Biblical Manhood- A Recent Talk

This talk is titled Biblical Manhood. I may be a bit hard-pressed to present to you what a Biblical Man looks like. The specimen is getting more and more difficult to locate and there is some concern that he may, in fact, be extinct. But I will try to describe him to you so that if you happen to see one you may notify the authorities that the report of his demise is slightly pre-mature.

In fact, I think the Biblical Man is not extinct. He is rare but he exists. I suppose he ought to be on the endangered list. If you find one, then make sure you stick close to him, take notes, learn his ways and makes sure he reproduces before we lose his particular strain of DNA. Our churches are full of progesterone but we really need the testosterone of the Biblical Man. Let us see if we can find one.

Where are the Biblical men of our day?

Men like Noah, who withstood the ridicule of the people because God had spoken and built a boat for 100 years while everyone laughed him to scorn. Noah, who was fruitful, multiplied and filled the Earth.

Men like Abraham who went out not knowing where he was going. Abraham, who pursued five kings and overthrew them all, then paid his tithes to Melchizedek, the priest of Yahweh.

Men, like Moses, who led the people out of Egypt, and in the name and Spirit of the Living God, destroyed the great giant kings Og, King of Bashan and Sihon, King of the Amorites. Moses who fell on his face before the Lord interceding for even a stubborn and rebellious people.

Men like Joshua, the son of Nun, who foresaw victory when others predicted defeat. Joshua, who was not afraid of the giants but simply saw a bigger target, knowing that his God would give him victory.

Men like David, a shepherd boy who killed a lion and a bear protecting his Father’s sheep. David, the killer of Goliath, the enemy of God. David, who soundly defeated all of God’s enemies. David, who like our Great High King, was a ruler and defender of God’s people.

Where are our Biblical men of today? Have they all become like gentle Jesus, meek and mild, an invention of the American psyche, the Jesus who is tenderly and sweetly calling? But where do we see this meek and mild Jesus in the pages of Scripture? We are told that Moses was the meekest man in the Earth and as we turn to Moses we do not find weakness and gentility but we find boldness as the herald of God, strength of word and of action. We need men like him.

And a greater prophet has arisen, one like Moses from among the brethren. He is Jesus the Son of God.

Where are men like Jesus, who even as a youth was found in the Temple doing His Father’s business? Jesus, who called the Pharisees a brood of vipers and white-washed tombs. Jesus, who drove the money changers from the Temple with a whip, overturning their tables in a righteous angry zeal. Jesus who said to Peter, Get behind me Satan! Jesus, who told the woman at the well that her live in man was not her husband. Jesus, who withstood insults, suffered ridicule, and set His face to the cross because of the joy on the other side, and perfectly accomplished the Father’s will. Where is this meek and mild Jesus? The Jesus of the Bible is a man, a man full of boldness, strength, decision, perseverance, fortitude and fearlessness. Would that we had such men as Him.

And the men He trained were also bold and strong. Through the power of the Spirit, they proclaimed the truth of Christ in the face of enemies, fearing God rather than men.

Men like bold Peter who preached the first Christian sermon, calling men to repentance, reminding them that they had crucified the Lord Jesus. Peter who preached the gospel, even to Gentiles. Where are such bold men today, men with chests, willing to stand against the tide, to preach unpopular truths, to call men everywhere to repentance?

Men like Stephen, a man full of the Spirit of God, who faced his accusers and boldly proclaimed both God’s covenant faithfulness and Israel’s stubborn rebellion. Stephen who paid the price with his own life.

Men like Paul, many times persecuted for proclaiming the truth of the gospel, the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ over all men everywhere. Paul, the aged, the chief of all sinners, who withstood the beasts at Ephesus.

A biblical man is fearless in the face of opposition because his one great fear drives him ever onward. He has learned that to Fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. He has also learned that the fear of man is always a threat to this great wisdom.

Peter learned this lesson and was forced to repent at the admonishment of St. Paul. He wilted under the pressure of the Jewish men from Jerusalem, choosing their wisdom over God’s. Paul rightly confronted Peter because He saw that the gospel of freedom in Jesus was at stake.

Men, we are not unlike Peter. We long to be the true servants of Jesus, standing fast in the midst of a crumbling Christian culture that is increasingly compromised. We are told to mind our business and to play along, to play nice. This is not only true in politics and in American Christianity but it is also true within the ever emptying shell of the Modern American Evangelical Christian culture.

We are evangelicals, the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches and The Evangelical Presbyterian Church. An evangelical emphasizes salvation by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ through personal conversion, the authority of Scripture, and the importance of preaching as contrasted with ritual.

But the authority of Scripture is under fire, and evangelicals are capitulating to the pressure of the unbelieving culture to play nice. They tell us that we should not make sharp distinctions. We should not preach an exclusive gospel of Jesus. We should not speak against the sins of homosexuality, the grotesque nature of abortion on demand, the inclusion of Muslims as the people of our God, and lately not even the scary prospect of eternity in hell for those who reject Jesus Christ.

Is it any wonder to us that our conservative politicians capitulate in all of these areas when Christ’s Church, itself, is unable to stand with Jesus and the Bible on such topics? Our politicians are simply a mirror into the soul of the Church. If you do not like what you see in them, you must realize that what we see in them is us.

We need to stop worrying so much about what is going on in Washington Monday through Friday and focus on what is going on in our own churches on Sunday morning.
Once we get a critical mass of Biblical men back in our churches, then we can have some hope for Biblical men in the corridors of power. Until we do this, our fight in Washington will continue to look exactly like what it is, a losing battle.

The crumbling authority of the Scripture has been accompanied by an ever increasing incursion of the world into the Church. We now worship in multi-purpose facilities rather than churches. Our music, dress, and speech has become worldly in an attempt to win the world. This is justified by a weak appeal to Scripture, ‘I have become all things to all men.’ A more accurate version would be “when in Rome, do as the Romans”, and we look more and more like them.

God calls the world to the Church. He does not call the church to the world. We are told to go out into the world and make them disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Triune God and then bring them into a holy church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, the bride of Christ. But, instead, we invite them in to the church on their own terms to a Church that looks just like their computer screens, pulsing out sounds and images of entertainment that do not fully transform the person into Christlikeness.

I am thankful that you and I are here to push back. We have been pushed and are being pushed. As your church grows and even as it has success in bringing in new members or gaining new converts, the pressure will mount. ‘Do not be so dogmatic. Do not be judgmental. Do not be so exclusive. Do not be intolerant.’

But God calls us to dogmatism. Judgment begins in the household of God. Jesus is the only way to the Father and God hates sin and stands against those who will not submit to the Lordship of Christ.

Jesus is in heaven, ruling heaven and Earth at the right hand of the Father and all men, everywhere, will submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Jesus, and you and me, have real enemies, those who hate God, His Son and His Spirit. We call upon God to rise up and defend us and we are to stand and fight with Him until every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Naughty Tongue

Wisdom from Proverbs

Proverbs 17 has a general theme about those who cause strife and division and those who follow peace and wisdom. There is much here for maintaining peace in a home but also in a particular congregation.

Consider v. 4, a wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.

We tend to condemn the one of false lips. He ought not to be speaking things that are untrue. Thus, also with the one of a naughty tongue, stirring up strife in the brotherhood. But who is this warning to? It is to the one who listens to false lips. If you listen to and give heed to false lips, the Bible calls you an a wicked doer! Beware what you listen to!

The Bible also condemns you if you are one who likes to hear questionable bits of information about your neighbors. If you do not like to gossip so much but you do like to listen to the local gossip, that one lady in your church who just cannot resist telling all the latest scandalous news, the Bible calls YOU a liar!

Do not give false lips and gossip an ear to sound off. They corrupt not only the speaker but the hearer, too. In fact, the fact that you want to hear such things shows that the corruption has already found a place in your heart. Confess. Repent. Turn away the person of a false and naughty tongue.

The Fine Art of Preaching- Blackwood

"The preacher's aim should be to guide the hearer to the place where he will see a certain truth and perform a certain duty."

Preaching truth without application falls short. "Yes, I see the Bible declares that truth, now tell me what to do about it."

Preaching application without truth undermines one's authority. "I hear what you are telling me to do but why must I do so?"

Some preachers assume the Holy Spirit will automatically make application without him having to take the effort. Not so, nor is such a man a true preacher.

Some preachers assume they can simply proclaim the truths they have accumulated for themselves, oftentimes even from the Scriptures, without grounding these truths in specific texts. But a thoughtful congregation will want to hear, "Thus saith the Lord" before he commits to submit to such application.

True Authority

Another good quote from The Black Swan.

"We no longer believe in Papal infallibility; we seem to believe in the infallibility of the Nobel, though."

I would want to take a Protestant twist on this. I do not believe in the infallibility of the Pope, either, but I do believe in the infallibility of the Bible. And I would further say that the infallibility of the Bible enables me to take great courage over the presumed authority of the Nobel, whether in Science, Literature or any other discipline.

I am still of the opinion that the Queen of the Sciences is Theology. All disciplines must bow to her.

Madness

In the book Black Swan by Nassim Taleb, he quotes Locke on the definition of a madman as "someone reasoning correctly from erroneous premises."

This is a helpful definition for many reasons. Our standard madman "one who continues to do the same things while expecting different results" is certainly a cousin of the madman arguing well from false premises.

The latter madman continues to do this over and over, expecting his hearers to agree with him, even while he produces no new arguments and fails to realize that he, himself, is arguing in such a way that he can never be right,no matter how sound his argument.

This is why being ground in presuppositional apologetics is so vital. We often find ourselves listening to men of the world, men of science, presenting valid and beautifully crafted arguments that fail to convince us of their truth. And what is worse, many Christians then fall to the temptation to participate in these arguments, applying the false premises, in an attempt to convince the opponent.

