Reverentium

Free audiobook for July: A.W. Tozer's "The Pursuit of God"!

2010-07-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

Friends, grab this while you can.

ChristianAudio.com's free book this month is A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God.

Get the book here: http://christianaudio.com/product_info.php?products_id=439

Use the coupon code JUL2010 at checkout.

Tozer has many wonderful insights into the life of Christ's followers, and our passion for God.

Desiring God audiobook for free this month!

2009-11-24T08:09:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry I didn't discover this earlier in the month, but here you go:

ChristianAudio.com has John Piper's book, Desiring God, for FREE this month. I haven't read this book before, but I've read some other Piper work, and I know he's a man who follows Jesus. And anytime someone talks about desiring God, I think we ought to listen.

So there you go.

And if you are interested, there are many other deals right now at ChristianAudio.com. They are having their twice-yearly sale, which marks most audio books down to $7.49! The sale started yesterday and runs through Dec. 4. Get over there and nab some cheap downloads while you can, audio fans!

One sweet deal I noticed is this: you can get the ESV audio Bible for only $7.49. That's marked down from $39.98, friends. This is your chance for an audio version of my favorite translation.

Willard - Knowing Christ Today

2009-07-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm just writing to quick update to say that I recently finished listening to the audiobook of Dallas Willard's newest book, Knowing Christ Today.

Like all of his other books, this one was rich. He is writing about a topic I have heard him speak about at length elsewhere: the Christian worldview as knowledge rather than mere belief.

I am going to have to go through the whole book again before I have really solid feedback on it. It is philosophical in nature, but very accessible to anyone who knows a bit of the "language."

What I'm interested in is what other readers think about Willard's "Christian Pluralism," which he discusses for a while in the book. I'm assuming it must be making warning bells go off for many evangelicals. I myself am not sure what to make of the idea. (One review on Amazon addresses the issue negatively.)

If you've read the book and have insights or opinions on the topic either way, please post your thoughts in the comments section. Don't just rant, please. I'm after fair-minded, thoughtful ideas.

I know this book contains a lot of ideas Willard has wanted to write about for some time. I'm looking forward to listening again. I'd love to hear your opinions as well.

Audiobook sale at ChristianAudio

2009-06-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

Until July 3rd, ChristianAudio is having a sale. Almost everything is $7.49. This is an excellent deal. Usually their prices are very good anyway, and now they're giving an even better deal. Now is the time to get those Christian audio books you've been eyeing!

If you want recommendations, let me point you to my recommended reading list on the right.

May updates

2009-05-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

I'm updating you today with a number of various topics. Thanks for reading.

Free Willard talks

As I continue on the journey as one of Christ's apprentices, I continue to find Dallas Willard's teaching to be the most helpful and thorough when it comes to training as a disciple of Jesus. I hope you'll head over to ChristianAudio.com and download all of the free Dallas Willard talks they have available there. As a matter of fact, I'll make it easy for you by linking to each one individually:

These audio files will give you a good idea as to what he writes about in his books. If you like what you hear, please read his books, beginning with Renovation of the Heart and The Divine Conspiracy. There's no better teaching on the topic of becoming an apprentice of Jesus and understanding the true gospel.

Willard's new book

It's been a few years since Renovation of the Heart, and now, Dallas Willard has finally authored another book, Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge. I am eager to acquire and read this book. Willard's website says: This book deals with the disastrous effects of divorcing the teachings of Jesus Christ and his people from the domain of human knowledge. Its aim is to reposition the substantial teachings of Christianity ("Mere" Christianity) as a body of knowledge in the contemporary world.This is a topic that J.P. Moreland wrote about in the first section of Kingdom Triangle, and I am looking forward to diving in deeper with Willard's long-awaited new book.

Designed for analogy

Have you noticed how useful analogy is for communication and understanding? We use analogy all the time to compare things and make our ideas more accessible to listeners. I have come to believe that God designed the world in such a way that analogy would be incredibly easy. He has created a cosmos in which parallels exist all over the place. And, just as analogy is useful in every topic of discussion, I think that God specifically intended that many things we experience and see on Earth would help us to better understand him. One obvious and common such analogy is that of a parent with his or her child. The things we can learn about God through our own parenting experience are many, and they are the kinds of things you won't learn by reading, but only through the experience of that analogous relationship. By training and observing our own children, and our responses to them, we can gain insight into God's role as our father. Analogy can also be useful in defending your Christian worldview. Just listen to someone like William Lane Craig or Greg Koukl teach and you'll see what I mean. As you observe the world around you, take note of how God created everything in such a way that analogy is easy, and it is everywhere.

Prewrath radio online

2009-03-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

For those of you who appreciate the prewrath view of the rapture, you might like listening to Prewrath Radio Online. You can subscribe to the podcast here.

I've only just discovered this podcast and started listening, but it looks to be a podcast in defense of the prewrath position. I thought you might like to know about it.

A roleplaying analogy for the spiritual life

2008-12-23T08:59:00.000-08:00

This morning, while thinking, a profound thought came to mind. It was a meaningful thought to me and I'll explain why.

I have been trying to learn to hear God (I recommend Willard's book, Hearing God). I heard J.P. Moreland say in one message that when the Spirit speaks to Christians, there is a certain "flavor" to the voice, and that learning to listen to God includes learning to recognize that unique flavor or tone. I'd call it a "vibe" in my own language. Well, I'm still struggling to understand listening to God, but when this interesting thought came to me this morning, it had the flavor of something that I wouldn't have come up with on my own. It just kind of popped into mind and made sense to me. I'm wondering if this is what the Spirit sounds like as he speaks to us?

So what was the "thought" I'm referring to? Hold on for one more minute while I give you a little background.

One of my favorite hobbies is participating in tabletop roleplaying games (RPGs). I join some friends of mine once a week at lunch to play an RPG. (I sometimes write about roleplaying here.) I'm sorry if the language I am about to use sounds like Greek to you, but I must explain it so that what follows will make sense.

