LATE BLOOMER REFORMED

This Blog Has Moved!

2009-11-16T07:03:00.000-08:00

Orlando Grace has a brand spanking new website. Time to post there from now on. If you aren't redirected immediately go to www.orlandograce.org and click on the blog. Thanks!

Why Pray for Power?

2009-11-11T05:44:00.000-08:00

We have biblical precedent to pray for God's power in our lives. For example, Paul prays this way for the Ephesians in 3:16 - that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.

The question remains why? The answer comes in v. 17 - so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

The key to understanding what Paul means by this purpose lies within the word dwell. D. A. Carson, in his book A Call to Spiritual Reformation, observes:

The verb rendered "to dwell" is a strong one. Paul's hope is that Christ will truly take up his residence in the hearts of believers, as they trust him (that's what "through faith" means), so as to make their hearts his home. . . . Make no mistake: when Christ first moves into our lives, he finds us in very bad repair. It takes a great deal of power to change us; and that is why Paul prays for power. He asks that God may so strengthen us by his power in our inner being that Christ may genuinely take up residence within us, transforming us into a house that pervasively reflects his own character (Baker, 1992, pp. 186-87).

Pray for power in your own life and in the lives of others to this end - that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

What To Do With So Many Support Requests

2009-11-10T15:38:00.000-08:00

Most of us have had numerous “asks” in recent months with several folks from our church heading for the mission field in one direction or another. Truthfully, there are more to come. We’ve got "asks" from new candidates for the mission field as well as already deployed servants whose support has deteriorated with the economy. The demand has the potential to strain relationships in our midst in one way or another.

Here’s what we all can do when an “ask” comes our way to keep the process redemptive as opposed to divisive:

Welcome the request as a possible opportunity to invest in the kingdom for eternal reward. Treat the occasion as a chance to revisit your stewardship of wealth and evaluate whether or not your priorities are in order.

Take the matter to the Lord in prayer and see what He tells you to do.

Whatever He says, as best you can determine, do the missionaries the courtesy of replying with your answer so they can know what you can or can’t do. Please don’t let the awkward nature of having to decline graciously, if that is the case, keep you from timely communication. They would rather know that you cannot participate than for things to remain unclear.

Remain open to different responses to different requests depending upon changes in your circumstances and how the Lord might lead in unique circumstances. Evaluate each situation independently as God directs.

We are a relatively small church. The requests have mounted on our limited resources. Everyone understands that, especially people within our flock trying to raise support. However, the only way they are going to know if God is raising them up for the mission field or keeping them there is if they exhaust all their available contacts. Their church family is the first line of support. I am encouraging all candidates to contact our membership in light of such thinking.

Thank you in advance for your willingness to press ahead with processing of support requests. Please pray with me that the Lord will unleash the resources of heaven for each and every servant He wants on the field for the cause of the gospel from OGC.

J. C. Ryle on Hebrews 11:24-26

2009-11-08T14:45:00.000-08:00

I neglected to mention a quote by Bishop Ryle regarding Moses and his astonishing choices in this morning's sermon text.

Wonder not that he chose affliction, a despised people, and reproach. He beheld things below the surface. He saw with the eye of faith affliction lasting but for a moment, reproach rolled away, and ending in everlasting honour, and the despised people of God reigning as kings with Christ in glory.

On this International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church we are reminded that many of our brothers and sisters around the world in 2009 must make similar choices born of their faith in God and convictions based on His word.

To learn more about the plight of the persecuted church, visit the Voice of the Martyr's website. By clicking on here you can request weekly prayer updates by email so that you can pray regularly for specific needs within the persecuted church.

Again I recommend you keep the prayer guide for the top ten persecuting nations from this morning's worship bulletin in a handy place this year so you can pray for spiritual breakthroughs in these dark places.

May the Lord give strength to those who suffer to stand firm in the faith. And may He open doors for the gospel in lands like North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, Eritrea, Afghanistan, and many, many more.

Ten Ways To Think Rightly About Murderous Rampages

2009-11-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

First Fort Hood in Texas, now Gateway Center in Orlando. Back to back. Crazy men lock and load and blow folks away - the last episode striking far too close to home, right in our own back yard.

How are we to think in light of all we feel? I ask the question in light of Jesus' response to certain horrific tragedies in His day in Luke 13:1-5. When informed about Pilate's murderous rampage in mingling the blood of Galileans with their sacrifices, Jesus asked, "Do you think."

It matters greatly what and how we think in the face of such things. Thoughts give way to feelings and feelings give way to actions. And actions either glorify God or they don't. Jesus raised the question in Luke to engender a certain God-honoring reaction (more on that later). My aim is the same in offering these ten thoughts. No doubt more can be said, but these seemed to me to be particularly suited for the events of the last few days.

1. God is sovereign over every event including murderous rampages. He dwells in the heavens and does whatever pleases Him (Psalm 115:3). He brings BOTH prosperity and adversity (Ecc. 7:14). He makes well-being and calamity (Isa. 45:7). The prophet asks, "Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?" (Amos 3:6b). Chance, coincidence, fate - none of these things govern our lives; God in His providence does. In Christ He is everlastingly FOR US (Rom. 8:31) . He does and will work everything together for our good as lovers of His called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). Do not be afraid.

2. God Himself numbers our days, knows the length of their duration to the millisecond, and considers the exact moment of our death a terribly weighty, significant thing. Psalm 31:15 says, "My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and my persecutors." The confidence the writer has in God's hand governing the length of His days compels him to pray for rescue from the hand (note the repetition of the word hand and the contrast intended between God's ultimate power and an enemy's relative strength). After a near escape with death, the Psalmist observes in 116:15, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." The Hebrew word for precious comes from a root which means heavy. It means significant or weighty. God takes seriously the death of one of His own. It is no trifling matter as to its timing. It never takes Him by surprise. Rest in His eternal decree and meticulous concern.

3. Dying is gain and greatly to be preferred by the believer as opposed to remaining in this life. Facing martyrdom Paul writes in Phil. 1:21, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Death is swallowed up in the victory of Christ (1 Cor. 15:55). Give thanks and rejoice for this liberating truth and do not toil under a paralyzing fear of death.

4. Murderous rampages and all other manner of evil in this world make sense in light of the fall of man into sin and his suppression of the truth of God in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18). For these things, Paul says in the same verse, "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven." He goes on in the context to describe increasingly greater degrees of evil to which God gives rebellious sinners over as just judgment for their sin. He describes them in vv. 29-30 as "filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, etc." Don't be surprised when you see this kind of thing on the news or in the paper. We live in a fallen world FILLED with such things.

5. Anger must be dealt with completely and thoroughly through the power of the gospel. On the front page of the local paper regarding the Gateway Center catastrophe the suspect's former mother-in-law is quoted as saying, "He was a very, very angry man." Jesus called anger toward another murder of the heart (Matt. 5:21-26). Paul warns in Eph. 4:26-27, "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." This man apparently saw way too many sundowns without dealing decisively with his rage. It turned to bitterness and resentment knowing no bounds. Let us take heed. Mortify the sins of anger in your life (Col. 3:8) with the strength Christ brings through the gospel (Phil. 4:13). If we do not, we give the devil opportunity.

6. Sinful people need others to act as brotherly and sisterly keepers. The LORD made clear to Cain after the first murder (his brother, Abel) in the human record that he was indeed his brother's keeper (Gen. 4:1-10). We must have others in our lives holding us to account, and we must do the same for them, if we are to keep from being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:12-13), including sins of anger and murder. Don't go it alone.

7. Prayers should include petition to God for cultural change. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10). Pray for the gospel to penetrate places like Ft. Hood, Orlando, and every other installation, city, and place the news brings to your attention that He might bring the peace only the Prince of Peace can offer (Isa. 9:6-7).

8. Grief must be felt and processed but not as those who are without hope. One commentator in the local paper made this observation: "We limit our agony and empathy to the 60 seconds that CNN gives the tragedy of the day." Oh that we might not give way to such shallowness in our humanity. Romans 12:15 exhorts us, "weep with those who weep." But as we do, we are sorrowful but always rejoicing (2 Cor. 6:10) for the hope that while the whole of creation groans under the weight of sin it awaits a most certain redemption and recreation (Rom. 8:23).

9. The hope of the gospel must be shared with the lost who grieve over such tragedies as those who have no hope. In directing believers on Crete to live a lifestyle of good works before the watching world Paul reminds through Timothy, "For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another" (Titus 3:3). But God saved us by His goodness and kindness, delivering us out of so horrible a condition. Unbelievers need the hope of the Gospel. Make use of the opportunities God brings, even in discussing these recent events with people where you live, work and play.

10. The people who died at Fort Hood and the man who died in Orlando are no worse sinners for their untimely deaths than anyone else. This is where Jesus was heading in Luke 13:1-5 when He reacted to the reports of the tragedies in His day.

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Beware the temptation in human arrogance to think that somehow others who suffer some terrible tragedy must have deserved it more than you because of their relative degree of sinfulness. Jesus warns us not to think that way. Twice He says, "Unless you repent, you will likewise perish." Sin has left us all in the same condition. We deserve judgment. It will come sooner or later to all of us. The only hope, the only right way to think in the face of murderous rampages and collapsing buildings, the first choice that honors God in the face of apparent senseless tragedy, is to repent of our own sinfulness and place our hope and trust in the power of the gospel. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). Start here and we will think rightly about this world full of murderous rampages and other consequences of its suicidal rebellion.

A Nasty Trick

2009-11-06T04:41:00.000-08:00

More like a dreadful scare actually.

I thought I had oral cancer again.

Two months ago a sore developed in my mouth on the same side where tongue cancer hit four years ago. After it didn't go away for two weeks, I played it safe and made an appointment with my ENT to check it out. This week I saw him for the third time. No sign of the thing anywhere. Your mouth played a nasty trick on you, he said.

We're not sure what it was. I might have accidentally bit my cheek. It could have been a canker sore. Turns out after radiation treatment of an area in the mouth, sores like that don't heal near as fast as with normal tissue. I didn't know that. Now I do. Lesson learned.

I have to admit, it really scared me. Even the prospect of an early-stage lesion in my mouth brought back horrible memories of surgery and treatment. I can hardly describe the roller coaster of emotions I rode until the doctor pronounced the no-cancer verdict. I kept it a secret from Nancy until I knew for sure. I couldn't bear to subject her to the same kind of anxiety we went through the first time while we waited for a diagnosis. When I finally told her I fought back a flood of tears at the backlog of feelings and the waves of relief.

Phew. That was a close one. But a nasty trick? No way. I'm a child of the King. My Father loves me with undying, lavish love. He promises me that all things work together for my good (Rom. 8:28), not just cancer scares, but actual bouts with the dreadful disease.

I know who sent the sore. And He meant it for my good. It reminded me that the battle with unbelief and war against fear will go on until my dying day. Only one strategy will do in the face of dreadful scares. Philippians 4:6-7 says,

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Are you mistaking the presence of some adversary or trial as a nasty trick when in fact God has so ordained your circumstances so as to test your faith and strengthen your endurance (James 1:2-4)? Slay the giant of anxiety with relentless spears of prayer and know the peace of God guarding your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Another IDOP for the Persecuted Church

2009-11-05T14:44:00.000-08:00

As with every year, this Sunday we will observe the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.

All 9:30 Hour classes Middle School and above are cancelled for a prayer meeting in the fellowship hall on Nov. 8 for our brothers and sisters in chains.

Here is this year’s world watch list of the ten worst countries in the world for persecuting Christians. This comes from Open Door’s website .