But a man who is only willing to apply true premises is the only one that come up with the consistently correct answers. Incidentally, this is why deductive reasoning is always superior to inductive reasoning.

So, where do we start? Where are our infallible first principles, first premises? Of course, they are in the only place were we can find ultimate and infallible authority, God's Word, the Holy Bible.

There is a third madman and he is our Christian brother, "one who argues using the premises of his opponent in an attempt to convince him that he is wrong."

The Christian brother who simply borrows the unbeliever's premises for a moment to show him how quickly they devolve into absurdity is not mad. He is wise. But the Christian brother who has adopted the premises of unbelief should just as soon hit himself in the head with a hammer as assume he can convince an unbeliever of truth by using the tools of unbelief.

But how can we start with the Bible if we have to prove the Bible is true in order to convince men to believe it? That is just the point. He has first principles, too, and he makes no attempt to prove them, spontaneous creation, evolution, survival of the fittest, the good of mankind. And when you push him to prove them, he has no place to turn.

But we simply admit that our first principles are God's specific revelation to us. We start there without embarrasment or apology and we move towards man's response to God. We are willing to appeal to our authority and they are unwilling to appeal to their authority.

Let us not be like these madmen, appealing to good arguments with false premises but standing on the Word of God, let us learn to argue faithfully from true premises.

Easter Communion Meditation

Dear Saints, what a day to partake of Jesus. Do not doubt but believe. The Lord is risen and sin and death will never be the same. They are liars from the beginning like their father, the devil. But their usurped power and authority have been gutted of their boasts. Sin cannot control us now. Death cannot defeat us now. Our elder brother has arrived on the scene and the bullies of darkness have been driven to the brink of utter defeat.

We are partakers of this life, now, through the Resurrection of Jesus and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. This is grand and glorious but it is going to get even better. Jesus is the first fruits of the Resurrection. He is alive in Heaven with the Father and is no longer subject to death. One day, we, too will receive Resurrected bodies, never to die again, and then we will be able to heartily laugh at sin and death, for they will be no more.

For now, let us rejoice in hope, even the hope of the joy that is on the other side of sin, sorrow and death. Let us thank our heavenly Father for raising Jesus from the dead, for defeating the devil, sin and death and for giving us a Spiritual down payment of even better things to come.

Jesus was dead but is now alive. Let us eat in His honor.

Easter Exhortation

What a great and glorious day! The Lord is risen, indeed! On this joyous day it is almost difficult for us to abase ourselves and confess our sins so great is our joy. The gloom of the dark Friday and Saturday is over and we come into His presence with singing and great joy. But we must also remember that the Lord Jesus died for sinners and rose again to bring them to life.

Our great sin this day would be failing to believe that the Lord Jesus is really alive and that we are really alive in Him. Do not be subject again to the ordinances of men that have no power to overcome the flesh. Rather, walk in the new life and power of Jesus Christ.

Are you overcome? Are you sad? Are you defeated? Are you gloomy? Are you of ill health? Are you of little hope? Are you weak of faith?

Our Lord suffered for all of these frailties and He rose to give you victory over them all. Be not unbelieving but peer into the empty tomb and believe.

Good Friday Homily

Homily-This Friday is Good

We have come to Friday before Easter, the remembrance of the night of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus. The long penitential season is drawing to a close, winter has passed, Spring has arrived, and we find ourselves, weak and weary before the Lord.

But, just when we are in our greatest need of relief, we find the greatest barrier. Just when we need to hear that we are forgiven, we are reminded of our complicity with the death of the Lord Jesus. Just when we need to be absolved from our sins, we see them loom menacingly before us in the aspect of a great Roman cross. And our Lord Jesus, who we need to save us, is suffering and dying before us. What are we to do?

We have made it to the day we call Good Friday but there seems to be nothing good in it, except, perhaps, for the fact that it is one day closer to Easter. We want to hurry past this day, past Saturday, and emerge in the victory of Easter, that really Good day. This Friday does not seem so good after all, so why call it good?

These are all very good questions. We find ourselves wondering what could possibly be good about a horrendous murder. What could be good about the rejection of the Son of man? What could be good about suffering, misunderstanding, rejection, betrayal, desertion, fear, despair? We come to this day to call it good but we find ourselves with grief and shame weighed down.

But the day really is good. Hear what the scriptures say.
2 Cor 5:14-15 14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Why is this day good? It is good because not only has Jesus died but you have died. It is good because you are dead with Jesus on the cross. But, we protest, how can it be good that we are dead with our Lord?

Hear the Word of the Lord, again.
Col 2:13-15 13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

This day is good because when Christ died, we died with Him. He died to sin and we died to sin with Him. And that means that sin no longer holds us. All the sins that we were guilty of have also been nailed to the cross with Jesus. The guilty verdict against us was nailed to the cross with Christ.

We tend to look to the cross and continue in our guilt and shame. Our sins, that put him there, rise up against us, too. But that is NOT the story of the cross. Our sins do not rise up against us there. Our sins are there crucified with Christ, our sins are killed and death is killed.

We should admire the work of Jesus. Imagine the superhero stepping in for the less than deserving citizens, undergoing the wrath of his arch- enemy, all for the sake of saving a few unworthy citizens who do not really understand his calling as a superhero. They look on with admiration and thanksgiving because they know that they could not defeat the enemy. They know that they do not have the power to do so. Even if they died in the trying, the enemy would rage on.

Jesus’s work on the cross is like that. He took away the weapons of the enemy. He trampled down their usurped power and proved it on Sunday.

Instead of thinking, what a shame He had to die, we should be thinking, “Thank God one was found willing to sacrifice Himself for His people, for me, one who was an unworthy citizen.”

O, blessed Jesus! O, blessed cross! It is good that You have died and saved me. I will serve you all my days!

1 Thess 5:9-11 9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

Comfort yourselves, not just in the fact that Sunday is coming but also in the fact that Jesus died for you. This should be a comfort and not a burden. Perhaps we cannot fully see the comfort in it until Sunday but Sunday is coming. And now, knowing that Jesus rose from the dead, we can see that in the cross, in His death, He paid for our sins. So, while the cross is a solemn place, it should be one of great relief. All our debts are paid for there. All of our sins are covered there. Our forgiveness is made, there at the cross. And this being the case, we look forward to the Resurrection of our Lord and the life that He brings, having taken out the debt of sins and death on the cross.

So, let us comfort ourselves, finding peace in the blessed cross of Christ and this Friday that we call Good.

Envy Burns

Envy is almost always at the center of problems: problems among siblings, problems among employees, problems among church members. We tend to look around and see God blessing our neighbor only to have the very next thought be something like, “Why am I not blessed like that?” Then, the really crippling thought, “He doesn’t deserve such blessing.” Then, the fatal thought, “I am going to expose the fact that he does not deserve that blessing.”

You may not let yourself think these thoughts so clearly. After all, you are a Christian. You probably disguise your wicked thoughts and dress them up in some form of righteous zeal to make them decent in good company. Your envy probably looks like better theology, a better understanding of the covenant, a more knowing maturity, or even a high-minded tolerance of such simple and sinful creatures.

Please do not fool yourself. If you are anything but blessed by God’s blessing of others, then you are fighting the temptation to envy or you have already succumbed to the sin. God does not have to consult you before He blesses other people. Let Him determine who is worthy of His blessing and then bless God for it. Any other response comes from a heart that needs to be on its knees in confession.

Lent Suggestions

Lent has begun as of Wednesday. In many church traditions, Lent is an important part of the church year, leading up to Holy Week, the dark evening of Good Friday and finally the glory of Easter. It has not been our tradition to practice a great deal of religious observance of Lent. But it is certainly good for us to think about and prepare for our High Feast Day and Season of Easter. A couple of reminders are in order.

First, the spiritual disciplines are always helpful. Prayer, Bible Reading, and Worship are at the foundation of faithful Christian living. We ought to be practicing our discipline on a regular basis. Perhaps this Lenten season is a good time to develop some better habits along these lines. Be faithful and diligent in prayer. Read your Bible on a regular basis, preferably daily. Prepare for corporate Worship and attend expecting God to meet you there in the liturgy, in the sermon, in the Meal and in His saints.

Second, if you choose to purge something from your life as a means of discipline, it would be helpful if the thing you purged was actually sinful and not just delicious. Of course, it is possible to partake of delicious things in a sinful way.

Here are some suggestions of some things to do for Lent.
1. Read the entire New Testament- There are 40 days in Lent. If you read 7 chapters per day, you will read the entire New Testament during Lent. You can easily read 7 chapters in 30 minutes. That would make for a much better informed body at Providence Church and would be a great blessing to each of you.

2. Memorize a passage of Scripture with your family. Just read a few verses after dinner until you all have it down. Pick a passage that is a giant from Scripture. Heb. 11, 1. Cor 15, Rom. 8, John 1, etc.

3. Sundays are not part of Lent. Sunday is always a feast day, not a fast day. So, if you are abstaining from something, maybe something delicious, during Lent, then you should probably partake of that thing on Sunday. (unless that thing is sinful, of course-in which case, STOP all the time!)

4. Look forward to Easter. It is good to do self-examination from time to time. But I would suggest that you do so closely and seriously and especially BRIEFLY. The longer you rummage around down there in the deep recesses of your heart, the more likely you are to get discouraged. But Christ came to strengthen the weak knees and the arms that hang down. So, be honest in confession and repentance and then look away from yourself and to Christ for forgiveness and new life.

