How Can They Not Be Moved By This?

“How they can sit and hear of the infinite height, and depth, and length, and breadth of the love of God in Christ Jesus, of his giving his infinitely dear Son, to be offered up a sacrifice for the sins of men, and of the unparalleled love of the innocent, and holy, and tender Lamb of God, manifested in his dying agonies, his bloody sweat, his loud and bitter cries, and bleeding heart, and all this for enemies, to redeem them from deserved, eternal burnings, and to bring to unspeakable and everlasting joy and glory; and yet be cold, and heavy, insensible, and regardless! Where are the exercises of our affections proper, if not here? What is it that does more require them? And what can be a fit occasion of their lively and vigorous exercise, if not such a one as this? Can anything be set in our view, greater and more important? Anything more wonderful and surprising? Or more nearly concerning our interest? Can we suppose the wise Creator implanted such principles in the human nature as the affections, to be of use to us, and to be exercised on certain proper occasions, but to lie still on such an occasion as this? Can any Christian who believes the truth of these things, entertain such thoughts?”

“If ever there were occasion for the exercise of human affection, it would be in regard to those things or objects that are most worthy of our energy and joy and delight. “But is there anything which Christians can find in heaven or earth, so worthy to be the objects of their admiration and love, their earnest and longing desires, their hope, and their rejoicing, and their fervent zeal, as those things that are held forth to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ? In which not only are things declared most worthy to affect us, but they are exhibited in the most affecting manner. The glory and beauty of the blessed Jehovah, which is most worthy in itself, to be the object of our admiration and love, is there exhibited in the most affecting manner that can be conceived of, as it appears, shining in all its luster, in the face of an incarnate, infinitely loving, meek, compassionate, dying Redeemer. All the virtues of the Lamb of God, his humility, patience, meekness, submission, obedience, love and compassion, are exhibited to our view, in a manner the most tending to move our affections, of any that can be imagined; as they all had their greatest trial, and their highest exercise, and so their brightest manifestation, when he was in the most affecting circumstances; even when he was under his last sufferings, those unutterable and unparalleled sufferings he endured, from his tender love and pity to us.

“There also the hateful nature of our sins is manifested in the most affecting manner possible: as we see the dreadful effects of them, in that our Redeemer, who undertook to answer for us, suffered for them. And there we have the most affecting manifestation of God’s hatred of sin, and his wrath and justice in punishing it; as we see his justice in the strictness and inflexibleness of it; and his wrath in its terribleness, in so dreadfully punishing our sins, in one who was infinitely dear to him, and loving to us. So has God disposed things, in the affair of our redemption, and in his glorious dispensations, revealed to us in the gospel, as though everything were purposely contrived in such a manner, as to have the greatest possible tendency to reach our hearts in the most tender part, and move our affections most sensibly and strongly. How great cause have we therefore to be humbled to the dust, that we are no more affected!” 

[C. Samuel Storms, Signs of the Spirit: An Interpretation of Jonathan Edwards' Religious Affections]

Trying To Find Me (Arthur Alligood cover w/ lyrics)

  
Download now or listen on posterous

Trying To Find Me (Arthur Alligood cover – take 4).m4a (6029 KB)

This is a cover of an Arthur Alligood song. He sings a lot better than I sing.

7.11.06

Trying to find me

I used to hope in Friday from Monday’s desert sand

Like a slave caught in Egypt longing for a better land

The weekend was my water, just the thought of being free

from my every inclination to be everyone, but me

I started wearing t-shirts I got from Goodwill

on that long, back stretch of my senior year

I was new wine they were my new wineskins

but looking back I see I still had yet to ferment

Pushing through every door, turning corners

trying to find me

Leaving home, leaving all on my shoulders

at my feet

Was it a fire or an ocean that was raging down deep?

Its hard to say…to put into words for a song that I can sing

I tossed my cap and the next day I was driving in my car

to North Carolina, to my summer job

They said I had the worst group and at first I agreed

Till days became weeks and my eyes began to see

These were boys not men and all they wanted was love

and I was just like them in need of a hug

Passing on never slowing are those tiny grains of sand

I can turn the glass over, but never stop the second hand

Moments turn to memories and memories fade, too fast

but some they stick around till you breathe your last

Worth Something

Oh, I’ve walked in Death Valley and blinded my eyes. 

I’ve stepped in the wet muddy mire with clean shoes 

and with the heart you’ve cleaned. 

Yet it’s your righteousness that cleans me 

and keeps me clean, like laundry detergent. 

I don’t want to go down that way again. 

I tire of my ways and long for the path you made. 

I want to be with you in the bedroom, on the Mac, and in the outdoors. 

I want to feel something, like how you love me more than I do. 

Though I’m not worthy

your grace makes me so 

worth something.

Hebrews Exhortations

Hebrews. Yeah, it could be a corny name of Christian coffee shop. (Get it? “He brews” *cough cough*) But Hebrews happens to be one of my favorite books of the Bible. It’s a book so rich and elegantly written. Some say that it was a sermon. No one knows for sure who wrote it. But what I do see is that the author intended to encourage its readers who were undergoing some great sufferings for Christ.

