The high cost of sexual sin

In preparation for Sunday's sermon, I came across this statement by Derek Kidner about the Biblical reality of what sexual sin is. [All the references are from Proverbs.]

…sexual sin is presented in the darkest colours. It is a squandering of powers that were designed for the founding of a true family that should be one’s own, and close-knit, and divinely blessed (5:9-23). It is an exchange of true intimacy for its parody (5:19, 20), a parting with one’s honour (5:9, 6:33) and liberty (23:27, 28). It is to throw away one’s best years (5:9, 11) and possibly one’s last possessions (29:3; 6:26…). It is to court physical danger and social disgrace (6:26, 32-35); and this is not all. Those who think to explore life this way are flirting with death. It is no mere detour from the best path but, in the fullest sense, a dead-end: ‘for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the shades; none who go to her come back nor do they regain the paths of life’ (2:18, 19, RSV). To change the figure, it is a sin which sears the sinner inescapably: ‘Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be scorched?’ (see 6:27-29, 33b).

This is a sobering reminder — another of the kinds of truths that must be our meditation and preoccupation of our hearts as we battle against temptation in its many forms.

Consumerism and idolatry

In an article for Leadership Journal last year, Skye Jethani makes an important distinction between consumption and consumerism —

Christian critiques of consumerism usually focus on the dangers of idolatry—the temptation to make material goods the center of life rather than God. This, however, misses the real threat consumerism poses. My concern is not materialism, strictly speaking, or even the consumption of goods—as contingent beings, we must consume resources to survive. The problem is not consuming to live, but rather living to consume.

The rest of the article is worth reading as he not only points out that a natural product of living to consume is living to shop — the number one leisure activity of Americans. And that priority then overflows into another favored pasttime for American Christians — shopping for church. It's an article worth reading as we consider the implications of our attraction to money and possessions.

Book Review: The Truth of the Cross

In the past few years, I have found myself increasingly gravitating to books on the cross of Christ.

One reason is that since I lead our church through communion each month, I need to read things that keep the truth of the cross fresh and exciting to me. But the most significant reason is that we are people of the cross. We have no message apart from the cross. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving? There is no meaning for any of those holidays apart from the cross. Sunday? No meaning without the cross. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday? All senseless without the cross.

So when I go to the bookstore or find a new book catalog, one place I always go is the Christology section. Will there be something new that will stimulate my mind and move my heart into greater Christlikeness and love for Christ?

And that is why I was intrigued to see a new book by R. C. Sproul on the cross.

The Truth of the Cross has just been released and it is another helpful book by Sproul. It is shorter (167 pp.), in a smaller format, and more conversational in its tone than some of his other writings — making it more accessible to a wider audience.

The book has ten chapters, all centered around the great themes of the cross. Among the chapter titles are:

• The Necessity of an Atonement
• The Just God
• Debtors, Enemies, and Criminals
• The Saving Substitute
• A Secure Faith

I am drawn to this book for a number of reasons:

• the simple and clear explanations of the intricacies of the cross. The cross is simple enough a child can understand it; yet that simplicity should not be confused with a lack of depth and richness. This book elucidates that richness.
• the use of exposition to explain these truth throughout the book (he not only provides theological arguments, but also Biblical arguments and explanations).
• concise definitions of theological terms, multiple extended illustrations in virtually each chapter, making the truths come alive for the reader. So an extended explanation of expiation and propitiation helps the reader understand that while related in that they both look to the ransom paid on the cross, expiation refers to the act of ransom, and propitiation refers to the one who receives the ransom and His attitude towards the ransomed person.
  
• the "quotability" of the book. In each chapter, I marked several sections to copy and place in my illustration files, meaning my "communion" file is now expanded by at least a couple dozen more concise statements about the cross.
  
• the repeated affirmations of the importance of the cross. For instance, "if you take away the substitutionary atonement, you empty the cross of its meaning and drain all the significance out of the passion of our Lord Himself. If you do that, you take away Christianity itself" [p. 81].
• the relationship of each chapter to the others, demonstrating how the various truths are linked to one another.

