31 Dec 2011

Adoption and the Local Church

"Our adoption into the kingdom of God saves us individually to God, but also saves us into fellowship with each other (Ephesians 2:17-2). God’s people are brought together to glorify and worship him in localized, unified expressions of faith that display the wisdom of God’s plan of salvation. The Bible commands us to continue meeting together so that we may encourage one another as we seek to live out that plan (Hebrews 10:25). Indeed, Scripture contains more than fifty commands about relating to “one another” in grace-filled, redemptive ways. How can we obey these and so many other passages if we are not among other people? The church is the platform from which we can obey these commands and, in our grace-motivated efforts to do so, present to the world a testimony of God’s goodness and mercy."
-Servanthood As Worship
31 Dec 2011

Saved to Serve

"biblical servanthood is a reaction to God, a response to a holy God’s forgiveness of our sins. We do not serve for salvation, but from salvation. Serving is intended to magnify the gospel, not replace it. Our serving is a manifestation, an outworking, an evidence of our faith in Christ."
-Servanthood as Worship
31 Dec 2011

Grace

"There is nothing parsimonious about grace...grace is superlative generosity"
-Dr. M. Lloyd-Jones


*Sent from a mobile device. Please pardon the brevity and typos.*

29 Dec 2011

Reading Your Bible

Scott Anderson says: The ESV translation of the Bible contains a little over 757,000 words (about 788,000 in the KJV).  Assuming that you read an average of 200 words per minute for comprehension (which is below national averages), it would take you 3785 minutes (63 hours) to read the Bible from cover-to-cover.  So, if your New Year's resolution is to read the Bible once this year from cover-to-cover (Genesis through Revelation), that means you would need to read your Bible a mere 10 minutes and 37 seconds per day. You can do this!
29 Dec 2011

Bible Reading Plan

Thank God for Justin Taylor.  If you are looking for a Bible reading plan in 2012, HERE are a variety of options put together by JT.
28 Dec 2011

The Acid Test of Being a Christian

The Acid Test of Being a Christian

by Dr. Tim Keller

"See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." (1 John 3:1-3)

The mark of knowing God is that you see God's love for you as a miracle. Notice this [text]: it says "how great". In the old King James it says "behold, what manner of love." Here it says, "how great a love" [NAS]. There is a Greek word that is used here that they are translating as "great" and the problem with the word is that it is an idiom. Idiomatic expressions are very hard to translate literally. We have an idiomatic expression: "its raining cats and dogs." Ok so if you are trying to translate that into Cantonese, German or into Japanese -- if you just say literally in those languages "it's raining cats and dogs" they will look at you: "what are you talking about?" You will have to find an idiomatic expression that is parallel or coordinate to that. Literally it says "behold, what country this love comes from" What this statement is really saying is "from what planet... how unreal...off the scale".

Remember there was a movie called "The Fisher King"? You wouldn't since hardly anybody saw this. Amanda Plummer plays this really klutzy, mousy, wallflower who has no friends. Robin Williams takes her out. At the end of the day he takes her in and says "I want to talk to you". She says "no, no, if you got to know me you would not like me. I am tired of rejection ... it was nice to go out. But everyone who gets to know me doesn't like me, so thanks." And Robin Williams says, "I do know you. I know that you think you are awkward. I know that you think you are clumsy. I know that you are kind of clumsy but I want you to know that I know who you are and I love you, and I will never leave you and I will never forsake you." And she looks at him and its as if she is looking into the heart of what she thought was an enemy and she sees there understanding and love and she says, "Are you real?". This is a miracle that you love me.

[like this movie] This is saying, here is the way you can tell whether you are a Christian or just a moral person ... a Christian or a religious person. A real Christian is a person who says, "it is an absolute miracle that God's loves me. "It's just a miracle that I am a Christian." This is actually an acid test; let me just lay it on you here at the end. There are two kinds of people that go to church: there's religious people and real Christians. And the way you can tell the difference is that a Real Christian is somebody who sees everything that comes as a gift.  In other words a real Christian sees that you are totally in debt to God, but a religious person is someone who is working hard and making an effort and trying to be good, going to Bible studies and just saying "no" everywhere, and denying themselves a lot of pleasures, and so forth, and a religious person is someone who is trying to put God in their debt. That is the difference.  A religious person is someone who is trying to save themselves through their good works. A religious person is somebody who thinks they are putting God in their debt since they have tried so hard. A Christian is somebody who sees themselves as in God's debt. 

