Millennials v. Boomers: The Facts are shown in 2011 Superbowl

All the facts are summed up in this year’s Superbowl.  This graphic is especially dedicated to all my close friends under 29 who hate Eli Manning.  I simply want you to know what factors contribute to your misguided perspective. 

Gospel Thought – Repentance is a Gift from God that turns us to the Gift of God

All of Christianity is gift oriented.  Have you ever thought about that?  None of what we receive is earned or deserved.  Jesus Christ is a gift.  The Gospel is a gift.  Righteousness is a gift.  The Spirit is a gift.  The delight of the Father is a gift.  The church is a gift.  Worship is a gift.  Preaching is a gift.  The Sacraments are a gift.  Prayer is a gift.  Heaven is a gift.  Love is a gift.  Hope is a gift.  Faith is a gift.  I could keep going.  The scriptures teach that even the idea of our salvation is a gift from God.  Ephesians says that “while we were dead in our trespasses and sins, because of God’s great love for us, He mercifully brought us to life, even while we were still dead (Ephesians 2:1-5 my paraphrase).”  Wow!   Did you catch that?  We were dead, smothered in sin, captive slaves of the evil one, with no hope of even thinking to ask for help, but God brought us to life.  Many good theologians accurately teach that before we could even think to repent of our sins, God had to bring us to life first.  Ephesians 2 certainly affirms that viewpoint.  This is true of our salvation in its beginning and it is also true of our walk this moment.  And so, we repented because Christ first brought us to life.  Repentance is a response to God’s work.  So salvation and repentance are a gift from God that turn us to the gift of God.

Many Christians miss this.  They have a wrong view of repentance.  They believe that repentance is more about sin than it is about Christ.  They would define repentance this way: “Repentance is identifying our sin and then turning away from it.”  But, where is Christ in that definition?  That is a horrible perspective.  That is not Biblical repentance at all.  Repentance is not primarily given to us so that we might turn away from sin.  It is given to us so that we might turn to Christ.  It is the kind of gift that, once unwrapped, leads us to a greater gift.  Let me use an illustration to help you get the point…

A young man bought his girlfriend a beautiful engagement ring for Christmas.  But, the man decided to give the woman the ring by wrapping it up a box that the woman would open on Christmas morning.  When Christmas morning came, the woman unwrapped the box and saw that she had a brand new ring.  But tragically, she thought that the gift was the ring and not the man.  So, she took the ring and put it on a necklace and wore it around her neck and told all of her friends, “Hey, look at this beautiful diamond ring.  Doesn’t it make me look lovely!”  The woman considered the ring as more valuable than her prospective husband.  The man was the real gift, not the ring.  But the woman never enjoyed the greater gift because she failed to see the proper connection between the gift of the ring and the greater gift of the husband.  To be sure, I have seen many a young bride make this mistake.  They make much of their ring; they much of their wedding dress; they become enamored with their own glory; and they forget to make much of their groom.

This is how it is with repentance.  Repentance is a lesser gift that is designed to bind our hearts to the greater gift of our Husband Christ.  The Holy Spirit certainly reveals our sin, lets not lose that point, but in more glorious measure, He also reveals our need for Jesus.  So then repentance is not first and foremost about “turning away from sin.”  No indeed.  This kind of repentance is self-powered and self-glorifying where we say “I have the power to turn from sin on my own steam” and “I will turn from sin and then glorify myself for being able to do so.”  This perspective would lead someone to turn away from the more obvious sin of lust, for example, by employing and embracing the internal sin of pride.  So then, the sin of pride, and not the Holy Spirit, fuels their rejection of lust.  Then they wear the “ring” of that false repentance around their necks and glorify themselves rather than Christ.  Believe me, this sort of fleshly, ungodly repentance creates the worst kind of Pharisee and casts us into even greater spiritual bondage.

Gospel repentance works the other way round.  It is the kind of repentance that is Holy Spirit empowered and Christ glorifying.  Repentance is our Husband’s Kiss, that creates deeper affection for our Husband.  It is the beautiful diamond ring from Christ that leads us to the greater gift of Christ.  We repent because we desire Jesus.  We repent of sin because our sin is keeping us from Jesus.  We repent so we can fall into the embrace our Beloved Jesus.  Repentance is all about Jesus.  It is turning to Jesus, by the power of Jesus, that we might enjoy Jesus, for the glory of Jesus.  The idol of our goodness is not the goal.  Dealing with our sin is not the goal.  Worship of Christ is the goal.   So remember, that among all the gifts that God provides, Christ Himself is the most precious prize of the Gospel.  Solus Christus ad Soli Deo Gloria!

