It's Monday Morning...
Normally, I don't
mind Monday mornings. They're just another day, for
the most part.
But this
morning, I'm feeling a bit like
this...
... and
really needing this...
...so I
don't get like this...
... but if I
have too much, I'll end up like
this...
...especially
if I add a couple of these to one cup of
coffee...
... so let's
hope I find the right balance and get my Monday
off to a bit of a better
start!!!
Preaching To Myself
I came across this today, in my newsfeeder (hmmm, kinda like a bird heading off to the feeder each morning and finding tasty morsels):
“The gospel shows us that our spiritual problem lies not only in failing to obey God, but also in relying on our obedience to make us fully acceptable to God, ourselves and others.
Every kind of character flaw comes from this natural impulse to be our own savior through our performance and achievement. On the one hand, proud and disdainful personalities come from basing your identity on your performance and thinking you are succeeding. But on the other hand, discouraged and self-loathing personalities also come from basing your identity on your performance and thinking you are failing.
Belief in the gospel is not just the way to enter the kingdom of God; it is the way to address every obstacle and grow in every aspect. The gospel is not just the “ABCs” but the “A-to-Z” of the Christian life.
The gospel is the way that anything is renewed and transformed by Christ — whether a heart, a relationship, a church, or a community. All our problems come from a lack of orientation to the gospel. Put positively, the gospel transforms our hearts, our thinking and our approach to absolutely everything.”
- Timothy Keller, Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: Living in Line with the Truth of the Gospel (Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2003), 2.
When I went to do my search for an appropriate graphic to help make it "stand out", I found this:
Yes, indeed. Preach the gospel to yourself. I need to preach to me. You need to preach to you. We need the gospel. We need Jesus Christ. May Jesus Christ be seen in me today.
Vacation is coming soon
I realize
that things at Cornerstone won't quite be like this
company and I definitely HOPE they won't think
they're victims of ignorance! But I always leave with
concerns that everything runs smoothly, especially
for the guests who come into preach while I'm away.
Lord, take away anxiety and worry. Bless them with
Your love and grace always.
Another great quote
Salvation is all of God
“All is of
God; the only thing of my very own which I contribute
to my redemption is the sin from which I need to be
redeemed.”
- William
Temple, quoted by Sinclair Ferguson,
In Christ
Alone (Lake
Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2007),
42.
I'm
reminded of this, from The Valley of
Vision:
O God of
grace,
Thou hast
imputed my sin to my substitute, and hast imputed his
righteousness to my soul, clothing me with a
bridegroom’s robe, decking me with jewels of
holiness.
But in my
Christian walk I am still in rags; my best prayers
are stained with sin; my penitential tears are so
much impurity; my confessions of wrong are so many
aggravations of sin; my receiving the Spirit is
tinctured with selfishness.
I need to
repent of my repentance; I need my tears to be
washed; I have no robe to bring to cover my sins, no
loom to weave my own
righteousness;
I am
always standing clothed in filthy garments, and by
grace am always receiving change of raiment, for thou
dost always justify the ungodly;
I am
always going into the far country, and always
returning home as a prodigal, always saying, Father,
forgive me, and thou art always bringing forth the
best robe.
Every
morning let me wear it, every evening return in it,
go out to the day’s work in it, be married in it, be
wound in death in it, stand before the great white
throne in it, enter heaven in it shining as the
sun.
Grant me
never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of
sin, the exceeding righteousness of salvation, the
exceeding glory of Christ, the exceeding beauty of
holiness, the exceeding wonder of
grace.
The Valley
of Vision, pages 76. The Banner of Truth Trust,
Carlisle, PA, 1989.
Wordle
(click
on the graphic above to see it enlarged on
Wordle's site)
Doing Hard Things
If you're
not familiar with the Rebelution,
I'd encourage you to check out their
site,
blog
and
other
information on the
site. Alex & Brett
Harris are twin
19-year-olds with a passion for God and seeing His
people – specifically teenagers – rise above the low
expectations our culture has of us. The three teens
with us really enjoyed the day (even though it was a
lot of sitting for the two guys, who like to be busy
outdoors).
One of the
facets of this conference that blew me away and
thrilled me when I found out was it was almost
entirely run by teenagers. Alex & Brett's
slightly older brother, Joel (24), and their dad,
Greg Harris, were about the only non-teens
participating or leading. A 14-year-old was running
the entire multimedia portion of the conference:
sound, visuals, lighting, camera crews, etc. Teens
were in the worship band (with the exception of Joel
Harris, lead singer & guitarist). Teens were
serving as conference assistants. Teens were running
the bookstore and registration. It was truly amazing.
They all did a great job.
All this
was to show how youth can rise above the low cultural
expectations of teens today. It was to bring glory to
God through the doing of hard things. Moving out of
your comfort zone was put on public display for us.