Of particular help in this last regard was the chapter, "Debtors, Enemies, and Criminals." Of all the reasons that people don't respond to the cross and the gospel, perhaps the most significant is that they do not understand their need for salvation. I've often said to a friend, "that person has to get lost before he can get saved," meaning that the person in question still refuses to understand the depth of his sinfulness and his utter inability to offer anything commendable to God to produce God's satisfaction. He is dependent on God for salvation, but he doesn't know it. This chapter expounds that doctrine wonderfully and fully. At the beginning of the chapter Sproul writes this:

"Sin is cosmic treason." With those words, I [am] trying to communicate the seriousness of human sin. We rarely take the time to think through the ramifications of our sin. We fail to realize that in even the slightest sins we commit, such as little white lies or other peccadilloes, we are violating the law of the Creator of the universe. In the smallest sin we defy God’s right to rule and to reign over His creation. Instead, we seek to usurp for ourselves the authority and the power that belong properly to God. Even the slightest sin does violence to His holiness, to His glory, and to His righteousness. Every sin, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is truly an act of treason against the cosmic King. [p. 32]

There remain two detractions to this book. The first of these is actually more of a desire than a detraction. Upon completing the book, I was left wanting more. Like a good roller coaster or ice cream cone, I wanted one more turn and one more bite — "give me more," was my desire.

The second significant detraction relates to the chapter, "A Secure Faith," his explanation of limited atonement. The weakness of that chapter is the lack of Biblical exegesis and exposition to support his thesis, which is (ironically) a strength of the rest of the book. He relies too heavily in the final chapter on his theological system and places too great of an emphasis on limited atonement. Even Wayne Grudem notes,

Although Reformed people have sometimes made belief in particular redemption a test of doctrinal orthodoxy, it would be healthy to realize that Scripture itself never singles this out as a doctrine of major importance, nor does it once make it the subject of any explicit theological discussion. Our knowledge of the issue comes only from incidental references to it in passages whose concern is with other doctrinal or practical matters. In fact, this is really a question that probes into the inner counsels of the Trinity and does so in an area in which there is very little direct scriptural testimony — a fact that should cause us to be cautious. [p. 603]

Additionally, I was left wondering, "is this really one of the most significant aspects of the cross? Was there not some other aspect of the cross that deserved more significant explanation than this topic?"

That being said, this is a book that I will read and use repeatedly. It is probably not my favorite book on the cross, but it is one I am glad to own.

Sunday Leftovers (8/12/07)

In "How Much is Enough?" Al Mohler demonstrates the cultural bias towards a preoccupation with and dependence on material goods and wealth as god. That theology constantly bombards our souls and is dangerous for both us and our children.

So, here are some random thoughts as I reflect on yesterday's sermon and think about how to shepherd our children through such a twisted web of thinking:

• Like all temptation, material goods and wealth make a "promise" of the good life which they are wholly unable to provide.
• Better to give to much than too little.
• Not only can material goods not be taken into glory, but moths and rust will destroy most of what we possess long before we even get to glory.
• When making purchases, learn to ask, "If I purchase this, will I possess it, or will it possess (control) me?"
• Having money is not an intrinsic evidence of God's blessing (and neither is not having money).
• It is just as possible to be poor and greedy as rich and greedy.
• Biblically, debt is only that obligation which I cannot repay; however, even debt that is within our means to repay will generally be an impairment to joy and the ministry of giving.
• Give God your life before you give Him your money (2 Cor. 8:5).
  

The priority of corporate worship

Reflecting on Revelation 4-5 as a means of instructing the church about the nature of worship, Art Azurdia in his sermon "Bible Ministry" (Part 1) says this:

“In heaven, worship is undeniably corporate in essence. In fact, of all the worship scenes in heaven recorded for us in the Revelation, can you think of one, friends, can you think of just one, that shows the worship of God on the part of any one single individual or angel? Why is this the case? Because public glory brings more glory than private glory. Now please appreciate what I’m saying: I’m not suggesting that the Revelation records for us every possible kind of worship expression. I’m saying that in what it does record, there is nothing done in private, nothing done in secret, nothing done individualistically; all worship is public, corporate, congregational, No soloists singing independent of all the others, only choirs in symphonic praise.

“Now why do I draw this to your attention? My sense of things inclines me to believe that most evangelicals regard the corporate worship of the congregation as more of an aid to their own private worship experience rather than regarding their own private worship experience as an aid to the more important worship of the congregation. Which is why, then, it becomes increasingly easy and convenient to say, ‘Well, I’m going to stay at home this Lord’s day morning, because after all I can worship God all by myself. I can worship God in the garden, thank you very much. I can worship God on the ski slopes.’

