Friendship

"By prayer the Christian can open his heart to God, as to a friend, and obtain fresh testimony of God's friendship to him." (p. 11)

Bunyan, John. Prayer. Puritan Paperback Series. Banner of Truth.

The Undefeated

Decisions

"This committee was assisted by a group of scientists, of whome those most prominently connected with the development of the atomic bomb...The conclusions reached by these men, both in the advosory committee of scientists and in the larger committee, were brought to me by Secretary Stimson on June 1.

It was their recommendation that the bomb be used against the enemy as soon as it could be done. They recommended further that it should be used without specific warning and against a target that would clearly show its devestating strength. I had realized, of course, that an atomic bomb explosion would inflict damage and casualties beyond imagination...It was their conclusion that no technical demonstration they might propose, such as over a deserted island, would be likely to bring the war to an end. It had to be used against an enemy target.

The final decision of where and when to use the atomic bomb was up to me. Let there be no mistake about it. I regarded the bomb as a military weapon and never had any doubt that it should be used. The top military advisers to the President recommended its use, and when I talked to Churchill he unhesitatingly told me that he favored the use of the atomic bomb if it might aid to end the war...

I had made the decision. I also instructed Stimson that the order would stand unless I notified him that the Japanese reply to our ultimatum was acceptable...

On July 28 Radio Tokyo anounced that the Japanese government would continue to fight. There was no formal reply to the joint ultimatum of the United States, the United Kingdom, and China. There was no alternative now. The bomb was scheduled to be dropped after August 3 unless Japan surrendered before that day.

On August 6...came the historic news that shook the world. I was eating lunch...Captain Frank Graham, White House Map Room watch officer, handed me the following message:

'...Hiroshima bombed visually with only one tenth cover at 052315A. There was no fighter opposition and no flak. Parsons reports 15 minutes after drop as follows: 'Results clear cut successful in all respects. Visible effects greater than in any test. Conditions normal in airplane following delivery.'

I was greatly moved. I telephoned Byrnes aboard ship to give him the news and then said to the group of sailors around me, 'This is the greatest thing in history. It's time for us to get home.'" (pp. 419-421.)

Truman, Harry. Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Year of Decisions, Volume I, Doubleday, 1955.

An Era has Ended

I am no longer a DPA employee. I said goodbye to my co-workers on Wednesday.

Even more shocking to some I am no longer a Hunan Village waiter.

Just in case you didn't know.

Merry Christmas!

Too Much of One Doctrine

Douglas Wilson (whose blogging on Piper's book responding to NT Wright) has this great quote from Spurgeon:

"It is not true that some doctrines are only for the initiated; there is nothing in the Bible which is ashamed of the light . . . All revealed truth in harmonious proportion must be your theme . . . Do not insist perpetually upon one truth alone. A nose is an important feature in the human countenance, but to paint a man's nose alone is not a satisfactory method of taking his likeness: a doctrine may be very important, but an exaggerated estimate of it may be fatal to an harmonious and complete ministry" (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, pp. 74-75).

Untitled #8

Saying "No" is Saying "Yes"

"Saying "no" to some things means saying "yes" to others."

Source: Franklin Covey's website.

The Globe's

I definitely enjoy a good film and look forward to the nominations for movie awards. Today the Golden Globe nominees came out:

Best Drama

“American Gangster,” “Atonement,” “Eastern Promises,” “The Great Debaters,” “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood.”

I've only seen two of those films, AG and MC, and I'd have to give the nod to American Gangster over Michael Clayton, but both were very good.

My wife and I are looking forward to Atonement. Sadly, its not here this Friday where we are located. That would have been my date night pick...not this week.

After reading The Road last Christmas, I spent the year enthralled with Cormac McCarthy novels, so I've been trying to fit No Country for Old Men into my schedule.

Finally, off this list I am awaiting to be stunned by the acting of Daniel Day Lewis and the directing of PTA's There Will Be Blood.

Best Actress - Drama

Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”; Julie Christie, “Away From Her”; Jodie Foster, “The Brave One”; Angelina Jolie, “A Mighty Heart”; Keira Knightley, “Atonement.”

I have seen none of these, but I'm pulling for Keira.

Best Actor - Drama

George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”; Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”; James McAvoy, “Atonement”; Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises”; Denzel Washington, “American Gangster.”

Denzel is a good gangster, but he will always be my Creasy Bear (sp?). Clooney does a great job as the complex and guilty Michael Clayton. But, I'm most looking forward to Daniel Day's performance. I still can't get his portrayal of the Butcher in Gangs of New York out of my head, and the occasional Mohican echoes of "I will find you" resonating in my heart.

For the rest: here's the list.

Piper on The Prosperity Gospel

This has received plenty of attention in the blogosphere, but the message John has to say here is a must listen, and moves me deeply.

Mark Driscoll Talks Sex

It was a few years back when I sat as a single guy under the quite explicit talk of Mark Driscoll on the Song of Song's and Masculinity at his Reformission conference. The audio never came up though. Well, now a few years later on another continent Driscoll talks sex using the words of the Holy Spirit in the Song of Songs. This one is a bit more geared for both men and women, but imagine sitting in a church service hearing this. I have a feeling you might blush...I'm glad I'm married now, and I'm glad singles and marrieds alike can know when God is for sex. I think everyone knows when God is against it.