Lenten Poem

Lenten Observance

The first day of lent came and went
And all good men should flee from sin
And come to Jesus and repent.
But should the day be a season?
And if so, have you a reason?
Jesus died and rose again.
And rising thus, we live in Him.
To die with Him is all His pain
To live with Him is all our gain.
And in this season of repentance
Let us live in this new sentence.
"Redeemed, justified, and free!"
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee.

But what ought we to do for Lent?
Should we not give up some thing?
What has a hold upon your heart?
To which muse would you sing?
Would it be to love divine?
Or, is it mostly the stuff of "Mine!?
If to love you bow your knees,
Then in Christ is joy and peace.
But if "Mine!" is the god you seek
Wash in Christ from that foul reek.
And then to love in love proclaim
"Set free from death and sin and shame!"
And with the host of saints around
Rejoice in Christ our Lord, and crown.

Pray what you mean

This was my Minister's Prayer of Confession in our last worship service.

Minister Prayer of Confession- Our Father, we praise You for sending Jesus to us. Forgive us Lord if we express any disappointment in Him and His gifts to us through a lack of gratitude. Teach us to plan and anticipate the future but to learn to rest in whatsoever comes to pass. We rejoice in Your goodness to us and pray that You will enable us to see it at every twist and turn of the events in our lives.

I am challenged to see God's goodness to us and to me, in every twist and turn of the events of our lives.

Since I prayed that prayer, I crashed my car and my ribs. It was two separate incidents. All good things come in threes. What is next? Neither the car nor the ribs are too painfully damaged but painfully enough to have to respond to God's Providence. Oh, perhaps my ego and pride are damaged but that always does them good. Is God's Providence good? Is it full of joy, somehow, through the wreckage of unforeseen events? Or, more accurately, through the shadowed veil of unfortunate events? Unfortunate? Maybe God's good fortune is precisely through such events?

But God is good and He would have us see His goodness, even through expensive wrecks and stupid falls on the sledding hill. He is overseeing our lives and the seemingly unimportant and unlucky events are all part of His plan to lead us in and onto glory. We do grow from glory to glory, from day to day, from crash to crash.

Many of you have had events this last year that caused you stop and wonder if God is planning anything at all. How come you can so easily seem to interrupt and alter his plans? I'll bet He didn't see this coming? No? And if not, is that not unsettling? It unsettles me. Then I have to deal with the fact that God does know what is happening, what is necessary for me and how to turn it all to my good and to His glory. And so we honor Him and rest in His goodness and His Providence, the bitter as well as the sweet, for our good God is a consuming fire. He is our Father and is lovingly producing in us a vessel of honor, tried and purified. To God be the glory.

Original Intent- David Barton

Original Intent by David Barton is a must read for every Christian. Barton recounts numerous founding documents and cases that establish the blatantly Christian heritage of our nation. Only in recent times, mainly the last 50 or 60 years, have Americans been willing to jettison our heritage and acquiesce to the whims of liberal historical revisionists and cow tow to the activist judicial system.

This book will give renewed courage and an unapologetic apologetic for our Christian roots, the place of Christian religion in the public sphere both in the courts and in our education system, and hope that the liberal interpretation of America's past is patently refutable.

This book ought to be required reading in every law school. That is unlikely, but our Christian law schools must insist that their students know this history and are able to articulate it in the face of a culture seeking to cut the past off from the present and the future. Such a tactic is sure to bring God's ire and it appears that this has already begun.

One of the great national sins in the Scriptures is forgetting; forgetting God's blessings, forgetting to honor His name, forgetting to count on Him for the future. In recent years, our national leaders, especially in the executive and judicial branches, have self-consciously cut God off from the public sphere. Christians must once again stand for the truth that Jesus Christ is the rightful ruler of these united States of America. We must remember and repent and then take action, standing confidently on God's Word and in the public square. Perhaps God will see fit to rain down His blessings upon us anew.

Dismissed with Prejudice- Christopher Meyerhoeffer

Just finished a novel by an old acquaintance of mine from Twin Falls, Idaho. The book is Dismissed with Prejudice and the author is Christopher Meyerhoeffer.

It was Christopher's first novel and he does a good job. The book is in the John Grisham genre, a legal and criminal thriller. One of the intriguing aspects of the book for me is that it was set in Southern Idaho, where both Christopher (he was a few years older than me) and I grew up. The places and scenes are familiar.

The novel is about a long history of manipulation of the court system by two ambitious lawyers and a couple of cops willing to be bought for a price.

The main character is a civil lawyer, Nick Jelaco, with a Delta Force military background. He is capable of handling himself with his hands and his gun. His wife is murdered and his three year old daughter is abducted. The story is about his desperate attempts to find his daughter and the sordid story that unravels as he does so. The chase involves an interesting character, an enormous Sioux Indian, that Meyerhoeffer paints as a somewhat sympathetic character, even though his actions are despicable. It works. You want to hate the man but find yourself sympathetic due to the pathetic history that created such a beast.

Although I have not read many books in this genre (a few Grisham books and a few others), I appreciated Meyerhoeffer's comparative tastefulness in the book. He could have filled the pages with gory descriptions that would have made entertaining reading for many in our voyeuristic culture. He refrained and did the reader a kind service.

I got the book for Christmas (given by my brother-in-law, longtime close friend of the author's brother) and finished it today. Obviously, the story held my attention. The writing was good for a first published novel. I'd say Christopher acquitted himself quite well. There were lucid chapters and I kept turning pages. I am sure his subsequent forays will be even better.

Contest books are gone

Hey Folks,

The Slave books by MacArthur are all claimed. Thanks for participating!!

Free Books Still Available

See the post below.

Books are still available!

Communion Meditation-His name is Jesus

Jospeh called His name Jesus because He was to be the Savior of His people. At Christmas, the baby Jesus, wise men worshiping, shepherds watching and angels singing are all a part of the glory and beauty of Christmas.

But innkeepers turning out pregnant women and Herod killing the babies is part of the Christmas story, too. How could God’s good world become so wretched? Because the people worshiped and served that which is not God. They exchanged the truth for a lie and that resulted in envy and murder and every other conceivable sin.

God had the answer, though. He would come as Emmanuel and dwell with His people. He would teach them of His ways. He would die to pay for their sins. He would send the Holy Spirit to keep them from lurching back into idolatrous rebellion. God would be their champion and save His people from their sins and the death that their sins bring.

Jesus is indeed the Savior. He saves us from our sins. His perfect life and death are the means by which we gain this great salvation. Glory be to God in the highest.

Exhortation-Christmas is Coming!

Christmas is coming! It will be here on Saturday. The presents are under the tree, or will be, and the children are having a hard time restraining themselves. Anticipation is growing and everyone wonders what the morning will bring.

And then it finally happens, Christmas Eve arrives, we finally get to bed, try to sleep or try to stay awake, and then the morning finally comes. It’s Christmas, Christmas presents, Christmas breakfast and Christmas feast.

This is all wondrous and glorious and we are reluctant to even interrupt the moment with the remembrance of sin. But the glory of it all is that Jesus came to Earth to save us from our sins.

Israel had waited for the Savior for many ages past. He finally arrived and He was just the baby boy of a carpenter, so it seemed, and of a young woman with a recent questionable past. They may have been disappointed with such a Savior, not understanding how He could save them from their sins. But God revealed it all in due time.

God gives us Jesus and we must not be disappointed with Him. He is all that we need and we are to be completely satisfied with this Savior. Our hearts must be filled with gratitude for Him and we must learn to extend such gratitude into all the corners of our lives.

Slave-Free Books!

Thomas Nelson has graciously provided some free books to help promote MacArthur's new title, Slave, The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ.

I highly recommend this book.

To receive your book, answer the following question in an email to vrhurt@hotmail.com.

I only have five books to give away so the first five responders, (all five of you who read this blog!) will receive a book!

How many times does the Greek word 'doulos' appear in the New Testament?

Slave by John MacArthur

MacArthur's newest title, Slave-The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ, is a must read.

The main thesis of the book is that we ought to identify with Christ primarily as His slaves. This identification has profound implications in our relationship to the Lord as well as to sin.

The opening pages of Slave put forth a strong argument that the Greek 'doulos' should always and only be rendered as the English 'slave.' The Geneva Bible and the KJV generally render 'doulos' as 'servant'. There were perhaps compelling reasons for doing so in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was thought that 'slave' would not adequately represent ancient Roman slavery. In the late medieval world, servants, were not much better than slaves. However, in our modern vernacular, 'servant' does not carry the weight of slavery, at all. Servants are voluntary, come for their hire, are independent and so forth.

So, while our conceptions of slavery may not perfectly fit the Roman idea of slavery, it is much more akin to that idea than to the modern idea of servant.

We are, in fact, bought by Christ. We are His slaves. We have no personal rights of our own. We are not free men. Furthermore, our ownership has been transferred. We used to be slaves of sin. We had to serve that master. But now, we are slaves of Christ, having to serve Him. In this paradoxical way of thinking, the slave of sin is not free. But the slave of Christ, the slave of righteousness is the only one who is free.

This changes the meaning of many passages in the New Testament that are rendered servant. Of the 124 appearances of 'doulos' in the New Testament, the KJV translates it 'slave' only one time. The rest are servant. We must dramatically rethink our connection to Christ.

Having set this stage, MacArthur moves on to examine a great deal of Scripture in light of this change of meaning. He does this while walking through the doctrines of grace. In fact, this process creates an entirely new and refreshing way of thinking about how we relate to God as totally depraved, unconditionally chosen by Him, related to Christ by His atonement, called to Him by His powerful grace, and kept by Him until the day of redemption of our bodies.

