In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.
- Hebrews 5:7
Where was the reverence heard and seen in Jesus’ prayers and cries in the midst of suffering and death? It was heard in loud cries and tears in the view of the cross. It was heard in tears and cries of faith toward his powerful Father who was able to raise him up from death. He knows the weakness and fears we face each day, for in his flesh he suffered. He knows our cries of distress, for in his flesh he cried out. But does he know our reverence? His reverence is seen and heard in that he did not escape from the way of the cross, but willing went the way of death so that his cries would be heard in his resurrection. His reverence was seen and heard in his cries not for his own will to be done but for the will of his Father who would be glorified in his humbling himself as a man to the point of death on the cross, so that through his humiliation for the elect the Father would exalt him as King and Head of the elect through the resurrection and ascension. His reverence is seen and heard today as he continues as the eternal High Priest making intercession for his Bride and ruling over her, speaking to her in order that she may be made complete, a holy and blameless people chosen by his Father.
God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is able to save you from death. Does he hear you in your prayers, supplications with cries of tears in reverence? Reverence accepts the way of the cross, but in the way of the cross it cries with prayers and supplications because the way of the cross is dependent in death for the joy of others in God. Prayers and supplications without cries in reverence is done by those who want for a self exalting life. But for those who pray with cries of reverence there is the certainty that you are not your own, you have been bought with a price and you are to glorify God with your body. Yet your body is weak, your flesh is failing and you know that in you is no good thing, so you pray with cries of reverence for his glory to be revealed through your union with Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Reverence for God’s glory is seen and heard best in humility, and humility with reverence shines forth in the cross where the extension of Christ’s sufferings in grace flow to more and more souls for God’s glory in cries of reverence to the God of all grace.
May God be glorified as we trust in the great High Priest Jesus Christ, who suffered in the flesh with prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears with reverence, to save us from death. And may he be glorified as we pray continually with loud cries and tears in reverence as we walk the pathway of the cross so that others may glorify him for his grace.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Positive Thinking Toward Self Promotion, It's Delusional
People who love success will view others as a means or a threat toward their own self promotion. Today’s positive thinking can sound so good, but be in reality O so wicked. While driving back to the office this afternoon I was ease dropping on a conversation between ESPN talk radio host Jim Rome and the University of Memphis basketball coach John Calipari. Coach Calipari is winsome and engaging and wonderfully positive about life. I found myself engaged by his communication wondering how much of what he was saying was true about life. He spoke of the 15 “House For Sale” signs he has in his garage that he has pulled up from his yard that have been placed there by angry fans over the years. And with this I was engaged in his trials. He spoke of how he has learned that what he is doing is not about himself, but about his the promotion of his assistants and his players, and how this has helped him as he as matured to handle the difficult trials of coaching in the limelight. He spoke about how he has learned to look at everything in a positive way and not get down on people, even when they have things to say about your family or your character. He was talking about everything having a positive side and everything working out for the good. And I found myself tracking with him, I was hooked, I thought this guy is on the right track. And then it hit me. Jim Rome asked him what he was doing this afternoon and coach Calipari responded, “I am talking on the best damned radio show…and then I am going to speak to the Johnny Rockets franchises...I am bouncing back all over the place.” Then I heard something about a book! (Check it out for yourself http://shots.bostonsportsmedia.com/2008/03/shots-proud-to-announce-book-deal/)
And I realized I was being scammed, lied to, raked over the coals of self promotion and I turned the radio off. Promoting assistants and players is about promoting self. Finding out how to deal with trials by looking on the sunny side of the positive life is a scheme for the glory of man. I realized when he said that everything works out for the good and left out for those who love God and are called according to his purpose all I could hear was the sound trowels and the laying of bricks. How would the greatest apostle of the first century have spoken to the man who lost his job or the franchises of Johnny Rockets who have the greatest headache in the world to deal with everyday, personel? Calipari can recruit his assistants and players, the man who lost his job has to go looking under the guise, “Fired”. Johnny Rocket hamburger flippers come with a resume listing their last four employers, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s and Arbys. But I forgot, Coach Calipari was fired by the Nets after 20 games and that’s why he is qualified to speak to people who face tremendous struggles everyday. But don’t forget the book due in September 09 that will give you all the answers you are looking for to deal with life’s struggles. All is vanity, all is a sham of self promotion. The first century apostle would say, follow me as I follow Christ, and by the way this is the way of death. And every trial is death leading to death, but it is all for the glory of God not the glory of self. The way of the cross is foolishness and it is foolish for self promoting men to believe in a God who popularizes the theology of the cross rather than the theology of glory. Think on the sunny side, Coach Calipari came in 2nd at NCAA Finals this year, I wonder how many of those sunny side endings the fans in Memphis will put up with? I wonder how many of Pat Riley’s “The Winner Within” books will sell this year after his 15 and 67 record and announced retirement. Truth lasts but positive thinking for the end of self promotion loses it’s hair, outgrows being rejuvenated, gets beyond the reach of HGH, and gets replaced.