“One writer has said it like this,

‘Congregational worship can be enhanced by private worship. However, corporate worship can never be replaced by private worship. Correctly understood, the two are complementary to each other, not unrelated competitors. Each supports, contributes to and draws from the other. But the push of Christian discipleship is always toward fellowship rather than away from it. Authentic worship on the part of an individual inevitably moves that person toward compassionate involvement in a community and conscientious participation in public worship. Within Christianity, congregational worship is primary.’

…We are first and foremost His community of saints. Yet failure to understand this has plagued the church with an evangelical narcissism. So that many of our people esteem their own individual selves are more elevated than the community. Which is why, then, so much of our singing when we gather on the Lord’s Day is in the first person singular — ‘I’ — rather than the first person plural — ‘we.’ We have our services of worship on the Lord’s Day, friends, not to service a bunch of isolated individuals with a privatized worship experience, but to provide the people of God with an opportunity to express their corporate hallelujahs. Individual Christians gather together to be part of the choir because public glory brings more glory than private glory.” [my emphasis]

Those final two sentences are worth reading again (and again) as we prepare our hearts for Sunday morning(s).

Sunday Leftovers (8/5/07)

"To the physician," writes, Chuck Swindoll, "it's merely a two-ounce slab of mucous membrane…But the tongue is as volatile as it is vital…[It is ] verbal cyanide. A lethal, relentless, flaming missile which assaults with hellish power, blistering and destroying at will."

This is the testimony of many Scriptures — Jesus, James, and Proverbs speak significantly about the danger of the tongue.

Yet the tongue is also beneficial, for by it we encourage, exhort, comfort, and train in righteousness.

So, because the tongue is both a help and a hindrance in communication, we are wise to be careful who has our ear — who we listen to for counsel and instruction, and we are wise to be diligent in truthfulness.

Be wise in who you heed as a counselor is an admonition repeated several times in Proverbs:

• A man of too many friends comes to ruin, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (18:24)
• Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. (27:6)
• Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a man’s counsel is sweet to his friend. Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, And do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away. (27:9-10)

We do well to remember that these words were spoken by Solomon to his son(s) — they were his warning about both the kind and quantity of friends and confidants his son should select. He should select friends that are spiritually perceptive enough to be able to see through the veneer of his life and rebuke and exhort him to righteousness. These friends should not be men who would only affirm what he wants to hear. And he and they should have a reciprocally faithful relationship to each other — the friendship is not easily lost!

Given the pointed way that Solomon addresses his son, we must also recognize the validity and wisdom in being proactive in helping our children select their friends — helping them choose friends that will stimulate them in godly ways and not ungodly relationships. I am reminded of the wise words of E. V. Hill when he spoke of his children's friends and dating relationships: "Some of these relationships need to be broken up!" Solomon would agree.

But not only should children be wise in how they select as friends, but they should also be scrupulous in truthfulness. Truthfulness is important because lies and deceit are an abomination to God [the following list is expanded from a list by Gordon Lewis in Focal Point (Summer, 1995)]:

• Lies are antithetical to the character of God (Num. 23:19)
• Lies are contrary to God's revealed will (Lev. 6:1-7)
• Lies sabatoge one's integrity (1 Tim. 4:2)
• Lies do damage to others (Prov. 14:25)
• Lies do not conform to reality, they twist and pervert it (Prov. 12:5)
• Lies have their source in Satan, our sworn enemy (Mt. 5:37; Jn. 8:44)
• Lies are at odds with a primary function of the church (1 Tim. 3:15)
• Lies break our fellowship with God (1 Jn. 1:6-10)

John Piper summarizes the importance of truth well in his book, God's Passion for His Glory:

"To love God passionately is to love truth passionately. Being God-centered in life means being truth-driven in ministry. What is not true is not of God. What is false is anti-God. Indifference to the truth is indifference to the mind of God.…Our concern with truth is simply an echo of our concern with God. And all this is rooted in God's concern with God, or God's passion for the glory of God."

So as you shepherd your children, lead them to choose friends who will speak godly truth to them, and train them to speak godly truth to others. It is, after all, for the glory of God.

Things worth reading and praying when a bridge collapses

How do you respond when a bridge collapses (or a tower falls)? What are you to think? What do you tell your children or young believers (or unbelievers) about God in such a situation?