Here is the audio and video download: Whatever you wanted to know about sex but were to afraid to ask...God

Practical Guidelines to Control Spending

These "Practical Guidelines to Control Spending" are from Randy Alcorn's book Money, Possessions and Eternity.

1. Realize that nothing is a good deal if you can't afford it.
2. Recognize that God isn't behind every good deal.
3. Understand the difference between spending money and saving money.
4. Look at the long-term cost, not just the short-term expense.
5. Pray before you spend.
6. Examine every purchase in light of its ministry potential.
7. Understand and resist the manipulative nature of advertising.
8. Learn to walk away from things you want but don't need.
9. Realize that little things add up.
10. Set up a budget and live by it.

(p. 437-441)

Ravi Zacharias Against Atheistic Feminism

One speaker I have enjoyed much these last several months is Christian Philosopher Ravi Zacharias. Here at Penn State University in a Q&A he answers a young woman's question about the Bible's approach to women. Ravi responds with a concise picture of God's view of women in the Bible and confronts atheistic feminism.

Tonight my Cousin came Home

Tonight my cousin came home. Now, for the first time in 8 years he's home.

His characteristic ear to ear smile was on full display this evening and it was matched and mingled with the smiles and laughs of friends and family.

Again, I laugh in the home of my Aunt and Uncle, but this time the laugh is complete because my cousin is laughing with us. The joy is complete because this time he is there.

Tonight I had the pleasure of introducing my wife to him for the first time. I experienced the joy of watching him laugh with my nieces whom he, aside from pictures, has never seen. I watched old friends and family just look at him, amazed and thankful that it actually, really was him in the living room. Tonight I'm thankful to God that my cousin came home.

I am also reminded that my joy should be full each and every day because I am free from the prison of sin. There is so much to be thankful for. So much grace and freedom in my life. I'm free because of Jesus. There is no greater joy than this. I don't always experience it because I don't really acknowledge what I've been set free from, if I really knew the state of my previous confinement my heart would consistently overflow with joy for my Deliverer.

God thank you for the mercy of bringing my cousin home, and thank you for showing me the mercy of Jesus my Deliverer from sin each and every day.

The Identity of the Christian

"We have already seen that 'the old person' whom we are in Adam has been crucified with the second Adam, Jesus Christ (Rom 6:6). Hence, Paul urges believers to live on the basis of the indicative. Similarly, in Colossians 3:8-9 believers are exhorted to put off evil attitudes and actions, such as anger and evil speech. The basis for this exhortation is that they 'have put off the old person with its practices and have put on the new person who is being renewed to knowledge according to the image of the one who created him" (Col 3:9-10). Here the imperative does not take precedence over the indicative but vice versa. Believers are to remove evil from their lives precisely because they have already shed themselves of the old Adam and have clothed themselves with the new Adam....At conversion believers have stripped off the old Adam and put on the new. And since they are in the new Adam, they should live as members of the new humanity. The indicative is the basis and foundation for the imperative, and yet carrying out the imperative is not automatic. Believers face the danger of living under the dominion of the old Adam, so they must aggressively resist evil and passionately pursue righteousness." (Thomas Schreiner, Paul Apostle of God's Glory in Christ, p. 259-260)

This is a great quote from a great book by Thomas Schreiner, but more importantly it is a great truth that is easy to forget. As Christians, we are to become who we are. We are to pursue holiness because of our identity not to gain our identity. The reversal of this is living from a false Gospel even if we say we believe in the true Gospel.

What a wonderful fact to know every morning when I wake up that I wake up as a new creation because I am now in Jesus, who by his life, death, and resurrection, launched new creation. The sad thing is I often identify more with my sins then with the Savior. Holiness will not increase in my life when I self-identify myself mainly with the fact that I am a sinner. I believe the New Testament argument is that by identifying oneself as "new creation", as "saint", as "alien", as "chosen" is the way one goes about walking by the Spirit. The commands to be holy and kill sin and do righteousness are often in the New Testament not derived from the indicatives of "sinner", "creature", and "child of wrath" but from the Christians identity as a new man. The Christian life is lived by living from what the Gospel has accomplished not by living life from one's state before the Gospel. What encouragement this is!

However, make no mistake, Paul and the rest of the New Testament authors are not afraid to call the attention of their readers to there past state and former identity as "old man" and "child of wrath" and "dead in trespasses and sins". In fact, the argument of Ephesians 2 shows that Paul intentionally calls the Ephesians to remember there former way of life, but he does so in order to show the greatness of what God in Christ has accomplished by making former children of wrath into the very "dwelling place for God" by the Spirit. Nor were the apostle's naive thinking that the Christian would not sin or not acknowledge it when they had sinned. The apostle's called them to do this very thing, and then to repent and turn from their sins. The apostle's teach the inner warfare and the already and not yet in the Christian life and in all of life. But they did not call Christians to holiness by identifying Christians as unholy--they did it by calling them holy.

