"Foolish and Dangerous"

In his preface to his book, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals ("A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry"), John Piper writes, "More and more, true Christianity is becoming what it was at the beginning: foolish and dangerous.

The Gospel and "true Christianity" is "foolish" to the world because until the Spirit of God enables blind eyes to see and corrupt hearts to desire the truth and beauty of the glorious Gospel, it remains incomprehensible (1 Cor. 1:18-23). God actually became a Man? Most people did not recognize this Man to be God-sent? He was rejected by the very rulers of His own people who knew their religious system better than anyone else? He was crucified along with other common criminals? And then He supposedly came to life again?! And His followers claim that trusting this crucified, risen-again God-Man is the ONLY way to know God or enter heaven with your sins forgiven and wiped clean, without any contribution of your own? I will endure the eternal wrath of God for my "sin" if I continue on my own way without this Jesus? ~ Scandalous! Incredulous! "Foolish"!

Those whose eyes have been opened and hearts have been changed to turn to embrace the glorious Gospel will then likewise be seen as "foolish." And therefore - for many - the "way of the Cross" will also become "dangerous". "Dangerous" because those who daily take up their crosses to follow their Master will live lives and hold values that are in stark contrast to everyone else. And as they do so - living as "the light of the world" - the world will run from the light (John 3:19-20), as the cockroaches used to do in our home in South Carolina! The result will be that some will think they are doing good by doing harm to Christians (John 16:2).

In this context, the temptation for individual Christians and churches alike will be to try to find ways to make the Gospel more attractive and less confrontational. Against this tendency we must reinforce our resolve to proclaim the scandal of the Cross. To this point Piper writes, "the center of Christianity...is the dishonorable, foolish, gruesome, and utterly glorious reality of the tortured God-Man, Jesus Christ. More and more, He must become the issue. Not a vague, comfortable, pleasant Jesus that everybody likes but the one who is a "stumbling block" to Jews and "foolishness" to Gentiles. The closer you get to what makes Christianity ghastly, the closer you get to what makes it glorious." (Emphasis added.)

Dear Christian, are you willing to endure hardship for our Captain? Are you prepared to sacrifice whatever it takes to make the glorious Gospel of our Jesus known to those for whom Christ died? You are the aroma of Jesus to the world around you - perhaps the only source of that for some. We all want to be the fragrance of eternal life, but for some we may be the stench of death! (2 Cor. 2:15-16) March into the fray today, dear friend, with your eyes on Jesus and let Him lay out the course you are to run (Heb. 12:1-3)... then run as a "fool for Jesus"!**

(**Two businessmen once approached a man walking the streets of New York wearing a sandwich board over his shoulders. They snickered in mockery as they read the front: "I'm a fool for Jesus Christ." Their sneers turned into thoughtful contemplation as they read the back: "Whose fool are you?")

Two Kinds of Sinning?

Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. (Psalm 19:12-13)

"So is a born again Christian susceptible to presumptuous sins that knowingly contradict God's will?"

That's how this interesting and thought provoking post from DG Ministries begins. And the way it should end is with some honest and diligent soul searching by every child of God.

I urge you to read the post here.

"You Put This Love In My Heart"

With all that's going on in my life right now I suppose it's time to get back to blogging a bit about some of it! Most pertinent to this post is that at present, Sue and I are preparing to adopt a 12 year old girl from NH whose mother irrevocably relinquished all parental rights last fall. We met at the beginning of February and are currently in the mode of visiting once midweek and then she spends the weekend with us. This in preparation for the newly settled move-in date of March 30! Our girl, whom I'll call KC, has been in 8 foster homes in the last 5-6 years.

So the latest very cool "God thing" is that last week we were bringing her home after our mid-week visit. I had been listening to an old CD in my car in recent days, but at the time did not have the player turned on. It had been so long since I had listened to the CD (a compilation of classic Christian songs) that I didn't really even remember what was on it. Well, about 2/3 of the way to her present foster home, I decided to put some music on. The following song was cued up (again, I didn't know!) and after only the first couple of lines KC said, "This is a really appropriate song!" And then after a few more lines, she said, "This should be OUR song!"

