You Must Suffer
"For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake." - Philippians 1:29 ESV
Thou Poor, Afflicted, Tempted Soul
Today, I downloaded Red Mountain Music's rendition of the old hymn, "Thou Poor, Afflicted, Tempted Soul," by John Berridge. I'd never heard it before today, but it really ministered to my weary soul. So go download the song for free from NoiseTrade.com (actually, you can download the whole album!) and meditate on these words.
Thou poor, afflicted, tempted soul,
With fears, and doubts, and tempests tossed.
What if the billows rise and roll,
And dash thy ship, it is not lost;
The winds and waves and fiends may roar,
But Christ will bring thee safe on shore.
The winds and waves and fiends may roar,
But Christ will bring thee safe on shore.
What ails those eyes bedewed with tears?
Those laboring sighs that heave thy breast?
Those oft repeated, broken prayers?
Dost thou not long for Jesus' rest?
And can the Lord pass heedless by,
And see a mourning sinner die?
And can the Lord pass heedless by,
And see a sad and mourning sinner die?
O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
Dane Ortlund recently wrote a short post on the story behind George Matheson's hymn, "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go." What a moving and truth-filled testimony!
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Do you know the story behind it?
At age 20 George Matheson (1842-1906) was engaged to be married but began going blind. When he broke the news to his fiancee, she decided she could not go through life with a blind husband. She left him. Before losing his sight he had written two books of theology and some feel that if he had retained his sight he could have been the greatest leader of the church of Scotland in his day.
A special providence was that George’s sister offered to care for him. With her help, George left the world of academia for pastoral ministry and wound up preaching to 1500 each week–blind.
The day came, however, in 1882, when his sister fell in love and prepared for marriage herself. The evening before the wedding, George’s whole family had left to get ready for the next day’s celebration. He was alone and facing the prospect of living the rest of his life without the one person who had come through for him. On top of this, he was doubtless reflecting on his own aborted wedding day twenty years earlier. It is not hard to imagine the fresh waves of grief washing over him that night.
In the darkness of that moment George Matheson wrote this hymn. He remarked afterward that it took him five minutes and that it was the only hymn he ever wrote that required no editing.
O love that will not let me go. Heartening hope for you and me.
Here’s the last stanza.
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O Love that will not let me go
I rest my weary soul in thee
I give thee back the life I owe
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be
O Light that foll’west all my wayStabilizing lines, especially for those in darkness.
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee
My heart restores its borrowed ray
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be
Do you know the story behind it?
At age 20 George Matheson (1842-1906) was engaged to be married but began going blind. When he broke the news to his fiancee, she decided she could not go through life with a blind husband. She left him. Before losing his sight he had written two books of theology and some feel that if he had retained his sight he could have been the greatest leader of the church of Scotland in his day.
A special providence was that George’s sister offered to care for him. With her help, George left the world of academia for pastoral ministry and wound up preaching to 1500 each week–blind.
The day came, however, in 1882, when his sister fell in love and prepared for marriage herself. The evening before the wedding, George’s whole family had left to get ready for the next day’s celebration. He was alone and facing the prospect of living the rest of his life without the one person who had come through for him. On top of this, he was doubtless reflecting on his own aborted wedding day twenty years earlier. It is not hard to imagine the fresh waves of grief washing over him that night.
In the darkness of that moment George Matheson wrote this hymn. He remarked afterward that it took him five minutes and that it was the only hymn he ever wrote that required no editing.
O love that will not let me go. Heartening hope for you and me.
Here’s the last stanza.
O Cross that liftest up my headThanks to: Dane Ortlund via Justin Taylor's blog
I dare not ask to fly from thee
I lay in dust life’s glory dead
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be
The Difference Between Election & Predestination
Kevin DeYoung has a helpful post on the difference between the doctrines of election and predestination. Here's an excerpt.
I had someone ask me this question recently. My short answer is: in popular usage, not a lot.Read the rest.
The terms election and predestination are often used interchangeably, both referring to God’s gracious decree whereby he chooses some for eternal life. In Romans 8:30 Paul speaks of those whom God has predestined, called, justified, and (in the end) glorified. In 8:33 Paul references “the elect,” apparently a synonym for the predestined ones described a few verses earlier.