This year’s number one on the World Watch List is no stranger: North Korea has topped the list for seven years in a row. There is no other country in the world where Christians are being persecuted in such a horrible and relentless way. The Wahhabi kingdom of Saudi Arabia holds a solid second place, sharing the same amount of points with a country that’s also ruled by Sharia law: Iran. Islam also is the official religion in Afghanistan, Somalia and the Maldives; the countries in the fourth, fifth and sixth position. Afghanistan rose from seventh to fourth place. The country moved up on the list as a result of increased pressure from the Taliban movement during 2008; the situation in the country is tense. On seventh place we come across Yemen, whose position changed from six to seven, but there was no major change in the lack of religious freedom for Christians in Yemen in 2008. There was no big change to the status of religious freedom in Laos; the country is still number eight on the list. Two new countries have entered the top ten: Somalia and Eritrea. For Eritrea the total number of points did not change compared to last year, but other countries dropping off the top ten made it go up. Nevertheless, the deplorable situation of Christians in this country very much justifies a position in the top ten. In Somalia the number of incidents against Christians increased dramatically in 2008, explaining its rise from twelve to five.

Islam is the majority religion in seven of the top ten countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Maldives, Yemen and Uzbekistan. Two countries have communist governments: North Korea and Laos. Eritrea is the only dictatorial country in the 10 highest countries on the list.

Hebrews 13:3 commands us: Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them. And those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.

May we do just that this Sunday at OGC.

What True Practical Holiness Is

2009-11-04T03:49:00.000-08:00

In chapter three of J. C. Ryle's Holiness he offers these twelve marks of true and practical holiness in the believer.

1. Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture.
2. A holy man will endeavour to shun every known sin, and to keep every known commandment.
3. A holy man will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. A holy man will follow after meekness, longsuffering, gentleness, patience, kind tempers, government of his tongue.
5. A holy man will follow after temperance and self-denial.
6. A holy man will follow after charity and brotherly kindness.
7. A holy man will follow after a spirit of mercy and benevolence toward others. Do good.
8. A holy man will follow after purity of heart.
9. A holy man will follow after the fear of God.
10. A holy man will follow after humility. "He will see more evil in his own heart than in any other in the world."
11. A holy man will follow after faithfulness in all the duties and relations in life.
12. A holy man will follow after spiritual mindedness.

In short, a holy man follows hard after God (Psalm 63:8). How vigorous is your pursuit of God and His holiness today?

In the same chapter, Ryle adds this clarification about our pursuit of hoiness:

It is the greatest misery of a holy man that he carries about with him a "body of death;"-that often when he would do good "evil is present with him"; that the old man is clogging all his movements, and, as it were, trying to draw him back at every step he takes (Rom. vii. 21). But it is the excellence of a holy man that he is not at peace with indwelling sin, as others are. He hates it, mourns over it, and longs to be free from its company. The work of sanctification within him is like the wall of Jerusalem-the building goes forward "even in troublous times" (Dan. ix. 25).

May we know the great misery of indwelling sin AND the excellence of no peace with it.

An Acts 9:31 Birthday Wish/Prayer for OGC

2009-11-03T04:20:00.000-08:00

Our church turned 18 on Sunday. Thanks be to God. We sang Happy Birthday to Us the previous Sunday night. Different, but sweet. This is my personal birthday wish/prayer for our church. My hope is you will join in making it with me.

It comes from Acts 9:31.

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

By peace Luke means rest from persecution. The previous chapters record the hits taken by the fledgling church throughout Palestine in the form of heavy persecution. But now, following Saul’s conversion, she enjoys a widespread, relative peace.

But that’s not all the author tells us about the church in this season of blessed rest. He mentions two other significant realities about her. First, she was being built up. Edified. The Greek word gives us a word picture of a house under construction. We might say she was becoming more spiritual.

Second, she multiplied. The church grew. Numbers we added. Souls were saved. People were converted. The kingdom advanced.

How did these two things occur? Walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Walking conveys the idea of an everyday kind of experience. It was second nature for this church of the first century to reverence God and to be strengthened by His Spirit. In other words they were a Godward people in every sense of the word. As a result, they were edified and multiplied.

G. Campbell Morgan, in his commentary on this verse, wrote:

It is impossible to read this verse without being reminded of the missionary vocation of the Church. Here the Church is seen going on its way, going in the way the Lord commanded it, going to the nations to disciple them, going into the cosmos to suffer in order to save; and going on its way in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. These two things are closely united. The first part of the verse ends “being edified”; the second part ends “was multiplied.” The underlying thought is exactly the same. Consequently if the Church is to be missionary, she must be spiritual; and if the church is to be spiritual, she must be missionary.

Spiritual and missionary. Edified and multiplied. To be one or the other we must be both. That is my prayer for OGC as we move into our 19th year. May God make us spiritual and missionary, edified and multiplied, to a greater extent than we ever have before!

Will you join me in praying this birthday wish for our church?

A Preacher for the Glory of God

2009-11-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

Reflections on D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: the First Forty Years (Banner of Truth, 1982, 381 pages)

I don’t remember the conference at all. Somewhere along the line I picked up a recording of it. I decided to listen to the messages. I especially liked the now characteristic Q&A panel discussions included in gatherings of this sort. The only speaker I remember from this conference was Dr. Alistair Begg. And the reason I recall him was the answer he gave to one of the questions in that particular session. What one book has made the greatest impact on your life? Begg’s reply was Ian H. Murray’s two volume biography of D. Martyn Lloyd –Jones.

That stuck with me, in large part I suppose, because like both those men, I too am a preacher. I settled on acquiring my own copy of Murray’s work with a desire to discover for myself what made it so very valuable to someone of note like Dr. Begg. My wife surprised me some time ago with the volumes as a gift. But I confess they have set on the bookshelf at home for some time now with no attention at all from me.

But this recent vacation I took volume one, the first forty years (1899-1939), with me to Idaho. I devoured it. Murray has gifted evangelicalism with a readable and stirring account of the Welsh M.D. turned pulpiteer. It took little time for me to gain some notion of its value to the likes of Dr. Begg and others who long to fulfill their calling to preach as best they can for the glory of God and the advance of His kingdom.

In the introduction Murray explains in part why Dr. M L-J eschewed the writing of an autobiography.

“Dr. Lloyd-Jones disliked any indulgence in personal publicity on the part of Christians. He viewed the personality-cults evident in some of the churches of the Victorian era as disastrous to the interests of true spirituality. Man-centeredness in any form disfigures the kingdom of God. The church at her best is a power in the world not because of what she says about herself but because of what she is by the grace of God” (p. xii).

Murray managed to gain permission to write his subject’s biography with Dr. Lloyd-Jones help in the process. But the collaboration came with a nonnegotiable condition. Murray explains:

“His one, oft-repeated, proviso, vehemently expressed both in conversation and in prayer, was that the sole aim of any record should be to advance ‘the glory of God’” (p. xiii).

The great apostle Paul, another man of God who was more than anything which print can convey (p. xv), exhorts in 1 Cor. 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Surely preaching falls under the comprehensive umbrella “all” in that verse.

I don’t know Dr. Alistair Begg at all. But I am willing to bet he found these volumes so very valuable because, like me, a preacher of the gospel, he longs to preach for the glory of God. There is much to learn from the biography of Dr. M L-J to that end.

I can hardly wait to get my hands on volume two.

What Then Is True Practical Holiness?

2009-10-30T04:48:00.001-07:00

J. C. Ryle answers the question in several ways in his treatise on the subject.

"First, holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God's judgment--hating what He hates, loving what He loves--and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word. He who most entirely agrees with God, he is the most holy man."

Are you seeking the mind of God in His word and pleading with Him for a spirit of agreement in your entire being? This is part of what it means to be holy.

A Seasonable & Profitable Question

2009-10-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

Are we holy? That's the question. J. C. Ryle calls it the most seasonable and profitable question anyone can ask of himself.

I ask to be heard today about this question. How stands the account between our souls and God? In this hurrying, bustling world, let us stand still for a few minutes and consider the matter of holiness. I believe I might have choseen a subject more popular and pleasant. I am sure I might have found one more easy to handle. But I feel deeply I could not have chosen one more seasonable and more profitable to our souls. It is a solemn thing to hear the Word of God saying, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14).

A solemn thing indeed. Stand still for a time today and ask yourself this most seasonable and profitable question. Are you holy? What do you hear God say in response? Remember the gospel and do what He requires.

Seek & You Shall NOT Find?

2009-10-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

Never in all these years of hunting have I missed so many shots. Near shots. Far shots. In between shots. No matter. I failed to fell a deer in ’09. At one point toward the end of our vacation I concluded it would take an animal coming right up to me and shaking my hand for me to hit one. I used to think I was a good shot. Not anymore.

One night toward the end I thought I finally broke through. At dusk we sighted two nice size bucks on the sky line of the ridge pictured here. I fired at the bigger one first. Missed again. What else is new? Then I got off a round at the second. Missed yet again. Sigh. This is getting monotonous. One more chance. I fired a second shot. Finally. He staggered and disappeared beyond the skyline. “He went down out of sight,” my friend Dick assured me.

We marked the shot and began our climb. This ridge is precipitous. The heart pumps hard as you zig zag up the fence line. Finally, we reached the spot on the hillside. Nothing. No blood trail, no deer. You’ve got to be kidding me! I worked my way up to the very top of the ridge, well beyond the scene of the shooting. Slowly I crisscrossed back and forth scouring every square foot. My friend did the same. When darkness enveloped the hillside, we gave up and headed back to the truck. Unbelievable.

We came back at dawn the next morning. The law of the woods says if you think you hit something, make sure you do the right thing in looking for it until you are absolutely sure you did or didn’t hit it. My friend, who has hunted these hills all his life, was certain I got the buck given the way he staggered. So we climbed again. We zigged and zagged again. In the full light of day we searched for that deer to no avail. The case of the missing deer. Beyond baffling. Go figure.

It occurred to me while looking just how much effort the two of us put into the search, all in the hope of finding an animal to butcher and eat along with another rack to nail to the rail on my deck. Not that the pursuit of venison for the freezer is insignificant, mind you. But it pales in comparison to the rewards that come from seeking God. And unlike the occasional deer on the hillside, God promises to be found.

Deuteronomy 4:29 says, “You will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Jeremiah 29:13 repeats virtually the same promise. “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jesus said, in Matt. 7:7-8, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.”

Notice the proviso in these Old Testament verses. It concerns the way we must seek – with all our heart and soul. With at least the same, if not more vigor, that hunters seek after their felled quarry, believers should seek after God and His glory, banking all the way on His gracious promise to be found.

I asked myself some hard questions on that ridge. Do I seek God with the same energy I devote to finding a deer I might have shot? How earnest is my daily reading of the Scriptures? Does my zeal for Scripture memory match my passion for hunting? Where does my passionate pursuit of God in prayer compare to the enthusiasm with which I tackle an arduous climb up an Idaho hillside?

What do you value so greatly that you seek it with all your heart and all your soul? Don’t blow by this question. Stop and think about it for a time. Honestly, how do you answer?

With hunting or any other inferior pursuit, seek and you may or may not find. With God, your supreme satisfaction, seek with all your heart and soul and you will find.

Sanctification Can Be Seen

2009-10-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

In the second chapter of his book, Holiness, J. C. Ryle contends that sanctification is a visible reality in a Christian. He gives the reader ten aspects of the visible evidence of sanctification in a Christian's life.

1. True sanctification does not consist in talk about religion (1 John 3:18).
2. True sanctification does not consist in temporary religious feelings (Matt. 13:20).
3. True sanctification does not consist in outward formalism and external devoutness (1 Tim. 4:8).
4. True sanctification does not consist in retirement from our place in life, and the renunciation of our social duties (Jn. 17:15).
5. True sanctification does not consist in the occasional performance of right actions (Psa. 119:1-4).
6. Genuine sanctification will show itself in habitual respect to God’s law, and habitual effort to live in obedience to it as the rule of life (1 Tim. 1:8; Rom. 7:22).
7. Genuine sanctification will show itself in an habitual endeavor to do Christ’s will, and to live by His practical precepts (Jn 15:14).
8. Genuine sanctification will show itself in an habitual desire to live up to the standard which St. Paul sets before the churches in his writings.
9. Genuine sanctification will show itself in habitual attention to the active graces which our Lord so beautifully exemplified, and especially to the grace of charity (Jn. 13:34-35; Col. 3:10).
10. Genuine sanctification will show itself in habitual attention to the passive graces of Christianity (1 Pet. 2:21-23). These are the graces of being forbearing to one another. It is nonsense to pretend to sanctification unless we follow after the meekness, gentleness, longsuffering, and forgivingness of which the Bible makes so much.