Three writers (one "old," and two contemporary), help us answer these questions in a biblical framework:

• Oswald Chambers
• Al Mohler
• John Piper ("Where is God?" and "Putting My Daughter to Bed Two Hours After the Bridge Collapsed")

And some "Lessons Remembered" also relate to this situation as well…

Audio worth hearing

I was first introduced to Arturo Azurdia by The Master's Seminary chapel audio. Then, while on vacation the last couple of weeks, I listened to several more of his sermons. He is clear, compelling, convicting, and faithful to the text in his exposition. His sermons are well worth hearing, because he listens to God (chapter 4).

Lessons Remembered After a Midnight Phone Call

When the phone rings at midnight, awakening you from a deep and hard sleep, it rarely rings with happy news.

"Mr. Enns? This is Pastor ________. Your daughter is ok, but she's been in an accident at camp and has been hurt…We're getting ready to take her to the emergency room…"

With those words last night, our rejuvenating sleep was transformed to hours of unrestful waiting. Long story short, she's ok and will be able to finish the week at camp. But those first few hours too many questions raced through our minds to allow us any kind of useful sleep. We were more than 600 miles away and helpless to help.

As I reflected today on my light night of sleep, here are some spiritual lessons I knew but found myself encouraged by as I remembered them (much of our Biblical encouragement comes not from learning new truth, but remembering and practicing already known truth):

• It is possible, and it is good, to give thanks in all circumstances. Around 3:00 a.m., as the phone calls had finished for the night and I was thinking on Scripture and praying, I realized that while I was able to express gratitude for this testing of my faith, there were numerous other testings for which I had to this point only grumbled. So began a time of expressing to God various expressions of gratitude for all the circumstances of my life.
• God really is sovereign — and that is a good gift. What He does may be hard, but it come from His goodness and love and power, and He is trustworthy — and that means, as James Boice noted (my paraphrase from my memory) when he announced to his congregation the presence of cancer within his body that would usher him into glory within weeks, "if we were able to change what God has done, no matter what He has done, it wouldn't be as good…" Broken teeth don't undo the sovereignty of God — they make us to embrace that sovereignty in all its fullness and goodness.
• In the face of testings, sin is ugly. That may not be readily apparent. But when Christ is loved and trials arrive, presentations of sin are starkly exposed as the hideous temptations they are to lure us into deadly traps. Trials make truth and error clear and distinct, compelling the Christ-lover to despise the vileness of sin all the more. Trials make death appear darker and life appear brighter. That's good for our souls.
• Just because there are testings in one part of life does not preclude God from presenting us with other ministry opportunities in other areas of life. In the midst of awaiting some phone calls this morning, Raye Jeanne and I saw an unrecognized car pull into the driveway. "Who's that?" I asked. "I don't know…Oh, that's some Jehovah's Witnesses…" she replied. And up they marched to the door. In our brief conversation, I was sadly reminded that the exclusive claims of Christ are divisive, and the god of this world will use many means to delude many people to believing they are "close" to Christ by keeping them away from the reality of the true Christ. The parting image in my mind is of two women quickly walking away from me, a dismissive wave of the hands and the words "Don't bother — we don't want it," to my promise to pray for them to come to understand and know Christ. It is the image of two women believing they have the truth, marching resolutely towards eternity in hell. And my heart grieved.
• The body of Christ is a gift of Christ's grace. How can you train a child that God will provide His sustaining grace even if Dad and Mom aren't present? That's a lesson that's hard to orchestrate. Or, how can you train a child to see that the church is God's instrument by which He often manifests that grace to His people? For us, this week, that lesson was taught by means of our daughter being 600 miles from home and experiencing the grace of many of Christ's people sacrificing for her as an expression of their love for Christ.
• My trial or test is about more than just me. I've said it for years, God obviously uses my pain to deepen my faith in Him; but He also uses my pain to stimulate others to love and good deeds. "Consider my servant Job" (Job 1:8; cf. also Js. 5:11) means another's pain is sometimes woven into my life to transform me into greater Christlikeness.
• "Pray without ceasing" can be graciously kick-started by unexpected phone calls. And the quality and depth of one's prayer life is clarifyingly revealed by those same calls.

It all began with what seemed an untimely phone call. And it ended with the demonstration of God's grace in manifold ways — both for a young lady and her parents — and a host of timely memories. I thank God for minds to know and hearts to remember Him — both in and out of times of trial.

Nothing new about truth

Solomon said that there is "nothing new under the sun" (Eccl. 1:9).

I've understood that to be true in a variety of circumstances. Death is sorrowful. Marriage is the greatest source of earthly joy (and often sorrow). Sin is devastating. Always. Where there are people, there will be conflict. Where there is Christ, there can always be reconciliation. There is nothing new under the sun.