MacArthur does not forget that the New Testament also describes us as the children of God, adopted into His family and kingdom. He does this, while also pointing out that the writers of the Epistles still regularly use the slave language, long after Jesus has raised us up from slaves to children and joint heirs. Furthermore, he gives a wide testimony of the early Church that also prolifically used slave language to describe our standing in Christ.

Many early Christians held the statement, "I am a Christian" to be nearly synonymous with the idea that "I am Christ's slave." When we think of Christ as Lord, Kyrios, we should think of Him as Master, a slave owner. So, in addition to the manifold number of times we see 'doulos', slave, in the New Testament, we also see Jesus as Lord, Kyrios, the Master. The New Testament is full of this language of Master and Slave.

If we understand ourselves as the adopted children of God, we do so, understanding also that we have been raised to that position, from the position of being abject slaves. This ought to produce in us a far greater level of gratitude to the One that is both our Savior and our Lord and Master. It is a privilege to be His slave.

This book would be an exceptional group study for discussion. I highly recommend it.

Communion Meditation- And the Government is upon His Shoulders

And the government shall be upon His shoulders. We embrace the crucified Jesus. But that is not the same thing as embracing the dead Jesus. We are not loyal to Jesus that way some people are still loyal to Elvis.

One of the glories of communion is the testimony that we give each Lord’s day. We show the Lord’s death, till He come. For the early disciples, there may have been a temptation to cover up the death of Jesus.

You serve Jesus? We saw Him crucified on Calvary.

But the correct Christian response is, “I am not ashamed of the cross of Christ.” It was necessary that He die but He is not dead.

That second part is what is hard to believe. He is not dead. But dead is dead. So, the cross becomes, to Greeks, foolishness, to Jews, a stumbling block, but to those who believe, the power of a changed life.

We are not ashamed of the death of Christ. In that death, He defeated sin and death. He conquered principalities and powers. He bought the salvation of His people. We are not holding on to some nostalgic era, dead and gone. We embrace the cross because He lives and has ascended to His throne until all dominions also recognize and believe.

And the government is upon His shoulders.

Communion Meditation- Witness

Once the Holy Spirit came in power at Pentecost, the disciples were emboldened to declare the gospel message to the world. They went out proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And everywhere they went, their message was attested to with accompanying signs. The gospel is not just a message, words on paper, but it is a message with power. In the early days of the Church, that power was miraculous, in healings, casting out demons, power over vipers. And now that the attesting miracles have ceased, the power is the power of changed lives; men and women turned from darkness to light. power to resist sin and temptation, power to stand against the world’s schemes for education, child-rearing, marriage, and power to stand in holiness in a life transformed by Jesus Christ.

We are called to be witnesses. And what we do here in this meal, testifies to the world that we are Christians and that we believe, not only in a risen Savior, who gives us victory over death, but also in a crucified savior, who died on our behalf. We do not shrink from the foolishness of the cross but embrace it because it means that we have been set free from our sins to live new lives in the risen Savior. To God be the glory forever. Amen.

Exhortation-Third Sunday of Advent

On this Third Sunday of Advent, we are still waiting. We have begun our celebrations and look forward to the festivity and the fellowship. We are thinking of presents, both giving and receiving and we are hoping to please those we give to and are reminding ourselves to be pleased with the gifts that we are given.

As we prepare for Christmas, we should be doing some soul searching of our own. What has God given us? And what have you given Him?

We all know that God has given His own dear Son. He gave Him to us as the greatest gift the world has ever known. It was a gift, the gift that saved the world, darkened in sin. For only God could take away the sins of the world. And He has done so. Amen!

But what have you given Him? Have you given Him your time? Your money? Your actions? Your words? Your hopes? Your good deeds? Your hidden sins? Your spouse? Your children? Your troubles? Your solutions?

The fact of the matter is that the Lord owns you. You are bought with a price and have become His slave. All rights are relinquished to the King of Heaven who has come to Earth to establish His kingdom here and rule His subjects.

Have you given Him the only thing that your really have to offer? Have you completely given Him yourself?

Exhortation- Second Sunday of Advent

On this Second Sunday of Advent, we have become more aware of waiting for Christmas. Waiting is something that many of us don’t do well. One way we fail is to be impatient. Our time clock is ticking at a different pace than everyone else’s. Time bothers us so people who mess with time bother us, too. We call that impatience and impatience is NOT a virtue.

But another response about time is simply not to care. You are only concerned about yourself and are oblivious to everything that is going on around you. Frankly, it doesn’t even matter to you as long as you are doing exactly what you want to be doing, right now.

Both responses are unacceptable. Impatience won’t do, nor will a selfish complacence. So, what are we to do?

We are called to wait upon the Lord. We do this with our eyes wide open, hastening for the day of good things. We prepare ourselves for His advent, ready to embrace Him and whatever He brings to us. But part of that preparation is learning to operate on the Lord’s time and not on our own time frame. We have to learn to wait, eagerly, yes, but patiently, trusting that the Lord does all things well and at just the right time.

We learn much about waiting in our own personal lives and we can apply this to waiting on the Lord. We should learn the lessons and repent and change when we fail. But God is at work in us in this as well.

Exhortation-First Sunday of Advent

Today is the first day of Advent. This time marks a period of waiting for God’s promises to come. This is a good practice. I am thankful that we all look forward to Christmas with eager anticipation. God’s people have always done so and God has always fulfilled His promises.

He promised children to Adam and Eve and a son to replace Abel after the murder by wicked Cain. He promised children to Noah’s sons. Isaac was a child of promise to an old and empty womb. Hannah believed God and He gave the barren woman a son. But Israel grew old again, not believing the promises, unable to bear true sons, a barren womb in a dwindling kingdom.

But yet some waited for the consolation of Israel and God was faithful to His promise. Elizabeth believed God and He gave her a son, the forerunner of the Lord. Mary believed and the virgin bore a Son, One who would take away the sins of God’s people.

Always, God’s people wait upon Him to fulfill His promises and He always does. The Savior has come but comes again to us every time we call upon Him to save us from our sins. He is ever faithful. Only believe.

Exhortation to Augustine Presbytery

Exhortation from the Presiding Minister
Ephesians 3:20-4:32
Lynchburg, Virginia
October 21, 2010

Gentlemen,

We have many things to discuss today. This passage gives us some insight into how these things ought to be done. The apostle has just spent three chapters climbing the theological high ground. And then that theological high ground leads to his assertions of practical Christianity. Not just doing things decently and in good order. The theological high grounds lead to the intensely practical Christian behavior of being kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Brothers, what are we doing here? We must be reminded. We are shepherds of God’s people. The reason we are here is so that we may be equipped in Christ’s Church to care for His sheep. Do not lose sight of that.

Pastor Douglas Wilson was just in Lynchburg for a debate and conference and he told us about a famous essay of G.K. Chesterton. Calls had gone out for essays to address the question, “What is wrong with the world?” There were numerous submissions and I want to read Chesterton’s short response to you. What is wrong with the World? Chesterton answers in two words. I am.

Gentlemen, the sooner we get to that answer the better we will be equipped to serve the Lord, the world and our own congregations. St. Paul understood this, St. Paul, the aged, the chief of sinners.

Brothers, I cannot speak for you but what is wrong with the world? What is wrong with husbands? What is wrong with fathers? With Pastors? With Sons? With friends? I know the answer. I am.

We have some important items on our agenda today. We are receiving churches into the CREC. This is joyous. We are to support them and keep them accountable. We have overtures that call the Presbytery to look at itself and its actions. We are considering a name change for the CREC.

Emotions and opinions run at different levels on all of these things. Some of these actions and decisions have large ramifications. Others, not so much. And we must confess our own ignorance as to whether these things are even truly important in the long view of Christ’s Kingdom. We will know in 10 or 20 or perhaps 100 or 500 years, when you are all dead and gone. Humility is in order.

But if we be humble men, and we must be, then we will be able to treat all of these things and the men that present them, as we should. We should be able to speak the truth in love. Let us show true Christian maturity in our actions and attitudes towards one another.

In closing, Let me ask you this question. What is wrong with Augustine Presbytery? I know the answer to that question. Do you?

The Seven Deadly Sins- John T. Mabray

Just finished The Seven Deadly Sins by my friend and fellow Lynchburg pastor, John T. Mabray. The book was the outgrowth of a sermon series delivered by Pastor Mabray at Rivermont EPC here in Lynchburg.

Mabray does an excellent job of exploring this classic set of sins. In doing so, he thoroughly covers the second table of the law. The writing is very good.

Pastor Mabray shows an infectious zeal for the grace of Christ. He preaches strongly against sins while exhorting the reader to the ever abundant grace of Christ both for forgiveness as well as the strength of the Holy Spirit for daily faithful living.

Each chapter has an extremely helpful list of confessions that really leaves no stone unturned and no excuses reserved for sinning against God in the areas of Pride, Envy, Anger, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony and Lust.

I think this is an excellent Biblical, Pastoral and Practical book.

You can find it here.

Well done.

Home School Commencement Address 2010

Commencement Address 2010
Elizabeth and Zachary Hurt

It is my privilege and honor to be speaking to you today. I’ve only got so many kids and so many opportunities to pontificate. My children are even conspiring against me, lumping two opportunities into one and reducing my number of captured audiences. You can thank them after the ceremony but you will still have to sit through my comments.

Bringing up children is no easy task. To do it well is harder still. This talk is not about ringing my own bell, or for trumpeting the great virtues and abilities of my lovely wife. But having demurred for a second, I do offer you the proof that we have accomplished the task that was set before us. I give you the proof, the fruit of our efforts, Elizabeth and Zachary. I commend them to you as fine examples of Christian virtue and academic excellence. At first hearing, this may seem like self-serving braggadocio. WE must be really smart. Look at our great kids!

