Out of Complaining Into Joy

My friend since seminary days, the Reverend Dr. Tom Steagald, is a pastor in North Carolina and the author of a couple of books on personal sanctification and prayer. He and I have been engaged in an intermittent email conversation for the last few weeks on this topic of joy. In a recent pastor’s letter to his congregation, Dr. Tom wrote the following.

“Joy comes from knowing we are saved. Salvation accompanies the knowledge that we are indeed forgiven. But to know that we are forgiven suggests a prior knowledge: that we are sinners, that we are not what God wants us to be, that we fail to do what God wants us to do and instead often do what God prohibits.

“Sadly, somewhere along the line someone convinced us that we were not sinners at all — that we do not need change, but instead only understanding, acceptance and affirmation.”

Truer words were never spoken, Brother Tom! As long as we view Christianity as a therapeutic source of understanding and affirmation, we will remain untransformed, and the joy of the Lord will remain a distant hope, reserved perhaps for heaven, but generally unavailable until then. And so, we muddle through, grumbling as we go, striving to remain faithful to this unhappy hope we have.

But what a contrast is this watered down version of Christianity with the robust, indefatigable joy of the early church! That group of societal underlings conquered the world with nothing but the love of Christ and the joy of the Lord. And God is still the same today. He is as full of joy today as he was when King David wrote, “In His presence there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). Christ is as willing to impart joy to you today as He was when He said on the night before His crucifixion, “These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you and your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

So, how do we access that joy? Never diminish the miracle of salvation. Never degrade the incarnation of Christ to a therapeutic mission trip. Never reduce the cross to a means to make you rich and healthy. The finished work of Christ is so much more than that! So! Much! More! Remember the miracle of your salvation.

Or, as Dr. Tom put it, “Joy comes from knowing we are saved.”

So, I ask you: do you know you are saved? Let’s review the Gospel.

God is holy, and in His presence no sin can abide. People, however, are sinners, both by birth and behavior. That means we’ve got a problem, just as we are. So God, Who is holy, made His Son to bear His wrath upon our sin, so that we could be forgiven by repenting of our self will and trusting His Son’s death and resurrection to save us.

As you contemplate and trust this Gospel, joy comes. And then you will able to agree with our North Carolina brother: “Yes, indeed, joy comes from knowing I am saved.”

Next week: Joy and Certainty

Complaining: That Joy-Killing Sin

If someone asked you what is the most pervasive sin in the world, what would you say? Anger? Lust? Hatred? Sure, those are surely all high on the “Top Ten Sins” list, but I believe that higher still on the list is the sin of complaining. Indeed, if it’s not in the top spot, it’s certainly number two.

One of the problems with the sin of complaining is that it’s so universal that many among us aren’t even aware that it’s a sin. Everybody complains about stuff all the time. We are so surrounded by complaining that we hardly notice it, unless, of course, the complaints are directed against us.

However, let us not focus only, or even primarily, on what people think of complaining. We need to consider what God thinks about our complaining. It’s clear from passages like Numbers 11 and 14, Psalm 78 and 1 Corinthians 10, that God is not indifferent to complaining. He is very serious about it, so much so that He issues His church this command: “Do all things without complaining and contention” (Philippians 2:14).

God knows that complaining is an expression of our pride, and not only pride in general, but more specifically, arrogance against God Himself. Think with me. We Christians believe that God is sovereign: i.e., that in some way He controls our lives. Therefore, since we believe He either causes or allows everything that happens in our lives, complaining about what happens is an expression of our doubting His wisdom.

Puritan Thomas Watson, in a sermon on contentment preached in 1653, said, “Murmuring is no better than mutiny in the heart; it is a rising up against God. . . . The murmurer chargeth God with folly. This is the language, or rather blasphemy of a murmuring spirit: ‘God might have been a wiser and better God’ . . . Our murmuring is the devil's music.”

Do you see the subtle rebellion against God that Watson describes? Complaining is nothing less than demanding from God an explanation that suits our convenience and comfort. It is calling God to account for my expectations of how I think He ought to be and what I think He ought to do. St. Paul hinted at the danger of such an attitude when he wrote, “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?” (Romans 9:20).

A century before Watson, John Calvin wrote, “As soon as God does not send what we have desired, we dispute against Him . . . but from what spirit is this pronounced? From a poisoned heart, as if we said, ‘The thing should have been otherwise.’ . . . It is as if we accused God of being a tyrant or a harebrain.”

Complaining is sin because it disputes the goodness of God and thus maligns His character. St. Paul wrote, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

You will be a more joyful Christian if you learn the secret of being free from complaining. We’ll look at that next Friday. Until then, “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again, I will say it: rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).

Next week: Out of Complaining into Joy

Joy Grows Where Gratitude Takes Root

Last week we looked at joy’s foundation in the lives of those who trust Christ. We saw that the primary reason for joy is the astonishing fact of our salvation. Today we’ll begin to examine how joy can grow to permeate all of life. As the title briefly states it, joy grows where gratitude takes root; and, if you’ve been born again, you have a thousand reasons to be thankful. Let me mention just four reasons for living a grateful life, all of which are based upon salvation.

We ought to be thankful to the Lord because of what He has saved us FROM. All of us have sinned, and not by accident. We have actively rebelled against God. By virtue of that, we deserve to be under His wrath in this life, and in hell after we die. But He chose to pour out His wrath upon His own Son, and deliver from hell all those who trust Christ. Thank God!

But that’s not all! We also can live a life of gratitude because what He has saved us TO. He hasn’t simply delivered us from wrath and hell, but He has saved us into a love relationship with Him here, followed by heaven forever. Thank God!

A third reason for being grateful to God is HOW He has saved us. We didn’t do anything to earn our salvation. As Scripture says, we are saved “by grace, through faith;” and even this faith is not something we conjured up, for it too “is a gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8-9). God saves people by His own initiative, through His own sacrifice, and by His own grace. It’s a gift! Thank God!