GENUINE SANCTIFICATION IS A THING THAT CAN BE SEEN!

How visible a reality is it in you and me?

Are You Growing in Grace?

2009-10-27T05:47:00.000-07:00

In his book, Holiness, J. C. Ryle describes what it means to grow in grace.

When I speak of growth in grace, I only mean increase in the degree, size, strength, vigour, and power of the graces which the Holy Spirit plants in a believer's heart. I hold that every one of those graces admits of growth, progress and increase. I hold that repentance, faith, hope, love, humility, zeal, courage, and the like may be little or great, strong or weak, vigorous or feeble and may vary greatly in the same man at different periods of his life. When I speak of a man growing in grace, I mean simply this: that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, his spiritual mindedness more marked. He feels more of the power of godliness in his own heart; he manifests more of it in his life; he is going on from strength to strength, from faith to faith, and from grace to grace. I leave it to others to describe such a man's condition by any words they please. For myself, I think the truest and best account of him is this: he is growing in grace.

Give yourself to the means of grace today that you may grow in grace to the glory of God, the increase of your joy, and your love for others.

More Puritan Power for the LB

2009-10-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

William Gurnall writes:

Wickedness must be weak. The devil's guilt tells them their cause is lost before the battle is ever fought. They fear you, Christian, because you are holy; so you do not need to fear them at all. When you see them as subtle, mighty, and many, your heart beats fast. But look on all these spirits as ungodly wretches who hate God more than they hate you. And the only reason they detest you at all is your kinship to Him. Whose side is God on? In the past He rebuked kings for touching His anointed ones. Will He stand still now and let those wicked spirits threaten his life in you without coming to your rescue? It is impossible.

Amazing Grace

2009-10-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

For a pretty sweet rendition by Il Divo click on here.

Faith & Food (Part 7)

2009-10-25T14:44:00.001-07:00

Here is the John MacArthur quote about Jesus' meaning in saying we must eat of Him as the bread of life that I shared from this morning's message in John 6:52-59.

Now, when we think about this analogy, it should just conjure up in your mind all kinds of appropriate relationships to the spiritual apprehension of Christ. Let me see if I can't help you with that. Eating, just take eating in general. If we're talking about the physical bread and the physical eating. First of all, eating is a necessary act if I am to derive any advantage from the bread. Is that not true? Now I like bread. I like bread a lot. I grew up with a mother and a grandmother that made bread all the time, still do. Rarely do I ever visit my mother when she, knowing I'm coming, doesn't have bread made for me. I love bread. My wife makes bread. We have a bread maker. I like to walk in the house and smell it. I like to see it. I like the color of it. Sometimes I like just to squeeze it. And I can go on and on about the - I can eulogize the crust. I can get into this stuff. I like all kinds of bread with all kinds of different things in it. But I may look at that bread, and I may admire that bread, and I may sniff that bread, and I may analyze that bread, and I may philosophize about that bread, and I may eulogize its qualities, and I may touch it and handle it, and I may be assured of its excellencies. And I might even trust the baker. But if I don't eat it, it doesn't nourish me. How obvious is that.

You may access his entire sermon here.

The Gun Cabinet & Re-Creation

2009-10-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

Finally, we found one. We searched a long time. Every time we’ve come to Idaho the last several years we’ve visited the thrift and second-hand stores looking for a good bargain on a used gun cabinet. It simply will not do for a Nimrod-wanna-be (see Gen 10:8-9) to store his rifles in a closet!

Not until this trip however did Nancy and I enjoy success. B&B in Grangeville had an old, beat up, paint-splattered, locked-with-no-keys-available, six-slotted deal with a glass front sporting some nifty etching of ducks and cattails. And the man only wanted $35 for it!

After talking him down to $30 (I have no shame, but that’s what those kind of places are for, if you ask me), we loaded up and took the thing back to our place. No one surpasses my bride in taking used stuff and making it shine like new. Out came the Old English furniture scratch repair polish. We covered over every imperfection from top to bottom. The polish acted like a solvent so we were able to scrape off all the paint speckles. Windex sprayed within and without put sparkle on the glass. We vacuumed out the inside. Voila. Good as new. Ready for guns in the spot in the living room I imagined for it all these years. Sweet. Good things come to those who wait.

But who’s kidding whom? While the thing looks great thanks to Nancy’s extreme makeover magic, it isn’t new, not by a long shot. It’s still basically the same old used, pressed wood, cheap man’s gun cabinet. All we did was make some repairs and mask the imperfections the best we could. More than suitable for a mountain home in Idaho, but certainly not just-out-of-the-carton-brand-spanking-new by any means.

How entirely different is the case for anyone known to be “in Christ.” The apostle Paul declares in 2 Cor. 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” When God gets a hold of someone by His amazing grace, He doesn’t just make some repairs and mask imperfections in us; He makes us entirely new! At the moment of faith where one becomes organically linked to Jesus, we say good-bye to the old us and hello to a brand new version. Our God, Rev. 21:5 says, specializes in making all things new. That’s His deal. That’s what ultimately matters when it comes to our relationship with Him (Gal. 6:15).

The Baker New Testament commentary on 2 Corinthians says this about 5:17 - “When people become part of the body of Christ at conversion, their lives take a complete reversal. They now abhor the world of sin and former friends are hostile to them. Their preconversion lifestyle is history.”

Old gun cabinets may enjoy a transformation of sorts by external treatment and concentrated repair. But they remain old gun cabinets just the same. But behold! Believers in Christ enjoy a transformation of another sort that leaves them fundamentally and completely changed – so much so that we may rightly refer to ourselves as new, gloriously and wonderfully new in Him.

Things We Do Before the Lord

2009-10-13T12:42:00.001-07:00

It didn’t take long. Within half a day of touching down on Idaho soil, shot gun in hand, I headed out to hunt on the final day of turkey season. As you can see, the Lord went with me. He gave me good success. I bagged a hen from last year’s hatchlings.

An obscure verse of Scripture from the genealogy in Genesis 10 came to mind somewhere along the way. Verse 8 says, “Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man.” What a way to go down in the biblical record!

How did he demonstrate his strength? Verse 9a gives the answer – “He was a mighty hunter before the LORD.” It was true to so great an extent that the rest of the verse indicates that the ancients coined a proverb in light of Nimrod’s prowess in the field. “Therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.’”

I suspect Nimrod gained his reputation for hunting game bigger and badder than turkeys. Never fear. Whitetail deer and elk season in these parts opened the next day. The thing that ultimately arrested my attention however was the fact that he hunted BEFORE THE LORD. All that traipsing around the woods with a weapon occurred before the eyes of a watching God. Hunting? Yes, hunting.

What else goes on before the Lord, I wondered? Even a brief survey of the Bible reveals a lot of specifics that go on before the eyes of the omniscient One.

For example – Being silent (Zech. 2:13). Fasting (Jer. 36:9). Trembling (Psalm 96:9). Walking (Psalm 116:9). Being guilty (2 Chron. 19:10). Praying (Dan. 9:20). Sacrificing (2 Chron. 7:4). Humbling self (2 Kings 22:19). Doing evil (2 Kings 21:2). Hanging (2 Sam. 21:6). Worshiping/dancing (2 Sam. 6:5, 14). Being detained (1 Sam. 21:7). Ministering (1 Sam. 3:1). Growing up (1 Sam. 2:21). Sinning (1 Sam. 2:17). Weeping (Judges 20:23). Eating (Deut. 12:7). Feasting (Ex. 32:5). Bringing a case (Num. 27:5). Even dying (Lev. 10:2).

Proverbs 5:21 makes the obvious point of this word search exercise. “For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths.”

From hunting to worshipping to living and dying, we do it all before the eyes of God in heaven. He takes it all in. And He ponders our paths. The Hebrew word means to weigh something – to judge it. The One who bring all things to judgment on the last day, weighs our every action as it unfolds before His eyes.

This sobering truth should lead to some pondering of our own. Proverbs 4:26 exhorts us – “Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.”

Whether your feet take you into the forest to hunt, into the sanctuary to worship, into the dining room to feast, or, God forbid, onto the gallows to hang, and finally even onto your deathbed to die, remember this – every last bit of it, all of it is before the Lord.

Time to Vacate

2009-10-08T01:21:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again. The Pacific Northwest beckons. Today we fly to Clearwater, Idaho for two weeks of R&R. Turkey season closes tomorrow. That's the bad news. Whitetail deer season opens tomorrow. That's the good news. Fishing season never closes. More good news.

All of that to say that my bride and I are headed for the wilderness, pictured above, to refuel the engines and kill and catch some stuff. We ARE remote and have little access to the web, so I do not know how much, if at all, I will post during these two weeks.

Lord willing, we will return on October 23 and I will resume preaching on the 25th with more from John's Gospel and the bread of life discourse.

Please pray for refreshment from the Lord in both spirit and body!

OGC Men's Retreat - October 30-31

2009-10-08T01:09:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to have Pastor Jack Jenkins, pictured here with his wife Gayle, of Faith Baptist Church, Orlando, as our keynote speaker for this year's men's retreat on October 30 and 31 at Camp Ithiel.

The theme of this year's retreat is:

Trusting the Sovereignty of God in Adversity:
A Study from the Life of Joseph

Here are the four session titles for the weekend:

Session #1: God's sovereignty can be trusted when we do what's right and everything seems to go wrong!

Session #2: God's sovereignty works to our advantage, especially in adversity.

Session #3: God's sovereignty gives us divine reasons for granting forgiveness to others.

Session #4: If God is sovereign, then what's my responsibility?

Be sure to stop by the registration table this Sunday or next and reserve your spot! The cost is $75 per man, $40 per student. Some scholarship assistance is available upon request.

Twelve Propositions About Sanctification

2009-10-07T03:11:00.000-07:00

These are from J. C. Ryle in his book Holiness.

He cites these propositions after defining sanctification as that inward work which the Lord Jesus Christ works in a man by the Holy Ghost, when He calls him to be a true believer. He not only washes him from his sins in His own blood, but He also separates him from his natural love of sin and the world, puts a new principle in his heart, and makes him practically godly in life.

Sanctification is the invariable result of that vital union with Christ which true faith gives to a Christian.

Sanctification is the outcome and inseparable consequence of regeneration.

Sanctification is the only certain evidence of that indwelling of the Holy Spirit which is essential to salvation.

Sanctification is the only sure mark of God's election.

Sanctification is a thing that will always be seen.

Sanctification is a thing for which every believer is responsible.

Sanctification is a thing which admits of growth and degrees.

Sanctification is a thing which depends greatly on a diligent use of means.

Sanctification is a thing which does not prevent a man having a great deal of inward spiritual conflict.

Sanctification is a thing which cannot justify a man, and yet it pleases God.

Sanctification is a thing which will be found absolutely necessary as a witness to our character in the great day of judgment.

Sanctification is absolutely necessary, in order to train and prepare us for heaven.

He quotes the Puritan John Owen regarding this last proposition:

There is no imagination wherewith man is besotted, more foolish,none so pernicious, as this--that persons not purified, not sanctified, not made holy in their life, should afterwards be taken into that state of blessedness which consists in the enjoyment of God. Neither can such persons enjoy God, nor would God be a reward to them. . . . Holiness indeed is perfected in heaven: but the beginning of it is invariably confined to this world.

Saint of God, give yourself today to the means of grace that help conform you to the Son of God to the glory of God to prepare you for the dwelling place of God.