Gospel Thought – Nothing touched by Christ’s fingers will pass away

It is more than enough that Christ should love us and call us friends.  But it is absolutely astounding that he calls us his ‘beloved.’  He is not simply interested in salvaging our lives.  His is determined to ‘glorify’ us…to perfect us in the image of Christ.  So much so, that even our worst moments, our most hideous scars, even our most atrocious actions, will be redeemed and made into something beautiful.  As His artist’s hammer chisels away at the hard wood of our sin and our flesh, he is designing something beautiful, not just of the stump, but also of the shavings.  Nothing of our true selves will be lost.  Nothing that is touched by his glorious fingers will pass away.

The Gospel and Racism – A Video documentary by John Piper

In commemoration of Martin Luther King’s life I would like to post this video.  It’s awesome!  It’s a documentary featuring Pastor John Piper as he walks through his personal story of growing up with segregation in the South. His personal story boldly champions the transforming power of the gospel and the beauty of racial diversity and harmony in Christ.

Celebrating Christmas in a Season of Economic Crisis

I don’t know if you have noticed (of course you have), but our country continues to be in a pretty serious economic recession. This financial crisis has affected every area of American society and culture. Over the past several months, I have talked with a number of families and individuals who are feeling the impact – retired couples who have lost more than half of their retirement nest egg, craftsmen who have nothing left to build, real estate agents who have no buyers or sellers, and small business owners who have gone belly up. There are a good number who are facing the reality of losing their home, losing their automobiles, and to be sure, some are even having a difficult time putting food on the table.

In the midst of these challenges, we approach Christmas – the season of buying and selling and giving gifts. I think it is safe to assume that this is not good news for most of us. In fact, instead of a time of celebration and cheer, the Christmas Season may feel like a swift kick to the head of a guy who is already down.  If you identify with what I’m saying, allow me to offer a word of spiritual encouragement.

First of all, let’s admit that there is not a lot we can do to change our circumstances. Our economy is in trouble and none of us can change that by working harder. Not one person that I have talked to is hurting financially because they are lazy. They are willing to work hard, but that is not the issue. No amount of hard work and ingenuity can change their situation. We are now beginning to feel the weight of our true needs.  It’s not as if we didn’t have those needs before, but without the cushion of financial security, we feel those needs more deeply.  Aren’t we all in desperate Spiritual need all the time? Isn’t this why we needed Jesus to “move in next door” to us, to become a man, to give His life? This Christmas season provides us with a great opportunity to worship Jesus. We are desperate. We have come to the end of ourselves. We need Jesus to dwell with us.

Secondly, let’s admit that we do not consist of the things we own or the money we have or the jobs that we do. The Scripture tells us that we are more than what we wear or what we eat. Now more than ever, we have the opportunity to feel that truth. We may not have jobs or money or financial security, but we do have our spouses, our children, our church family and most of all, we have Christ Jesus – the greatest gift that God could give us. Jesus never owned a home. Never had a savings account. The Son of Man had no place to lay his head. Yet, he was satisfied with the love of His Father. He trusted that His Father would commune with Him and ultimately would provide for Him. When He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” Jesus makes it clear that His greatest need was not food or shelter, but His greatest need was to commune with His Father. As hard as it may seem, and as foreign as it may be to our flesh, isn’t this also true for us.  We may not want to believe it.  But ultimately, we need Jesus to feed us.

Finally, let’s admit that we can still celebrate this Christmas season by giving gifts of the gospel, of hope, of love and encouragement. What an opportunity we have. Jesus came into the earth as the King of Kings and gave us the greatest gift He could possibly give – He gave us Himself. He sacrificed Himself that He might give us Freedom; that He might give us Hope, that He might give us Love. Church, you can do the same. Maybe you do not have “silver or gold” but what do you have? You have the Love of Christ. You have Hope. You have Freedom. So, this Christmas season feel free to mourn over what you have lost.  That is perfectly legitimate.  Cry out to the Father.  Cry out to Christ.  Jesus mourns with you.  He knows what you are going through.  Do not allow your circumstances to drive you away from Christ.  Instead, allow your desperation to drive you to the foot of the Cross.  Yet, do not simply mourn what you have lost.  Allow Christ to take you further, so that you might also celebrate what you have. You have Jesus!  If the Lord has blessed you financially, give to others who are need.  Give sacrificially and celebrate the Gospel. If you have no money, consider what you do have and give that. Give cheer. Give hope. Give time. Give your heart. Give your love. Remember Christian, no man is impoverished who has Christ.

