tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7533669951448704622024-03-05T02:25:30.719-07:00desert rat of Morgan"Sí, enséñales el buen camino por el que deben andar" (2 Chronicles 6:27).Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger523125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-48720259523986063392022-01-03T07:02:00.001-07:002022-01-03T07:02:51.970-07:00The Many and Course-Charting<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I started preaching
through the Gospel of Matthew three years and two months ago. I’ve taken numerous
pauses along the way to preach other, shorter expositional series. This latest
pause was the longest: six months and a week. We returned to Matthew this last
Lord’s Day. This meant giving a little bit of the introduction time reminding
everyone how we got where we are. This is especially important, since we resumed
Matthew in chapter 24, the Olivet Discourse. Jesus has been in Jerusalem and in
the Temple since chapter 21. He has been engaged by the religious leadership
with numerous tests, and has bested His antagonists every time. The Lord has
pronounced woe and judgment over the religious leaders and Jerusalem itself.
And now, in the last of the five great discourses of Matthew, Jesus teaches
concerning the coming desolation of Jerusalem in chapters 24-25.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Part of me wishes I
would have stayed in Matthew without pause. There’s an idealistic part of me
that imagines a congregation living together in a text unbroken for several years.
Believing, as I do, in Scripture as the chief means of grace to the covenant
people, it seems such constant, patient immersion in a text could be an
especially fertile ground for the Spirit in a congregation’s life. But that’s
not why I’m writing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">One of the main tools I
use in Bible reading is looking for repetition or pattern. This repetition
doesn’t usually revolve around “big words” (theologically speaking), but often
it’s the “flyover words” that we need to make sure we are purposeful in
noticing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">As Jesus begins to answer
the disciples’ threefold question (24:3), we notice a word or idea that shows
up several times.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“And Jesus answered and
said to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you. For <b>many</b>
will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and will mislead <b>many</b>. You
will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not
frightened, for those things must take place, but that is
not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But
all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they
will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated
by <b>all</b> nations because of My name. At that time <b>many</b> will fall
away and will betray one another and hate one another. <b>Many</b> false
prophets will arise and will mislead <b>many</b>. Because lawlessness is
increased, <b>most</b> people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to
the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end
will come’” (Matthew 24:4-14).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Though I believe Jesus
is speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (marking the end of
the old covenant age), there are definite opportunities for application in His
warnings that can be seen for any generation until He returns. In this case, maybe
it doesn’t pay to follow the trends or the crowd.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">There was a hint at
this theme earlier, during Jesus’ engagement with those religious leaders who
challenged Him. At the end of the wedding feast parable, He said, “<b>many</b>
are called, but <u>few</u> are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">The primary link in my
mind, however, goes back to the first of the five great discourses in Matthew,
the “Sermon on the Mount.” Toward the end of that sermon, the idea of the “many”
as a category to which we do not want to belong, is used as warning: “Enter
through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads
to destruction, and there are <b>many</b> who enter through it. For the gate is
small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are <u>few</u> who
find it…not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven will enter.
<b>Many</b> will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy
in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And
then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who
practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:13-14,21-23).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">My pastor used to make
much of John 6:66, “as a result of this <b>many</b> of
His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.” The “this”
was Jesus first feeding the people and then chastising them for only wanting
physical food instead of desiring the Spirit-food (which was Him). Again, being
part of the “many” was not a good thing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Following Christ is
never described as a leisurely stroll or a five-lane highway. There is a
constant temptation to the path of least resistance, to maintaining fellowship
with the “many,” be that in conformity to the shifting tides of cultural
opinion or even the established habits of a religious tradition. I have found
that charting a course as faithfully to the Bible as possible quickly means a
divergence from the “many.” Sometimes the “many” becomes a smaller group as you
return to the Word to make further course corrections for faithfulness’ sake.
Regardless, following the Christ of the whole Bible necessarily means that our
valuing the movements of the “many” must always weigh far less than the infinite
tonnage of the Lordship of our only Savior, Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">May we carefully and
faithfully follow Him, no matter what the “many” are doing. If they are
following Him as He and His will are revealed in the Word, then we will find
ourselves on the same track. If not, may our path serve as witness so that some
may, perhaps initially only out of curiosity, join us and find Him along the Way.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnUjWuTA2Mqz4zEboJtsrfD3fLYubj1NYNFInjOZKrns23hEltZrn2Q_lAag13MxObhkt_-NEcuA4_hI9iuLmMqeAb8kEhIphMc_v5qhwJrLLT3tXVbY-4jw-gX3SpGhCbP8wDIB9rrU4VR85-BFBcf1-ObF3Rs-ZAj3B3ZaYO3FbA18K4GPCgeMM7TQ=s600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnUjWuTA2Mqz4zEboJtsrfD3fLYubj1NYNFInjOZKrns23hEltZrn2Q_lAag13MxObhkt_-NEcuA4_hI9iuLmMqeAb8kEhIphMc_v5qhwJrLLT3tXVbY-4jw-gX3SpGhCbP8wDIB9rrU4VR85-BFBcf1-ObF3Rs-ZAj3B3ZaYO3FbA18K4GPCgeMM7TQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-86579126869981734742021-02-15T05:57:00.005-07:002021-02-15T05:57:52.365-07:00Questions We Should Be Asking<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I have asked a lot of
questions of the book of the Revelation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">I have been asked by
others to explain various parts of the Revelation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">I’m sitting here in the
dark this unbelievably cold Monday morning (-19°F wind chill) with my feet by
the space heater and my hands around a mug of coffee, thinking about what
questions I don’t ask of the Revelation – and what questions I’ve never been
asked about this book.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“Blessed is he who
reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things
which are written in it; for the time is near” (1:3). Why don’t we read
this book publicly if the blessing goes to reading and hearing? How can we “heed
the things which are written in it”? What does this book ask of us? I fear our
main motivation in coming to this book is to get information about events that we
perceive to be threatening to us (and our safety, prosperity, and status quo) –
we come to it to find what we need to prepare for that which we fear, rather
than coming to it seeking to be what we are called to be in Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“I, John,
your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom
and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called
Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (1:9). Have
I ever been anywhere even remotely unpleasant because of “the word of God and
the testimony of Jesus”? Why not? If, “in Jesus,” John the Revelator said there
was “tribulation and kingdom and perseverance,” do I live as if that was the
norm for Christianity in this life? Do the books I read teach this? The songs I
listen to and sing? The teachers and preachers I hear? Why not? What’s
different about John’s Christianity and mine?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“I know your deeds and
your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and
you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are
not, and you found them to be false” (2:2). How should we “put to the
test those who call themselves apostles”?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“…you have perseverance
and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary” (2:3). What
if I do grow “weary”? How can I be like the Ephesians, who were commended
because they did not grow tired in the race?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“But I have this against
you, that you have left your first love” (2:4). What “love” takes priority
over what Jesus calls “first” in our lives?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“Do not fear what you
are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into
prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for
ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of
life” (2:10). How can I prepare to be so “tested” and “faithful” in such “tribulation”?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“But I have a few things
against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam,
who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of
Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality”
(2:14; see also 2:20). What would “the teaching of Balaam” look like in a 21st-century
context? What are some manifestations of this today? Are we tolerating what the
church in Pergamum tolerated?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“…I will give to each
one of you according to your deeds” (2:23). How does this fit with a Gospel of
grace through faith apart from works?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“He who overcomes, and
he who keeps My deeds until the end…” (2:26). How do we keep Jesus’ “deeds”?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“I know your deeds,
that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Wake
up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have
not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what
you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent” (3:1-3). How do
we obey these commands to revive ourselves?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“I know your deeds,
that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So
because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of
My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need
of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor
and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by
fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may
clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be
revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see” (3:15-18). Am
I driven by a clearly-seen and desperate need for Christ in all things? Or do I
broadcast a self-sufficiency with a little Jesus added for appearance’s sake?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
God, the Almighty, Who was and Who is and Who is to come…worthy are You,
our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for
You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were
created…worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You
were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every
tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom
and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth…worthy is
the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and
might and honor and glory and blessing…to Him Who sits on the throne, and
to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion
forever and ever…Amen” (4:8,11; 5:9-10,12-14). Do I sing and pray like they do
in heaven? Am I moved by what so powerfully moves them? Why not?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“When the Lamb broke
the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those
who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of
the testimony which they had maintained” (6:9). Again, I ask: is my life
any more difficult in this world because of “the word of God” or because of “the
testimony”? Why not?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“Another angel came and
stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense
was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints
on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the
incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s
hand. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the
altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder
and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake” (8:1-5). If heaven
weaponized my prayers, would the earth shake, or would I just get more
comfortable? What earth-shaking prayers have I prayed today, this week, this
year?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“The rest of mankind,
who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of
their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and
of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear
nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of
their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts”
(9:20-21). In what areas of my life do I refuse to repent? What idols do I
treasure?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“And they overcame
him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their
testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death”
(12:11). With what weapons do I fight and resist in this world? How can I fight
and resist like these overcomers?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“So the dragon was
enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children,
who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus”
(12:17). Would the dragon even notice me? Is my chief identity that I “keep the
commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus”? Or is anything like
this description way down on the list of self-identifiers?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“And the whole
earth was amazed and followed after the beast” (13:3). Am I “amazed”
and attracted to the same things as “the whole earth”? Are my affections any
different?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“These are the ones who
have…kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the
Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as
first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their
mouth; they are blameless” (14:4-5). Have I made this character study as
high a priority as deciphering “666”? Why not?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“Behold, I am
coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his
clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his
shame” (16:15). What does it say about my heart and priorities that I am more
curious about “Armageddon” than the promise and call of this beatitude?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“Let us rejoice and be
glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come
and His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself
in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is
the righteous acts of the saints” (19:7-8). Shouldn’t we be deep in the
Word, desiring to become masters of understanding and living this text? How can
we live this text and obey it? Isn’t this more important than current politics
and events, more valuable to our souls than speculative timelines or a seeking
of signs?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“I saw the
souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus
and because of the word of God” (20:4). Again, how has the “testimony of Jesus”
and “the word of God” caused even a slight dissonance to my life in this world?
Isn’t answering that question more important than convincing you my millennial
position is correct?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">There are many other
questions we should be asking of the Revelation. Questions about our souls, our
lives, our churches, our worship, our witness before a world that hates the
Jesus of the Bible. Rather than asking “when,” maybe we should instead respond
to the Revelation with a question of “how.” How are we to live faithfully right
now in our lives in light of the Revelation? No matter what the headlines say, how
does the Revelation say I should follow Jesus? Oh, my soul! Why have I spent so
much time on the other stuff of the Revelation to the exclusion of a brokenness
and hunger to live out the descriptions of normal, daily, true discipleship?
How have I divided brethren and not adequately fed the sheep by ignoring these
things? Lord, help. Help me ask the questions I should ask of your Revelation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-31247312398168512672021-01-26T12:48:00.000-07:002021-01-26T12:48:08.227-07:00Which Gathering?<p> “Examine me,
O LORD, and try me;<br />Test my mind and my heart.<br />For
Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,<br />And I have walked in Your truth.<br />I do not sit with deceitful men,<br />Nor will I go with pretenders.<br />I hate <b>the assembly [ἐκκλησίαν] of evildoers</b>,<br />And I will not sit with the wicked.<br />I shall wash my hands in innocence,<br />And I will go about Your altar, O LORD,<br />That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving<br />And declare all Your wonders.<br />O LORD,
I love the habitation of Your house<br />And the place where Your glory dwells.<br />Do not take my soul away along with sinners,<br />Nor my life with men of bloodshed,<br />In whose hands is a wicked scheme,<br />And whose right hand is full of bribes.<br />But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;<br />Redeem me, and be gracious to me.<br />My foot stands on a level place;<br />In <b>the congregations [ἐκκλησίαις]</b> I shall bless the LORD”
(Psalm 26:2-12). </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">I’ve been
spending a lot of time in 2021 during my daily devotions reading the Psalms
from the Greek translation of the Old Testament (trying to keep once-learned
things fresh). While the original Hebrew for “assembly” or “congregation,” קָהֵל,
means the same thing as the Greek ἐκκλησία, the Greek caught my attention
today.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">When used in
the New Testament, ἐκκλησία is the word usually translated “church.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">In Psalm 26
David describes two assemblies (only two): the gathering where the LORD is
blessed, and a gathering where He is not. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">Two groups of
humanity: those who desire to be submitted to and conformed to God’s character
and truth, and those who do not have a longing for the things of God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">Two “churches”:
one that desires God’s glory and presence now and forever, and one that rejects
God and His truth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">With which do
you identify most? Do people around you know it? Do people reading your social
media output know it? Of which “church” do your daily habits, priorities,
words, relationships, and passions mark you to be a member?<o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-10222334437876426392020-11-11T08:37:00.001-07:002020-11-11T08:37:27.777-07:00This Is How It's Done<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is perfect. Someone well outside our common fellowship
gave my bride this as a tribute a few days ago.<br />
<br />
This is who she is: the epitome of <i>"do not let your left hand know what your
right hand is doing"</i> (Matthew 6:3). The unspeakably countless people she has
touched - the “seeds” she has planted - behind the scenes is a powerful
testimony to me...and to many others, judging by how many I’ve seen give
witness to her tireless care. This is how it’s done.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">It seems that ministry has drifted toward branding or marketing: taking care at all times to make sure people know all the things we're doing for the Kingdom (it's not always clear whose kingdom). I'm certainly guilty. Paul, however, does speak of a <i>"quiet life"</i> (1 Thessalonians 4:11; 1 Timothy 2:2). My bride doesn't have to make much of her loving on others, but they surely know, even if others don't. I suspect she's more on track than the rest of us, who spend a lot of time constructing image, labels, slogans, graphics, and consider it vital to spread all of that as far as we can, seasoning our acts of serving others with a bit of self-serving.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">I keep coming back to this simple little jar of mustard seeds. To steal a phrase from a popular show, "this is the way."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOFCWb48VJfE2uQlYeOv3YJsk0XDnotvPHZjTDF9k_duDFhkz3k8oKCI4JIsrryPVBi5G-YdPA77ePxovVyHd6wZJNc8LQiCKHLo6UQNNQxDxi04VrhwLCJwvSyl7HQjCojadglA21xWk/s960/125142316_2816666565287312_5919150329344431135_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOFCWb48VJfE2uQlYeOv3YJsk0XDnotvPHZjTDF9k_duDFhkz3k8oKCI4JIsrryPVBi5G-YdPA77ePxovVyHd6wZJNc8LQiCKHLo6UQNNQxDxi04VrhwLCJwvSyl7HQjCojadglA21xWk/s320/125142316_2816666565287312_5919150329344431135_n.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505;"><br /></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-27573308699286413812020-10-29T06:23:00.001-06:002020-10-29T06:23:19.459-06:00Revisiting the Highest Good<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have been a member of
congregations in association with the Southern Baptist Convention most of my
life. Most people don’t really understand what the SBC is, so I’ll give a little
set-up before getting into the reason I’m writing. Local Baptist congregations
voluntarily associate in local Associations, State Conventions, and the national
Southern Baptist Convention. For Southern Baptists, the primary reason for this
voluntary association is cooperation on missions, very loosely bound by <a href="https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/">basic doctrinal agreements</a>. These associational groups have no authority over the
local congregation. Annually, messengers from local congregations are sent to
representative gatherings. Reports from various entities are given, preachers
preach (it is a gathering of church folk, after all), necessary business is conducted,
and resolutions are adopted that give voice to the general thought of the
collective to the rest of the world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve stripped all the
particularities of who and where from the following account. I’m not writing to
put a spotlight on people or groups. This is here to make us ask ourselves how
consistent we’re being in our ethics, and to revive a point made by a much
better writer and thinker than myself eight years ago. File this under the “What
Are We Willing to Do to Be Safe?” category.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">At a Baptist State
Convention’s annual meeting Monday night (October 26, 2020) there was a
statement by the head of the Resolutions Committee that bothered me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A pastor had proposed a
resolution to the Resolutions Committee. That resolution had been rejected. The
pastor then brought it to the floor in the form of a motion during a session
called “Miscellaneous Business” between music sets: “As Southern Baptists, we
are decidedly against abortion and fetal tissue research, as confirmed by many
previous resolutions. This resolution that I’m putting forward is rejecting of
any products derived from abortion or fetal tissue research. This resolution is
important, so that we may be informed about what products are being made and
marketing to us that are made from aborted babies. Please vote ‘yes,’ so that
tomorrow we may have an opportunity to at least consider this resolution to
support life.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Since the Resolutions
Committee had not brought the proposed resolution to the Convention, this
motion would require a 2/3 majority vote to bring it to a vote the following
evening (Tuesday, October 27, 2020).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The head of the
Resolutions Committee then took to the stage and explained why the Committee
had not carried the proposed resolution forward: “Thank you, Mr. President [of
the State Convention]. As chairman of the Resolutions Committee, I wanted to
give you a little background on why we decided not to report this to the
Committee. Southern Baptists have long been opposed to abortion for the purpose
of harvesting stem cells from fetuses for various types of research and product
development. However, this resolution makes no distinction between existing
lines and new lines that would, perhaps, be required for these things. There
were a couple of areas that concerned us. Number one is, a lot of the vaccines
that are commonly used today, part of the CDC’s guidelines – there is no
alternative at this point that does not depend on existing lines of embryonic
stem cells. The IMB, the International Mission Board, requires missionaries to
be vaccinated with several vaccines…to which, to our knowledge there are no
other alternatives other than those that are made from existing cell lines.