Risking failure was definitely a reality, but I
barely noticed a single glitch. Working together (one
of the core concepts of the Rebelution) was
exemplified in wonderful ways. Alex & Brett have
seen a world-sized need, have risen up to meet it and
are bringing 100s, if not 1,000s along with
them.
I would
encourage you, if you're a teen, to buy their book,
Do Hard Things, and pour over it. If you're the
parent of a teen, do the same. If you're in ministry
somewhere, read this book and then pass it along to
those in your congregation who work with teens. Our
group will be working through the book, along with
the Study Guide the guys provide for
free.
I, for
one, will be waiting with great anticipation to see
the hard things Cornerstone's teens set out to do for
God's sake.
A few thoughts
First the solemn and serious thoughts.
I think the last time I suffered a harsh head or chest cold was way back in late '04 when I was overcome with influenza, which then developed into pneumonia (a fairly serious case of it). That left me "crippled" for at least 6 weeks and weakened for several more until my strength seemed to return. I now find my head quite congested and a somewhat productive cough persisting over several days (well, what do you think, doc? Will I live?). It's frustrating, but not debilitating... yet. I keep trying to get things done and rest; and it doesn't work so well.
DesiringGod's blog post today reminded me of our daughter Rebecca's trip to Taiwan this past March. This was the first time she had ever encountered what she would call "truly pagan" ideas and culture. There were so few people that really knew anything about Jesus, let alone His name. It's a helpful contrast between Buddhism and Christ. I highly recommend it.
Now, for the not so serious thoughts...
Here is one of the Father's Day gifts* I received from my eldest daughter (she's working at Dunn Bros.©™® [and all other regiseredtrademarkcopyrightthingies I need] this summer; part of her payment is a 1 lb. bag of coffee beans each week. Can you say "Wide-eyed & Bushy-tailed!"):
And this, as any who know me and my computer
preferences well, is a no-brainer:
That's all I have for today. Tomorrow, I'll post a
bit on our family's upcoming venture to
theRebelution conference in Minneapolis
on Saturday.
* the cup is actually a planter. I could never drink
that much coffee...
... in a
one-cup sitting!!
Father's Day
Here are the cards I received from my children and my precious wife.
This was from my youngest daughter,
who used to love messing with, combing and brushing
my hair. Funny thing is, when she was about 3 or 4,
she'd used the cheese slicer and the spaghetti server
from the kitchen rather than a hairbrush and comb.
Maybe that's why I've lost a good portion of my hair
(and we had so many hairballs from eating sandwiches
and spaghetti!)
Now, from my son, Jonathan, who is 14 1/2. As you see
the card, there's really very little need for
explanation:
And finally, from my lovely, a card that speaks
volumes in many ways. You see, our two kids still at
home, get "grossed out" when they see Ann & I
committing P.D.A.s (public displays of affection).
And it can really bring out the moans and cries of
"E-e-e-w-w-w-w-w!" if Ann makes any reference to me
being "hot". So, this card was incredibly
appropriate:
Anyway, since it was the Lord's Day and since I have
this terrible cold, we're waiting 'til this evening
to celebrate with the home-grilled steak dinner,
followed by a rhubarb pie made by Ann and Elizabeth.
Can't wait. Yum!!
Godly Men
Since I
gave the women in our church "what for" for a coupl-a
Sundays, it was only fitting for me take aim at the
men and let fly. Actually, I used the Word of God
(Ephesians 5) and sought to be gentle, encouraging
and filled with as much God-honoring, Christ-exalting
exhortation as I possibly could, through God's
grace.
"Godly Men"
Text:
Ephesians 5.22-33
Theme:
Christ is glorified when husbands take on the task of
leading & loving like Christ.
Remember
the importance of the context here, in Ephesians 5:
understanding the will of God by being filled with
the Spirit, which flows from the four descriptions
(participles in Greek, I believe) that follow in vv.
19-21. From the broad, general outlook on this, God
has Paul move to the very specific: how men &
women submit to each other and still uphold the
God-ordained roles given them at Creation BEFORE the
fall into sin. For the wife, this means simply, to
submit to her husband as the head as she would to her
Lord and Savior. Single command, very
simple.
Men, we
get a greater "burden" laid upon us because we have
the weightier role as the head of our wives. But
notice, the command to men is not: Be the head of
your wife. No, that's simply the reason laid out to
the wife of why she should submit to her husband. No,
the clear command to the husband, who is by virtue of
his God-ordained role already the head, is to love
his wife as Christ loved the
church.
I then
spoke briefly about what headship is
not:
• it's not a trump card to be pulled out and
abused
• it's not permission to be lazy, yet
domineering from our La-Z-boy
recliner
Headship
is: humble, loving servanthood that seeks the good
& beauty of one's wife through leading her,
protecting her and providing for
her.
That
definition provided the three keys to living out this
headship given by God.
My closing
exhortation really had an exhortation and
encouragement rolled into one concluding
point:
All By God’s Grace
for God’s Glory
•
far more to say that can be said in one Sunday
•
but conclude with exhortation & encouragement to
men
• exhortation:
love as Christ loved
• have you given up, abdicated, left the throne?