O come, O come Immanuel
And ransom captive Israel
Who mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice!

Surfside PCA – Angel Tree Project 2011

I’m extremely proud of our people at Surfside PCA, the Women in the Church (WIC), and Mrs. Jeanie Gour for their work on the Angel Tree Project.  Even as many of our families continue to experience difficult economic times this year, still all 60 Angels were taken.  This means that 60 children and 34 families will be blessed with gifts in the Myrtle Beach area this Christmas.  (Click on the picture to enlarge)  Thank you Surfside Presbyterian Church!  Thank you Jeanie Gour! Awesome job!

“A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor

Flannery O’Connor is one of my favorite authors.  She was a brilliant short story writer during the 1950s and early 60s.  You can find out more about her by clicking “Who was Flannery O’Connor.”  The following post is an analysis that I wrote on her short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find (click here to read the story).“

_______________________________________________

In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor tells the story of a confrontation that takes place between a kindly old Grandmother and a murderous serial killer named The Misfit.  In keeping with her with her distinctive Christian perspective, O’Connor masterfully weaves a parable that subtly reveals the insidious nature of sin and the shocking nature of grace.  The reference “A Good Man is Hard to Find” obviously correlates to the character of the amoral serial killer in the story known as The Misfit, but she also intends the phrase to describe the Grandmother.

Valley of Vision Redux: Praise and Thanksgiving

I restructured this prayer as a responsive reading to be used in worship during Thanksgiving…

“Praise and Thanksgiving: Responsive Reading” – (adapted from Valley of Vision, p. 15)

Leader: Thank You O my God
Congregation:
For You are the fairest of all things, the greatest, the first and the last
My heart admires you, adores you, loves you
My heart is as full as it can be
And I would pour out all that fullness before You in a ceaseless flow

Leader: Thank You, that when I think about You and talk with You
Congregation:
Ten thousand delightful thoughts spring forth
Ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed
Ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart
All these are sowing gospel happiness that will lead to eternal joy

Leader: Thank You, for the soul that You have created
Congregation:
for brining it to life, sanctifying it, adorning it, until the day You glorify it
though it is fixed in barren soil
it will bear life and yield fruit under Your cultivating care

Leader: Thank You, for the body that You have given me
Congregation:
for preserving its strength and vitality
for providing senses to enjoy delights
for the ease and freedom of my limbs
for hands, and eyes, and ears that enjoy Your creation
and are learning to do Your will

Leader: Thank You, for Your royal bounty that provides my daily support
Congregation:
for a full table and an overflowing cup
for delightful appetite, taste, and sweetness
for pleasing aromas and majestic sights

Leader: Thank You, for social joys of relatives and friends
Congregation:
for the ability to love my brother as myself
for a heart that feels sorrow and is sympathetic to the needs of others
for a mind to care for my neighbor, the stranger, the alien, and the orphan
for opportunities to spread good will
for my loved ones who are now in the joys of heaven

Leader: Thank You, for the gift of Your Glorious Presence
Congregation:
That I now see You in a mirror dimly but I will one day see You face to face
That I am growing to love You above the power of language to express it
That You are a treasure to those who call on Your name
That You will Increase my love, O God, through time and eternity
That I might love the Father, rest in the Spirit, and bow before Christ my King

Leader: Thank You Three in One, Thank You One in Three
Congregation:  Praise, Thanksgiving, and Glory to Christ, the King of all Creation!

Leader: Thank You God, for who You are, and thank You for all things
Congregation:  Praise, Thanksgiving, and Glory to Christ, the King of our Salvation!

Gospel Thought: Worship ascribes worth to God

Worship does not ascribe worth to God in the hopes that He will live up to our proclamation.  Worship ascribes worth to God in the hopes that we will be lifted up to see His beauty.

