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Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven. . . (Matthew 6:9, ESV)
Perhaps one of the most unbelievable parts of the Christian life is that God lets us call him Father. Seriously, think about that for a moment. Out of all the things Jesus could have directed us to call God when we pray, he calls him Father. Not Soverign Lord. Not Mighty King. Not All-Powerful, Omni-present One. But Father. He is all those things to be sure, but we can come to him as needy sons and daughters and cast ourselves upon him and his grace. There are many implications which come to mind but here are a few I jotted down: 1. This father delights in calling us his children. We are not unwanted refugees. We are chosen children (Eph 1:4). He handpicked us. That's amazing. Remember that next time you are tempted to tip-toe into his presence wondering whether he wants you around. 2. He longs to provide. He wants us to ask (Luke 11:5-13). He doesn't even mind if we ask him a lot (Luke 18:1-8). God is not a stingy God. Come before your Father knowing he wants to hear your requests. 3. He wants our trust. I know, it's easier said than done. But just as a child simply believes the words of his own mother or father, God desires for his children to simply believe what he says and to take him at his Word. What a comfort to be able to pray the words: Our Father in heaven!
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Recently, on a Sunday morning, we listened in to hear what John (that is, 1 John 2:15-17) had to say about worldliness. Something all of us are dying to talk about!
He bluntly says, "Do not love the world or the things in the world" (v.15a). Pretty straightforward. Why does the idea of worldliness unnerve us a little? I think, in part, because we all live in the world. And sometimes it’s hard to live in this world and not be worldly. Most of us have cell phones, houses, money (a little anyway), hobbies and eat donuts . . . just like the world does! Does that make us worldly. I think there’s another reason we get a little restless when the topic of worldliness rolls around: because we are worldly in a lot of ways and we don’t want to admit it. But does a topic like worldliness really even matter? Don’t we have bigger spiritual fish to fry? Don't things like discipleship, building projects, spiritual disciplines, marriage, parenting, lust, getting along with one another command more of my attention than worldliness? According to John, the stakes are pretty high: "…if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (v.15b). Yeah, that's serious. So what is worldliness anyway? What does it mean to "love the world." David Wells says worldliness is that "which makes sin look normal and righteousness seem strange." John Wesley said it was anything that cooled his love for Christ. Yikes. John helps explain it for us further when he says: "For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world" (v.16). Worldliness involves sinful longings that come from within (cravings), the temptations the world offers us (coveting), and our default preoccupation with ourselves (conceit). Worldliness is not always easy to spot in our lives, but that's often because we don't want to look. It cuts to the heart of our affections. When something tugs on my heart, it's usually something that will give me, at least, some sort of temporal enjoyment. But when it pulls on my heart, it draws me away from Jesus. You know, worldliness is starting to sound a bit like idolatry. Hmmm. So how do we spot it in our lives? Does this mean we need to stop enjoying, watching, eating, playing, or driving anything that is not explicitly "Christian" (whatever that is)? I don't think so. Here are some questions to identify if I might be in love with the world:
But those things might just be exactly what you need to do. O God, give us patience when those who are wicked hurt us. O how impatient and angry we are when we think ourselves unjustly slandered, reviled and hurt! Christ suffers blows upon his cheek, the innocent for the guilty; yet we may not abide one rough word for his sake. O Lord, grant us virtue and patience, power and strength, that we may take all adversity with goodwill, and with a gentle mind overcome it. And if necessity and thy honour require us to speak, grant that we may do so with meekness and patience, that they truth and thy glory may be defended, and our patience and steadfast continuance perceived.
-Miles Coverdale (1488-1569) Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24, ESV)
Marriage is precious because it was God's idea. It's important to Him because it is a rough sketch of the unity which exists within the Godhead. It is mysterious because husbands' love for their wives should mirror Christ's love for the church. I am so thankful for the gift of marriage and for my lovely wife. I listened to a marvelous sermon on marriage this week by Denny Burk. If you have the time, it's well worth a listen. He closed the sermon with a beautiful poem he wrote to his wife on their third anniversary. I realize that not everyone will marry, but most will. By God's grace, may we press through the good times and the bad and hold our sacred vows for His glory. The old man took her tired hand to hold for one last time. The years had fin’lly pressed her to her final breaths of life. Their wrinkled hands in warm embrace brought back the long-gone years, The memories of their happy times, and those dissolved in tears. The old man saw in her ill frame the girl that stole his heart. He saw in her that gracious gaze that filled their home with warmth. His mind turned back to lighter days when she did make her mark, The children her love reared for them, Her single heart for God. He also felt the weight of grace that marked her many years, How she had borne him patiently when he did cause the tears. The old man said, “My love, the time was cruelly short to me. I cannot say goodbye to you and let your passing be.” “How can I ever say farewell or ever let you part? You are my only precious thing, the joy of my old heart.” And as his eyes began to well, she reached to touch his face. And then her quivering voice began to give one final grace. “This is the day the Lord has made, The one He’s brought to pass. This day was written in His book before my first was past.” “The Lord has granted us to spend together all these years. He’s also granted all the joy and even all our tears.” “And though this is a bitter day, we owe Him so much thanks. Dear, we made it! By Him we did! Yes, we made it! By grace!” ________________________ Oh Father, grant that we may see our days as at their end. Oh let us know the weight of grace in every year we spend. We make this prayer unto You, for there is no one higher. This testimony of Your grace we desperately desire! From http://jimhamilton.info/2012/06/03/the-best-sermon-ive-ever-heard-on-marriage/ O THOU GIVING GOD,