• pray you get it back & then take it back, by
& with God’s grace
• have you abused & twisted this position?
• pray for forgiveness and then seek it from your
wife
• encouragement:
you ask: How can I do this, love like Christ loved?
• Philippians 4.13 –
I can do all things through Him who strengthens
me
• you can do this – through & in Christ
• on your own, your hopeless – I’m hopeless
• but in Christ, who loves us & saves us &
changes us & perfects us
We can!
A great site for quotes
Employment for his calling
“It is our heaven to
lay many weights and burdens upon Christ. Let him
find much employment for his calling with you; for he
is such a Friend as delighteth to be burdened with
suits and employments; and the more homely ye be with
him, the more welcome.”
- Samuel
Rutherford, The Loveliness of
Christ (Carlisle, PA:
Banner of Truth Trust, 2007) 22.
Think on this one a
bit and then find yourself employing Christ. By the
way, I'd encourage you to also be
homely!
Biblical Manhood & Womanhood
Here's my theme & outline from Mother's Day:
Theme: The manner in which we honor women and help them serve in the church will honor the Lord and uphold the Gospel.
Here are the 4 foundational truths & then, to conclude, I’ll seek to draw some basic applications for us:
• We’re to honor God thru the practice of biblical womanhood because
1. it is grounded in the order of creation
2. it is grounded in the doctrine of God
3. it is grounded in the doctrine of Christ
4. it is grounded in the doctrine of the church
Now, I'll give you the theme & outline from this past Lord's Day, June 8, 2008:
Theme: Christ is glorified when a woman submits to her husband.
Introduction - Context! Context! Context!
Submission
What it's not
What it is
It's manner
It's extent
Glorifying Christ
My loving bride of nearly 27 years provided me with this letter from Nancy Leigh Demoss at Revive Our Hearts. I thought this was especially apropos given the manner in which I ended last Sunday's message and the way in which I'll end this week's message to the men:
[this is a testimony Nancy received]
Oh, what a sinner am I!!! Through your teaching about biblical womanhood, God has shown me how wrong I've been all of these years. I'm married to the best man in the world, yet I've been treating him like the scum of the earth.
The only bad thing I can say about my husband is that he married me, a wretched sinner! Instead of lifting him up I tear him down with my attitude, I have stabbed him in the heart with the sword of my tongue. Instead of encouraging him I discourage him; I point out his faults without seeing my own. All this time I thought I was doing things right - and I wonder why my husband won't take the lead?
If I were to die this very moment would my husband know I love him? One word...NO. Oh, how I have hurt him, and I didn't even realize it. Instead of praying for God to change my husband, I'll be praying for God to change me! To make me the woman that my husband deserves.
I've really hurt my husband, but from this moment on and with God's help I am determined to be the wife that I was called to be and to make our home a refuge for my husband. Maybe once again my husband will look at me like he did on our wedding day, with absolute love and adoration. Thank you so much for your teaching, Nancy. I'm sure my husband will thank you, too, when he sees my transformation!
The ending to last week's message (and, in a very similar vein, the ending to this coming Sunday's message) went like this:
Ladies, do you want to know what the best weapon for living like a godly woman is?
Often, believing wives of unbelieving husbands are told to have the kind of spirit & life that might win her husband. How can this happen? And believing wives of believing husband; you're told to submit to your husband as the Church does to the Lord? How can you do this?
Well, you can meet as women to hold each other accountable. You can pray diligently for each other in this role. You can even think of all the dire consequences if you don’t live this way, in order to try to motivate yourself to do better. But none of these are your best weapon in fighting for faith & glorifying God. If you don’t remember the very nature of your own sin and your tremendous need of grace, you’ll fight a losing battle. You’ll buck up against Scripture’s teaching & cave to cultural norms. You’ll beat yourself silly with guilt & shame because you don’t want to do this.
But if you remember nature of your sin & your need of God’s grace, you'll win that fight. If you call to mind that you are in Christ; if you realize He’s never ashamed to call you His child; then there is nothing that you can do to warrant condemnation. You’re salvation in Christ is so rich & so free, that you’re able to give your life totally to God. Yes, you’re to work out your salvation – even in your marriage & submitting to your husband. But remember, you can do this because God is working in you, both to have the will to do this & to actually do it. When you recall to mind that Jesus Christ is the Author & Perfecter of your faith, then you can’t stop giving yourself to Him. He gets it all, and there is your freedom from the bondage of sin & cultural rebellion to His Word to you.
Then, you can give yourself unreservedly, unhesitatingly, unequivocally body, soul, & spirit to the One who loves you, who will never let you go. And when you do that, you will submit, respect & love your husband in such a way that all will say: she loves the Lord Jesus Christ. And He will say to you on that Great Day: Well, done, my daughter; enter into your eternal rest.