I found this parallel interesting today: Just as Paul calls the unbeliever who walks in disobedience and sin a "son of disobedience", Peter calls the believer a son of obedience and then calls him to obey. "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance..." (1 Pe. 1:14). The imperatives flow from the indicative, and in the New Testament the imperatives of living the Christian life flow from the indicative of the Christians new identity in Christ. The old Adam is no longer the identity of the one who is in the new Adam. The Gospel life is lived by keeping the Gospel at the center which means Christ is the center of the Christians identity not sin. Would not the opposite be the oxymoron of Gospel-centeredness?

Therefore the Christian is to walk as a new man, as who he truly is in Christ. All the while, remembering who he once was and putting off all that came before Christ. No, the old is never to be forgotten and in fact actively remembered, but the new is always to be the Christians controlling view of himself because of the great work of God in Christ.

Who is Terry Virgo?

Wikipedia gives the following bio for Terry Virgo:

“Terry Virgo is the leader of the Newfrontiers Charismatic Evangelical Christian movement. Born and raised in Brighton on the English South Coast Virgo started a small church movement which has grown into an international group of churches in 29 nations. He is well known for his teaching on the doctrine of grace and is a leading Reformed Charismatic. He teaches a complementarian view of gender relationships. Many charismatics who believe in modern day apostolic ministry recognize him as an apostle.”

Yes, a surprising combination: a reformed apostle and a charismatic complementarian. Maybe even more surprising are the following connections:

Terry Virgo likes Mark Driscoll. In his words:

“Though his unconventional style is mildly shocking to the ears of this particular English preacher, who can no longer claim to be in his middle years, Mark Driscoll, coming clearly through my iPod in this last week, has been a huge blessing.

As I walked to my office, in hopefully not a vain attempt to lose a few pounds, my spirit was soaring as I heard his outstanding commitment to preaching Christ. His Biblical perspective was magnificent. Verse after verse insisted first on Christ’s humanity and then on His deity. How wonderful to hear preaching so centred in Christ albeit with fascinating contemporary asides. How rarely one hears sermons so exclusively about Jesus and simply talking about Him, focusing on Him, glorying in Him and feeding my soul.”

He has reviewed Bill Johnson's book When Heaven Invades Earth and gives the following qualified endorsement:

“In spite of some very serious theological howlers (e.g. Jesus ‘laid his divinity aside’) and some questionable interpretations of Scripture, this is nevertheless a provocative book that will stir all who want to be constantly provoked to be channels of the Holy Spirit’s miraculous power.

His robust faith and remarkable reports of healings and miracles are inspirational and genuinely motivational.”

He has had his own book, God's Lavish Grace, endorsed by Sovereign Grace Ministries CJ Mahaney:

"For anyone struggling to understand and enjoy God's grace, this book will prove to be immediately and immensely helpful."

This next year, Terry Virgo will preach with pastor and author John Piper and New Testament scholar D.A. Carson in Wales at New Word Alive 2008.

I personally recommend his excellent 4 part series on Romans. My wife and I listened to it on our way to her parents for Thanksgiving and it is powerful. It is liberating and saturated with the identity of the Christian in Christ. You can listen to it and more at his personal website.

False Teachers are Nice

The Idol Factory

Taking my cue from Nate Downey, we all have idols in our hearts and we need to seek them out and crush them. Not only does, as Mr. Downey mentioned, Mr. Patrick and Mr. Driscoll go after issues of idolatry in the human heart, but Mr. CJ Mahaney hits it well in a 3 part series called "The Idol Factory" (scroll down for individual downloads). I can remember listening to these years ago and being quite affected, but like anything after time I easily forget and become unaffected by my idolatry. How I often forget the apostle of love's poignant reminder "Keep yourself from idols." These sermons by all 3 gentlemen should be a means of following apostle John's reminder.

You should make time to listen to these, but if you don't here is the handout CJ provides.

Settled in Sound Doctrine

Thomas Watson, one of the most readable Puritans, in his Body of Divinity notes the importance of being settled in the sound doctrine:

"It is the duty of Christians to be settled in the doctrine of faith. It is the apostle’s prayer, I Pet 5:50, ’The God of all grace stablish, strengthen, settle you.’ That is, that they might not be meteors in the air, but fixed stars. The apostle Jude speaks of ‘wandering stars, in verse 13. They are called wandering stars, because, as Aristotle says, ‘They do leap up and down, and wander into several parts of the heaven; and being but dry exhalations, not made of that pure celestial matter as the fixed stars are, they often fall to the earth.’ Now, such as are not settled in religion, will, at one time or other, prove wandering stars; they will lose their former steadfastness, and wander from one opinion to another. Such as are unsettled are of the tribe of Reuben, ‘unstable as water,’ Gen 49:9; like a ship without ballast, overturned with every wind of doctrine. Beza writes of one Belfectius, that his religion changed as the moon. The Arians had every year a new faith. These are not pillars in the temple of God, but reeds shaken every way. The apostle calls them ‘damnable heresies.’ 2 Pet 2:2. A man may go to hell as well for heresy as adultery. To be unsettled in religion, argues want of judgement. If their heads were not giddy, men would not reel so fast from one opinion to another. It argues lightness. As feathers will be blown every way, so will feathery Christians. Triticum non rapit ventus inanes palae jactantur. Cyprian. Therefore such are compared to children. Eph 4:44. ‘That we be no more children, tossed to and fro.’ Children are fickle sometimes of one mind sometimes of another, nothing pleases them long; so unsettled Christians are childish; the truths they embrace at one time, they reject at another...