Also, I would read – brother [the name of the pastor who was trying to bring
the resolution to the Convention] just mentioned this – I would read, ‘we would
not seek to preserve our temporal or earthly bodies at the sake of our
spiritual souls, but instead reject the use of vaccines that were made from the
exploitation of unborn human beings.’ We are in the middle of a global
pandemic, we are anxiously all waiting for a vaccine that can render these
things [holds up a fabric mask] meaningless for all time, and we can get back
to some level of normalcy. We are certainly not encouraging new aborted - new
lines to be established, but if existing lines can be used to get us to a
COVID-19 vaccine, I think we’d want to be careful about something like this
that could be perceived as being anti-vaccine in the hearts of [the State in
which this Convention is being held] Baptists. Thank you, Mr. President.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It was at this point my
wife and I looked at each other. What had just been said?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A messenger to the
Convention then spoke, pointing out that unless a stand is taken, there will be
no alternatives. The speaker then observed that the Southern Baptist Convention
as a whole contains enough numbers to demand an alternative.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The motion to consider
the resolution the following night passed with the necessary 2/3 majority vote
by the messengers in attendance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Committee clarified
on Tuesday in discussion that it commended all of the Resolution except the “last
resolve,” which spoke to rejecting even vaccines created from existing lines
originating from stem cells from aborted embryos. The Committee felt like this
would unnecessarily bind the consciences of Baptists in this state (remember
that neither the State Convention or the resolution passed has authority over
the local congregation or its individual members) – they viewed it as a liberty
of conscience issue whether or not Baptists used these vaccines or not, derived
from “old cell lines from fetal tissue.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Another messenger,
speaking in favor of the resolution referenced a few words of Jesus:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">* “Do not fear those
who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but
rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell” (Matthew 10:28).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">* “If your hand or your
foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for
you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be
cast into the eternal fire. If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and
throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to
have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell” (Matthew 18:8-9).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">One spoke concerned
about the wording of the resolution. She asked if we were willing to stop
sending missionaries from our state overseas to countries that required these
vaccines. Can we continue support to support international missions, since
missionaries from others states would be required to have these vaccines in
order to enter certain nations?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A ballot count was
called when the visual count wasn’t discernable. The resolution passed (242
yes, 175 no).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">*******<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">On Use of Products of
Fetal Tissue Research<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">WHEREAS, the Southern
Baptist Convention has decidedly opposed elective abortion, resolved from many
previous resolutions including <i>On the Sanctity of Human Life</i> at the SBC
Annual Meeting [2015]; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">WHEREAS, the Southern
Baptist Convention has decidedly opposed fetal tissue research and the sale of
aborted baby parts, resolved from many previous resolutions including <i>On
Human Fetal Tissue Trafficking</i> at the 2000 SBC Annual Meeting; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">WHEREAS, certain
vaccines on the CDC schedule, certain potential SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, certain
pharmaceuticals, certain artificial flavors, and certain health and beauty
items are all products fetal tissue research; and therefore be it<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">RESOLVED, that we
affirm our abhorrence of elective abortion; be it further<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">RESOLVED, that we
affirm our disapproval of research using fetal parts from elective abortions;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">RESOLVED, that we
affirm our stance against the exploitation of unborn human beings through the
sale of their body parts; and be it finally<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">RESOLVED, that we
reject the use of any and all products of fetal tissue research including but not
limited to: vaccines, pharmaceuticals, artificial flavors, and health and
beauty items.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">*******<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The reasoning of the Resolutions
Committee on not bringing this to the Convention reminded me of an article I
read quite a while ago. The relevant takeaway is this: “Survival is not the highest
good.” I can’t find a direct link to the article (the website on which it
originally appeared is no longer active), so here’s the text:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Christians and The
Hunger Games”<br />
Written by <a href="https://dougwils.com/">Douglas Wilson</a><br />
March 23, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
There are ethical dilemmas, and then there are the phony baloney ones. The
famous National Lampoon magazine cover did not pose a genuine ethical dilemma -
buy this magazine or we shoot the dog.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
Many years ago I was working on a television show with the local PBS station at
WSU, and Nancy and I were invited over to dinner by the producer and his wife.
They were very gracious, and we enjoyed our time with them. But one of the
events of the evening that turned out to be a dud was when our host brought out
a game which was called, I think, Scruples. Something like that. At any rate,
the point of the game was that you drew a card that dealt you some kind of
ethical thumb-sucker from a stack of ethical conundra, to make up a
funny-sounding plural. If you are stuck in a lifeboat, and you will most
certainly die if you don’t do something, do you eat the fat guy or the skinny
guy first? That kind of thing. You were then supposed to say something like
whoa, and think about it for a while, twisting in the wind. I can really see
how a living room full of wealthy relativists in an upscale neighborhood in the
eighties could really be flummoxed by the game, but we were no fun at all.
There are certain things you just don’t do because the Ten Commandments were
not suggestions, and the game is over.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
This said, <i>The Hunger Games</i> specializes in a similar kind of elaborate
set-up for situation ethics. In this review, I will not be going after the book
for stylistic faults. It does not open itself up for that kind of thing the way
<i>Twilight</i> did. The writing in this book was competent enough, and the
pacing delivers what it promises. The premise had a lot of potential - gladiatorial
games meet reality television in a dystopic future.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
The country is Panem, set in a future and really messed up North America. The
place is run by the Capitol, and there are twelve districts run by the harsh
and cruel guys in the Capitol. There had been a war of rebellion sometime back,
and the Capitol had won it, and now exacted a harsh and inflexible penalty on
all the previously rebellious districts. Those districts have been utterly
cowed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
The book is written in the first person, and the protagonist is a young girl
named Katniss Everdeen. Her father was killed some years before in a mining
accident, her relationship with her mother is strained because of how her
mother had collapsed after her father’s death, and the only person she really
loves is her younger sister, Primrose. But then Prim, as she is called, is
chosen by the lottery for the Hunger Games. Katniss volunteers to take her
place, which is good and sacrificial and noble, and that is the point of the
whole set up. We’ll come back to it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
Every year, each district is forced by lottery to send one boy and one girl
(between the ages of twelve and eighteen) as tributes to the Hunger Games,
where they are all put into a closed off area, a vast outdoor arena, and forced
to fight it out to the death. The arena is full of cameras everywhere, and
everybody in Panem is forced to watch the games. As I said earlier, the premise
is one full of dramatic potential.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
Katniss is tough and edgy enough to be a survivor in the Hunger Games (which
means she will have to kill other people’s brothers and sisters), and soft
enough to be likeable. The reader can begin to identify with her . . . if the
reader takes his eye off the ball. I don’t like books that make me choose
between the fat guy and the skinny guy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
Suppose the Capitol bad guys had decided to set up a different required sin in
their games. Suppose it were the Rape Games instead. Suppose that the person
who made it through the games without being raped was the feted winner. Anybody
here think that this series would be the bestselling phenomenon that this one
is?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
In short, when you have the privilege of setting up all the circumstances
artificially, in order to give your protagonist no real choice about whether to
sin or not, it is a pretty safe bet that a whole lot of people in a
relativistic country, including the Christians in it unfortunately, won’t
notice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
As the book progresses, the ethical problems are effectively disguised. The
first way is by having a number of the wealthier districts send tributes who
are semi-pro. In other words, they are not reluctant participants, but are
eager for the glory that attends winning the games. When that kind of guy comes
after you, everything is self-defense. Then there is the fact that there are a
bunch of them out there killing each other, and Katniss doesn’t have to do it.
And the third device, and the one that keeps you turning the pages, that the
author does not reveal whether or not Katniss will be willing to kill when it
gets down the bitter end, and her opponents are innocents like she is. In other
words, you have a likeable protagonist who is fully expecting to do something
that is perfectly appalling by the end of the book.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
There is a twelve-year-old girl named Rue that Katniss teams up with, and there
is an expectation that later in the games the alliance will be dissolved . . .
and you know what will happen then. Rue is the same age as Prim. There is a boy
from her own district named Peeta who has been in love with Katniss forever,
and who gave her family a loaf of bread a number of years before. Is he going
to kill her or vice versa? I hear that spoilers are supposed to be bad, so I
won’t tell you what happens.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
The Capitol is hateful, and cruel, and distasteful, and obnoxious, and
decadent, and icky . . . but not evil, as measured against any external
standard. The Capitol is to be disliked because the Capitol is making people do
things they would rather not be doing. But nowhere is there a simple refusal.
There is a desire to have it all go away, but everybody participates with an
appropriate amount of sullenness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
The story is told with enough detachment and distance that you feel like the
participants really do have to cooperate. Resistance is futile . . .<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
But think for a moment. Someone tells you to murder a twelve-year-old girl, or
they will kill you. What do you do? Suppose they give the twelve-year-old girl
a head start? Suppose they give her a gun and tell her that if she murders you
first, and she will be okay?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
This is what situation ethics specializes in. Suppose a woman is in a
concentration camp, and she can save her husband’s life, or her child’s life,
through sexual bribes given to the guards. What should she do? Suppose you
could save one hundred thousand lives by torturing someone to death on national
television. What should you do? The response should be something like, “Let me
think about it, no.” As Thomas Watson put it, better to be wronged than to do
wrong. It is not a sin to be murdered. It is not a sin to have your loved ones
murdered. It is not a sin to defend your loved ones through every lawful means.
But that is the key, that phrase. Every lawful means only makes sense when
there is a law, and that only makes sense when there is a Lawgiver. Without
that, everything is just dogs scrapping over a piece of meat. And once that is
the framework, there is no real way to evaluate anything. The history of the
Church is filled with families being martyred together. Survival is not the
highest good.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
Back in the Cold War, a joke was told about an admiral who was inspecting a
destroyer, and was making the rounds while they were out at sea. He came upon a
lookout, a lowly sailor, standing there with his binoculars. “Lad,” he said,
“what would you do if a Russian destroyer appeared on the horizon there?”
“Sir,” the man said, “I’d nuke ‘em.” “Oh,” said the admiral. “What would you do
if ten of them appeared?” “I’d nuke them too, sir.” “I see,” said the admiral.
“What would you do if the whole Russian fleet appeared there?” “I’d nuke them
all, sir,” came the reply. “And,” the admiral said, pressing his point home,
“where are you getting all these nukes?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
“The same place you’re getting the Russians, sir.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
When you are imagining some kind of scenario, it is easy to construct one
exactly to the needs of your plot, and the sub-creating author can create a
world in which it is not true that “God will not let you be tempted beyond what
you are able to bear.” Your tributes are in the arena with a command to kill or
be killed, and in this place it is not true that with every temptation there is
a way of escape. For faithful believers, the way of escape might be martyrdom.
