Another testimony for permanent marriages

In yesterday's blog, Al Mohler, citing a recent article from the Washington Post, articulates a downside to divorce that has rarely been mentioned. We speak often of the impact of divorce on young children, and the detriment it is to the marriage partners, but after decades of increased divorce rates, the influence on divorce for aging parents is also being realized.

The strained relationships that result from divorce when the children are young carry over to adulthood so they are disinclined to visit their aging parents often, cultivate a meaningful relationship, or care for them in their illness.

Mohler concludes his commentary this way:

Almost 40 percent of adults have divorced parents. The bonds of family and kinship have been strained over the last century by advanced industrialization, career mobility, and a host of developments that have subverted family intactness and intimacy. But none of these can equal the total impact of easy divorce and the divorce culture that is now simply taken as a fact of life.

The impact of divorce on children has been a controversial issue for decades now. Marquardt and Glenn now point to a challenge that will explode in significance in years to come. They warn of "lonely grief" as a common experience.

In Marquardt's words:

As the generation that ushered in widespread divorce ages, an epidemic of such lonely grief may well sweep in behind it. Much of the expert literature on death and dying implicitly assumes an intact family experience. It assumes that people grow up with their mothers and fathers, who are married to each other when one of them dies. Some scholars are beginning to investigate aging and dying in families already visited by divorce. But most scholars and the public still give scant attention to the loss of other parent figures or to the deeply complicating, long-lasting effects of family fragmentation.

Here is yet another warning and reminder of what divorce represents and what happens when marriage is undermined by a social and legal revolution of this significance. This will challenge churches as well as families. "The New Alone" is a very troubling report.

The believer is not committed to marriage because of social implications or statistical surveys which might reinforce the benefits of a permanent marriage. We are committed to marriage because God is committed to His marriage to His people Israel, because Christ is committed to His marriage with His bride, the church, and because Scripture consistently teaches the righteousness of permanence in marriage.

This report does not change the reason why we are committed to marriage; but it does offer testimony to God's good and eternal plan for the family.

The great "I am" and a correction

Tozer said it well when he wrote the following in The Pursuit of God:

There must be somewhere a fixed center against which everything else is measured, where the law of relativity does not enter and we can say "IS" and make no allowances. Such a center is God. When God would make His Name known to mankind, He could find no better word than "I AM".…Everyone and everything else measures from that fixed point. "I am that I am," says God, "I change not."

As the sailor locates his position on the sea by "shooting" the sun, so we may get our moral bearings by looking at God. We must begin with God. We are right when and only when we stand in a right position relative to God, and we are wrong so far and so long as we stand in any other position.

Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and bring Him nearer to our own image.…It is no use. We can get a right start only by accepting Goad as he is. As we go on to know Him better we shall find it a source of unspeakable joy that God is just what He
is.

And, the quote in Sunday's outline should have read as follows: "Not only do we now know God except through Jesus Christ; we do not even know ourselves except through Jesus Christ." [Blaise Pascal; it's amazing the difference in meaning one small word makes!]

Sunday Leftovers (1/27/08)

The gospel of John was written to introduce the readers to Christ in such a way that they would be stimulated to believe Him. John accomplishes this through the seven-fold declaration of Christ's "I am's," through the seven miracles of Christ, and even through the very names that John uses to refer to Christ. Each distinct name and usage reveals something about John's theology, but even more about the glory and character of Christ and God.

What names does he use?

Word. This title is used only 4 times (1:1, 14), but it is significant, nonetheless. The emphasis is obviously on His deity: He is eternally pre-existent, lives in "co-ordination" with God, and yet possessing His own identity, and in fact being God Himself.

Christ is used 16 times in the first 12 chapters of the book, and only twice after that. The word is designed to point to the truth that Jesus is the promised Messiah of God. After His ministry becomes private (beginning in chapter 13), that is not nearly as important. That this name refers to His Messianic work is clear from 1:41; 10:24; 11:27; 17:3. Moreover, those who rejected Jesus as the Messiah understood the implication that He claimed to be Messiah (e.g., 3:28; 7:26-27).