Yet we sometimes think of the trends of our current age as being new and novel. Postmodernism, the debate over Christ and the atonement, the relationship between justification and salvation, all sound to our ears to be new debates. They're not.

Listen to two statements about truth:

The truth is everything to a Christian.

I fear that the church in this…era has lost focus on that fact. It is no longer deemed necessary to fight for the truth. In fact, many evangelicals now consider it ill-mannered and uncharitable to argue about any point of doctrine. Even gross error is now tolerable in some quarters for the sake of peace. Rather than rightly dividing the word and proclaiming it as truth, many churches now feature motivational lectures, drama, comedy, and other forms of entertainment — while utterly ignoring the great doctrines of the faith. Even people who attack the truth in pseudo-scholarly ways are finding publishers in the evangelical realm and being honored as if they had deep insight.

We must recover our love for biblical truth, as well as our conviction that it is unassailable truth. We have the truth in a world where most people are simply wandering around in hopeless ignorance. We need to proclaim it from the housetops, and quit playing along with those who suggest we are being arrogant if we claim to know anything for certain. We do have the truth, not because we are smarter or better than anyone else, but because God has revealed it in the Scriptures and has been gracious to open our eyes to see it. We would be sinning if we tried to keep the truth to ourselves.

And:

Some things are true and some things are false: — I regard that as an axiom; but there are many persons who evidently do not believe it. The current principle of the present age seems to be, "Some things are either true or false, according to the point of view from which you look at them. Black is white, and white is black according to circumstances; and it does not particularly matter which you call it. Truth of course is true, but it would be rude to say that the opposite is a lie; we must not be bigoted, but remember the motto, 'So many men, so many minds,'" Our forefathers were particular about maintaining landmarks; they had strong notions about fixed points of revealed doctrine, and were very tenacious of what they believed to be scriptural; their fields were protected by hedges and ditches, but their sons have grubbed up the hedges, filled up the ditches, laid all level, and played at leap-frog with the boundary stones.

The first is from John MacArthur earlier today. The second from Charles Spurgeon about 130 years ago. Different continents, and different eras, yet they both speak for this age — and the one that is already past and etched in history's stone. That implies at least two things: 1) we need not be surprised at attacks against our core beliefs. It has always been that way and always will be until the return of Christ; 2) vigilance to protect the truth really is foundational for believers. God said that through Paul's pen; it was true in Ephesus, and it is true for us. We stand on the truth.

Something worth reading about reading

Today's blog on Desiring God contained a helpful commentary, "On Reading." It is worth reading (as are the links it provides to other encouragements to read).

There have never been more good books (nor more bad books, too) available than what we have available today. And most of them can be delivered to our doors within a few days at the most! We do well not only to collect good books, but to saturate our minds with them — to actually learn them — so that our minds will be saturated with joy in Christ.

Don't just be convicted to read more, but start today to read more. One thing I've done to help me read just a little bit more is to keep a devotional book by my Bible (I'm currently alternating Lectures to My Students and What Jesus Demands from the World). Just a few minutes each morning or evening (I try for 8-12 pages, or a short chapter each time), will result in reading several extra books each year.

And I've found another benefit as well. I begin my morning reading by reading my book for 10-15 minutes — before I read my Bible. By the time I've mulled over a few pages of Spurgeon or Piper or Watson, I find that my mind is more alert, attentive, and prepared for the Word of God. So reading devotionally actually makes my Bible reading more profitable.

Start reading tomorrow, or even tonight!

Sunday Leftovers (7/15/07)

Yesterday morning I read an extended quote from Tedd Tripp's book Shepherding a Child's Heart (one of the very best books on parenting). Here is the rest of the quote that I left unread (the entire quote was from pp. 38-40):

Remember Proverbs 4:23. Life flows out of the heart. Parenting cannot be concerned only with positive shaping influences, it must shepherd the heart. Life gushes forth from the heart.

I am interested in helping parents engage in hand-to-hand combat on the world's smallest battlefield, the child's heart. You need to engage your children as creatures made in the image of God. They can find fulfillment and happiness only as they know and serve the living God.

…You want to provide the best possible shaping influences for your children. You want the structure of your home to furnish the stability and security that they need. You want the quality of relationships in your home to reflect the grace of God and the mercy for failing sinners that the character of God demonstrates. You want the punishments meted out to be appropriate and to reflect a holy God's view of sin. You want the values of your home to be scripturally informed. You want to control the flow of events so that it is never a chaotic, but rather a well-structured home. You want to provide a healthy, constructive atmosphere for your child.