Music Monday – “Come Thou Fount” by Page CXVI

I love the group Page CXVI (page 116).  The name comes from a reference to page 116 in The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. It is a poignant passage where Aslan begins to sing Narnia into creation out of a black void.

It starts, “In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. There was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it.”
~ C.S. Lewis

Here is Page CXVI singing “Come Thou Fount.”  They added the line “I am bound for the kingdom, want you come with me?”

Valley of Vision – Your Will is called Divine

The Valley of Vision, “The Divine Will” – Pg. 9 (my paraphrase)

O LORD, I weakly cling to you; but your grip on me is firm
I see, I believe, and I live, when Your will is called Divine, and so may Your will be done, not mine
There is no worthiness or goodness in me that could deserve Your grace
Your providence and promises are not mine because I’m good
But only Your good pleasure holds me firm and only Your good will holds my hand in Thine

So let Your will be done, not mine, for only Your Will is called Divine

If your mercy makes me poor and vile, then blessed are You!
Prayers arising from my current poverty are preparation for future grace;
Help me to honor You now, by believing before I feel
Help me to trust You now, before I know that you will come and heal
My sin is great if I make my feelings the cause of my faith, and
My worship is idolatrous if my comfort is the reason that I bring You praise

So show me what sins I hide from you that, in loathing shadows, eclipse the Son of Your love;
Open my eyes in humility and show me the evil lurking in my hidden plans
Reveal Yourself, so that I might walk in your light with your glorious presence giving me sight
For if I walk in darkness, how can I know that I am Yours, or trust the working of my hands

So let Your will be done, not mine, for only Your Will is called Divine

It is only the meek and humble

• Who know Your will, are pardoned and healed
• Who know Your covenant love in the favor of Your face
• Who are sanctified and brought to life
• Who by faith depend and rest upon Your grace
• Who show the evidence of living in Your abundant care

So in humility, Help me to pray in faith, to find Your will, and know that You are there.

For Your will, not mine, is called Divine, so let Your will be done

Strengthen me to lean hard on Your rich free mercy
Help me to believe that You will give what You have promised and even more
Strengthen me to pray with the conviction that whatever I receive, it is your gift
Help me to pray until my prayers be granted; and then to pray some more
Strengthen me to believe that fullness of mercy arises from fullness of prayer

Teach me that when faith is begun it is imperfect and must from weakness grow
Teach me by Your grace to obey, and to hope, and to truly believe even before I truly know
Teach me to wait upon Your will, and pray Your will be done
Teach me that chapped ground opens wider and wider until the water finally comes
Teach me that your will is good even though it causes pain
Teach me to trust that my desert will become a garden when at last You send the rain
Teach me to believe with gospel hope that I will bloom when I see the Son

And that Your will, O Christ, is called Divine, not mine.  So let Your Will be done!

Gospel Thought: Worship is recognizing and bowing before the value of God

Worship is not primarily ascribing ultimate value and lordship to God.  Worship is recognizing the ultimate value that God already possesses and bowing before the lordship that God already has.

Psalm 29:2 says, “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.”  ‘Ascribe’ means “to credit, or assign, or give unto.“  In short, ‘ascribing’ is the act of naming something.  Often, when we ascribe an attribute or a name to something, it is in the hopes that the thing will “live up” to our ascription.   For example, when I was born my mother named me “Timothy” which means “to honor God.”  She named me this in the hope that I would someday live up to that name.  Appraisers also ascribe.  They ascribe value to a diamond, or to a property, or to a car.  They say, “This house is worth 180,000 dollars.”  They ascribe worth.  They make a judgment call.  Bank lenders acknowledge the value that the appraiser ascribes to the house and they will not lend any more than the appraised amount.  The appraiser sets the value.  He alone determines the worth.

But, this is not how we should ascribe value to God.  Our worship is not an act of saying something about God and then hoping that He lives up to our words.  Our worship of God should not depend upon what we determine God is worth.  That’s idolatry. Nonetheless, this is how we often approach worship.  We make a judgment call.  We sinfully decide whether or not God is pleasing to us. Do we like Him? Is He following our agenda?  Is He protecting our idols?  Is He keeping our perception of His promises?  Is He making us happy in the moment?  If not, then we ascribe a very low value to God.  He is not worth much in our eyes.  As idolatrous appraisers, we say “This God is not worth anything.” Then, in our hearts, we spurn Him as our sovereign Lord, we cast Him aside, and we run after other lovers.”  With this approach, we only worship God if we find Him pleasing to our flesh.  Yet, if this is how we worship, then we are not worshiping at all.  We are appraising.