Without further comment I'll just post the lyrics to the song here, and I think you'll see why Sue and I got a bit choked up!

You Put This Love In My Heart

I found it hard to believe

Someone like You cared for me.
You put this love in my heart.

I tried but could not refuse,

You gave me no time to choose.

You put this love in my heart.

          I want to know where the bad feelings go

          When I'm depressed and I get down so low

          And then I see You coming to me and it's alright.

I want to tell You right now

I'm not afraid to say how

You put this love in my heart.

There are sometimes when I doubt,

But You always find me out.

You put this love in my heart.

          Cause when I see all that You've done for me

          It's hard to doubt, I just have to believe,

          Cause You followed up, provin’ all of Your love.

Well I know the loneliness I had before

Is gone now, I'll never feel it anymore.

‘Cause Your lovin’ has released me from all that's in my past.

And I know I can believe You when You say I'll never be forsaken,

Your love is gonna last.

There's so much more I should say
If I could just find a way.
You put this love in my heart.
Is all this real or a dream?
I feel so good I could scream!
You put this love in my heart.

by Keith Green, from the album, For Him Who Has Ears To Hear (Sparrow Records, 1977)

My New Master

a meditation on Romans 4 - 6 (Feb., 2011)

I’m amazed at Your mercy, enthralled by Your grace.
You’ve loved me and drawn me to gaze on Your face.
Condemned by Your righteous and holy decree,
Your Son took my place and now I am free.
With Jesus’ blood covering my guilt and my shame,
My heart is now stirred and with passion enflamed.
I’ll live for Your glory and name and renown
Until Jesus my Savior with worship is crowned.

My master, once cruel, a taskmaster grim,
Reminded me always of my guilt within.
Enslaved by my sin, I was hopeless and lost,
My death and destruction, the infinite cost.
But blind eyes were opened, You caused me to see
That Jesus in love came, my Ransom to be.
Now clothed in Your righteousness, walking in love,
I gladly surrender to Your will above.

Your mercy and kindness, no merit could earn;
Your glory, the standard of righteousness spurned.
In Jesus alone is forgiveness assured,
My standing in glory forever secured.
When guilt or despair seem to flood o’er my soul,
When even my victories others extol,
When Satan my past puts before me to see,
Then “Jesus, my Righteousness” shall be my plea.

I’m amazed at Your mercy, enthralled by Your grace.
You’ve loved me and drawn me to gaze on Your face.
Though wretched and vile, Your love set me free
To magnify Jesus, the whole world to see.
With Jesus my Life and my Joy and My All,
My once heart-of-stone is now heeding Your call.
I’ll live for Your glory and name and renown
Until Jesus with honor and worship is crowned.

A Christmas Prayer

We so enjoy this season, Lord. We thrill at the sights and sounds of Christmas. We love the glitter, the tinsel and the lights. But Father, the lights can, if we're not careful, blind us to the One True Light of Christmas. And as much as we love the Christmas carols and holiday songs, we confess that they are too capable of drowning out your gentle call to us to faithfully come and worship. And Father, we love the decorations and the wreaths and the Christmas trees... But oh how easily they can obscure that other tree of Christmas - the one that stands in the shadows of the manger - the tree of Calvary.

So God, would you persistently point us this Christmas to the manger - and then on to the Cross to recognize Your consummate gift of love. Help us look to the Babe of Bethlehem as the Light of the World; let us see Him born and laid in a humble manger, yet destined to die and be laid in a borrowed tomb – the One born King was "enthroned" on a cross! All because of His great love for us! And Lord, let us do more than just sing songs that tell the story; let us come and joyfully, triumphantly worship.

"I praise You 24/7!!!" - Oh really?!