It is the great end of the word preached, to bring us to a settlement in religion. Eph 4:41, 12, 14. ‘And he gave some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the edifying of the body of Christ; that we henceforth be no more children.’ The word is called a hammer. Jer 23:39. Every blow of the hammer is to fasten the nails of the building; so the preacher’s words are to fasten you the more to Christ; they weaken themselves to strengthen and settle you. This is the grand design of preaching, not only for the enlightening, but for the establishing of souls; not only to guide them in the right way, but to keep them in it. Now, if you be not settled, you do not answer God’s end in giving you the ministry...

Such as are not settled in the faith can never suffer for it. Sceptics in religion hardly ever prove martyrs. They that are not settled hang in suspense; when they think of the joys of heaven they will espouse the gospel, but when they think of persecution they desert it. Unsettled Christians do not consult what is best, but what is safest..."

(Source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library)

Mark Driscoll's Confession

Mark Driscoll wrote an influential book for young church planters called Confessions of a Reformission Rev, but in my view his most influential moment is his latest public confession of pride in his life just last week. Justin Taylor has posted his confession, here's the post:

"I believe that humility is the great omission and failure in my eleven years of preaching. I believe that this is my greatest oversight both in my example and in my instruction.

I therefore do not claim to be humble. I do not claim to have been humble. I am convicted of my pride, and I am a man who is by God’s grace pursuing humility.

So in many ways this is a sermon that I’m preaching at myself, this is a sermon you are welcomed to listen in on as I preach to myself.

But I truly believe that were there one thing I could do over in the history of Mars Hill it would be in my attitude and in my actions and in my words to not only emphasize sound doctrine, encourage in strength and commitment and conviction but, to add in addition to that, humility as a virtue.

And so I’ll start by asking your forgiveness and sincerely acknowledging that this has been a great failure.

And I believe that it is showing up in our church in the lives of men and women who have sound doctrine but not sound attitude. They may contend for good things but their motives are bad and their methods are bad and their tone is bad and their tactics are bad and their actions are bad because their attitudes are bad even though their objective is sometimes good. I see this in particular with the men. I see this with men young and old, men who have known Jesus for a long time and should know better, and men who are new to Jesus and are learning sometimes the hard way.

I will take some responsibility for this. Luke 6:40 says that when fully trained, disciples are like their teacher, and I am primary teaching pastor of this church and I can’t simply look at the pride in some of our people and say that I am in no way responsible or complicit.

I’m a guy who is pretty busted up over this personally and it really came to my attention last December just in time for Christmas. The critics really brought me a lot of kind gifts of opposition and hatred and animosity. Merry Christmas. And some of those most vocal and nasty critics were Christians – some of them prominent Christians. So I was getting ready to fire back (my usual tactics). They hit you, you hit them twice and then blog about your victory. Which I don’t have any verses for and don’t say it was a good idea. But it had been a pattern in my life until a man named C.J. Mahaney called.

I’d always considered humility to be cowardice and a compromise. In the name of humility you give up biblical conviction and passion and the willingness to contend for the faith (Jude 3) and to fight false teaching. What he was describing was orthodoxy in belief and humility in attitude and that those two together are really what God desires. And so it got me thinking and studying and praying through pride and humility and repenting and learning and growing. So I would start by saying that I thank my dear friend C.J. Mahaney for his ongoing friendship and the kindness he has extended to me and the things I’ve been able to learn through his instruction.

Furthermore, I apologize and repent publicly to you, the church for whom I am responsible, for much pride in the history of my ministry that some of you have poorly imitated and for that I am deeply sorry.

And thirdly, to say that I’m not a humble man but as result of study I’m a man who is acknowledging his pride and pursuing humility by God’s grace."

Process of Becoming a Pharisee

Eugene Peterson on the process of becoming a Pharisee:

"[Phariseeism is the] slow change from an interior passion to an exterior performance and the shift of attention from the majesty of God to house cleaning for God." (p. 212, The Jesus Way)

Controversy over Second-Tier Doctrines?

Should controversy and debate ever occur over second-tier doctrines in the church? John Piper makes an excellent case for the importance of preserving secondary doctrines:

“For the sake of unity and peace, therefore, Paul labors to set the churches straight on numerous issues—including quite a few that do not in themselves involve heresy. He does not exclude controversy from his pastoral writing. And he does not limit his engagement in contro­versy to first-order doctrines, where heresy threatens. He is like a par­ent to his churches. Parents do not correct and discipline their children only for felonies. Good parents long for their children to grow up into all the kindness and courtesy of mature adulthood. And since the fabric of truth is seamless, Paul knows that letting minor strands continue to unravel can eventually rend the whole garment.” (p. 31, The Future of Justification)

John Piper "On Controversy"

This is a wonderful section on controversy by John Piper in his latest book:

“Faithful Christians do not love controversy; they love peace. They love their brothers and sisters who disagree with them. They long for a common mind for the cause of Christ. But for this very reason they are bound by their conscience and by the Word of God to try to persuade the church concerning the fullness of the truth and beauty of God’s word.