Jesus. This is the most common name, being used more than 200 times. It is a reference to His genuine manhood.

Jesus Christ. Used only 2 times in the book (1:17; 17:3), both times it emphasizes the divine nature of Jesus, emphasizing in 17:3 that he came from "the only true God." One of the favorite titles of the epistles "Christ Jesus" appears in none of the Gospels.

Son of God. The title is used 9 times in John, several times in conjunction with "Christ" (1:49; 11:27; 20:31), and once with "only begotten" (3:18). These alone suggest that the title is designed to emphasize the divine nature of Jesus. He is not merely a man, but God Himself.

Son of Man (1:51; 3:13-14; 5:27; 6:27, 53, 62; 8:28; 9:35; 12:23, 34) and "the Son" (3:17, 35-36; 5:19-23, 25-26; 6:40; 8:36; 14:13; 17:1). These two terms are used interchangeably, and likely are a reference to Daniel 11. Interestingly, they are used almost exclusively of Jesus during His public ministry (chs. 1-12), and only twice during His private ministry (chs. 13-21). They refer to His purpose and mission as the Redeemer.

Lord is used of Jesus 53 times in this gospel, with nearly an even split between the public and private ministries of Jesus (25 times in chs. 1-12; 28 times in chs. 13-21). However, 12 of the references in chs. 1-12 are in chs. 11-12! This title was often used generically to demonstrate respect for another human, being translated more simply as "sir" or "master" (e.g., 4:11, 15, 19). However, Christ used this title to refer to Himself (e.g., 13:14), and it is used also with a sense of the recognition of Christ's deity or power (e.g., 6:68; 9:38; 13:37; 14:5, 8; 20:28; 21:17). It is after the resurrection that this name gets to be used more commonly of Christ.

Only Begotten. John is the only NT writer to use this word of Jesus (1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 Jn. 4:9). However, Hebrews 11:17 uses the same word to refer to Isaac as the "only begotten" of Abraham, and from that use we gain understanding about its meaning. Hebrews 11 cannot be a reference to Isaac's status as the "only" child of Abraham, as Abraham had other children, both through Hagar and his concubines. "But Isaac was unique: he was the son given to Abraham and Sarah as the result of the promise of God. The people of God were to be descended from him and not any of the other sons of Abraham. That Jesus Christ is God's [only begotten] then means that he is 'Son of God' in a unique way. Others may be called 'sons of God', but the are not 'sons' in the same sense.…[John] is saying that no one else stands in the same relationship to God the Father as does Jesus Christ. Christ is the Son of God not only in the sense that he is the object of God's love, but also in the sense that his being is bound up with the being of the Father." [Morris, pp. 92-3.]


In every passage in John, Jesus Christ is presented in numerous ways — through His own words, through the record of His activity, through the responses of both those who believe and those who do not believe, and through a variety of descriptions of Him. And all these things declare: "believe Me!"

The belief called for is not just an initial saving faith, but the ongoing faith of sanctification that continues in and with Christ. There is no one else like Christ. We can not think too much or too often of Him. This is the message of John's gospel.

On Sabbatical

In September of 1990 at my installation service at the beginning of my ministry at Grace, my father (a seminary professor and pastor) spoke, and in giving a charge, described the man that some have called “the perfect pastor:”

The perfect pastor preaches exactly fifteen minutes. He condemns sin, but never embarrasses anyone. He works from 8 a.m. until midnight and is also the church janitor. He makes $60 a week, wears good clothes, drives a new car, and gives $50 a week to the poor. He is 28 years old and has been preaching for 25 years, and is wonderfully gentle and handsome. He loves to work with teenagers and spends countless hours with senior citizens. He makes fifteen calls daily on church families, shut-ins and hospital patients, and he is always in the office when needed. That’s the perfect pastor.

I laughed when my Dad told the story, and I still chuckle when reading it.