And while we are very proud of them, bragging about ourselves is not the point at all. As I have tried to teach the members of our church, acquiring wisdom is something that is expected of all Christians and Christian parents in particular. Getting wisdom is a command from the Lord. Wisdom cries from the streets, “Come in here. I will teach you.” Wisdom is not something out there for the supper smart, the highly educated, the wonderfully advantaged. Wisdom is granted by God to all those who will seek her diligently and having found wisdom, will love her, obeying her ways.

We do have great kids. I am not afraid to say that. As parents, our greatest delight is to see our children, to see them love the Lord, to see them love books, to see them learn wisdom, to watch them grow up, and thus, to receive the fruits of our labors.

Did we expect anything less than this? No, we did not. We have received that which we hoped for. We have been given the desires of our hearts. Having got what we expected, does this make us arrogant, prideful, or even super successful? No, it does not. Remember, we have been given the desires of our heart. Given. It is a gift from God. All that we have, our marriage, our home, our children, our joy, is a gift. And these children, these good children are also a gift. Who would brag about a gift, except to laud the Giver? We did not give ourselves this gift. God gave it to us. So, our task is to thank Him, not bask in the glory of such wonder.

But how does this affect you? What is the purpose of such an address to those who hear these words? Well, wisdom cries out. Can you hear her? Wisdom wants to give you the gift. Will you take her up on it? God has given us the way to joy and to see our children walking in the blessedness of His glory. What will you do?

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not advocating a vending machine approach to God. You don’t just buy wisdom, or bribe God into keeping His promise by doing what is right. He is not obligated to be manipulated by you. Many try that route only to find great frustration in having done everything right, at least in their own minds, only to be forced to eat rotten eggs at the end of the day. How can God’s gift of wisdom be spoiled into something so rancid?

The key is faith, not works. But don’t we have to do what God told us to do in order to receive the rewards that He promised? Well, yes and no. God has made promises to you. He makes covenant with you and with your children, even to a thousand generations. He has also told you to train up your children. He has told you to bring them up in Christian nurture and admonition. So, which is it? Does God bless me because of His promises or because I train my children according to His rule. And I would want to say to you, “Yes” but there is a chicken and an egg.

The chicken came first, we all know that. And God’s Chicken is Faith. Do you believe God’s promises? Yes? How do we know? Well, if you believe Him, then you do what He tells you to do. And, having done so, you receive the promised blessings. So, is the gift then of Works? God forbid you should say such a thing. Works don’t create faith but faith works. This may sound a bit riddle-ish but it really is not that hard. If you really believe God, then you will do what He has told you to do. Granted, you will not do it perfectly but believing God includes confessing and repenting for your shortcomings and sins. He blesses those who do so.

We must believe God when it comes to raising our children. It is the central thing in giving them a Christian education. Do you love God? Do you trust in His promises? Is your home a place where trust, peace and rest are the central identifying qualities? If so, then you are already receiving the gift, the blessing of children, education, wisdom, and joy.

If not, then what is the problem? Do you need more rules? Higher expectations? A better liturgy of the school day? Are you boiling your children in their mother’s milk? Is what they ought to love a dread to them? Or is it a delight? If it is a delight, then you are accomplishing the goal of educating your children in the Lord. If it is not a delight, then you do not need to clamp down with more life straining rules. You must believe God. You must bolster your faith. You must take Him at His promises. As you do this, you will find that the rest and peace necessary to make a house a home begins to flow into or back into your household.

You cannot grasp this gift of faith. It is a gift. It must be given. But our Heavenly Father is not stingy. He gives to those who humbly ask. He gives, pressed down, shaken together, overflowing.

The bottom line in this talk, well preaching (indulge me, I’m a preacher) is that God is good. He is good and He has been very good to us.

Elizabeth and Zachary, your mother and I are very proud of you. You are young but you have accomplished a great deal. Although you are our children, we think of you as a young woman and a young man. It may be awhile before you feel comfortable with those titles, man and woman, but you have shown yourselves worthy of the honor. You have both been diligent, hard-working, self-motivated, honest, godly, cheerful, respectful, kind, gentle, patient, full of love for your God, your parents, your siblings, your church and your friends. You have already shown yourselves steadfast in the faith and I have every reason to believe that you will continue to do so. All of these things are marks of Christian maturity. God has blessed you and in doing so, He has blessed your mother and me.

You have been steady students, loving learning and learning how to learn. You seek knowledge and wisdom, acquire and maintain it. Having got this lesson, you have earned the right to be where you are today.

Where is that? It’s funny. We tend to think of commencements as endings. I suppose a good many people today even think that is what the word means. They think commencement means graduating, moving up, achieving the goal, getting to the finish line. But only a moment’s reflection makes us realize the error. As soon as we see the error, we shall commence to put it right.

Where are you? What right have your accomplishments earned you? The right to commence. You get to commence your education in earnest. You get to commence living like an adult. You commence your journey to your goals. You commence leaving our home, slowly, as you become your own person, in your own skin, on your own terms, under God’s authority. All this hard work has got you to the very wonderful place that we call the starting line. You’ve worked hard. Great! Now you are qualified to begin.

I am thankful that you are here. I have faith in God that at as He has upheld you in the past, passing on the gift of faith in Him, that you will remain ever faithful to Him. Although the world may not be ready for you, you are ready for the world. God bless you both.

Feed My Sheep- A Passionate Plea for Preaching****

Feed My Sheep- A Passionate Plea for Preaching, is a compilation of essays from various preachers. The book is published by Reformation Trust, a division of Ligonier Ministries.

The book includes essays on preaching from many prominent reformed preachers. The topics include The Primacy of Preaching by Al Mohler, Preaching to the Heart by Sinclair Ferguson, Preaching with Authority by Don Kistler, Preaching to Suffering People by John Piper, and A Reminder to Shepherds by John McArthur. There are also other essays, including chapters by RCs Sproul, Sr and Jr.

I highly recommend these essays for preachers. All the articles are excellent reminders of the purposes of preaching, before God, to the congregation and in the life of the minister.

The Day God Made- Glen Knecht****

If you want a short, concise and convincing book on the power of the Lord's Day as the Christian Sabbath, then you should read Pastor Glen Knecht's book The Day God Made. He gives a clear and sound argument for the day as continuing into the New Covenant era. Furthermore, he points out the need for the day as a day of rest, delight, worship, instruction and works of mercy.

Many of our troubles can be traced to the contempt that most Christians today show for the Lord's Day. As one day in seven that is put aside and holy, consecrated to the Lord, we have a simple way to show our allegiance to our Father in Heaven and to restore our souls for the work that He has called us to do.

The neglect of the Lord's Day is both a symptom of our spiritual emptiness as well as a cause of our further decline. We need to repent and restore the day that the Lord has given to man.

The Prodigal God- Timothy Keller****

Just finished The Prodigal God- Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Timothy Keller, pastor of Redeemer PCA Church in New York.

This was an excellent handling of the story of the two sons and the Prodigal Father. His telling of the story is very good and forces some important and very biblical paradigm changes.

God is lavish. The two brothers are both pursuing dead end courses. The Father goes out to both of them. One responds, the other rejects. While we tend to relate to the younger brother, much of the problem in our own midst and in our own churches is that we are in danger of being the older brother, the one who fails to respond to the Father. The younger brothers besetting sin is his bad deeds. The older brother's besetting sin is his good deeds. Which brother are you?

The answer is to turn to the true Elder Brother, the Lord Jesus, who fulfills His calling before the Father. He will find the profligate brother and bring him home. He will remind the cold elder brother that he must serve the Father out of love, not pursuing the self-righteousness of his own good deeds. Jesus, our true elder brother is eminently faithful. When we respond to Him in true gratitude for the great price of His serving us, we will find peace like a deep river.

Furthermore, we will be transformed by this kind of love so that our own profligate lives or our own self-righteous pride are annihilated in the deep, deep, love of Jesus. This is nothing less than walking in the New Creation, in our hearts first and in our lives and the lives around us in this world, thereafter.

Highly recommended book.

Communion Meditation- Jesus is Good

At this table, we are called to peace. Jesus has called us friends and has seated us for a special meal with Him. This should do wonders for our assurance of peace and salvation in Christ. But where does your assurance lie? I hope that no one gathered here is assured of peace and friendship with Christ based upon how well you are doing. You should not feel blessed at this table because the Lord has thought so highly of you that He invited you here.

It is not because you are so great that you are here. If you think that, then you need to be humbled. But for those of you who are weak of conscience and feel as if you are too bad to be here, there is a message of peace and hope for you. Jesus knows you. He knows what you think. He knows what you say. He knows what you do. He knows you even better than you know yourself. He knows your good deeds and He knows your many failings.

So, being at peace here is not a matter of how good you are but of how good Jesus is. He has not only invited you here. He has given you new clothes through forgiveness of sin. He has cleansed you with the fire of His Holy Spirit. He has given you a soft heart of flesh in place of a hard heart of stone. He has been very good. There is nothing that you can do to match His goodness, so your only faithful response is to simply and exuberantly give thanks.

Pluck Out Your Eyes

How do we pluck out our eyes or chop off our hands or feet? Could we even do such a thing? Why would we want to? After all, we need our eyes. We need our hands. We need our feet. But Jesus is talking about those sins that stumble you, that keep you from pressing on in obedience with Him.

We are Christians and we say that we hate sin. But the fact is, we really love some of our sins. Are you in battle against those things that keep you from adequately loving Jesus? Or have you embraced them and are you unwilling to let them go? Could you be like one of C.S. Lewis’s characters in The Great Divorce that chooses your pet sin and hell rather than choosing to repent and go to heaven? Be honest now. What keeps you from really repenting, turning away, letting go? What causes you to stumble? Is it the comfortable desire of your body? The sensual desire of your eyes? The irrational desire of accumulation?