We live in a day of politicized discourse that puts no premium on clear assertions. Some use language to conceal where they stand rather than to make clear where they stand. One reason this happens is that clear and open statements usually result in more criticism than ambigu­ous statements do. Vagueness will win more approval in a hostile atmosphere than forthrightness will.

But we want nothing to do with that attitude. Jesus refused to con­verse with religious leaders who crafted their answers so as to conceal what they thought (Mark 11:33). Our aim (if not our achievement) is always to be like Paul when he said, ‘But we have renounced disgrace­ful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God’ (2 Cor. 4:2).” (p. 31-32, The Future of Justification)

John Piper's New Book--Free!

...but it is online.

For those of you who are interested John Piper's response to NT Wright's version of the New Perspective on Paul can be read online for free (HT: DG Blog).

Or you can buy it at Westminster Books (HT: JT)

Here is a quote from the book regarding John Piper's view of NT Wright and Wright's views:

"My conviction concerning N. T. Wright is not that he is under the curse of Galatians 1:8–9, but that his portrayal of the gospel—and of the doctrine of justification in particular—is so disfigured that it becomes difficult to recognize as biblically faithful. It may be that in his own mind and heart Wright has a clear and firm grasp on the gospel of Christ and the biblical meaning of justification. But in my judgment, what he has written will lead to a kind of preaching that will not announce clearly what makes the lordship of Christ good news for guilty sinners or show those who are overwhelmed with sin how they may stand righteous in the presence of God." (p. 15)

Running down the score?

Did the New England Patriots intentionally only score 10 points 51 minutes into the game so they could quickly score 14 in 6 minutes? Probably. After all, I mean, Tom Brady is putting Warner's Ram-like numbers up and I think he wanted to look more like Tom Brady at least a bit this season. He needed a cool, calm come-from-behind victory. Plus, I think the Patriot defense wanted to give Patriot fans the pleasure of watching a costly Peyton Manning turnover so they had to make it appear that Indy could score for the first 3.5 quarters.

Were the Patriots running the score down today? It sure seems like it.

Bad guys defeat the good guys.

Happy Reformationstag II

The Swiss Reformer John Calvin would like a say as well this Reformation Day. (Or at least I would like to give him voice.) The following is from his renowned Institutes of Christian Religion on the subject of faith and works:

"13. But since a great part of mankind imagine a righteousness compounded of faith and works let us here show that there is so wide a difference between justification by faith and by works, that the establishment of the one necessarily overthrows the other. The Apostle says, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith,” (Phil. 3:8, 9). You here see a comparison of contraries, and an intimation that every one who would obtain the righteousness of Christ must renounce his own. Hence he elsewhere declares the cause of the rejection of the Jews to have been, that “they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God,” (Rom. 10:3). If we destroy the righteousness of God by establishing our own righteousness, then, in order to obtain his righteousness, our own must be entirely abandoned. This also he shows, when he declares that boasting is not excluded by the Law, but by faith (Rom. 3:27). Hence it follows, that so long as the minutes portion of our own righteousness remains, we have still some ground for boasting. Now if faith utterly excludes boasting, the righteousness of works cannot in any way be associated with the righteousness of faith. This meaning is so clearly expressed in the fourth chapter to the Romans as to leave no room for cavil or evasion. “If Abraham were justified by works he has whereof to glory;” and then it is added, “but not before God,” (Rom. 4:2). The conclusion, therefore, is, that he was not justified by works. He then employs another argument from contraries—viz. when reward is paid to works, it is done of debt, not of grace; but the righteousness of faith is of grace: therefore it is not of the merit of works. Away, then, with the dream of those who invent a righteousness compounded of faith and works."

(Source)

Happy Reformationstag I

Happy Reformationstag.

We must not forget that issues in regards to the nature of the human will was one of the key issues of the Protestant Reformation. For those who think Biblical conclusions over the nature of the human will are unimportant and simply speculative: stand corrected from Mr. Martin Luther. The following quote is from his Bondage of the Will:

"Therefore, it is not irreligious, curious, or superfluous, but essentially wholesome and necessary, for a Christian to know, whether or not the will does any thing in those things which pertain unto Salvation. Nay, let me tell you, this is the very hinge upon which our discussion turns. It is the very heart of our subject. For our object is this: to inquire what “Free-will” can do, in what it is passive, and how it stands with reference to the grace of God. If we know nothing of these things, we shall know nothing whatever of Christian matters, and shall be far behind all People upon the earth. He that does not feel this, let him confess that he is no Christian. And he that despises and laughs at it, let him know that he is the Christian’s greatest enemy. For, if I know not how much I can do myself, how far my ability extends, and what I can do God-wards; I shall be equally uncertain and ignorant how much God is to do, how far His ability is to extend, and what He is to do toward me: whereas it is “God that worketh all in all.” (1 Cor. xii. 6.) But if I know not the distinction between our working and the power of God, I know not God Himself. And if I know not God, I cannot worship Him, praise Him, give Him thanks, nor serve Him; for I shall not know how much I ought to ascribe unto myself, and how much unto God. It is necessary, therefore, to hold the most certain distinction, between the power of God and our power, the working of God and our working, if we would live in His fear."

