How You Can Bless Your Pastor

Listen to this short audio clip from John Piper on how you can bless your pastor. 

As someone who desires to be a pastor, I find this so helpful and encouraging.  The common demoninator in it all: don’t waste your life.  Live life in a way that shows you have saving faith.  Be holy, as God is holy.  Love Jesus with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Do those things, and you will bless not only your pastor, but those brothers and sisters around you. 

Improv Everywhere at Best Buy

www.improveverywhere.com

Brian McLaren and Willow Creek: A Match Made in…

Brian McLaren spoke at a youth conference at Willow Creek in Chicago a couple of weeks ago. For those who aren’t familiar, McLaren is the spearhead for the Emergent Church movement in America. Despite what he says, his theology is ultra liberal and simply non-biblical. At the conference, McLaren said that Christians should put less focus on eternity and more on achieving justice in the here and now. In fact, one writer says that McLaren’s message is “serpent-sensitive worship.”

Just one question I will ask as a commentary on this: Why in the world would Willow Creek invite Brian McLaren to speak at their conference? It just makes me wonder how committed to sound, biblical doctrine Willow Creek actually is.

I Have Nothing, Yet I Posses More Than I Could Ever Imagine

We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

- 2 Corinthians 6:8b-10

As I was reading 1 Peter 1:5-7 this morning, Peter said, “In this [the living hope we have], you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be found to result in prise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  The Christians to whom Peter was writing were joyful, yet sorrowful.  They were exceedingly glad that God has elected them, caused them to be born again to a living hope and eternal inheritance, and that they are being guarded by God’s power.  Still, they were sorrowful for going through trials and tribulations.

With this dichotomy from 1 Peter on my mind, I flipped over to 2 Corinthians 6 to read about how Paul described himself and the apostles.  Two of the clauses jumped off the page: 1) “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” and 2) “as having nothing, yet possessing everything.” 

The first one is for the obvious reason that it related to 1 Peter.  Is there ever true, undefiled rejoicing in this world without some sort of pain and sorrow attached?  Of course not.  We need to live on the fine line of knowing how to rejoice amidst pain and suffering.

The second for reasons that have become so much more evident to me over the past nine months.  I work for Campus Crusade in Nebraska.  I’ll be in Africa this summer for a month and then again for a year starting in January.  I have to raise financial support.  I don’t make much money.  People in my own family think that I am wasting my life and time with what I’m doing.  Others on the outside hear “ministry” and they think that I’m just some religious nut who will never be able to mortgage a home because I make peanuts for a living.  In the world’s eyes, I have nothing.  I buy clothes from Target and Wal-Mart.  Eating out means going to Subway.  Truly, I have nothing — in one sense.  But in an altogether different sense, I have never been richer in my entire life.  I have seen people go from death to life, darkness to light, and from a purposeless life to a living hope.  I have developed deep, meaningful relationships that will continue throughout my life.  I have grown with the Lord in mighty ways so that I now truly taste and see that he is good.  I might not have a large bank account in this world, but my savings account in heaven is no doubt growing by the day. 

God deserves all glory and praise and honor.  How blessed is it that he invites us undeserving people to be a part of what he is doing in the world.  For those in the economy of God, though we appear as if we have nothing, we are really more wealthy than could ever be imagined.

W.L. Craig on Richard Dawkins

Thanks to my friend Andrew who passed this video along to me.  Dr. William Lane Craig gives a response to Dawkins’ idea in his book The God Delusion that God cannot exist because we cannot answer the question, “Who created the Creator?” (5 minutes). 

Oriented to the Kingdom

This morning at Grace Chapel, Pastor Mike Hsu gave a sermon called Oriented to the Kingdom, (it should be upload for listening in a few days) from Genesis 1:26-28. The central theme of the message was that we, as sons and daughters of God, have been entrusted with the responsibility of seeing the will of heaven enforced here on earth. In the Garden of Eden, work, worship, and holiness were an integrated and continuous whole. Because of sin, that is no longer the case. Mike gave three applications for how to make this happen - by God’s grace - that I’d like to reflect on.