Bless You Cancer (19)

2009-10-06T05:21:00.000-07:00

It has been some time since I have revisited this stream of posts. Today I reviewed several entries from my journal of 2005 covering the end of September into the beginning of October. This comes from 09.24.05, thirty-four days after finishing treatment for my head and neck cancer (note - I was still virtually completely unable to eat any solid food):

The Lord knew I would feel discouraged yesterday. He sent me multiple encouragements by email and visitor. Fred P's (a fellow head and neck survivor from Philadelphia I encountered through my network of friends and fellow-believers) gave me perspective through his doctor of all sources. I'm about where I'm supposed to be. My kind of cancer has among the harshest treatments in terms of impact on the body. That doctor tells people to expect a full year to recover normalcy. That was both good news and bad news to me. Clearly I have to adjust my expectations at how quickly my mouth will heal (I was under the faulty impression improvement would begin immediately). It is just going to take time. The whole R family came by for the night. We had a lovely visit. They lifted my spirits. Jeannie S sent me a nice letter too. God comforts the depressed by sending a Titus or two (2 Cor. 7:6). Praise His name.

Do you know a downcast saint you could comfort by a note, email, or visit today or sometime soon? Don't underestimate the significance to him or her of even the slightest encouragement on your part. God's comfort may well come through you at just the most needful time.

Responsibility & Inability

2009-10-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

I made the point in the sermon from John 6:41-51 that Jesus requires us to repent and believe (v. 47). But it is also true (obnoxiously so according to Spurgeon) that we cannot do it (v. 44) left to our own devices. What are we to make of this conundrum between our responsibility to come and our inability to do so? Shouldn't we be responsible only for what we are able to do and not what we are unable to do?

Wayne Grudem offers this in reply in his one volume systematic theology:

The idea that we are responsible before God only for what we are able to do is contrary to the testimony of Scripture, which affirms both that we “were dead through the trespasses and sins” in which we once walked (Eph. 2:1), and thus unable to do any spiritual good, and also that we are all guilty before God. Moreover, if our responsibility before God were limited by our ability, then extremely hardened sinners, who are in great bondage to sin, could be less guilty before God than mature Christians who were striving daily to obey him. And Satan himself, who is eternally able to do only evil, would have no guilt at all—surely an incorrect conclusion. The true measure of our responsibility and guilt is not our own ability to obey God, but rather the absolute perfection of God’s moral law and his own holiness (which is reflected in that law).

Grudem, W. A. (1994). Systematic Theology : An introduction to Biblical Doctrine (499). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House.

How Faith & Food Figure in Following Jesus (Part 6)

2009-10-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

In the interest of driving home some of the truths of yesterday's message, here is a portion of my preaching manuscript from John 6:41-51.

Our part is clear. Repent and believe. That’s all over John’s gospel. Jesus gets right in their face and calls them over and over again to come, to believe, to eat. But something else is clear, painfully clear, Spurgeon said obnoxiously clear. We can’t do it left to ourselves and our own devices. Look at v. 44. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. This should sound familiar. It strikingly resembles Jesus’ words back in v. 37 – All that the Father gives me will come to me. This is the same doctrine of Christ related to salvation but said in two different ways. The first is from a positive view looking at the gifting to the Son by the Father all those He chooses out of His love and grace. The second is from a negative view looking at the total inability of absolutely everyone – no one can come – apart from that intervening love and grace of God on their behalf.

He’ll punctuate it again with this same crowd nearly the exact same way in 6:65 – This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father. Why is this so? Sin. Sin has left every last one of us like the invalid man at the pool of Bethesda. We are morally and spiritually unable to do a thing to remedy our condition. We are as Paul put it in Eph. 2:3 – dead in our trespasses and sins. Or in Rom. 8:7 – For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot. Or to use Jesus’ words to another crowd in John 8:43 – Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. It’s not your nature. Sin has corrupted it through and through. Rom. 3:10-12 – None is righteous, no, not one, no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.

The good folks at Desiring God ministries have summarized the implications of this truth, what Reformed types call Total Depravity, as well as I have ever encountered:

It is hard to exaggerate the importance of admitting our condition to be this bad. If we think of ourselves as basically good or even less than totally at odds with God, our grasp of the work of God in redemption will be defective. But if we humble ourselves under this terrible truth of our total depravity, we will be in a position to see and appreciate the glory and wonder of the work of God. (For the entire document go here.)

What must happen then? Where then is there hope? Another great doctrine of the Reformed faith, irresistible grace, or what we might better call effectual grace! And its truth is all tied up in that massively important word in v 44 – draws. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. Jesus uses the same word in 12:32 of the power He will exert in having gone to the cross – And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. When this word for draw gets used in the NT, whether for a fishing net that gets dragged from the sea, or a sword that gets drawn from its sheath, it always implies a couple of things. There is resistance and that resistance is ultimately overcome.

Thanks be to God that though our sin paralyzes grace regenerates!

7 Reasons We Need Small Groups

2009-10-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

This comes from a message by Pastor John Piper. You may access the entire talk here.

He has given pastors to the church “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). I believe in what I do. And I believe that it is not enough. Here are the seven reasons I gave the small group leaders.

1.The impulse avoid painful growth by disappearing safely into the crowd in corporate worship is very strong.

2.The tendency toward passivity in listening to a sermon is part of our human weakness.

3.Listeners in a big group can more easily evade redemptive crises. If tears well up in your eyes in a small group, wise friends will gently find out why. But in a large gathering, you can just walk away from it.

4.Listeners in a large group tend to neglect efforts of personal application. The sermon may touch a nerve of conviction, but without someone to press in, it can easily be avoided.

5.Opportunity for questions leading to growth is missing. Sermons are not dialogue. Nor should they be. But asking questions is a key to understanding and growth. Small groups are great occasions for this.

6.Accountability for follow-through on good resolves is missing. But if someone knows what you intended to do, the resolve is stronger.

7.Prayer support for a specific need or conviction or resolve goes wanting. O how many blessings we do not have because we are not surrounded by a band of friends who pray for us.

So please know that when this small-group ministry of our church is lifted up, I don’t think it’s an optional add-on to basic Christian living. I think it is normal, healthy, needed, New Testament Christianity. I pray that you will be part of one of these small groups or that you will get the training and start one. This is the main strategy through which our pastors and elders shepherd the flock at Bethlehem: Elders > small group leaders > members to one another.

21 Days for Global Harvest

2009-10-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

21 Days for Global Harvest from SVM2 on Vimeo.

Click on this video to learn about this prayer and fasting effort coming up soon. You may access the daily email prayer guide for free here.

Sanctification & the Use of Means

2009-10-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

Here is the quote from J. C. Ryle's book Holiness that I read before the Lord's Table today in our worship at OGC.

Sanctification, again, is a thing that depends greatly on a diligent use of Scriptural means. When I speak of “means”, I have in view Bible-reading, private prayer, regular attendance on public worship, regular hearing of God’s Word, and regular reception of the Lord’s Supper. I lay it down as a simple matter of fact that no one who is careless about such things must ever expect to make much progress in sanctification. I can find no record of any eminent saint who ever neglected them. They are the appointed channels through which the Holy Spirit conveys fresh supplies of grace to the soul, and strengthens the work that He has begun in the inward man. Let men call this legal doctrine if they please, but I will never shrink from declaring my belief that there are no “spiritual gains without pains”. I should as soon expect a farmer to prosper in business who contented himself with sowing his fields and never looking at them till harvest, as expect a believer to attain much holiness who was not diligent about his Bible-reading, his prayers, and the use of his Sundays. Our God is a God who works by means, and He will never bless the soul of that man who pretends to be so high and spiritual that he can get on without them.

Lay hold of the varied means of grace in your pursuit of the holiness of God in your everyday life.

More Puritan Power for the LB

2009-10-04T03:28:00.001-07:00

This is a particularly good word from William Gurnall in The Christian in Complete Armour:

Afflictions are a spade which God uses to dig into His people's hearts to find the gold of faith. Not that He does not seek out the other graces also, but faith is the most precious of them all. Even when God delays and seems to withdraw His hand before coming with the mercy He promises, it is so that He can explore our faith.

Do you find God using the spade of affliction to dig into your heart in this present season of your life? What is He finding in you? May we say to Him with the man in the Gospels, Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.

The Gospel’s Highest Privilege

2009-10-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

I have to admit it. Until recently reading chapter 19, God the Son, in J. I. Packer’s classic, Knowing God, I never considered the notion of ranking the manifold privileges of the gospel. Is there a highest among such heights of the spiritual blessings of our salvation in Christ--election, predestination, justification, adoption, redemption, sanctification, and glorification?

Packer thinks so. He calls adoption the highest privilege that the gospel offers: higher even than justification (p. 206). That turned my head a bit. After all, reformed types cherish justification as a gift of gifts from God ever since Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the Wittenberg door.

The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith summarizes the biblical doctrine of adoption this way in chapter twelve:

For the sake of His only Son, Jesus Christ, God has been pleased to make all justified persons sharers in the grace of adoption, by means of which they are numbered with, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of children of God. Furthermore, God's name is put upon them, they receive the spirit of adoption, and they are enabled to come boldly to the throne of grace and to cry 'Abba, Father'. They are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by God as by a Father. He never casts them off, but, as they remain sealed to the day of redemption, they inherit the promises as heirs of everlasting salvation.

No wonder John exclaims in 1 John 3:1a – See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The truths contained within this doctrine of sacred Scriptures take your breath away. But do they do so enough to warrant ranking them above the likes of justification?

Packer explains why he thinks so:

Adoption is higher, because of the richer relationship with God that it involves. . . . The two ideas are distinct, and adoption is the more exalted. Justification is a forensic idea, conceived in terms of law, and viewing God as judge. In justification, God declares of penitent believers that they are not, and never will be, liable to the death that their sins deserve, because Jesus Christ, their substitute and sacrifice, tasted death in their place on the cross.

The free gift of acquittal and peace, won for us at the cost of Calvary, is wonderful enough, in all conscience--but justification does not of itself imply any intimate or deep relationship with God the judge. In idea, at any rate, you could have the reality of justification without any close fellowship with God resulting. [Chew on that notion for a bit!]

But contrast this, now with adoption. Adoption is a family idea, conceived in terms of love, and viewing God as father. In adoption, God takes us into his family and fellowship--he establishes us as his children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater (p. 207).

To borrow from Wesley and dare embellish a bit, Amazing love, how can it be, that thou my God shouldst die for me AND make me your child! And can it be? Yes, oh my, yes, it can! Thanks be to God for His indescribable gifts of justification AND adoption!

A Reflection on the Desiring God National Conference

2009-10-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

I say reflection singular, not reflections plural, for this article does not contain room to record all God brought to mind and worked in my heart this past weekend in Minneapolis. The title of the conference was With Calvin in the Theater of God. DG meant to honor the magisterial (of, pertaining to, or befitting a master; authoritative) reformer during this year marking the 500th anniversary of his birth.

My reflection comes from the final message of the conference delivered by Dr. John Piper. He entitled it Jesus Christ as Denouement in the Theater of God: Calvin and the Supremacy of Christ in All Things. Fortunately, he defined denouement for us; I did not have a clue. This comes directly from his message which you can access online here.

The dictionary says that the dénouement is “the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.” Or: “the climax of a chain of events, usually when something is decided or made clear.”

Piper sought to answer the question, What is the ultimate goal of God in the theater of God? He argued that the answer is to glorify Himself in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He made his case for that with an exposition of Ephesians 1:4-6 and other related passages:

. . . even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

In what he called the ultimate statement in the Bible about the purpose of God in the theater of God, Piper explained from v. 6 that this is why everything exists. God is to be praised by innumerable redeemed beings. Specifically, we are not just to praise His glory but the glory of His grace. The apex of the glory of God is the grace of God. Every other attribute serves the purpose to make the grace of God more plain and precious.