Finally, we can live in an unending flow of thankfulness because of WHY God has saved us. Scripture again is clear on this subject: our salvation is entirely for the glory of God. As we occasionally recite at First Baptist, “God saved us by His grace, from His wrath, for His glory.” If you are a Christian, God saved you so that you could display His glory. This means that your life has an eternal meaning that magnificently transcends the temporal and visible realm. You are alive to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

And how do you do that? John Piper, author and preaching pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, states it most succinctly: “God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him.” As a Christian, whether you are eating or working, playing or worshiping – indeed, in everything! – make it your aim to be fully satisfied in the presence of God, Who is with you and in you.

Indeed, the most gratifying experience any human being can have is to live in the glory of God; and that is why God saves people. Christians get to live in the glory of God, and for the glory of God. The whole universe can’t contain His glory; but, if you’re born again, you have the astonishing privilege of living in His glory. Thank God!

Next week: Complaining – That Joy-Killing Sin

REASON FOR JOY

Have you ever noticed how glum and somber Christians can become? Without much provocation or cause, we who sing "Joy to the world!" can act as if we'd never heard the song. Sometimes we’re grim and determined, going through life with clenched teeth and a grimace. Occasionally, indeed far too often, we're downright grumpy. This is a tragedy for at least three reasons. First, we’ve got plenty of cause to be joyful: we don't have to grumpy. Second, God commands us to be joyful, and we ought to learn how to obey Him. Third, unjoyful Christians don’t attract non-Christians to Christ.

With this in mind, today I’m starting a series of articles on how Christians can cultivate a lifestyle of real, deeply-grounded joy. I'm not talking about becoming naive or vapid: this isn't a head-in-the-clouds approach to life. Nor am I referring to personality types and dispositions. I'm talking about world-conquering joy, the kind of firmly-rooted approach to life that Christ commanded and the Apostle Paul exemplified. Other than the Lord Jesus Himself, there never has been anyone with more trouble and responsibility than Paul. Yet, he exhibited a profound joy in everything. His letter to the Philippian Christians includes more references to joy than any other document in antiquity, and yet he wrote it from jail!

Think with me. If ever there was a man with ample reason to be grumpy, it was Paul: five times he was whipped; three times he was beaten; he was shipwrecked; he was stoned and left for dead; he was imprisoned several times. Beyond this, he had the concern of all those baby churches that God led him to start. And yet, he had joy. Where did he get it?

More to the point, where can you and I get joy?

The kind of joy Paul had is founded upon the undeserved miracle of salvation. Think with me about how God saves people.

Though God is the absolute King of the universe, and though He created us exclusively for His glory, we have attempted a coup. We've set up as rebels against His reign, and have sought to supplant Him from His rightful Lordship, not only over our own lives, but over all the affairs of human existence. The human theme song of "I Did it My Way" is the marshaling-cry of the rebellion.

Despite this, God grants us each and all His common grace: the occasional pleasures of human relationships, the warmth of family, and the simple delights of food, drink, shelter, work and rest. Indeed, every good gift of human existence is evidence of His common grace to each human being. But there's more.

He loves us, courts us, woos us to Himself. Through creation and the Gospel, He portrays to us both His law for our lives and His love for our souls. And yet, though He draws us by His grace, we have rebuffed His love and stiff-armed His embrace. To these personal insults we have added our willful rejection of His good law, and have tried instead to make humanity the measure of all things. Paul summarized our willful rebellion against God with these words: “although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him” (Romans 1:21). Thus, having renounced both His love and His law, we turned so fully from God that we lost our ability even to seek Him.

And so . . . He sought us! Down the dark alleys of our sin, as we flee from Him, He has pursued us. It’s amazing, but it’s true. Though we deserved to die under aggravated condemnation, He sent His Son to die in our stead, to take upon Himself all the Father’s righteous wrath. Indeed, it pleased the Father to crush Him. By virtue of this unmitigated and indescribable grace, and through His gracious gift of faith, God saves us from the just penalty of our sin and brings us into a state of peace and favor with Himself. Amazingly, by His own act of sacrifice, He has sought His very enemies, and having found them, made them His own dear children. Astounding!

And – here’s the reason for unrestrained joy! – we bring nothing to this transaction. No merit. No credit. No effort. Nothing. He saves us by His own initiative, simply because He wants to. We don’t earn it. We don’t deserve it. It is entirely a gift, motivated by the astonishing fact that He longs for us with an unchanging, unchangeable love.

That’s all the reason we need for joy. Indeed, it’s reason enough!

Next week: Joy Grows Where Gratitude Takes Root

IT'S YOUR MIND

Some time ago, my wife and I were awakened in the middle of the night by a noise. It sounded like someone was trying to get in our front door. The doorknob rattled like someone was trying to turn it, not once, but twice.

We prayed – very quietly! – about what to do, and then with no little amount of apprehension, we got out of bed and started turning on lights. I shouted, “Is anybody there?” as if I were expecting an answer. Right.

Much to our relief, nobody was there – we checked every room and closet, along with the garage and outside. All we found was that the gate into the back yard was standing open – but the wind had occasionally been doing that by itself.

We went back to bed, prayed a prayer of thanks to God, and went back to sleep.

We were not unaffected, however. A couple of nights later my wife had a dream that someone was breaking into our house. We bought a much-needed new front door – with a dead-bolt lock. I fixed the latch on the back yard gate.

Why? Because not everyone is welcome in our home. Nor should they be. Most especially, thieves and burglars aren’t welcome.

The fast is, there are locks on the doors of our houses for a reason.

Unfortunately, many, if not most, Americans have taken the locks off the doors of our minds.

When it comes to what we think and believe, we have learned to let almost anything in. Our society has developed a tragic open-door policy about thoughts and values, ideas and images. Spiritual burglars are prowling the conceptual streets of our culture, and we seem willing to let any of them in who knock.