(Source)

The Mall in Me

A few months ago I found this particular passage about a trip to a mall from Don Delillo's fictional work, White Noise, particularly captivating in all its disturbing truth for America--for me.

"...The encounter put me in the mood to shop. I found the others and we walked across two parking lots to the main structure in the Mid Village Mall, a ten-story building arranged around a center court of waterfalls, promenades and gardens. Babette and the kids followed me into the elevator, into the shops set along the tiers, through the emporiums and department stores, puzzled but excited by my desire to buy. When I could not decide between two shirts, they encouraged me to buy both. When I said I was hungry, they fed me pretzels, beer, souvlaki The two girls scouted ahead, spotting things they thought I might want or need, running back to get me, to clutch my arms, plead with me to follow They were my guides to endless well-being...My family gloried in the event. I was one of them, shopping, at last. They gave me advice, badgered clerks on my behalf. I kept seeing myself unexpectedly in some reflecting surface. We moved from store to store, rejecting not only items in certain departments, not only entire departments but whole stores, mammoth corporations that did not strike our fancy for one reason or another. There was always another store, three floors, eight floors, basement full of cheese graters and paring knives. I shopped with reckless abandon. I shopped for immediate needs and distant contingencies. I shopped for its own sake, looking and touching, inspecting merchandise I had no intention of buying, then buying it. I sent clerks into their fabric books and pattern books to search for elusive designs. I began to grow in value and self-regard. I filled myself out, found new aspects of myself, located a person I'd forgotten existed. Brightness settled around me. We crossed from furniture to men's wear, walking through cosmetics...I traded money for goods. The more money I spent, the less important it seemed. I was bigger than these sums. These sums poured off my skin like so much rain. These sums in fact became back to me in the form of existential credit. I felt expansive, inclined to be sweepingly generous...We ate another meal. A band played live Muzak. Voices rose ten stories from the gardens and promenades, a roar that echoed and swirled through the vast gallery, mixing with noises from the tiers, with shuffling feet and chiming bells, the hum of escalators, the sound of people eating, the human buzz of some vivid and happy transaction.

We drove home in silence. We went to our respective rooms, wishing to be alone. A little later I watched Steffie in front of the TV set. She moved her lips, attempting to match the words as they were spoken." (p. 83, 84)

Faith and Mount Moriah - Eugene Peterson

This chapter from Eugene Peterson's The Jesus Way is a wonderfully piercing picture of the Abraham testing, the Abraham faith, and the God of Abraham:

"We need testing. God tests us. The test results will show whether we are choosing the way of awe and worship and obedience (which is to say, God), or whether, without being aware of it, we are reducing God to our understanding of him so that we can use him. Have we slipped into the habit of insisting that God do what we ask or want or need him to do, treating him as an idol designed for our satisfaction? Does God serve us or do we serve God? Do we require a God that we can fully understand and control or are we willing to be obedient to what we do not understand and could never control? Is God a mystery of goodness whom we embrace and trust, or is God a formula for getting the most out of life on our terms? The test results will show whether we have been blithely assuming that God is pledged to give us whatever we want whenever we ask. Have we thought all along that God is there to serve us? The test will tell us. Do we want God in our own image or do we want the God who is beyond us and over us, who we trust will do for us what only God can do in the way that only God can do it--no strings attached...no reservations...no caveats...the whole hog? The test will tell us.

And we will be glad enough to have the test results so that we can get on with the resurrection-shaped life God has for us. This does not always happen without some pain, for we can get very attached to our little projects of self-deification, but it doesn't take us long to be glad to have gotten rid of them.

Nothing in our Scriptures is as demanding on our faith as the Akedah, this Binding of Isaac, narrated in such bare but excruciating detail as to leave no doubt that the stakes are eternally high. We ask, 'Why this quite unimaginable severity at Moriah?' Isn't there another way?...Soren Kierkegaard in his passionate search for an authentic life of faith probed the Moriah test relentlessly and left no room for an easy detour, a comfortable alternative. He warns against every attempt to trivialize faith into a vacation getaway in the mountains, or a place of influence in the city, or an entertainment park in the suburbs. The way of faith does not serve our fantasies, our illusions, or our ambitions. Faith is not the way to God on our terms, it is the way of God to us on his terms.

A three-day walk to Mount Moriah exposes the banality of all such bogus faith. At Mount Moriah we accept and worship a God beyond our understanding. At Mount Moriah we embrace a mystery that is light-filled, but no less a mystery for all that.

