The Gospel of Everyday Life

Ray Ortlund writes at his blog:

Today we fight against materialism, especially the so-called Prosperity Gospel.  But there is also the danger of asceticism, the super-spirituality that denies the goodness of God in all things.  An almost endearingly absurd instance was Simeon the Stylite (c. 390-459), who lived in austerity for 36 years on top of a pillar, elevated above ordinary life.  This “holiness” is attractive, in a way.  It’s serious.  But it’s also fraudulent.  It tells an audacious lie about God and about us.

The truth is, everything created by God is good and is to be received by us gratefully.  This beautiful truth includes marriage and sex and food and mowing the lawn and flying a kite and paying the bills and sharpening a pencil and sitting on the porch in the evening and playing Monopoly with the kids and laughing at hilarious jokes and setting up chairs at church, and so forth.  There is so much divine goodness all around.  To push it away, to be above it, would insult our gracious Creator.

Our very earthly human existence is where true holiness can thrive.  How?  By thanking the Lord for it moment by moment, and by applying the word of God to it moment by moment.  It is written, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

Not ultimate, but good.  Good enough for God.  Good enough for us too.

Mark Driscoll, Joshua Harris, and Francis Chan Dig Deep

What's Next for Francis Chan? Conversation with Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

HT: Pure Church

Francis Chan on Half-Hearted Devotion to Christ

Read Your Bible As Though You've Never Heard of God Before

Tonight I had the opportunity to listen to the sermons Francis Chan shared on the topic of Faith and Family over at Focus on the Family.  Click here to listen, you'll be glad you did.  In one of the sermons he something on the side that is so important, I think, for the church today to hear.  He said: 

"Read (the Scriptures) simply.  Read them like you would if you were on an island by yourself and had never heard about God before.  ... what would be your natural conclusion if the American church world hadn't given you your theology.  What conclusions would you come to?"

I really dig what he's saying here.  It's a simple idea, which is the point.  We often come to the Bible with an attitude that we already have it all figured out.  Especially in Reformed circles, where an intellectual Christianity is fashionable,  everything about God is presumed to be known and neatly organized into predefined categories offered by the American church, i.e. T.U.L.I.P.

I think it would do us a great amount of good to step away for our American, intellectualized conceptions of who God is, and read His word like it's our first time ever hearing about God, allowing the Holy Spirit (not tradition or social influences) to guide us to our conclusions.  We might be surprised to learn that we don't know as much about God as we think we do.  We might even learn something new.

Stethoscope: What's Living in Your Heart?

It Is About You!

"And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'" - Matthew 3:16-17

Rick Warren's now famous book, The Purpose Driven Life, begins with the words, "It's not about you."  I'm not here to say that Rick Warren has lied to anyone, but he is wrong.  It's all about you and the verses above prove it!  Because of Jesus, Matthew 3:16-17 is all about you!  Jesus died because of you, and because He did, the favor that was upon Him, is now upon you.  And now, God the Father looks at you and says, "This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased."  "This is my beloved daughter, with whom I am well pleased."  This is my beloved child, for whom I forsake my own Son, and with whom I am well pleased. 

It is about you.  It's all about you.  Everything Jesus did was because of you.  God's divine plans have you in mind.  He longs for you.  He desires a relationship with you.  He loves you.  He turned His back on His own Son for you.  And now, because of Jesus, He favors you.  His favor, God's favor, if you are one of His children, is upon you!  It's unbelievable.

It's not because of you, but it is all about you! 

Stuff Christians Like: Being Jerks Online

Jonathan Acuff, the man behind the popular site Stuff Christians Like and author of a book with the same title, wrote this week for CNN about why Christians sometimes act like jerks online (I have to admit, I find myself guilty of this from time to time). He cites debates over beer and Bono as examples that draw out the worst in Christians on the Web. Acuff rightly observes that Christians fail to live up to their namesake with the name-calling so commonplace in online forums.

Much like “Christian hate mail,” being a “Jerk Christian” defies logic. We serve a loving God. We follow a Christ who very plainly told us what to do. In Matthew 22 someone asks Jesus, “What is the most important commandment?” The answer is simple:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Acuff suggests two reasons Christians are tempted to act this way. First, anonymity allows us to hide behind our computer screens and offer harsh words without seeing their effect. Even if kind and loving in person, we may morph into jerks online. Second, when faced with life-long challenges like learning to love our neighbors, Christians may find it easier to sweat the small things. We lose all sense of proportion and our cool.

Any of us who write and read on the Internet can attest to Acuff’s observation about the tone of much Christian debate online. I have no reason to think Christians are actually worse than others on the Web. Visit a political blog or even your local newspaper’s site, and you’ll see some pretty nasty stuff. Yet we have a different standard, a higher calling, and a better example to follow in Jesus Christ. To be sure, Jesus spoke with utmost clarify and color when opposing the Pharisees. Defending the faith requires vigilance. But it also requires trust in God that we don’t have to be jerks in order to make our points.

HT: GC

The Responsiblity of Parents Toward Their Children

The Bible consistently and explicitly lays upon parents the primary responsibility for teaching and modeling God's truths to children. It is crucial that there be a clear understanding of the primary role parents have in the training of children, so that the biblical responsibility given to parents is not ignored and laid on the church.