He closed with a series of applications in answer to the question, So what? He called them five ways of believing this denouement.

1. The highest pleasure of the human being is the pleasure of admiration. Seeing it, savoring it, speaking it, is the end -- to admire the infinite admirability which is found only in God's grace in Christ. Make it your life-long, eternity-long vocation to see and know Him so that all else is counted loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ.

2. When the theater of God is renewed the dazzling creation will be as nothing as compared to Christ. Beware to become excessively excited about the new heavens and new earth. It will be as nothing in comparison. We won't need a sun or moon any more, because the glory of God will be its sun and the Son will be its lamp. Everywhere we look we will see Christ reflected. It will be unlike anything we've known. So don't get excited about eternal golf! Many in our churches will be shocked when denied entrance into heaven when the Lord says to them, All you ever really wanted was my gifts and not me. See Matt. 7:21-23.

3. Now that we understand what it means to be loved by God given the mercies of His grace we must also understand that this love is not in and of ourselves to be made much of but to be rescued from the need to be made much of.

4. To be sure, we ourselves will be glorified. We will shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father. We will shine with the glory of Christ, not our own. It will be so stunning that we will be tempted to bow down and worship one another, said C. S. Lewis. But remember the glory will be a reflected glory, the glory of Christ.

5. When God gives us eyes to see His glory in the gospel of Christ, we are gradually being changed into the likeness of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). This is the most important verse in the Bible on sanctification. Beholding is becoming. Seeing Christ in His glory changes us. Any other way toward change leads to legalism. The role of the pastor is to open eyes to the glory of Christ. Theirs' is an impossible task. It begins with the pastor seeing Christ for himself and then relentlessly commending Him to others.

This is the legacy of John Calvin. This is the call of the Holy Scriptures. This is the desire of my heart as a pastor. Let us continually stand in awe, amazed at the glory of Christ as the denouement of the theater of God.

Puritan Power for the LB

2009-10-01T04:56:00.000-07:00

This from William Gurnall:

Faith, then, becomes active when it rests on Christ crucified for pardon and life. There are many acts of the soul which must precede this, for a person can never truly exercise this faith unless he first has knowledge of Christ and relies on His authority. Only then can he say, “I know whom I have believed” (2 Timothy 1:12). Most people are reluctant to trust a complete stranger. Abraham did not know where he was going, but he knew with whom he was going! God worked with Abraham to teach him the knowledge of His own glorious self—who He was—so that His child could rely on His word, assenting to the truth of it no matter how harsh and improbable and impossible it seemed. “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect” (Genesis 17:1).

Wherever your journey takes you today in the life of faith, you may not know where you are going, but as a child of God you know with whom you are going. Be strong and courageous!

Why I Love Being a Pastor (5)

2009-09-26T20:17:00.001-07:00

Look who I found (actually we came together) at the conference!

One Foot Raised

2009-09-26T20:08:00.001-07:00

Pastor Sam Storms brought a message tonight starting with this quote from the great reformer in a letter to a woman struggling with physical illness:

Afflictions should serve as medicine to purge us, to remove what is superfluous…We ought to learn from our physical afflictions, in whatever form they may come, to live every day with one foot raised, ready for our departure into the presence of God.

The list of Calvin’s afflictions read like a medical journal. Headaches. Fevers. Gout. Colic. Hemorrhoids. Arthritis. Acute chronic inflammation of the kidneys. Gall stones. Violent fits of coughing that ruptured blood vessels in his lungs.

I never realized the man suffered from so many physical ailments. He managed to view them as momentary light afflictions (2 Cor. 4:16-18) by looking upon the invisible and contemplating the incomparably great weight of eternal glory that awaited him upon his death.

May all who name the name of Jesus do the same in good health and bad.

With Calvin in the Theater of God

2009-09-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

I am posting this weekend from Minneapolis. The Desiring God National Conference this year focuses on the 500th anniversary of the great reformer's birth. Here is a picture of John Calvin.

It has been a long day (see previous post). I have just come from session one by Julius Kim of Westminster West. He hammered home a theme from his talk I won't soon forget. Calvin was a faith-possessed pilgrim with a singular passion for knowing God and making Him known.

Three words worth remembering whether you are a giant reformer or a small church pastor: pilgrim, passion, and purpose. This world is not our home. We are all, as believers, aliens and strangers in a hostile world (1 Pet. 2:11). Zeal must characterize our lives and ministries (Rom. 12:11). And all must be done for the purpose of glorifying God (1 Cor. 10:31).

Dr Kim closed with thoughts about John Calvin's approach to suffering and how to attain the blessing of God in it. Two things, he said, formed the reformer's approach and counsel for getting blessing in suffering: pray and go to church. Prayer is the means of bringing God's blessing into a suffering saint's life. And God shows up in corporate worship through the preached word and the sacraments.

May we all be faith-possessed pilgrims with singular passion for knowing God through the means of grace and making Him known through our words and works. That's what makes for a life well-lived in the end result.

Red Lights, Rain Delays, & Exploding Catsup Bottles

2009-09-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted for a while. September has been insane. All good stuff but intense. Thanks be to God for the mercy ministry outreach. Here's a picture of the finished house. Should have been a painting contractor. Not really. Took me two days to recover. I think I'll stick to writing sermons from behind a desk.

But I did recover, thankfully, enough to write this post tonight from a hotel in downtown Minneapolis. Someone gifted me a trip to the Desiring God National Conference commemorating the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth. I do love this place. I treasure this ministry. I pray the viral contagion of Christian hedonism infects me and my ministry all the more from yet another exposure to the truths and passion of this work.

It was no picnic getting here, that's for sure. It was one of those days for teaching you the virtue of patience. Didn't sleep well the night before. Hit every red light, it seemed, on 436 between Casselberry and OIA. Sat for two extra hours in the Atlanta airport waiting for rain to clear at MSP. Waited interminably long, or at least it felt that way, in the Super Shuttle while a new mom tried to figure out how to install a ginormous car seat in the van for her baby. Hit rush hour traffic going downtown. And then to top it all off, at dinner, I go to open the catsup bottle and the thing erupts in an explosion of the red stuff all over my hands, shirt, and the only pair of jeans I've got with me for this trip. It was almost comical.

All was not for nought, though. The manager took pity on me and comped the meal. Sure glad I offered to buy. I left the server an extra big grat. My server son would have been proud. My Father, I think, was pleased that in my desire to get to Minneapolis for a conference that matters to me I didn't miss the bigger picture that today was a day for cultivating the virtue of patience, and it really didn't matter if the delays ate up the margin and if I walk around all weekend with catsup stains on my jeans. Perhaps I am learning something about what matters most after all these years.

Some Kind of Birthday Gift

2009-09-15T15:13:00.001-07:00

I received this email from a fellow pastor friend today.

Psalm 1:1 ¶ Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Father, I want to thank you for Curt, as I am reminded of his birthday. Lord, I pray for him to be a blessed man. A man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; my prayer for Curt this coming year is that his full delight will be in the law of the LORD, and on Your law he will meditate day and night. Lord, I ask for you to make him like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Lord, I pray that in all Curt does this year he will prosper. Lord, thank you for keeping him from the influence of wicked men this past year. The wicked are not like the tree that prospers but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. But, Lord I pray that you will know Curt's way this upcoming year because he will be walking in righteousness. I also pray you will give him wisdom to avoid the way of the wicked that will perish. Thank you Lord, for Your faithfulness in Curt's life in the last year and I pray for your continued mercy and grace in the year to come. Amen & Amen.

Happy Birthday, brother. I treasure your friendship & partnership in ministry.

Few gifts have greater value than praying Scripture back to God for someone. I was hugely blessed and greatly encouraged by the gesture.

Happy birthday to me!

Well Look Who Has a Blog!

2009-09-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

Recognize this young lady? She has joined the blogosphere. Check it out here.

Reflections on Aging

2009-09-15T04:40:00.000-07:00

Another birthday. I turn 57 today. Yikes. I can see 60 from here. Amazing. James is right. We are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes (4:14).

I suppose I feel all the more that way after my bout with head and neck cancer four years ago. Every day is a gift. I’m not really old, I don’t think, but after wondering if you might have died at age 53, things take on a different perspective the older you get.

For each of the years since finishing cancer treatment, I have acknowledged my birthdays with a different little ditty of my own making. Not sure why. Maybe it’s the significance of marking another year I didn’t know for sure if I would ever have.

Fifty-three was 53 and cancer free.
Fifty-four was 54 and ready for more.
Fifty-five was 55 and staying alive (OK, so I stole that one from the federal government).
Fifty-six, last year, was 56 and up to the same old tricks.
Fifty-seven is 57 and not ready for heaven – at least not as far as cancer seems to be concerned. You never know, but I do praise God for four years now where I remain cancer free and able to do my pastoral work for His glory and others’ joy.

How is this so? Why do I continue on?

Isaiah 46:3-4 answers these questions.

3 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; 4 even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

In contrast to idols of Babylon like Bel and Nebo (see v. 1-2), God doesn’t make burdens for His people; He bears His people and their burdens ALL THEIR LIVES.

He really wants us to get this. Listen to me, he says. The accumulation of verbs saying essentially the same thing jumps off the page. You have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

Matthew Henry writes in his commentary on Isaiah:

As God began early to do them good (when Israel was a child, then I loved him), so he had constantly continued to do them good: he had carried them from the womb to this day. And we may all witness for God that he has been thus gracious to us. We have been borne by him from the belly, from the womb, else we should have died from the womb and given up the ghost when we came out of the belly. We have been the constant care of his kind providence, carried in the arms of his power and in the bosom of his love and pity.

Borne, carried, -- these words speak of God’s faithfulness in the past to his aging people, from the womb no less. Will carry, will bear, will carry, will save, -- these words speak of God’s ongoing promised faithfulness into the twilight years, should He grant length of days.

Again, Matthew Henry:

God has graciously engaged to support and comfort his faithful servants, even in their old age: "Even to your old age, when you grow unfit for business, when you are compassed with infirmities, and perhaps your relations begin to grow weary of you, yet I am he—he that I am, he that I have been—the very same by whom you have been borne from the belly and carried from the womb. You change, but I am the same. I am he that I have promised to be, he that you have found me, and he that you would have me to be. I will carry you, I will bear, will bear you up and bear you out, and will carry you on in your way and carry you home at last.’’

What a contrast God is to the idols of Babylon and the idols of our 21st century making! The latter bears us down with burdens unspeakably heavy; the former, our great God, Jehovah, through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, lifts (the Hebrew word for carried in the context literally means to raise) us up and bears us along through all of life, from womb to tomb as they say, rescuing us at every turn.

There is no god like our God from the moment of conception to the 57th birthday and beyond.

I wonder what rhymes with 58?

Why I Love Being a Pastor (4)

2009-09-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

Yet two more special reasons, among some 200 others, I love being in covenant community with God's people in a local church.

Why I Love Being a Pastor (3)

2009-09-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

Another brand new reason, among some 200 others, I love being a shepherd of God's people!

The Glory of God on Display Hubble Style

2009-09-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

Dr. Mohler has a post about recent photos from the Hubble telescope and how they declare the glory of God in oh so fabulous fasion.

Check it out here.

How Not to Blaspheme God as a Man

2009-09-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

Some years ago, John Eldredge wrote a hugely popular book about men called Wild at Heart. Recently I have reread it along with a sequel, The Way of the Wild Heart. God worked uniquely in my life as a man on both counts. He contends this in the first book:

Christianity, as it currently exists, has done some terrible things to men. When all is said and done, I think most men in the church believe that God put them on the earth to be a good boy . . . a nice guy. . . . Now let me ask my male readers: In all your boyhood dreams growing up, did you ever dream of becoming a Nice Guy (p. 7)?

Whatever one may think about Eldredge’s treatise of masculinity, I can tell you what God wants men to pray about becoming as men in His church. He wants them to dream of becoming good men.