Daniel’s three friends worked through it that way. They said that their God was
able to save them, but whether He saved them or not, they weren’t going to bow
down to the statue.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
If you hate spoilers, you can stop reading here. Katniss does survive, and she
does so without doing anything perfectly appalling. But this only happens
because of luck, not because she learned anything about how the world is
actually governed. There is a functional omniscience that the Capitol has in
the arena - everything is filmed - and she has real distaste for that
functional omniscience, but without any sense that there is any other kind of
omniscience. And she does kill one of the bad guy tributes right at the end,
but as this is arranged in the book, it is a mercy killing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
Out of five stars I would give this book three. In terms of holding your
interest, Suzanne Collins gets four. In terms of keeping a sense of ethical
tension in a world without ethics, she would get a five. That’s something that
is hard to do. But in terms of helping Christian young people set their minds
and hearts on that which is noble and right, we can’t even give it one star. We
would have to assign, in this last category, one burnt out asteroid.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-58028144908353381902020-10-27T14:34:00.004-06:002020-10-27T17:14:26.318-06:00However It Ends, Father<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">I am not old. I know
and love quite a few people around three decades older than I am.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Still, my beard has
been gray for almost a decade…more and more so. I long for the day when it’s
all white, but the Lord alone knows if that will happen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">My prayer has become
this, increasingly so with every ache and niggle and change…Father, when this
muscle in my chest quits contracting, let it be that my influence somehow
contributes to the eternal reality that my wife, my children (grandchildren,
even great-grandchildren, so on), and my dear local congregation…may it be that
when this muscle in my chest quits contrasting that they all continue to the
end faithful to You in Christ alone. Any way this goes down at the end, Father,
let that one request be granted according to Your will and power, in Jesus’
name. That’s all I ask.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br />
<i>“In You, LORD, I have taken refuge;<br />
Let me never be put to shame.<br />
In Your righteousness rescue me and save me;<br />
Extend Your ear to me and help me.<br />
Be to me a rock of dwelling to which I may continually come…<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">…I have become
a marvel to many,<br />
For You are my strong refuge.<br />
My mouth is filled with Your praise<br />
And with Your glory all day long.<br />
Do not cast me away at the time of my old age;<br />
Do not abandon me when my strength fails…<br />
But as for me, I will wait continually,<br />
And will praise You yet more and more.<br />
My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness<br />
And of Your salvation all day long;<br />
For I do not know the art of writing.<br />
I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD;<br />
I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">God, You have
taught me from my youth,<br />
And I still declare Your wondrous deeds.<br />
And even when I am old and gray, God, do not abandon me,<br />
Until I declare Your strength to this generation,<br />
Your power to all who are to come”</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> (Psalm 71:1-3,7-18).<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-87095074156889475412020-10-22T11:48:00.000-06:002020-10-22T11:48:20.152-06:00Christ's Three-Fold Office in Zechariah 1:7-17<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The catechism of
Baptist pastor Benjamin Keach (1640-1704) teaches us that Christ holds a
three-fold office.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Q. 27. What offices
does Christ execute as our Redeemer?<br />
A. Christ, as our Redeemer, executes the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and
of a king, both in His estate of humiliation and exaltation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">We see these three
offices on display in the first of Zechariah’s “night visions.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><i>“I saw at night,
and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among
the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white
horses behind him. Then I said, ‘My lord, what are these?’ And
the angel who was speaking with me said to me, ‘I will show you what these
are.’ And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and
said, ‘These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.’ So
they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the
myrtle trees and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all
the earth is peaceful and quiet’”</i> (Zechariah 1:8-11).</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Zechariah sees <i>“a man”</i>
who is also <i>“the angel of the LORD.”</i> In the Old Testament, the “angel of the
LORD” speaks as the LORD, and those who encounter him declare that they have
seen the LORD (Genesis 16:10,13; 22:11-12,15-18; 31:11-13; 48:15-16; Exodus
3:2,6; Judges 6:22; 13:21-22). It has traditionally been taught that this
“angel of the LORD” is a pre-incarnate appearing of God the Son. In His
incarnation it will be said of Him that He is the <i>“image of the invisible God”</i>
(Colossians 1:13; see also John 1:14; 14:9; Hebrews 1:3). Further, He
<i>“explains”</i> the Father to us (John 1:18; see also John 3:34; 8:28,38). The Son
is eternally divine, and is not a creature – He is, in other words, not an “angel”
in the sense of the created heavenly beings that also have that name. The title
“angel” means “messenger.” The Son reveals the nature and will of the Father to
us in His very Person. When Zechariah sees this <i>“angel of the LORD,”</i> the
prophet is seeing the Son. Further, the three-fold office of Christ is imaged
in this vision, as well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">First, <b>we see Christ as
King</b>. The angelic horsemen sent on patrol throughout the earth report to Him
Who commands the heavenly armies of God (Matthew 13:41; 16:27; 24:31; 25:31;
Mark 8:38; 13:27; Luke 9:26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; Jude 14-15; Revelation
19:11-16).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Q. 30. How does Christ
execute the office of a king?<br />
A. Christ executes the office of a king, in subduing us to Himself, in ruling
and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all His and our enemies.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">After receiving the
report of the angelic patrols, the <i>“angel of the LORD”</i> speaks to the <i>“LORD of
hosts”</i> on behalf of the covenant people.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><i>“Then the angel of
the Lord said, ‘O LORD of hosts, how long will
You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which
You have been indignant these seventy years?’”</i> (Zechariah 1:12).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b>Not only is Christ a
King, but He is our Priest</b>, interceding on behalf of His people before the
Father (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). All that we need is given from the Father
through our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5), the Son, by the indwelling power of the
Holy Spirit.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Q. 29. How does Christ
execute the office of a priest?<br />
A. Christ executes the office of a priest, in His once offering up of Himself,
a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God, and in making
continual intercession for us.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">The <i>“angel of the LORD”</i>
then receives a message of grace and comfort from the <i>“LORD of hosts.”</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><i>“The LORD answered
the angel who was speaking with me with gracious
words, comforting words. So the angel who was speaking with me said
to me, ‘Proclaim, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I
am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. But I am very angry
with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry,
they furthered the disaster.’ Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘I
will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in
it,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and a measuring line will be
stretched over Jerusalem.’” Again, proclaim, saying, “Thus says
the Lord of hosts, ‘My cities will again overflow with
prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and
again choose Jerusalem’”’”</i> (Zechariah 1:13-17).</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">He is King, and Priest,
but He has also given us the final, all-sufficient revelation of God to us
through the Spirit-inspired apostolic authors of the New Testament (Hebrews
1:1). <b>He is our Prophet</b>.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Q. 28. How does Christ
execute the office of a prophet?<br />
A. Christ executes the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by this Word
and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">In February of 519
B.C., a prophet from the priestly family of Israel had visions one night. In
the first vision he saw a darkness deeper than the surrounding night (the
Hebrew word here translated <i>“ravine”</i> usually refers to the depths of the sea).
God’s people were in difficult straits at this time, discouraged and
overwhelmed. In this darkness, though, the prophet saw One Who is Immanuel, God-with-us.
This One is the King Who will command all the powers of heaven and earth to the
ultimate good of His people in His perfect timing. This One is the Priest Who
intercedes day and night for those who have found salvation through faith in
Him alone. This One is the Prophet Who has given us the gracious, comforting
Word that is so sufficient no further Word need be given.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">This is our Lord Jesus.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“This
office of mediator between God and humanity is appropriate for Christ alone,
Who is the prophet, priest, and king of the church of God. This office may not
be transferred from Him to anyone else, either in whole or in part. The number
and character of these offices is essential. Because we are ignorant, we need
His prophetic office. Because we are alienated from God and imperfect in the
best of our service, we need His priestly office to reconcile us and present us
to God as acceptable. Because we are hostile and utterly unable to return to
God, and so that we can be rescued and made secure from our spiritual enemies,
we need His kingly office to convince, subdue, draw, sustain, deliver, and
preserve us for His heavenly kingdom” (<i>The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith
in Modern English</i>, 8.9-10).</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-8719812516564145112020-10-17T06:00:00.000-06:002020-10-17T06:00:26.137-06:00Not Forsaking<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“A tale of two sisters” seems a silly way to begin, but
that’s what I’ve got. Let me tell you a little about them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">We have a couple in our fellowship that recently moved an
hour away. I was pleasantly surprised when they told me they were remaining in
the fellowship, making the commitment to commute. Sundays with four young
children are long days – waking up early enough to make it to sound check for the
worship team, staying through the afternoon, and making the hour-long drive
home to put the little ones to bed. That’s a long day. This week, though, the
schedule for our fellowship was busier. Monday the congregation began sorting
pallets of donated food to prepare for a community distribution. The mom and
her four kids showed up and worked hard. That was a blessing. Two days later,
at our mid-week adult Bible study, she showed up again with those little ones.
Beloved, it’s an hour to church and an hour back home. One of our senior saints
whispered to me, “if we had dedication like that in the rest of the membership,
can you imagine what would happen?” I can. I’ve seen it before, in a little
church near the U.S.-Mexican border. We had several families driving 30-50
miles to attend worship then. It’s good to see that kind of commitment again.
That’s one sister. Let me tell you about another.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">My wife leads an online small group (they’re working
through Glenna Marshall’s <i>Everyday Faithfulness</i>). One of the members of that
group is in the hospital, two hours away from her husband and two little ones.
Doctors are struggling to figure out exactly what’s going on with her. On her
phone, from her hospital bed, she didn’t miss the online meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">It wouldn’t take much effort for me to recall dozens of
stories like that from the last 25 years of ministry (and several from right
now where we’re ministering). God the Holy Spirit sometimes works the grace of the
Father in the Son through saints in such a striking way that others believers
notice. I hope we notice, because this is a Spirit-wrought miracle. Saints with
challenges, pains (physical, emotional, circumstantial), legitimate busy-ness, distractions,
massive responsibilities…moved of God to rock-solid faithfulness that inspires
the rest of the local covenant community.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">You’ve heard preachers use this verse many times: “…not
forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day
drawing near” (Hebrews 12:25). We need (as always) to read beyond the single
verse to get the full weight. Make the time to read 12:19-39 (after all, you’ve
made it this far into a blog post…you’re in the upper percentile for attention
spans in this day and age!).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">Read it again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">Feel the glorious weight of the blessing we have in Christ,
and the joyful responsibility to make much of that blessing (12:19-25).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">Feel the danger to our souls before God if we prove to be
faithless in light of that grace in Christ freely offered to us (12:26-31).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">Look at how trivial our excuses for missing the gathering
look in comparison to those original recipients of the letter to the Hebrews
(12:32-34). Having their property seized because they were believers wasn’t a
good excuse for skipping church, according to the Spirit-inspired author of
this letter. If we can’t stand faithfully together now, how do we imagine we
will when the long season of American Christian ease soon comes to an end?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">Hear the encouragement to persevere (12:34-38). God the
Spirit uses these warnings and encouragements to seal you in Christ…but only if
you take time to read them and hear them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">Finally, may the confession of 10:39 be your confession.
May it be my confession. May it be the confession of all those who gather as
the true church in every place they may be found.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">Go on to read chapter 11-12. We’re part of something so
much bigger than our busy lives, so much grander that this brief moment. The
saints of old have run their race and are now watching, waiting. Heavenly Zion
itself beckons, and the first steps to answering the call is regularly
gathering with other earth-bound (for now) saints in Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">No more excuses. Desire the grace of faithfulness to the local faith family where the Spirit's placed you. Pray for greater faithfulness. Commend examples of it that move you. Give thanks to God in Christ for the faithfulness you see there, and for the hope of that kind of faithfulness in you. No more excuses.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-31141989297370790852020-08-11T06:39:00.001-06:002020-08-11T06:44:33.207-06:00Preacher, Let God Speak<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">A few weeks ago I
had the honor of preaching via video to a congregation in India. The
congregants are not allowed to gather, so the meeting was held on an online
conference platform. The pastor introduced me, then invited various members to sing,
read Scripture, and pray. Something really special happened after I preached.
In about a minute’s time, the pastor gave the congregation an overview of the
sermon. Point by point, Scripture passage by passage. It was like he had my
notes in front of him. I was blessed by the whole service, but this really
impressed me. What a great practice! Over the years, I’ve had people come by
the exit of the church, shake my hand, and say, “great sermon.” Some have
complemented the sermon and given a one-sentence take-away that shocked me
because it had nothing to do with anything I thought I had said (synopses like
that keep me up at night fretting over my preaching). But this Indian brother had
paid so close attention that he was able to shepherd his congregation into a
quick reminder of all that was said. Oh, if we would all take notes and put
careful attention onto the sermon like that!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">One thing I try to
do when preaching or teaching is to follow the scriptural text exactly. I don’t
want there to be confusion about the sermon’s source, and I want the listener
to be able to put his or her finger on the text as I’m preaching and follow
along word-by-word or phrase-by-phrase. By the Lord’s help, the goal is to keep
my from “chasing rabbits” or using the text to promote something important to
me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here’s the thing:
there’s a way to do this that completely misses the intent of the
divinely-inspired author. I’ll use a passage from 1 Peter to illustrate what I have
in mind:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Who according
to His great mercy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">has caused us to
be born again to a living hope<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">to obtain an inheritance which
is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">reserved in heaven
for you,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">who are protected
by the power of God through faith<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">for a
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is not
expositional preaching/teaching if you strip the text down to a list of “important”
words and go down the list talking about each in a way divorced from the flow
and purpose of Peter’s words. To put it another way, I cannot create from this text
a list of words I want to talk about:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">1. Blessed<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">2. Father<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">3. Lord Jesus
Christ<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">4. mercy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">5. born again<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">6. living hope<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">7. resurrection<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">8. inheritance<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">9. heaven<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">10. power of God<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">11. salvation<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I cannot take this
list, go thematically down it speaking about each word separately, and consider
this an expositional sermon/study.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">God the Holy Spirit
inspired Peter to give us many more words than the eleven picked out of those
three verses. There are conjunctions, prepositions, pronouns. There are adverbs
and adjectives. These “little” words matter so much because we learn how the “big”
words fit together to give us the divine-intended meaning. I love doctrine and
a good systematic theology, but if we’re so full of that stuff we can’t hear
the flow of meaning in these words as they were given to us, then we’ve got a
problem.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And I’m not even
talking about getting into the Greek or anything too complicated. With a reasonably
literal English translation, our first responsibility is simply to try to
understand what the author’s purpose was in this three-verse sentence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The passage is
only peripherally about Jesus or us as believers. Who is it about? It’s about
the “Father.” He is pronounced “blessed” (it’s an adjective, not a command to “bless”
Him) because of what He’s done in securing salvation for us through Jesus
Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What has He done? Answering
that is the point, with every phrase going back and pointing to the Father and
explaining that this is why He is “blessed,” worthy of our praise and
adoration.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Exposition is not
word-study. It can involve that, but the word-study must never stand alone, separate
from the purpose of the text. It needs to widen the view to phrases. There must
be consideration of conjunctions and prepositional phrases. The longer I preach
and teach, the more and more I pay attention to those “little words” as much as
I do to the theologically loaded ideas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Just as my dear
Indian brother listened carefully to what I said and was able to repeat it back
in short form with clarity and accuracy, we need to be able to read, preach,
and teach the Bible in the same way. Preaching is proclamation – not proclamation
of how much I can tell you about a list of words taken from the text, but a declaration
of what the Spirit-inspired author is saying. “The preaching of the Word of God
is the Word of God” (2nd Helvetic Confession of 1536, Article 1). At least,
that’s the goal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Don’t just focus
on the words alone. See how those words fit together to produce the meaning.