And I realized I was being scammed, lied to, raked over the coals of self promotion and I turned the radio off. Promoting assistants and players is about promoting self. Finding out how to deal with trials by looking on the sunny side of the positive life is a scheme for the glory of man. I realized when he said that everything works out for the good and left out for those who love God and are called according to his purpose all I could hear was the sound trowels and the laying of bricks. How would the greatest apostle of the first century have spoken to the man who lost his job or the franchises of Johnny Rockets who have the greatest headache in the world to deal with everyday, personel? Calipari can recruit his assistants and players, the man who lost his job has to go looking under the guise, “Fired”. Johnny Rocket hamburger flippers come with a resume listing their last four employers, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s and Arbys. But I forgot, Coach Calipari was fired by the Nets after 20 games and that’s why he is qualified to speak to people who face tremendous struggles everyday. But don’t forget the book due in September 09 that will give you all the answers you are looking for to deal with life’s struggles. All is vanity, all is a sham of self promotion. The first century apostle would say, follow me as I follow Christ, and by the way this is the way of death. And every trial is death leading to death, but it is all for the glory of God not the glory of self. The way of the cross is foolishness and it is foolish for self promoting men to believe in a God who popularizes the theology of the cross rather than the theology of glory. Think on the sunny side, Coach Calipari came in 2nd at NCAA Finals this year, I wonder how many of those sunny side endings the fans in Memphis will put up with? I wonder how many of Pat Riley’s “The Winner Within” books will sell this year after his 15 and 67 record and announced retirement. Truth lasts but positive thinking for the end of self promotion loses it’s hair, outgrows being rejuvenated, gets beyond the reach of HGH, and gets replaced.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Thoughts on God's Guidance from Acts 10 and 11
Where do we find the guidance of God? As the apostle Peter discovered, we find God’s guidance in the everyday with God. We all want to know what the will of God is and how we can know when it truly is the will of God. But the will of God on earth as it is in heaven is unfolding everyday in the lives of His creatures. In Acts 11:1-18 the apostle Peter finds himself explaining how he discovered the will of God for his everyday and what would become his role in the world as God used him for his glorious purposes. Let’s look and see how God guides Peter.
First, Peter was led in prayer. Peter was in the mode of communion with God while on the rooftop of Simon the tanners home in Joppa. He was there at midday awaiting a meal being prepared for him, but his time was spent in communion with God in prayer. I do not believe he was seeking God’s will for how the gospel would go to the ends of the earth and what strategy he should be implementing for the accomplishment of that task as he pursued this vision for the church promised to him by Christ (Acts 1:8). I believe he was simply there in prayer fellowshipping with his Lord and King, the lover of his soul. It was in the context of communion by prayer that the Lord led him.
Second, Peter was lead by God’s word. Peter was in prayer and in that time of prayer he fell into a trance, not sleeping as we may often experience when trying to pray, but he received a vision from God. But the vision was not absent of the word of the Lord. The Lord spoke to Peter through the vision three times telling him directly what to do. After the vision was gone he then was spoken to directly by the Spirit of God telling him exactly what to do. Then after the Spirit spoke to him men came from Cornelius’s home telling him that an angel of the Lord had appeared to him and told him exactly what to do, which was send for Peter. I do not believe that we should be seeking a vision from God for guidance, nor do I believe we should be asking the Spirit of God to speak audibly to us, nor do I believe we should seek an angel of the Lord to speak to us. I believe that this teaches us rather to seek God’s guidance through God’s word. God has given us his inspired word which is profitable to lead us in paths of righteousness and to train us for those paths of righteousness (2Timothy 3:16). I believe that God tells us exactly what his will is in his word and I believe it is sufficient to lead us in his will everyday.
Third, Peter was lead by God’s providence. “God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q.11) Peter finds himself living out his life not in a willy nilly fashion but in the scope of God’s providence. It is no mistake that Peter has already seen God working in Jerusalem, Samaria and now in the outer parts of Judea. It is no mistake that he is in Joppa while Cornelius is a day and a half away in Ceasarea. It is not mistake that as God is speaking to Peter in the vision three Gentile, unclean, men appear at the door where he is staying. It is no mistake that it is made known to Peter that an angel of the Lord has appeared to Cornelius and sent for him. The providence of God lead Peter and it would be in the providence of God that Peter would find God’s will.
Fourth, Peter was lead by obedience. Peter did not hesitate to invite the three men in, they were unclean Gentiles. Peter did not hesitate to go on the journey the next day to Cornelius’s house, he was an unclean Gentile. Peter did not hesitate to speak to Cornelius and all gathered all that God had commanded him. Peter did not hesitate to baptize them and remain with them for several days. God made his will known to Peter in the pathway of obedience.