The game we are currently using is called Spirit of the Century. In this game, characters can acquire a number of skills of different types. These skills explain the activities at which the character is good, great, or mediocre - like athletics, driving, sneaking, acts of strength, etc. There are two broad categories of skills in the system used by Spirit of the Century: active and passive. Active skills are those things that require an effort or action taken by the character. This requires an intentional act of the will to accomplish something, be it running a race, making a good first impression, or examining the details of a painting. Passive skills are those qualities that are always "on" in the character. For example, alertness, endurance, and resolve. A character doesn't actively try to be alert. They simply are alert or they aren't, by default, and there are varying degrees to how alert someone can be, by nature or by practice. Endurance means the person has a natural or practiced ability to hold up under pressure. This isn't a concsious effort - it just resides there in the person. Resolve is similar, but refers to endurance of the mind rather than the body.

So this morning, the thought that came to mind was something like: "In the spiritual life, our goal is to make the things of Christ into passive attributes within us. We are to transform our living from the active pursuit of well-doing to the changed nature of passive, ever-present, Christlikeness." This is really just a rewording of a principle that others have stated in better words.

I recently read an article from Christianity Today in which Dallas Willard and Richard Foster were interviewed. In this interview, Willard explains that spiritual formation (or "character formation") is not to be mistakenly understood as "behavior modification". Rather, spiritual formation is intended to change the heart (the deep part of a person that determines how we think and act) so that it becomes like that of Christ himself.

My sense is that this morning, the Spirit was giving me new wording for this principle to color it more vividly in my mind. And that's exactly what it did. The same principles I've read over and over in Willard's books were made all the more clear this morning as the idea of active vs. passive popped into my mind.

For instance, my nature is to be prideful. The antithesis of this condition is humility, which is not present in my nature. Being a follower of Christ, I know that I am to be humble and not improperly prideful. There are two options before me. The first option is to mentally "muscle it".

Given a situation where I feel my pride swelling and the urge to perhaps boast or make myself look good, I can remember the lessons I learned from Jesus and fight the pride down. I can tell myself, "You're not as great as you think you are." This is an act of humility. Active. Behavior modification. I am consciously struggling on a case by case basis against the flesh by my will to do good. But the goal of spiritual formation into Christlikeness is to make that humility passive. Then, in the same situation, there won't be a desire for boasting. That part of me has been taken away, or at least diminished in some measure. Where I used to desire attention for self, I now desire for attention to be directed to Christ, or the Father, or to the good of another person. This is passive - true transformation. It's always "on", rather than a case by case skill to exercise by willful exertion. This is the goal.

As another example, take giving in secret. I can consciously make myself give money or goods to someone in need, and I can even keep it secret. This is a choice to do what I know is right, the desire to do a good deed, the pursuit of a righteous action. Now, this isn't a bad thing. But again, the goal is to make is so that my nature is to behave in this way. So, rather than choosing on a case by case basis which good deeds to perform, I do these things by default, because my changed heart leads me to do it. My passive state of heart should become that of a secretive giver.

This applies to many sins and virtues. You can decide how it looks in your own life. Maybe you struggle with lust. The goal is to not fight down each case of lust day to day (active), but to lose that lustful desire altogether, redirecting that time and energy to the good of God's kingdom. Maybe you find yourself reluctant to serve others in any capacity. The goal is not to force yourself into every opportunity for service, but to regenerate that part of your heart to serve others joyfully by nature, as a passive state of being, so that it is no longer a struggle but a delight. Maybe you struggle with the delicious desire to gossip and slander. Rather than biting your tongue in each conversation with your friends as you avoid speaking those nasty thoughts, the goal is to reform that part of your heart so that you naturally see the good in people and delight in building others up, and living with a quieter tongue and a listening ear. The struggle flees as the passive state of the renewed heart takes over in you.

Active vs. passive. This is the meaningful thought that came to mind this morning, and I am thankful. It has given me another way to meditate on the journey of character formation. This all sounds very good, you might think, but it sounds so difficult. Maybe you've been wanting to change for months or years, but there is very little change. Let me encourage you by saying that there is a way to pursue change. You are not powerless. Let me direct you to some resources that will guide you in the journey of heart transformation. All you need to do is carefully and thoughtfully read about and put into practice what these authors advise. Pick up the following list of books, in this order, and you will learn something very valuable about spiritual formation into Christlikeness. Also make note of the other books listed in the right-hand column of this blog. If we are going to grow and change, we need to be intentional about our pursuit. These books tell us how and why.

Renovation of the Heart: A thorough overview of transformation of the inmost depths of your being.
The Spirit of the Disciplines: A theoretical, historical, and practical overview of Christian spiritual disciplines.
Celebration of Discipline: A very practical and detailed guide to several classic Christian spiritual disciplines.
The Divine Conspiracy: A comprehensive look at discipleship and the life of the disciple.

Your moral obligation to NOT vote for Barack Obama

2008-10-23T07:54:00.000-07:00

If you listen to the Stand to Reason podcast, you'll know that Greg Koukl has given the current U.S. presedential election some very insightful commentary over the last several weeks. This week's discussion may be the most important yet. In this discussion, Koukl read a recent article by Robert George entitled "Obama's Abortion Extremism." I am writing to encourage you to head over to Public Discourse and read this article.

You may be thinking, "I don't want to read another article. I'm fed up with this election."

I have two responses. First, Robert George is not simply another uninformed citizen spouting fruitless gripes. Read this short bio from the foot of the linked article:

Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He is a member of the President's Council on Bioethics and previously served on the United States Commission on Civil Rights. He sits on the editorial board of Public Discourse.

In other words, this guy has a reason to talk. And he does it well.

My second reason you should read it is this: you are morally obligated to vote because politics involve moral issues. God cares greatly about morality, and so should you, if you claim to be a moral person. And when you vote, you better be sure you're making the right choice. There are two nominees for this election, and one of them is a morally better choice than the other. You are required, as a moral person, to choose the better option in this case.

