God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it? (Num 23:19)
"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Lk 10:2)
The linked post from Justin Taylor and sermon by Joel Rigney were very helpful for me in grasping the very real question of why pray (or doing anything) if God is sovereign and all-powerful. Especially helpful to me was Rigney's analogy of God being the storyteller (completely sovereign and all powerful) while we are the characters (the ones that must carry the story toward completion).
This is 42 minutes that are well worth your investment. This is not just an academic, deep theological lecture. It is passionate call for us to pray because God has ordained that we pray to accomplish His will for His glory. It has given me a fresh perspective on the awesomeness and incredible value of prayer in God's economy.
To God Alone be the Glory
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Be Merciful
Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. (Lk 6:36)
Be merciful. That sounds so churchy, doesn't it? So pious and religious. And, I'm guessing, most of us really do show some degree of mercy to the folks we interact with on a daily basis. A wife may withhold a harsh word that her husband deserves. A parent may forgive a debt owed by a child. An employer may overlook a late arrival of an employee. The list could go on. Each of these are genuine signs of mercy.
And yet, I don't think these are quite what Jesus was getting at in Lk 6:32-36. Jesus' call for mercy is to show mercy to those who cannot (or would not) show us mercy in return. Praying for for someone else is definitely a sign of mercy, but how often (seriously!) do we pray for someone who would never pray for us? Not just someone who doesn't know us (like a missionary), but someone like an unbelieving neighbor or co-worker. Or, better yet, someone who is theologically or philosophically opposed to you? How often do we forgive the debts, financial or social, of those whom we are friends with? Yet would we ever do the same for someone we don't know or don't care for?
I say all of this to reiterate Jesus' incredibly insane point. This is a picture of God's mercy to us. He was not on our friends and family list before He invaded our lives. We did not know Him, love Him, seek Him or want Him. Talk about praying for your enemies! (Lk 23;34) And Jesus' radical call is for us to imitate Him and show mercy to those who deserve no mercy nor would they show us mercy if the roles were reversed.
Is this easy? No way. Does this go against both our human nature and the culture we live in? Without a doubt. But it is a command of our King. Let us strive today, and every day, to be merciful as God has been merciful to us.
To God Alone be the Glory
Be merciful. That sounds so churchy, doesn't it? So pious and religious. And, I'm guessing, most of us really do show some degree of mercy to the folks we interact with on a daily basis. A wife may withhold a harsh word that her husband deserves. A parent may forgive a debt owed by a child. An employer may overlook a late arrival of an employee. The list could go on. Each of these are genuine signs of mercy.
And yet, I don't think these are quite what Jesus was getting at in Lk 6:32-36. Jesus' call for mercy is to show mercy to those who cannot (or would not) show us mercy in return. Praying for for someone else is definitely a sign of mercy, but how often (seriously!) do we pray for someone who would never pray for us? Not just someone who doesn't know us (like a missionary), but someone like an unbelieving neighbor or co-worker. Or, better yet, someone who is theologically or philosophically opposed to you? How often do we forgive the debts, financial or social, of those whom we are friends with? Yet would we ever do the same for someone we don't know or don't care for?
I say all of this to reiterate Jesus' incredibly insane point. This is a picture of God's mercy to us. He was not on our friends and family list before He invaded our lives. We did not know Him, love Him, seek Him or want Him. Talk about praying for your enemies! (Lk 23;34) And Jesus' radical call is for us to imitate Him and show mercy to those who deserve no mercy nor would they show us mercy if the roles were reversed.
Is this easy? No way. Does this go against both our human nature and the culture we live in? Without a doubt. But it is a command of our King. Let us strive today, and every day, to be merciful as God has been merciful to us.