Fifth, Peter was lead by an internal and external call. The will of God in the end was to bring into the church Gentiles through faith in Christ and to use Peter in the process. Peter did not know all this in advance but as he was called by the Lord he followed his lead. He had an internal assurance that built along the way as he followed God’s lead. But as he followed that internal leading God gave him external confirmations that this was his call. He sent men, he plowed in the heart of Cornelius and his household and the certainty of this was they were believing and repentant unto life as Peter saw them baptized with the Holy Spirit just as he and other Jews had been. Peter’s going and preaching according to God’s will was confirmed by the reception of the gospel by these formerly unclean Gentiles and the internal calling was externally confirmed for Peter.
Therefore, Peter was able to follow God’s leading through prayer, the Word of God, God’s providence, his own obedience and both an internal and external confirmation. And just as God lead Peter he will lead his own children in his will as we hold fast to these same principles.
First, Peter was led in prayer. Peter was in the mode of communion with God while on the rooftop of Simon the tanners home in Joppa. He was there at midday awaiting a meal being prepared for him, but his time was spent in communion with God in prayer. I do not believe he was seeking God’s will for how the gospel would go to the ends of the earth and what strategy he should be implementing for the accomplishment of that task as he pursued this vision for the church promised to him by Christ (Acts 1:8). I believe he was simply there in prayer fellowshipping with his Lord and King, the lover of his soul. It was in the context of communion by prayer that the Lord led him.
Second, Peter was lead by God’s word. Peter was in prayer and in that time of prayer he fell into a trance, not sleeping as we may often experience when trying to pray, but he received a vision from God. But the vision was not absent of the word of the Lord. The Lord spoke to Peter through the vision three times telling him directly what to do. After the vision was gone he then was spoken to directly by the Spirit of God telling him exactly what to do. Then after the Spirit spoke to him men came from Cornelius’s home telling him that an angel of the Lord had appeared to him and told him exactly what to do, which was send for Peter. I do not believe that we should be seeking a vision from God for guidance, nor do I believe we should be asking the Spirit of God to speak audibly to us, nor do I believe we should seek an angel of the Lord to speak to us. I believe that this teaches us rather to seek God’s guidance through God’s word. God has given us his inspired word which is profitable to lead us in paths of righteousness and to train us for those paths of righteousness (2Timothy 3:16). I believe that God tells us exactly what his will is in his word and I believe it is sufficient to lead us in his will everyday.
Third, Peter was lead by God’s providence. “God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q.11) Peter finds himself living out his life not in a willy nilly fashion but in the scope of God’s providence. It is no mistake that Peter has already seen God working in Jerusalem, Samaria and now in the outer parts of Judea. It is no mistake that he is in Joppa while Cornelius is a day and a half away in Ceasarea. It is not mistake that as God is speaking to Peter in the vision three Gentile, unclean, men appear at the door where he is staying. It is no mistake that it is made known to Peter that an angel of the Lord has appeared to Cornelius and sent for him. The providence of God lead Peter and it would be in the providence of God that Peter would find God’s will.
Fourth, Peter was lead by obedience. Peter did not hesitate to invite the three men in, they were unclean Gentiles. Peter did not hesitate to go on the journey the next day to Cornelius’s house, he was an unclean Gentile. Peter did not hesitate to speak to Cornelius and all gathered all that God had commanded him. Peter did not hesitate to baptize them and remain with them for several days. God made his will known to Peter in the pathway of obedience.
Fifth, Peter was lead by an internal and external call. The will of God in the end was to bring into the church Gentiles through faith in Christ and to use Peter in the process. Peter did not know all this in advance but as he was called by the Lord he followed his lead. He had an internal assurance that built along the way as he followed God’s lead. But as he followed that internal leading God gave him external confirmations that this was his call. He sent men, he plowed in the heart of Cornelius and his household and the certainty of this was they were believing and repentant unto life as Peter saw them baptized with the Holy Spirit just as he and other Jews had been. Peter’s going and preaching according to God’s will was confirmed by the reception of the gospel by these formerly unclean Gentiles and the internal calling was externally confirmed for Peter.
Therefore, Peter was able to follow God’s leading through prayer, the Word of God, God’s providence, his own obedience and both an internal and external confirmation. And just as God lead Peter he will lead his own children in his will as we hold fast to these same principles.
Friday, April 11, 2008
An Uncommon Experience
My wife and I spent several days in southern California last week. Do not let the term “southern” fool you, there was nothing southern about our experience in California, and though I enjoyed my time away with my wife I am thankful to be back into a truly southern experience. But with that aside Noelle and I underwent and uncommon experience while in southern California.
We walked into a Blockbuster, not uncommon for us, walked immediately to the drama shelf chose a movie, rented the movie and walked out the door in less than five minutes, uncommon for us. What lead us to this uncommon experience?