We have been sold a bill of goods by the devil. We have been led to suppose that any thought which happens along is worthy to be welcomed into our hearts and minds. Satan’s servants rattle the doorknobs of our imaginations, and find easy entry.

The tragedy of open hearts and open minds is evidenced by out of control consumer debt, driven by a “see it, want it, buy it” approach to living. The burgeoning pornography industry takes advantage of our unlocked mental gates by breaking into many of our TV’s and computers, along with many of our hearts and minds.

Open-mindedness is obviously not all it’s cracked up to be.

We who are Christians face the challenge to control our imaginative processes, to “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). We need to “be transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2). We are charged, “whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable . . . think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).

It’s time to close your mind to the evils around you. Get a dead-bolt lock for your heart. Install a security system for your imagination. Don’t let unwelcome thoughts or unwholesome imaginations break in.

It’s your mind. Protect it.

BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

It was one of “those” calls we pastors occasionally receive. A loved one with a ravaging disease was in terminal condition, in the final painful phase of life. Would I put him on the prayer list at Church? Maybe even go see him?

As usual, I prayed with the caller on the phone, then prayed again when the call was over. Instantly I sensed an insistence, a burden. “Go see him right away,” God seemed to say.

So it was that I was soon driving out into the countryside, searching for a home I had never seen before on a road I had rarely driven.

I found the house, was welcomed inside, and went immediately to the man’s bedside. One look said it all – he didn’t have long. With a conviction borne of the urgency of the situation, I jumped right in. “It looks like you don’t have long to live. Is that right?”

So weak he was almost unable to speak, he whispered, “That’s right.”

“It’s a pretty tough road you’re on, isn’t it? Do you know where you’re headed?”

A shrug indicated that he wasn’t sure what I meant. I explained, “The road you’re on right now is a rough one, but it’s going to end soon. The important thing is whether that road’s going to end in heaven or hell. Do you know which?”

“I’m not sure,” he whispered.

“Would you like to be sure?” I asked.

With tears in his eyes, he nodded his head.

A gentle twenty-minute conversation followed in which we revisited the basic truths of the Good News. God is holy. People are sinful. Our sin separates us from God. But Christ is sufficient to take our sin. His life fulfilled God’s righteous requirements. His death paid sin’s penalty. His resurrection broke sin’s power. To have eternal life, we only need to admit we’re sinners in need of a Savior, trust Jesus for our salvation and give Him our lives. Then we are born again and receive eternal life, and enjoy heaven after we die.

“Would you like to admit your need for salvation and put your trust in Jesus?” I asked.

And he said yes.

So with gasping breath and whispered words, he confessed his need for a Savior, placed his trust in Jesus and welcomed Him into his heart.

Less than three days later, his shallow breathing ceased, and he entered eternity with Jesus as his Savior – just in time, before it was eternally too late.

I’ve had the privilege of being in many such Gospel encounters with people near death. Through such experiences, I think God is issuing a reminder that all of us – not just pastors – are surrounded by the dying. Whether their deaths are coming in three days or thirty years, their time is limited.

Indeed, everybody we meet is in terminal condition. With a conviction borne of the urgency of their situation, we must tell them the Good News about what Jesus has done for them and will do in them. Somebody has to tell them, before it’s too late.

AFTER EASTER, THEN WHAT

I know it's been a while; but the craziness of preparing for a very early Easter has now passed, and here's my latest article, from the Sterling, Colorado Journal Advocate.

Last Sunday, all around the world, Christians gathered in the largest Sunday services of the year to proclaim to one another the ancient truth, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!” The singing was wonderful, the preaching typically at its best, and the fellowship especially warm. It was a great day.

And now, in the weeks that follow, the typical pastors of average churches will stand in their pulpits and look out and wonder once again, “Where did the crowds go?” Of course, the issue far transcends numerical considerations. It serves as a living parable of the condition of American Christianity, in which so many people tend to show up when there’s a show, but disappear when it comes to discipleship.

Not long ago, well-known pastor Bill Hybels, whose 20,000 member Willow Creek Church in suburban Chicago has set the standard for “seeker-sensitive church” since the early 1980’s, admitted that though his church has attracted a lot of people to its services, not many of them have actually been living a life of Biblical discipleship. For two-and-a-half decades, this huge and apparently successful church has aimed most of its efforts at getting people to participate in programs, in hope that their participation would make them better followers of Christ. They counted and carefully recorded the number of people involved in their programs, and hoped that the more participants they had, the more disciples they were making.

They’ve discovered it hasn’t worked. In a talk at last summer’s Willow Creek Leadership Conference, Hybels admitted, “We made a mistake. We should have . . . taught people how to read their bibles between services, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.”

In other words, participation in programs does not necessarily produce Biblical disciples, people committed to following Christ rigorously in their daily lives. What makes Biblical disciples are the age-old “spiritual practices” Hybels mentioned: personal Bible study, vigorous personal prayer, accountable relationships and the pursuit of holy living by the constant infilling of the Holy Spirit.

The fact is that much of the American church seems to have forgotten what Jesus commanded us to pursue as our primary business. He never told us to draw a crowd, make converts, produce participants, or acquire attenders. He told us to make disciples. A key step in growing from a baby Christian into a maturing disciple is teaching that person to become “self-feeding.” That means the church must train its people to study Scripture daily with a view to obeying it, to have a vital personal prayer life, and to take responsibility for being in accountable relationships with fellow followers so that they can support and encourage one another.

So, now that it’s after Easter (or in the season of Easter, according to the church calendar), what now? I say it’s time to get serious about the business we’re called by Christ to pursue. Forget the crowds for now – they’ll be back at Christmas – and turn our energies to doing everything we can in the power of the Holy Spirit to make disciples.