To God Alone be the Glory
Sunday, February 19, 2012
I Will Rise
Chris Tomlin
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"
Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead
[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise
There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes
Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead
[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise
And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
[x2]
Friday, February 17, 2012
Everything you have
What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (1 Cor 4:7)
Maybe its my continual battle with pride. Maybe its my ever growing sense of smallness in a universe created by a God who is so far beyond me that I cannot even grasp the edges of who He is (Job 26:14). Maybe it is simply the fact that the Bible is truth and whenever it speaks (and we happen to listen) there is a resonant chord in our hearts.
For whatever the reason, the verse above from 1 Cor 4, always presses on me each time I read it. In two simple and straightforward questions, Paul lays out and disarms pride. He establishes God's sovereignty over all things. He demonstrates the deceitfulness of the human heart & mind. He confirms our utter dependence on God (whether viewed as King or Father). And he implies the need we all have (and due we owe) to worship God.
Yes, I know I've put a lot a weight on one verse. And yes, I know would have a hard time supporting these spiritual realities exclusively from this verse. Yet, as the Spirit teaches and guides, I think it is reasonable to say that these thoughts were in Paul's mind when he wrote this, if for no other reason that he brings these truths out explicitly in other places.
In order to avoid an extended discourse, here's my plan for the day. I'm going list the items again, one by one, with a few comments for each. My request of you is to prayerfully read and reflect. Ask God if He would use this verse or these truths to draw you closer to Him.
Paul lays out and disarms pride. This is clearly the main thrust of the verse. "Why do you boast?" seems pretty obvious. And yet, how often do we stop in the midst of reading 1 Cor 4 and actually ask ourselves: why do we boast. So, friend, hit the pause button on your life and really ask yourself "If you've really received everything from God, why do you boast?"
Paul establishes God's sovereignty over all things. This is semi explicit, but in a way it is buried in the first rhetorical question: "What what do you have that you did not receive?" The implied answer is that there is nothing that I have, spiritual or physical, that I did not receive. If this is the case, who orchestrated my receiving? Who designed what I should receive and when and how much? Who is managing this process now? And the negative implication of all this is that if God is not sovereign, then everything is simply random and there is no purpose in the good or the evil or the ordinary events of our lives.
Paul demonstrates the deceitfulness of the human heart & mind. This is shown in the need for the questions, especially the second one. From a pure logic stand point, if we've received everything, we have nothing to boast about. We are not the canvas, we are not the paint, we are not the brushes, we are not the artistic skill and vision. We are the resulting painting. And yet we boast. Why? Is it not the deceitfulness of our own hearts? Even those who are redeemed in Christ continue to battle with the vestiges of this reality. We must never forget or relent in battling against what remains of our old self.
Paul confirms our utter dependence on God (whether viewed as King or Father). This item really overlaps with God's sovereignty. However, it needs to be distinct, because God's sovereignty can be viewed as cold, harsh, distant. But God is not cold, hard or distant. He gives rain to the just and the unjust. He gives life & breath to billions. He gives grace each day to people who are trusting Christ for the first time or surrendering their lives again as they roll out of bed. He listens to every prayer offered in name of His Son and is pleased to act on behalf of his children. Without Him, we would be in the outer darkness, without hope in the world.
Paul implies the need we all have (and due we owe) to worship God. Yes, the proper response is worship. Isn't it always? Not always exuberant. Not always musical. But always joyful. Always grateful and humble. And it need not conform to any of the worship modes currently available to us. (Another topic for another day).
Well, it became a sermon anyway. I pray we will each take time, not just today, but every day to ask two simple questions:
What do you have that you did not receive?
If you've received everything, why do you boast as if you didn't receive it?
To God Alone be the Glory
Maybe its my continual battle with pride. Maybe its my ever growing sense of smallness in a universe created by a God who is so far beyond me that I cannot even grasp the edges of who He is (Job 26:14). Maybe it is simply the fact that the Bible is truth and whenever it speaks (and we happen to listen) there is a resonant chord in our hearts.