Let’s first read the short passage carefully in context. Don’t skim over this, but read slowly:

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:19–25)

As you can see, the author of Hebrews first summarizes his points: Jesus gave himself, his blood and life, so that we may draw nearer to God. Prior to Jesus the closest to God was through a curtain, in a place known as the “holy of holies”. Just as the curtain was torn upon the death of Jesus, the flesh of Christ was also torn. Do you see the connection? Jesus himself said “I am the way.” Because His flesh was torn, we were able to draw near to God! Thus our faith is founded in this work. Because Jesus’ work on the cross we may have confidence.

Now that we have seen the context, let’s move on to the 3 exhortations that follows (the “let us” series).

1. “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…”
2. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”
3. “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works…”

How shall we respond? What is your natural response to the gospel? The first thing that the author of Hebrews encourages us to do is draw near to God with FULL ASSURANCE of faith. That is, let us come to God without doubts. Let us come with total belief. With this belief in the work of Christ comes a cleansing of our hearts. The dominion of sin dies on the cross when you fully trust in the work of Christ. Our hearts as a result become clean! We can thus draw near to a HOLY GOD. Could we draw near to a holy God, a pure being who hates evil if Christ had not died for our sins? NO. We are too dirty, too sinful, apart from a clean heart that comes by faith in Christ.

Second encouragement: One challenging teaching of the Hebrews is that Christians aren’t simply those who say they are Christians. Christians are those who “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering”; they are those who stand fast until the end of their life. It is a challenging teaching because if I were to live a “Christian life” but deny my confession at the end of my life, that would only prove that I never really believed nor lived as a Christian. See how that works? We must hold on. We must preserve to the end. Because God is faithful and will not let go if we are his.

Last exhortation: Notice first that this entire time Hebrews has been addressing a group of people. And thus this is not only “my” response, but “our” response — it is a group response not only your individual response. So, have you considered it? How can we “stir up one another to love and good works”? The answer is this: We do not neglect to meet together. We love each other and encourage each other as the author of Hebrews is doing. This makes sense, doesn’t it? No man is an island to himself. We live in communities. We need each other to press on. We stir each other by seeing each others as examples of love and good works. We stir each other also by encouraging each other through the word of God, the living flame at our feet. Man (and woman) was not made to be alone. We need each other. We need the encouragement to do good especially when the going gets tough. Remember, the original readers of this letter was suffering persecution! Those are serious trials and tribulations!

To conclude: Jesus paid it all; our response is to draw near to God with clean hearts and cling to Him but also stir each other to love and good works. This is a timely message for those who are suffering or undergoing trials. Remember what Jesus has done! Think of the 3 exhortations the writer calls us to do.

Which of the 3 exhortations are you attempting and doing? Which are you neglecting?

Peacetime mind-set

One of the marks of this peacetime mind-set is what I call an avoidance ethic. In wartime we ask different questions about what to do with our lives than we do in peacetime. We ask: What can I do to advance the cause? What can I do to bring the victory? What sacrifice can I make or what risk can I take to insure the joy of triumph? In peacetime we tend to ask, What can I do to be more comfortable? To have more fun? To avoid trouble and, possibly, avoid sin?

If we are going to pay the price and take the risks it will cost to make people glad in God, we move beyond the avoidance ethic. This way of life is utterly inadequate to waken people to the beauty Christ. Avoiding fearful trouble and forbidden behaviors impresses almost no one. The avoidance ethic by itself is not Christ-commending or God-glorifying. There are many disciplined unbelievers who avoid the same behaviors Christians do. Jesus calls us to do something far more radical than that.

People who are content with the avoidance ethic generally ask the wrong question about behavior. They ask, What’s wrong with it? What’s wrong with this movie? Or this music? Or this game? Or these companions? Or this way of relaxing? Or this investment? Or this restaurant? Or shopping at this store? What’s wrong with going to the cabin every weekend? Or having a cabin? This kind of question will rarely yield a lifestyle that commends Christ as all-satisfying and makes people glad in God. It simply results in a list of don’ts. It feeds the avoidance ethic.

The better questions to ask about possible behaviors is: How will this help me treasure Christ more? How will it help me show that I do treasure Christ? How will it help me know Christ or display Christ? The Bible says, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). So the question is mainly positive, not negative. How can I portray God as glorious in this action? How can I enjoy making much of him in this behavior?

Oh, how many lives are wasted by people who believe that the Christian life means simply avoiding badness and providing for the family. So there is no adultery, no stealing, no killing, no embezzlement, no fraud–just lots of hard work during the day and lots of TV and PG-13 videos in the evening (during quality family time), and lots of fun stuff on the weekend–woven around the church (mostly). This is life for millions of people. Wasted life. We were created for more, far more.