Paul tells Titus in 2:14 that Jesus gave himself for us . . . to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Titus gets a commission from Paul in this pastoral letter. He tells his ward to go hard after teaching and preaching that promotes a lifestyle of good works. He describes what that looks like in three spheres: the church (chapter one), the home (chapter two), and the world (chapter 3).

God cares greatly whether or not we excel in goodness as men, just as he does women, as the rest of the context in Titus 2 bears out. The Lord charges Titus to teach what accords with sound doctrine (2:1). The aim of such teaching is plain -- that the believers on Crete would take care to devote themselves to good works (3:8).

But the ultimate motivation for such teaching and resultant devotion comes into focus clearly in chapter two in three different verses making the same point.

Verse 5 – that the word of God may not be reviled.

Verse 8 – so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

Verse 10 – so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

In every instance the concern remains the same. We must calculate the impact of the lifestyles we live in terms of the way they reflect upon the faith we profess before the critical eyes of a watching, unbelieving world.

Men, we can act in such a way so as to blaspheme God. We can cause His word, the Christian faith, to come under reviling, blasphemous scorn. We can act in such a way so as to set unbelievers off saying all sorts of unflattering things about Christians. We can act in such a way so as to appear to be wearing anything but the doctrine of God our Savior.

May God give us grace to act like men of God so that the name of God may be glorified in us.

Bless You Cancer (18)

2009-09-11T05:05:00.000-07:00

How does one battle discouragement in prolonged suffering?

My journal entry from 9.11.05 filled only five lines.

Again there is no change in my condition, except that my lip is nearly healed. I continue to make mucous, especially at night. If I swallow any, it gets thrown up at some point - violently. The amount of mucous is staggering. It is difficult not to be discouraged. Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you (Psa. 55:22).

Take this massive promise to the vault of heaven and cash it in over and over again from the endless resources of God's care.

That's how to battle discouragement in prolonged suffering.

More Puritan Power for the LB

2009-09-11T04:58:00.001-07:00

I marvel at the timing of God in the concurrence of Conciliation Anniversary Sunday and this stream of articles from William Gurnall. This today:

Now if the Gospel will not allow us to pay our enemies back in their own coin, returning anger for anger, then certainly it forbids a brother to spit fire into the face of another brother. When such embers of contention begin to smoke among Christians, we can be sure Satan planted the spark; he is the one great kindle-coal of all strife.

Fellow fire-spitters, let us be given to Colossians 3:12-17 graces through the power of the Gospel unleashed in our lives.

Bless You Cancer (17)

2009-09-10T03:13:00.000-07:00

This from my journal of 9.9.05:

We saw my oncologist yesterday. His summary? "You've been to hell and back." Now he's looking for me to rebound because there is no more treatment to do - at least until we get the PET scan results in November/December. It should get better every day.

It did get better, but ever so slowly.

For those who wait, remember Isaiah 40:31 -

But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

More Puritan Power for the LB

2009-09-10T03:05:00.000-07:00

As Conciliation Anniversary Sunday approaches at OGC, here is a trio of statements from William Gurnall that speaks to the matter of biblical peacemaking:

The less progress the Gospel has made in our hearts to mortify lust and strengthen grace, the weaker the peace and love among us.

As grace strengthens, and the gospel prevails in the hearts of Christians, love and a spirit of unity increase with it.

This pair of graces thrive and grow together; a Christian who has abundant faith will also have abundant love.

Oh for saints strong in Gospel graces that peace and love might abound among us!

Getting Stupid Over Football

2009-09-09T18:21:00.001-07:00

Brett Bradley beat me to it. Way to go, man.

He posted a portion of an interview with Pastor Matt Chandler about what stirs his affections for Christ and what dulls them.

His comment about college football hit a bit too close to home, but needs to be said to silly blokes like me.

Check it out here.

Words from the Fire

2009-09-09T18:12:00.001-07:00

Al Mohler has a new book out on the Ten Commandments.

You can check it out at his blog.

Might be an ineresting read given our progression through that portion of the catechism on Sunday mornings.

You can check out Tim Challie's review of the book here.

Did You Know?

2009-09-09T03:46:00.000-07:00

According to Global Prayer Digest:

Orissa (a state in India) is home to about 1.3 million Khandayats, the single largest caste in the state. There are no known believers. According to the Joshua Project, they are 100 percent Hindu.

Pray today for God to raise up a church among the Khandayats.

More Puritan Power for the LB

2009-09-09T03:30:00.001-07:00

This from Obadiah Sedgwick (1600-1658):

True Christians must not only sweep the door, but wash the chamber also. My meaning is this: We are not only to come off from sins that lie open in the conduct, but also labor to be cleansed from sins and sinning that remain secret and hidden in the spirit and inner disposition.

Sweep and wash away, dear ones, through the power of the Gospel and the Spirit of God.

No Spiritual Jackrabbits

2009-09-09T03:17:00.001-07:00

Joseph Stowell wrote an excellent article for the Summer edition of Heartcry! journal entitled Why Tell the Truth?

In it he asks how can we fortify ourselves against the temptation to misjudge and pass along false information about others in a spirit of beguilement that reaches false conclusions about others and even shares false assumptions about them with others.

He offers five safeguards to this sin:

A patient spirit that suspends judgment until sufficient facts are verified (Gal. 5:22).
A love that believes the best until facts prove otherwise (1 Cor. 13:6-7).
A faith that prays the situation into the courts of heaven, where an all-knowing God promises to judge all men righteously (1 Pet. 1:17).
A willingness to protect others by encouraging those who are sharing false accusations to reserve judgment until sufficient facts are gathered (1 Cor. 13:4).
A boldness to go directly (if necessary) to those involved to clarify the facts (Matt. 18:15).

He concludes: The alternative is to become spiritual jackrabbits who jump to all the wrong conclusions, leaving in our trails broken lives and relationships that we could have protected and healed.

May we be our brother's and sister's keepers and no spiritual jackrabbits. This is a good word from a good man for a good church for Conciliation Anniversary Sunday.

Meet the Puritans

2009-09-08T15:12:00.001-07:00

Don't know much about the 17th century Puritans. Here is a blog that can help.

President's Speech to School Children

2009-09-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

President Obama's much debated address to school children slated for this morning can now be accessed in its entirety on line. Read it for yourself here.

Check out Dr. Albert Mohler's balanced assessment here.

Desiring God National Conference

2009-09-08T14:59:00.001-07:00

Only 17 more days and I get to go to Minneapolis for this! Learn more here. Please pray for God to speak to me with power that I might be a better man of God and pastor for Him.

Why I Love Being a Pastor (2)

2009-09-08T14:54:00.001-07:00

Two more reasons among a couple of hundred! Happy anniversary to you both!

Whom Will You Worship?

2009-09-08T04:38:00.001-07:00

Ed Welch writes in his book Addictions: Banquet in the Grave:

The story of the Bible is entitled, "Whom Will You Worship?" The story of our lives has the same title. And ultimately the idols we worship are shaped by our own desires (p. 127).

Whom will you worship today? May it be said of all of us, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).

Praying for the Flock this Week

2009-09-08T04:33:00.000-07:00

Here is the text I am praying for the families of our fellowship by name this week - Phil. 1:9-11:

9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

What passage of Scripture has God put on your heart to use as a basis of prayer for your brothers and sisters in Christ at OGC this week?

Puritan Power for the LB

2009-09-08T04:04:00.000-07:00

This from William Gurnall today:

Just as the Gospel lays the axe to strife and digs it up by its bitter roots, so it fills the hearts of men who embrace it with principles leading to peace and unity. Some of these tenets are self-denial, long-suffering, and gentleness. Self-denial prefers that another be honored before himself. Long-suffering prefers that which makes one not easily provoked. And if gentleness is pushed by a wrong, it holds the door open for peace to come in again.

May Gospel graces abound at OGC as we approach the 7th anniversary of Conciliation Sunday this coming Lord's Day. Praise God for the corporate peace and unity He has granted us these last several years.

Why I Love Being a Pastor

2009-09-07T17:06:00.001-07:00

ONE OF TWO HUNDRED SOME REASONS!

I Married Up

2009-09-07T17:04:00.001-07:00

NEED I SAY MORE!

Handbreadths

2009-09-07T16:55:00.000-07:00

Job 39:5 says,

Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!

Some handbreadths are briefer than others - a mere five days.

This is worth your time. My thanks to Timmy Brister.

Bless You Cancer (16)

2009-09-07T16:11:00.000-07:00

This from 9.06.05's journal:

I know I'm not, but I felt abandoned last night. I kept praying as I turned off the lights, "Please don't abandon me, God." It wasn't a good day. I was more tired than usual. Slept until 1:00 PM. Felt nauseous most of the day. Threw up around dinner time. Tongue is still sore. Mouth is still sore. Cheeks are swollen. Lip is still scabbing. It just goes on forever. Mucous still forming. What a routine of drudgery. When will relief come? Lord, have mercy!

I am rebuked by Bonhoeffer's final letter to his wife or betrothed. He never felt abandoned for all the support he had. I feel ashamed.

During treatment I read Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Letters & Papers from Prison. I highly recommend it to anyone traversing the twists and turns of the road called suffering.

Give Me That Pure & Undefiled Religion Redux

2009-09-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

I first posted this on my blog several weeks ago. I repeat it here now because the window of service opportunity has reopened and it's time to get in gear. See details at the end of the post if you want to jump on board.

The old gospel tune went like this: "Give me that ole time religion, give me that ole time religion, give me that ole time religion, it's good enough for me."

James speaks of a kind of religion good enough for God. "Religion that is pure and undefiled BEFORE GOD, THE FATHER, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world" (James 1:27, emphasis added). The only brand of religion good enough for you and me ought to be the kind that God judges with superlatives like "pure" and "undefiled."

The writer leaves no doubt. Two things mark religion good enough for God: merciful treatment towards the down and out and godly behavior unstained by worldliness and sin.

The down and out include orphans and widows - those who have lost their normal means of family support and now left to themselves. We are to VISIT them. That doesn't just mean drop by the orphanage or house and say hello. It means to bring to bear resources and help that contribute to the alleviation of their misery. The same concept occurs in the Old Testament when it says God visits His people with salvation (Psalm 106:4). The term "visit" has massive implications for a robust Christianity that moves into the lives of those the world often deems as insignificant and unworthy of attention.

I have been praying for some time now that the Lord would open the door to practice some measure of this brand of priceless religion with my neighbor across the street. Darlene lost her husband to cancer a couple of years back. Months ago OGC offered to paint her house as a mercy ministry project. It didn't work out at the time, but recently she asked me if the offer still stood. I checked with the leadership team at our last meeting and they assured me it did. Here's is a picture of her place.

It desperately needs a paint job. My vision is to "visit" this house with an extreme makeover cosmetically speaking in two to three weeks time. I intend to canvas the neighborhood for volunteers so that some of them will prep and paint along side some of the good folks from OGC.

The plan is to prep on 9/12 and paint on 9/19 from 8:00 AM to Noon. You can sign up this Sunday at OGC using the insert in the bulletin.

ANYBODY GOT AN ADDITIONAL PRESSURE WASHER OR TWO WE MAY USE?

May the Lord allow us to let our light shine before others, so that they might see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16).

Bless You Cancer (15)

2009-09-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

This from my journal of 9.2.05:

It is hard not to get discouraged. Last night my tongue felt swollen and sore. Fears swept over me. Will I be able to speak again, eat again, drink again? I seem trapped in the last third of this process with no ultimate relief in sight. I remain shut in by the Lord dependent upon His mercy to heal.

Discouragement is such a formidable foe! Calculating God's sovereignty in the season sustained me but not without huge lows long the way.

Why Build on Maitland Ave?

2009-09-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

If you missed Sunday's congregational meeting, here is a summation of Chuck Mitchell's framing of the building committee presentation.

