Prayer

"The criterion for our intercessory prayer is not our earnestness, nor our faithfulness, nor even our faith in God, but simply God Himself. He has taken the initiative from the beginning, and has built our prayers into the structure of the
universe. He then asks us to present these requests to Him that He may show His gracious hand." -- Charles H. Troutman (1914-1990)

Your life is a mist. - James 4:14

The last section of James 4 has always been challenging to me.  I am still young (and foolish) enough to picture my life as going on indefinitely.  God, through James, says this attitude is arrogant and that I (we) should remember that our lives are like a mist, which can quickly be gone.

I was reminded yesterday, on Easter of all days, just how real the "mistiness" of life is.  I found out that a person who has attended the Sunday School class that I co-teach for the first time two weeks ago, died unexpectedly the next Wednesday.  Did he know Christ?  I'm not sure.  Did he hear the gospel in our class?  I want to hope so, but when I teach I can get focused on the text and topic at hand.  Did God use that time to plant the seed of His Word or water the seed someone else planted?  I don't know.  Did this gentleman get assurance, encouragement or conviction?  Its not clear.  Did I squander an hour of that man's life of which he had so precious few remaining?  I pray not.

So, how do I keep from wasting this wake up call from God?  By God's strength, I will never assume someone knows the gospel just because they're in a church.  By God's wisdom, I will never disconnect a lesson (or a blog post) from the foundational reality that Jesus died so that we might live and that we must embrace this reality by faith. By God's mercy, I will endeavor to be quick to listen and slow to speak in order that I may not waste anyone's final hours.  And by God's grace, I will be an ambassador of Jesus Christ to anyone God brings in my life.

Will you join me?

Giving

"The only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. Our charities should pinch and hamper us. If we live at the same level of affluence as other people who have our level of income, we are probably giving away too little."

Lews, C. S.

He is risen!!!

I had to choose between Psalm 22 and Revelation 5 and probably a dozen other worthy passages.  I will leave Revelation 5 and the others for another day.  Today, I'm praying that you read Psalm 22 from this side of the resurrection.  The Father did for forsake his Son because of our sin (v1), yet "You who fear the Lord praise Him! Glorify Him and stand in awe of Him! For He has not despised or abhored the affliction of the afflicted and He has not hidden His face from Him but has heard when He cried to Him." (vv23-24)  Jesus is both slaughtered lamb and reigning king! May Christ be praised!  SDG



Psalm 22 (English Standard Version)

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
   Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
   and by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy,
   enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our fathers trusted;
   they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried and were rescued;
   in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,
   scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
   they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8 "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him;
   let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"

9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
   you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
10 On you was I cast from my birth,
    and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Be not far from me,
   for trouble is near,
   and there is none to help.

12 Many bulls encompass me;
   strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
   like a ravening and roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water,
   and all my bones are out of joint;
   my heart is like wax;
   it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
   and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
   you lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs encompass me;
   a company of evildoers encircles me;
   they have pierced my hands and feet—
17 I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them,
   and for my clothing they cast lots.

19 But you, O LORD, do not be far off!
   O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
   my precious life from the power of the dog!

21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!
   You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;
   in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
   All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
   and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
   the affliction of the afflicted,
   and he has not hidden his face from him,
   but has heard, when he cried to him.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
   my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
   those who seek him shall praise the LORD!
   May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
   and turn to the LORD,
   and all the families of the nations
   shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the LORD,
  and he rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
   before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
   even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
   it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
   that he has done it.

Thoughts on Salvation

"When Scripture speaks to us of our salvation it proposes to us three aims. One is that we recognize the inestimable love God has shown toward us, so that He may be glorified by us as He deserves. Another, that we hold our sin in such detestation as is proper, and that we be sufficiently ashamed to humble ourselves before the majesty of our God. The third, that we value our salvation in such a manner that it makes us forsake the world and all that pertains to this frail life, and that we be overjoyed with that inheritance which has been acquired for us at such a price. This is what we ought to fix our attention upon and apply our minds to when it is mentioned to us how the Son of God has redeemed us from eternal death and has acquired for us the heavenly life. We ought, then, in the first place to learn to give God the praise He deserves. In fact, He was well able to rescue us from the unfathomable depths of death in another fashion, but He willed to display the treasures of His infinite goodness when He spared not His only Son. And our Lord Jesus in this matter willed to give us a sure pledge of the care which He had for us when He offered Himself voluntarily to death. For we never shall be keenly touched nor set on fire to praise our God, unless on the other hand we examine our condition, and see that we are as sunk in hell, and know what it is to have provoked the wrath of God and to have Him for a mortal enemy and a judge so terrible and appalling that it would be much better if heaven and earth and all creatures would conspire against us then to approach His majesty while it is unfavorable toward us. So it is very necessary that sinners should be broken-hearted with a feeling and an understanding of their faults, and that they should know themselves to be worse than wretched, so that they may have a horror at their condition, in order that in this way they may know how much they are indebted and obligated to God, that He has pitied them, that He sees them in despair, and that He has been kind enough to help them; not because He sees in them any dignity, but only because He looks upon their wretchedness.