Abraham and the Akedah: the Christian way cannot be programmed, cannot be guaranteed: faith means that we put our trust in God--and we don't know how he will work out our salvation, only that it is our salvation that he is working out. Which frees us for anything. We must be the ones tied down, so that we can be the one's set free..." (p. 54-55)

How to Weaken Pride and Cultivate Humility - CJ Mahaney

As I walked out of the office today my colleague, friend, and brother in Christ, Nate, peaked in my car, glanced at the book on the passenger seat and said "How's humility going for you?" I responded with, "The book is good." He chuckled and said, "Good response." He probably chuckled because he knows I need some serious humility in my life. Don't we all! Well, here are some suggestions for the weakening of pride and the cultivating of humility that CJ Mahaney provides in his book Humility: True Greatness:

Always:
1. Reflect on the wonder of the cross of Christ.

As each day begins:
2. Begin your day by acknowledging your dependence upon God and your need for God.
3. Begin your day expressing gratefulness to God.
4. Practice the spiritual disciplines--prayer, study of God's Word, worship. Do this consistently each day and at the day's outset, if possible.
5. Seize your commute time to memorize and meditate on Scripture.
6. Cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.

As each day ends:
7. At the end of the day, transfer the glory to God.
8. Before going to sleep, receive this gift of sleep from God and acknowledge His purpose for sleep.

For special focus:
9. Study the attributes of God.
10. Study the doctrines of grace.
11. Study the doctrine of sin.
12. Play as much golf as possible.
13. Laugh often, and laugh often at yourself.

Throughout your days and weeks:
14. Identify evidences of grace in others.
15. Encourage and serve others each and every day.
16. Invite and pursue correction.
17. Respond humbly to trials.

(p. 171-172)

Jesus Died for God's Glory

I've heard it said by one preacher that one of the main reasons Jesus died was to preserve the freedom of man. Wrong. Jesus died for God's glory. John Piper, in his classic, The Pleasures of God, writes,

"...God would not just sweep the sins of his chosen people under the rug of the universe. If God was simply going to acquit guilty, God-belittling sinners by faith, then something terrible and awesome had to happen to vindicate his allegiance to the worth of his glory. And that something was the death of his Son. This death demonstrated the inexpressible passion God has for the worth of his glory and for the vindication of righteousness...We know that everything Jesus did in life and death he did for the glory of his Father...The very purpose for which Jesus came to the hour of his death was to glorify the Father. Jesus wants us to see that his willingness to lose his life is because of his love for the glory of the Father. This is how the worth of God's glory is magnified in the death of Jesus." (p. 165, 2000 edition)

The Cure for the Christian's Past Sin

Feeling depressed about your past. Here is some "medication", rather, the cure from the Doctor through Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones:

"Let me sum it up in this way, therefore. You and I--and to me this is one of the great discoveries of the Christian life; I shall never forget the release which realizing this for the first time brought to me--you and I must never look at our past lives; we must never look at any sin in our past life in any way except that which leads us to praise God and to magnify His grace in christ Jesus. I challenge you to do that. If you look at your past and are depressed by it, if as a result you are feeling miserable as a Christian, you must do what Paul did. 'I was a blasphemer,' he said, but he did not stop at that. Does he then say: 'I am unworthy to be a preacher of the gospel?' In fact he says the exact opposite: 'I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful putting me into the ministry, etc.'....That is the way to look at your past. So if, you look at your past and are depressed, it means that you are listening to the devil...Why believe the devil instead of believing God? Rise up and realize the truth about yourself that all the past has gone, and you are one with Christ, and your sins have been blotted out once and for ever."

Spiritual Depression, p. 75-76

Living for the Glory of God - Owen & Peterson

"Living for the glory of God" is so easily assumed, so easily said, in the Christian life. John Owen, Puritan of old, knew this, and in his work on sin and temptation reminds us that "the glory of God" is not simply in generalities but its in the specifics.

And men may persuade themselves that they have a general design for the glory of God, when they have no active principle in particular duties tending at all that way. But if, instead of fixing the mind by faith on the peculiar advancing the glory of God in a duty, the soul contents itself with a general notion of doing so, the mind is already diverted and drawn off from its charge by the deceitfulness of sin. If a man be traveling in a journey, it is not only required of him that he bend his course that way, and so go on; but if he attend not unto every turning, and other occurrences in his way, he may wander and neve4r come to his journey's end. And if we suppose that in general we aim at the glory of God, as we all profess to do, yet if we attend not unto it distinctly upon every duty that occurs in our way, we shall never attain the end aimed at. Ed. Justin Taylor..., Overcoming Sin & Temptation, p. 319

Eugene Peterson, a living author, speaks to the same issue, in his recent The Jesus Way:

The relation between ends (where we are going) and means (how we get there) is a basic distinction in science, technology, philosophy, morality, and spirituality. Fitting the right means to the desired ends is required in virtually everything we do, from things as simple as getting across the street and frying an egg to the complexities involved in a mission to the moon or writing a novel. But here's the thing: the means have to be both adequate to and congruent with the end. Means have to fit ends. Otherwise everything falls apart.

It is far easier to decide on a desired end, a goal, than it is to acquire adequate means...But finding the means for reaching the goal, achieving that identity, is a matter of diligent concentration, responsible perseverance, and keen discernment.