Biblical worship is different.  True worship does not ascribe value to God because we find Him pleasing.  True worship ascribes glory to God because He is glorious.  Worship ascribes worth to God because God is infinitely worthy – all the time, no matter what we think, no matter what happens.  Worship is recognizing the lordship of Christ and bowing before Him, even when we don’t like Him, even when we don’t understand Him.  Worship is saying, “You are my Husband, You are my King, and I love you even though I’m confused and hurting and undone.”  Worship is “recognizing” God for who He is and worship is faithfully surrendering to God’s will.  Worship says to God, “If I do not see You as worthy, it is because my idols have blinded my eyes.  Help me to see You in the splendor of Your holiness.  You are glorious.  Help me to see Your glory.”

So at the end of it all, worship does not ascribe worth to God in the hopes that He will live up to our proclamation.  Worship ascribes worth to God in the hopes that we will be lifted up to see His beauty.

“Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.” – Psalm 29:2

Music Monday – “Wedding Dress” by Derek Webb

In keeping with my recent Gospel Thought on Idolatry, I am posting “Wedding Dress” by Derek Webb.  Be warned that in this song Derek remains consistent with the strong language of scripture.  Kudos to him.  For devotional reflection, I would encourage you to read Jeremiah 2 and Ezekiel 16.  In so doing, you will want to note once more how God equates Idolatry with Adultery.

Gospel Thought: Idolatry and Adultery

There is a direct correlation between worshiping one God and loving one wife.  In other words, Idolatry and adultery are two faces of the same coin.

Of the 10 commandments, the first is the greatest – “I am the Lord your God, have no other God’s before me.”  Not only is this the greatest command, it is the essential command.  If we could but obey this one command, then we would need no other.  If our hearts kept fidelity with God, if we truly loved Him with all our heart and with all our soul with all our strength and with all our mind; then we would naturally and without any effort keep every other command.

But, I don’t keep this command.  I do not keep fidelity with Christ.  My heart is filled with idols.  John Calvin puts it quite plainly, “Man’s nature…is a perpetual factory of idols. . . every one of us is, even from his mother’s womb, an expert in inventing idols.”¹  The Bible clearly equates our idolatry with adultery (Ezekiel 16, Jeremiah 2:23-25).  Therefore, in my idolatry, I possess the heart of a whore; the appetite of a harlot; the disposition of divorcee.  I leave the God of my salvation to chase after other lovers.

Since this is true, our repentance should primarily focus on worshiping God.  Our struggle against sin should be fueled by an endeavor to exalt Christ.  Every command of Christ that I break is essentially a symptom of breaking the greatest command.  My salvation, then, must come in the form of renewed fidelity to my Husband/King.  The rescue from my struggle against pride, anger, lust, control, pleasure, approval, laziness, fear, and shame is found in worshiping my Lord and my God.   My rescue from these idols is not found in cutting the head off the hydra only to have two heads grow back in their place.²  My deliverance from these demons is not secured by casting one demon out only to have seven demons return.³  My battle against the rat infested idolatry my heart is not won by running around the pitch black recesses of my soul with a blindfold over my eyes and a baseball bat in my hand.  No, I must come back to the first command. I must ask Christ to lift the veil from eyes once again. I must see my Husband. I must worship my King. Only the radiance of His love can renew my fidelity with Him.

So, if I want to love my wife with fidelity, then I must love my God with fidelity; because idolatry and adultery are two faces of the same coin.
____________________________________

¹Quotes from Calvin – John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion and Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles

²See Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra

³See Luke 11:24-26

Gospel Thought: Christ died for my worst sin and He died for my best obedience

My best obedience to Christ is filled with weakness and imperfection.  So then, the Cross is designed to rescue me from my sin and to perfect my obedience.

On my best day…on that day and in that moment when my heart is most tuned to the grace of Jesus, on that day when I bask in the love of Christ and my soul is most inclined to obey Him, on that day when I am filled with affection for the Lord and all my desire is to serve and even die for him; on my very best day, my obedience to Christ is mixed with so much weakness and imperfection that, without the work of Christ, God could not endure to even look at it.  Wow!  That’s a sobering thought.