Here is the acid test: If you are a Christian you have a spirit of wonder that permeates your life. You are always saying "how miraculous", "how interplanetary", "how unreal". You are always looking at yourself and saying, "me a Christian ... incredible, miraculous, unbelievable, a joke!!! " but a person who is trying to put God in their debt - there is none of that spirit of wonder at all.  For example, when you show up to get your paycheck.  I am assuming that most of you work hard for your money.  When you show up for your paycheck do you say "Ah, BEHOLD!!!, you've paid me, you've given me money!!! Oh!! Are you real?." No, you don't do that, you say "of course you paid me, I worked."  If you ask a religious person who does not understand the grace of God. you say, "Are you a Christian?" They say "Of course I am a Christian, I have always been a Christian. Sure I am a Christian. "  My friends, if you are a Christian there is no "sure" about it and there is no "of courseness" about it, not a bit.

The acid test is your spirit of wonder stays there even when things go bad.  You see when things go bad, when problems happen, here you can tell the difference between a moralist and a Christian.  A moralist says, "what good is all my religion, what good is going to God, I have tried hard to be a Christian, I am trying hard to be obedient to God, and what good is it? God owes me." And you see you get mad. You say, "I have been trying hard and look what's going on in my love life, look what's going on in my career", and you get bitter. Why? because God owes you.  But A Christian keeps that spirit of wonder.  A Christian may say "my career has not gone too well, my love life has not gone too well, it's astonishing... Its amazing that God is as good as He is to me. Its all grace. Its all grace.  That spirit of wonder. That sense of being a miracle. That everything that comes to you being an absolute mercy. That is an acid test.  In fact, in some ways I have made a dichotomy that is unrealistic.  Christians, to the degree that you behold the free grace of God, to the degree that you meditate on it and you let it become a holy fire in your heart, to the degree you experience and behold the love of God, to that degree you are going to find that to difficulties you will be able to say "oh well, my Father must have a purpose here because He loves me, and besides that, He does not owe me a good life. He owes me a far worse life than I've got." You can handle anything. And when good things come you will say "Behold! what a miracle"  And the very fact you can get up in the morning and say, "I am a Christian. Who would have thought it?" There is a spirit of wonder about you, and if you have lost that you are slipping back into moralism, you are slipping back into thinking "well I guess what it means to be a Christian is just to do."  Here is Christianity:

And can it be that I should gain 
an interest in the Savior's blood! 
Died he for me? who caused his pain! 
For me? who him to death pursued? 
Amazing love! How can it be 
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

The wonder is a mark that you know the Lord. The ability to handle anything with that sense of almost childlike wonder. That sense of being a miracle.  That tells you that you know him. 

Let us love and sing and wonder,
Let us praise the Savior's Name!
He has hushed the law's loud thunder,
He has quenched Mount Sinai's flame.
He has wash'd us with His blood,
He has brought us nigh to God.

Excerpt from the Sermon Series: Beholding the Love of God: Knowing that We Know God - 1 John 3:1-3" Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA)

28 Dec 2011

Fear of Man #3

"Isolation and the fear of man are close companions."

Edward T. Welch
When People are Big and God is Small, P&R Publishing, 1997, p. 198. 
28 Dec 2011

Fear of Man #2

"(Self-esteem) is the most popular way that the fear of other people is expressed.  If self-esteem is a recurring theme for you, chances are that your life revolves around what others think.  You reverence or fear their opinions.  You need them to buttress your sense of well-being and identity.  You need them to fill you up."

Edward T. Welch
When People are Big and God is Small, P&R Publishing, 1997, p. 15.
28 Dec 2011

Fear of Man

"We stand at the crossroads between fear of others and fear of God.  The road leading to the fear of man may be expressed in terms of favoritism, wanting others to think well of you, fearing exposure by them, or being overwhelmed by their perceived physical power.  When these fears are not combated with the fear of the Lord, the consequences can be devastating.  But when God is given his rightful place in our lives, old bonds can be shattered."

Edward T. Welch
When People are Big and God is Small, P&R Publishing, 1997, p. 71. Used by Permission.
28 Dec 2011

Two Quotes to Stir Your Love for Others

The first, from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together:

The beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them.

We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.

God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions.

We may pass them by, preoccupied with our more important tasks, as the priest passed by the man who had fallen among thieves, perhaps—reading the Bible.

The second, from C.S. Lewis’s The Weight of Glory:

It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor.

The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken.

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.

All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations.

It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics.

There are no ordinary people.

You have never talked to a mere mortal.

Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat.

But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.

This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn.

We must play.

But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously—no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.

And our charity must be real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner—no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment.

h/t: Justin Taylor
28 Dec 2011

Grace: The Life of a Soldier

Armorpic-300x268
Justin Matthews in Afganistan
The life of a soldier is no easy one: it is often wrought with danger and loss. Friendships, marriages, and families are held over the flame as multiple deployments create voids that are hard to fill, and troublesome waters rise through the cracks. When a loved one, someone you trust, find comfort in, rely on, and run to, is 7,000 miles away, the strain can be unimaginable. The comforts of home are traded in for a corner of a tent and a rifle. Life can get real hard, real fast. I should know—I’m writing this from Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, smack dab in the middle of my second combat tour.
I joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 2005: a fresh high school graduate looking for a shot to do something big. Something to whip me into shape and make the parents proud. A reserve military obligation seems easy enough, but during a time of war, you can be whisked away to far away regions like Iraq, Kuwait, Germany, Qatar, and Kyrgyzstan at a moment’s notice, spending one week here, two weeks there, a month at that place, and year in the other.
The most significant difference between this tour in Afghanistan and my last tour in Iraq in 2007 is my faith in Jesus Christ. Grace has made all the difference for me. Worry and sadness were replaced by hope and prayer. Curse words and complaints were overtaken by gratitude and words of encouragement. Grace has poured into every unseemly crack, turning even the most ordinary occurrences into ways for me to glorify God and point to grace. The apostle Paul wrote,
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
I wonder, does this work at the lowest level? Can deployed soldiers up against the rocks “soldier” to the glory of God?
The same apostle also wrote that nothing would be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). What about military deployments? Does grace bridge the divides they cause?
Recently, it was discovered that a female soldier in my platoon was inhaling dangerous aerosol chemicals to get high. This is extremely lethal. She has a husband and small boy back home waiting for her. Is there an answer to this situation? Can grace find her?
Another female soldier was recently kicked out of her residence back home without her even being there. Worse yet, a vindictive ex-husband will not let her speak to her young children who miss their mother terribly. Her life has been marred by one poisonous relationship after the other. Is there hope for her? Does the Gospel apply here?
And then there’s me, surrounded by foul and banal talk, overt sin of many colors, without the fortress of my faith family back home, the believers who encourage, rebuke, and inspire me to soldier on in the faith. Will His grace be sufficient? Can I truly glorify Him as a soldier in the United States Army?
I’ve made a discovery here in Afghanistan reading Red Like Blood. Bob and Joe made it, too. Grace is liquid and it pours into every crack, every crevice. And, in time, nothing is left untouched by the crimson flow. God’s grace, purchased by the death of Jesus Christ, is for ALL of life. And since life is made up of moments, even the nitty gritty—the stuff that seems beneath the reach of grace—is drenched.
When my platoon mobilized last June in New Jersey for deployment, I held Bible study sessions every night for anyone who wanted to attend. I spoke to soldiers plainly about the good news of new life in Christ, and how Christians should not just devote their Sundays, but their whole hearts and lives to the pursuit of a God who is infinitely worthy of their pursuit. Many months later, a friend and fellow soldier of mine who attended that study was speaking on the phone with the lady I mentioned earlier, the one who is battling her ex-husband and frayed past.  She mentioned to my friend how much those evening sessions meant to her, and how life here in Afghanistan would be nearly impossible were it not for the good news she heard there. In her darkest hour, the light of the glorious Gospel of grace is showing her the way.
Substance abuse, nasty domestic disputes, and shipwrecked marriages: the Gospel has an answer to all these, and more. Grace applies to everything. It breaks hard hearts with astonishing news. News so good it seems too good to be true. Good news you simply do not deserve.
So if you are a stockbroker, lawyer, stay-at-home mom, friend, student, daughter or son, firefighters, or even a soldier, you, by his grace, can do what you do to the glory of God. Remember what the Lord said when the apostle Paul was suffering from a thorn in the flesh,
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.
27 Dec 2011

How Involved Are You?

From time to time I get asked, "How involved are you in your church?"  The well meaning question always intrigues me because I wonder what the person is really asking.  Are they asking if I'm in close fellowship with others?  If I'm in a small group?  If I serve in children's ministry or some other program?  All of the above?  I think the question itself reveals a lack of understanding of what church is.  Biblically speaking, the church is not a place we go, the church is the redeemed people of God.