A sharp distinction between the two words is not warranted from Scripture, but if there is a distinction to be made, predestination is the general term for God’s sovereign ordaining, while election is the specific term for God choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world. That is, predestination is the broader category of which election is the smaller subset. Calvin defined predestination as “God’s eternal decree, by which he compacted with himself what he willed to become of each man…Therefore, as any man has been created to one or the other of these ends, we speak of him as predestined to life or to death” (Inst. III.xxi.5). For Calvin, predestination encompasses the entire eternal decree. Election and reprobation, then, represent two different aspects of the decree. The Canons of Dort Article 1 makes the same distinctions.
Affected by the Gospel
Today, as I was designing at work while listening to some music on my ipod, God made me freshly aware of the weight of my own sin, but even more so, of the overwhelming glory of my Savior who took my sin and made it his own so that now God can pronounce me forgiven. And this time, God did it through a son.
"My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!"
- It Is Well by Horatio Spafford
Thank you, Jesus, for going to the cross on my behalf. That should have been me.
"My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!"
- It Is Well by Horatio Spafford
Thank you, Jesus, for going to the cross on my behalf. That should have been me.
Christians and Karma
Throughout the history of the church, one common temptation has been to import pagan concepts & practices into the church and intertwine them with Christianity itself. This can be done intentionally. Case in point would be the Old Testament Jews as their sons married Gentile daughters, thus adopting some Gentile religious practices into their daily lives. However, my guess is the majority of these cases are unintentional. Overexposure to any worldly concept can lead to a general acceptance of the idea, thus propping the door open for incorporation into everyday practice. I believe this has happened today in the Christian church with the Hindu concept of karma.
If you're not immediately familiar with karma, I'm sure you will be after you hear the definition. Dictionary.com defines karma as "action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation." Hindu philosophy holds that if the karma of an individual is good enough, the next life will be rewarding, and if not, the person may actually devolve and degenerate into a lower life form. In order to achieve good karma it is important to live life according to what is right (About.com). Basically, karma means this: Do something good and something good will happen to you in return. The opposite is also true. Do something bad and something bad will happen to you in return.
Karma has recently been popularized by the TV show My Name Is Earl. In the sitcom, Earl Hickey is a petty criminal whose winning $100,000 lottery ticket is lost when he is hit by a car. Lying in a hospital bed he develops a belief in karma during an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly. To turn his life around, he makes a list of every bad thing he's ever done in an attempt to correct them, as he believes that this is the only way he can gain positive karma. After doing his first good deed, he finds the lottery ticket he had previously lost. He sees this as a sign of karma rewarding him and, with his newfound wealth, he begins doing good deeds according to his list (Wikipedia).
It is this same concept of karma that many Christians have incorporated into their daily lives, many times unknowingly. And I am not immune. It was one of my most common prayers growing up. After I had sinned in some way, I was convinced that God was going to punish me by making me play horribly in my upcoming baseball game. So I would ask God to forgive me for my sins and to please punish me in any other way besides that.
Do you see what my belief was in that moment? I believed that because I had sinned, God was going to punish me in some tangible way. Likewise, the opposite was true as well. I believed that if I did something good, God was going to reward me.
This is not the only way karma has infiltrated our Christian beliefs. How do you view your relationship with God after you have completed a good quiet time? Do you think that God is pleased with your efforts and predisposed to bless you throughout your day because of your great quiet time? Or what about on the days that you've neglected your quiet time with Him? Do you feel that God is now disappointed with your efforts and will not allow you into his presence as a punishment?
Or what about the common answer to the question, "How to you get to heaven?" Sadly, many Christians answer this question the same other nonreligious folk. If we do enough good things in this life such that the sum of them outweigh the bad that we have done, then God will grant us eternal life in heaven.
Friends, all of these examples embody the Hindu concept of karma. We have borrowed karma and molded it into our everyday Christian practice. In its basest form, karma is legalism and anti-Christian.
In fact, God shatters the concept of karma. Despite all of the bad we do in our lives, God is patient with us in our sin. Sin against a holy, just, & eternal God requires immediate & eternal death. Yet we are still alive, eating God's food, living in shelters He has provided for us, hanging out with friends & family that He ultimately has created. And not only that, but God even goes so far as to offer us redemption & salvation from this impending death. If karma were true, the moment we first sinned, we should have been struck down by God himself. End of story.
But for the Christian, God has flipped karma on its head. For those who love God, everything that happens to us is for our good. "And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). Therefore, if you do good or bad, only good will come to you. God's blessing & discipline alike are meant for your good.