Learn to hate every unlawful desire that competes with your love for Jesus. Turn away now, kill it, don’t look back and press on to the higher calling in Christ Jesus.

Sackett's Land- Louis L'Amour***

Stupid is as Stupid Says. Guess I didn't know any better. Like Peter, I didn't know what to say, so I spoke. Live and learn.

I just finished my first Louis L'Amour book. I think I had read a few pages in the past but never stuck with a book. I had always thought L'Amour was dime store novels of the Old American West and perhaps some of his books are just that. I should not have pronounced on a topic of which I knew little, if anything.

But I found this first of the Sackett series quite good. L'Amour is a good writer, go figure, he's only sold about 300 million books! He has obviously done a great deal of research and so there is good historical data to be gleaned from these adventure stories, as well.

I needed some true leisure reading and found this just the ticket. I am currently reading the next book in the series. It is a bit long and wordy but I am still finding it enjoyable. In my small experience with L'Amour, he likes his men to be men and in mostly the right sort of ways. I find that a welcome remedy to our effeminate minded modern culture.

The Mystery of the Lord's Supper-Robert Bruce****

The Mystery of the Lord's Supper by Robert Bruce is an excellent presentation of various aspects of the Lord's Supper.

There is a fair amount of emphasis on self-examination but it is not too introspective. He presents a good balance of simply heeding God's promises, recalling your own good experiences with God, and living in real assurance of God's goodness. While self-examination ought to occur in order that we honestly confess our sins before the Lord, there is a perverse introspection that will never see God's grace in our own fallen heart. So, we must strike a healthy and biblical balance. I think Bruce does that quite well.

The final chapter is quite good in this regard although he makes a great blunder in the end. He says that a child or a mad man cannot examine themselves, therefore they should not partake of the Lord's Supper. To which I respond, if a child or mad man is baptized and is seeking Christ, confessing sins, or not outwardly rebellious, then the Lord's Supper is just what the mad man needs to restore his sanity and what the child needs to grow in maturity.

Otherwise, though, a sound book and recommended.

Communion Meditation- Eat, Drink, Digest

We enjoy food long before it gives us nourishment.  We see it and it is a delight to the eyes. We smell it cooking and it wets the appetite.  We may even hear it, think of bacon cooking, or enjoy the texture as you peel an orange.  Finally, we taste it. We can do this with little or no nourishment. You can simply put something savory on your tongue.  Or you can chew food, receiving some of the pleasure, then spit it out, receiving little or no benefit.  In order to receive the nourishment of the food, we must take, eat, take, drink, chew, swallow, digest.   

Many people see Christ in some measure of belief.  They hear the Word of God and assent to the truth. They may taste of His benefits in the church. They may feel the love of the saints.  They may even sense the sweet aroma of the bread of God’s people.  Yet, they never really partake. They do not eat the Word of God.  It does not enter them in a meaningful or saving way, giving life and health to their body and soul.  

So, we come to this meal of thanksgiving. Let us take and eat in faith, not simply eating bread and wine, but by faith, laying hold of the Word of God, chewing on it and being transformed by its power.  Let us not simply look with approval from a distance but rather, being seated at the table of the Lord, let us be fed and nourished by His life-giving food.

Caught by My Daughter

In my sermon on Mark 9, I spent a great deal of time and preaching zeal on Mark 9:40, "for the one who is not against us is for us."

My 13 year old daughter is reading Martin Luther's The Bondage of the Will. In it, Luther lays hard claim to Matthew 12:30, "He that is not with me is against me."

What are we to make of these two sayings of Jesus?  Clearly, the statement, "He who is not against us, is for us," is a much milder statement than, "He that is not with me is against me."

The context is the key. In Mark 9, a man is casting out devils in the name of Jesus. Since it is working, we should assume that he is actually working by the power of Jesus and of the Holy Spirit.  The disciples want the man to stop because he is not expressly following or traveling with them.  Jesus says that anyone who does a miracle in his name will not then lightly speak evil of him and that the one who is not expressly against us is for us.

In Matthew, Jesus had been doing miracles, casting out demons. The Pharisees claimed that He did this work by the power of Beelzebub.  They had already declared against Jesus. In that situation, Jesus says that he who is not for us is against us.  The Pharisees had already made their position clear, they were opposed to Christ.

So, the difference in the two passages is clear. The Matthew passage is for those that have declared open hostility to Christ. The Mark passage is for those brothers and sisters that are working in the name of Jesus but are clearly not completely with us.  The former are to be rejected and judged. The latter need to be received and taught.

Things I Never Noticed in the Bible- Upgradable Blessings

Luke 6:38 38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Call me dense, I guess, I won't take much offense. I have always read this passage generally that if you are giving, the Lord will be giving.  If you are stingy, the Lord will be stingy towards you. And it does teach that and more.

With the measure you measure, the Lord will measure. It is not simply that the Lord will bless a generous man and will withhold blessing from a stingy man.  The Lord will repay you according to your level of generosity.  Do you dispense blessings with a teaspoon?  If so, when the Lord gets around to blessing you, it will be by the teaspoonful.  I suppose it will take a while to fill up your cup.

But do you dispense blessings by the cupful?  Or do you dispense them by the 5 gallon bucket? Or with a an ever renewable spring?  The Lord will repay accordingly.

What sorts of blessings? 

How about financial ones to start? Do you give? Do you tithe?  Do you give above the tithe? Do you look for new ways to be generous? Do you show hospitality?  Do you have friends, family and church members over for lunch?  Do you help others in times of need?

How about verbal blessings? Do you give sparingly?  Ever wonder why no one says anything good to you or about you? Do you compliment?  Do you encourage? Do you speak the truth in love?

God will bless you the way that you bless others. And He will use YOUR measuring cup.  Maybe you need to upgrade?

Things I Never Noticed in the Bible

New Wine

In Luke 5 Jesus tells the Pharisees that you must not sew new patches on old clothes. Also, that you must not put new wine into old wine skins. In the past, I have generally tried to understand these statements as sort of stand alone statements relating vaguely to the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant.

Of course, it does relate that way but it is not general. Jesus gives several specific examples of how it relates.

1. Jesus eats with tax-collectors and sinners Luke 5:29-32. Thus, the holiness code and the ceremonial law is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This has ramifications all over the place. The Pharisees hate this. They want an easy to follow code, not the messiness of dealing with sinners and tax collectors.

2. The importance of fasting for spiritual benefit, renewal, holiness, etc. is dramatically changed. Luke 5:33-35. Jesus fed the disciples, they ate and drank. The time for fasting when Jesus is taken away is the time of His death and perhaps also the time from the Ascension to Pentecost. I do not believe it is the time between first and second coming. Jesus is with us now in the Holy Spirit.
The Pharisees cannot point to their fasting as spiritual maturity when they always neglect the weighty elements of the law.

3. Jesus gathers food and eats on the Sabbath, Luke 6:1-5. The Pharisees' view of the Sabbath was a mess. Jesus teaches them that the Sabbath was made for man to give him life. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath and is Himself the Sabbath.

So, the new wine skins was a new way of doing things. Some of this was reformation but what Jesus really instituted was transformation. Men needed to be new and their old way of doing things, including the way that they did religion, would not work any more.

JEDfessions of a Pastor

I have been learning a few things during this process. As I mentioned last week in my exhortation, it is easy to make habits and hard to break them. I should have said, "It is easier to make new habits than it is to break old ones." That is because it is not really that easy to make habits.

In order to make a habit, one must repeat an action enough times to be able to do it automatically. Athletes and musicians know this, so they do the same actions over and over until they gain muscle memory. But athletes and musicians also know that to break a bad habit is difficult. So, when a teacher or coach points out the bad habit and the need to break it before it has long-lasting ill consequences, a battle ensues. What is that battle? While one knows that the new habit is better, trying to develop the new and better habit results in WORSE performance, not better. Change your swing and your batting average will go down before it goes up. Change your hand position and the notes will sound less clear and slower before they improve. Many musicians and athletes go back to the old way of doing things before the new habit is ever formed. They claim that the change was detrimental. But the problem was that they just did not stay with it long enough to see the improvement.

JEDfession- The new way of doing things is not habitual. The old habits were not bad but the new ones (at least the ones that I want to adopt and make permanent like praying three times a day, 30 minutes of Bible reading, resolutions of better behavior, especially speaking), are not yet formed as habits. Or, they were done at different times or in a different way. Here's the problem. Somewhere between the old habits and the new habits is total failure. Trying to form a new habit means that you are not doing the old one. Then, if you fail in the new one, you are neither doing the old nor the new one. Instead of doing one thing well or even excellent, you are failing completely. This is quite distressing and makes one think that the old way was so much better, matched my personality, or at least was not total failure.. But the main problem is simply that the new habit is not yet formed. You need a few weeks of consistent repetition to make it habitual.

Finally, I have learned that it is very difficult to deny oneself. Doing your regular habits is not self-denial. This is true, even if your regular habits appear to be very, very, disciplined. JEDish, so to speak. You may have developed good habits. Good for you. But now you are on autopilot and self-denial may even mean performing LESS admirably, as you see it (say, for a day).

While we are not ascetics, Jesus did say that if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Self-denial, in order to follow Jesus, is clearly part of the Christian calling. So, when we find ourselves in the no man's land of being in between habits, we must learn to deny ourselves and follow Christ. This will lead us not only to new habits but the RIGHT new habits.