When all is said and done, those things important as they are, will never be the total story. Your child is not just a product of those shaping influences. He interacts with all these things. He interacts according to the nature of the covenantal choices he is making. Either he responds to the goodness and mercy of God in faith or he responds in unbelief. Either he grows to love and trust the living God, or he turns more fully to various forms of idolatry and self-reliance. The story is not just the nature of the shaping influences of his life, but how he has responded to God in the context of those shaping influences.

Since it is the Godward orientation of your child's heart that determines his response to life, you may never conclude that his problems are simply a lack of maturity. Selfishness is not outgrown. Rebellion against authority is not outgrown. These things are not outgrown because they are not reflective of immaturity but of the idolatry of your child's heart.

The importance of the Gospel

The gospel has always been controversial and attacked.

This afternoon I began listening to Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermon "Christianity — the Only Hope" preached a generation ago. And his lament in that day was largely the same as today — a concern over a declining interest in the truth, the power of the Word of God and the clarity of the gospel.

It's always been that way. So we should hardly be shocked when it is attacked now. That ecuminism and the arguments over penal substitution and emergent theology and openness theology are taken seriously and given credibility by so many is to be sadly expected.

We should not be surprised — but voices should also be raised in clearly articulated arguments and defenses against these attacks against the centrality of the gospel. So we should be grateful for faithful men and new institutions like The Gospel Coalition, which are being raised up to defend the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This coalition is a new organization of pastors and theologians committed to preserving the accuracy of the gospel — salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone:

We have become deeply concerned about some movements within traditional evangelicalism that seem to be diminishing the church’s life and leading us away from our historic beliefs and practices. On the one hand, we are troubled by the idolatry of personal consumerism and the politicization of faith; on the other hand, we are distressed by the unchallenged acceptance of theological and moral relativism. These movements have led to the easy abandonment of both biblical truth and the transformed living mandated by our historic faith. We not only hear of these influences, we see their effects. We have committed ourselves to invigorating churches with new hope and compelling joy based on the promises received by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Of the plenary messages at the initial conference in May, the addresses by D. A. Carson ("What is the Gospel?") and Tim Keller ("What Does Gospel Centered Ministry Look Like ") were especially helpful and well worth hearing (I will be listening to Keller's message again later this week).

We do well to keep abreast of these attacks against the gospel. Our faith stands or falls on the reality of Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, coming again — Savior and substitute. There is no salvation except in Christ and His righteousness, alone. We have been placed at this station of life in this time for the defense and proclamation of that very truth. Defend it and speak it we must and we will.

Sunday Leftovers (7/8/07)

For the most part, the much dreaded millennium bug was pretty much a non-event. For a 105-year-old woman in Norway, it provided an occasion for a reflective chuckle. Because the computer for a local government agency that offered free daycare to all five-year-olds in Oslo, it pulled all the records of children born in '94 — including the record of one woman born in 1894, not 1994. Imagine her surprise at finding the invitation to attend kindergarten — again. One hundred years later!

Or, perhaps the opportunity elicited some inner contemplation on this order: "If I really could go back, what would I do differently? How different would my life be with a different start?"

How we start is important.

And that is why Solomon, when instructing his son about spiritual life, began his talk with direct words about the authority and blessing of adherence to the Word of God. And the first word about the first spiritual priority was, "do not forget my teaching [lit., Torah]." This command is a warning about the importance of remembering the Word of God.

Now, when we say, "remember the Word of God," it is easy to slip into a discourse about Scripture memory. There is an element of that which is true — memorizing Scripture should yield a meditation on Scripture which should produce an increasingly transformed life. However, Solomon equates remembering God's Word to obeying and doing the word of God, which he states by using the words keep (v. 1), bind them around your neck, and write them on your heart (v. 3).

So the task of the parent in discipling his child is to stimulate the child to remember what the truth is, what it has been designed by God to do in the individual, and then to faithful do what it says. So my task as a Dad is to examine every situation in the life of my children, help them evaluate it in the light of Biblical truth, and then encourage, exhort, and help them to obey with joy.

So there are two questions that remain:

1. How well are my children remembering (obeying) the Word of God?
2. What am I doing to stimulate them to remember the Word of God well?
   