But after having now experienced 17+ years of pastoral ministry, I understand more realistically the privileged demands of the task for one who will shepherd the flock of God. And those responsibilities have renewed in my heart a commitment to the encouraging words of Paul to his young pastor protégé, Timothy:

“Pay close attention to yourselves and to your teaching; persevere in these things [showing yourself an example, using your spiritual gift, working hard], for as you do this you will ensure salvation for both yourself and for those who hear you” (1 Tim. 4:16).

With these things in mind, I am exceedingly grateful for the kindness and extravagant grace bestowed on me by this church body in granting me a sabbatical for the next two months. I am thankful for Keith, who has graciously exhorted me to take this opportunity and has happily invited an increased workload to make it possible for me to step away. Likewise, the other elders have not only made this possible, but have established some benevolent ground rules that will facilitate my ability to really be away and study, even though I will still be at home in Granbury. And so many in the church body have offered encouraging words and promises to pray and been willing to take on additional tasks to make this possible. These are all manifestations of the work of God’s grace in our church body, and I thank you exceedingly for it.

Now you may be wondering, “just what does a pastor do when he goes on sabbatical?” I initially wondered the same thing — “what can I do to refresh myself in Christ and the work of the ministry so that I will be more effective in serving God in this flock when I return?”

My primary work will be to do what Paul exhorted Timothy to do: pay attention to my life and teaching — examine and build up my heart to be solely devoted to God and dig deeper in the Word of God so I will be a more capable and effective teacher and preacher of His truth. As I have reflected on that, here are some specific things I am planning on doing:

• Personal reading and edification: I have already awaiting me in several piles at home a number of books I want to read to encourage my own heart and stretch me spiritually in some areas that my heart needs transformation. And for that same reason, I also have a number of sermons that I want to listen to while I’m away.
• I have long been intrigued by the implications of the cross for my daily life. So I am going to pursue that theme by reading a couple new books about the atonement, and doing some additional study about the themes of the cross and how Christ and the New Testament writers viewed how we should live in light of Christ’s death.
• I intend to finish the NANC exam. I am excited about the beginning of the counseling ministry this fall, and my part in preparing myself for that is to complete this exam as the next step in the certification process (you’ll be hearing more from Keith about this ministry in the coming weeks).
• Several years ago, I began writing weekly devotionals for email, and now I am maintaining a blog site. I would like to write some new devotionals and perhaps collate some previously written devotionals into a thematic series.
• I want to begin preparation for my next sermon series.
• One of the fundamental tasks of the preacher is to pray (Acts 6:4); I have a couple plans in place that I want to implement to deepen my prayer life.
• I plan to visit a variety of other churches to hear other preaching and to see how others are doing ministry. So I will occasionally worship here at Grace, since our family will be remaining in Granbury during this sabbatical, but most Sundays I will be worshipping with other believers in other places.
• Have regular dates with Raye Jeanne and with Elizabeth and Emily.
• Purge my file cabinets of some unnecessary and unused clutter!

Knowing that these are some of the things that I desire to do, you can most minister to me during these two months by praying for these specific things for me:

• Pray for Keith, as he shoulders and increased workload and carries out tasks on a regular basis that he has only carried irregularly until now. By praying for Keith, you are also praying for this church body and encouraging and ministering to me.
• Pray that I will be disciplined with my time and affections and do the things that will make me more joyful in Christ and stimulate me to increasing genuine Christ-likeness — and that in all the things I do, I will “pay attention to myself” (genuinely and accurately engage in self-examination).
• Pray that I will do the best things, not just anything. And that the things I study will make me a more able teacher of God and His Word.
• Pray that the Lord will grant me eyes to see and understand His Word and to be transformed by it as I read and study.
• Pray that I will pray.

One more thing: this church is the ministry of Jesus Christ. It is His church. You are His people. These are His purposes being carried out here. So I can think of nothing better than upon my return at the beginning of April that we find that the church has grown in both affection and effectiveness for Christ. What will honor Christ the most is that there would have been numerous conversions in my absence. What will give you and me both the greatest joy is to see that not only has the ministry continued in my absence, but that it has flourished. Not only do I look forward to God’s work in my heart while I am away, but I anticipate what God will richly do within you while I am away.