So, how involved should I be with my church?  If I'm in a small group or serve in a children's ministry can I honestly reply that I'm "very involved" in my church?  I think a better way of looking at this question is to look at what the church is and what the church is not.  The church is not a building.  The church is not a meeting on sunday.  The church is not a bunch of programs to meet people's needs.   The church is not a business.  The church consists of people who have been justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.  The church is the people of God.  The church is a group of people that God has given various gifts to so that they may serve one another (and be served by one another) for His glory.  Paul tells us in Eph 5:23, Col 1:18 and Col 1:24 that Jesus' body is the church!  Wow.  If that's the case, shouldn't we love the church like we love our own body?  If the church is our spiritual family how can we possibly not "be involved" with it?  Shouldn't our involvement with the local church be one of daily life?  I don't think Jesus is looking for 10% of our income and 2 hours on a Sunday!  Would that really satisfy a relationship between a husband and a wife?  Or a father and his son?  No!  Jesus wants all of us and we live that out through community with one another in the local church. In Ephesians 3:10 Paul tells us that "through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places."  

Thanks be to God for His infinite wisdom in giving us the local church!

------------------

Are you looking for for a gospel-centered church?  Here are the 9 Marks of a Healthy Church according to pastor Mark Dever:

1. Expositional Preaching
This is preaching which expounds what Scripture says in a particular passage, carefully explaining its meaning and applying it to the congregation. It is a commitment to hearing God’s Word and to recovering the centrality of it in our worship.

2. Biblical Theology
Paul charges Titus to "teach what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). Our concern should be not only with how we are taught, but with what we are taught. Biblical theology is a commitment to know the God of the Bible as He has revealed Himself in Scripture.

3. Biblical Understanding of the Good News
The gospel is the heart of Christianity. But the good news is not that God wants to meet people's felt needs or help them develop a healthier self-image. We have sinfully rebelled against our Creator and Judge. Yet He has graciously sent His Son to die the death we deserved for our sin, and He has credited Christ's acquittal to those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus' death and resurrection. That is the good news.

4. Biblical Understanding of Conversion
The spiritual change each person needs is so radical, so near the root of us, that only God can do it. We need God to convert us. Conversion need not be an emotionally heated experience, but it must evidence itself in godly fruit if it is to be what the Bible regards as a true conversion.

5. Biblical Understanding of Evangelism
How someone shares the gospel is closely related to how he understands the gospel. To present it as an additive that gives non-Christians something they naturally want (i.e. joy or peace) is to present a half-truth, which elicits false conversions. The whole truth is that our deepest need is spiritual life, and that new life only comes by repenting of our sins and believing in Jesus. We present the gospel openly, and leave the converting to God.

6. Biblical Understanding of Membership 
Membership should reflect a living commitment to a local church in attendance, giving, prayer and service; otherwise it is meaningless, worthless, and even dangerous. We should not allow people to keep their membership in our churches for sentimental reasons or lack of attention. To be a member is knowingly to be traveling together as aliens and strangers in this world as we head to our heavenly home.

7. Biblical Church Discipline
Church discipline gives parameters to church membership. The idea seems negative to people today – “didn’t our Lord forbid judging?” But if we cannot say how a Christian should not live, how can we say how he or she should live? Each local church actually has a biblical responsibility to judge the life and teaching of its leaders, and even of its members, particularly insofar as either could compromise the church’s witness to the gospel.

8. Promotion of Christian Discipleship and Growth
A pervasive concern with church growth exists today – not simply with growing numbers, but with growing members. Though many Christians measure other things, the only certain observable sign of growth is a life of increasing holiness, rooted in Christian self-denial. These concepts are nearly extinct in the modern church. Recovering true discipleship for today would build the church and promote a clearer witness to the world.

9. Biblical Understanding of Leadership
What eighteenth-century Baptists and Presbyterians often agreed upon was that there should be a plurality of elders in each local church. This plurality of elders is not only biblical, but practical — it has the immense benefit of rounding out the pastor’s gifts to ensure the proper shepherding of God’s church.

In identifying and promoting these nine marks, we are not intending to lay down an exhaustive or authoritative list. There are other significant marks of healthy churches, like prayer and fellowship. We want to pursue those ourselves as well, and we want you to pursue them with us. But these nine are the ones we think are most neglected in most local churches today, with the most damaging ramifications. Join us in cultivating churches that reflect the character of God.

24 Dec 2011

What To Do When Someone Confesses Sin To You

by STEPHEN ALTROGGE

What would you do if a friend or your spouse or your child confessed to you that he was really struggling with drinking alcohol to the point of drunkenness? Or looking at pornography? Or extreme anger?