I believe that most Christians understand that our worst sin is worthy of hell.  We have all done things or thought things that are evil and bad and despicable to God.   The Spirit of Christ has shown us that these things are worthy of God’s wrath and we have called out to Christ to save us and cleanse us from these sins.  Yet, do we also understand that our best obedience is worthy of God’s wrath?  Examine yourself.  Scripture makes it clear that underneath the surface, my best obedience is filled with idols of approval, anger, control, self-righteousness, power, comfort, self-protection, and self-glory.  On the surface – to my eyes and to the eyes of others – I may look great.  My performance is applauded.  Yet, God sees.  God sees every motive.  He knows every impulse.  He knows my inmost thoughts.  He knows all the hidden idols that lurk within my soul.  He knows me better than I know me.  And so, even my best obedience; even my best day as a Christian, is shot through with every kind of weakness, imperfection, and idolatry.  Left by itself, my best obedience is wholly displeasing to God.

Yet, we who are in Christ can rest secure.  Hallelujah!  Jesus died for our worst sins and he died for our best obedience.

Westminster Confession XVI: “Of Good Works”

V. We cannot by our best works merit pardon of sin, or eternal life at the hand of God, by reason of the great disproportion that is between them and the glory to come; and the infinite distance that is between us and God, whom, by them, we can neither profit, nor satisfy for the debt of our former sins, but when we have done all we can, we have done but our duty, and are unprofitable servants: and because, as they are good, they proceed from His Spirit, and as they are wrought by us, they are defiled, and mixed with so much weakness and imperfection, that they cannot endure the severity of God’s judgment.

VI. Notwithstanding, the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, their good works also are accepted in Him; not as though they were in this life wholly unblamable and unreproveable in God’s sight; but that He, looking upon them in His Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections.

Valley of Vision – The Trinity

The Valley of Vision, “The Trinity” – Pg. 3 (my paraphrase)

Three in One, One in Three
God of My Salvation
Heavenly Father, Blessed Son, Eternal Spirit
Who governs One Holy Nation
I adore You as One Being, One Essence, One God, Three Persons
Who brings outcasts to know You
Who brings outlaws to serve You
In your Kingdom as Citizens, Friends, and adopted Sons

Father, You have loved me by…

• Sending Jesus to redeem me

Jesus, You have loved me by…

• Assuming my nature to identify with my humiliation
• Shedding Your blood to wash my sins
• And Giving Your righteousness to cover my unworthiness

Holy Spirit, You have loved me by…

• Entering my heart and making it Your home
• Implanting eternal life in the dark recesses of my soul
• And Revealing the glories of Jesus to me

Three Persons, One God
I bless and I praise Thee
Mighty in love unmerited and unspeakable
Glorious in love so wonderful and free
Saving all that was lost and raising me up to glory
Taking my ashes and weaving in me this redemptive story

Father, You have given me my Husband Jesus to be His sheep, His people, His bride
Jesus, You accepted me, married me, and bound me to Your side
Spirit, You revealed the Face of Jesus as my groom

• Implanted good-faith within heart
• Subdued my stubborn soul
• So that in the King who makes me whole I might forever hide

Father, You are enthroned to hear my prayers as they fly to You above
Jesus, Your hands are stretched to take my hands in the comfort of Your love
Spirit, You are willing to help the sickness that poisons me against my King

• Give me the words
• Show me my need
• Pray inside me
• Strengthen my knees

That I might not faint and fall while begging you for these things

Triune God
The God who commands the universe and orders each star to shine
These things I beg of you as I am yours and you are mine
For Your Kingdom, my soul, and Your Fame
Let me live and pray as one, baptized into Your Name

Valley of Vision – Christ the Word, my Husband, my King

The Valley of Vision, “Christ The Word” – Pg. 17 (my paraphrase)

Help me Father,
In a world of created things, changeable things, moving parts, and swirling pieces
Christ remains unshaken.  Word and Sacrament stand firm in the middle of the storm
Like a stone I rest on His sure foundation
I abide in Him and rest in Him for all my mercies are found in Him
He designed, He purchased, He promised, He awakened, and he is perfecting…me

How comforting it is to recline in Him and rest upon His sure election
How sweet it is to be near my Groom and to find peace within my King’s affection
When I sin against His Cross, pursuing my own will, my own love, my own life
My sin is not so much this or that particular evil