We visited Ransom Fellowship http://www.ransomfellowship.org/movies.asp online. They have put a number of movie reviews online and added to their reviews discussion questions that are helpful to use in family or neighbor gatherings after the viewing of the movie. Noelle and I read a number of the reviews before deciding to watch Everything is Illuminated http://www.ransomfellowship.org/articledetail.asp?AID=226&B=Travis%20Scott&TID=2
a 2005 film by Liev Schreiber. Elijah Wood stars in the film as a young man searching for his grandfather’s family history in the Ukraine. Ransom Fellowship was very helpful in allowing us to think through and make an educated decision about watching this film together. They also are helpful in challenging Christians to do all that we do for the glory of God. Watching film is like eating and drinking and doing whatever we do for the glory of God (1Corinthians 10:31). They challenge us not to sit idle but to think through entertainment cultivating it for God’s redemptive purposes in all of culture. Just as walking in and out of a movie store in less than five minutes is an uncommon experience for us, so watching a film for the glory of God is an uncommon experience for many Christians.
We walked into a Blockbuster, not uncommon for us, walked immediately to the drama shelf chose a movie, rented the movie and walked out the door in less than five minutes, uncommon for us. What lead us to this uncommon experience?
We visited Ransom Fellowship http://www.ransomfellowship.org/movies.asp online. They have put a number of movie reviews online and added to their reviews discussion questions that are helpful to use in family or neighbor gatherings after the viewing of the movie. Noelle and I read a number of the reviews before deciding to watch Everything is Illuminated http://www.ransomfellowship.org/articledetail.asp?AID=226&B=Travis%20Scott&TID=2
a 2005 film by Liev Schreiber. Elijah Wood stars in the film as a young man searching for his grandfather’s family history in the Ukraine. Ransom Fellowship was very helpful in allowing us to think through and make an educated decision about watching this film together. They also are helpful in challenging Christians to do all that we do for the glory of God. Watching film is like eating and drinking and doing whatever we do for the glory of God (1Corinthians 10:31). They challenge us not to sit idle but to think through entertainment cultivating it for God’s redemptive purposes in all of culture. Just as walking in and out of a movie store in less than five minutes is an uncommon experience for us, so watching a film for the glory of God is an uncommon experience for many Christians.
Thoughts on Psalm 3
In 2 Samuel 15 Absalom, David’s son, has exalted himself and conspired to take the throne of his father by drawing the men of Israel away in his leadership to stand against and overthrow his father David. He sets himself up as a seemingly wise and just judge at the gates in Jerusalem decrying his father’s leadership before the men of Israel and then he takes leave to Hebron to establish himself leader of Israel. The historical context of Psalm 3 is found in 2 Samuel 15-19.
David begins by telling of the oppression he faces (vv.1-2). The men of Israel have joined with Absalom against him, and even some of those close to David in his court. There is also those who decry David before God saying that the judgment of God has broken out against David so that there is no salvation for David from the Lord. David certainly is suffering under the justice of God due to his sin against Uriah and Bathsheba, but not for anything he has done against the house of Saul as is spoken in 2 Samuel 16:8. There may be times in the lives of God’s children where they face great oppression from others. This may be due, as in this instance, to the consequences of sin. David is here suffering because of the consequences of his own sin and in his sin in relationship to his son Absalom. But there may also be times of suffering great oppression from men, not because of any sin on one person’s part, but for the sake of righteousness or because one bears the reproach of Christ as one who is alive in Him. We must never think that while we remain in this world we are free from suffering under the oppression of others. This is the way of the cross while we remain in this world, yet it is the way in which God turns our hearts to Himself as He did His servant David.
My favorite word in Scripture begins David’s next thoughts, “But”. Here David sets in contrast the oppression of men (vv.1-2) with the blessing of God toward those who are His (vv.3-6). David knows God as His protectorate. He does not trust in himself or his mighty men. He knows the Lord Sabbaoth is His name and that the glory of God in power and goodness is toward him. Here David knows that he is a sinner but one who has been cleansed and forgiven. The consequences of sin remain, but the Lord lifts up his head because David trusts in Him for a righteousness that is not his own. And so David can cry aloud to the Lord and be heard because he cries as one by faith believing that God exists and is the rewarder of those that seek Him. David knows God is his salvation and so he seeks him through his appointed means of sacrifice at His holy hill, Zion. Therefore in the midst of oppression David trusts not in man but God who is his Protector, Encourager, Savior and exalted King. This is why he can lay down and sleep in peace (v.5) and rise up without fear of man (v.6). We want to be those who sleep in peace and not fear man, but we rise up in the world and look to the world and man. Therefore we are restless without peace and we fear man at every turn. But the eyes of our hearts must run to God who is over all our lives and a shield round about us, the one who cleanses our hearts of sin through the blood of Christ and cleanses our consciences through his sprinkled blood so that we can draw near to him with a full assurance of faith into the presence of his glory where he lifts our heads and lets us rest.