If you have been considering a vote for Barack Obama - I implore you to read the article by Robert George, and then rethink your position. If after reading this article you still plan to vote for Mr. Obama, you should be ashamed. Regardless of the other issues at stake in this election, there is no way for a person with correct moral thinking to place their vote on the most extreme pro-abortion candidate ever to run for office.

Now, if you knowingly admit yourself to be an immoral person, or if you think taking the lives of tiny human beings in any form is a good thing, by all means, vote for Barack Obama. But if you are an American citizen, and claim to be a follower of Christ according to any denomination, you had better be prepared to vote, and to make the right choice when you do.

Making sense of God's providence

2008-07-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

I'm a devoted listener to Greg Koukl's radio show and podcast "Stand to Reason". Stand to Reason is a very valuable ministry for those who like to think reasonably about the Christian worldview and realize that believing in God and Christ is not a "leap of faith".

This week's podcast was a bit odd to me because Koukl spent a large portion of the show talking about why he is a Calvinist, specifically regarding the topic of God's providence and human free will. There were two things that bothered me here. First, Koukl didn't explain why he doesn't agree other views of God's providence. He briefly mentioned Arminianism, but didn't, as far as I remember, even mention Molinism (or Middle Knowledge). Second, Koukl's view assumes certain foundational truths, but he didn't argue for these foundational truths. What I mean is, he takes a Calvinist stance based on some assumptions which may or may not actually be true.

My point is not to argue against Calvinism here, so I won't go into detail on the issue, but for a brief example, Koukl explains that humans have compatiblist free will, but doesn't really argue for why he thinks this. He assumes it using a common sense approach. He asked if it would be possible for humans to live sinlessly and assumed the answer to be "No." But what if someone thinks the answer is "Yes"? Regardless of what the answer is, I don't like that he simply appealed to common sense on this issue.

Since Koukl left out mention of Molinism, I am assuming that there are many teachers out there who are doing the same. For this reason, I am writing today. I want to make sure that you have had the opportunity to research this view. Perhaps you haven't even heard of it. A more common term for this view is "Middle Knowledge". The modern father (if you will) of this view is Dr. William Lane Craig. With his wonderfully logical thinking, Craig has been very effective at explaining and teaching about this view of God's providence and human free will.

I will not try to explain the view here because it has been thoroughly explained elsewhere. My goal is to bring the view to your attention and to encourage you to read some resources on the topic. My goal here on Reverentium is always to encourage you to think. This is an issue worth thinking about. A few years ago, I had never had solid convictions on the topic. Then, a friend introduced me to Craig's arguments for the Middle Knowledge view. This view, I think, makes the most sense of Bible passages on the topic. It solves the issues present in Calvinism and Arminianism, and it takes a totally different perspective on some foundational ideas assumed by Calvinists.

You might find the Middle Knowledge view to be refreshing.

Some good resources are:

The Only Wise God, by William Lane Craig
Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, by J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig
LeadershipU

Re-visioning God

2008-06-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

My current reading includes Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy. I shouldn't be surprised, but this book, as with any other book by Willard, is absolutely masterful. Willard has, again, skillfully clarified a series of important features of the Christian life. In this book, he does so by taking a nice long look at the sermon on the mount - the most in-depth and helpful teaching I've ever heard on Jesus' "discourse on the hill" as Willard calls it. From there, he develops the topic of discipleship, which is one of Willard's passions, as you may know from his other writings. If you are interested in studying discipleship, start here. Other authors will tell you the same thing: "Here's what I want to teach you. But I must recommend you read Dallas Willard's book, because he wrote about the topic best, and I'm not going to try to rewrite it here." (Not an actual quote, just my summary of what I've seen in other books).

Writer Janet Batchler has commented on The Divine Conspiracy before, in better words than I ever could. Make sure to check out her posts:

Book Thoughts: The Divine Conspiracy
Notes from The Divine Conspiracy

As I've been swimming through the richness of this book, I've found numerous quotes and passage which I would love to share with you. There are so many that I would be breaking copyright laws to post them all here for you. So, all I can say is: if you want to grow and train as an apprentice of Jesus Christ, read this book. It's up to you to sink the bucks and devote the time.

Today, I have chosen one little topic and a few quotes to share with you. Hopefully this will be a pleasant appetizer for you. This is only a crumb of the goodness in this book.

Early in the book, Willard explains the importance of re-visioning God in our current lives. It is essential to view God in a certain way, to behold him and give him the proper consideration that is due him by his very nature. It is not only easy to forget how grand God is and who he is, but it is also easy to make him something he isn't, in our own minds. If we understood God as he truly is, it would be impossible to belittle him as we tend to do. Willard says:

"Central to the understanding and proclamation of the Christian gospel today, as in Jesus' day, is a re-visioning of what God's own life is like and how the physical cosmos fits into it." (The Divine Conspiracy, HarperSanFrancisco, 1997, p.62)

All things point to our great God, the Father, whom Jesus proclaimed. If this is so, then it follows that we should properly understand and imagine God. He is as he is, not as we want him to be, and not who we make him to be for our own uses. Willard goes back to appreciating and loving God much later in the book, when writing about discipleship. But how can we love a God we do not properly understand?

Willard goes on:

"We should, to begin with, think that God leads a very interesting life, and that he is full of joy. Undoubtedly he is the most joyous being in the universe. The abundance of his love and generosity is inseparable from his infinite joy. All of the good and beautiful things from which we occasionally drink tiny droplets of soul-exhilarating joy, God continuously experiences in all their breadth and depth and richness."

Thank you, Dr. Willard for reminding us of the vast good of God. God is so wonderful, so terrible, that it is difficult for us to find fitting words. Our minds can hardly begin to grasp it without straining and bursting. Only when we see God as Willard describes him, can we learn to love him as he is. Oh, but when we do see him and love him as he is, this is the seed that will grow in our hearts, beginning our transformation. This is a big point late in the book.