Two Very Well-Known Hymns You've Never Sung

Written by Bishop Thomas Ken in the mid 1670's, these two hymns, one to be sung in the morning upon rising, one before retiring at night, are perhaps the most well-known English-language songs in Protestant worship. Really? Yea, but not the entire songs. Sadly, only the last verse of each is ever sung, and it's the same verse in both songs. Before you read the common last verse, which I've printed below the two hymns, can you figure it out?

MORNING HYMN

Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise,
To pay thy morning sacrifice.

Thy precious time misspent, redeem,
Each present day thy last esteem,
Improve thy talent with due care;
For the great day thyself prepare.

By influence of the Light divine
Let thy own light to others shine.
Reflect all Heaven’s propitious ways
In ardent love, and cheerful praise.

In conversation be sincere;
Keep conscience as the noontide clear;
Think how all seeing God thy ways
And all thy secret thoughts surveys.

Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart,
And with the angels bear thy part,
Who all night long unwearied sing
High praise to the eternal King.

All praise to Thee, who safe has kept
And hast refreshed me while I slept
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake
I may of endless light partake.

Heav’n is, dear Lord, where’er Thou art,
O never then from me depart;
For to my soul ’tis hell to be
But for one moment void of Thee.

Lord, I my vows to Thee renew;
Disperse my sins as morning dew.
Guard my first springs of thought and will,
And with Thyself my spirit fill.

Direct, control, suggest, this day,
All I design, or do, or say,
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite.

I would not wake nor rise again
And Heaven itself I would disdain,
Wert Thou not there to be enjoyed,
And I in hymns to be employed.

EVENING HYMN

All praise to Thee, my God, this night,
For all the blessings of the light!
Keep me, O keep me, King of kings,
Beneath Thine own almighty wings.

Forgive me, Lord, for Thy dear Son,
The ill that I this day have done,
That with the world, myself, and Thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.

Teach me to live, that I may dread
The grave as little as my bed.
Teach me to die, that so I may
Rise glorious at the judgment day.

O may my soul on Thee repose,
And with sweet sleep mine eyelids close,
Sleep that may me more vigorous make
To serve my God when I awake.

When in the night I sleepless lie,
My soul with heavenly thoughts supply;
Let no ill dreams disturb my rest,
No powers of darkness me molest.

O when shall I, in endless day,
For ever chase dark sleep away,
And hymns divine with angels sing,
All praise to thee, eternal King?

Okay, now here's the last verse of both songs:

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him, all creatures here below!
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host!
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Surprise!

"LEAP-DAY" PONDERINGS

Today, February 29, comes to us only once every four years, during "Leap Year." So, I guess that would mean today is "Leap Day." That odd notion got me to thinking about the way the spring-time calendar works. My curiosity grew as I looked at the date for Easter Sunday, which varies from year to year by up to 35 days. That’s because Easter is related to Passover, and the date of Passover is a function of a lunar calendar used in Jerusalem for about 3,200 years.

Sounds complicated? We’re only getting started!

In the Fourth Century, in an attempt to actually reduce the confusion and establish a uniform date for this most important of the church’s celebrations, Easter was officially set as the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon that falls on or after the vernal equinox, which is the first day of spring. (“Ecclesiastical full moon” is a technical term that would take a couple of pages to explain, so I’ll let you look that one up yourself.) Using this formula, Easter can be anywhere from March 22 to April 25.

This year, as you know, Easter is fast approaching, on March 23. As mentioned, it can be one day earlier, on March 22, but that happens so rarely that nobody who is alive now has ever seen or ever will see it on that date. The last time Easter was March 22 was 190 years ago, in 1818; and the next time will be in 277 years, or 2285.

In addition, only the oldest Christians among us have ever celebrated Easter as early as it will be this year. The last time Easter was on March 23 was in 1913.

As curiously interesting as all this information may be (to geeks like me, anyway), the real point of Easter is not so much when we celebrate it as why. And that is a point that many people seem to miss.

When Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead, the disciples that comprised the infant church we almost all Jewish. All their lives they had worshiped God on the Sabbath, which begins at sun-down on Friday and ends at sun-down on Saturday. However, within months after His resurrection, Jesus’ followers switched the day of worship to Sunday, the first day of the week, the day He rose from the grave.

Why?

Because they knew that every gathering of Christians for worship is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. Paul put it this way: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). His perfect life fulfilled God’s law and is reckoned to believers as our righteousness. His sacrificial death atoned for our sins. But it was His resurrection from the dead that verified His authority to act on the Father’s behalf as our substitute.

As you plan to attend Easter services, focus on the center of the celebration. It’s all about Jesus: His life, His death and His resurrection. Do you know it? Do you believe it?

HOW TO GET RID OF YOUR PASTOR

I actually wrote most of this PIECE a couple of years ago, and then I discovered that a church in the area actually was in the process of attempting what I describe in the first paragraph below. I decided that the timing might not be the best to publish this in the local newspaper, so I put it on hold. Now, with no local churches working at ousting their leader -- to my knowledge at least -- I've pulled this piece our of mothballs. Since it was in the paper a week ago, a lot of people have commented to me how much they enjoyed it. Hope you do too!

Some time back, I heard about a church that had been trying to “get rid” of their pastor. Sadly, this is something that happens a lot in the American church scene. We get unhappy with the pastor or with something the church is doing; and then, instead of doing the biblical thing and prayerfully seeking to work out the differences, we choose up sides. Then, if there are enough votes to dismiss or to make things uncomfortable, out the pastor goes.

It’s tragic, not only because of what it does to that pastor, but because of the broken relationships left behind and the slow-healing wounds caused when the congregation took sides, sides that often remain long after the pastor departs. Frankly, there are simpler ways. If you ever want to get rid of your pastor, instead of looking for votes, try one of these five ideas.

Idea #1 During the Sunday morning message, listen closely and take notes. Look your pastor straight in the eye, and occasionally nod your head and say, "Amen!" Begin to make serious efforts to apply the life lessons you learn from the sermons. In six months, he'll preach himself to death.