It outlines the rationale among the elders for their unanimous consensus for building a facility on our property as opposed to some other destination location such as a shopping center, closed auto dealership, etc.

We have explored numerous alternative options in the past by God’s leading and He has closed the door every time and feel it is important to delay a definitive direction no longer.
We greatly value the prospect of being located in the center of a highly residential area as opposed to a commercial one for the purpose of enabling outreach to our community.
Our property lies at the center of what has been the target area for our church from its outset.
A facility will give us a visible, permanent, strategic base of operations making us more viable as a church entity to households in the community as well as facilitating a breadth of ministry options now problematic to impossible to entertain for lack of a facility.
The numerical growth, Lord willing, that a facility will help generate, will enhance our capacity, increasing resources over time to continue our impact in the area of global missions.

May the Lord continue to give us wisdom as we proceed with the process of building a facility for the glory of God as He enables us to do so.

Cut Something Out

2009-09-02T14:37:00.000-07:00

Chapter Seven of A Call to Spiritual Reformation deals with "Excuses for Not Praying." The first is I am too busy to pray. D. A Carson offers this hard-hitting advice:

It matters little whether you are the mother of active children who drain away your energy, an important executive in a major multinational corporation, a graduate student cramming for impending comprehensives, a plumber working overtime to put your children through college, or a pastor of a large church putting in ninety-hour work weeks: at the end of the day, if you are too busy to pray, you are too busy. Cut something out (p. 114).

Amen and amen.

Digo Land Video

2009-09-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

If you missed this on August 23 when our team reported on their trip to Kenya, here's a chance to see some fantastic work by a gifted young lady in our church. Check it out! Note: Double click on the video and it will take you to the full size version - a must.

Bless You Cancer (14)

2009-09-01T14:48:00.001-07:00

Several days have passed since blog posts. How pastors who do it every day keep up with it, I'll never know.

The gist of my journal entries from the last week of August '05 sound very much alike. The last chemo blast took a huge toll. The worst of it came with my bloated, bloody, scab covered lower lip. I looked so terrible that we didn't allow our three grandchildren to come back to the bedroom to see me while they visited for the youngest's birthday party.

This from 9.1.05:

I doubt few things will ever rival this healing process for its seemingly endless nature. Another long night. Scabs all over my swollen lower lip. None seem to want to loosen without bleeding. I think I still have radiation sores in my mouth. If anything should teach me patience, this process should. [And it did.] I watched "The Passion" for the second time. A reminder that my suffering is minimal compared to what my Savior endured for me. I continue to take comfort in the fact that each calendar day that passes puts me one step closer to return to a normal life - assuming cancer is gone. What a huge question that is! Only God has the answer. My times are in His hands.

No Greater Joy

2009-08-27T03:43:00.000-07:00

What gives you joy? What gives you joy to the utmost?

The apostle John revealed his answer in 3 John 4.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

It gave me great joy to receive this email from someone in our church earlier this week:

Hi, Tuesday prayer list folks...

I don't send these every week, but I wanted to let you know that I prayed this verse (among other things) for you this morning. Have a great day.

1Corinthians 16:13
That _________ would be on the alert today, standing firm in the faith, acting like godly men (or women) and being strong.

I was among the Tuesday prayer folks in our Seven Day Prayer Directory at OGC. I was SO ENCOURAGED to know that I had been prayed for in such a substantive, biblical way.

And it gave me GREAT JOY that one of His children sought to walk in the truth of praying for one another and communicated that as I have continually sought to exhort us over these last several weeks.

Church, have you prayed for the Thursday prayer folks yet today?

Bless You Cancer (13)

2009-08-25T05:35:00.000-07:00

I was reminded in my journal from 8.24.05 of a source of comfort during the worst week in my treatment process.

I continue to get numerous cards. My mother has taken it upon herself to recruit friends and family to bombard me. Many encouraging emails too. Praise God for that. I do so long for the day when my life is returned to me. Having it held captive by cancer treatment is terrible. Lord, grant me strength to persevere. Again, I pray, send relief from these discomforts.

Never underestimate the power of a written note to encourage someone who suffers. Is there someone you could bless with comfort Hallmark style today?

No Prayer More Fundamental

2009-08-25T05:29:00.001-07:00

D. A. Carson keeps heaping more thermonuclear fuel on my desire to pray through the flock.

There is no prayer we can pray for others more fundamental than this: that God might strengthen their hearts so that they will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father on the last day (A Call to Spiritual Reformation, p. 94).

See 1 Thess. 3:13, dear ones, and PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER!

Bless You Cancer (12)

2009-08-24T06:53:00.000-07:00

I am remembering arguably the hardest time in my journey through cancer valley.

From my journal of 8.23.05:

The misery shows no signs of abating. Lord, have mercy. My tongue, mouth and lips are raw. I'm nauseous most of the day. The mucous is relentless. How long before the side effects give way and I find relief? O, Lord, grant me endurance. Grant me strength. I almost wept over the pain this afternoon. The taste in my mouth is metallic and bitter. To swallow a pain pill is necessary but always an effort for fear of gagging and throwing up. This may prove one of the longest weeks yet in the trial. Please don't give me more than I can bear, Father. I've never felt affliction like this. How do people who live with it all the time survive. I at least have hope of relief. It can't come soon enough. Guard my lips, O God, in this affliction.

I say, Bless you cancer, for multiple reasons. One is because 2 Cor. 1:4 is true. God comforts us in our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

I now possess pastoral compassion for those who battle chronic pain in a way I never would have known before. God uses suffering to make us better comforters of others in their affliction. The comfort that thought brings is not colossal during one's trial but it grows in its significance over time as you see the Lord redeem it in the lives of others.

No Put Downs Except This Kind

2009-08-24T06:41:00.000-07:00

This from D. A. Carson in today's romance:

Christian love, mature, deep, and unqualified, is a rare commodity. When it is displayed, it speaks volumes to a society that gorges itself in self-interest, lust, mutual-admiration pacts, even while it knows very little of love. Show me a church where the choir is known as the War Department, where people divide over evangelistic strategies or over the color of the carpet, and I'll show you a church that has not been praying along these lines for some time [that the love of Christ would abound in its midst]. Conversely, we will see profound spiritual renovation if by God's grace we make it our commitment not to put anyone down--except on our prayer list (A Call to Spiritual Reformation, emphasis mine, pp. 92-93).

Brethren and Sistren, love well by praying hard and only putting one another down on your Seven Day Prayer Directories and personal lists.

Why This Means & Method of Death?

2009-08-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

I preached on John 6:35 today. I am the bread of life. We had communion following the preaching of the Word and rightly so, particularly on this occasion.

This morning in my sacred romance with Jesus I read this on why the cross by A. W. Pink regarding Christ's Penal Work:

As to why this means and method of death was selected by God out of all others possible--poisoning, stoning, beheading, etc.--Genesis 3 supplies the answer: "As the fatal sin which diffused the curse of the human race was connected with the forbidden 'tree,' God wisely ordered that the last Adam should expiate sin by being suspended on a tree; and He appointed in the Law (Deu 21:22-23) such a symbol of the curse as reminded all men of the origin of the Divine curse on the world. He would not have the curse removed in any other way." Among the Romans, death by crucifixion was the the deepest possible humiliation. It was the most degrading of punishments, inflicted only on slaves and the lowest of the people. If freemen were at any time subjected to crucifixion for great crimes, such as robbery, high treason, or sedition, the sentence could not be executed until they were put into the catalogue of slaves, and that by the utmost humiliation. Their liberty was taken from them by servile stripes and scourging as it was done to Christ. Thus, the curse of God's Law was executed upon the Head and Substitute of His people. To "preach Christ crucified" (1 Co 1:23) is to proclaim and expound His being "made a curse for us."

I wanted to read this before the Table today, but ran out of time. I never made the "tree" connection before. It made me sing When I Survey the Wondrous Cross with a deeper layer of insight, devotion, and wonder than ever before.

Should We Applaud in Church?

2009-08-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

Someone raised this question recently in preparation for our upcoming congregational meeting. Why don't we regularly applaud whoever sings the offertory? We do occasionally but it is rare when it happens.

D. A. Carson has some helpful insight on the question on page 88 of his book noted below.

Applause used to be unknown. Then it came to be deployed after special music. Now it is sometimes heard punctuating sermons. This is, I think, a regressive step. True, some might consider this to be a kind of cultural equivalent to a voiced "Amen!" I take the point, and would not want to introduce new legalism by banning applause outright. But the fundamental difference between "Amen!" and applause must be noted: the "Amen!" is directed to God, even if it serves to encourage the person who is ministering, while applause in our culture signals approval of the performer. God is left out, and the "performer" may the more easily be seduced into pride. This is one of several ways by which the rules of the entertainment world have subtly slipped into corporate worship and are in danger o destroying it from within.

That about sums it up.

A Call to Spiritual Reformation is a worthwhile read.

Bless You Cancer (11)

2009-08-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today marked a milestone as noted in my journal from 8.22.05.

Home. They let me go last night. It's over. Treatment is finished. TBTG. They took the 5FU IV out at 8:45 after 128 consecutive hours. No wonder I feel like c _ _ p. Sores on the inside and outside of my mouth. Red inflamed skin in the cheeks and neck area. Mucous galore. Nausea. Some vomiting. I can hardly talk. I told Nancy yesterday AM, "It stinks being me today." But by God's grace we got through. Hopefully from here on in things can only get better. I wonder how long it will take to recover.

Fortunately I didn't really know, or I might have despaired.

The Kind of Prayer We Need

2009-08-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

So what we need, then, is a prayer life that thanks God for the people of God, and then tells the people of God what we thank God for. D. A. Carson

After I read that from the man's book, A Call to Spiritual Reformation, I sent an email to the one deacon in our Seven Day Prayer List at OGC that falls in the Friday section and did just that.

PEOPLE OF GOD, LOVE ONE ANOTHER BY PRAYING FOR ONE ANOTHER. GIVE THANKS FOR ONE ANOTHER AND TELL ONE ANOTHER WHY YOU GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR ONE ANOTHER.

Eye has not seen and hear has not heard what kind of church we will be if we take this call to pray through the flock faithfully EVERY WEEK! As the Nike people say, JUST DO IT!

Made for Another World

2009-08-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.

C. S. Lewis

Bless You Cancer (10)

2009-08-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today I endured a four day, 24/7 continuous infusion of a chemotherapy drug called 5FU. You can read about this nasty little devil here.

This from 8.19 through 8.21.05 in my journal from that year.

It was a long day yesterday. A lot of lying around. I got up for one walk. Came back and threw up. Vomited a total of three times yesterday. The 5FU is definitely getting to me. So grateful I am not doing radiation. It's a week today since they burned my tongue. it's feeling somewhat better but is still sore. Yawning is quite painful and mucous is still a problem, but not as bad. The doc thought I looked ten times better on this round. He was very upbeat.

I am weary of this journey. So much mucous. More vomiting and nausea. These last four days seem like an eternity. Oh to keep the perspective that we are trying to save my life. It's a brutal path. I was weak and tired much of the day yesterday. I slept a lot. Man, it has been a long haul. Lord give me mercy to persevere. Seems like my secretions have gotten worse, thanks to the extended chemo. Taste is all weird again. I can't wait to get to the other side.

The last day. They hung the final bag of 5Fu last night. I should be finished and free to go home some time tonight. What a relief. It has been miserable. Mucous, mouth pain, nausea, vomiting, sore face. This stuff is so toxic. I just pray it is doing its job and killing any cancer left in my body. I long for relief. Jesus have mercy.

Often times I felt so sick I could only summon one prayer.

Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

It was enough.

Sweet Baby James

2009-08-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of James Gjertsen's homegoing. We miss you, son. The hard providence you brought into your parent's lives and all those who love them brought great joy and deep reflection as well.

For a sweet, thoughtful, substantive recollection of all things James, click through to the House of Gjertsen site here.