As humans, we often live for great experiences. As physical beings, we desire to squeeze the value out of life by experiencing good and grand things, and sharing them with others. Willard says:

"We treasure our great experiences for a lifetime, and we may have very few of them. But he is simply one great inexhaustible and eternal experience of all that is good and true and beautiful and right." (p.63)

These quotes from Willard are just tidbits. With them, I hope to turn your mind to your love for the Holy God. And in that place of love, I hope you will take time to read The Divine Conspiracy and allow yourself to receive Willard's unique training. This training will lead the intentional reader toward the transformed life of those who aspire to be true apprentices of Jesus of Nazareth.

The funny side of the Christian life.

2008-05-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

Today, a friend linked me to a blog called "Stuff Christians Like".

I have read a dozen or so posts now and have been near tears a handful of times - I mean laughing tears. The writer is exceptionally good at wording his thoughts about many common American Christianisms. Many of you will probably find this blog to be a nice break from the stress or tedium of your day.

I recommend not reading this blog in a quiet room, such as a library.

Does anyone have it right?

2008-04-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

I have given years of attendance to a few churches during the course of my life and have visited many others. I've come to understand something that you have probably realized yourself: there is no perfect Christian church. When I say "church" here, I am referring to a local gathering of people to a single location to share in the practices common to their denomination's beliefs.

I think that most people can find a church that emphasizes something which is important to them personally. Nevertheless, how many people can honestly say that they've found the perfect church? By "perfect", I don't mean absolutely flawless. I mean, a church that does everything right. You may be convinced that you've landed at such a church. Because I don't know your personal experience or situation, I'm going to share my thoughts from my own experience, as well as a discovery I made during recent meditation on the topic.

Like most of you, I've often found myself in the odd position of appreciating many features of the church I attend, while simultaneously longing for the features I find lacking or the changes I wish would take place. There's that part of us that recognizes that not all things are as they should be. You might think to yourself: "I like that part of Denomination X, and that part of Denomination Y, and that part of Denomination Z - but it seems as if no churches have all of those features." You are not alone.

As a child, I went along with my family to a Baptist church. In high school, I switched to a "non-denominational" community church. In college, I attended a Covenant church. Then I switched to an Evangelical Free church, where I am now. Like you, I choose to remain a part of this particular church body because I find that they are solid in many areas which I value. In my case, this church has a very unique form of church leadership in which there is a body of elders who lead the church and take turns preaching and teaching. Everything they do is done as a group. This is different from the standard model of my past experience in which there resides a single "head" pastor who sits above everyone else. This "plurality of elders" approach is the best I've ever seen, and it has some solid Biblical backing.

This church also has sincere elders who fit the model of elders described in the New Testament letters. These are open and honest men who seek God's glory first of all. To match their level of sincerity and integrity, these men teach sound Biblical doctrine. The men who preach most often are also Biblical scholars/professors. To top it off, they are passionate for God's work, for Jesus, and for the gospel message as it goes out into the world.

This church body is also unique in that every member is considered to be an essential minister in the body, and externally to the world. The genuine fellowship and love expressed throughout the body is reminiscent of the early church as described in the book of Acts.

Finally, the worship is led by a man who is uncommonly thoughtful in his programming of the worship portion of the service. He writes many of his own songs to fit the need of the sermon's theme. He is sensitive to the congregation's desires in the worship setting. He organizes appropriate and fitting readings, meditations, and prayers to contribute to the flow and depth of the worship time.

These are the features that keep me at this church. And yet, this church, like yours, is not doing everything right. You might say: "That's only your opinion!! Who are you to determine what's best for a church?!" You are right to say so. Truthfully, I am nobody. I can't say with absolute certainty that my views are correct. But I do think they are correct - otherwise they wouldn't be beliefs. I can only talk about what I have come to believe through my own study. That said, let's move on.

"If I were to leave my church, what church would I go to?" This is a question I have asked myself, and maybe you have too. Over time, I have narrowed my answers to:

the Catholic church
the third-wave charismatic church

I have found aspects of these churches to admire. I have friends and acquaintances who have left the standard conservative evangelical church to join one of these other two churches. I can't blame them. My friends have brought up great points about these other churches.

Why the Catholic church? There are two things that have draw for me in the Catholic church.

Appreciation for tradition
Emphasis on spiritual formation and true discipleship

I think the protestant church, despite its strengths, is still living in a state of overreaction to these facets of the Catholic church. I'm no church history expert, for certain, but I do know that the current evangelical church still bears signs of reaction against Catholicism. Not only do we lack appreciation for tradition, but we swear by the phrase "sola scriptura" and take it to the extreme. Not only do we appreciate the authority of scripture and its usefulness in showing us the way to true salvation in Christ, but we throw tradition out the window, reciting slogans like "If it's important, it's in the Bible" (a slogan I happen to disagree with). The Bible becomes the end of all things. J.P. Moreland adequately discusses this topic in his controversial article "How Evangelicals Became Over-Committed to the Bible and What can be Done about It".

I believe that tradition holds some good things for the church. I think tradition gives us insight into useful Christian spiritual disciplines, as explained by Dallas Willard in his book, Spirit of the Disciplines. It also teaches us what honorable saints long past have discovered to be useful in the Christian life and practice. I would love to see the evangelical church at large give up its shy attitude toward Christian tradition.

The thing I appreciate most about the Catholic church is their appreciation for spiritual disciplines and spiritual formation. While most churches I've participated in greatly deemphasize the topic of spiritual formation, I am thankful that many Christian teachers are eagerly pursuing the topic. Most of the books listed in my recommendations - to the right - relate to this topic. Willard's Renovation of the Heart powerfully opened my eyes to the topic in a new way. From there, I dove into the pool of good literature on the topic. Biola University has its own Institute for Spiritual Formation, which has been training sincere Christians in this field for a few years now. I am grateful that such programs exist. We need this training, and we aren't getting it in the church most of the time. The extent of spiritual disciplines (though they won't call them that) commonly discussed in the evangelical church can be summed up as: "Read your Bible. Pray. Think correctly. The Holy Spirit will do the rest." While churches might sometimes go beyond such a minimal ideology, this summation of spiritual growth is inadequate, I think.

Why the third-wave charismatic church?