[While I am on sabbatical, I will attempt to update this blog regularly (several times a week), interacting with Biblical passages and theological books I am reading, sermons I’m listening to, and general thoughts on what I’m learning and thinking about.]

God cares

There are a variety of reasons we don't speak the truth of God (sometimes we don't speak the gospel truth to unbelievers, sometimes we don't speak Biblical truth to believers — maybe even failing to pray with someone who obviously needs the comfort and encouragement of prayer).

But one fundamental reason we don't speak is fear. And underneath that fear is an underlying belief that God is incapable of or unwilling to care for us if our speaking produces harsh consequences. If you've ever experienced that fear, then hear this word:

"…don't fear to speak the truth, but be courageous and speak clearly and openly because God is giving close and intimate attention to all you do. Matthew 10:30 means at least that much. Jesus says, 'even the hairs of your head are numbered.' In other words, the suffering you may undergo in speaking the truth is not because God is disinterested in you or unfamiliar with your plight. He is close enough to separate one hair from another and give each one a number. Fear not; he is close. He is interested; He cares. Be of good courage, and speak the truth whatever the cost." [Piper, What Jesus Demands From the World, p. 123.]

Discernment needed

On my upcoming sabbatical, I want to read a number of books. One of those is one just published by blogger Tim Challies, called The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. It is an important book on an important topic. Al Mohler explains why.

Sunday Leftovers (1/20/08)

Christ and the Father are unified in all their purposes — including their purpose in hardening unbelievers. Yet there is a mystery remaining — the sovereign will of God negates neither God's compassion for the unbelief of unbelievers, nor their responsibility as they will one day stand under His judgment.

So, here are one more verse and two additional quotations that help clarify God's sovereignty over unbelief and unbelievers.

After entering the city of Jerusalem triumphantly, Jesus said this about His city:

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling" (Mt. 23:37)

He hardened them, and yet He had extensive compassion in which He longed to gather them to Him, and the only thing that prevented that fellowship was their own unwillingness. So, at the end of time, all men will be judged with righteousness: those who enter into eternal intimacy with God will do so not because of their work or merits, but Christs; and those who are banished eternally from God into everlasting condemnation will do so on the basis of their own rejection of and hatred for God.

The statements that I found helpful are as follows:

The present passage [John 12:39-40] ascribes everything to the will of God. Unless His hand is in it nothing is possible. But when John quotes 'he hath blinded the eyes…' he does not mean that the blinding takes place without the will or against the will of these people. So with the hardening of their heart. These men chose evil. It was their own deliberate choice, their own fault. Make no mistake about that. [Leon Morris]


[Speaking of 1 Pt. 2:7-8:] We must note that while Scripture is willing to affirm God's ultimate 'destining' of wrongful actions…the blame for these actions is always given to the moral creatures (men and angels) who willingly choose to do wrong; the blame is never given to God (Cf. Jb. 1:22). If we ask how God can 'destine' that something happen through the wilful choice of his creatures, yet himself remain free from blame (and not be the 'author' of sin in the sense of actually doing wrong himself), then we approach Paul's questions in Romans 9: 19, 'Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?' Yet here Scripture gives us no answer except to say, 'But who are you, a man, to answer back to God?' (Rom. 9:20).

…[Furthermore,] 'reprobation' (the passing over of those who are not chosen, and justly leaving them in their rebellion) is viewed as something which brings God sorrow, not delight (note Ezk. 33:11, and cf. Paul's sorrow in Rom. 9:1-2), and in which the blame is always put on the men or angels who rebel, not on God (Jn. 3:18-19; 5:40).

[Finally,] Peter intended this text as a comfort for Christians in the midst of persecution by hostile unbelievers.…It can best be applied that way today also (even as Rom. 8:28 and 1 Pet. 1:7) by any Christian facing any kind of abuse from non-Christians (note David's response to Shimei's cursing in 2 Sa. 16:10-12). [Wayne Grudem]

Missing joy?