My sin is that I run from Your Son.  In desperation seeking…

• Separation from your Son
• Disunion from your Son
• Distance from your Son
• Embracing the heart of a whore toward your Son

And I have no comfort.  There is no consolation.
There is no hand to hold but the nail scarred hand of old
And yet I will not bow before that blood soaked crown nor love that King
And hatefully I frown upon that hand…those fingers…and that ring…that ring…that ring

O my Father, you have given me this gift, this Husband-King – Jesus, your own beloved Son

• He’s a mediator between my soul and Thee
• With wounded Hands, over a pit, holding on to you above and never letting go of me
• For only He can span the breach created by my sinful hate
• And only He could bear the weight that rightly should fall on me

So, help me Father…

• Help me to lay hold of the One you have called upon to lay hold of me
• May I take Him as the object of my Faith and trust what I have not seen
• May I call Him worthy, by His Love, to bridge the gulf between
• Teach me Father to hear His Word that I might learn to love each line
• For His Word is the power that breaks and binds and gives me faith to call him mine
• If I oppose His Word, I oppose my King
• If I receive His Word, I receive my King
• So teach me Father to receive His Word that He might teach my heart to sing

Please, help me Father…

• You have the hearts of men resting in your hand
• So form my heart to the Word of my Husband
• And bind my heart to the Song of my King
• And strengthen my heart to the Will my Husband
• And arrest my heart to Bow before my King
• And soften my heart to hold forth my hand…and to receive my Husband’s love, His hand, His fingers – and my ring.

The Importance of continually coming back to the Gospel

“Really great teachers never do introduce new moralities: it is quacks and cranks who do that… The real job of every (gospel) teacher is to keep on bringing us back, time after time, to the old simple principles which we are all so anxious not to see.”  – C.S. Lewis

When you think about it, teaching truth really is a thankless job. The picture is much like the mother who stands over her child with a spoonful of cough syrup, urging her to open her mouth. This is because medicine is usually distasteful and goes down hard. Yet, if the mother is good and true and loving, she will not back down from her call to care for her little one.

Truth is like medicine.  It is not cool or fun or new or original. Truth is old. And even when we have not heard it before, or when truth first comes to us as a new thought, or when it seems novel because it is novel to us, even then, we often find that truth has the ring of something old.  It always seems like something that has been taught a thousand times before, something that has risen from antiquity and dusted itself off before us. When we hear truth, we get the sense that we should know this already, or that we have known it and simply allowed ourselves to forget.

And this is why teaching truth is thankless. If you will allow the illustration. It’s like selling commodes. Everybody needs one. Every home should have one. If a builder forgot to put a commode in a home, it would be the first thing the inhabitant would miss. Yet, unless one needs to use the rest room, who thinks about a commode?  It’s a necessity, yes. But it is not cool. It doesn’t draw a crowd. Hardly anyone I know would buy a new home because it has a really great commode. They’d never say, “Hey come over to the house and take a gander at our new commode. Man, it’s a real jim-dandy!” We would do this with a new car, certainly. We’re always anxious to show off a new automobile or a new set of clothes. We’d even be proud to show off a new kitchen appliance. But a toilet? Uh…no.

Let’s be honest. For the most part, truth is easily forgotten. It isn’t particularly ‘show-offable’. It isn’t ‘shiny’. Truth is not like a Christmas tree with lights and bows; it’s like a massive oak tree in the middle of a field. It’s not wrapping paper; it’s parchment. It not the ‘thing’ in the box, it’s the directions in the box that tell you how to put the ‘thing’ together. It’s not like a slick car salesman, or actress, or runway model.  It’s more like a plumber or an electrician or a carpenter. It’s not pretty; it’s plain. It’s not Marilyn Monroe in a swimsuit; it’s your mom in an apron. Truth is not a toothy guy with a soft smile coming to us live, via satellite. Nor is it a cute cuddly little baby with cherubic cheeks. Truth is an old man with weather beaten wrinkles on his face; wrinkles that tell us, “I’ve been around for a while.  I’m old.  Very old.  I was here before you.  And I’m not going anywhere.”