Having failed JED at many places, perhaps you have got a glimpse into the areas that you do not really want to change and some of the areas where you really do want to change. Perhaps you can use these last 12 days to focus on one or two things, bible reading, prayer, benevolent speech, whatever important priorities you have zeroed in on, and work on making that one new good behavior habitual.

Heaven and Earth

In a previous post, I mentioned that Heaven was torn open and the Spirit descended to Earth when Jesus was baptized.

The same word is used later when Jesus is crucified and the veil of the temple is 'torn open.'

At that point, the veil is torn so that Earth can enter Heaven. We are told in Hebrews 9 that Christ has not entered into the holy place made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.

This tearing of the veil was the point at which earth tore into heaven.

The same word is used for the tearing into earth as for the tearing into heaven.

In Jesus Christ, Heaven and Earth have met.

6000 Years To Go

In my previous post, I mentioned that we should use the name Yahweh when referring to the God of the Bible. I would be just as comfortable referring to Him as the Lord, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. That makes things clear.

But should we try for Yahweh or Yahveh? Won't that just confuse things here at the end of the ages when there are so many competing voices, denominations and even religions?

Maybe.

But would it change your view of how we work through doctrinal and practical issues if we were not in the end of the ages but in the beginning of the church era?

Think about the doctrinal fights and development of the early church councils. We look back on that era as necessary to the truths that we hold dear now. They had the Scriptures but there was a great deal of wrangling about what those Scriptures taught. That wrangling rooted out heresy and developed systematic orthodoxy.

The big fights and doctrinal development were in the first 500 years. The last great doctrinal fights were about 500 years ago. We call it the Reformation. And the key point about the reformation to keep in mind is that it was driven by a commitment and understanding of Scripture. For the most part, the Reformation was about returning to the views held by Augustine some 1100 years earlier. And this looking back enabled the church to move forward in still unprecedented ways.

We now see a prolific church in nearly every corner of the globe. But we do not yet see the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Nor do we see the great promises of Isaiah's later chapters. Partially fulfilled? Yes. Filled up to all that glory? Not even close.

So, where does all this leave us? It is my contention that the New Covenant era ought to be at least twice as glorious as the Old Covenant era. There were about 4000 years of OC history. Perhaps if the New Covenant is twice as glorious, we shall see 8000 years. Also, that adds up nicely to 12,000 years!

I am not doing numerology, per see. I readily admit that this is total speculation. But what I think is clear in the Scriptures is that Jesus will reign until all His enemies are subdued beneath His feet. When that happens, then He will deliver the Kingdom to the Father. The last enemy destroyed will be death. That is the Resurrection.

Until then, Jesus is doing the work of advancing the Kingdom of God in the Earth, His will done on Earth as in Heaven.

If we have another 6000 years of this until the Lord delivers the kingdom to the Father, then I think we can take a very different view of how we reform, develop our lives together, work on doctrinal and practical problems, view doctrinal advance, work with our brothers in other denominations.

This ought not to make us lazy but it should help us to think that doing the work now will pay off for hundreds or thousands of years. That mindsight is far preferred to the one that says that it really doesn't matter how much work we do now because things are so bad we must be at the end. If we are at the end, then why work so hard?

His name is Yahweh

You may have noticed that in some of our prayers we say Yahweh instead of LORD, all caps. Why is this? The name Yahweh is somewhat foreign to us. We are much more familiar with saying God or Lord. There is nothing wrong with those terms but they are generic terms of a deity, not proper names. In a situation where we know that everyone is tracking with us, believing in the Triune God, worshipping the Father, His Son Jesus, the Spirit sent by the Father and the Son, we can use the shorthand name God, or speak of the Lord.

But we must be clear about whom we are speaking. In America, Lord is fine. God is fine. Jesus is a problem. The next time you are somewhere where they say the pledge of allegiance, try substituting the name Jesus for One Nation Under Jesus, and see how it feels and what sort of response you get. The name of the true God is much more powerful than speaking of a higher power.

So, how does Yahweh fit into all of this? It is God’s name. It is the salvation name He gave Moses to tell the Egyptians and the enslaved Israelites. We do not know exactly how to pronounce the name because the Jews, out of so-called reverence to God, refused to pronounce the name. But God had told them to pronounce it, to declare it to unbelievers and believers alike. It is my contention that the failure to pronounce God’s name is a gross and harmful disobedience.

So, why Yahweh and not Jehovah? Well, we do have the Hebrew scriptures and the best we can do with the pronunciation now is Yahweh, or perhaps Yahveh. It takes away the generic commitment to some God and places our commitment exactly where it ought to be, in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In the God of Moses and Joshua. In the Father of the Lord Jesus. His name is Yahweh.

Tearing of Heaven

Jesus was baptized and, 'when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.'

We tend to think that the goal of our lives is to somehow tear through the heavens and get to Jesus.  Much of modern evangelical Christianity touts this very thing. This Earth and this life are just jumping off points to Heaven. The real goal is to get out of here to there.

But what happened when Jesus was baptized?  The heavens were torn open and the Spirit descended. Jesus did not leave the earthly and enter into the heavenlies. Heaven came down to Earth and empowered Jesus, the man.

Ah, you say, but Jesus did go to heaven.  He left us and went there. He got out of here, after all. Yes, but not like our modern Gnostics like to think.  He did not escape the body and go to heaven. He was resurrected and took His resurrected body to heaven. Jesus is still a man.  And will return as a man and rule on the Resurrected Earth forever.

So, if we see what is going on here in a different light, it changes everything.  This life is about getting the Spirit here to Earth, bringing Heaven to Earth, recreating that Chasm that was made in Adam and bridged in the Second Adam.  Jesus has done this. The Spirit has inaugurated the New Heavens and the New Earth. They are not completely remade yet. Only that in the final  Resurrection. But they ARE new and the Spirit is the promise that one day they shall be completely new.

But even now the heavens are torn open and come to earth.

The Work of the Pastor- William Still****

This is a tremendous little book and a must read for every pastor. It is a book that ought to be read every couple of years. It is a great encouragement to those of us who have chosen to preach 'the whole counsel of God.'  He clearly asserts and articulates that this task of preaching and teaching the Word of God is the heart and soul of the ministry of the pastor.

We need reminded of this often. In a world where there is constant pressure to conform to various popular methodologies of ministry, whether they be mostly evangelistic, or largely programmatic, Still reminds us of the work that we should be doing still. That work is knowing, studying, living, preaching and teaching the Word of God.

Perhaps every minister begins his ministry believing the Word of God is sufficient for everything but not every pastor ends up there.  Time and circumstance, sinners and saints, spirits and devils all help broil up competing priorities.

A minister of Christ must maintain a one-track mind, focused on the Word of Christ. Only then can he adequately and effectively traverse all the complex paths of the life of the people of God. Let him foremost be a shepherd, one who protects the flock by the authoritative Word of Christ so that he can lead them to green pastures and feed them there.

Devil's Work

"The devil always does a deadlier work through hardened Christians than through the unconverted and gets far more diabolical pleasure from it, too."

"There is an application of the Word of God for even the most urgent contemporary situations, but if we get all hot and bothered about it, and myopically concentrate all our ministry on that, for ever moaning from our pulpits about the evils of the day, what are the hungry sheep going to feed upon the while? The devil is a master of sidetrack."


William Still, The Work of the Pastor

John Calvin

Just finished The Expository Genius of John Calvin by Steven J. Lawson.  It is one of the Long Line of Godly Men Series. 

I'd say the book is three out of four stars but mostly because it is about Calvin.  It is a decent short introduction to Calvin and his views about preaching.  It is a bit repetitive but still exalts the great saint of Geneva.

For you Calvinists who do not know much about Calvin, I highly recommend it.  Are there better books? Sure, but this one is short and you really should read something about Calvin.

And then, after you read something about Calvin, you really need to read Calvin.  He still stands as the monumental figure of the Reformation.  His commentaries are still regularly quoted by modern writers.  He was a giant among giants and any ventures into the world of Calvin pay large dividends.

I may even name a kid after him. Wait, I already did!

Trust and Obey

We cannot see and understand the world or even our own lives the way that God does. For some, this is frustrating. They have a need to understand and will not fully trust God until they do understand.  And since this level of understanding is often, perhaps even usually, withheld from them, their frustration continues or even increases.  And they make the claim that their frustration is because God has not revealed Himself clearly enough or explained what He is doing clearly enough.  When, in fact, the true reason for the frustration is a lack of trust in God.

          
 We should get this right so we can adequately raise our own children.  They often have more faith in us than we have in God.  There are many, many things that they cannot understand. What two year old understands a spanking?  Or a denial of some simple fun, television, a video game, playing with the rebellious Johnny next door?  But the child learns to simply trust and obey.  I hope our children will grow up and be able to transfer their explicit trust in us parents to their heavenly Father.  

          
But how are we doing? Do we trust Him explicitly for all the things that are going on in our lives and in the world that we do not understand?  Is He working all things for good?  

Are you willing to not know and simply to trust our Lord Christ?  With that sickness? With that shaky job? With that unknown future? With that theological conundrum?  With that unjust accusation? With that slight from your sisters?

          
Our job is to obey the Lord, turn from sin, walk according to the Holy Spirit and put our simple and explicit trust in Jesus Christ.  He is in control of the master plan. We need to rest in that great truth.

Are you resting? Or tossing and turning?

Communion Meditation- Edible Word

The Lord feeds us. His food is the Word of God. It is given for cleansing the inner man and for casting out demons of evil desire and sin. His food makes us fit for the Spiritual work of the kingdom. It is the fertilizer that prunes us so that we bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in great abundance; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The Word of God does go to the heart and purifies. It purges out the leaven of unrighteousness. It deals with sin and wickedness. It transforms us and renews us from faith to faith and glory to glory. It kills the old man but gives birth to the new.