Crawford Loritts asked it well in his recent sermon "Passing the Torch:"

What signature are you writing on the souls of future generations?…Is there a clear pathway that can be seen through how you approach ministry back to the character of God and the content of Scripture? How are you thinking about what God has entrusted to you?

Preparing for worship

A few days ago, Oswald Chambers wrote the following in My Utmost for His Highest. It is a fitting reminder and call as we prepare for worship on Sunday. Have I allowed the Spirit of God freedom to examine my heart so that my fellowship with Christ might be true and that the Lord would hear my prayers?

"Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips." Isaiah 6:5

When I get into the presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense; I realize the concentration of sin in a particular feature of my life. A man will say easily - 'Oh, yes, I know I am a sinner'; but when he gets into the presence of God he cannot get off with that statement. The conviction is concentrated on - I am this, or that, or the other. This is always the sign that a man or woman is in the presence of God. There is never any vague sense of sin, but the concentration of sin in some personal particular. God begins by convicting us of the one thing fixed on in the mind that is prompted by His Spirit; if we will yield to His conviction on that point, He will lead us down to the great disposition of sin underneath. That is the way God always deals with us when we are consciously in His presence.

This experience of the concentration of sin is true in the greatest and the least of saints as well as in the greatest and the least of sinners. When a man is on the first rung of the ladder of experience, he may say - I do not know where I have gone wrong; but the Spirit of God will point out some particular definite thing. The effect of the vision of the holiness of the Lord on Isaiah was to bring home to him that he was a man of unclean lips. "And he laid it upon my mouth, and said Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." The cleansing fire had to be applied where the sin had been concentrated.

Salsa recipe

If you like Mexican food, and like fresh salsa with a little bite, try this one. It's excellent on chips, homemade tortillas, grilled chicken sandwiches and hamburgers. [Or, try my favorite restaurant salsa, from Blue Mesa Grill.]

I don't measure anything, so my measurements here are guesses:

3-4 cloves garlic
Juice of one lime
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. brown sugar (this is my "secret" ingredient)
1-2 tbsp. red wine vinegar (this acts as a preservative)
1 bunch cilantro (this varies, depending on the size of the bunch I get from the grocery)
3-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I prefer La Costena brand)

Put all these ingredients in a food processor and chop until the cilantro is fairly finely chopped (about 5-10 seconds) Add 1 large can of whole tomatoes (I drain the sauce because I prefer a chunkier salsa), and pulse until you get the consistency you like (I chop it for about 5-10 seconds).

Place into a bowl or sealable container; chop 1 more can of tomatoes in the food processor and add to the mixture and stir well to blend. [My food processor isn't large enough to handle both cans of tomatoes without spillage.]

Test and adjust seasonings to your taste. Enjoy!

Worthy of imitation

Several years ago, basketball player Charles Barkley created no small amount of controversy when he said,

"I am not paid to be a role model. I am paid to wreak havoc on a basketball court. Parents should be role models. Just because I can dunk a basketball, that doesn't mean I should raise your kids…"

He is wrong on the first part of his statement — whether he, or any other person in public view, is willing to acknowledge it or not, he is a role model. But his second premise is absolutely correct — parents should be role models.

This is why Solomon says to his son, "A righteous man who walks in his integrity — How blessed are his sons after him" (Prov. 20:7). A son who has a father who lives a life of integrity and authentic Biblical faith is blessed indeed, for he has someone worthy of following. He reaps the blessing and joy of having a godly father who shepherds and nurtures him (instead of a cruel father who antagonizes him and provokes him to anger), and he reaps God's blessing as he learns to live his own life of righteousness.

This is not the only encouragement to live an exemplary life — a life worthy of imitation. For instance, it is remarkable how often Paul and the other New Testament writers say, "Follow me." (E.g., see 1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1; Eph. 5:1; Phil. 3:17; 4:9; Col. 1:3-4, 7; 1 Thess. 1:6; 2:14; 2 Thess. 3:7, 9; 2 Tim. 3:14-15; Heb. 6:12; 13:7; 3 John 11.) The calling of these verses emphasize that it is possible to live a life worth emulating (God only calls and requires of a believer that which He also equips him to do), and that it is also the calling of the believer to live an exemplary life (one of the words that is often used in these passages is the word group from which we get our word, "mimic").

Paul, as a spiritual father to various churches and individuals was unafraid to say, "Follow me. You can imitate my faith. You should imitate my faith as much as I am following Christ." And this is essentially what Jesus called Peter to do in Jn. 21 when He told Peter to “shepherd my sheep.” With that statement, he means, "lead my sheep in such a way that they will follow you to me.”