In today's devotional, Oswald Chambers said this:

"There is no joy in the soul that has forgotten what God prizes."

Another way to say that might be, you will not be happy (joyful, content, satisfied, peaceful) if you attempt to find happiness in things that God deems unworthy of His happiness — or avoid the things that are happiness to Him.

So whether I am happy or sad, my heart needs examination:

• am I joyful for the same kinds of things and reasons that God is joyful?
• am I sad for the same kinds of things and reasons that God is sorrowful?

There is nothing like a concordance to help reveal the happiness of God. You might start your own search, but here are a few that come quickly to my attention:


God and Christ are joyful:

• over the repentance of sinners
  
• in crushing the Messiah
• in being crushed by God
• over their chosen ones
• over sacrificial service
• over humility
  
• to discipline children to produce righteousness
• for the prayers of righteous ones
• to give good gifts to their sons
• for the obedience of righteous ones
• for fruitfulness
  

God and Christ are sorrowful:

• over the unrepentance of sinners
• over disobedience
• over evil
• for believers living like the world
• over worry and anxiety
• over the anger of man
• over hypocrisy
• over idolatry
• over immorality
  
• for unfruitfulness
  

These are just partial lists, and abbreviated lists of passages. As an exercise, what other truths can you add to these lists? And what do the joys of your heart reveal about what you prize (are you really joyful, or are you self-deceived)? And what does your treasure reveal about the condition of your fellowship with God?

A new blog of interest

Bible.org has a wealth of exceedingly helpful Bible study tools. They have also begun posting a number of blogs, and this week initiated another one that looks to be helpful — Primetime Jesus . The intent of the blog is to "," and to that end, they are employing the services of a number of Biblical sholars, including men like Darrell Bock, Craig Blomberg, Mike Wilkins, and Ben Witherington. This should be a helpful resource on the inevitable attacks against the person and work of Christ.

You may also have the most recent articles fed to your favorite blog reader with this link.

(HT: Darrell Bock)

The cross and preaching

God did not ordain the cross of Christ or create the lake of fire in order to communicate the insignificance of belittling his glory. The death of the Son of God and the damnation of unrepentant human beings are the loudest shouts under heaven that God is infinitely holy, and sin is infinitely offensive, and wrath is infinitely just, and grace is infinitely precious, and our brief life — and the life of every person in you church and in your community — leads to everlasting joy or everlasting suffering. If our preaching does not carry the weight of these things to our people, what will? Veggie Tales? Radio? Television? Discussion groups? Emergent conversations?

God planned for his Son to be crucified (Rev. 13:8; 2 Tim. 1:9) and for hell to be terrible (Matt. 25:41) so that we would have the clearest vision possible to what is at stake when we preach. What gives preaching its seriousness is that the mantle of the preacher is soaked with the blood of Jesus and singed with the fire of hell. [John Piper, in Preaching the Cross.]

Sunday Leftovers (1/13/08)

When the request "We'd like to see Jesus" came, His response was that the hour had finally come for the Son of Man to be glorified. He would be revealed and seen like no time previously. For 33 years, Mary had contemplated and treasured the activities concerning Christ and done by Christ. For three years, Jesus had ministered in public — He had taught, healed, confronted, corrected, prayed, and fed.

But for all those revelations of Christ (and in all those activities and words, He was revealed), nothing would reveal (glorify) Him like the event that was about to come — the cross. No where is Christ seen like He is seen at the cross.

Nothing is more fundamental for the joy of undeserving people than the cross of Christ. The fight for joy is a fight to grasp and marvel at what happened in the death of Christ — and what it reveals about our suffering Savior. If it were not for the death of Jesus in our place, the only possible joy would be the joy of delusion — like the joy on the Titanic just before it hit the iceberg. Without the cross, joy could be sustained only by denying (consciously or subconsciously) the inevitability of divine judgment. In fact, that's the kind of joy that drives most of the world — a joy that preserves the power of its pleasures by being oblivious to the peril just ahead. If the passengers were suddenly made aware that in a matter of hours most of them would drown in the icy ocean, all their merrymaking would cease. Their joy depends on their ignorance. [John Piper]

Nothing is more important about Christ than the gospel. It is the most important truth we can proclaim to those who do not believe, and it is the most important truth that we live day by day. It is, as Paul says, "of first importance."