It is the Lord of glory that rises against all our enemies to bring them under his and our feet in order that we may live in his kingdom forever (v.7). When the Lord arises against our enemies in the power of his might with salvation in his hands there is no foe in heaven or on earth that can stand against us. He delivers them all to impotence by his great omnipotence and his children stand and watch the salvation of our Lord. As indwelling sin oppresses, it is the Lord who arises to destroy it’s power and pollution. As the philosophies, attractions and oppressions of this world stand before us with promise and curses; it is the Lord who arises to overcome this world and establish us in his kingdom. As the prince of the power of the air seeks to oppress the children of God, it is the Lord who arises to crush the head of the dragon. It is the Lord who fights for his children. He is the Lord of salvation and his salvation brings his blessing upon all who trust in him. Come, all who are sorely oppressed and find rest for your souls under the mighty, wise and good hand of our Lord and King Jesus Christ.
David begins by telling of the oppression he faces (vv.1-2). The men of Israel have joined with Absalom against him, and even some of those close to David in his court. There is also those who decry David before God saying that the judgment of God has broken out against David so that there is no salvation for David from the Lord. David certainly is suffering under the justice of God due to his sin against Uriah and Bathsheba, but not for anything he has done against the house of Saul as is spoken in 2 Samuel 16:8. There may be times in the lives of God’s children where they face great oppression from others. This may be due, as in this instance, to the consequences of sin. David is here suffering because of the consequences of his own sin and in his sin in relationship to his son Absalom. But there may also be times of suffering great oppression from men, not because of any sin on one person’s part, but for the sake of righteousness or because one bears the reproach of Christ as one who is alive in Him. We must never think that while we remain in this world we are free from suffering under the oppression of others. This is the way of the cross while we remain in this world, yet it is the way in which God turns our hearts to Himself as He did His servant David.
My favorite word in Scripture begins David’s next thoughts, “But”. Here David sets in contrast the oppression of men (vv.1-2) with the blessing of God toward those who are His (vv.3-6). David knows God as His protectorate. He does not trust in himself or his mighty men. He knows the Lord Sabbaoth is His name and that the glory of God in power and goodness is toward him. Here David knows that he is a sinner but one who has been cleansed and forgiven. The consequences of sin remain, but the Lord lifts up his head because David trusts in Him for a righteousness that is not his own. And so David can cry aloud to the Lord and be heard because he cries as one by faith believing that God exists and is the rewarder of those that seek Him. David knows God is his salvation and so he seeks him through his appointed means of sacrifice at His holy hill, Zion. Therefore in the midst of oppression David trusts not in man but God who is his Protector, Encourager, Savior and exalted King. This is why he can lay down and sleep in peace (v.5) and rise up without fear of man (v.6). We want to be those who sleep in peace and not fear man, but we rise up in the world and look to the world and man. Therefore we are restless without peace and we fear man at every turn. But the eyes of our hearts must run to God who is over all our lives and a shield round about us, the one who cleanses our hearts of sin through the blood of Christ and cleanses our consciences through his sprinkled blood so that we can draw near to him with a full assurance of faith into the presence of his glory where he lifts our heads and lets us rest.
It is the Lord of glory that rises against all our enemies to bring them under his and our feet in order that we may live in his kingdom forever (v.7). When the Lord arises against our enemies in the power of his might with salvation in his hands there is no foe in heaven or on earth that can stand against us. He delivers them all to impotence by his great omnipotence and his children stand and watch the salvation of our Lord. As indwelling sin oppresses, it is the Lord who arises to destroy it’s power and pollution. As the philosophies, attractions and oppressions of this world stand before us with promise and curses; it is the Lord who arises to overcome this world and establish us in his kingdom. As the prince of the power of the air seeks to oppress the children of God, it is the Lord who arises to crush the head of the dragon. It is the Lord who fights for his children. He is the Lord of salvation and his salvation brings his blessing upon all who trust in him. Come, all who are sorely oppressed and find rest for your souls under the mighty, wise and good hand of our Lord and King Jesus Christ.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Beware of Fix-It People
“Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”
- James 1:19b
Are you a fix-it person? You know the scenario, someone is frustrated with themselves or their situation and they tell you and immediately you have a way to fix-it for them. Or your child is continuing down the same well worn path of life that frustrates you and you must fix-it. Or your wife is struggling at home with the children and her responsibilities and you ride in on your great white steed to fix-it. For many frustration is in the air but for you it is an opportunity to employ tactics, plans, procedures, discipline and schedules to be the fix-it person for their problems.
If you have a fix-it mentality, as I do, there is often much pride wrapped up in your desire to fix-it. We want to be our wives knight in shinning armor, or our children’s humble sage, or our neighbors got it all together friend. And when we have walked away from imparting our fix-it wisdom we think well of ourselves and wonder at our great insight and ability to help. Or if our fix-it wisdom has been met with resistance we wonder at the other person’s stubbornness or why they do not get it, and why will they not follow our brilliant advice.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am all for helping other people. And I think discipline, schedules, planning and ideas are important to share and use in one another’s lives. But often our fix-it plan fails to reach those we love at the heart of their being and living. This is so because we fail to listen and bring them to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we give them God replacements instead.