My heart is drawn out in thankfulness to thee, for thy amazing grace and condescension to me in influences and assistances of thy Spirit, for special help in prayer, for the sweetness of Christian service, for the thoughts of arriving in heaven, for always sending me needful supplies, for raising me to new life when I am like one dead. I want not the favour of man to lean upon for thy favour is infinitely better. Thou art eternal wisdom in dispensations towards me; and it matters not when, nor where, nor how I serve thee, nor what trials I am exercised with, if I might but be prepared for thy work and will. No poor creature stands in need of divine grace more than I do, And yet none abuses it more than I have done, and still do. How heartless and dull I am! Humble me in the dust for not loving thee more. Every time I exercise any grace renewedly I am renewedly indebted to thee, the God of all grace, for special assistance. I cannot boast when I think how dependent I am upon thee for the being and every act of grace; I never do anything else but depart from thee, and if ever I get to heaven it will be because thou willest it, and for no reason beside. I love, as a feeble, afflicted, despised creature, to cast myself on thy infinite grace and goodness, hoping for no happiness but from thee; Give me special grace to fit me for special services, and keep me calm and resigned at all times, humble, solemn, mortified, and conformed to thy will. -The Valley of Vision Grant us, O Lord, to know that which is worth knowing,
to love that which is worth loving, to praise that which can bear with praise, to hate what in thy sight is unworthy, to prize what to thee is precious, and, above all, to search out and to do what is well-pleasing unto thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. -Thomas A Kempis A short while ago, I came across this post by David Powlison:
Dear friend, What words can I say to you when your life is hard and you are hurting? If we were face to face, I probably wouldn’t start with words at all. I would want you to talk when you are able. I want to know you, what you are going through, what it is like for you, and how you are doing. Simply being present and conveying that tears, heartache, and confusion are valid would probably be more helpful. Many wise Christians have commented that Job’s counselors did well until they opened their mouths (Job 2:11-13), and I certainly don’t think there is some magic word that will make everything better. But when it comes time to say something, I might say this: Jesus is a most sympathetic friend, fellow sufferer, and Savior. He has walked a hard road. He has felt his own anguish and crushing pain (Isaiah 53). He understands. He is compassionate toward you. By the comfort of his presence and sympathy, he intends to draw you out and draw you to Himself. I encourage you to go to him and speak to him. There is something about our ability to find words to express what we’re experiencing that makes a genuine difference. A wise Christian of many centuries ago said, “To open one’s heart to one’s friend—it doubles our joys and cuts our griefs in half.” I have found this to be true. Sharing a joy really does double the joy. And of course, sharing heartache never takes it all away — but there’s something about speaking to someone who truly cares about you that soothes your wounds. You are not alone. The psalms, which are so full of heartache and so full of faith, often start with simply giving voice to the experience of suffering. As they do, it’s significant to notice that they don’t simply cry out in a scream of pain. They cry out to God who hears, who cares, who draws near, who helps. We can speak to our God. May you cry out to our God. He calls you his friend. He deeply cares for you. He is your Savior. Trust Him. He has walked down this road before you. He promises to walk with you in this. And I might say one more thing. Suffering must be walked through one step at a time. Be honest. Don’t take any shortcuts. Let each day’s trouble be sufficient for that day. Seek your Father. If you seek him, you will find him. —David As the forward to this book admits, leadership books abound. Christian leadership books abound. So what makes this book unique? What does it add to the already crowded field of leadership literature?
Several things caught my attention. First, it is a theology of biblical leadership. The essays in this book focus upon what various portions of scripture have to say about leadership. Each essay focuses on a book or section of the Bible. Some chapters are very specific (e.g. Ch. 18 - A Model Leader: Leadership in Nehemiah); others are more broad (e.g. Ch. 20 - A Concept Study: Leadership in New Testament Greek). In the forward, Ronald Hawkins says, “More dangerous and disconcerting is the realization that all too frequently books on leadership that become very popular advance views on leadership that are totally antithetical to the clear teachings of scripture.” The books seeks to steer clear of that error. Second, I appreciate the sound theologians who were recruited to contribute to this work. Names like Tremper Longman, Stanley Porter, Bill Mounce, Andreas Kostenberger, Benjamin Merkle and others jump off the page. Finally, this book is geared toward pastors and ministry leaders but is not inaccessible to the layman as the chapters are relatively brief and the Greek and Hebrew are transliterated. If you are looking for a popular-level book to breeze through as you’re dozing off at night, this is not that book. But if you’d like to dig deeper into what the scriptures say about leadership, this is a solid volume to turn to. Note: This book was provided free of charge by the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. Theology is crucial for the church to rightly understand and worship God. As regularly as I can, I encourage believers to study the deep truths of God’s Word and be willing to expend the mental and spiritual energy necessary to understand Bible doctrine. Topics such as God’s sovereignty, justification or the authority of Scripture do not belong to academia along but are pertinent to a Christian’s walk with Jesus Christ.
If knowing theology is important, teaching it is as well. And that’s where Gregg Allison’s book comes it. This book, like none other that I’ve come across, succinctly summarizes 50 Christian doctrines and helps the teacher understand how to clearly communicate these truths. For a summary of Bible doctrines, I often turn to J.I. Packer’s Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs. While Allison’s work certainly won’t nudge Packer’s out of my library, I do really enjoy the layout (something Baker Books does not always do well), the teaching outline and resource recommendations provided in Allison’s volume. Each of the 50 chapters begin with a helpful summary of the doctrine followed by bullet points of the main themes and a list of scriptures supporting that topic. Each chapter is composed of three sections:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah (Psalm 46:1–3, ESV)
God's Word teaches that Jesus is a "very present help in trouble." It does not say that God is a "kind-of" help or a "far-off" help He is very present. He is here. His presence is genuine. His help is beyond powerful. How does he do this for his people?
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