For whatever the reason, the verse above from 1 Cor 4, always presses on me each time I read it. In two simple and straightforward questions, Paul lays out and disarms pride. He establishes God's sovereignty over all things. He demonstrates the deceitfulness of the human heart & mind. He confirms our utter dependence on God (whether viewed as King or Father). And he implies the need we all have (and due we owe) to worship God.
Yes, I know I've put a lot a weight on one verse. And yes, I know would have a hard time supporting these spiritual realities exclusively from this verse. Yet, as the Spirit teaches and guides, I think it is reasonable to say that these thoughts were in Paul's mind when he wrote this, if for no other reason that he brings these truths out explicitly in other places.
In order to avoid an extended discourse, here's my plan for the day. I'm going list the items again, one by one, with a few comments for each. My request of you is to prayerfully read and reflect. Ask God if He would use this verse or these truths to draw you closer to Him.
Paul lays out and disarms pride. This is clearly the main thrust of the verse. "Why do you boast?" seems pretty obvious. And yet, how often do we stop in the midst of reading 1 Cor 4 and actually ask ourselves: why do we boast. So, friend, hit the pause button on your life and really ask yourself "If you've really received everything from God, why do you boast?"
Paul establishes God's sovereignty over all things. This is semi explicit, but in a way it is buried in the first rhetorical question: "What what do you have that you did not receive?" The implied answer is that there is nothing that I have, spiritual or physical, that I did not receive. If this is the case, who orchestrated my receiving? Who designed what I should receive and when and how much? Who is managing this process now? And the negative implication of all this is that if God is not sovereign, then everything is simply random and there is no purpose in the good or the evil or the ordinary events of our lives.
Paul demonstrates the deceitfulness of the human heart & mind. This is shown in the need for the questions, especially the second one. From a pure logic stand point, if we've received everything, we have nothing to boast about. We are not the canvas, we are not the paint, we are not the brushes, we are not the artistic skill and vision. We are the resulting painting. And yet we boast. Why? Is it not the deceitfulness of our own hearts? Even those who are redeemed in Christ continue to battle with the vestiges of this reality. We must never forget or relent in battling against what remains of our old self.
Paul confirms our utter dependence on God (whether viewed as King or Father). This item really overlaps with God's sovereignty. However, it needs to be distinct, because God's sovereignty can be viewed as cold, harsh, distant. But God is not cold, hard or distant. He gives rain to the just and the unjust. He gives life & breath to billions. He gives grace each day to people who are trusting Christ for the first time or surrendering their lives again as they roll out of bed. He listens to every prayer offered in name of His Son and is pleased to act on behalf of his children. Without Him, we would be in the outer darkness, without hope in the world.
Paul implies the need we all have (and due we owe) to worship God. Yes, the proper response is worship. Isn't it always? Not always exuberant. Not always musical. But always joyful. Always grateful and humble. And it need not conform to any of the worship modes currently available to us. (Another topic for another day).
Well, it became a sermon anyway. I pray we will each take time, not just today, but every day to ask two simple questions:
What do you have that you did not receive?
If you've received everything, why do you boast as if you didn't receive it?
To God Alone be the Glory
Thursday, February 16, 2012
The Foundation is Christ
For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 3:11)
At the risk of overstating the obvious, for those of us who follow Christ, there can be only one foundation: Jesus himself.
One might ask, if this is so obvious, why write a blog post about it? Along those same lines, one could ask why Paul felt compelled to state it in his letter to the Corinthians.
The reality is this: We are very nearsighted and have spiritual alzheimers. We too quickly forget how we got where we are and where we are going. We need a frequent (dare I say constant?) reminder that we are the branches and Jesus is the vine.
I think one of the dangers of not continually stressing and reminding ourselves that Jesus is the foundation is that without it we simply assume He is the foundation. Unfortunately, assuming doesn't make it so. Assume Jesus is the foundation long enough and we will end up people, churches, even denominations that have Christ in their label but not in their blood. And if we take just a moment to pause, we can see the potential (or even reality) of this slide in our own lives, our own families and our own churches.
