slipping into a mind set that you are some kind of force. You are in fact the third person of the Trinity and deserve the respect, worship and glory of God.

My second ache is to ask myself, and any who may read this post, what am I doing in operating on my own strength? There is no point, no purpose and no lasting effect in anything I do on my own. It is botched from the start, since it has my glory as its goal, plus it is limited in its scope because it has my vision as its guide and once it is done it is incomplete since it has my power as its source.

So today and, I pray, every day, I'm seeking to think and speak, act and react, in the power of the Holy Spirit, third person of the Trinity, for the glory of God.

To God Alone Be The Glory