When life is bitter....

…trust promises, not providences.

This week I've had multiple conversations with people who have family or friends who are walking through the valley of the shadow of death. And the shadow is dark and foreboding, filled with more questions and uncertainties than just the matter of death.

One writer says that when the bitter experiences of life emerge, trust promises, not providences.

That is, don't come to conclusions about the love of Christ for you based solely on the circumstances of your life, but base your conclusions on the absolute promises of God.

It reminds me of the hymn written by poet William Cowper:

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;…

Judge not the lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

Into our lives, God regularly brings darkness, affliction, and even the sins of others to shape us into His image. No matter the harshness of the darkness, He is working a gracious plan to effect His grace in our lives. That is a truth I need to hear and heed when death is interjected into my life — and when any form of "discomfort" afflicts me.

Brainerd on spiritual desires

This short treasure from David Brainerd's journal remained in my in-box from a couple weeks ago:

Oh, how precious is time, and how it pains me to see it slide away, while I do so little to any good purpose. Oh, that God would make me more fruitful and spiritual.

(HT: CQOD)

Book Review: Battling Unbelief

“I do believe; help my unbelief.”

This cry from the father of the mute, demon-possessed boy is in some way the genuine condition of the hearts of all who believe in and follow Christ. There are areas in our lives in which we know the truth of God and believe that truth is sufficient and efficient to accomplish transformation, but that confidence in God wavers.

The root of that wavering is that we really don't believe the promises of God. What we need, John Piper suggests, is faith in future grace. That is, we need faith to believe that as God has given past grace to provide spiritual life and sustenance, so He will give future grace that will equip us to adequately battle the sins of unbelief in its various forms — sins like anxiety, pride, misplaced shame, impatience, covetousness, bitterness, despondency, and lust.

This new book, Battling Unbelief, is a shortened version of his book Future Grace. The latter book provides more Biblical foundations for his reasoning, and then applies truth to a number of areas of sin. This book is a compilation of those chapters on the various sins.

What is future grace, and why do we need it?

Being satisfied with all that God promises to be for us in Jesus Christ is the essence of faith in future grace.…Sin has power because of the promises it makes to us.…No one sins out of duty. We sin because we believe the deceitful promises that sin makes.…Battling unbelief and fighting for faith in future grace means that we fight fire with fire. We throw against the promises of sin the promises of God. We take hold of some great promise God made about our future and say to a particular sin, "Match that!" In this way we do what Paul says in Romans 8:13, "By the Spirit…put to death the deeds of the body." [pp. 15-16]

Like Respectable Sins, which I was reading at the same time as this book (which was actually a good thing to do, as the messages are very similar, though Piper has more Biblical content and Bridges is more readable), Battling Unbelief is a book that I will come to again and again to help me in my battle with the flesh.

The Reading List

I'm always on the lookout for good new books. Sometimes it can be a daunting task to walk into a bookstore and try to determine which book is worth reading and which is not.

Al Mohler has begun a new feature called "The Reading List" on his web/blog site. I have always found him to be an excellent resource for thinking Biblically about cultural events. This book review list should be equally helpful. It's worth bookmarking in your RSS reader and perusing regularly.

Sunday Leftovers (1/6/08)

The triumphal entry of Christ prior to His crucifixion testifies to His Messiahship and Kingship, and prefigures His victory at the cross. What is not understood by the massive crowds and even the disciples that day was the significance of the triumphant Christ.