The solution? That is the easy / hard part. It is as easy and as hard as always going back to the foundation of Christ. God wants us to build and to grow. Personally and corporately. But we must build and grow explicitly on the foundation of Christ. It is easy because the gospel is simple, Jesus is always available to any who call on him and He is interceding for us even now. But it is hard because dependence on Christ requires giving up dependence on ourselves. Glory to God means giving up glory for ourselves. Making sure the foundation is true means calling into question and clarifying the foundation of others who may not share this core belief and value.
Remember, in the end, only what is done for Christ will last.
To God Alone be the Glory
At the risk of overstating the obvious, for those of us who follow Christ, there can be only one foundation: Jesus himself.
One might ask, if this is so obvious, why write a blog post about it? Along those same lines, one could ask why Paul felt compelled to state it in his letter to the Corinthians.
The reality is this: We are very nearsighted and have spiritual alzheimers. We too quickly forget how we got where we are and where we are going. We need a frequent (dare I say constant?) reminder that we are the branches and Jesus is the vine.
I think one of the dangers of not continually stressing and reminding ourselves that Jesus is the foundation is that without it we simply assume He is the foundation. Unfortunately, assuming doesn't make it so. Assume Jesus is the foundation long enough and we will end up people, churches, even denominations that have Christ in their label but not in their blood. And if we take just a moment to pause, we can see the potential (or even reality) of this slide in our own lives, our own families and our own churches.
The solution? That is the easy / hard part. It is as easy and as hard as always going back to the foundation of Christ. God wants us to build and to grow. Personally and corporately. But we must build and grow explicitly on the foundation of Christ. It is easy because the gospel is simple, Jesus is always available to any who call on him and He is interceding for us even now. But it is hard because dependence on Christ requires giving up dependence on ourselves. Glory to God means giving up glory for ourselves. Making sure the foundation is true means calling into question and clarifying the foundation of others who may not share this core belief and value.
Remember, in the end, only what is done for Christ will last.
To God Alone be the Glory
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
The Sacrificial Love of Christ
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor 13:13)
On Valentine's Day, it seems appropriate that we talk about love. But with such a broad topic, where to go with it or what to say in a short space seems daunting. Just listing the options seems overwhelming. For instance, we could look into:
Each these would worthy of a post, but I'd like to reflect for a moment on the sacrificial love of Jesus. This is probably best summed up in John 15:13 "Greater love has no than this, that he lay down his life for is friends." Combine that with Rom 5:7-8 "For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." and we have the heart of the gospel.
The essence of God's salvific love is not that He loves us because we are so lovely or even that we are so potentially lovely. The incredible, awesome, unimaginable saving love of Christ is that He loves us because we are unlovely. Remember the rebellion, remember the sin, remember the self-love. The picture of the Bible and our own lives is that, left to ourselves we always go the wrong way. And God loves us anyway.
We must also remember that God doesn't just leave us as He finds us. His love rescues us, redeems us, restores us. But it does so at cost. Just like everything else in life, salvation isn't free. Oh it is free for you and for me, but is was not free for Christ. The debt had to be paid. Our debt had to be paid.
I want to add one more layer to this awesome picture. If you are a follower of Jesus, you've been called to be a disciple. One of the aspects of being a disciple is hanging out with, living with, interacting with your master so that you become more and more like the master you are following. Isn't that what the disciples did in Jesus' day? The question becomes, is what we are doing today? Especially as it comes to sacrificial love. We will never die for anyone's salvation. Precious few us of will be called on to die for our faith. But as followers of Christ, as disciples of Jesus aren't there small, but very real ways for us to "die" for our friends. Think about it. In the church, in our homes at our jobs. What kind of revolution would we see if we decided to seriously be loving disciples of Christ?