Idea #2 Pat your pastor on the back and brag on his good points two or three times a month. Make a bunch of phone calls to your friends and neighbors and tell them all the good things about your pastor. In a little while, so many more people will start coming to your church, you’ll have to hire an associate pastor, and your senior pastor will be free to leave.

Idea #3 Next Sunday, in response to the sermon, go forward to the altar and rededicate your life to Christ. Then make an appointment with the pastor sometime next week. Ask him to give you some job you could do for the church, preferably some lost people you could go visit with a view to winning them to Christ. He'll likely die of heart failure on the spot.

Idea #4 Organize a ministry to call on the shut-ins and elderly members of the church, and encourage the pastor to devote more of his time to prayer and the study of God’s Word. Tell him you’ll take care of the widows if he’ll take care of the preaching. He’ll think the whole congregation has gone completely crazy and start looking for another church immediately.

Idea #5 Get a whole bunch of the church members to unite in earnest intercessory prayer for the pastor, his ministry and his family. Organize prayer meetings in which you pray for the growth of the church and blessing of the pastor. The pastor may become so effective in ministry that some larger church will take him off your hands.

One note of caution, however: if you try one of these methods, you may find that you don’t want to get rid of your pastor after all.

Puritan Prayers

Lately in my daily devotions I’ve been reading “The Valley of Vision,” a book of Puritan prayers given to me for Christmas by my daughter Laura, whose terrific blog is referenced in the list to the right. Edited by Arthur Bennett, former Canon of St. Albans Cathedral in England, the book was published in 1975 by Banner of Truth Trust. The edition I have is the seventh printing, which came out in 2007.

This beautiful compendium of written prayers comes from such Puritan greats as Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, Isaac Watts and David Brainerd, to name a few. Unaccustomed as I am to reading prayers, I first thought that this book might seem a bit dry to me. Nothing could be further from the truth. Though the language may seem a bit archaic to modern ears, I find myself moved almost daily to tears as I read and then personally pray these heartfelt words.

There is something about the studied and overtly Word-driven piety of these prayers (and there are over 200 of them in the book!) that both shows me how far I have to go in my walk with Christ and motivates me to keep growing. The Christ-centered focus and the intentional remembering of His finished work are both moving and inspiring. Consumed with the glory of the Father, Christ lived and offered for rebel humanity a perfect life and sacrificial death, and His atoning work is both pictured and praised in these prayers.

Here is just one example. I trust it will bless you.

My Father,

In a world of created changeable things,

Christ and His Word alone remain unshaken.

O to forsake all creatures,

to rest as a stone on Him the foundation,

to abide in Him, be borne up by Him!

For all my mercies come through Christ,

Who has designed, purchased, promised and effected them.

How sweet it is to be near Him, the Lamb,

filled with holy affections!

When I sin against Thee I cross Thy will, love, life,

and have no comforter, no creature, to go to.

My sin is not so much this or that particular evil,

but my continual separation, disunion, distance from Thee,

and having a loose spirit towards Thee.

But thou hast given me a present, Jesus Thy Son,

as Mediator between Thyself and my soul,

as Middle-man Who in a pit hold both him below and Him above;

for only He can span the chasm breached by sin,

and satisfy divine justice.

May I always lay hold upon this Mediator,

as a realized object of faith,

and alone worthy by His love to bridge the gulf.

Let me know that He is dear to me by His Word;

I am one with Him by the Word on His part,

and by faith on mine.

If I oppose the Word, I oppose my Lord

when He is most near.

If I receive the Word, I receive my Lord

wherein He is nigh.

O Thou Who hast the hearts of all men in Thine hand,

form my heart according to the Word,

according to the image of Thy Son.

So shall Christ the Word, and His Word,

be my strength and comfort.

Amen!

ONLY FOR HIS GLORY! ONLY BY HIS POWER!

What an amazing God we serve! He can do wonders with average people. He can perform miracles using folks like you and me. He can change the unchangeable, save the unworthy, deliver the bound and make everything new. He is astonishing in His mercy, boundless in His kindness, all-consuming in His holiness, and unexplainable in His grace.

And — most amazing perhaps of all His attributes — He yearns with unbridled passion to be known and loved by you! Doesn’t it move you to wonder and worship that He Whom the universe cannot contain loves to reside in your heart?! Glory!

Yet how we limit the display of His glory by our habitual returning to our own resources, recalling past failures and rehearsing future fears! No sooner does He kindle in us a desire to experience His great promises than we recoil from the prospect of stepping beyond our comfort, and turn from His glory to our folly by reminding ourselves how small and weak we are, how poor and inexperienced, how frail and untrained.

Brothers and sisters, God never offers you anything you can receive without His grace. He never asks you to do anything you can do without utterly depending on His presence and power. “Faithful is He Who calls, and HE will also do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24). Note that He will do it, when we venture out upon His faithfulness. But if we rely only on our own resources, we will never experience the miracle of His faithfulness.

In so many areas of our lives, we quench His move by fixing our eyes on ourselves rather than on Jesus. For example, God may call us to do something that, humanly speaking, is completely beyond our abilities, something like adding onto our church building. In the face of such an undertaking, we know enough to ask God, “Lord, show us whether we should do this or not.” But then, having prayed, where does human nature often look for the answer? Do we look to ourselves? Let’s hope not! Do we check our bank account, or our previous experience? Do we look to the economy, or to others in the church, to find clues about the will of God? Sadly, in all of these sources there is only more of ourselves. How vain it is to ask God for guidance, then look to ourselves to find it!

If in anything we are to find the guidance of God, we must take up His Word, discover the principles by which He rules His kingdom, and then apply them rigorously to our situation. What does God’s Word say about the needs of the lost in our community; and how are we to reach them? What principles are in His Word about making disciples and bringing the little children to Him? What does He say about ownership and stewardship, and matters of tithe and time and talents?