The most striking thing is that parents are constantly charged with the primary responsibility for the training of their children. The great command of the Bible is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5; see also Matthew 22:37). These words “shall be on your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:6). Then Moses tells us, “and you shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:7; see also Deuteronomy 11:18-21).

There are at least two implications from these verses. First, Moses teaches adults the Word of God, and the adults are then expected to pass it on to their children. Second, adults will only be effective teachers if these words are “on their heart.” If these words are on their hearts, adults will be able to teach their children in every situation of life, whether they are sitting, walking, or lying down. This point is utterly crucial. What parents end up teaching children is what they (parents) treasure and love. If they love God with all their hearts, they will seek to instill that love to their children in every situation which arises. Therefore, the most important thing the church can do for children is to trumpet a vision of God and nurture adults in the wisdom of the Scriptures.

But then, the question must be asked of parents, "Parents, what's on your heart?"  What are your actions, habits, and priorities teaching your children?  Does the way you live your life lead your children to an understanding of what it means to pick up your cross daily and deny your-self?  Does your life tell your children that God is everything to you?  Or does your life say to your children that God is an afterthought - He's who you go to when you have time?  Maybe it's time that you ask yourself, "Could it be that I'm more SELF-conscious than God-conscious?"

Or better yet, maybe it's time for church leaders to start asking that question to the members of their own congregations.  The church does a great disservice to families when they don't call out parents, in a loving way, about the way they're living their lives.  It's a sad fact that the church today fears offending people more than anything, and so church leaders make excuses for parents like, "They would come to Sunday School, but they're really busy" or "They used to serve, but they're going through a lot right now."  Both statements may be true, but if those patterns go on year after year, then maybe it's not a busyness issue, maybe it's a spiritual issue.  Churches all over the country are sending people to Hell with a smile and a cup of coffee simply because the leaders don't want to offend anyone - and that may be greatest offense of all.

Parents search your hearts.  Evaluate your lives.  Try to discern what lessons you are implicitly teaching your children each and everyday by the choices you make and the words you use.  Strive to live for Christ.  Teach your children the gospel not only from God's Word, but also from the way you live.  And make no mistake, your children are watching you.  Be a model of Christ's love to them.  Take up your cross in your home daily, deny your SELF, and lead your kids to Christ.

Are Young Evangelicals Inconsistent on Abortion?

Mark Driscoll and Randy Alcorn recently sat down for an interview (click on image above to view the interview), in which they discussed, among other issues, whether or not young evangelicals are inconsistent on the issue of abortion when they vote for or support political candidates who are pro-choice.  They say that we are, and I agree, but it seems unfair to add the word "young" to their question.  Evangelicals have been inconsistent on abortion for several decades, starting in the 1960s and the Baby Boomer generation (like so much of our cultural decay).

I think I understand why they inserted "young evangelicals" into the discussion: (1) young, reformed evangelicals are the primary audience here and (2) they are the ones in the position to turn away from this inconsistency.  Abortion, gay marriage, the decline of the family, promiscuity, etc., that is the legacy that Baby Boomers have left us in this country.  This fact shouldn't be pushed aside.  Baby Boomers ought to be held up as an example of a generation that has, as a group, lived wasted lives - and they ought to be the first to tell the younger generations, "Don't follow our lead."

But the origin of the inconsistency isn't of primary importance.  What is important is that, as Boomers lose political power, we recognize that it's our moral imperative is to turn from the folly and sin that has all but ruined our culture, and strive for, at the very least, consistency, including in the voting booth.  Where they spoke of the value of life and either did nothing or acted with inconsistency, we (the younger generations) need to speak and act Biblically in order to bring about cultural change.  Those in power now are counting on us to carry on their bankrupt, life-stealing legacy, so the question before us is, "Will we?"

HT: The Resurgence

The Gospel is NOT about Behavior

Many grow up hearing from their pastors, "Christians behave this way, and they don't behave that way."  That's not the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It's a false gospel.  Recently Matt Chandler, at the Southern Baptist Convention, was bold enough to preach the gospel to a bunch of pastors, arguing that we all, including pastors, need to be reminded of the gospel of Jesus.  It's great to see Matt at full strength again.  Amen!

HT: Dwell Deep

Discerning Bad Pastors

Ezekiel 34:1-12: The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. 6 My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

Beware if your pastor ...

1. Is overly concerned about remuneration and his own life style instead of his preaching (Ezekiel 34:2).
2. Hurts more people than he helps (Ezekiel 34:2).
3. Drives away people instead of gathering them (Ezekiel 34:4).
4. Has a leadership style marked with cruelty and force (Ezekiel 34:4).
5. Decides not to give pastoral counseling and get involved in correcting people's lives (Ezekiel 34:5).

Preaching the Gospel to Yourself Daily

"Reminding ourselves of the Gospel is the most important daily habit we can establish. If the Gospel is the most vital news in the world, and if salvation by grace is the defining truth of our existence, we should create ways to immerse ourselves in these truths every day. No days off allowed. . .Your audience is your own heart. And the message is simple: Christ died for you sins. It’s a matter of sitting down, grabbing your own attention, and telling yourself, “Hey, listen up! This is what matters most: You’re forgiven! You have hope! Your hope is based on the sacrifice of Jesus. So lets’ not view this day any other way. Let today be governed by this one defining truth.”

-Living the Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney pg. 132‐133.

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