The reason I am attracted to this church is that they are expectant. As a group, they expect to see the Holy Spirit work in real and powerful ways among the people. I can only imagine entering my local church meeting place and sensing the mutual expectation among the people, ready to receive the Holy Spirit's graces as He stirs in the "body of Christ". Powerful works of the Holy Spirit are happening all over the world, but much less, relatively, in western cultures. One reason for this, I suspect, is that we have naturalistic minds. We are products of our culture's teachings, as much as we wish we could deny the fact. But where a group of people is united in expectation, there I think it is far more likely for the Holy Spirit to act powerfully. He is welcome there.

So why does any of this matter? Recently, when I was running these ideas over in my head, it struck me that there is an answer.

This issue is exactly what J.P. Moreland was addressing when he wrote Kingdom Triangle. He saw these issues and realized that all of the church's strengths were scattered into pieces, spread out among various Christian church types. He realized that the church, as God would have it, would have all of the strengths mentioned above.

This was a real-life application of the ideas presented in Kingdom Triangle. J.P. had an answer for my questions. Once again, I recommend grabbing a copy of this book.

Debate: D'Souza vs. Hitchins

2008-04-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

I was looking around on the website of Dinesh D'Souza, a Christian writer and speaker. On his website, he has a link to a debate he did against the prominent "new atheist", Christopher Hitchins. The topic of the debate was: "Is Christianity the Problem?"

These types of debates are very valuable for Christians because they require you to examine what it is that you believe, and to think critically and carefully about the points argued for and against your own position. You might find that you are uncomfortable listening to an atheist argue against your beliefs. This is a good thing. You need to know why you believe what you do. J.P. Moreland discusses this issue thoroughly in the "knowledge" portion of Kingdom Triangle. Do you really believe what you say you believe, or do you just say you do? If you don't have a good reason for believing something, then your belief really isn't a strong belief. But beliefs can be strengthened, Moreland argues. I think debates such as the one linked above are a great way to challenge our beliefs and spur us on to study and strengthen our position, while thoughtfully considering the opposition.

As you watch, I recommend you pay attention to the approach both men take to this debate. Keep an eye out for the strength of their reasoning and rationality. From what background are they presenting their arguments? Are they using good philosophical practices?

So, if you have a fast internet connection, go watch the debate.

Faith and Reason update

2008-04-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

I'm posting briefly to add one more resource that I discovered after posting my initial post called "Faith and Reason".

I discovered a site called Skeptical Christian. The site is run by Kyle Deming, who devotes his energy to providing useful information and resources for a reasonable defense of the Christian worldview. He has a podcast and a blog. There is a huge volume of information on his site, so don't hesitate to read his blog or listen to his podcast.

I have also been listening to Greg Koukl's Ambassador Basic Curriculum and Tactics in Defending the Faith Mentoring. I purchased both in MP3 format from the Stand to Reason website. While I can't say I agree with Koukl on his everything he says in his ABCs, I highly recommend purchasing these products. Koukl is very articulate and solid in his training.

My only disagreements with him relate to small aspects of his approach to Biblical truth. I could be wrong in my assessment, but I think he leans toward the idea that, if an important truth for the Christian life exists, it is taught in some clear form in the Biblical canon. I tend to think that church history and tradition, as well as some extrabiblical sources, contain very valuable information for the Christian life, but Koukl doesn't touch on these sources in his training about the Christian life, at least not in this series. I know that he respects J.P. Moreland highly, but I find that these two seem to disagree on a few things. All in all, I only disagree with Koukl on about 1% of his thoughts in the entire curriculum.

That said, don't let my assessment keep you from using these resources. They are invaluable in training Christians to be top-notch ambassador's for Christ. I will listen to them over and over.

The Tin Woodman's worldview

2008-03-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was tucking my boys into bed. I had recently finished the book of Beatrix Potter's Bunny stories, so it was time to choose something new to read them before they dozed off. I looked on their bookshelf and saw an old copy of L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz. I had never read the book, and hadn't seen the movie for many years. I prefer to read them imaginative books, usually with some element of fantasy or fairy tale, so Baum's book seemed a good enough choice.

I've been reading a chapter to them every night or two. The last time we opened the book, we read through the chapter where Dorothy and the Scarecrow meet the Tin Woodman, rusted and groaning. Once the Tin Woodman is well oiled and functioning, he declares that he will accompany the others on their journey to find the Wizard of Oz. He narrates his lengthy tale of woe, sharing with Dorothy and the Scarecrow how he was tragically kept from marrying the munchkin woman he loved and how he had once been a real man, losing his body parts piece by piece. He had been repaired by a tinsmith until he was completely made of tin. He explains to them that he had carelessly stayed out in the rain one day, rusting until he was completely frozen in place.

He mentions that, during his time of frozen solitude, he had "had time to think that the greatest loss I had known was the loss of my heart. While I was in love, I was the happiest man on earth; but no one can love who has not a heart." (The Wizard of Oz, Grosset & Dunlap, 1981, p.43)

The Scarecrow philosophically responds that he would rather have a brain because "a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one." (p.44)

To this, the Tin Woodman replies: "I shall take the heart . . . for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world."

This says something about the worldview of the tin man.

I wonder what "happiness" is, for the tin man. I wonder what L. Frank Baum thought "happiness" was. I have not finished the book, so I don't know yet whether this comment was a statement of Baum's own worldview or if it belonged only to the Tin Woodman. Regardless, the Tin Woodman seems to be describing what most living souls today believe to be true. "Happiness is the best thing in the world."

You might ask yourself what affect this statement has on your own life. Does this describe your own worldview?

In Kingdom Triangle, J.P. Moreland gives thorough attention to the topic of happiness in relation to our worldview. As you have probably already determined, the word "happiness" must first be defined. Certainly our understanding of what happiness is will affect our analysis of the Tin Woodsman's (and our own) worldview.

Moreland explains succinctly that the modern definition of happiness is: "pleasurable satisfaction". Is this your own understanding of happiness? When we seek happiness, are we seeking merely pleasurable satisfaction? It's worth mulling over.