And so the job of the really great gospel teacher – is to bring us back again to those things that are so easily forgotten – to that timeless old man, to that mother in the apron, to that plumber, that parchment, that oak; to point us again and again back to the old and true things that we daily turn away from. Like the mother standing over the sick child, the teachers of gospel truth sit down on the side of the bed and hold a spoon full of medicine up to the tight lipped little one and whisper, “Drink this down. It’s medicine. It’s good for you. You may hate it now, but I promise you, if you swallow this, you’ll feel much better in the morning.” As the song in the musical Mary Poppins reminds us, the mother may offer a little sugar to help the medicine go down, but she must not convolute the mixture, nor must she back off from the prescribed dose. A half spoonful will not do. There isn’t much point to it all if the mother gives the child less than or something other than what the doctor has prescribed.

Because this is true, we pastors, we preachers of the gospel, we teachers of God’s word who are called to proclaim truth – whether we are teaching in a small group bible study or whether we stand behind a pulpit in front of thousands of people – we Sunday school teachers and student leaders – we parents and grandparents – we teachers of truth, if we desire to be good gospel teachers – then we must teach old things. It’s OK to add a little sugar, a little spice, a little humor. It’s perfectly fine to use a cultural reference or a literary analogy to capture the attention and help the understanding. But be sure not to convolute the message. Make sure that in the end you bring your students back to Moses, to Abraham, to Isaiah, and to Paul. Bring your students back to Calvin, and Luther, and Augustine. And more than all, bring them back to the Cross.  Back to repentance.  Bring them back to Christ.

This is our call. This is our task. We must not shrink back from it. For, as C.S. Lewis so aptly reminds us, the great theological teacher is committed to bringing his students back, again and again, to those same old simple truths, that we all are so anxious not to see.

The Pain and the Promise of “Further up and further in”

.

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now…Come further up, come further in!”

―C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle

.

A couple of days ago I had a close friend tell me that she missed the joys of her youth.  She missed the joys of “care free” days.  She said flatly, “The world sucks.”

It would be better, I think, if it really did completely suck.  The world, that is.  But the almost cruel truth is that it doesn’t.  In fact, there are so many momentary joys in life – joys that are tremendously wonderful and beautiful and true and good – joys that we take for granted until they are moving past.  And as they pass, they leave behind an overwhelming dark sorrow.  A whispering sort of sorrow that says, “This joy is leaving you and there is nothing you can do.”  We sense that this is happening and desperately we try to grab hold, but to no avail.  Despite our best efforts, these joys slip through our fingers and drift away.  Our soul laments. We long to return to those joys.  To go back to that moment of laughter.  To go back to that fleeting glimpse of mirth.  And this is what fuels our idolatry.  This is what undermines our faith.  The whispering sorrow shows no mercy.  The shadows speak again.  “You will never get this back,” they mock.  “This joy has been your last.”  This seals our grief.  Anger.  Sadness.  Isolation.  Hardness settles in.  We devise a plan to never love again.  We make a decision to close ourselves off.   Shut ourselves down.  Seal ourselves up.   The pain of lost love – lost joy – is greater than to have never loved at all.  We will never hurt this way again.

Yet, for those who follow Christ, there is a different voice.  A gentle voice that whispers “follow me.”  And this is the voice that must prevail.  We have to believe. We have to trust.  We have to hope…that the way to go back is found in the way forward – “further up and further in,” as C.S. Lewis would say.  And so, for those who have been captured by the Gospel.  We take that step into the dark unknown…with nothing but the Gentle Shepherd’s voice that softly calls our name.  “Joy will come, Tim.  Joy will come.  Further up and further in.  Believe and follow me.”

Gospel Thought: Grace to Forgive, Grace to Obey

If you are in Christ Jesus, you are free. There is no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1). Yet, thanks be to God, He disciplines those that he loves (Hebrews 12:6).  In this we have two perspectives, and both are crucial.  Realizing that there is no condemnation in Christ guards us from embracing harsh legalism and pursuing a life of joy stealing self-righteousness.  On the other hand, realizing that we receive loving discipline from God guards us from sin and disobedience.

So then, concerning the Grace of God, It is always best to remember these two things.

1 – Grace is given to provide forgiveness, AND

2 – Grace is given to promote obedience.

Grace is never given as a means to disobey.  Grace is not simply forgiveness.  Grace should never lead us to say, “My sin is no big deal, God will forgive me.”  In the words of Paul “May it never be!” (Romans 6:1-2)  Remember: Grace provides forgiveness. Grace promotes obedience. Keeping this tension guards us from legalism on one hand and licentiousness on the other.