Discernment of means adequate for living to the glory of God and congruent with our identity as baptized Christians has always been demanding, which is why the biblical writers use the metaphor of way so frequently. But with the unprecedented proliferation of technology, discernment makes demands on us in a way not anticipated by our biblical writers. For us technology has taken over the business of means. Technology has a monopoly, at least in the minds of most, on answering questions regarding means. But technology for the most part restricts the term to matters visible: the means for making cars, getting to London, amassing a fortune, winning a game, killing the enemy. It is a very impressive monopoly. In our awed admiration we hardly notice that there is little skill or wisdom or concern given to the way we actually live. A technologized world knows how to make things, knows how to get places, but is not conspicuous for living well.

My concern is that the prominence of the way in our Scriptures and traditions, showing us how to glorify God and realize our baptismal identity, has been transferred in contemporary life into way of getting money, getting jobs, and getting power. The authority of Scripture and Jesus in discerning and employing means has been taken over by technology, the god Technology. And this proliferation of technology obscures the vital organic connections between means and ends in everything that permeates our ordinary living. When technology calls the shots in matters of means, 'standard of living' has nothing to do with how well we live, only with how much money we spend annually.

The way in which Jesus is the Way is not a matter of style or expedience. Nor is it a generality, a vague pointing in an upward direction. Prayerfully and scripturally attentive, Jesus deliberately chose the ways he would live. If we choose to follow him, we must be just as prayerful, scripturally attentive, and deliberate. The other ways are no ways...

So. Jesus the Way, the ways of Jesus. He shows the way. He also is the way...

Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus is the way we come to God. Jesus is the way God comes to us. And not first one and then the other but both at the same time. Not God's way to us on Sundays and our way to God on weekdays. It is a two-lane road. Much mischief has been perpetrated in the Christian community by not keeping both lanes open. The road up and the road down are the same road. (p. 27-28, 38.)

Radiohead Rainbows

Radiohead, probably one of the greatest bands of all time and definitely of our time, is releasing it's long awaited new album on Wednesday in a unique way: you get to pick the price of the album.

The Chicago Tribune puts it this way:

"How much is a CD worth to you, and, bigger picture, how much is the effort musicians put into making a CD worth? Those provocative questions -- a direct challenge to the evolving Internet and cultural norm of treating music as a free commodity -- are posed by Radiohead, the critically-acclaimed English band, in making its new disc, "In Rainbows," available for download Oct. 10 at whatever price you want to pay."

Radiohead, on their website, puts it in their typical minimalist way:

"Radiohead have made a record. So far, it is only available from this website. You can pre-order it in these formats: Discbox and download. Continue."

You can purchase it now, but won't get the link for the download until Oct. 10th via email.

So get things in order, put "everything in its right place", and pre-order it.

Celebrate the Steps

The following quotation contains a wonderful analogy from Matt Chandler pastor of the Village Church in Texas:

I've used this illustration 14 times since I've been a pastor here. I make no apologies for using it again tonight. It is the best word picture I know.

When my daughter first walked I don't think it was her intention to do so. I think she had a gigantic head. I think she let go of the coffee table, her fat head fell forward, in order to save her own life as the head fell, she put her foot out. That created what's known in physics as momentum. All right? So that step led to that step led to that step and she fell on the ground and we celebrated. An epic celebration of all things good. We're making cupcakes, we are partying because why? She's walking! I mean my kid is walking and for the next 3 or 4 months she can only take 6,7,8, 10 steps tops before she falls over and every time we giggle and laugh and celebrate. And not only that, but the poor kids becomes like show and tell thing every time somebody new comes over. "Watch this…..ye, yea….YEAH!!!!! And we celebrate the kid's walking even though I don't think she decided to. I think it just progressed…right? And here's the thing, never, ever, ever, did I even think about the falls. I just loved that she was walking. I mean we just, I mean never did I go "When's this kid going to learn! I mean it's been 5-6 months. I can do it. Her mom can. For a milk dud I can get the dog on his back legs walking around the kitchen. No, no, you celebrate the steps. You celebrate the steps. And when she falls, look at me, as often as she falls, never have we ever been frustrated by the falls. If anything, see she's 3 now, she's running about an 8 240, which we're trying to get that down but that's all we got right now. There's flip-flops involved now and man, sometimes the falls are bad. In fact, sometimes the falls bring blood and tears, and I still never find myself frustrated by the falls. But I do find myself when those falls occur kissing booboos, putting Band-Aids on bloody knees, holding and kissing until the tears are gone and she feels safe to run again. And then put her down and let her run again.

So it is with our Father, who rejoices in the steps and heals the falls. So it is with our Father who loves to see us run and doesn't tire of picking us up when we've fallen. See, that's the good news in all this. The good news is for the man or woman who's running towards Him. That the falls do not appoint us to suffer wrath but mercy. Mercy towards iniquity, in fact, He says, "I've forgotten all about the fall. In fact, I was so excited about you running that I forgot that you even fell. I was so excited about the fact that you were moving and you were running and you were healthy that I don't even remember that you fell." While most of us beat ourselves up over the fall. Jesus is going "What fall? I just saw you running!"

Source: Sermon text and audio.

Under Construction

My blog is under construction, due to a server change.

I will be posting more actively after the transition.

Come back soon!