• See our work as calling. So often people think that if they aren’t a pastor, missionary, campus ministry worker, or even a God-blogger, that they are, for some reason or another, not as significant in the Kingdom. We know from 1 Corinthians 12 that the whole body is essential to properly function! How glorious that God has designed his church to work together for the ultimate goal of his glory. This happens by everyone doing whatever they do for the glory of God. Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera.” Christians have somehow developed this idea of leaving the material world - whether in the occupational sense or otherwise. We should redeem that which can be redeemed in the material world. Let me say, lest someone call me materialistic, hedonistic (in the worldly sense), wicked, or blasphemous, that there are some things are impossible to redeem. For example, we cannot have Christian porn or Christian strip clubs.
• See our worship as integrated. Worship is more than just singing a hymn or going to church on Sunday. It’s more than simply reading the Bible and praying. Mike pointed out that so many Christians struggle with deep, abiding joy because we don’t seek the Lord daily, even hourly! So many Christians do not read the Bible and pray to God. Our worship culminates on Sunday morning as we fellowship with Christ’s body in church. Yet, during the other six days of the week, we should trust the Lord to feed our own souls through Bible reading and prayer. And when we do this, by the Spirit’s power, we will see that everything is worship. We can worship Jesus at work, class, on the sports field, and in our homes with family. Worship is whatever glorifies God and as we saw from Colossians 3:23, that can be whatever we are doing.
• See our holiness as a chief goal. When sin creeps in our lives, we are distracted from these first two applications. The Westminster Confession’s first question is, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer is “To glorify God and enjoy him forever.” John Piper has adapted this to say, “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.” When we do these things, it is the fruit of striving for holiness and trusting God to kill our sins. John Owen said, “Be killing sin, lest sin be killing you.” Notice that Mike did not say holiness is the chief goal. It is one of the many goals that will bring about the ultimate goal: God’s glory. When we are living life like it is a war, we are constantly prepared to use the Bible as our sword to put to death our own wickedness, the devil’s schemes, and the world’s fads. When we live life with a peace-time mindset, however, we get caught off-guard and grow complacent. This will cause us to neglect personal holiness and therefore forget that any work we perform is the Lord’s calling and that worship is an integrated, all-inclusive, life-long adoration toward God in all we do.

 

Congrats to Me…This is What I Do All Day

It shouldn’t have taken this long, but I’m finally at 100 posts.   So, now you know what I do in most (if not all) my free time.

Here’s some good blogger jokes in honor of my 100th post.  Enjoy.

Q: How many bloggers does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: 100. 1 to change the lightbulb and 99 to comment on how it should have been done differently.

Q: Why did the blogger cross the road?
A: Because the WIFI signal was stronger there.

 

Weekly Spurgeon

From Morning and Evening

“God, even our own God.” 
- Psalm 67:6

It is strange how little use we make of the spiritual blessings which God gives us, but it is stranger still how little use we make of God Himself. Though He is “our own God,” we apply ourselves but little to Him, and ask but little of Him. How seldom do we ask counsel at the hands of the Lord! How often do we go about our business, without seeking His guidance! In our troubles how constantly do we strive to bear our burdens ourselves, instead of casting them upon the Lord, that He may sustain us! This is not because we may not, for the Lord seems to say, “I am thine, soul, come and make use of me as thou wilt; thou mayst freely come to my store, and the oftener the more welcome.” It is our own fault if we make not free with the riches of our God. Then, since thou hast such a friend, and He invites thee, draw from Him daily. Never want whilst thou hast a God to go to; never fear or faint whilst thou hast God to help thee; go to thy treasure and take whatever thou needest — there is all that thou canst want. Learn the divine skill of making God all things to thee. He can supply thee with all, or, better still, He can be to thee instead of all. Let me urge thee, then, to make use of thy God. Make use of Him in prayer. Go to Him often, because He is thy God. O, wilt thou fail to use so great a privilege? Fly to Him, tell Him all thy wants. Use Him constantly by faith at all times. If some dark providence has beclouded thee, use thy God as a “sun;” if some strong enemy has beset thee, find in Jehovah a “shield,” for He is a sun and shield to His people. If thou hast lost thy way in the mazes of life, use Him as a “guide,” for He will direct thee. Whatever thou art, and wherever thou art, remember God is just what thou wantest, and just where thou wantest, and that He can do all thou wantest.