J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler also discuss the topic of happiness in their aptly titled book, The Lost Virtue of Happiness. In both this book and Kingdom Triangle, Moreland explains that pleasurable satisfaction (modern happiness) is a primary goal of the "empty self". (I highly recommend reading these books for his full discussion of the empty self.) But, the empty self seeking pleasurable satisfaction is a recipe for endless disappointment, Moreland argues in so many words. This is one large aspect of the widespread depression and discontentment today. The reason for this is that we have replaced classic happiness with modern happiness.

Moreland writes:

"According to the ancients, happiness is a life well lived, a life of virtue and character, a life that manifests wisdom, kindness, and goodness." (The Lost Virtue of Happiness, Navpress, 2006, p.25)

This wording was very useful for me. As you can see, classic happiness is the result of a very specific type of life. But in a worldview which embraces modern happiness, that "happiness" is always the primary goal of one's life, the treasure being sought above and before all else. It drives us to manipulate people and circumstances, subtly or not, to achieve our own ends. This pursuit has as its purpose the filling of the empty self. Self. Think about how often that word, that person, is our central focus.

Having this knowledge, I think we are required to decide which we desire, a life of virtue, duty, and character, resulting in classic happiness - or - pleasurable satisfaction for the Self?

My guess is that the Tin Woodman was not thinking of happiness in the classic sense when he shared his ideas with Dorothy and the Scarecrow. To him, fulfillment of his desires was the best thing he could imagine. To him, that was the extent of his happiness. He could have said, "I shall take the heart . . . for if I had a heart I could devote my life to loving and serving others in imitation of Christ." Sure, that sounds silly - it's just a story after all. But the point is - how closely does our own worldview match that of the Tin Woodman?

Faith and reason

2008-03-04T12:16:00.000-08:00

I am coming to appreciate more and more the importance of logic and reason for the Christian mind. I think that people in secular western society are more likely to respond to this kind of reasoning when Christians argue for their beliefs (which Moreland would argue can actually be justified as knowledge, not just "blind faith").

I've had some time to research the topic a bit myself and have found some great resources. My purpose in posting today is to share these resources with you. I encourage you to use these resources in your own personal study. They will both strengthen your own certainty of your beliefs, and prepare your mind for defending the truth of your Christian worldview to others. There are thoroughly developed arguments for things like the existence of God and the creation of the universe, all based on reason alone. Since non-Christians don't have reason to believe the Bible is a credible resource for our case, it is only proper for us to understand what reasonable arguments exist for our beliefs.

My wife and I both regret that logic wasn't a topic in which we were trained in our school system. Now, I realize what a great asset logic is for the successful presentation of several Christian beliefs.

There are currently a handful of excellent Christian philosophers and apologists. They have made much of their knowledge available for free. Here are a couple sites to look at as you seek to grow in this area of your Christian worldview:

Stand To Reason

Reasonable Faith

Both of these sites have podcasts from which I have benefited greatly. I highly recommend listening to these podcasts on your computer or iPod. "Stand to Reason" is hosted by Greg Koukl and "Reasonable Faith" is hosted by Kevin Harris. He talks with Dr. William Lane Craig about philosophical issues. Craig also has another podcast called "Defenders" which can be downloaded from the iTunes store for free.

If you check out Stand to Reason's website and podcast, you will soon hear names of other apologists to study, so I will not attempt to give you such a list here. But I will reiterate that you can't go wrong with J.P. Moreland's writing. I will also recommend a book I have in my personal library called, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. It's a large and thorough volume by Moreland and Craig.

Press on, dear saints.

Kingdom Triangle: a Reverentium review

2008-02-26T13:00:00.000-08:00

In a previous post, I described God's gift to me of the book, Kingdom Triangle, by J.P. Moreland, and briefly posted some early feedback. I am pleased to report that I've finally finished the book and am compelled to share my thoughts.

First of all, let me explain the basics of the triangle Moreland has so keenly presented in this book. The book has 4 basic sections:

"The Crisis of Our Age" (Chapters 1-4)
"The Recovery of Knowledge" (Chapter 5)
"Renovation of the Soul" (Chapter 6)
"Restoration of the Kingdom's Miraculous Power" (Chapter 7)

Chapters 1-4 describe in lucid detail the reason we need the Kingdom Triangle right now. Our culture is in a state of crisis, and Moreland explains the what, why, and how of it. With sharp awareness, Moreland has observed and studied our world and its history, recognizing what God intended, and pinpointing how we've gone against those intentions. Having failed as a race to follow God's intended course has resulted in a widespread crisis, namely, our abandonment of classic philosophy and life practice in exchange for modern substitutes. The inevitable outcome has been a pandemic case of human enslavement to "the empty self". We have exchanged the "thick" worldview of Christian monotheism for the "thin" worldviews of scientific naturalism and postmodernism. Moreland explains what is required for today's church to function as God intended, encouraging readers to effectively take action, penetrating the culture around us.

Moreland brings the reader up to date on the relevant facts of the matter and writes informatively about the subject of knowledge. This is the heaviest and deepest part of the book, which Moreland admits. But he also encourages the reader that these things are essential for everyone in the church to understand. He writes as clearly as possible on these complex issues, sharing great wisdom in a way the layperson can understand.

Having set the stage with the appropriate background, Moreland now moves on to explain the "triangle". First, he explains the importance of knowledge and its importance, recovery, and value for the Christian church. Second, he concisely explains the role of spiritual formation and discipleship in the inner life of a Christian, giving a brief overview of some classic spiritual disciplines. Finally, he completes the triangle with a thoughtful discussion of the role of the Holy Spirit's power in the life of the church, manifested in various miraculous signs, wonders, and providential acts. This section will be one of the biggest and most useful wake-up calls to many readers. Moreland sensitively presents well-informed ideas about the supernatural realities absent in so much of the Western church, while they thrive in other parts of the world.

Moreland is one of today's greatest Christian philosophers and thinkers, and his years of experience spill forth in this book. He has gleaned rich knowledge and experience from various mentors and friends and from his own spiritual journey. The range of books he has studied is vast and his careful research is evident throughout.