May we be diligent to preach the exact text, and may the beautiful Church respond
with an equal diligence to follow us through the Spirit-given flow of His Word.</span><span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-26578407334656378942020-06-05T07:18:00.000-06:002020-06-05T07:18:31.724-06:00And So We Ascend<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
“A Song of Ascents.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Those who trust in the LORD<br />
Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.<br />
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,<br />
So the LORD surrounds His people<br />
From this time forth and forever.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of
the righteous,<br />
So that the righteous will not put forth their hands to do wrong.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Do good, O LORD, to those who are good<br />
And to those who are upright in their hearts.<br />
But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways,<br />
The LORD will lead them away with the doers of iniquity.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Peace be upon Israel” (Psalm 125).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
As the pilgrims ascend to Jerusalem, drawing near to the LORD for feasting,
the climb up the hills draws them toward this great truth. The city and temple
exist as an illustration to what is real in the life of the believer: God keeps
you firm who trust in Him alone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
When the wicked rule over us, we are tempted to wrong. But with King
Jesus ruling over us, we are Spirit-filled to do the Father’s purposed works.
We are good and upright in heart only by the good and upright One Who indwells
us, we who are His eternal Temple.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
A focus on the mountains, the city, and the temple must be a focus on
the believing people who live and move to communion with their God the Lord.
Peace be upon them. Not merely a peace that is an absence of war, but a
completion, a wholeness, a fullness that is theirs in Christ…a satisfaction
that comes only by being in that space-less space, that spiritual and heavenly
reality that we taste here, that fellowship with our God.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Every day we ascend to new Jerusalem, heavenly Jerusalem, drawing near
to the LORD for feasting. As we climb, we look up and long for that City which
is untouchable by the troubles of the earth-bound, unchanged by cancerous Time.
We look to that which is eternal and unshakeable, that which is in us by the indwelling
Spirit Whose realm that is.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
And so we ascend, Home soon.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-85500422725321406662019-06-27T06:24:00.001-06:002019-06-27T06:24:29.418-06:00Manna Itself Bred Worms<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“…manna itself bred
worms.”<br />
- Matthew Henry (1662-1714), commenting on Matthew 6:19-24<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I love Matthew Henry
more and more as time goes by. The sermon for morning worship this upcoming
Lord’s Day is done. One more proofreading, and it’s about to be e-mailed it out
so the notes can be printed. Then I decide to read Matthew Henry on the text.
Four words, and he makes me want to rewrite a good portion of my notes. I won’t,
but he tempts me greatly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Henry is referring to
Exodus 16:20. Even the provision God provided for the children of Israel in the
desert was temporary, as all things in this world are. When they hoarded it
(against His command), even the angels’ food (Psalm 78:25) rotted on earth.
This is another reason to value the eternal, the heavenly, and the spiritual
above those things – even as we enjoy earthly provision, give thanks for it,
and prayerfully keep it in right perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It reminds me of one of
my favorite hymns:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“All my life I had a
longing<br />
For a drink from some clear spring,<br />
That I hoped would quench the burning<br />
Of the thirst I felt within.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hallelujah! I have
found Him<br />
Whom my soul so long has craved!<br />
Jesus satisfies my longings,<br />
Through His blood I now am saved.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Feeding on the husks
around me,<br />
Till my strength was almost gone,<br />
Longed my soul for something better,<br />
Only still to hunger on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Poor I was, and
sought for riches,<br />
Something that would satisfy,<br />
But the dust I gathered round me<br />
Only mocked my soul’s sad cry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well of water, ever
springing,<br />
Bread of life so rich and free,<br />
Untold wealth that never faileth,<br />
My Redeemer is to me.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">- “Satisfied,” words
by Clara Treat Williams (1858-1937)</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-38301436533949083292019-05-01T05:49:00.002-06:002019-05-01T05:49:59.933-06:00The Human King<br />
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“6. What is the significance of the name ‘Son of Man,’ with which
Christ designated Himself?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This name is also derived from the Old Testament, specifically from
Daniel 7. After the description of the four world monarchies, portrayed by as
many animals (a lion with eagle’s wings, a bear, a panther, a beast not
mentioned by name), reference is made to one ‘who is like a son of man’ and who
by the ‘Ancient of Days’ is given ‘dominion and honor and a kingdom that all
peoples and nations and languages should honor him; his dominion is an
everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be
destroyed’ [Dan 7:13-14]. It is not subject to doubt that the Messiah is
intended here, although not the Messiah by himself. Since the Son of Man comes
to supercede the earlier world-kingdoms, he must be taken here, together with
his kingdom and it subjects, as ruler over Israel representing his people. He
is called a son of man because over against the wild and animal-like
world-kingdoms he represents true humanity as it must be in God’s kingdom…he
apparently wanted to counter the faulty conceptions that people had formed
about the Messiah as an outward king. The kingdom in which He is Messiah and
King is not according to the manner of the kingdoms of this world – which find
their image in an animal-type, but it bears a human countenance…”<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Geerhardus Vos (1862-1949), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reformed
Dogmatics</i>, vol. 3 (Lexham Press), pgs. 17-18.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Every once in a while you come across something truly special in a
Systematic Theology (even Louis Berkhof gets almost poetic at times). In this
quote, Vos reminds us how important it is to know your Old Testament, and to
let the O.T. inform our reading of the New. You will never understand the Book
unless you read it as a whole, unified, connected Book.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The theme of “king” and “kingdom” are massively important to a right understanding
of Jesus – I was reminded of that yesterday writing part of a sermon on the
second petition of the “Lord’s Prayer.” Vos’ words underscore that for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Jesus is King of the heavens and the earth. In His Kingdom and in submission to Him as King, humanity
will one day become what it was created to be.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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While Vos doesn’t make this connection here, this commentary on the
title “son of man” also informs us concerning the “beast” in the Revelation. All
other kings and kingdoms are ultimately bestial (rebellious against God’s will)
because they deviate from Christ.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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(As a side note, this shows that Vos does his best Systematic Theology
when he’s actually doing Biblical Theology.)</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-59777949798187593742019-04-16T07:11:00.000-06:002019-04-16T07:11:11.748-06:00Remember Liturgical Confession<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">How the Psalm begins:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">“Praise the LORD!<br />
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;<br />
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.<br />
Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the LORD,<br />
Or can show forth all His praise?<br />
How blessed are those who keep justice,<br />
Who practice righteousness at all times!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Remember me, O LORD,
in Your favor toward Your people;<br />
Visit me with Your salvation,<br />
That I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,<br />
That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,<br />
That I may glory with Your inheritance” (Psalm 106:1-5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">How the Psalm ends:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">“Save us, O LORD our
God,<br />
And gather us from among the nations,<br />
To give thanks to Your holy name<br />
And glory in Your praise.<br />
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,<br />
From everlasting even to everlasting.<br />
And let all the people say, ‘Amen.’<br />
Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 106:47-48).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Everything in between is a
liturgical confession of the sin of covenant people through the long ages of
God’s dealing with them (106:6-46). Remembering that we, though His people, are
sinful, is an important part of worship. They don’t just talk about their
hardships, their sorrows, the difficulties they’re going through, or their
brokenness. Sometimes modern worship gives the impression that God only exists
to save us from our personal difficulties. There is even a subtle hint that our
worldly suffering actually earns us some sort of special attention from God.
Psalm 106 reminds us that the focus isn’t always to be on the God Who helps in
hard times, but praise needs to be made to the God Who saves unworthy sinners
in His mercy and grace (Luke 18:13-14). The worshipful appeal to God, in other
words, is not based upon the people’s merit or worth. It is based on His
goodness and lovingkindness. Its goal is thanksgiving and glory to God. This element of worship exalts the Gospel rather than the self.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Let all the people say, “Amen.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">“Alas! and did my Savior
bleed<br />
And did my Sovereign die?<br />
Would He devote that sacred head<br />
For such a worm as I?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Thy body slain, sweet
Jesus, Thine,<br />
And bathed in its own blood,<br />
While all exposed to wrath divine,<br />
The glorious Sufferer stood!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Was it for crimes that I
had done<br />
He groaned upon the tree?<br />
Amazing pity! grace unknown!<br />
And love beyond degree!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Well might the sun in
darkness hide<br />
And shut his glories in,<br />
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,<br />
For man the creature’s sin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Thus might I hide my
blushing face<br />
While His dear cross appears,<br />
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,<br />
And melt my eyes to tears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">But drops of grief can
ne’er repay<br />
The debt of love I owe:<br />
Here, Lord, I give myself away<br />
’Tis all that I can do” (Isaac Watts, 1709).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In 1885, Ralph Hudson added
this refrain to Watts’ verses:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">“At the cross, at the
cross where I first saw the light,<br />
And the burden of my heart rolled away,<br />
It was there by faith I received my sight,<br />
And now I am happy all the day!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">There are probably many
more recent examples, but one that comes to mind is Robin Mark’s “Lord, Have
Mercy” (2000):<br />
“Jesus, I've forgotten the words that You have spoken;<br />
Promises that burned within my heart have now grown dim.<br />
With a doubting heart I follow the paths of earthly wisdom.<br />
Forgive me for my unbelief,<br />
Renew the fire again.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Lord, have mercy,<br />
Christ, have mercy;<br />
Lord, have mercy on me.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I have built an altar
where I worship things of men;<br />
I have taken journeys that have drawn me far from You.<br />
Now I am returning to Your mercies ever flowing.<br />
Pardon my transgressions,<br />
Help me love You again.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I have longed to know You
and Your tender mercies;<br />
Like a river of forgiveness ever flowing without end.<br />
I bow my heart before You in the goodness of Your presence,<br />
Your grace forever shining,<br />
Like a beacon in the night.”</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-63762121577966609152019-03-23T07:01:00.001-06:002019-03-23T07:01:54.146-06:00Reading Challenge, Book 5<br />
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The fifth book of <a href="https://www.challies.com/resources/the-2019-christian-reading-challenge/">Tim Challies’ reading challenge for 2019</a> is “a book about Christian living.” I read Sinclair
Ferguson’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Devoted to God: Blueprints for
Sanctification</i> (The Banner of Truth Trust, 2016).<a href="file:///H:/desertratofMorgan/ReadingChallenge2019/ReadingChallenge2019_Book5_March2019.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Each chapter examines a particular section of New Testament Scripture that
describes the growth of a believer in Christ. A lot of times you hear people denigrate
confessions or theology as “systems imposed upon the Bible.” Ferguson’s work
here reveals the shallow ignorance of such claims. While Ferguson is
confessional and holds to a rich theological tradition, the exegetical theology
in each chapter of this book shows that the confession and theology grow up out
of the Bible, and are far from being imposed on it from the outside.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Sanctification” (the Christian’s life-long growth in holiness) is in
the very title of the book, and it’s to that holiness I turn now by way of personal
admission.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
For me personally, the most impactful moment in my reading of the book
came in the middle. Ferguson asks several rhetorical questions: “What do we
want Christ to do for us? Do we really want to grow in holiness? Or has our
failure left us content with mediocre levels of sanctification?” (pg. 146). In answering
those questions, I realized I couldn’t recall ever once praying that God the
Holy Spirit make me holy as He is holy. It’s certainly possible I have prayed
in this way at some time or another and just don’t remember, but this request
is not one that I regularly make in prayer. This grieved me. I have preached
and taught that we should be students of the Bible’s teaching about holiness,
but have never made that a matter of prayerful attention. I have lifted up
holiness as the highest attribute of God according to the Bible, but have not
desired it enough for myself to make it a matter of regular request.<a href="file:///H:/desertratofMorgan/ReadingChallenge2019/ReadingChallenge2019_Book5_March2019.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Pray, then, in this way:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
‘Our Father Who is in heaven,<br />
Hallowed [ἁγιασθήτω, cause to be holy] be Your name’” (Matthew 6:9).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
It is the first petition. How can I pray for anything else or in any
other way until I have first entreated Him for His holiness in me? If I truly
want to be conformed to Christ (which is God’s purpose for me, Romans 8:29),
how can I not desire His holiness above all else?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
How can we be “praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 20) if His holiness is
not our highest longing?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
For the last weeks, I have made the prayer “Lord, make me holy as You
are holy” one that I pray many times throughout the day. The Holy Spirit’s
working through that prayer in my life has been significant.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ferguson defines holiness from the starting point of the eternal Trinity,
a devotion of infinite love between the three Persons of the one true God: “Holiness
is the intensity of the love that flows within the very being of God, among and
between each of the three persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (pg. 2).
It is this mutual devotion among the Persons that undergirds the title of the
book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Devoted to God</i>. Once reconciled
to God in Christ, we are to grow in a devotion to God throughout our lives into
completion in Christ alone, according to the Bible, by the Holy Spirit, to the
glory of God. This devotion of all that we are to God is holiness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Chapter 8, “The Law Goes Deep,” was a very helpful meditation on God’s
Law and the Christian’s growth in Christ.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">•</span> “The law is
fulfilled by love, but it is not replaced by love. This fulfillment means that
law is love-shaped and that love is law-shaped…love was always at the heart of
God’s law. It was given by love to be received in love and obeyed through love…love
provides motivation for obedience, while law provides direction for love” (pg.