It is these Kingdom principles from His Word that should guide our decisions, as determined by Who HE is and what HE can do, not by who we are and what we can do. Then as HE directs, faith says, “I delight to do Your will, my God” (Psalm 40:8); and “not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39).

Let us never be found guilty of doing for God’s glory only that which we can do in our own power. May He give us grace to lean entirely upon His provision for the fulfillment of His promises! He is truly a mighty God! Let us do only for His glory what can be done only in His power!

HE DIDN'T LIKE MY DOCTRINE

I had a very interesting encounter after the second worship service here at First Baptist Church last Sunday. A personable young man I have known for some time, who was a guest of some of his friends in worship, approached me with a serious look on his face. He shook my hand and told me how much he had enjoyed the service, and that he always loved it when he got to worship with the folks at First Baptist.

Then he said, “And you know, I agree with almost all of the doctrines you teach here. All except one doctrine.” Here he paused, and I immediately began to wonder what I had said that would make him raise a doctrinal issue in the lobby after worship.

“What doctrine is that?” I asked, a bit anxiously.

With apparent earnestness he said, “Well, Pastor, I hate to say it, but it’s your doctrine of snow. I just can’t agree with your position.” Then he broke into a smile and we both had a good laugh as he explained his mock concern.

He pointed out that during prayer time, I had voiced our gratitude to God for the wonderful moisture we have received over the last few weeks, but went on to ask God if He might arrange for the temperature to be warmer the next time we get some precipitation. You see, I’m not personally all that crazy about snow. And yet, I know it’s a wonderful blessing to have the wheat lay for weeks on end under a moist blanket of the white stuff, which is just what we’ve experienced for the last several weeks. As a result, as my people know, I struggle with how to pray for precipitation in the winter. I recall mentioning in my prayer that we were giving “reluctant though heart-felt thanks” to God.

This young man said that he, by contrast, loves snow, everything about it, and wishes it would snow more often. And so, with what turned out to be simulated seriousness, he indicated he could never sit under my teaching or be a part of any church whose “doctrine of snow” was so out of line with his. Hilarious. Simply hilarious. I continue to chuckle as I think about our conversation!

And yet, there’s a serious side to this young man’s remark. Every pastor in town knows that some people leave churches over matters no more consequential than a “doctrine of snow.” Concerns such as the color a room gets painted or who gets to pass the offering plates on Sunday morning have actually split churches. The “doctrine of snow” is a genuine heavyweight by contrast!

The challenge for each of us is to do a well-prayed-through inventory of what really matters in a church. If you go to the Word of God, and see what it says, you may be surprised at the brevity of the list of truths that define a biblical church.

2008 and Obedience

Today, as we begin a new year, I am thinking ahead: imagining, praying, wondering what I will be looking back one year from now. I invite you to join me. As we together consider the magnitude of God’s promise, as we contemplate His incomparable character, where do you see yourself and your church in a year?

One year from now, what will be the same? In twelve months, what will be changed? In fifty-two weeks, where will you have grown? In 366 days (yes, 2008 is a leap year), what will God have done among us?

It is fascinating to consider that our great sovereign God, Who declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), gives to us the responsibility of cooperating with Him in the fulfillment of His plans. Indeed, the next twelve months, though they ultimately are in His hands, will be molded in no small measure by the manner in which you and I respond to God’s Word.

And how should we respond to God’s Word?

With simple, trusting, sacrificial obedience. Let me repeat:

simple

trusting

sacrificial

obedience.

Let’s unpack that set of terms and see how they apply.

Simple obedience means that we just do what God says. If God tells you do some something, just do it. Don’t talk yourself out of obedience by making it complicated, fancy or clever. When God says, “Love your neighbor,” don’t think of all the impediments to loving your neighbor: just find something simple to do, something that conveys love, and then do it. When He says, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse,” don’t overcomplicate it: just do what He says.

Trusting obedience means that you leave the outcome in God’s hands. You do what God says, and trust Him to do what He says. It’s obeying God without a safety net, except for His promise to be God and stand behind His Word. That’s trusting obedience.

Sacrificial obedience is the place where faith is most deeply tested, and therefore most richly strengthened. It means holding nothing back from God, as you say to Him, in effect, “Everything I am is Yours already, Lord, so in whatever way You ask me to obey You, I am ready to do it. The cost doesn’t matter. I only want You to be glorified in me.”

That last sentence is what characterizes the very heart and core of obedience: “I only want You to be glorified in me.” Can you say to the Lord regarding your life for the next twelve months, “Lord, in 2008, I only want You to be glorified in me”? It is for that purpose that you are alive on this planet.

No matter what He calls you to do, resolve now that your response will be to render unto Him the obedience He deserves — simple, trusting, and sacrificial — so that He may be glorified in you. By His Spirit’s power, may New Years Day, 2009, reveal a greater glory among us than ever before!

A GOOD QUESTION

A lot of Americans will be taking down lights and a tree in a few days. Ironically, many of them don’t know why they put them up: the number of people in the USA who don't actually know Jesus Christ is alarming.

Though as many as 90% of Americans claim to believe in God, statistically-significant studies indicate that somewhere around 150 million Americans say they don't have a "personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ." They may believe in God, but they don't know Him, don't follow Him, serve Him or worship Him. From what we can tell, their so-called faith hasn't made one bit of difference in their lives.

Information like that can be overwhelming if you ponder it in its full statistical enormity: 150 million people! I prefer to break it down into more manageable hunks, smaller pieces I can wrap my brain around – or, more importantly, my heart. When I do that, with God's help, I can remember that part of the good news about the Good News is that I don't have to share It with everyone. The 150 million unsaved people are not all my own personal responsibility, or yours either.

But some of them are.

Who do you know that you could share Jesus with? Is there a friend, a co-worker, a neighbor, or a family member you could talk with about what Jesus means to you? Is there anyone at all you could invite to your church, or to a Bible study? Surely there's someone you know and care about whose soul you could pray for and whom you could take with you to church.