While reading, the value of this inspired book quickly became apparent to me. By the time I was done, there was no question: Kingdom Triangle has climbed to the top of my personal stack of "the greatest books of all time," sitting right there with my Dallas Willard collection. The book demands that the reader change his or her life for the best - which is my favorite kind of book. The challenges presented are very relevant for the current Western church, and Moreland argues for them masterfully. If I had to pick one part that most affected me, it would be the section where he explains a plan for living a life of self-denial, taking up your metaphorical cross (Mark 8:34-35), and living to love and serve others, after Christ's own example.

I can't recommend the book enough. I think every Christian in our culture should read it, consider its truth, discuss it with friends, and apply its wisdom to a life of spiritual transformation. Pastors, grab a copy and start recommending it to others. This book is an honest and realistic call to participate in the life of greatness God has designed us for in his eternal kingdom.

In the future, I may post a few quotes from the book to entice your mind and encourage you to pick up this book. Moreland is onto some revolutionary thoughts, and my hope is that you will give them a place in your own studies by picking up a copy of Kingdom Triangle.

Links:
Buy the book at Amazon.com
Go to the Kingdom Triangle website
Go to the Kingdom Triangle Discussion blog

Fear despite the Father.

2008-01-28T07:49:00.000-08:00

I am currently the father of three children, ages 4 years, 2 years, and 2 months. The experience of being a dad has been unique and eye-opening. Without being a dad, my understanding of God as the Father was very much theoretical, not that this is a bad thing. But, having been blessed with little halflings, I have often faced the inevitable situations where I compare my own experience as a father to that of my heavenly Father. My wife was instrumental in opening my eyes to this reality. She would say things like, "Imagine how God feels when we act like that" when a toddler lashes out in a tantrum. Thanks to my wife's example, I have come to see that children are one of God's ways of training us by giving us the opportunity to take on one of his roles. It has been a very humbling experience, for certain.

An example that came to mind recently was something I have wondered many times: Why do children get scared of a given thing despite the fact that their parents are close by, indicating no signs of fear themselves?

I have sat with a cowering child in my arms, assuring him that everything is okay and there is no reason to be afraid of whatever it was that frightened him. And yet he doesn't care that Daddy isn't crying. Daddy isn't worried. In fact, Daddy is smiling and acting as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Does that matter to the child? No, he still wants comfort because he's scared, regardless of my emotional state.

In this scene, I know in my mind that the child has no reason to worry in my presence. I will take care of him and see that his well-being is looked after. After all, I have always given him meals to satisfy his hunger; I have always come to his aid when he's cried out in the night; I have always protected him from potential dangers.

Despite my presence and his memories of my habit of faithfully caring for him, he is still scared. All that matters to him is his current worry. Observing him in this state, all I want for him is to take comfort in me and remember my spoken and unspoken promises to lovingly stand sentinel over him.

From the position of the caretaker, this makes sense. But what about when I'm in the position of the child? My worries aren't spurred on by weird shadows at the top of the stairs or spooky sounds and visions. But what about when the money seems to be running out? When I feel inadequate to care for a growing family? When I have to face another mortgage payment? When one of us develops a subtle and strange medical issue? When the stress of life in a sin-crushed world seems too heavy?

Now I'm the forgetful child. I've forgotten the perfect promises of the supernatural Father who has never made a mistake. I have years of life under my belt, and yet I still cower despite the presence of my heavenly Daddy. Have I learned nothing in all these years?

Thank God for children and the ways they open our eyes.

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)

"So do not worry , saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. - Matthew 6:31-32

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." - Luke 12:32

The Kingdom Triangle - read it

2007-12-29T07:26:00.000-08:00

I am posting briefly to talk about J.P. Moreland's book, Kingdom Triangle.

A few months ago, I posted about how God unexpectedly provided a copy of this book for me out of the blue. After recently finishing Van Kampen's, The Rapture Question Answered, I moved on to reading Kingdom Triangle. I had heard good things and was very intrigued having read the introductory pages.

I have decided that this is a book every Christian should read. I am only in the first part of the book (the first part of the triangle), but every bit has been rich. Moreland has jammed these pages with vast amounts of wisdom and well-tested knowledge. He is writing about very important matters which every Christian needs to know, if the church is going to function at its best.

If you haven't bought the book, I suggest you do so now. Where to buy? Here are some options:

Bookstore Max
Tower.com
Overstock.com
Amazon.com

Some of the material has been deep and somewhat philosophical, but Moreland argues that these principles are necessary for Christians to understand if we are to face the "crisis" of our culture.

J.P. is one of the great Christian philosophers and thinkers of our time. I highly recommend this book, which Moreland claims is his most important work to date.

Death . . . then what?

2007-12-13T07:43:00.001-08:00

DISCLAIMER: If you are very sensitive to the subject of death, or have recently suffered the loss of a loved one, I advise you to consider skipping this post. I will be discussing the subject of death from a seemingly neutral and "cold" perspective which may hit some people in a negative way.

I like to ponder the gray-ish areas of life and faith. I like to explore subjects that are often hard to think about because the scriptures we have in the Bible are not explicit or direct in their answers to our questions. One such area that has been floating around in my mind for a long time is death, and what happens between death and resurrection.

First, let me summarize what my understanding was for most of my life, hearing it through the Christians I was exposed to. It goes like this: when a Christian dies, they go to heaven instantly and spend forever with God in complete heavenly bliss.

In my adult years, the more time I had to spend thinking about these things, and through studying scripture increasingly, I began to ask many questions, as I am prone to do. Some of these include:

If we go right to heaven when we die, in what form do we exist? Spirit-only?

If we go right to heaven when we die, why are we then later raised from the grave (sheol) at the second coming of Christ when he takes his people home? Do we just leave heaven and rise from sheol to go back to heaven?

Why does the topic of the new earth so rarely come up? Why do we always speak as if all eternity is spent in heaven? What about the new creation?