Let me give you a few suggestions of what to do and not to do…

Do Respond Humbly

Confessing sin to another person is one of the most humbling, unpleasant experiences out there. When a person confesses sin to you, respond with humble gratitude. Thank them for coming to you and encourage them for the humility that they have demonstrated. Remind them that God gives grace to the humble, and that God is eager to give them grace. Help them see that God is for them and eager to help them.

Do Identify With Their Struggle

If possible, identify with the sin that has been confessed. You may not have struggled in exactly the same way, but it’s a good bet that you’ve struggled in a similar way. I don’t struggle with drunkenness, but I certainly can relate to the battle for self-control and the desire to escape from my problems. When someone shares their struggles with you, tell them how you have struggled and how you can relate to their temptation. Also, tell them how God has helped you in the midst of your struggle. It’s just helpful to know that we don’t struggle alone.

Most importantly, remind them that Christ was tempted in every way as we are, which makes him the perfect one to help us in the midst of temptation.

Don’t Act Shocked

When someone confesses sin to you, don’t act shocked or surprised. Don’t shake your head in disbelief or make your eyes go wide. Don’t say, “I just can’t believe that you would do something like that.” We are sinners and our friends are sinners, and we should expect each other to act like sinners. That doesn’t mean we encourage sin. It does mean that we shouln’t be stunned when someone tells us that they are struggling with sin.

Plus, when we act shocked at sin, it discourages our friends from confessing sin in the future.

Don’t Blow It Off

If your friend or spouse or fellow church member confesses their sin to you, it means that God is at work in them. The Holy Spirit is convicting them of their sin and their need for help from others. In light of this, when they bring their sin to light, don’t just say, “Hey man, it’s no big deal. Everyone struggles with that kind of stuff.” Instead, go a little bit deeper. Find out the particulars of the struggle and ask how you can best serve them. Even pray for them right in the moment.

Do Follow Up Later

If possible, follow up with your friend at a later date. Ask them how they are doing in the area of sin that they confessed. Don’t wait for them to come to you, because it might not happen. As a godly friend, go after them.

Do Remember the Gospel

After a confession it is crucial that we remind our friend, spouse, or child of the gospel. The gospel is what gives them hope for forgiveness and for change. We don’t just want to supply people with strategies for being morally better people. We want to connect them to the power of God. The gospel is what breaks the power of canceled sin, and we need to remind people of the gospel on a regular basis. That’s our only hope for change.

24 Dec 2011

Does God Delight in You?

by JOSHBLOUNT (posted on: The Blazing Center)

Does God delight in you, and if he does, how would he show it?

Maybe he would show his delight in us by giving us good gifts – health or marriage or children or a dream job or a perfect vacation. But then we all know Christians who have had some or all of those things taken away. Did they lose God’s favor and God’s delight?

Maybe God shows his delight in us not by giving us gifts, but by making us fruitful. God delights in you so your children always obey, your care group always grows, your neighbors always accept your invitations to church, and the guy on the airplane seat next to you accepts Christ before the plane even reaches the runway. But if fruitfulness is how you know God delights in you, what does that mean when all your fruit starts withering on the vine? Have you lost God’s favor and God’s delight?

Maybe God shows his delight not by gifts or by fruitfulness, but by giving us experiences of his love and favor. God delights in you, so you are moved to tears as you think about his love during worship, or you spend your whole devotional time lost in praise. But what about the times when worship seems rote and you fall asleep during your devotions? Has God moved on and found another favorite to delight in?

Psalm 149:4 tells us how we can know God delights in us, and the reason is far deeper and more enduring than gifts or fruitfulness or experience. We know God delights in us because he saved us.

“For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.” (Psalm 149:4)

God delights and takes pleasure in his people, and yes part of that means he does give us good gifts and fruitfulness and experiences. But in the course of a faithfully lived Christian life those things, by God’s wise design, will ebb and flow – but our salvation does not. How do we know God delights in us? Ultimately by this: he has crowned our lives with the greatest and most beautiful adornment imaginable, the gospel of his Son, who laid down his life in our place.

24 Dec 2011

Knowing Your Bible in the Time of Need

I want people to fill their minds with passages of Scripture while they are well and strong, that they may have sure help in the day of need. I want them to be diligent in studying their Bibles, and becoming familiar with their contents, in order that the grand old Book may stand by them and talk with them when all earthly friends fail.

~ J.C. Ryle

Tract: Be Content

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