"And that is why it is here narrated to us that not only our Lord Jesus Christ has been willing to suffer death and has offered Himself as a sacrifice to pacify the wrath of God His Father, but in order that He might be truly and wholly our pledge, He did not refuse to bear the agonies which are prepared for all those whose consciences rebuke them and who feel themselves guilty of eternal death and damnation before God. Let us note well, then, that the Son of God was not content merely to offer His flesh and blood and to subject them to death, but He willed in full measure to appear before the judgment seat of God His Father in the name and in the person of all sinners, being then ready to be condemned, inasmuch as He bore our burden. And we need no longer be ashamed, since the Son of God exposed Himself to such humiliation. It is not without cause that St. Paul exhorts us by his example not to be ashamed of the preaching of the Cross; however foolish it may be to some and a stumbling-block to many. For the more our Lord Jesus abased Himself the more we see that the offenses on account of which we are indebted to God could not be abolished unless He were abased to the last degree."  -- John Calvin

Good Friday?

Why is it called "Good" Friday?  That's the question I used to ask my mom occasionally as I was growing up.  As best as I can recall, her response usually was: "Because that's when Jesus died".  In my young, unchristian but deeply religious mind, my silent comeback was 'Wouldn't that make it "Black" Friday instead?'  It seems clear to me now that my mom & I each had a part of the truth, but neither of us had the whole truth.

In my mom's case, she saw the reality the Jesus did in fact die.  And, she knew that His dying was a divine necessity.  Yet somehow she missed (or never probed) the question: "Why did He have to die?"  Or, "Why is this death 'good'?"

For me, I saw the tragedy of it all.  But, I was not able get beyond the loss: a great man, the God-man, is dead.  The plan is ruined; mankind is left to itself.  In a sense, my mindset was a lot like the disciples leading up to and following the betrayal, trial, torture, crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus.  I didn't see the bigger picture, the bigger plan, that God was executing.

So, the question remains: Why Good Friday?  I would submit it is good for at least 3 reasons.

1)  Christ died so that we might live. (1 Cor 15:3; Eph 1:7; Heb 9:26; Rom 8:31-39)  We each owe a debt to God that we can never pay.  In fact, I'm fond of using the illustration of trying to make my mortgage payment with confederate money.  Even $1 million in confederate money would not pay off the the debt I owe to the bank.  It is simply not worth anything, although it is (or was) really money.  Likewise, all the stuff we think we can do for God, to earn His favor or to pay Him back, has no value in reducing our debt to Him. It is simply and only the perfect sacrifice of Jesus that covers our debt and covers it completely.

2)  Christ died to create a people for himself. (1 Pet 2:9-10; Eph 2:19-22; 3:10-11; 5:25-27; Rev 7:9-12) The new life we have in Christ is not about millions of individuals running around worshiping God.  Rather it is about Jesus creating for himself a new community, dedicated to God and each other.  Even in the Trinity, there is the this bond of love. Our worship and our service, both today and for eternity, is done in the context of this new community.

3)  Christ died to perfect all of creation. (Rom 8:19-23; 1 Cor 15:50-57; Eph 1:9-10; Rev 21-22) There is an cosmic battle raging around us.  From shortly after God pronounced that His work was very good until the last battle has been won, this war surges on.  And yet at the cross on "Good" Friday the pivotal battle was fought in this cosmic struggle. Like D-Day in World War II or Gettysburg in the Civil War, the decisive battle has been won.  In either case, was the war over?  No, and each opponent continued to fight and even win major victories (e.g. the Battle of the Bulge).  Yet the tide had turned and victory was simply a matter of time.  So it is with Christ.  Jesus has triumphed!  His children have been redeemed!  His people have been established and one day soon, Satan and death itself will be eternally vanquished.

Today we can mourn and rejoice.  Mourn for the sin that sent Jesus to the cross.  Mourn for the pain, agony and spiritual separation Christ had to endure.  Mourn for all who will go through another Good Friday and not know why it is so, so good.  But also rejoice.  Rejoice over the willing sacrifice of Jesus, the sinless, holy eternal Son of God.  Rejoice over the sin payment Jesus made for each of us who believe, a payment we could never make.  Rejoice over the love Jesus has for his Father that He would submit Himself to the Father's plan and purpose.  And rejoice that now we are no longer aliens and strangers, but we are children of God and brothers and sisters with Christ.

SDG

Re: The Bible

"Read and read again, and do not despair of help to understand the will and mind of God though you think they are fast locked up from you. Neither trouble your heads though you have not commentaries and exposition. Pray and read, read and pray; for a little from God is better than a great deal from men." -- John Bunyan

"Depend upon it, it is God's Word, not our comment upon it, that saves men's souls" -- Robert Murray M'Cheney