‘You Fools!’
December 3, 2008 | 1 Comment
I read the following this morning and thought immediately of your post from yesterday Lar.
“While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness, You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.’”
- Luke 11:37-41
So here we have Jesus walking into the presence of a group of religious leaders, only to ignore their rituals and insult them at the first opportunity with difficult truth. Maybe we are not more like Jesus in some respects only because we are afraid to be. Not that we should run around calling everyone fools or whatever else (after all, Jesus himself did not do that), but at the very least, we should maybe be a bit more bold in our convictions, especially if we can be bold with a broken heart.
Is it Right to Call an Atheist a Fool?
December 2, 2008 | 2 Comments
Seems like this would be arrogant, uncharitable, unloving, and a poor embodiment of the Savior who came to seek and save the lost.
Then I consider Psalm 14:1, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”
If David says it, can we? Should we?
Giving Thanks
November 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Though the Lord commands us to be thankful in all circumstances, it is wise for us to set aside a specific day for such obedience. Just as it is good to reflect heavily upon the incarnation at Christmas and the resurrection at Easter. Of course, Thanksgiving Day does not negate our responsibility to be obedient each and every day, but it should serve as a single-day reminder of all we have to be thankful for–and our great need to obey the command to give thanks each and every day.
This importance of such a day is readily evident to me this year especially, because there is no thanksgiving holiday here in Turkey. And considering the origins of our holiday, that is certainly understandable! Sure, this holiday like many others has been commercialized beyond recognition (in some respects), but the opportunity to rest from work and gather together with the purpose of giving thanks is a holiday that one should certainly enjoy.
That being said, let me exhort anyone reading to be diligent to enjoy such a day. To remember what it is all about….or Who it is ultimately about. Let us take note that our thanksgiving does not occur in a vacuum, but instead is a response to our benevolent Creator and Savior. Above everything, our thanksgiving should abound not simply because of the current blessings we enjoy, but because of the reason why we enjoy them, namely, the person and work of Jesus Christ. May we eat and relax and commune and serve others with that great Person in mind.
The Power of Good Questions
November 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Here’s another observation from Jonah 4. After the Lord asked Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry?” Jonah apparently made himself a comfortable booth in order to see what would happen to Nineveh (he may have been waiting for judgment to come). While seated in his booth, the Lord made a plant grow to give him shade. But the very next day, the text tells us that “God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.” The Lord then “appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint.”
Jonah then continued his pity party and asked to die once again, so difficult was his life and calling. The Lord then asks Jonah,
“Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And [Jonah] said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left [probably children], and also much cattle?”
And there the book ends. Recognize: when God asks a question, the conversation is oftentimes finished. Not only because He asks it with His full authority, but because His questions are so perfectly set up that the one on the receiving can’t help but see clearly. The Lord did this to Job. He allowed Job and his friends to rant and rave for numerous chapters. After they were exhausted, He stepped in with nothing but questions. We also see Jesus use well-placed questions time and again. There is great power in a well set-up and well-asked question. Clarity can come without even having to answer.
Let us reflect upon this that we might become better question-askers. To both ourselves and others for the good of the body and the glory of God.
Do you do well to be angry?
November 25, 2008 | 1 Comment
That’s the question posed to Jonah in chapter 4 of the book by his name. It’s important not simply because it is a good question, but because it was asked of Jonah by the Lord Himself. Jonah was pitying the fact that God had mercy on Nineveh (which Jonah had anticipated). After hearing Jonah’s lamentation, the Lord simply asks,
“Do you do well to be angry?”
There is more to this text, but at the very least, we should put this question into our vocabulary. To ask to ourselves when angry. And to one another (as appropriate). It’s simple, yes, but if we are in a frame of mind to answer honestly, it could serve to keep us from many more sins. Simple questions with simple answers can serve us mightily if we are willing to face them head on.
So next time we are angry, let us ask ourselves, “Do I do well to be angry?” Or better yet, let’s imagine God asking us,
“Do you do well to be angry?”
Dangerous Familiarity
November 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment
“Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. it was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.” (1 Peter 1:10-12)
Considering the fact that for thousands of years, those closest to the Lord (angels included) could not comprehend what we now take for granted, should we not daily marvel at the fact that we live in the day and age that we do? Let us beware of yawning at realities that prophets and angels once longed to understand.
O Lord, please guard us from becoming bored today with the realities that will be the source of ever-increasing joy during the long tomorrow.
Come Thou Fount
November 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
Yesterday we sang Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing with its original lyrics. I am a big fan. What do you think?
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.
Culture Matters
November 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment
That is the title of a book by T.M. Moore. Maybe you have seen it Lar, I am not sure. Anyhow, here is an article by him entitled ‘Near Christianity’ that I think you will enjoy.
Thankful for wise men,
Joe
Sermon Prep by Piper
November 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
You have probably heard these thoughts from Piper at some point, but I figured I would post them for you to check out. At the very least, they are worth reviewing.
Joe
Worth Memorizing
November 19, 2008 | 2 Comments
“There is more mercy in Christ, than sin in us.”
- Richard Sibbes
Practical Example
November 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
I offer a short practical example from my game today. For I played well, and my playing well had a lot to do with believing the gospel.