The problem with this fix-it mentality is that we carry people away from what they need most in their time of need, the God of the gospel. We take people away from their identity as sinners and Christians if they are in Christ. We take them away from God’s provision for them in the gospel. And we take them away from God’s progression in the gospel. Fix-it people hear the problem and employ a method to assist people in their madness, but do not realize that we are actually increasing the possibility for madness by teaching them to live externally outside of the gospel of Christ.
The reason we are frustrated in the situations and circumstances of life is because we are sinners. We do not realize that our true identity lies in the fact that sin dwells in us (Romans 7:20), and in this body of death that still lurks in the earth we are constantly met by circumstances and situations that do not meet our needs, wants, desires and loves. Our greatest problems do not lie outside of us but inside of us and this internal problem is what needs fixing. And this is where the other side of our identity is necessary. If we have been born again by the Spirit of God (John 3:3-8) so that we have repented of our sin and are trusting in Christ alone for salvation, the forgiveness of sins and justification through the imputed righteousness of Christ, then our identity is a child of God (John 1:12). We have a new identity in Christ (2Corinthians 5:17) and we are being saved from sin and death with the certainty of an eternal future in the glorious presence of the living God. And while I am still a sinner I am also a child of God with all the rights and privileges as a citizen of God’s kingdom. We need to help people not by trying to be their fix-it person, but by helping them to see out of what identity they are living. Bringing people to the gospel of Jesus Christ means that we do not take them away from the gospel by giving them God shaped replacements for “Christian living”, but that we help them to see who they truly are as sinners and why they are responding to life as they are and then, if they are in Christ, show them who they are a citizens of God’s kingdom through their identity in Christ so that they will face the situations and circumstances as though dead to sin and alive in Christ.
Another reason we are frustrated in the situations and circumstances of life, and a reason we will avoid the difficult circumstances and situations in life is because we do not know the provision of the gospel. Fix-it people think the provision of the gospel is the “Christian Living” section of the book store, books and plans for financial freedom, schedules for children and home life, ideas for organization, verses to memorize and theological ideas that assist me in being a reasonable Christian in the world. Some of these things are good and helpful but most become God replacements when what we need is the gospel. The apostle Paul says, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me…” (Galatians 2:20). Those who are alive in Christ have everything they need for life and godliness in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The circumstances and situations of life that frustrate us or that we avoid can be met as we see the provision of the gospel in Christ. This provision runs deeper than all the above mentioned helps. Christians are so called because their identity is Christ and they are provided with everything they need for a present and eternal life of godliness in Christ. This is why Christians can glory in weakness because God’s grace in Christ is sufficient for all our weaknesses and in those weaknesses we see His strength. Not having it all together is not a bad thing when it thrusts us toward God’s provision for us in the gospel. Fix-it people need to bring broken people to the gospel that they may live in Christ. But normally fix-it people take people away from the gospel to get a band-aid, and then when all cleaned up back to God as a presentation of the glory of man.
The last reason we are frustrated in the circumstances and situations of life is because we are looking to them for comfort, peace, ease and prosperity. Those of us who are sinners and at the same time children of God, and are alive in Christ provided with everything for life and godliness, need to know that the gospel means God is also at work in us (Philippians 1:6). The life we live here is not a perfect life nor is it a life where we are in neutral waiting on eternal life. The life in the gospel is a life of repentance and faith because God is at work in us for His own pleasure. And His pleasure is to make us the image bearers of Christ, reflecting His glory in the earth in holiness. This gospel work is God’s in us as we live in Christ as His children and he will do whatever is necessary and according to His will to bring that about. This is why we turn to methods and madness when we find ourselves facing difficulties and trials. We forget the process that we are in and think that it is not possible for my present and temporal joy to be lost in order that God may bring me to a weight of glory (2Corinthians 4:17). God is at work in us for His glory not our glory through our own comfort, peace and prosperity. The gospel means change in us from God hating sinners to God glorifying image bearers alive in Christ. Therefore, fix-it people who try to take people away from the struggles by giving them God replacing methods to make coping with the struggles easier or their lives more prosperous are at odds with the gospel. We must thrust others upon the gospel where they identify and understand the progression of the gospel and live in it by repentance and faith. Fix-it people may ask, “Have you prayed about this?”, but they rarely ask, “Have you repented?”. Fix-it people bypass repentance and believe that faith is in the form of following some plan or method.
I am a confessing fix-it person who has taken people away from God in the gospel to many God replacements. I want to be slow to speak and quick to listen, that I can bring people to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is here they will see their identity as sinners and understand their great need, and then find that need met in their identity as children of the living God. It is here that they will see the provision of God for them in the gospel as they understand that God has given them everything they need for life and godliness. And it is in the gospel that they will live with God’s progression toward holiness in Christ through being satisfied with all that He is for them embraced through repentance and faith.