Reading the first line you might be encouraged. "I praise You 24/7!!!!..." So Tweeted Steve Johnson, the Buffalo Bills wide receiver who dropped what would have been the game winning touchdown pass in overtime of last Sunday's game against the Steelers. He was wide open in the end zone and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick did what he needed to do and laid the ball right into his hands.

Now I don't know if Johnson claims to be a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, but one might have read that and thought he would continue along the lines of, "...And I continue to praise You. My identity and security do not come from my profession as a football player. I dropped the ball and let my teammates down, but You never drop me..." That would have been awesome. But instead, here's the full edition of Johnson's Tweet:

"I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO...,"

I'm taking the time to briefly blog about this because it bears on at least two very important issues. First and foremost, it has to do with taking responsibility for our actions. May we all learn from this negative example to not pass the blame for our failures - both our sinful actions, but also our honest mistakes & shortcomings - onto someone else, least of all God! Whether it's sinful behavior that is exposed or failing to fulfill a responsibility that affects others on our team (at work or play), may we be quick to admit, "It's on my shoulders alone."

The second of the obvious issues this raises is how we see God and the reason why we follow Him. Do we really believe the cliche, overused and yet true, "God is good all the time"? Or is God only good when He's good... to me? And then, do I follow Him because He's good to me? ...because of His (material) blessings He bestows? Or do I follow Him because He is God, worthy of my praise, adoration, and obedience, regardless of what I may (or may not) receive from His hand?

Steve Johnson begins saying he praises God "24/7," and yet by his comments reveals that he knows nothing of the nature of true praise. Justifying himself by his own righteousness and then castigating God is in fact blasphemy. A far cry from praise.

There's so much more that I want to say about this, but I don't have time. I need to take responsibility for my work and get to it!

Soli Deo gloria!

Broken Crystal

It may be the statement from Robert Schuller that comes the closest to the truth:  "No church has a money problem; churches only have idea problems." (From his 1986 book, "Your Church Has a Fantastic Future".) And in the wake of the Crystal Cathedral's filing for bankruptcy last month (with well over $50 million in debt to its creditors!), it may also be his most ironic statement, let alone prophetic.

Any good start that he may have had (he was ordained in the Reformed Church in America), was quickly torpedoed, indicated with this comment from his autobiography in 2001, "My Journey":  I realized that every sermon I preached (whether formally from the pulpit, or casually at the coffee shop) should be designed, not to 'teach' or 'convert' people, but rather to encourage them, to give them a lift. I decided to adopt the spirit, style, strategy, and substance of a 'therapist' in the pulpit.

There's an old gag about preaching that actually contains a lot of truth, which, if Schuller had taken to heart may have steered him in a better, more God-honoring direction. The joke is that the role of the preacher is "to afflict the comfortable, and comfort the afflicted." As it is, it seems to me that Schuller's own words condemn him, as they seem to very much echo Paul's warning to Timothy:  For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (1 Tim. 4:3)

I agree whole-heartedly with Al Mohler on this issue who assesses the situation this way: The most significant problem at the Crystal Cathedral is not financial, but theological. The issue is not money, but this ministry's message. The "gospel of success" is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ, therapy is no substitute for theology, and "Possibility Thinking" is not the message of the Bible. (See http://twe.ly/uHl)

We can only pray that the leadership of the Crystal Cathedral will repent of its errors, and correct its "idea problems." God may yet redeem the situation for His greater glory.

My Singular Passion

While I know that one's heart is deceitful, even to the point that we cannot even be fully confident of our own motives (Jeremiah 17:9), I believe I can honestly say that in my sanest moments my following paraphrase of Paul's passion reflects my own passionate pursuit...

All my past accomplishments, present credentials, future ambitions - all the things I once thought were so important and significant in my life are as nothing to me when compared to the far-surpassing, greater value of knowing Jesus Christ. In fact, I will even abandon them altogether if they keep me in any way from embracing Christ and being embraced by Him. Whether I experience His resurrection power, or become a partner with Him in His suffering, I want to know Him!