This is the calling of every parent — to live in such a way that our faith is worthy of imitation and to intentionally put our children in situations so that they can see a vibrant faith in us and that they are stimulated to love and good deeds. As you consider your relationship with your children (both infant and adult) or those who are your spiritual children, or those who just happen to watch your life, are you living in such a way that anything you do is worthy of imitation?

Gratitude when robbed

Last week our church building was broken into again. It's happened several times over the years, and every time it happens, my mind immediately thinks of the words of Matthew Henry after he was robbed:

Let me be thankful.
First, because I was never robbed before.
Second, because although they took my wallet, they did not take my life.
Third, because although they took it all, it was not much.
Fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.

With those few words, he gives evidence how one can give thanks in everything. Learning to be grateful in all things is a matter of seeing life not through the lens of a temporal life, but through the eye-glass of Scripture, with an eternal perspective as God sees it.

On the reading of many books

Having books and resources at our disposal is a good and blessed gift from God.

But at times it is overwhelming to consider what to read and what to give our attention to the most.

In previous generations, the question was not "do I have enough time to read?' but, "do I have enough to read?" To those who had a slender apparatus (few books), Spurgeon gave advice that was good then and good now too —

The next rule I shall lay down is, master those books you have. Read them thoroughly. Bathe in them until they saturate you. Read and re-read them, masticate them, and digest them. Let them go into your very self. Peruse a good book several times, and make notes and analyses of it. A student will find that his mental constitution is more affected by one book thoroughly mastered than by twenty books which he has merely skimmed, lapping at them, as the classic proverb puts it; “As the dogs drink of Nilus.” Little learning and much pride come of hasty reading. Books maybe piled on the brain till it cannot work. Some men are disabled from thinking by their putting meditation away for the sake of much reading. They gorge themselves with book-matter, and become mentally dyspeptic.

Sunday Leftovers (7/1/07)

It was supposed to be just a simple, brief, quiet lunch at home with Raye Jeanne and the girls. A respite in the midst of a busy schedule. The taste of some sweet fellowship to nourish our hearts with each other until we came together again at the end of the day.

At the time I could get home in about 10 minutes, enjoy 45 minutes with the family, and then be back at the office in a reasonable time frame. I was about 40 minutes into that lunch, when something happened.

Time and forgiveness has dulled the memory of the particular event. I do remember it wasn't overly significant in itself. It was just a small offense — "trivial" almost (I say that knowing that sin is never trivial). All it would take was a simple, "Mommy, I was wrong; will you forgive me?" So I gently encouraged our daughter to do just that. Then the second event happened.

"No."

"Sweetheart…what you did was wrong; you need to ask Mommy for forgiveness."

"No!"

I looked at my watch. The second hand was ticking. "No problem," I thought, "I'll just take her to the other room, explain it more carefully, she will see her sin, confess it to me and Raye Jeanne, and I will still be back to the office in good time."

Forty-five minutes later she finally confessed. In the process, she was crying, Raye Jeanne was crying, and I was doubting my parental abilities and shepherding wisdom. "Is it really worth it?" I wondered. "Maybe I should just go give up and go back to the office. It's just one small sin; it'll be okay."

Except it wouldn't. The toleration and willful ignorance of even one sin sets in motion the thought in the child's mind that sin is acceptable and of little consequence. And the equally evil thought, "Mom and Dad care about sin, but not too much; they aren't really willing to pay the price to reinforce their convictions. So I just need to wait for them to give up on their beliefs."

Now maybe a two-year-old won't think that thought literally (though a 14-year-old very well may), but she will begin acting on that presupposition. And it will be to her detriment.

Fools mock at sin,
But among the upright there is good will. (Prov. 14:9)

Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people. (Prov. 14:34)

He who loves transgression loves strife;
He who raises his door seeks destruction. (Prov. 17:19)

By transgression an evil man is ensnared,
But the righteous sings and rejoices. (Prov. 29:6)

To train a child takes wisdom to confront sin graciously, consistently, and with endurance. That's what makes parenting hard. And it's also what makes it joyful at the end of life.
So the hard job of a parent in child training (and this is applicable for adult children as well), is not just the confrontation of sin, but the consistent confrontation of sin. Endurance in the confrontation of sin. Appealing to confession in the confrontation of sin. And the granting of liberal and gracious forgiveness for confessed sin.

He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. (Prov. 28:13)