- James 1:19b
Are you a fix-it person? You know the scenario, someone is frustrated with themselves or their situation and they tell you and immediately you have a way to fix-it for them. Or your child is continuing down the same well worn path of life that frustrates you and you must fix-it. Or your wife is struggling at home with the children and her responsibilities and you ride in on your great white steed to fix-it. For many frustration is in the air but for you it is an opportunity to employ tactics, plans, procedures, discipline and schedules to be the fix-it person for their problems.
If you have a fix-it mentality, as I do, there is often much pride wrapped up in your desire to fix-it. We want to be our wives knight in shinning armor, or our children’s humble sage, or our neighbors got it all together friend. And when we have walked away from imparting our fix-it wisdom we think well of ourselves and wonder at our great insight and ability to help. Or if our fix-it wisdom has been met with resistance we wonder at the other person’s stubbornness or why they do not get it, and why will they not follow our brilliant advice.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am all for helping other people. And I think discipline, schedules, planning and ideas are important to share and use in one another’s lives. But often our fix-it plan fails to reach those we love at the heart of their being and living. This is so because we fail to listen and bring them to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we give them God replacements instead.
The problem with this fix-it mentality is that we carry people away from what they need most in their time of need, the God of the gospel. We take people away from their identity as sinners and Christians if they are in Christ. We take them away from God’s provision for them in the gospel. And we take them away from God’s progression in the gospel. Fix-it people hear the problem and employ a method to assist people in their madness, but do not realize that we are actually increasing the possibility for madness by teaching them to live externally outside of the gospel of Christ.
The reason we are frustrated in the situations and circumstances of life is because we are sinners. We do not realize that our true identity lies in the fact that sin dwells in us (Romans 7:20), and in this body of death that still lurks in the earth we are constantly met by circumstances and situations that do not meet our needs, wants, desires and loves. Our greatest problems do not lie outside of us but inside of us and this internal problem is what needs fixing. And this is where the other side of our identity is necessary. If we have been born again by the Spirit of God (John 3:3-8) so that we have repented of our sin and are trusting in Christ alone for salvation, the forgiveness of sins and justification through the imputed righteousness of Christ, then our identity is a child of God (John 1:12). We have a new identity in Christ (2Corinthians 5:17) and we are being saved from sin and death with the certainty of an eternal future in the glorious presence of the living God. And while I am still a sinner I am also a child of God with all the rights and privileges as a citizen of God’s kingdom. We need to help people not by trying to be their fix-it person, but by helping them to see out of what identity they are living. Bringing people to the gospel of Jesus Christ means that we do not take them away from the gospel by giving them God shaped replacements for “Christian living”, but that we help them to see who they truly are as sinners and why they are responding to life as they are and then, if they are in Christ, show them who they are a citizens of God’s kingdom through their identity in Christ so that they will face the situations and circumstances as though dead to sin and alive in Christ.
Another reason we are frustrated in the situations and circumstances of life, and a reason we will avoid the difficult circumstances and situations in life is because we do not know the provision of the gospel. Fix-it people think the provision of the gospel is the “Christian Living” section of the book store, books and plans for financial freedom, schedules for children and home life, ideas for organization, verses to memorize and theological ideas that assist me in being a reasonable Christian in the world. Some of these things are good and helpful but most become God replacements when what we need is the gospel. The apostle Paul says, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me…” (Galatians 2:20). Those who are alive in Christ have everything they need for life and godliness in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The circumstances and situations of life that frustrate us or that we avoid can be met as we see the provision of the gospel in Christ. This provision runs deeper than all the above mentioned helps. Christians are so called because their identity is Christ and they are provided with everything they need for a present and eternal life of godliness in Christ. This is why Christians can glory in weakness because God’s grace in Christ is sufficient for all our weaknesses and in those weaknesses we see His strength. Not having it all together is not a bad thing when it thrusts us toward God’s provision for us in the gospel. Fix-it people need to bring broken people to the gospel that they may live in Christ. But normally fix-it people take people away from the gospel to get a band-aid, and then when all cleaned up back to God as a presentation of the glory of man.
The last reason we are frustrated in the circumstances and situations of life is because we are looking to them for comfort, peace, ease and prosperity. Those of us who are sinners and at the same time children of God, and are alive in Christ provided with everything for life and godliness, need to know that the gospel means God is also at work in us (Philippians 1:6). The life we live here is not a perfect life nor is it a life where we are in neutral waiting on eternal life. The life in the gospel is a life of repentance and faith because God is at work in us for His own pleasure. And His pleasure is to make us the image bearers of Christ, reflecting His glory in the earth in holiness. This gospel work is God’s in us as we live in Christ as His children and he will do whatever is necessary and according to His will to bring that about. This is why we turn to methods and madness when we find ourselves facing difficulties and trials. We forget the process that we are in and think that it is not possible for my present and temporal joy to be lost in order that God may bring me to a weight of glory (2Corinthians 4:17). God is at work in us for His glory not our glory through our own comfort, peace and prosperity. The gospel means change in us from God hating sinners to God glorifying image bearers alive in Christ. Therefore, fix-it people who try to take people away from the struggles by giving them God replacing methods to make coping with the struggles easier or their lives more prosperous are at odds with the gospel. We must thrust others upon the gospel where they identify and understand the progression of the gospel and live in it by repentance and faith. Fix-it people may ask, “Have you prayed about this?”, but they rarely ask, “Have you repented?”. Fix-it people bypass repentance and believe that faith is in the form of following some plan or method.