This will be my constant pursuit. I have not yet arrived, and I will at times stumble, but my gaze is set on my glorious Savior. I am determined to press forward through any obstacle and renounce any distracting pleasure, reaching out to Christ who first took the initiative to reach out to me with His love mercy and grace. I will extol the supremacy of His power, the sufficiency of His presence, and the satisfaction of His Person alone. I have a singular pursuit. My vision is clear. I've burned my bridges. There's no turning back. This is what I was made for and I will continue to run the race God has set before me until I cross the finish line and enter His glorious presence and hear His welcome. Until then, I will make much of Jesus, for His glory is my delight. (Personal paraphrase of Philippians 3:7-16)

And now, dear reader, I urge you with Paul's next words in verse 17, "...join in following my example". (See also 1 Cor. 11:1.)

"Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" - Amazing video!

The Endowment for Human Development, rooted in promoting the science of health from prenatal development through all of life, and not a pro-life organization, has inadvertently provided the pro-life cause tremendous support with its research and phenomenal imagery.

Take a look at just one of the many, many samples! (Then check out their web site at www.ehd.org)...

T4G Quotables

I attended the T4G ("Together for the Gospel") conference in Louisville, KY this week. It was, as I anticipated, truly exceptional. I encourage you to check out the T4G resource page to listen to or watch the messages, all FREE. (Audio is available for download.) Go to:  http://www.t4g.org/resources/

One of the things I've decided is that for any future conferences I deem of enough value to expend the time, energy, and money to attend, I want to (if possible) plan into the time and travel an extra day to linger on in order to reflect, pray, assimilate, and plan some concrete action steps based on what God taught me. It is just so hard to do any of that when you immediately leave and then return to hit the ground running in ministry again.

So anyway, having said that, I wanted to quickly get some key points and quotes down here... both for some of my own review and reflection and to also share with any who may happen by my blog.

Please note that the following are not necessarily quotes (yet). They are close, but taken from my notes I took on the fly. Perhaps I'll come back and edit this blog after I review the messages again and get more accurate quotes. So bear all this in mind as you reflect on the following "[near] quotables" from T4G 2010...

Mark Dever - Message: "The Church is the Gospel Made Visible"

• You can "lose the Gospel" by failing to proclaim it in its purity; but you can also lose it (for your community) by failing to have it lived out and manifest in the congregation.
• Our lives are to make clear what God is like.
• Our culture treats casualness as the epitome of intimacy.
• When exercised appropriately, authority creates a thirst in others.
• What kind of Gospel is your church making visible?

Al Mohler - Message: "How Does It Happen? Trajectories Toward An Adjusted Gospel"

• The Cross is beautiful but it isn't pretty.
• We'd rather think of ourselves as "sick" than "evil".

Thabiti Anyabwile - Message: "Fine-sounding Arguments - How Wrongly 'Engaging the Culture' Adjusts the Gospel

• Some strategies can sound so right, but in reality be wrong and lead to mission-drift and adjust the Gospel.
• (Definitely NOT a quote...) We need to make the culture in the church the alternative to the culture at large.
• The church is multi-ethnic, but it is not multi-cultural; it is mono-cultural! (Chew on that one for a while. You'll have to hear/see the message to get the context and support for that comment! ~ Thabiti, by the way, is a black man!)

John MacArthur - Message: "The Theology of Sleep" (In my opinion, a very poorly titled message, though I understand what he meant. It really had nothing to do with sleep!)

• ...the Good News is not miracles, free food, (etc.)... It is the Cross!
• Usefulness in evangelism is directly proportional to the seed sown and leads to eternal reward.

C. J. Mahaney - Message: "Expository Faithfulness"

• Others may be able to witness better to the Gospel, but no one can witness to a better Gospel!

Josh Harris - Message: "Dug Down Deep: Helping Others Build Their Lives on Christ-centered Doctrine"

• Jesus loves to save religious hypocrites.
• "Truth" and "devotion to Jesus" are not two separate things!
• The issue is not whether you know doctrine; it's whether you are doing it!