I said it before. I'll say it again. I love shepherding people of such faith and devotion. They make me want to be a better pastor.

Jesse & a Crucial Distinction About Evangelism & Missions

2009-08-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

If you aren't reading Brett & Nicole Bradley's blog, I commend it to you.

I love blogs by my people because they give me a window into their hearts so I can know better how to shepherd them. Facebook is doing that for me to, to a certain extent. I keep learning, ever so slowly, even pushing 57 years of age.

Check out today's raw, tender, and insightful stuff from the Bretticus and his bride here.

I love pastoring folks with such sincere, substantive faith.

Our Inscrutable Strata of Self-Admiration

2009-08-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

Desiring God's blog has a post by John Piper comparing thoughts from C. S. Lewis and Jonathan Edwards on the subject of humility. It's worth checking out here.

This smidgen of a quote from Lewis regarding the human propensity to self-admiration might whet your appetite to click through:

It is like fighting the hydra... There seems to be no end to it. Depth under depths of self-love and self-admiration.

Bless You Cancer (9)

2009-08-18T06:41:00.000-07:00

This from 8.18.05.

Back in the hospital again. Another twist. My medical oncologist showed up at treatment with ideas for altering the plan. He was wrestling with adding the 5FU continuous fusion treatment (4 days, 24/7) following the cisplatin. He wants to finish strong. The only way to do it AND keep me on TPN (liquid nutrition) was to put me in so I can run simultaneous IVs. The chemo is not compatible with the TPN so we can't piggy back off the port - unfortunately. Other than feeling weak last night I didn't have any other immediate side effects from the cisplatin. Thanks be to God.

Had my final radiation treatment yesterday. Number 38! Hallelujah that is over. What a long haul. We brought gifts to the staff - some food, Piper books (Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die). I think they felt touched. Got my boldness quotient up to distribute the books. Gave my radiation oncologist a copy of my Psalm 23 message, "Tsunamis, Cancer, & the Shepherd's Extraordinary Care." Hopefully he will listen to it and God will convict and soften his heart.

It was not always easy, but God gave grace to seek to redeem the suffering by enabling us to share the gospel with caregivers and fellow-patients along the way. Blessed be His name.

How Are We To Improve Our Praying?

2009-08-18T06:28:00.000-07:00

Dear ones, who prayed with me today for the G's thorugh the H's in our Seven Day Prayer List at OGC?

My prayer for each, among other things, was Col. 1:9-12.

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

D. A. Carson got me fired up today with this thought from A Call to Spiritual Reformation:

If we are to improve our praying, we must strengthen our loving. As we grow in disciplined, self-sacrificing love, so we will grow in intercessory prayer. Superficially fervent prayers devoid of such love are finally phone, hollow, shallow (p. 85).

Beloved, let us love one another well by praying for one another daily.

Upon My First Believing

2009-08-18T06:21:00.000-07:00

Oh, church, read and feast upon Christ through the work of Puritans like Thomas Brooks!

O blessed Lord! Upon my first believing and closing with Jesus Christ, Thou didst justify me in the court of glory from all my sins, both as to guilt and punishment. Upon my first act of believing, Thou didst pardon all my sins; Thou didst forgive all my iniquities; Thou didst blot out all my transgressions; and as upon my first believing Thou didst give me the remission of all my sins, so upon my first believing thou didst free me from a state of condemnation and interest me in thy great salvation. Upon my first believing, I was united to Jesus Christ and I was clothed with the righteousness of Christ, which covered all my sins and discharged me from all my transgressions. Remember, O Lord, that at the very moment of my dissolution Thou didst really, perfectly, universally, and finally forgive all my sins.

No wonder all heaven ceases its activity and rejoices at the salvation of even one sinner (Luke 15:10). Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

The Highest Stair

2009-08-18T06:12:00.000-07:00

Puritan William Gurnall wrote this:

Consider God's unspeakable love for His beloved Son as He watched Him--alone--enter the stage of bloody tragedy. Be still here and know the painful price both God and His Son paid for you to be one with Him. I think you are at the highest stair God's Word can lead you to ascend into the meditation of His love.

Picture a father who has only one son--and can have no more--sending that child to prison and with his own lips sentencing him to death. And then, to guarantee the execution be completed with the most horrible torment possible, he watches his child's death with eyes brimming not with grief but with anger. If you study this parent's countenance you conclude surely he hates his son or the sin he committed. This is what you see in the Father towards his Son, for it was God, more than men or devils, who caused Christ's death.

Amazing love, how can it be, that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me!

Tears of the Saints

2009-08-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

August is something of unofficial missions month at OGC. We devote the 9:30 hour to reports from and prayer for our various short and long-term folks on the field.

Need a motivational jolt to be a global Christian? Check this video out. I caught it on Justin Taylor's blog.

Bless You Cancer (8)

2009-08-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a portion of my journal from 8.17.05.

The day has finally arrived. The treatment finish line! I get my last radiation session on my neck and my last chemo blast to the body. What a long six weeks it has been! Of course, I still have the aftermath of these treatments to deal with, but there is much prayer going up on my behalf and at least I won't be having continuous radiation while the chemo side effects take their toll. At this point I just want the whole thing over with. As [John] Piper wrote to me in an email, "May you come forth as gold."

Proverbs 25:11 says, A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. In other words, a comment made or written at just the right time in just the right way with just the right truth is a beautiful thing. Pastor John's reference to 1 Peter 1:7 helped catapult me into a frame of mind to endure what lay ahead. I had no idea just how much I would need such a promise given the suffering yet to come.

Total Depravity Like Never Before

2009-08-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

I've seen this video a while ago, but not with Pastor John's comments on it as well.

I love it. Check it out.

What Is the Gospel?

2009-08-15T13:20:00.001-07:00

Ever since reading this summary of the gospel in Dever and Alexander's book, The Deliberate Church, Crossway Books, 2005, 221 pages), I have sought to be all the clearer in my presentation of the gospel to unbelievers and in my teaching of the gospel to our new member classes.

This Gospel, then, is that God is our holy Creator and righteous Judge. He created us to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever, but we have all sinned, both in Adam as our representative head, and in our own individual actions (Rom. 5:12; 3:23). We therefore deserve death—spiritual separation from God in hell (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:3)—and are in fact already spiritually stillborn, helpless in our sins (Ps. 51:5; Rom. 5:6-8; Eph. 2:1) and in need of God to impart spiritual life to us (Ezek. 37:1-14; John 3:3). [Given our desperate condition what follows is why the Gospel is supremely good news] But God sent His Son Jesus Christ , fully God and fully man (Phil. 2:5-11), to die the death that we deserved, and he raised Him up for our justification, proving that He was God’s Son (Rom. 5:1; 1:4). If we would have Christ’s perfect righteousness credited to us, and the penalty for our sins accounted to Him, we must repent of our sins and believe in Jesus Christ for salvation (2 Cor. 5:21; Mark 11:14-15) (p. 28).

How strong is your knowledge of the gospel, the whole gospel, and nothing but the gospel?

Bless You Cancer (7)

2009-08-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

This from 8.15.05 in my journal.

The final week of treatment, Lord willing. I can see the finish line. Had visitors today. Someone recited John 14 from the ESV, flawlessly. What an encouragement that was. Someone stopped by with food for Nancy. Someone else brought the video of the OGC service to the house.

James says pure and undefiled religion before God is to visit widows and orphans in their distress (1:27). I counted the endless stream of folks who visited this pastor in his cancer distress as a certain pure and undefiled religion that I will not soon forget.

Another insight. I went in and out of the hospital five times that year. Some of those stays lasted multiple days. Since that time I have never taken hospital visitation as a pastor lightly or as something to begrudge.

Every visit to my hospital bed or the couch in the family room meant the world to me in my suffering. Thanks to all who showed such mercy and kindness in our season of need!

A Question to Ask Every Day

2009-08-13T07:46:00.000-07:00

This came from today's Coram Deo (Living before the face of God) section in August's Table Talk edition.

Each day we should ask ourselves whether we are content with the gifts God has given us or whether we are coveting (not simply wanting) something else. That something could be money, a relationship, a job, recognition, or any number of things that can be considered good. But when we think that we need these things, we have distrusted God's provision. We should regularly take a look at our goals to see whether they reflect contentment with His grace.

Bless You Cancer (6)

2009-08-13T07:36:00.001-07:00

Still home this morning. Feeling a bit stronger. Hope to make it in to the office after lunch.

This entry from my journal of 8.13.05 reminds me how much prayer can be a part of a season of suffering in a believer's life.

One day closer. Vomited twice. Mucous is constant. Today I get my final tumor bed radiation treatment. Now things will be able to heal. After this, three neck treatments and I am done. I just want it to be over. Strengthen me, Lord. It has been so long since I have felt well. May this season come to a close soon.

It felt like I "rowed" on the stormy sea forever. But Jesus did get into the boat and take me to the other side. I'm grateful.

Bless You Cancer (5)

2009-08-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

At home today battling my periodic nemesis, CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). It beats cancer, as this entry from 8.12.05 from my journal testifies.

Some days seem unbearably long. These last two weeks just drag on. It seems like it will never be over. But the end draweth nigh. I just have to persevere by God's grace. . . . Not a good night's sleep between mucous and not being able to breathe well. Not sure whether to fire my tongue or my nose for poor performance! Both maybe.

At least the Lord helped me keep my sense of humor, not to say my life as well.

Missionaries Who Love the Body of Christ

2009-08-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

That's Rodney and Amanda Walton, part of the CCC team in Salerno. They have a post on their blog about their church in Italy. You can read about it here. I visited that church when I went to Salerno last March.

Like their counterparts, the Bradleys, who treasure the glory of God, I want to promote the Waltons, who treasure the church of God.

Remember to pray for them. They head back to the US tomorrow so Amanda can deliver baby Walton here.

Won't it be sweet to see them?!

Portrait of a Disciple

2009-08-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

Here are the eight marks of a fully devoted follower of Jesus as distilled from the Scriptures as best I see it.

· Pursues his joy in God by abiding in Christ through the practice of spiritual disciplines
· Manifests his godliness of character by obeying God’s word through the power of His Spirit
· Fulfills his roles in society by embracing God’s design for functioning in each of the ordained spheres – home, church, and state
· Shares his faith with unbelievers by engaging them through a wise combination of gracious words and merciful works
· Does his part in global missions by maximizing his investment through praying, sending, and/or going
· Accomplishes his ministry to others by using his gift(s) in the domain(s) of God’s calling
· Manages his resources from God by utilizing them according to the principles of biblical stewardship
· Demonstrates his love for believers by engaging in fellowship through keeping the covenants of church membership

May we give ourselves regularly to the kind of self-examination that measures our commitment to follow Jesus in terms that the Scriptures prescribes.

Bless You Cancer (4)

2009-08-11T05:34:00.000-07:00

Some posts in my journal along the path of treatment of head and neck cancer were decidedly mundane. This from 8.11.05.

Radiation resumed yesterday. I had to take a 2 1/2 hour nap in the afternoon. It wipes me out. Had some nausea but not too bad. It was a fairly uneventful day except for the fact that I moved one day closer to finishing treatment for this horrible disease. Thank you, Father.

In retrospect, a fairly uneventful day in the fight against so formidable an enemy was a good day indeed. Any day without cancer is a great day for sure.

Living Today in Light of the End

2009-08-11T05:27:00.000-07:00

More in the morning romance, this from D. A. Carson.

To think that rebellious, self-centered mortals become children of God, increasingly mirroring his character, and one day enjoying the unclouded bliss of a perfect existence in the presence of the Triune God--this could not possibly be the fruit of our own endeavors. Rather, Christ is glorified, he receives the praise that is his due, as we are glorified, as we are conformed to his likeness. On the last day, Jesus Christ will be glorified in us on account of what we have become by his grace, and we will be glorified in him on account of what he has done for us.

From A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Baker, 1992, p. 59.