Meditation on 1 Peter 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

- 1 Peter 1:3

Peter begins the body of his first letter with a shout of praise to God: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  The Greek word for “blessed” is eulogetos which is where we get our word “eulogy” from, and one of its definitions is ”praise.”  Peter is giving God a eulogy (a good one, to the living God).  Peter sandwiches this in between great theological truths.  High praise is due to God because he has foreknown us, elected us, sanctified us, and sprinkled us with Jesus’ blood (vv. 1-2).  And high praise is due to God because he has caused us to be born again to a living hope that gives so joy and fulfillment (vv. 4-9).

“According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope.”  Again we see the doctrine of election.  How were we born again?  According to God’s great mercy (cf. Eph. 2:4; Tit. 3:5).  God has caused us to be born again.  R.C. Sproul writes, “This emphasizes that salvation is based entirely on God’s loving initiative.”  God has done the work; he makes people Christians; glory alone goes to him.  A human baby contributes nothing to make himself alive and it is the same way with the Christian.  The word used for “caused us to be born again” is anagennao and it is more active than simply gennao (which would be like an earthly father’s passive action in the birth of a physical child).  God, on the other hand, has actively pursued us, wooed us, called us, and caused us to have faith so that we would be born again (Matt. 11:27; Jn. 6:44; Acts 13:48; Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Thes. 1:4; Heb. 3:1). 

Christianity is about the loving, sovereign, holy, infinite God of the universe giving his people grace and faith to love and trust him.  Our response is faith to what God has initiated in us.  We have the ability to respond because he has caused us to be born again.  Could anything be more clear?  Religion, on the other hand, is man’s attempt to cause himself to be born again (or saved, etc).  There is nothing in our souls that desire God (see Romans 3).  In fact, by nature we are runaways and rebels. 

Lest we simply know the theology of the Bible with our minds (and 1 Peter 3:1) and have no heart connection, let us look at the practical application that Peter gives us.  What have we been born again to?  We are born again to a living hope.  It is not a dead hope.  It is not a corrupted or wicked hope.  It is life and peace and joy and fulfillment.  This is explained more in the verse 4, however we can be sure with our verse that this hope far outweighs anything this life can offer us.  This hope is a perfect hope that will never disappoint (cf. Rom. 5:5).  We have been given this hope “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”  The word “through” is dia in Greek and it is the same word used in verse 23, “Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through (dia) the living and abiding word of God.” The living and abiding word of God is the whole redemptive plan of God: that he sent his Son to save sinners.  Dia modifies the phrase “born again” in verse 3.  Because of (through) Christ’s resurrection we now have a living hope that will one day bring us new bodies that are sown imperishable, that we may experience the inexpressible joy that comes with the salvation of our souls (vv. 8-9).

It’s clear that Jesus died to bring us great joy and satisfaction in him for his glory so that we might live with and worship him for eternity.  Christianity is not about rules, regulations, trying to get saved, and attempting to find God.  That is religion.  Christianity is about God coming to us by his mercy and causing us to be born again so that we might have the greatest happiness in our lives –  a happiness that is imperishable. 

He’s Not Talking About the Bible

“If this book doesn’t change the world — we’re all screwed.”

- Penn, of Penn & Teller

Penn is referring to Richard Dawkins’ book The God Delusion.  I wonder if Penn knows that the best selling book of all time is the Bible.  The second?  Not Dawkins’ book.  Not Darwin’s book.

It’s John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress – which is practically like the Bible.

Go figure.