162-163).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">•</span> “The law-maker
became the law-keeper, but then took our place and condemnation as though he
were the law-breaker” (pg. 179).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Believers, influenced by the world and their own innate sinful desire
for autonomy from God, are woefully unable to understand the Law of God in the
context of the Gospel. This topic should be the regular meditation of the
Christian, keeping us from falling into either legalism or antinomianism (the
Gospel is lost in either). This was a very helpful chapter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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I could speak of many other parts of the book that I think are so important
(the necessity of holiness through a renewal of our thought-life is one), but I’ll
stop short of saying too much and thereby muddying a great work. One of many
things I like about Sinclair Ferguson is that he wastes no words in his
writing. There is no filler in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Devoted to
God</i>. It is a rich, thoughtful, and useful meditation on sections of the New
Testament which are vital to growth in Christ.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///H:/desertratofMorgan/ReadingChallenge2019/ReadingChallenge2019_Book5_March2019.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> I
started out ahead on this reading challenge, but am lagging a bit…<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<a href="file:///H:/desertratofMorgan/ReadingChallenge2019/ReadingChallenge2019_Book5_March2019.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
When I say holiness is “the highest attribute of God,” don’t mean that there is
a hierarchy of attributes or that the attributes can be divided into unmingled
categories. I mean that all of the attributes of God can be seen as a
revelation of His holiness. All the attributes are revealed for our benefit and
understanding by His gracious revelation of Himself. He has no parts. He is
one.</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-24805117238413528272019-02-26T10:53:00.000-07:002019-02-26T10:54:08.645-07:00Reading Challenge, Book 4<br />
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The fourth book of <a href="https://www.challies.com/resources/the-2019-christian-reading-challenge/">Tim Challies’ reading challenge for 2019</a> is “a book targeted at the opposite gender.” Having just
read a Michael Kruger book, I went to a book by his wife Melissa: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Envy of Eve</i> (Christian Focus, 2012).
Okay, the relationship isn’t the reason I chose this book out of all the
excellent options in my own wife’s reading stack. I heard <a href="https://reformedforum.org/ctc276/">an interview with Melissa Kruger</a> several years ago when the book first came out, and I’ve been
meaning to get to it since then. Also, I try to build theology on a Genesis 1-3
foundation, so the title has always attracted me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Kruger’s style is easy to read. She includes illustrations and “case
studies,” but they don’t overwhelm or dominate the content of the book. The
structure of the book is clear, centered around Kruger’s outline of the progression
of coveting. By the end of the book, you have memorized this outline since it’s
woven into every chapter. The book focuses on scriptural examples, and
helpfully analyzes the failures and successes (spiritually-speaking) shown in
the text. There’s no painful and alien meaning imposed on the passages.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Contentment is a rare thing in this world, and we are programmed to be
discontent and led toward coveting in a million different ways every day. It is
important to be purposeful in self-assessing ourselves and tracing the root
coveting in so many of our conflicts, dissatisfactions, motivations, etc. This
book does a good job equipping the reader toward that goal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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A few gems:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “…our inordinate
desires are never solved by attainment…our greatest malady is not our set of
circumstances, but the blindness and hardness that overtakes our hearts…our
difficult circumstances and places of longing are not cause to covet, but are
God’s invitation to come and find life in Him alone…we must accept that our
covetous desires arise because of our sin, not our situations” (pg. 25,26).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> Coveting “is
an inward sin pattern, not an outward circumstance” (pg. 28).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “Our lack of
contentment primarily flows from unbelief regarding God’s sovereignty and
goodness in our lives” (pg. 48).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “Coveting is
desiring anything other than God in a way that betrays a loss of contentment
and satisfaction in Him. Covetousness is a heart divided between two gods. So
Paul calls it idolatry” (pg. 49). Paul says this in Colossians 3:5.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “Place any
earthly jewel beside the treasure found in Christ and it will appear as but
dust. Our coveting exposes that we have set our hearts upon earthly gain. The
more we seek our treasure outside of Christ, the more we falsely believe that
God is lacking in His goodness to us. Essentially, our coveting accuses God of
a failure to reign well over the events in our lives” (pg. 56).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “…we begin
to equate God’s goodness with how often He gives us what we want” (pg. 58). I
wrote in the margin that this is a Gospel-denying mindset.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">• </span>“…coveting
reveals our unbelief about our citizenship. Our persistent desire to gain life
here and to acquire all that this world has to offer reveals our belief that
this life is the destination, rather than a journey to our final home” (pg.
62).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “Satan wants
us to believe that we cannot control what we long after or that if we have a
longing, it must be good, in spite of God’s instruction…although we cannot
always choose what we see, we can choose what we set our heart upon” (pg. 75).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “Being part
of a church is more than just attending; it includes membership and regular
participation in the sacraments” (pg. 107).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “As
Christians, we are called to obedience not just in how we live, but also in
what we think about” (pg. 111).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “The best
way to take off the tendency to complain is to put on thankfulness. Each day we
must actively choose to see what God has provided. Once we begin to look at our
life through these lenses and focus our eyes on His goodness to us, our hearts
will flow thanksgiving instead of complaining. Our outward grumbling is a sure
sign of inner coveting” (pg. 134).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “Being in
the church does not mean that we will be insulated from painful relationships.
However, it is our only hope for establishing healthy ones” (pgs. 190-191).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “Their eyes
feared the next season, despaired in their current season and incorrectly
remembered the previous season. Their inner unbelief allowed them to interpret
all their circumstances without hope in the Lord’s ability to fulfill all His
promises” (pg. 203).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The discussion questions at the end of each chapter are substantial,
and often contain additional material supplemental to the chapter. This book
would be really beneficial to and lends itself to a small-group setting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In speaking to a brother in Christ about reading this book, he asked
how it was different because a woman wrote it. I told him the style is more
relational. This isn’t to say it’s any less deep or wise than a man’s writing (the
content is really good!), but that it’s just different. Different is good.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On a peripheral note, I am grateful to God that in recent years He has
raised up so many solid, powerful sisters in the faith to write and teach
fellow sisters. I grieve at how much shallow material is produced and marketed
toward Christian women. It is a relief to have depth in writers/teachers like
Melissa Kruger. As a pastor, I have said the following several times when congregants
ask for my evaluation of some popular women’s teacher: “There are many better
options. My sisters can do better. They must do better.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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(I was grateful that, when it came time to read “a book targeted at the
opposite gender,” my bride had a great library from which to choose. The only
downside – for her – is that I read books with a highlighter and pen…reading
this book will be, for her, a big “your husband was here” sign.)</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-52834391462248374202019-01-31T06:14:00.002-07:002019-01-31T06:14:54.133-07:00Before the Lord<br />
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I was writing a Bible study yesterday on Psalm 30. David is quite the
exuberant worshiper in that Psalm, shouting with joy in the morning (30:5…his
son had wisdom in writing Proverbs 27:14), dancing (30:11), and singing praise
(30:12). I went back to David’s most famous dancing moment, when he was
bringing the ark back to Jerusalem.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>“David was dancing before the LORD with all his might” </i>(2 Samuel 6:14).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Perhaps it’s the alliteration, but I’ve heard the phrase “dance like
David” a lot in my life, both as a song lyric and as a teaching about
worship. I remember reading quite a bit about worship when I was a worship leader.
Dancing, raising hands, standing, kneeling, bowing, laying prostrate, eyes
open, eyes shut, looking up, looking down, singing, etc. – these were the
biblical examples of worship posture and expression. I remember reading several
times that the only posture not mentioned in connection with worship was
sitting. That is why, it was explained, we stand when we worship or read the
Word or pray.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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That’s not exactly accurate. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I kept reading past 2 Samuel 6 into the next chapter. I read about David’s
desire (2 Samuel 7:1-7), the Lord’s covenantal response (7:8-17). Then I saw
something that I’ve read many times but completely missed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>“Then David the kind went in and <b>sat before the LORD</b>, and he said, ‘Who
am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?’”
</i>(7:18; paralleled in 1 Chronicles 17:16).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This is an overwhelming, humbled awe at the graciousness and greatness
of God’s purpose concerning him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I have to say, I’m been held by that phrase <i>“sat before the LORD”</i> since
reading it yesterday. It’s not as alliterative as “dance like David,” but it
seems to speak to something just as powerful. We see this depth even when David is
dancing, of course. In Psalm 30, <i>“soul”</i> (30:12) is כָבֹוד, literally, “glory.” David’s
praise, which has the exuberance of dancing, also has a weight to it (כָבֹוד has the idea of weight, or worth). Since
David promises to <i>“give thanks…forever,”</i> his praise has a continuation beyond
this life. As Derek Kidner observes, “the praise, which has the effervescence
of dancing, has also depth to it, and persistence.” So, don’t think I’m
accusing David of shallow praise when he dances. I am saying that dancing is not the only
expression of David-like praise.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Think about that phrase: sitting <i>“before the LORD.” </i>The stillness and lack of
outward exuberance is opposite of the tendency of contemporary worship to lean
into the showy and dramatic. There’s something there, I think. Worship is primarily for the edification of the Church (I believe that's what 1 Corinthians 14; Ephesians 5; Colossians 3 teaches), but it is still done in the presence of the God of the Church. The first line
of David’s prayer (2 Samuel 7:18) is enough to give you a sense of the
weightiness the king was feeling at the awesomeness of God. Read the rest of
the prayer. It’s praise, too. David the dancer praised just as deeply simply by
sitting. Let’s make sure we take in all the biblical data before we make
assumptions about what “real” praise and worship is. Raising hands, shouting,
closing your eyes, and, I suppose, even dancing…yes.<a href="file:///H:/desertratofMorgan/Sitting_Before_the_Lord_January2019.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
But don’t leave out sitting <i>“before the LORD,”</i> and certainly don’t judge anyone
worshiping in a different posture than you are. Some Christians squirm at
others raising their hands or shouting, and some Christians judge those who are
sitting in worship. When we do, we’re missing the point.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>“David was dancing <b>before the LORD</b> with all his might”</i> (2
Samuel 6:14).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>“David the king went in and sat <b>before the LORD</b>”</i> (2 Samuel 7:18).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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What preposition phrase do these verses share?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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That’s the point.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///H:/desertratofMorgan/Sitting_Before_the_Lord_January2019.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> I
tend to be a regulative principle of worship (RPW) kind of guy; if it’s not in
Scripture, I don’t think it needs to be in worship. However, a lot of folks who
hold to RPW seem like they omit many postures and expressions of worship that
are clearly found in the Old Testament. We need to be regulated by all of Scripture,
not just the parts that make us comfortable or fit our cultural mold. I personally
prefer high liturgy, since 1 Corinthians 14 calls for order, accountability,
and “guardrails” for worship. That doesn’t mean we ignore the rest of the
testimony of Scripture, however.</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-55254322247731224232019-01-30T06:31:00.000-07:002019-01-31T09:14:36.375-07:00Reading Challenge, Book 3<br />
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The third book of <a href="https://www.challies.com/resources/the-2019-christian-reading-challenge/">Tim Challies’ reading challenge for 2019</a> is an
historical book. I chose Michael Kruger’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.wtsbooks.com/products/christianity-crossroads-michael-j-kruger-9780830852031?variant=9796543971375">Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church</a></i> (IVP
Academic, 2018). I’ve read his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.wtsbooks.com/products/canon-revisited-michael-kruger-9781433505003?variant=9747744620591">Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books</a> </i>(Crossway,
2012); I really appreciated his thought process on the issue of the history of
the canon. I also enjoy reading his <a href="https://www.michaeljkruger.com/">blog</a>, got my post-grad from the <a href="https://rts.edu/campuses/charlotte/">seminary</a>
where he’s president, etc. You get it: I’m a fan.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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That being said, there’s something about either his writing style or
the flow of his writing that makes engaging it feel like work. It did get
easier as the book went along, which tells me the problem’s probably in my head
and I needed to adapt. Also, there seemed to be a lot of repetition of facts
and assertions; almost makes me wonder if there’s a scarcity of data but there
was a certain expectation concerning the length of the book.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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There were two major areas of the book that really interested me: the
second-century Church’s alienation from Greco-Roman (and Jewish) culture, and
their practice of reading Scripture aloud in gathered worship.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In the introduction, Kruger points the reader toward his conviction
concerning the relevance of studying the second-century Church: “…we need to
learn (again) what it means to be the Church when we lack social or political
standing. And that is something that, sadly, has been largely forgotten” (pg.
viii). He’ll say this again at the end of the book. There, Kruger summarizes
the most relevant observations in three key points. I won’t give away all three
points, but will offer one: “…modern Christians need to learn again how to be a
prophetic voice in the midst of a hostile world where the Church lacks
substantial cultural influence or power” (pg. 230). As I was reading about the
opposition the Church faced in the second-century culture, I felt like I was
reading Revelation. In U.S. society, we’ve fooled ourselves into thinking we’re
being persecuted when Starbucks doesn’t print “Merry Christmas” on its cups,
but we’ll cheer when a celebrity or politician throws us a bone and gives
lip-service to a Gospel-lite (or Gospel-less) “Christianity.” We’ve put our
trust in being culturally dominant and having power and influence according to
the world’s standards. The tide has shifted. We need to know how to be a Church
that has only Jesus on its side.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The oddness of Christians compared to the greater Greco-Roman culture
was continually highlighted throughout the book<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “…Christianity’s
commitment to exclusive monotheistic worship of Jesus was viewed as not only
culturally peculiar and intellectually wanting, but also as politically
subversive and a threat to the stability of the Roman state…it is worth noting
that this particular feature of second-century Christianity makes it especially
relevant for the modern reader of this volume” (pg. 6).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “…the
members of the early Jesus movement were, to some extent, cultural misfits.