Surely, there's someone. Some one. One life at a time: that's all you need be concerned about.

At the close of his book, "The Unchurched Next Door," Thom Rainer relates this true story shared by Emily about her new friend Celeste. Emily says, “I knew Celeste was different. In fact, I knew she had that peace that I didn't have. We had known each other for just three weeks when Celeste started telling me about her faith. She invited me to church. No, she came by my house and picked me up. Two months later, I accepted Christ.

"You need to understand that I went from totally unchurched, no church background, no knowledge of church to becoming a Christian in just a matter of weeks."

Celeste wasn't focusing on 150 million people. She was concerned about one person she knew who didn't know Christ: her co-worker Emily. Celeste was just one person, and she made an eternal difference in the life of one other person, Emily.

Emily concluded her story this way: "What I'm still trying to figure out, with the millions of Christians in American, is how come it took forty-three years for someone to share about Christ with me. Where are all the other Christians?"

That’s a good question, Emily. A good question.

The Big News of the Day

It was Jesus’ birthday, but the big news of the day was the big new tax Rome was imposing on everyone. It had the whole empire in a tizzy. If there had been newspapers back then, the headlines in The Jerusalem Times might have read something like “New Nationwide Plan: Higher Roman Fees” or “Great Caesar A Great Seizer!”

As if Rome was the only place where anything newsworthy ever happened: emperor this, senate that; Caesar this, Brutus that.

What about Jerusalem? What about Herod and the Sanhedrin?

For that matter, what about Bethlehem? Everyone seemed to have forgotten about Bethlehem – until the new tax law was enacted, that is; and suddenly everyone was looking for a place to stay there.

Hundreds of years earlier, the prophet Micah, inspired by the Holy Spirit, had come to understand the importance of this quaint village called Bethlehem. God showed him that this little “house of bread,” as its name means, was more than just a backwater burg basking in the glorious memories of the days of yore, that golden age when folks still recalled that David – yes, King David, THE King – had been born and raised right there in her streets. Micah knew that one day the biggest news of any day would happen right there in good old Bethlehem. Micah knew because God had told him so.

And Micah had shared the big news. He put it in writing even – almost like a headline! – in a book God told him write. “But you, Bethlehem in Ephratah,” Micah had written on God’s behalf, “though you are so small among the towns of Judah, yet from you will come the One Who will be the Ruler of My people. His origin is from ancient days, even from eternity.”

But now folks seemed to have dismissed this ancient prophecy. For time out of mind, they seem to have neglected reading God’s Word, and so the promise was forgotten. Taxes were on everyone’s mind.

All Roman citizens were under orders – from Caesar himself! – to pack up the whole family and go back to their home towns and get counted. All for what? All for Caesar and his coffers. Time to cough up a bit more for the Romans. It was good for business, to be sure, especially for the people who ran the inns and fed the animals. But it was awfully distracting.

So it was that nobody seemed to notice that, in an out-of-the-way spot with a manger for a crib and a few shepherds as midnight guests, a couple who weren’t even received in their own home town had just welcomed The Child destined to be their Savior.

Times haven’t changed much, apparently. Jesus’ birthday, it seems, is still all about the money. The biggest, Good-est News ever to hit heaven’s headline, and most folks aren’t talking about anything except how much money it’s costing them.

How about you?

Have a Mary Christmas!!

MARY CHRISTMAS!

No, that’s not a spelling error. I know that we usually spell that word “m-e-r-r-y.” However, I wrote it as I meant it. I hope you have a “Mary” Christmas. M-a-r-y.

In Luke 10:38-42, the story is told of Jesus’ visit to the home of Mary and Martha. During the Lord’s time there, Martha was totally preoccupied with the preparations for His visit, which she apparently intended to turn into an elaborate banquet. Her full name might have been Martha Stewart!

All joking aside, a lot of us tend to be like Martha, especially during the Christmas season! We get so caught up in the preparations, the cooking, the wrapping, the things to do, that we totally miss the Lord’s own presence.

Indeed, even many Christians have more of a “Martha Christmas” than a “Mary Christmas.” Jesus is right there to be loved and worshipped, and we’re too busy with the trappings and the trimmings to even notice Him!

While Martha was busy with the food and the party, Mary, by contrast, spent her time seated at Jesus’ feet, listening to what He had to say. So enamored was she with her Lord that she was perfectly content to let the hustle and bustle pass her by. She even neglected some of her domestic duties! We know this, because Martha kept getting after her to come help with the cooking.

We might debate which of these women was doing right by her Lord. After all, hadn’t Jesus come there for a meal? Wasn’t it appropriate that proper attention should be devoted to its preparation?

If Jesus Himself had not told us what He wanted, we might still be debating whether Mary or Martha made the better choice that day. However, here’s what actually happened.

Frustrated with her sister’s apparent lack of concern about the meal, Martha protested to Jesus. She actually made so bold as to ask Him to tell Mary to go help in the kitchen! Jesus rebuked her, and said, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

That’s pretty clear: Mary made the better choice. Occasionally, and certainly at this time of year, we too have to choose between spending time with Jesus and doing something for Jesus. And when that happens, He Himself has instructed us plainly which is the better choice: spending time with Him.

I believe that is what Jesus is calling His Christmas merry-makers to do: just to be with Him, basking in the light of His incarnate glory, feasting on the beauty of His grace, resting in the heat of His holiness.

Let Jesus show you how to have a truly merry Christmas! On Christmas morning, before you open those gifts, before you eat that meal, spend some time with Jesus and have a Mary Christmas! That’s the only way to have a Merry Christmas!

The Truth About Living: Soli Deo Gloria

Today we conclude our six-week consideration of “The Five Solas,” five biblical truths about the nature and purpose of salvation. The final and perhaps most foundational of these five basic truths is Soli Deo Gloria, which in Latin means, “only for the glory of God.” This biblical doctrine teaches us that the purpose of salvation is centered in the glory of God. Indeed, this truth indicates that the sole reason for human existence is to reflect God’s glory back to Him and to the created world around us.