I am a confessing fix-it person who has taken people away from God in the gospel to many God replacements. I want to be slow to speak and quick to listen, that I can bring people to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is here they will see their identity as sinners and understand their great need, and then find that need met in their identity as children of the living God. It is here that they will see the provision of God for them in the gospel as they understand that God has given them everything they need for life and godliness. And it is in the gospel that they will live with God’s progression toward holiness in Christ through being satisfied with all that He is for them embraced through repentance and faith.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Marriage, A Picture of Christ and His Church
On Monday March 31, 2008 Richard Williams, a dear brother in the Lord passed immediately into the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, for there is nothing that separates us from the love of God in Christ, not even death itself. Richard left behind his wife of 55+ years, Mrs. Evelyn Williams, a lovely lady who was loved by her husband. On Thursday I fly, with my wife, to San Clemente California to participate in the renewal of marriage vows for Joe and Lene Tucker at the celebration of their 25th wedding anniversary. Joe and Lene were married before coming to faith in Christ and now want to renew their vows in the presence of friends and family for the glory of God in Christ.
As I have reflected on both of these providences this week, one with grief yet hope, and the other with joy, I realize that in both of them God is glorified in Christ. Mrs. Evelyn Williams suffers because her husband, who read God’s Word, prayed with her every morning and every evening, and loved her, is gone from her side. He broke bread with her and washed her in the Word, they lifted their hearts together in prayer before their Lord who welcomed their love and helped them in their time of need. And it was in this marriage that we see Christ and his church as He loves His bride. He nourishes her and cherishes her just as Mr. Richard did for Mrs. Evelyn. However, in Joe and Lene’s renewal there also is Christ and His church. They will renew the vows that God has been gracious to allow them to keep, and yet in those vows there is the picture of Christ and his church. He has entered into covenant love with her by His blood, His resurrection, and His ascension, and now He sits enthroned over His bride to rule over her and bring her into His kingdom forever dressed in robes of righteous glory. Both of these marriages are a picture of Christ and His church.
When God ordained marriage and revealed His will in the garden of Eden He had in his mind Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:22-33). And when Richard and Evelyn remained married “till death do us part” and Joe and Lene repeat those same vows, His will is for His glory to be manifest in the earth as a covenant keeping God who never leaves nor forsakes His people. Mrs. Evelyn’s heart is heavy because Mr. Richard is not there to open the Word and pray with her and love her as Christ loves the church. “For this reason, ever since I heard about your (her) faith in the Lord Jesus and your (her) love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you (her), remembering you (her) in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you (her) the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you (she) may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your (her) heart may be enlightened in order that you (she) may know the hope to which he has called you (her), the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:15-19a). Joe remains in the earth for Lene that he may lead her to her glorious Savior and Lord each day that she may find her joy in Him, and in this way God demonstrates to the world His glorious grace in marriage.
As I have reflected on both of these providences this week, one with grief yet hope, and the other with joy, I realize that in both of them God is glorified in Christ. Mrs. Evelyn Williams suffers because her husband, who read God’s Word, prayed with her every morning and every evening, and loved her, is gone from her side. He broke bread with her and washed her in the Word, they lifted their hearts together in prayer before their Lord who welcomed their love and helped them in their time of need. And it was in this marriage that we see Christ and his church as He loves His bride. He nourishes her and cherishes her just as Mr. Richard did for Mrs. Evelyn. However, in Joe and Lene’s renewal there also is Christ and His church. They will renew the vows that God has been gracious to allow them to keep, and yet in those vows there is the picture of Christ and his church. He has entered into covenant love with her by His blood, His resurrection, and His ascension, and now He sits enthroned over His bride to rule over her and bring her into His kingdom forever dressed in robes of righteous glory. Both of these marriages are a picture of Christ and His church.
When God ordained marriage and revealed His will in the garden of Eden He had in his mind Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:22-33). And when Richard and Evelyn remained married “till death do us part” and Joe and Lene repeat those same vows, His will is for His glory to be manifest in the earth as a covenant keeping God who never leaves nor forsakes His people. Mrs. Evelyn’s heart is heavy because Mr. Richard is not there to open the Word and pray with her and love her as Christ loves the church. “For this reason, ever since I heard about your (her) faith in the Lord Jesus and your (her) love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you (her), remembering you (her) in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you (her) the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you (she) may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your (her) heart may be enlightened in order that you (she) may know the hope to which he has called you (her), the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:15-19a). Joe remains in the earth for Lene that he may lead her to her glorious Savior and Lord each day that she may find her joy in Him, and in this way God demonstrates to the world His glorious grace in marriage.
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