To God Alone be the Glory
On Valentine's Day, it seems appropriate that we talk about love. But with such a broad topic, where to go with it or what to say in a short space seems daunting. Just listing the options seems overwhelming. For instance, we could look into:
- 1 Cor 13 and Paul's definition of love (plus love being greater than the gifts)
- How John uses the love relationship between the Father and the Son to display that Jesus is truly God and that everything He is accomplishing is born out of that love.
- The deep, passionate marital love (and picture of Christ w/ his bride) found in Song of Solomon.
- The sisterly and familial love of Ruth and the tender love of Boaz
- The brotherly love of David and Jonathon
- The creative, sustaining love of God in Gen 1&2, followed by the grieving love of God in Gen 3.
Each these would worthy of a post, but I'd like to reflect for a moment on the sacrificial love of Jesus. This is probably best summed up in John 15:13 "Greater love has no than this, that he lay down his life for is friends." Combine that with Rom 5:7-8 "For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." and we have the heart of the gospel.
The essence of God's salvific love is not that He loves us because we are so lovely or even that we are so potentially lovely. The incredible, awesome, unimaginable saving love of Christ is that He loves us because we are unlovely. Remember the rebellion, remember the sin, remember the self-love. The picture of the Bible and our own lives is that, left to ourselves we always go the wrong way. And God loves us anyway.
We must also remember that God doesn't just leave us as He finds us. His love rescues us, redeems us, restores us. But it does so at cost. Just like everything else in life, salvation isn't free. Oh it is free for you and for me, but is was not free for Christ. The debt had to be paid. Our debt had to be paid.
I want to add one more layer to this awesome picture. If you are a follower of Jesus, you've been called to be a disciple. One of the aspects of being a disciple is hanging out with, living with, interacting with your master so that you become more and more like the master you are following. Isn't that what the disciples did in Jesus' day? The question becomes, is what we are doing today? Especially as it comes to sacrificial love. We will never die for anyone's salvation. Precious few us of will be called on to die for our faith. But as followers of Christ, as disciples of Jesus aren't there small, but very real ways for us to "die" for our friends. Think about it. In the church, in our homes at our jobs. What kind of revolution would we see if we decided to seriously be loving disciples of Christ?
To God Alone be the Glory
Monday, February 13, 2012
Christ's death / Our assurance
(The following was excerpted from a sermon I preached on 2/12/2012. The full manuscript is here. The audio can be found here. SDG)
So, we have four reasons that Jesus chose to die.
1) Jesus died because we are his sheep. vv11-13
2) Jesus died because He knows us. vv14-16
3) Jesus died because the Father loves him v17
4) Jesus died because He has the authority to die (and to live again) v18
But what do we do with these truths? How can we take them with us into the rest of our lives? Here are just a few quick items that I pray the Spirit will press upon your hearts.
First, remember that Jesus was speaking both to build our confidence and to bolster our assurance. We must realize that whatever comes our way, He died for his own, for us who by grace have put our faith and trust in him. The hardships in your life are not a surprise to him. The temptations that seem to derail your walk with Christ are not insurmountable obstacles to him. Remember that he died to secure your eternal redemption.
Second, rest on the reality that Jesus’ death was intentional, purposeful and born out of love. We are too quick to view Jesus’ death as just a point in time event. While it was that, it was (and is) so much more. The Father, Son and Spirit planed your redemption before the world began. They have been acting throughout history to bring the cross and the Christ together. They have been working everyday of your life, first to bring you to faith, and second to build you up in Christlikeness. And they are laboring now toward the restoration of all things. As Paul asks in Romans, if God is doing all this, will He not, along with Christ graciously give us all things? On top of that, if Christ has done all of this, what in all of creation could possibly separate us from the love of God that is in Christ?
Third, we need to rely on the fact that all of this, our salvation, sanctification and glorification, the redemption of all things, the restoration recreation of the universe all hinges on the magnificent and incomprehensible love of God. Jesus’ love for the Father sends him to the Cross. The Father’s love of Christ accepts, approves and is filled out by Jesus loving submission. The love of the Shepherd for his sheep compels him to protect them and preserve them despite the cost to his very life.