I believe what is needed to counteract this disease of karma within the Christian church is a healthy dose of two doctrines: our adoption as sons & daughters into God's family and Christ's imputation.
When you became a Christian, you were indwelt with the Holy Spirit and adopted into God's family. You became a son of the Most High. God now regards you as son! A member of my church put it well in the sermon that he preached today. "If my children disobey me, I love my children. If my children continually disobey me, I love my children. And if my children run to me and beg for forgiveness for their disobedience, I love my children." As a Christian, God's disposition towards you does not change, sin or no sin. He is your Father, and he is totally for you.
And secondly, when you became a Christian, something miraculous happened. Christ took all your sin - past, present, & future - upon Himself as He hung on that bloody cross and, in return, He gave you all of His righteousness, so that now, anytime God looks at you, he does not see damned sinner. No. He sees the righteousness of Christ himself.
So for the Christian who struggles with doing his quiet times, God does not distance himself from you. No, God gets down on one knee and opens wide His arms to comfort His son.
For the Christian who struggles with continual sin, God does not see you as filthy sinner who has punishment coming. No, He looks at you, counts you righteous because of the sacrifice of Jesus on your behalf, and picks you up to carry you through your struggles.
And for the Christian who has done all he can to please the Lord in all he does, God treats him no differently than he does the previous two above. He is His son, and good is coming to him.
If karma were true, we would all get what we truly deserve... immediate, eternal damnation in a place of isolation & torment. Praise God that we live by the law of Christ and not the law of karma.
If you're not immediately familiar with karma, I'm sure you will be after you hear the definition. Dictionary.com defines karma as "action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation." Hindu philosophy holds that if the karma of an individual is good enough, the next life will be rewarding, and if not, the person may actually devolve and degenerate into a lower life form. In order to achieve good karma it is important to live life according to what is right (About.com). Basically, karma means this: Do something good and something good will happen to you in return. The opposite is also true. Do something bad and something bad will happen to you in return.
Karma has recently been popularized by the TV show My Name Is Earl. In the sitcom, Earl Hickey is a petty criminal whose winning $100,000 lottery ticket is lost when he is hit by a car. Lying in a hospital bed he develops a belief in karma during an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly. To turn his life around, he makes a list of every bad thing he's ever done in an attempt to correct them, as he believes that this is the only way he can gain positive karma. After doing his first good deed, he finds the lottery ticket he had previously lost. He sees this as a sign of karma rewarding him and, with his newfound wealth, he begins doing good deeds according to his list (Wikipedia).
It is this same concept of karma that many Christians have incorporated into their daily lives, many times unknowingly. And I am not immune. It was one of my most common prayers growing up. After I had sinned in some way, I was convinced that God was going to punish me by making me play horribly in my upcoming baseball game. So I would ask God to forgive me for my sins and to please punish me in any other way besides that.
Do you see what my belief was in that moment? I believed that because I had sinned, God was going to punish me in some tangible way. Likewise, the opposite was true as well. I believed that if I did something good, God was going to reward me.
This is not the only way karma has infiltrated our Christian beliefs. How do you view your relationship with God after you have completed a good quiet time? Do you think that God is pleased with your efforts and predisposed to bless you throughout your day because of your great quiet time? Or what about on the days that you've neglected your quiet time with Him? Do you feel that God is now disappointed with your efforts and will not allow you into his presence as a punishment?
Or what about the common answer to the question, "How to you get to heaven?" Sadly, many Christians answer this question the same other nonreligious folk. If we do enough good things in this life such that the sum of them outweigh the bad that we have done, then God will grant us eternal life in heaven.
Friends, all of these examples embody the Hindu concept of karma. We have borrowed karma and molded it into our everyday Christian practice. In its basest form, karma is legalism and anti-Christian.
In fact, God shatters the concept of karma. Despite all of the bad we do in our lives, God is patient with us in our sin. Sin against a holy, just, & eternal God requires immediate & eternal death. Yet we are still alive, eating God's food, living in shelters He has provided for us, hanging out with friends & family that He ultimately has created. And not only that, but God even goes so far as to offer us redemption & salvation from this impending death. If karma were true, the moment we first sinned, we should have been struck down by God himself. End of story.
But for the Christian, God has flipped karma on its head. For those who love God, everything that happens to us is for our good. "And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). Therefore, if you do good or bad, only good will come to you. God's blessing & discipline alike are meant for your good.