He came as Messiah. He came as the One appointed by God in eternity past to rectify man's problem. Not man's problems, but man's problem. He did not come to solve economic depression, social ills, moral failures, physical infirmities, or social injustices (though in His grace He did on occasion minister to people in those ways). He did come to demonstrate His victorious sovereignty over sin. He came as the triumphant victor over sin. William Hendriksen delineated a number of ways in which Christ demonstrated His authority and victory:

• He was victorious over Satan in the wilderness of temptation
• He was victorious in binding the power of Satan
• He was victorious in repeatedly casting demons from people
• He was victorious in preventing Satan from carrying out his plan until it became God's time
• He was victorious by taking away Satan's right to accuse believers
• He was victorious by sealing Satan's fate of death and stripping his power

The effect of this work by Christ is that the believer can hear the words "fear not" and be confident that God has provided everything he needs not to fear. In fact, more than 100 times in Scripture God commands His followers to "fear not." And the reasons why this is possible are rooted in the triumph of Christ — and a host of other reasons:

• We will not die apart from God’s gracious decree for his children.
• Curses and divination do not hold sway against God's people.
• The plans of terrorists and hostile nations do not succeed apart from our gracious God.
• Man cannot harm us beyond God’s gracious will for us.
• God promises to protect His own from all that is not finally good for them.
• God promises to give us all we need to obey, enjoy, and honor him forever.
• God is never taken off guard.
• God will be with us, help us, and uphold us in trouble.
• Terrors will come, some of us will die, but not a hair of our heads will perish.
• Nothing befalls God's own but in its appointed hour.
• When God Almighty is your helper, none can harm you beyond what he decrees.
• God’s faithfulness is based on the firm value of his name, not the fickle measure of our obedience.
• The Lord, our protector, is great and awesome.

Christ is victor. Do not fear.

The transforming power of Scripture

R. C. Trench —

Lord, what a change within us one short hour
Spent in Thy presence will prevail to make!
What heavy burdens from our bosoms take,
What parched ground refresh as with a shower!
We kneel, and all around us seems to lower;
We rise, and all, the distant and the near,
Stands forth in sunny outline brave and clear;
We kneel, how weak! we rise, how full of power!
Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong,
Or other, that we are not always strong,
That we are ever overborne with care,
That we should ever weak or heartless be,
Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer,
And joy and strength and courage are with Thee!

[Christian Quotation of the Day, 1/1/08]

Questions to ask when reading your Bible

Practical Tips for Reading Your Bible and Submitting to the Spirit —

1. Read with the intent of knowing God and His mind, not “solving problems.”
2. Establish a time and place that you will meet God every day — e.g., in the blue chair at 6:30 a.m.
3. Keep a Bible, pad & pen (and maybe a devotional book) at that location.
4. Read the Bible systematically & with balance (history, poetry, prophets, gospels, epistles). Links to several Bible reading plans are in the previous post, "A new year of Bible reading."
5. For every two minutes you read, meditate for one minute. [Don Whitney has helpful tips for meditating on Scripture.]
   
6. Keep a log of what passage you read.

• What is the main idea/central truth?
• What does this passage reveal about God?
• What is one key verse that you can think about today?
• Pray the passage.
• Commit to do (at least) one thing that day that will reinforce what you learned.

A new year of Bible reading

The spiritual life is simple, though it is not easy.

It is simple in that the means to growing in Christ is not complicated; it is not easy in that the discipline required to apply God’s grace is difficult (discipline requires self-control, which is not natural for the natural man).

So how does one grow in Christ?

We grow in Christ the same way we came to be identified with Christ — by grace through faith. This is the very point Paul made with the Galatians, who were attempting to be saved by grace and kept through works —

You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (Gal. 3:1-3; NASB)

In other words, “having heard and been taught the crucifixion of Christ and the truth of salvation by faith — with the resulting empowerment of the Holy Spirit — how can you possibly think about being sanctified by the flesh? That’s utter foolishness!”

To such a statement, we readily offer our agreement. Yet in practice, many of us are closely aligned to the legalistic Galatians. We attempt to prove our “goodness” to God by our various spiritual disciplines and activities, without relying on His transforming Spirit. We know we must be saved by grace, but we like to live by law.