Finally, we are both recipients and responders. The Bible is God’s story of creation, redemption and restoration. From Genesis to Revelation, we are simply recipients of God’s unmerited favor. Jesus did the heavy lifting. In reality, He did all the lifting. And yet, God expects a response to his grace. We need to receive it. We need to own it. We ought to revel in it. We ought to run with it. But whatever we do, we dare not reject it.
But I would remiss not to reiterate that the security of Jesus’ sacrificial death only applies to His sheep. If have not surrendered your life to Him, if have not accepted the free gift of his grace, neither I nor the Bible can offer you any assurance. Yet the Bible is clear: today is the day of salvation. If the Spirit is pressing on your heart, if the love of Christ has hemmed you in, if you are experiencing a gut wrenching hunger for this kind of assurance, let go of your tightfisted grip on a self-righteousness that can never save and reach out to embrace the magnificent gospel of grace and the Savior who chose to die so that you could live.
Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He has laid down his life for us. We are safe, we are secure. We are free to live and serve and die for the one to has our lives in the palm of his hand.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
To God Alone be the Glory
So, we have four reasons that Jesus chose to die.
1) Jesus died because we are his sheep. vv11-13
2) Jesus died because He knows us. vv14-16
3) Jesus died because the Father loves him v17
4) Jesus died because He has the authority to die (and to live again) v18
But what do we do with these truths? How can we take them with us into the rest of our lives? Here are just a few quick items that I pray the Spirit will press upon your hearts.
First, remember that Jesus was speaking both to build our confidence and to bolster our assurance. We must realize that whatever comes our way, He died for his own, for us who by grace have put our faith and trust in him. The hardships in your life are not a surprise to him. The temptations that seem to derail your walk with Christ are not insurmountable obstacles to him. Remember that he died to secure your eternal redemption.
Second, rest on the reality that Jesus’ death was intentional, purposeful and born out of love. We are too quick to view Jesus’ death as just a point in time event. While it was that, it was (and is) so much more. The Father, Son and Spirit planed your redemption before the world began. They have been acting throughout history to bring the cross and the Christ together. They have been working everyday of your life, first to bring you to faith, and second to build you up in Christlikeness. And they are laboring now toward the restoration of all things. As Paul asks in Romans, if God is doing all this, will He not, along with Christ graciously give us all things? On top of that, if Christ has done all of this, what in all of creation could possibly separate us from the love of God that is in Christ?
Third, we need to rely on the fact that all of this, our salvation, sanctification and glorification, the redemption of all things, the restoration recreation of the universe all hinges on the magnificent and incomprehensible love of God. Jesus’ love for the Father sends him to the Cross. The Father’s love of Christ accepts, approves and is filled out by Jesus loving submission. The love of the Shepherd for his sheep compels him to protect them and preserve them despite the cost to his very life.
Finally, we are both recipients and responders. The Bible is God’s story of creation, redemption and restoration. From Genesis to Revelation, we are simply recipients of God’s unmerited favor. Jesus did the heavy lifting. In reality, He did all the lifting. And yet, God expects a response to his grace. We need to receive it. We need to own it. We ought to revel in it. We ought to run with it. But whatever we do, we dare not reject it.
But I would remiss not to reiterate that the security of Jesus’ sacrificial death only applies to His sheep. If have not surrendered your life to Him, if have not accepted the free gift of his grace, neither I nor the Bible can offer you any assurance. Yet the Bible is clear: today is the day of salvation. If the Spirit is pressing on your heart, if the love of Christ has hemmed you in, if you are experiencing a gut wrenching hunger for this kind of assurance, let go of your tightfisted grip on a self-righteousness that can never save and reach out to embrace the magnificent gospel of grace and the Savior who chose to die so that you could live.
Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He has laid down his life for us. We are safe, we are secure. We are free to live and serve and die for the one to has our lives in the palm of his hand.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
To God Alone be the Glory
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