Even though Christians, as a whole, led quite ordinary lives, their distinctive
religious commitments and ethical practices rapidly alienated them from the
surrounding Jewish and Greco-Roman worlds…followers of Christ were viewed by
the state as subversive and dangerous” (pg. 40).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “…it was
Christianity’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">exclusivism</i> that was
at the heart of the Roman objection to its existence” (pg. 43).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “…the
exclusiveness of Christian worship in the second century is precisely the
feature of early Christianity that led the Romans to perceive the new movement
as a threat to the social-political stability of the Roman Empire. Since
religious devotion to the gods was woven into almost every aspect of Roman
life, it was impossible for Christians to avoid participating in such activity
without drawing (negative) attention to themselves. Christian monotheism was
therefore perceived as anti-social, anti-religious, and downright hostile to
the Roman Empire” (pg. 95).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">•</span> “…for
second-century Roman citizens, Christianity’s refusal to participate in the
public cults meant (at least in their eyes) that Christianity was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anti-religious</i>” (pg. 45). As we read in
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Martyrdom of Polycarp</i>, Christians
were labelled “atheists” (9.2,3).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course, the question of how much we are to be “in the world” is one
that will never be answered to everyone’s satisfaction (I can’t even answer it
to my own satisfaction). The path of least resistance is the one that conforms
to the world as much as possible. Sometimes we use the excuse of evangelism and
being “winsome” to the culture, but let’s be honest: often we just don’t want
to appear different because of our obedience to Christ.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The sections on the reading of Scripture in gathered worship were
interesting. I’ve always felt that a wide variety of Scripture should be read
in worship services. Seeing this practice in the second-century Church
underscored this for me. Yes, the Lord’s Supper was the most prominent part of
Christian worship then (I wish it were more prominent now), but the reading
aloud of Scripture was the meat of the worship meal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Irenaeus regarded “mistakes in public reading as a potential path to
heresy” (pg. 170). I remember watching a preacher on television several years
ago. In his tradition, he would call on people to read text throughout the
progress of his sermon. He would simply say, “read,” and the assigned person
would do just that. I noticed something curious about the way the person was
reading. The emphases were really odd. Finally, looking at the words as they
were displayed on the screen, I realized: the reader was emphasizing the
italicized portions of the text as she read! In English Bibles, words are
italicized by translators to indicate that the English words are implied or
supplied from the original language, but are not in the original. The reader
thought they were for emphasis, not a tool used to help readers understand the
translation process. In this case, a misunderstanding led to a strange-sounding
reading of Scripture. I learned this early on as a parent who has read a lot to
his children: how you read aloud makes all the difference. Reading aloud is a
lost art, even for seasoned preachers, it seems. Sometimes I’m halfway through
a text and realize I’m not giving it my all. The public reading of Scripture is
worship, and it shows forth the heart-attitude and care of the reader
concerning the Bible. It matters. I'm not saying I expect perfection in readers; I really love to hear many different church members reading Scripture (it was one of my favorite parts of this last Lord's Day). I just need to remind myself to work at how I read it aloud so that I'm offering my best to the Lord.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Congregations did not listen to the reading of Scripture merely to
learn new things, but rather to be reminded of what they already knew and had
heard read many, many times. The Christians in North Africa had, in essence,
memorized the text through public reading and were therefore sufficiently
bothered when a single word was changed” (pg. 171). Augustine tells the story
of a bishop switching from an old Latin translation to Jerome’s newer Latin
translation of Jonah. When the congregation noticed a single word had been
changed, the service was disrupted by protest. I’ve wondered this about
electronic Bible apps…this is going to sound conspiratorial, but bear with me.
How far are we from people doing the vast majority of Bible reading from an
electronic device? If the Bible were changed, would the next generations know it?
Would my generation catch a change of a single word in the reading of a
biblical text? A few years ago, I was in the middle of my 100-mile commute
between churches one Sunday afternoon. I was listening to a reading of 1 Peter
in the New Living Translation. The reader got to 1 Peter 2:5, and I heard, “And
you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s
more, you are his holy priests. Through the meditation of Jesus
Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.” That got my attention.
It didn’t sound right. So, I pulled over and opened a Bible app (yes, I’m aware
of the irony given my concerns). It doesn’t say, “meditation.” It says,
“mediation.” This recording was made with background music to encourage younger
people to listen to it. How many of them had listened and not noticed that this
single word had been changed? One word here, one word there…that moment got me
to thinking. The account of this church in an uproar because they noticed a
single-word deviation in the text should be a reminder of the vital importance
of all of us knowing the text of the Bible well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There were other interesting and very relevant themes, like
Christianity’s uniqueness in being separated from a specific ethnic-cultural
group, and orthodoxy in the midst of diversity (as far as doctrine goes). Kruger’s
book struck me as a subtle history-as-wake-up-call sort of book. My repeated reaction
while reading it was, “we have a lot to re-learn.” Perhaps that was Dr. Kruger’s
point. I suspect it will take more than a history book to get us there as the
Church.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-7336596541363407762019-01-14T05:56:00.000-07:002019-01-14T05:57:26.754-07:00Reading Challenge, Book 2<br />
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The second book of <a href="https://www.challies.com/resources/the-2019-christian-reading-challenge/">Tim Challies’ reading challenge for 2019</a> is a novel.
My instinct is to say that I don’t ordinarily read novels, but upon a little
reflection, that’s not accurate. I read novels to my children constantly.
Andrew Peterson’s <i>Wingfeather</i> books, S.D. Smith’s <i>Green Ember</i> series, Brian
Jacques’s <i>Redwall</i> series, C.S. Lewis’ <i>Chronicles of Narnia</i>, J.R.R. Tolkien’s
<i>Lord of the Rings</i> triology, L.M. Montgomery’s <i>Anne of Green Gables</i> series, etc.
So I suppose I read a lot of novels. I don’t know why this category in the
reading challenge felt alien. Possibly it was because it was going to be a book
I read outside of the context of reading to my children.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I read Wendell Berry’s <i>Jayber Crow</i> (Washington, DC: Counterpoint, 2000).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Between the dedication and first chapter there is a malediction of
sorts, where the author pronounces this curse: “…persons attempting to explain,
interpret, explicate, analyze, deconstruct, or otherwise ‘understand’ it will
be exiled to a desert island in the company only of other explainers.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I will do my best to avoid drawing such an interesting fate in this
post.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was a book that touched me because I have loved a town fading into
time, like <i>Jayber Crow</i>’s Port William. Streets of empty buildings in the middle
of a beautiful nowhere. I have loved the few people still hanging on there, and
did my best for a decade to serve them as I could. Once upon a time I imagined
that, in an ideal situation, I would one day be buried in its cemetery just
south of town. Berry’s imaginary Port William and its fading away before
modernity felt like the last time I drove away from my beloved ghost town,
glancing back in the rearview mirror driving through the pass, leaving that
broad, mostly empty desert valley behind. <i>Jayber Crow</i> repeatedly wrestles with
this loss…the loss of people and their stories, their memories…loss of a way of
life that knew community…loss…<o:p></o:p></div>
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“It is not a terrible thing to love the world, knowing that the world
is always passing and irrecoverable, to be known only in loss” (pg. 329).<o:p></o:p></div>
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“All the world, as a matter of fact, is a mosaic of little places
invisible to the powers that be” (pg. 139).<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have loved one, and am thankful it is invisible.<br />
<br />
The titular character struggles with questions about the Scriptures throughout.
His first engagement with questioning left me incredulous as I was reading. How
many times have I heard the tale of a person so smart in their skepticism that
they were told by “church people” to quit asking questions? Ah, the
stereotypical unfulfilled seeker rejected by the question-fearing religious
zombies. I’ve met folks who boasted that this is what they were. Smarter than
the stupid Sunday School teacher of their youth. Throwing questions at fearful
preachers who couldn’t handle the brilliance of the opposition. Sigh. I've never told someone not to ask a question, and I've never heard of another church teacher doing it, either. When I’ve
been asked questions I’ve worked hard to provide a helpful answer. I can’t think of
a single time when a question has been asked that I didn't try to give a
coherent answer from the Scriptures (hoping that the questioner could see the
answer for themselves in the Book). So, Jayber’s struggle irritated me a
little. Curiously, one of the very questions he asked was one I was answering
in a Wednesday evening Bible study while reading this book.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To be fair, Jayber continued in church attendance, continued to read
his Bible, and quoted it rightly at times.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Berry’s writing style was beautiful to me. I admire a writer who can
create a vivid world through his words. The description of nature shows a man
who loves it. As I’ve said, I highlight whatever I am reading. Even in this
novel, there were so many good phrases, sentences, paragraphs that were well-written,
wise, or moving. I can’t – won’t – include even a small percentage of the
beauty. I can’t come anywhere near the descriptive passages in my own writing,
but echo the sentiment of always looking.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Port William repaid watching. I was always on the lookout for what
would be revealed. Sometimes nothing would be, but sometimes I beheld
astonishing sights” (pg. 5).<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I try not to let good things go by unnoticed” (pg. 323). <o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
often hear the Rich Mullins’ lyric in my head, “there’s so much beauty around
us for just two eyes to see – but everywhere I go I’m looking.”</span></div>
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“The preachers were always young students from the seminary who wore,
you might say, the mantle of power but not the mantle of knowledge…they learned
to have a very high opinion of God and a very low opinion of His works –
although they could tell you that this world had been made by God Himself. What
they didn’t see was that it is beautiful, and that some of the greatest
beauties are the briefest” (pg. 160).<br />
<br />
He spends a lot of time reflecting on Jesus’ words to love our enemies. It
remains a struggle most of the book.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Did I think the great organizations of the world could love their
enemies? I did not. I didn’t think great organizations could love anything”
(pg. 143).<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are plenty of great insights into the reality of human pride.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“He seemed to have no instinct for the making much of oneself that
complaining requires” (pg. 263).<o:p></o:p></div>
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In addition to being the town barber, Jayber took on the role of
grave-digger. As someone who has attended a decent share of funerals, his
reflections resonated with me in some ways.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“As I buried the dead and walked among them, I wanted to make my heart
as big as Heaven to include them all and love them and not be distracted. I
couldn’t do it, of course, but I wanted to” (pg. 158).<o:p></o:p></div>
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“And then, when the last of the living had gone away, I mended back the
ground” (pg. 267). <o:p></o:p></div>
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He struggles with the prayer of the Lord in the Garden; the fact that
it appears to Jayber not to be answered is one of the reasons he walks away
from seminary. Later in life, still thinking about that unanswered prayer, he
concludes (in part), “that He knew it could not be granted showed His divinity;
that He prayed it anyhow showed His mortality” (pg. 253). Prayer, too, is a
motif of Jayber’s life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This was a touching story. Long, a little slow, and, when it was over,
I wished it weren’t. That’s appropriate, I suppose, since it was the story of a
life, and that’s how life often goes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Back there at the beginning, as I see now, my life was all time and
almost no memory…and now, nearing the end, I see that my life is almost
entirely memory and very little time” (pg. 24).<o:p></o:p></div>
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For the first two books of this reading challenge, I now realize I have
unintentionally read two biographies – one of Geerdhardus Vos, and another of a
fictional man named Jayber Crow. Both lived in a very broken world and sought
the right, loved, lived in an imperfect community, and longed for heaven. By the way, I decided on <i>Jayber Crow</i> because the person recommending it said they were moved to make a significant life decision for their family because of the sense of community described in the book. Community is something I regularly hear people want and hunger for in this age that fragments us so much. I confess a bit of skepticism about that. Community means accountability, takes selfless time and investment in others, and means gracefully accommodating people who are different from us within the collectively accepted boundaries of community. I'd be delighted to see my skepticism dashed.<br />
<br />
As I move to the third book, it’ll wait a few weeks. I’ve gotten ahead of
schedule and will be happy to let these two biographies settle awhile in my
mind before moving on.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-24593299714679687192019-01-11T06:24:00.001-07:002019-01-11T06:24:41.546-07:00Reading Challenge, Book 1<br />
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The first book of <a href="https://www.challies.com/resources/the-2019-christian-reading-challenge/">Tim Challies’ reading challenge for 2019</a> is a
biography. I chose to read <i><a href="https://reformedforum.org/product/geerhardus-vos-reformed-biblical-theologian-confessional-presbyterian/">Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian</a></i>, by Danny E. Olinger. It was published by <a href="https://reformedforum.org/">Reformed Forum</a>. I have learned a lot over the years from their podcast, <a href="https://reformedforum.org/programs/ctc/">Christ the Center</a>. I was excited to read their first published monograph.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is more than just the telling of a life (though it does that); this
biography is also a theological reflection on Vos’ thought through a
consideration of his works in chronological order. It was fascinating
to me to have a good survey of each work (most of which I’ve read), and to see
the work in its context in Vos’ life. I didn’t know the man wrote poetry. I was
vaguely aware of the struggle he faced opposing the creep of theological
liberalism at Princeton, but appreciate it all the more now knowing the
fullness of the story. Getting to know the man behind the theological works was
rewarding for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am passionate about what is known as Biblical Theology, or, as Vos
preferred to call it, “the history of special revelation.” I spend so much time
in teaching and preaching trying to show the progressive revealing of God’s
work in Christ from cover-to-cover in the Bible (I get chuckles from the
congregation in Wednesday night Bible study when I say “turn to Genesis 1-3,”
because they know it’s coming at some point). Edmund Clowney is quoted in the
book expressing exactly how I feel out this approach: “Biblical theology, truly
conceived, is a labor of worship” (Edmund Clowney, quoted on pg. 209). Vos was
a significant figure in Biblical Theology (to understate it), and it was
meaningful to familiarize myself with his life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the 1880’s Vos had been offered teaching positions in the U.S.
(where his parents had moved) and in his native Netherlands. His preference
would have been to stay in Europe, but, as he says in a letter, “the
circumstances, as they have formed themselves under God’s rule, apparently do
not allow that” (pg. 22). Later he wrote, “I am going to America with the
feeling that my place is not there.” Vos’ preference and his sense of
belonging-to-place were both outweighed in the decision-making process by a
commitment to honor his parents, who wanted him with them in the U.S. In a “take care of yourself,” “follow your
heart,” and “you be you” age, this difficult commitment to the 5th Commandment
(Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; Ephesians 6:1-3) is striking, and, as Vos
recognized, was part of “God’s rule” in his life. This is an illustration of
the priority that should be normal, not outstanding, in the lives of believers.