What we hold here is not merely bread. It is the edible Word of God. Because we partake by faith, believing all of God’s promises to us in Christ, the Word of God is applied to us and sealed with us in assurance of His promises.

Just as surely as you hold that bread in your hand and eat it with these saints, has God given you the Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. Why doubt this truth? Look at the bread and remember God’s promises to you. He fulfilled them when Jesus died on the cross. How could He prove His promises more clearly than that.

So look to Christ in full assurance of faith.

Christ and the Church

The Bible tells us that marriage is an image of Christ and the Church. We tend to think of this the other way round. We think Christ and His Church is like marriage.

If we put things in proper order, we find that the Bible has much to teach us. How is a man supposed to treat his wife? Well, how did Jesus treat the Church? He served her, think of the washing of the Apostles' feet. He taught. He suffered. He died. He rose. He ascended. He rules. He watches over by His Holy Spirit. He intercedes. He promises to never leave and to make His bride perfect. He is coming again and we can trust His Word absolutely.

As we were discussing this yesterday, we gained more insight into the role of the wife, as well as the role of God's people in the church, both in leadership as well as laymen.

God's people do maintenance. They administer the work of God. They keep track of the household of faith. They prepare the sacraments. They are assistants to Christ in that role. He makes the sacraments efficacious but His ministers do the physical work.

The church worships the Trinity and the Son of God is the husband of the church, worshipped accordingly. A wife ought not to worship her husband as God. That would be disobedience to God. But she ought to reverence her husband, as Sarah did, calling her husband lord.

The Church adds to her number, preaching, teaching, making disciples in all nations. Just as the Church is saved by childbearing, so, too, is a godly woman. The Church prepares and feeds her household, admonishing unruly children, praising the faithful and obedient.

You get the idea. These are profound truths and we would do well to ponder them as we think about our roles as husbands and wives.

Lonesome Years

Lonesome Years.
Virgil Hurt
2/24/2010

Walking
I’m on my own
Without you
I’m all alone

Refrain
And where do we go from here?
To wind back the lonesome years.

Crying
Tears that roll
See me
I’m all alone

Refrain

Thinking
To start anew
It’s only me
And you

Refrain

Touching
Your hand in mine
Me and you
It’s time

And I’m glad you brought me here
To wind back the lonesome years

And I’m glad you brought me here
To wind back the lonesome years.

Things I Never Noticed in the Bible- Golden Rule Pretzel

Matthew 7:12 12Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

I am sure we have all read the golden rule many times in various forms in the Scriptures.  I suppose I have most often read it in a negative sense like this, "Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you."

This keeps us from treating other people in all sorts of ill ways. You do not want someone to slander you, so do not slander them. You do not want someone to presume on your behavior, so you do not make bad assumptions about them.

But this rule is given to us in a very positive and forceful way, "Do to them what you would have them do to you."

I believe this changes things quite a bit. Men want honor and respect but do we simply not dishonor others?  Or do we actively honor others?

We often want respect and honor from our wives. We may even tell them so. But if you have to ask it lessons the import and effectiveness of the honor or respect. 

So, how do you treat your wife the way you want to be treated? Here's the twist, the pretzel part.

You want honor and respect. From men, you get honor and respect by giving honor and respect. If you are not getting any, it is probable that you are not giving any.

With your wife, the transaction is a bit different.  You want honor and respect from her but you do not get it by giving it.  She wants love from you.  If you are not getting the respect you want and need from her, then what is the problem?  You are not giving the love. 

Incidentally, this works in the reverse order as well. If a wife wants more love, she needs to give more respect and honor. But we are talking to the men and expect them to lead their wives by example.

Finally, the last part of this verse is 'this is the law and the prophets.'  We know that all the law and prophets is contained in this simple saying, "Love thy neighbor as thyself."  That is a different version of the Golden Rule. 

And I ask, "Who is a closer neighbor than your spouse?"

Deep Exegesis- Leithart

Just finished Peter Leithart's Deep Exegesis, The Mystery of Reading Scripture.

It is an excellent book. One of my deep mysteries is how Dr. Leithart reads so many books and remembers them. Overall, this is an excellent book as one thinks about not only reading Scripture but reading in general. Leithart shows how we bring all of our past experiences and reading into the meaning of the text. The reader correctly does this and the texts themselves encourage us to read this way.

He argues that any modern reader cannot fully or even correctly understand T.S. Eliot, unless he understands or experiences Eliot's reading. Eliot read Dante who read Virgil who read Homer. So, you read Eliot one way, until you read Dante and realize your reading of Eliot was short, or weak, or even wrong. And then you read Virgil and Homer and find in them so much of Eliot, or perhaps better said, so much of them in him. And the text takes on a fuller or even a different reading.

All texts work this way and so we should not be surprised that Scripture works this way, as well. It keeps taking on new meanings for us. This is not to say that we can mold the text into any meaning we want to. To do that to Eliot would be dishonest. But we can continue to come to know texts in deeper and deeper and surprisingly comprehensive and different ways.

I wish this book was shorter. Leithart is brilliant and so many connections flow so easily from his pen it is difficult to keep them all going in the same direction. To wit, the 'accessibility' of Leithart is blocked by his own vast knowledge. I get the sense he doesn't realize that he is making tough sledding for the rest of us. He just slides merrily down the hill. This is a book that ought to be read by many far and wide but I wonder if some of it will be too obscure and difficult for some. Not sure of his target audience but these ideas would be good to condense and present in a broader context.

Then again, it might simply be my mushy skull that fails to maintain the proper forward motion.

I give the book 3 1/2 of 4 stars simply because of some of the difficulty and flow of the book. The ideas and most of the presentation are simply top notch.

You ought to read it.

Communion Meditation- Discipline

We have been talking about discipline, doing the same things over and over for the purpose of advancing in godliness. But, of course, we all know that discipline, which is good, can also be the source of thoughtlessness. In a very real way, that is one of the great purposes of discipline. Once we have a behavior as a habit, we cease to think about it.

Those of you who arise at the exact same time every day train your bodies to awake and arise at that time with little or no effort like it was before it was a habit. Many of you pray every time you eat. And if you do these things enough, you do them without thinking about them. I dare say that many people pray before they eat without praying at all. Bow the head, bat the eye, bite the burger.

The Lord’s Supper is a discipline and a good one, perhaps the very best. But in order to partake of it and receive the true benefit, it ought not to be done like a prayer before a burger that is not a prayer at all. It ought to be done like the prayer before Thanksgiving meal when everyone has been waiting, smelling and anticipating the feast all day long.

I have noticed that some of our children do not have a good sense of reverence, joy, attention and thanksgiving in this meal. We do not want that to become their habit. Do not fret on this now but work on correcting this attitude at home in your meals and in your prayers. Instruct them about the glory and import of this meal where we feed on Christ. Make sure your correction to them is towards joy and thanksgiving. Encourage and exhort them, and yourselves, to come to this meal with a true heart of joy and thanksgiving.

Discipline and Godliness

Dear brothers and sisters, we are all engaged in a life of discipline. Even our regular Lord’s Day worship is discipline. It is something we do regularly and repeatedly. Many of you are working on the Jonathan Edwards Disciplines for a season. This is well and good.

The apostles says, 1Cor. 9 24Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 25And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

So, it is good to discipline your body. If this is done for the purpose of disciplining your whole man towards godliness, you do well. But we all know many athletes that are disciplined in their particular skill who are not also disciplined to godliness. So, do not make the mistake of thinking that because you have any number of bodily disciplines, exercise or diet, or even spiritual disciplines, bible reading or even prayer, that these disciplines automatically make you godly. The disciplines should be used towards godliness but they ought not to be confused with godliness. Are you producing godly fruit?

The apostle says to Timothy, 1Tim.4:6-8 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. 7But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. 8For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

So, do your disciplines help you produce godly fruit? If not, they are of no earthly or heavenly use. Now, I do not despise disciplines whether purely physical or mental and spiritual. But we must examine the fruit thereof.

What is growing from your disciplines? Do they need pruning? Is your heart of humility and virtue being strengthened? Or are your disciplines producing a buffed and steely heart? If godly virtue and humility is not the fruit of your discipline, then repentance is the pruning needed to produce a heart of flesh.

JED- Day 1

Well, we are half a day into JED. So far, so good.

I was up early for Bible Study and prayer. My oldest son and three daughters all got up and we spent time reading the Scriptures and in prayer. It was a beautiful way to start a day.

Here are some comments that I have already received from members of our church.

One man has already made a hardy resolution.

"Resolved to do all things without a spirit of complaining. "Do all things without complaining and arguing so that you may become blameless and pure children of God, without fault, in a crooked and depraved generation." "

Another is calculating the sleep or lack thereof.

"I got up at 5:04 this morning (6 hours 15 minutes of sleep), and had a good time of reading scripture and praying before I got my wife up at 6:00 (which is her JED wake up time). I tried to reduce the size of my breakfast to have a diet of moderation... and I'm about starving now."

I am encouraged as a pastor that quite a number of people in our church have taken up the challenge to live a more godly and disciplined life. I believe it will produce godly fruit and am excited to see the result of this concentrated effort.

Even my 8 year old son wanted to get into the get up early act. I think he needs lots of sleep so was not encouraging him to get up at 5am. This morning my oldest son woke him up at 5am. I woke him up, briefly, at 6am, not really to get him up but because he wanted me to wake him. I am sure he stumbled out of bed at a much later time. And good for him. But he is going to pray with my wife three times a day and that is another beautiful outcome. God is good.