That kind of spiritual life is not only foolish, but also deadly — the mind set on the flesh is death (Rom. 8:6) and the deeds of the flesh cannot please God (Rom. 8:8). Yet if you are putting the deeds of the body to death by means of the power of the Spirit, you will live (Rom. 8:13). So life in Christ is dependent on living in the Spirit. And living by the power of the Spirit means that we will fill our minds with the Spirit’s sword — the Word of God.

To live by faith is to saturate our minds, find joy in, lean and depend on, be guided by, trust in, be reproved, corrected, and trained for righteousness by the Word of God. The means to a godly spiritual life is simple — it is to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Word of God (2 Pt. 3:18) to the point that our lives are controlled by the Word of God so that we increasingly grow in hatred of sin and increasingly move towards God in Christlikeness. As John Piper has noted,

This Word…cuts through he fog of Satan’s lies and shows me where true and lasting happiness is to be found. And so the Word helps me stop trusting in the potential of sin to make me happy. Instead, the Word entices me to trust in God’s promises.…

The role of God’s Word is to feed faith’s appetite for God. And, in doing this, it weans my heart away from the deceptive taste of lust. At first, lust begins to trick me into feeling that I would really miss out on some great satisfaction if I followed the path of purity. But then I take up the sword of the Spirit and begin to fight. I read that it is better to gouge out my eye than to lust. I read that if I think about things that are pure and lovely and excellent, the peace of God will be with me (Philippians 4:8-9). I read that setting the mind on the flesh brings death, but setting the mind on the Spirit brings life and peace (Romans 8:6). I read that lust wages war against my soul (1 Peter 2:11) and that the pleasures of this life choke out the life of the Spirit (Luke 8:14). But best of all, I read that God withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11) and that the pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8).

As I pray for my faith to be satisfied with God’s life and peace, the sword of the Spirit carves the sugar coating off the poison of lust. I see it for what it is. And by the grace of God, its alluring power is broken. [Battling Unbelief, pp. 141-3.]

How shall you fill your mind with the Word of God so as to be increasingly controlled by it? By reading, studying, meditating on, memorizing, and listening to it as much as you can, as often as you can. In a word, read the Word. There is no short cut to transformation. It comes by the hearing (reading) of the Word (Rom. 10:17).

How then shall you read? The best means to reading is to have a systematic plan for reading Scripture on a regular basis. Some can discipline themselves to some form of regular reading on their own, but most of us need a system that will help us. Of course there are dangers with following a formal plan, as Robert Murray M’Cheyne has noted:

• Formality (legalism) — this is the tendency of “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Tim. 3:5).
• Self-righteousness and self-complacency — the temptation to be content with reading without embracing conviction, repentance, and transformation.
• Careless reading — “Few tremble at the Word of God.”
• A yoke too heavy to bear — allowing the duty of discipline to distract us from the joy of the privilege.

But there are also advantages! Again, M’Cheyne summarizes:

• The whole Bible will be read through in an orderly manner in the course of a year — “If we pass over some parts of Scripture, we shall be incomplete Christians.”
• Time will not be wasted in choosing what portions to read.
• Parents will have a regular subject upon which to examine their children and servants.
• The pastor will know in what part of the pasture the flock is feeding.
• The sweet bond of Christian love and unity will be strengthened – “We shall be often led to think of those dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, here and elsewhere, who agree to join with us in reading those portions.…We shall pray over the same promises, mourn over the same confessions, praise God in the same songs, and be nourished by the same words of eternal life.”

Several different plans are available (this is far from a complete list, but I have found these to be helpful):

• M’Cheyne’s Plan (4 daily readings; OT once per year, NT and Psalms twice per year)
• Through the Bible in a year (this is the orginal Discipleship Journal reading plan; it has four daily readings)
• Book at a time reading plan (two daily readings)
• Chronological Bible reading plan
• Through the NT in a year

What is important is not so much what plan you choose or if you even choose a plan, but that you use some means for systematically filling your mind with the Word of God so that it can deepen its transforming work in your life.

It’s not complicated. It will require strenuous discipline — a discipline that God has equipped you to accomplish through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Read the Word.