Vos’ example here also reveals wisdom in seeking God’s will for our lives: the
foundation of discovering that will is not in new revelation, but in His
revealed Law for His people. That chapter ends pointing out that Vos never
returned to the Netherlands.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Teaching in America, Vos’ estimation of Christianity in the U.S. is far
from outdated. For Vos, “what is most practical in the life of the believer is
the cultivation of communion with the triune God” (pg. 30). This is in stark contrast
to what he saw to be the focus of American Christianity, which was a reign of the
practical at the expense of the theological revelation contained in the Bible. He
regarded this pragmatism as “a lack of confidence in [the] truthfulness of the
Word of God…if we believed [the Bible], we would think more and with greater
liking, and maintain the thoughts of God over against the thoughts of the
world” (pg. 31). Pragmatism must be ubiquitous among ministry students, for this
same gravitation to the practical against doctrinal knowledge was something I
witnessed in seminary – and, to be honest, is something I struggle against
internally with the pressure of pastoring a church to “success.” I loved Vos’
continual thought about the truly “practical” in ministry: “It was
heavenly-mindedness that sought the cultivation of one’s communion with the
living God” (pg. 212). Again: “Vos would say that biblical theology yields the
highest fruit of practical theology. It points the believer to life with God in
heaven, which is the goal set before humanity from the beginning” (pg. 160).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
A cousin to pragmatism is perhaps the dominance of “social gospel”
ministries. Over a century ago, Vos spoke a truth that I have tried to proclaim
many times: “The ministry of the Word…should not be the promotion of the social
gospel, but preaching Christ as the only remedy for sin” (pg. 201). This
concept is echoed in what I think is one of the most important sentences in my
denomination’s confession (and an idea mostly ignored in practice by most of
its members in this highly political age): “Means and methods used for the
improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be
truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of
the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ” (Baptist Faith &
Message [2000], XV).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vos made an interesting observation comparing the Judaism of Jesus’ day
to modern liberal tendencies in Christianity. Just a few quotes:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
• “Israel’s error of making eternal that which was meant to be
temporary” (pg. 223).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
• “Jesus believed the Messiah existed for the sake of God. The
Judaistic mindset believed that the office existed for man. ‘Not God but Israel
was in it the chief figure of the world to come, and the Messiah appeared as
the agent who would raise Israel to this greatness’” (pg. 247). And, in
footnote 40 on the same page, “liberalism shared the same spirit and reversed
the creator-creature distinction. The result was a mindset that believed that
if God exists, he exists to serve me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
These quotes, made concerning the liberalizing tendency Vos was
fighting at the Princeton of his day, could be made concerning much popular
Christianity today.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
In contrast to Abraham Kuyper, a fellow Dutchman (and eventual Prime
Minister of the Netherlands), Vos believed the Bible teaches the consummation
of this creation rather than its transformation. He was a man who was strongly
focused on heaven. “Kuyper’s focus was on this creation, Vos’ focus was
increasingly on new creation” (pg. 95, footnote 72). This biography presents
this theme throughout. I appreciate it. It has always seemed to me that the New
Testament teaches believers should have a heavenward focus (Colossians 3:1-4,
for example). While it is clear that this is normative New Testament
Christianity, the general attitude of our day seems to see heaven as a
postscript to this life rather than the source of true life now.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
One important biblical-theological principle that was a mainstay for
Vos’ theology was the idea that God’s purpose in redemption is not just to get
His people back to a pre-Fall state, but to take them to a consummation beyond
that. This telos/eschaton (end-goal) was something which was promised in the
tree of life, so that the ultimate goal of God for His people in Christ is
something that was present before the Fall and before the revelation of
redemption.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
• “The goal put before man at creation, full communion with the living
God forever, forfeited in Adam’s sin, has been achieved for believers though
the person and work of the second Adam, Jesus Christ…Scripture teaches that it
is the Holy Spirit’s intention to bring those whom the Father has chosen and
for whom Christ died to the realm of the Spirit, the heavenly Jerusalem above”
(pgs. 76-77).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
• “…the goal set before man from creation, full communion with God on a
higher estate” (pg. 145).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
• “The eschatological is an older strand in revelation from the
soteric” (pg. 153). In other words, the higher promise symbolized by the tree of
life (Genesis 2:9) preceded the revelation of a Savior (Genesis 3:15).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
• “The life of heaven is the fulfillment of the hope set before Adam in
the garden” (pg. 184).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
• “Ever since the goal set by the covenant of works came within his
ken, man carries within him in all his converse with the world the sense of
belonging to another…the lower may never supplant the higher, for the heart of
man calls for eternity” (pg. 206).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
• Ah, footnotes! Richard Gaffin’s observation of this eschatology from
the beginning observes something about the Fall of man that is massive:
“…salvation brings to the eschaton a Christological cast or complexion that
would not have been present apart from the fall” (pg. 147, footnote 13). I’m a
highlighter junkie when it comes to reading a book. Highlighting wasn’t enough
for me on this quote; I broke out the black-ink pen and did some underlining
and dramatic exclamation marks. While the tree of life pointed Adam to a
greater reality beyond just blissful life in the garden, it took the Fall to
bring Jesus into view in that ultimate beatitude as the Way to achieve it. The
Fall put the focus on Jesus (I’m hearing the songs of Revelation 5 in my head
now)!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Speaking of Him: “Jesus, the one true interpreter” (pg. 205). I like
this as a name for our Lord. I will be using it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Olinger, discussing the beginning works of Vos, makes this powerful
statement about religious legalism: it “lacks the supreme sense of worship (‘it
obeys but it does not adore’)” (pg. 57). We exist for God’s sake, and are
called to obedience to His revealed will, but for the believer in Christ this
should lead to joy and worship, not the relationship-breaking coldness that
marks so many legalists.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
In Vos’ resistance to changing the confessional standards of his
denomination to conform to contemporary sentiments, he reaffirms a timeless
truth: “It is a well-known fact that all heresy begins with being a partial
truth” (pg. 111). He then speaks of the all-to-common game played by heretics
ancient and new, where orthodox words are used but filled with heterodox
meaning.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ultimately, a book is “good” if it fills me with an excitement to read,
study, or teach God’s Word. This biography of Geerhardus Vos did that. Similar
to this beautiful concept is the reflection of former student John DeWaard on
Vos’ teaching legacy: “His courses were commentaries on the Bible, his lectures
were exegeses of the Word. I loved him when I studied there; I love him more
now, not because he has given me a number of valuable interpretations of the
Word, but rather because he has given me through his lectures a desire to study
the Word itself” (pg. 228). What a crown!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Related to that, becoming familiar with his life and engaging his works
in a chronological manner equipped me to read his work with more confidence and
a deeper level of understanding.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I will admit, too, to feeling the poignant weight of his life as he
lost friends to death, was rejected by the majority of students at Princeton
because of the depth of his teaching (and the U.S. cultural reaction to those
perceived to be German between the world wars), the seemingly fruitless battle
against theological liberalism in his academic life, and the normal fading into
the twilight of this life.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Let me say a few words about reading challenging things (not the
biography, but Vos’ work). We don’t work to understand anymore, it seems. If
it’s not “easy listening” or quickly accessible, there is a tendency not to
bother with it. I’m just as guilty of this as anyone else. I try, however, to
incorporate disciplines in my life to counteract this contemporary life that
feels like floating in a quick-running stream. For example, when I get a new
album, I will listen to it repeatedly for at least a week, even if I don’t care
for it on my first listen. By repeatedly experiencing the work, I try to
understand what the artist was trying to do. It’s rare that I don’t come to
eventually appreciate that which was first a temptation to reject. As I
mentioned already, I’ve read a lot of Vos – repeatedly. After this, I will
continue reading Vos, and especially those parts of his work that still confuse
me. In a way, doing that is not really about his theology, but about discipling
myself. Such discipline will bear fruit in other areas of my mental life, even
as I’m tempted to scroll unthinkingly through headlines or news feeds.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I prefer holding a physical book (though I have done plenty of digital
reading). It disciplines me further to resist distraction, with a single
possible exception: footnotes. I love footnotes, and this book is
footnote-heavy. Sometimes I wonder if the distractions of multiple screen
windows and apps find their predecessors in long footnotes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
To wrap this up: I have to work to read Vos at times, but it’s proven
to be a worthwhile venture for me in my growth as a reader of the Bible.
Olinger’s biography has helped me eager to read more Vos and to re-read what
I’ve already read. I don’t read that many biographies. This was well-worth it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Speaking of weak areas in my reading habits, the next book on Challies’
reading challenge is a novel. This will not be familiar territory for me…but
that’s the point in doing this.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-14989613565803022502018-12-29T06:41:00.001-07:002018-12-29T06:41:14.052-07:00It's Just a Cup of Coffee<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Creator-God of all there is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“…there is but one God, the
Father, from Whom are all things and we exist for Him” </i>(1
Corinthians 8:6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“…by Him </i>[the Father’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“beloved Son,”</i> 1:13]<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or
authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is
before all things, and in Him all things hold together”</i> (Colossians
1:16,17).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness
was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving” </i>(Genesis
1:1,2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">One God, three Persons: “…which doctrine of the Trinity is the
foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable dependence on Him”
(1689 Baptist Confession, 3.2). Maker of time and space. Lord of this morning
and my tiny corner of it. It is good because You are good. It is more than I
could ever enjoy and appreciate fully, and yet it is only a momentary reflection
of Your eternal glory (Romans 1:20).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Yet, in all its goodness, I feel the Fall of my first parents (and all
of us) in these moments, sensing the consequences of a body not in its best
health because of lack of discipline. The slowness to feel ready for the day
because another day has been crossed off the calendar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What is it they say? The only thing that doesn’t get easier with
practice is waking up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This body, this mind, part of the groaning creation – made so good, and
so broken by us – as much as I love these early-morning moments, I am reminded
of a hope beyond imagining. A hope of newness. Of morning without fading into
lesser color.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Lord, thank you for those who toil against the thorns of the Fall to
earn their bread (and provide coffee beans) by the sweat of their brow. Thank you for the grace of their temporary victory, and the reminder that it is temporary...we need more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Cursed is the ground because of
you;<br />
In toil you will eat of it<br />
All the days of your life.<br />
Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;<br />
And you will eat the plants of the field;<br />
By the sweat of your face<br />
You will eat bread,<br />
Till you return to the ground,<br />
Because from it you were taken;<br />
For you are dust,<br />
And to dust you shall return” </i>(Genesis 3:17-19).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We were made to have dominion through the growing of coffee beans (Genesis
1:26-31), but, because of our rebellion against You, God, You have ordained a
futility (Romans 8:20), and twistedness (Ecclesiastes 1:15; 7:13) to creation
so that we will never find perfection in it apart from You. Because we try. Give
the growers, the cultivators, the same longing You gave a man who named his son
Noah because he longed for promised relief from the curse (Genesis 5:28-31). Let
them hear the Good News of the true Noah, the true Comforter. Bring them
messengers who will tell them the curse has been carried in Christ on His cross
(Galatians 3:13,14).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Bless them amidst the uncertainty of weather, plant disease, insects,
and who knows what pressures fellow human beings bring in this fallen κόσμος.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you for these echoes of You in the crafting and drawing from the
earth. May the echoes become full and perfect soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Those who roasted this by their art, O Lord, the aesthetic of applying
energy to the beans…thank You for the creativity and ingenuity You work by Your
grace through humanity. Such beautiful diversity. It seems endless the ways in
which we work this creation to produce wonder, joy, beauty, and a nice dark
roast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">There is in the brewing an imbuing of energy, heating water in a momentary
rebellion against entropy. We fight the fading because You’ve set eternity in
our hearts, along with the futility of our struggle apart from You alone
(Ecclesiastes 3:11).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ah, the mug. They bear names and images of places I’ve been able to
travel, places that are important to me because my family was there with me and
we enjoyed time together. We marveled at some new (to us) beauty of creation
together. This mug connects me in memory to such grace, Father. You have given
grace in letting us see so much together. I am grateful, for I love what You
have made. I have always tried to appreciate Your creation wherever I am. Help
me to rejoice in the goodness of what You have made even more than I do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Again reminded of the hope of newness…holding the mug against my eyes…the
warmth easing the wake-up of more than just the mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">On to my second cup now. Which one do I appreciate more? The one that I
sip operating more on unreflective instinct, or the one that I drink in a state
of greater awareness. I don’t know. But I am thankful to You, my Father, for
both (and for the third cup which will be part of an increasing busyness of a
whole household beginning its day).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Coffee has accompanied my morning reading of the Psalms for so long
they are associated in my life liturgy. Today, Psalm 29 (You are worthy of
worship, Your voice is mighty, You are unchanging King over all), Psalm 59 (God
as stronghold in difficulty), Psalm 89 (song of God’s promised King), Psalm 149
(praising God and making His will be done on earth). Prayer and praise to You,
almighty God. It looks like I’ll have opportunity to teach a class on
discipleship to some older grade school children in this next semester…they’re
learn about regular Psalm reading…maybe not the coffee drinking that goes with
it in my life. Help me to assist them in following Jesus, and may I learn more
in the teaching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Being part of creation, I do not worship You, my God, apart from using
Your creation. Help me make that usage more holy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This I offer to You, God my Joy, with these simple, inelegant, and
unrefined words…You are infinitely worthy of better, but it is morning. My first
thoughts are produced in a brain still awakening, still awaiting the sharpness
coming with this cup of coffee. With this I offer the day to You…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Our Father, Who is in heaven,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Make Your name holy.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Your Kingdom come, Your will be
done,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">On earth as it is in heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Give us this day…” </i>(Matthew
6:9-11).</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-58411198472839525482018-12-18T06:24:00.001-07:002018-12-18T06:24:42.979-07:00That Prayer for Unity<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I woke up this morning with Jesus’ prayer from John 17 on my mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>“Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He
said, ‘…I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them,
because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not
ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the
truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have
sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they
themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask on behalf of
these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they
may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You,
that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You
sent Me’” </i>(John 17:1,14-21).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The oneness that Jesus prays for (17:21) is not in isolation from what
comes before; the oneness, in fact, weaves together several strands in this