As with the rest of “The Five Solas,” Soli Deo Gloria rests firmly on the unanimous testimony of God’s Word. For example, 1 Corinthian 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Peter 4:11 tells us why we should serve God, namely, "so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.” And Romans 11:36 reminds us that “from Him and through Him and back to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever and ever! Amen.”

These verses remind us that God is sovereign over every aspect of the believer's life. The Christian understands that all of life (“whatever you do”) is to be lived exclusively and entirely for the glory of God (“do all to the glory of God”), because every aspect of life is under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. There is no division between the so-called sacred and secular: all activities, from the seemingly mundane to the obviously momentous, are to be consecrated to God’s service and glory.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism was a document written in the 1640’s to teach Christians the most basic doctrines of the Christian faith. It is comprised of 107 questions and answers, along with hundreds of scriptural texts. The first question in the catechism asks, "What is the chief end of man?” To phrase this question in modern terms, we might ask, “Why do human beings exist?” The answer is this: “Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." In other words, the primary reason you and I are alive is to spend eternity giving God the glory He deserves and enjoying His presence.

If you are a Christian, God created you and saved you so that you could display His glory. This means that your life has an eternal meaning and purpose that magnificently transcends the temporal and visible realm. You are alive to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

And how do you do that? John Piper, author and preaching Pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, states it most succinctly: “God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him.” As a Christian, whether you are eating or working, playing or worshiping – indeed, in everything! – make it your aim to be fully satisfied in the presence of God, Who is with you and in you. Then your life will be lived as God meant it to be lived: Soli Deo Gloria!

The Truth About Believing: "Sola Fide"

Today we continue our look at “The Five Solas,” the five biblical truths about the nature and purpose of salvation. One of these five basic truths is Sola Fide, which in Latin literally means, “by faith alone.” This biblical doctrine teaches us that salvation comes to humanity only through faith in the finished work of Christ, not by virtue of any deeds we do, trying to be good enough or earn our own way to heaven.

As with the rest of “The Five Solas,” Sola Fide rests firmly on the unanimous testimony of God’s Word. For example, Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” John 3:16, 18 declares, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. . . . Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

Based on these and many other such texts of Scripture, the early church taught that biblical faith consists of three complementary aspects: knowing, agreeing, and relying. Faith means knowing the truth that Christ died to save us, agreeing with that truth, and relying upon Christ to save you. In other words, it is not enough to merely know the facts of the Gospel and agree with them in principle: you must rely completely upon Christ. Without that ultimate dependence on Who Christ is and what He has done, faith is incomplete.

Notice also that biblical faith must have a proper object: it’s not simply believing in whatever or whomever we want to believe in, even if our faith is sincere and strong. Rather, biblical faith means believing in the one and only reliable Savior, Jesus Christ. Many people seem to put their faith in faith, and try to work themselves into a state of believing that if they just believe strong enough and long enough, then what they are hoping for will come to pass. Of course, then, if their longed-for result doesn’t pan out, they conclude that they didn’t have “enough faith.” Interestingly enough, this completely misses the point of biblical teaching on faith, which states that what matters is not the quantity of our faith, but the object of our faith. In other words, do you believe in believing, or do you believe in Christ?

It’s like this. Suppose you want to walk across a frozen river. You stand on this side, gazing across to the other shore, over the snow-covered ice on the river. As you stir up your faith with memories of other frozen rivers on which you have walked, you believe the ice will hold you, and step onto it to cross to the other side. Will you make it, or will you go through into the frigid water below? The outcome is determined not primarily by the strength of your faith, but by the strength of the ice.

The good news is that Jesus is strong enough: we can depend on Him, for He alone is mighty to save us. This is why the “Five Solas” go together. We have salvation only through faith in the grace of God as mediated only through Christ and revealed only through the Scriptures. May your faith be driven by God’s Word, rooted in Christ, and centered on His grace!

Next week: “Soli Deo Gloria,” only for the glory of God

The Truth About Salvation: Sola Gratia

Today we continue our look at “The Five Solas,” the five biblical truths taught since the early church that constitute the unique claims of Christianity regarding the nature and purpose of salvation. One of these five basic truths is Sola Gratia, which in Latin literally means, “by grace alone.” This truth teaches us that salvation comes to humanity only because of God’s grace as revealed and mediated through the life, death and resurrection of His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

Grace itself can be defined as God's favor through Christ to people who deserve His wrath. By His grace, we do not receive the wrath we deserve. Instead, we receive the favor we don't deserve.

As with the rest of “The Five Solas,” Sola Gratia rests firmly on the unanimous testimony of God’s Word. A couple of texts in particular reveal this crucial truth. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Titus 3:5-7 declares, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, Whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

The crucial aspect of this truth is that in our relationship with God, we bring nothing to the bargaining table. We are dependent entirely upon God’s grace to put us into a relationship with Him. As that prince of preachers Charles Hadden Spurgeon stated it, “It is not because of anything in us, or that ever can be in us, that we are saved; but because of the boundless love, goodness, pity, compassion, mercy, and grace of God.” In other words, we’re not saved because of anything we are or do, but only because God gave His favor through Christ to us who deserve His wrath.

It is the grace of God that shows us our innate sinfulness; that convinces us that we can’t save ourselves by our own merit; that reveals to us that Christ is sufficient to be our Savior; and that then makes us able to trust Christ’s finished work for our salvation. Thus, as we remember God’s grace, we are rightly moved to glorify Him as the sole source of this immense miracle of being forgiven, made new and adopted into His family.

John Newton, a slave-trader whom God saved and called to preach, wrote of the working of grace in his life this way:

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears relieved.

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed.

Never let yourself stop being amazed by God’s grace!

Next week: “Sola Fide,” only through faith