I believe what is needed to counteract this disease of karma within the Christian church is a healthy dose of two doctrines: our adoption as sons & daughters into God's family and Christ's imputation.
When you became a Christian, you were indwelt with the Holy Spirit and adopted into God's family. You became a son of the Most High. God now regards you as son! A member of my church put it well in the sermon that he preached today. "If my children disobey me, I love my children. If my children continually disobey me, I love my children. And if my children run to me and beg for forgiveness for their disobedience, I love my children." As a Christian, God's disposition towards you does not change, sin or no sin. He is your Father, and he is totally for you.
And secondly, when you became a Christian, something miraculous happened. Christ took all your sin - past, present, & future - upon Himself as He hung on that bloody cross and, in return, He gave you all of His righteousness, so that now, anytime God looks at you, he does not see damned sinner. No. He sees the righteousness of Christ himself.
So for the Christian who struggles with doing his quiet times, God does not distance himself from you. No, God gets down on one knee and opens wide His arms to comfort His son.
For the Christian who struggles with continual sin, God does not see you as filthy sinner who has punishment coming. No, He looks at you, counts you righteous because of the sacrifice of Jesus on your behalf, and picks you up to carry you through your struggles.
And for the Christian who has done all he can to please the Lord in all he does, God treats him no differently than he does the previous two above. He is His son, and good is coming to him.
If karma were true, we would all get what we truly deserve... immediate, eternal damnation in a place of isolation & torment. Praise God that we live by the law of Christ and not the law of karma.
New Seinfeld Movie: Serenity Now!
This is a gift to all of you Seinfeld fans out there. If this were real, I would be there opening night. So funny!
A Shout Out to Moms Everywhere
Any time someone asks me where my wife works or what she does, I usually preface my response with, "My wife's got a much more difficult job than me. She stays at home to raise & care for our son." Here's why.
Anyone Else Excited!?
Coming November 2010.Have theologically conservative evangelicals over-reacted to the "social gospel only" views of many mainline denominations? Tim Keller seems to think we have. The argument that a "purely social gospel is no gospel at all" has never necessitated a view that strips us from responsibilities Jesus laid on his people to serve those in need. I'm excited to announce that Tim Keller addresses this issue head on in his upcoming book Generous Justice. He also seeks to establish the link between modern understandings of general welfare and the Bible as their foundation.
Three Book Recommendations
I was recently looking thru my old posts and noticed there were a few that were still in draft form that I never posted. This is one of them. These are three books that I finished a short while ago, and I want to recommend them to you. They are all outstanding.
Shepherding a Child's Heart
by Tedd Tripp is hands down the best book on parenting I have read yet. The one thing I won't forget from it is Tripp's emphasis on going after the child's heart rather than the child's behavior. If you go after their heart, the behavior will inevitably follow.
In God's Big Picture
, Vaughan Roberts seeks the big picture of the entire bible. His conviction is that the whole bible is telling one story, not lots of little stories all disconnected and such. This book will help you when you are reading through books of the Bible like Leviticus and cannot fathom how in the world this relates to Jesus Christ.
And last but not least, Family Driven Faith
by Voddie Baucham Jr. This is not lay-down-on-the-couch-and-relax book. Make no mistake about it, Voddie brings it hard. He hits parents right between the eyes with conviction after conviction on their responsibility to "raise their kids in the way they should go." It's not the job of a youth pastor, and it's not the job of a Christian school teacher. It's the parent's job. So do it. That's the constant message of Mr. Baucham, and I commend it to you.
Shepherding a Child's Heart
by Tedd Tripp is hands down the best book on parenting I have read yet. The one thing I won't forget from it is Tripp's emphasis on going after the child's heart rather than the child's behavior. If you go after their heart, the behavior will inevitably follow.In God's Big Picture
, Vaughan Roberts seeks the big picture of the entire bible. His conviction is that the whole bible is telling one story, not lots of little stories all disconnected and such. This book will help you when you are reading through books of the Bible like Leviticus and cannot fathom how in the world this relates to Jesus Christ.And last but not least, Family Driven Faith
by Voddie Baucham Jr. This is not lay-down-on-the-couch-and-relax book. Make no mistake about it, Voddie brings it hard. He hits parents right between the eyes with conviction after conviction on their responsibility to "raise their kids in the way they should go." It's not the job of a youth pastor, and it's not the job of a Christian school teacher. It's the parent's job. So do it. That's the constant message of Mr. Baucham, and I commend it to you.
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