section of Jesus’ prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It is the possession of the divine Word that seems to be the trigger
for the hatred of the world (17:14-16). To have the Word makes believers alien
to this world even as we pilgrimage deeper into the world. The world hates the revelatory
intrusion of its Creator. God’s Word is a threat to their satanic freedom and
self-sovereignty.<a href="file:///H:/desertratofMorgan/ThatPrayerForUnity_December2018.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span><!--[endif]--></span></a> The possessors of
this threatening must conform to the world or suffer the hatred of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Instead of conformity, Jesus prays that the Word brings greater
holiness as His Church pursues the mission He has given us (a mission which
mirrors the one given the Son by the Father): <i>“<b>Sanctify</b> them in the truth; Your
word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them
into the world. For their sakes I <b>sanctify</b> Myself, that they themselves
also may be <b>sanctified</b> in truth”</i> (17:17-19). This sanctifying is a
setting aside from the agenda and ways of the world to an absolute commitment
to the truth, character (<i>“name”</i> in 17:6,11,12,26), and purpose of the Father
through the Son by the apostolic Word in the Church through the succeeding
generations. <i>“Sanctify”</i> means an ever-increasing non-world life in the midst of
the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Jesus doesn’t pray for unity for unity’s sake. Mere unity is not evangelistic
witness. Unity in Word-treasuring holiness and Father-given, Jesus-imitating, Spirit-empowered
Gospel mission (20:21,22) is Jesus’ prayer for the disciples and those who
would believe their Word (the New Testament is their Word).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Father, hear our ever-living Intercessor as He prays<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">For our non-conformity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">For our holding to the Word<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">For our holiness in that Word<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">And the alien and unique<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Unity that will result.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Give us the Son’s desire for this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Spirit, we confess that without You<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This will never happen. Help us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Son of God, keep praying,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">And lead us to pray<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Your prayer after You.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfAy4-3bWj3seIvHzJC4glU2OE1xm3d2q5lETXcSy_7KZZ_49lxu1IqTCZS0gE4xTh3xy6jghyjtvMkWLj08i34fDaFhal9_2XakirNrwuLc2V37124C_RdG0vKfQhfjz2LEzpv52GVAe_/s1600/48380504_1958509634444024_8525719062783721472_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfAy4-3bWj3seIvHzJC4glU2OE1xm3d2q5lETXcSy_7KZZ_49lxu1IqTCZS0gE4xTh3xy6jghyjtvMkWLj08i34fDaFhal9_2XakirNrwuLc2V37124C_RdG0vKfQhfjz2LEzpv52GVAe_/s320/48380504_1958509634444024_8525719062783721472_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span style="font-size: large;"><br clear="all" />
</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="file:///H:/desertratofMorgan/ThatPrayerForUnity_December2018.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> I
am reminded of the line we sang last Lord’s Day, “we are free in ways that we
never should be” (MercyMe’s “God With Us”).</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-29417914148101005432018-09-16T12:31:00.000-06:002018-09-16T12:31:41.232-06:00When Even Heaven's Worship Isn't Good Enough<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">During
the time of response to God’s Word today we were led in a song that took its text
from Revelation 5:12. As I was singing and thinking about that chapter of
Scripture, I had some thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Heavenly
worship is described in Revelation 4:1-11.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">How
does John, the earthly and inspired observer of heaven’s worship, react to
heaven’s worship?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“I began to weep greatly because no one
was found worthy”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">
(5:4).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Without
the Lamb, the best worship – even heaven’s worship – is grievous to the exiled
earthling.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Lamb standing, as if slain,”</i>
divine possessor of the Spirit of God, reveals Himself to be Fulfiller of God’s
Word, heaven and earth and all creation worship<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">and
worship<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">and
worship<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">and
worship.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It
is not a true or saving faith unless Jesus is the center of it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Preaching,
teaching, studying the Bible is not biblical unless it leads you to Jesus
(because the Book is about Him).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">To
John, even heaven’s worship wasn’t worship until the Lamb was revealed to be
its center.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I
need more of John’s passionate focus on Jesus in my life.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-18037499124181653062018-08-03T06:36:00.000-06:002018-08-03T06:36:17.807-06:00How We've Thought About Sunday<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">About seven years ago I taught a
class on Baptist history and polity for our Association’s CLD center (the CLD program is now called the <a href="https://www.gs.edu/academics/degrees/advance/">ADVANCE</a> program). We spent three hours one Monday late in
the semester looking at the development of our denomination’s confession, the
<a href="http://www.sbc.net/bfm2000/bfm2000.asp">Baptist Faith & Message</a>. The development of the article of the Lord’s Day
was (and is) striking to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">* * * * * * *</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">New Hampshire Confession (1833)
Article XV, “Of the Christian Sabbath”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That the first day of the week is
the Lord’s-Day, or Christian Sabbath; and is to be kept sacred to religious
purposes, by abstaining from all secular labor and recreations; by the devout
observance of all the means of grace, both private and public; and by
preparation for that rest which remaineth for the people of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Baptist Faith & Message (1925)
Article XIV, “The Lord’s Day”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first day of the week is the
Lord's day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It
commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in
exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private, and by
refraining from worldly amusements, and resting from secular employments, works
of necessity and mercy only excepted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ex. 20:3-6; Matt. 4:10; Matt. 28:19;
1 Tim. 4:13; Col. 3:16; John 4:21; Ex. 20:8; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; Acts 20:7; Rev. 1:1;
Matt. 12:1-13</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Baptist Faith & Message (1963)
Article VIII, “The Lord’s Day”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first day of the week is the
Lord's Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It
commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in
exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private, and by
refraining from worldly amusements, and resting from secular employments, work
of necessity and mercy only being excepted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ex. 20:8-11; Matt. 12:1-12; 28:1ff.;
Mark 2:27-28; 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-3,33-36; John 4:21-24; 20:1,19-28; Acts 20:7; 1
Cor. 16:1-2; Col. 2:16; 3:16; Rev. 1:10.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Baptist Faith & Message (2000)
Article VIII, “The Lord’s Day”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first day of the week is the
Lord's Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It
commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include
exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private.
Activities on the Lord's Day should be commensurate with the Christian's
conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Exodus 20:8-11; Matthew 12:1-12;
28:1ff.; Mark 2:27-28; 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-3,33-36; John 4:21-24; 20:1,19-28;
Acts 20:7; Romans 14:5-10; I Corinthians 16:1-2; Colossians 2:16; 3:16;
Revelation 1:10.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">* * * * * * *</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is a great distance between
“kept sacred to religious purposes, by abstaining from all secular labor and
recreations; by the devout observance of all the means of grace, both private
and public; and by preparation for that rest which remaineth for the people of
God” (1833) and “activities...commensurate with the Christian's conscience
under the Lordship of Jesus Christ” (2000). Is the difference due to Baptists’
deeper consideration of the liberty found in the Gospel, or conformity to a
culture obsessed with entertainment and play? I’m sure that impassioned
arguments could be made for either side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We are Baptists. We balance
continuity and discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Discontinuity: Whereas the Law of
the Old Testament was clear about sacred rest on the seventh day (Exodus
20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15), the Law of the New Testament asserts that <i>“the
Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath,” </i>that is, God Himself (Matthew
12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5). In honor of this, the New Testament describes the
Church gathering on the first day, not the seventh day, of the week (Acts 20:7;
1 Corinthians 16:2) because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:1;
Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1). We call this the <i>“Lord’s Day” </i>(Revelation
1:10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where is the continuity? The New
Testament is not free of commandment (Matthew 28:20; John 14:15; 15:10; 1
Corinthians 14:37; 1 Thessalonians 4:2). The people of God are still under the
rule of the only Lawgiver (Isaiah 33:22; James 4:12), Jesus Christ. How does
that apply to the day of our gathering as the Church? If the New Testament
represents the fullness of what was progressively revealed in the Old
Testament, how is that seen in our observance of the day of gathering? Is
Christ fully revealed as the glory of the Father by a full day dedicated to His
worship or a single hour followed by a trip to the lake?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How reliable is “the Christian’s
conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ,” when many Christians believe
this is a religious way of “following your heart”? Too often the “Christian’s
conscience” has nothing to do with prayerful meditation on Scripture and
everything to do with “the way that seems right to a man” (Proverbs 14:12;
16:25).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These are not easy questions, and
have been the subject of much debate for two millennia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Consider the development of this
article on the “Christian Sabbath,” or “the Lord’s Day.” Is your “rest” a
dedication to entertainment no different from the world’s (except for maybe a
few hours at Sunday School and worship), or is it a dedication of a day
pointing to the “rest” that remains in eternity for those in union with the
Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus Christ?</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-57197540322618763842018-07-03T10:29:00.001-06:002018-07-03T10:43:34.777-06:00Not a Master or an Expert<br />
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“Master of Divinity.” A few months ago I heard someone comment on the
massive overstatement in that graduate degree’s title. Similarly, I recently
saw a seminary advertise its Doctor of Ministry program with a slogan something
like “Becoming an Expert.” I told my bride I needed to return my degree if that
was the intended outcome of the program.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The men in our congregation have a monthly fellowship. We met last
night, and one of our guys had us read Psalm 19:7-9. I’ve taught this passage
so many times over the years; it’s my go-to passage when I’m introducing the
idea of biblical parallelism to people. I know this passage. Still, two things
were pointed out to me that I’d never noticed before. First, there is the
six-fold repetition <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“of the LORD.”</i>
Can you believe I never really noticed that? I was simultaneously excited to
see it and a little sheepish that I’d never noticed it! Second, a brother
pointed out the creation elements in 19:1-6, and the further creation aspect in
our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“soul”</i> (19:7), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“the heart”</i> (19:8), and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“the eyes”</i> (19:8). Not only is God
Personal Creator of the heavens, but of us as individuals, and His glory shows
in it all. Wow.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Second, my bride pulled together two verses that I’d always separated
in my mind (foolishly): <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“…in Him all
things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church” </i>(Colossians
1:17b,18a). Wow, again. I can’t hold <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“all things…together,”</i> including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“the church.”</i> I needed to hear
that. Seriously. I needed it to the core of my being. My bride was used (once again) by the Holy Spirit, through the Word, to provide a much-needed balm for my soul.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Regardless our years of experience, and in spite of the pieces of paper
matted in frames on our walls, we need each other desperately in the Church,
especially in the area of the ministry of the Word. My dissertation, in partial
fulfillment of that latest piece of paper, emphasized the “prophethood of all
believers” and the role all believers must have in the Spirit-empowered,
Christ-centered ministry of the Word. Yesterday the Holy Spirit convicted me anew
that the dissertation wasn’t just a hoop to jump through to graduate; it is the
great need of the Church in this day. It is the great need of this pastor, who
is far from being a “Master” or an “expert” in anything.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We need each other.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS6oUB9cwky8hQzXVAk7icKogGsDTyIz2fDu18zIoTx1AOtGfS53wZ3dwtqba-udWjc__0PJt3EEK1tTaHxGGOnpkIQO-r4HIs1xwUUrpwTw3Mk3HD6CAy8Y8q63QDQzjlAXb4lWC8ZmHi/s1600/36552251_2542233735802485_7719234018318745600_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS6oUB9cwky8hQzXVAk7icKogGsDTyIz2fDu18zIoTx1AOtGfS53wZ3dwtqba-udWjc__0PJt3EEK1tTaHxGGOnpkIQO-r4HIs1xwUUrpwTw3Mk3HD6CAy8Y8q63QDQzjlAXb4lWC8ZmHi/s1600/36552251_2542233735802485_7719234018318745600_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Got home after sunset following our men's meeting.<br />
Enjoyed the message of God's glory the sky was preaching<br />
while I let my dogs run a little.</td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753366995144870462.post-36819022567005499892018-06-30T06:55:00.002-06:002018-06-30T06:55:42.184-06:00Foundation of the Pilgrim Song<br />
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“A Song of Ascents.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In my trouble I cried to the LORD,<br />
And He answered me.<br />
Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips,<br />
From a deceitful tongue.<br />
What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,<br />
You deceitful tongue?<br />
Sharp arrows of the warrior,<br />
With the burning coals of the broom tree.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech,<br />
For I dwell among the tents of Kedar!<br />
Too long has my soul had its dwelling<br />
With those who hate peace.<br />
I am for peace, but when I speak,<br />
They are for war” (Psalm 120).<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the first of the Songs of Ascent, a series of Psalms (120-134) to
be sung on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Pilgrim, sojourner: the biblical attitude
for the believer in this world (Philippians 3:20; Colossians 3:1-3; Hebrews
11:13-16; 1 Peter 2:11), whether a king in a palace (1 Chronicles 29:15) or a
persecuted saint (Hebrews 11:37,38).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hear the song. Regardless of the voices around you, be for peace (Romans
12:18; Hebrews 12:14). Speak for peace. It is found only in Christ (Isaiah 9:6; 53:5; John 14:27; 16:33; Acts 10:36; Romans 5:1; Philippians 4:4-7).<o:p></o:p></div>
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This song reaches back to the beginning of the Bible, and forward to where it
intersects us at the end of the Book. “Meshech,” in the tribe’s earliest
description, is associated with the name “Magog” (Genesis 10:2; 1 Chronicles
1:5; Ezekiel 38:2). Rather than trying to relate these names to modern groups
(which I think just clouds the point of the text and relies on conjecture),
hear the Psalmist’s cry. He is surrounded by those who speak lies and hate
peace – and therefore hate those who speak the truth of God and proclaim the
peace of God in Messiah, the Christ, the Prince of peace.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This aggression is found in the last pages of the Book: “When the
thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and
will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of
the earth, Gog and Magog [relative to Meshech], to gather them
together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.
And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded
the camp of the saints and the beloved city” (Revelation 20:7-9).<o:p></o:p></div>
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In other words, no matter where you are, no matter the neighbors or
co-workers, speak the truth and peace as it is found in Jesus Christ alone.
This is the foundation from which the pilgrim sings and longs for home with the
Lord.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”
(Matthew 5:9).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwx1PKcxD68SlEaK7cmi12UmxwKW46MxZU7BCRfDcjhhoyLXdUk4rTPeayzXJy1X3k-MwX6PAQxK-B2sX5mMH83e0W5PeS_70tFzhK5YidKORe6CeDmFoe1cZUtBesjnvSDCvOYMruHzb/s1600/35299897_2505235386168987_3772729264563027968_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwx1PKcxD68SlEaK7cmi12UmxwKW46MxZU7BCRfDcjhhoyLXdUk4rTPeayzXJy1X3k-MwX6PAQxK-B2sX5mMH83e0W5PeS_70tFzhK5YidKORe6CeDmFoe1cZUtBesjnvSDCvOYMruHzb/s320/35299897_2505235386168987_3772729264563027968_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Taneycomo (Missouri) morning...within<br />the hour Table Rock Dam began generating,<br />and the stillness was gone.</td></tr>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0