As a basketball player, there are countless motivations and fears and struggles that rise within during the course of a game (or season or career). You might worry about what your coach thinks about your play, or the fans, or the people signing your paycheck. Or your teammates. Or there might be this notion within you (one I am familiar with) that you aren’t really somebody unless you are able to reach your basketball goals. You tend to build your identity on whether or not you play well.
But then comes the gospel. Then comes the news that Jesus died for you and that you are accepted by God. That you are loved, no matter how great you play. As you come to understand the gospel, you realize that you can truly play for an Audience of One. You can play in true freedom, freedom from the fear of failure. Freedom from the fear of man. You can go out and do the best you can with the understanding that that really is enough. Indeed, that you can do so because of what Jesus has done for you. No worries. No anxieties, just the kind of ‘free play’ that honors the Lord. The kind of ‘free play’ that we will enjoy on the New Earth.
I played well today Lar. And I know that it was in large part due to believing the gospel (imperfectly of course). I was free. I was light. And when you are free, you can’t help but play better ball. That is, when you keep before your mind’s eye the truth of the gospel, it even affects how you play hoops.
God is honored when I play in freedom. And I can only play in freedom when I understand and embrace and think upon what Jesus has done for me and who I am in Him.
Thankful for the good news,
Joe
Gospel Growth Example
November 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
Considering it is the weekend, I am going to spread out my post over two days. To begin with, here is another quote from Keller’s The Prodigal God. Actually, it is the continuation of the quote I posted the other day.
“What is the point? What makes you faithful or generous is not just a redoubled effort to follow moral rules. Rather, all change comes from deepening your understanding of the salvation of Christ and living out of the changes that understanding creates in your heart. Faith in the gospel restructures our motivations, our self-understanding, our identity, and our view of the world. Behavioral compliance to rules without heart-change will be superficial and fleeting.
The gospel is therefore not just the ABCs of the Christian life, but the A to Z of the Christian life. Our problems arise largely because we don’t continually return to the gospel to work it in and live it out. That is why Martin Luther wrote, ‘The truth of the Gospel is the principle article of all Christian doctrine….Most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.’”
Pray for me brother. I am so slow to learn this. But by God’s grace, I at least will have an example tomorrow.
Learning A to Z,
Joe
Together for the Gospel Live
November 14, 2008 | 1 Comment
Joe,
Hopefully you;’ll have time today to write something in response to the question I posed you yesterday regarding a practical example of the Gospel’s power to help us change.
For now, I wanted to pass on word to you about a CD soon to be released that I am pretty sure you will want to get. I know how much you enjoy congregational singing, and for that reason I think you will enjoy this CD that Sovereign Grace is putting out next month. It is a complation of songs that were played at the Together for the Gospel conference last April. At this link you can listen to samples of all the songs and download three songs for free. I am eager to pick this one up!
Larry
Re: Gospel Growth
November 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Joe,
Thanks for pointing us to that quote and to Keller’s book. As you know, God has used Tim Keller in my life in a big way over the past year or so, and that idea of gospel growth has been one of the foundational lessons I have learned from him. I also thought Prodigal God was an outstanding book, though I would like a definition from you that explains what qualifies a book as ‘must-read’. You seem to say that about every book you read!
Maybe in your next post you could give an example or two of how the idea of gospel growth works itself out practially in your life. In other words, give us an example from your life of a situation where a fresh encounter with the gospel actually changed your response to that situation.
I will try to give an example of my own tomorrow, but for now I wanted to point readers to a recent sermon series that Keller just finished up on the parable of the Prodigal Sons. Keller spent seven weeks looking at the parable, and showing how God’s grace forms a unique community of believers.
If you have not listened to Keller, there are plenty of free resources out there. But this series is only available for purchase ($17.50 for MP3’s of the seven messages). Though it does cost some money, I recommend it.
Larry
Gospel Growth
November 13, 2008 | 3 Comments
Keller’s The Prodigal God has been a great blessing to me Lar. I am sure you are not surprised to hear that I believe it should be required reading for every Christian. Anyhow, here are a few paragraphs that particularly stood out. Reminders are O so good!
“As we have seen, believing the gospel is how a person first makes a connection to God. It gives us a new relationship with God and a new identity. We must not think, however, that once believing it, the Christian is now finished with the gospel message. A fundamental insight of Martin Luther’s was that ‘religion’ is the default mode of the human heart. Your computer operates automatically in a default mode unless you deliberately tell it to do something else. So Luther says that even after you are converted by the gospel your heart will go back to operating on other principles unless you deliberately, repeatedly set it to gospel-mode.
We habitually and instinctively look to other things besides God and his grace as our justification, hope, significance, and security. We believe the gospel at one level, but at deeper levels we do not. Human approval, professional success, power and influence, family and clan identity–all of these things serve as our heart’s ‘functional trust’ rather than what Christ has done, and as a result we continue to be drive to a great degree by fear, anger, and a lack of self-control. You cannot change such things through mere will-power, through learning Biblical principles and trying to carry them out. We can only change permanently as we take the gospel more deeply into our understanding and into our hearts. We must feed on the gospel, as it were, digesting it and making it part of ourselves. That is how we grow.”
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