There is an old saying: “No man ever lamented on his dying bed, ‘I wish I had spent more time at the office.”‘ The point being made is usually that when you are about to die, money suddenly looks like what it really is, useless for lasting happiness, while relationships become precious. It’s true. When my mother was killed in 1974, I wrote to the chairman of my department at Bethel College, where I was teaching, and reversed my request to teach an overload the next semester to make more money. Standing beside your mother’s grave with a wife and child makes things look different. Money loses its pull.

But that saying about spending less time at the office can be misleading. We need to add this: No one will ever want to say to the Lord of the universe five minutes after death, I spent every night playing games and watching TV with my family because I loved them so much. I think the Lord will say, “That did make me look like a treasure in your town. You should have done something besides provide for yourself and your family. And TV, as you should have known, was not a good way to nurture your family or your own soul.”
–John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life, page 118-120

I am the vine

What a beauty. It’s a beautiful image that Christ gives to his disciples in John 15:1-11. He metaphorically speaks of himself as a plant, or more specifically, he says, “I am the vine”. For Christ being the vine means that he is the source of life, fertility and vitality. He is the life source. To remain in Christ is to stay connected to him. We are to be the branches, grafted and secured — not severed and detached — that through Christ we may produce much fruit. If we are detached from Christ the source, it makes sense that we would wither and die if we are apart from Christ, because he is the source, thus when we are apart from him we can do nothing. Again, He is not just a way of life. He is the life.

To put into a more modern day electrical terminology, Jesus is the power supply to whom we (the electronic device) must always be wired. Don’t even think about batteries, for Christ is our battery as well! If we were to ever unplug from Him, our work would be vanity and worthless. We are useful when we remain in Christ.

Therefore: Remain in him! When his words remain in us, when we abide in him and his love, we see that God answers whatever we wish. The conditions are this: 1) We remain in Jesus and 2) His words remain in us. What is subtle about the latter is that when his words remain in us, our mind begins to change and conform to what God wants! That is true beauty, yes, when we become more like Jesus, the pure and holy one of God, and when the Father is glorified by us.

Visualizing the Bible

Bible Visualizations project by Christoph Römhild and Chris Harrison. “Each of the 63,779 cross references found in the Bible is depicted by a single arc – the color corresponds to the distance between the two chapters, creating a rainbow-like effect.”

Pretty beautiful, isn’t it? It is amazing how the Bible cross-references itself…

For a large resolution image, go to the original page here.)

Christ, the good

John Piper’s words from God is the Gospel:

“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever say, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?”

Challies comments on this quotation by Piper:

Too many Christians look to heaven for its benefits to us without understanding that the greatest benefit of all will the presence of Christ. We can long after all the good of heaven without feeling any desire to enjoy its greatest Good. And what a tragedy it is if we focus our attention and our affections on lesser treasures. To be absent from the body is to be present not with grandma or mom or dad, but first and foremost to be present with Christ. This promise should quicken our hearts and be at the forefront of our desires as we long for eternity.

Oh, God. Do I share this love of Christ, so that he is my greatest Good?

John Piper (Text and Context 2008)

As I have been reflecting on remembering the gospel, which I forget often, I found parts of the talk by John Piper, “How I Distinguish Between the Gospel and False Gospels”, very helpful in summing up the different aspects of the gospel. You can find an outline from Desiring God ministries, here. Here is the main passage, and following after are the main points from the talk.

1 Corinthians 15:1-5 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

6 Aspects of the Gospel Without Which There Is No Gospel

1. The gospel was planned by God beforehand (verses 3, 4: “according to the scriptures”)

2. The gospel is an objective physical event in history (verses 3-5: “Christ died . . . he was buried . . . he was raised . . . he appeared”).

3. The gospel is an objective accomplishment—the purchase or obtaining of redemption for all who would believe (verse 3: “Christ died for our sins”—the debt was paid)

4. The gospel is an offer to be made to all that what Christ accomplished is free and my be had only by faith in him (verse 2: “by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain.”)

5. The gospel is an application through faith to specific people of what Christ accomplished (verse 2: “and by which you are being saved”).

6. The gospel is an eternal and infinitely happy future destiny (verse 1-3: implied in the word “gospel” and “saved” and “sins born by another”)

Summary

1. Plan
2. Event
3. Accomplishment
4. Offer
5. Application
6. A supremely happy future

Read the rest here…

Articles: Thank God For Work

Articles: Thank God For Work:

“As Americans—and Christians usually aren’t much different—we spend many years and thousands of dollars getting an education, all to prepare us to get a job. Then once we get a job, we spend many years and thousands of more dollars awaiting the soonest time that we can retire! In the meantime—we live for the weekend.

As Christians we should view work differently, because God views work differently. Work is a gift from God and can be a source of meaningful fulfillment—and at the same time, it can make us weary and full of frustration. In what follow I want to sketch a few points about work that I think are important in building a biblical theology of work. “

(Via New Attitude – Blend.)

How should we view work biblically? This article from New Attitude looks at what the bible says.