When we say, "So-and-so has gone to be with the Lord", how do we know that? What is our evidence that Christians are immediately sent into heaven at death, in one form or another?

Is there a difference between heaven and paradise? Is there a waiting place for dead Christians awaiting the final judgment? Are there various aspects or levels of heaven?

If we enter into heaven at death, are we in the presence of the Father? Are we in the presence of Christ? Are we in the presence of both?

If we enter into heaven at death, why do we then go through the final judgment when God divvies our rewards and punishments? If we were already accepted into eternal heavenly bliss in the presence of God, why then go through the final judgment?

How do we make various scriptures work together to form a solid understanding of what happens between death and resurrection for the Christian?

Since our bodies and spirits are meshed together to form a whole person, does the whole person go to heaven? Can our bodies and spirits really separate as has always been assumed by so many Christians?

When the dead Christians rise from the grave to meet Christ in the sky at his second coming, does that literally mean all the dead rise from the actual ground? What about Christians who were cremated? Where do they rise from, if that's the case?

What does sheol entail? What should our understanding of death and the grave be?

The only passage that immediately comes to mind, which argues for immediate life in heaven following death is the case in which the criminal on the cross next to Christ asks to be remembered when Christ comes into his kingdom:

"Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.' " - Luke 23:43

But this brief remark is somewhat vague, and in other end-times passages, we see Christians rising from the grave at the second coming of Christ. I have not put extensive time into studying every passage of scripture regarding this subject, but in the studying I have done, I am not confident yet to settle on any one view of this matter. How do we know that when we die, our entire being - body, spirit, mind, soul - are not simply dead ("asleep") until the second coming of Christ?

If you have insight into this subject, please post comments. Please avoid emotional responses based on personal experience. I am trying to stand back and look at this matter regardless of how I want things to be. I ask you to do the same.

The Rapture Question Answered: finally finished reading

2007-11-26T16:40:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I finally got around to finishing Robert Van Kampen's The Rapture Question Answered, Plain and Simple.

As I've mentioned before, this book argues for a pre-wrath view of the timing of the rapture of the saints. Having finished the book, I can say that Van Kampen has made some very strong arguments for his position. Reading the book, I sometimes got the vibe that I was reading the writings of an amateur writer, but his biblical backing seemed sound, and he certainly seems to have done his research.

At the end of the book, he really makes the most important point, which I'll summarize for you: the reason that it is important to consider the timing of the rapture is that the saints need to be prepared , if indeed the pre-wrath view is correct. If pre-tribulationists are expecting Christ to return at any time, before the tribulation, they could end up sorely confused or unprepared when Antichrist begins his reign. Van Kampen sites various passages of scripture which refer to a reality of the end times: many "Christians" will fall away, abandoning their faith under the persecution of the Antichrist. He argues that it is important for the saints to be prepared for this time, so that when it comes, we will remain strong in our faith until the end, when Christ comes to save us before God's wrath comes upon the earth.

Even if you don't agree with the pre-wrath view, I think you ought to admit that Van Kampen has a good point. If Christians are going to suffer under the wrath of Satan (Antichrist), we must be prepared to persevere.

Van Kampen ties together passages from Matthew 24, Thessalonians, Revelation, and Daniel to show that all of them refer to the same end-times sequence of events. If you are interested in this topic, and would like to examine the pre-wrath view, this book seems to be a great place to start, as it deals with nothing more than the rapture and how it fits into the surrounding end-times events. Beyond this book, you could also take a look at Van Kampen's larger book, The Sign, which I own but have yet to read. There are also many other pre-wrath books out there.

I encourage you to do some research on this topic, as the pre-wrath view is a solid one, and it could affect the way you think and live. Even if you don't agree, at least you'll have decided why you don't agree.

Hymn: Does Jesus Care?

2007-10-21T07:12:00.000-07:00

In 1901, pastor Frank Graeff was inspired by one of my favorite verses from 1 Peter.

"Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7, NIV)

What stood out to Graeff was the last bit - "He cares for you." Graeff had been going through a terrible time of trials and struggles. While meditating on the scriptures, the wonderful truth of this verse struck him. And so he penned this hymn. May it be an encouragement to us. You can hear the melody and read about this hymn on Cyberhymnal.

Does Jesus Care?

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress
And the way grows weary and long?

Chorus

Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near?

Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed
To resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief there is no relief,
Though my tears flow all the night long?

Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye”
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks,
Is it aught to Him? Does He see? (Discovery Singers wording: "It is known to him? Does he see?")

I first heard this hymn on the Discovery Singers CD, Great Is Thy Faithfulness. They sing it very well, with a few slight changes in wording from the original text. I really like their layout of the song, too. They sing three verses, then finally end with the chorus. The build-up is great, then at last they arrive at the chorus, singing the hopeful conclusion: "Oh, yes! He cares! . . ."

I find it interesting that Graeff was so encouraged by this passage from Peter, and that he wrote the words as he did for this hymn. It is clear that the assurance of Jesus' concern alone was a sufficient comfort for Graeff during this period of tribulation in his life.

As I have thought about this hymn, I have wondered, "Despite the beauty of its truth, would I really be encouraged by its words in the middle of intense trial?"

I think my inclination would be to say, "If Jesus cares, why isn't he doing something about my trial?!!" I think as Christians, we often prefer action from God. Knowledge of his love can be difficult when we don't sense it. When the grit of life is so real and present, we can find it difficult to receive comfort from the words of scripture or hymns such as this.

So why take comfort from a hymn such as this? Why take peace from knowledge of God's care?

First of all, we must remember that God is sovereign. He has told us to take comfort from him, so we must. I think of Psalm 46:10:

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." (NIV)

This verse brings us back to our senses. "I am God" is one of the most potent statements we can ever hear. All that exists is for the purpose of exalting God. And because he is God, we can be still. We can rest in the knowledge of his sovereignty. And we must.

Second, we know that God trains his people with trials, and he encourages us to learn perseverance. Consider the profound words of James:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:2-4

Trials are for our own good. When we look at God's sovereignty during these times, and know that he cares, we can accept the peace he gives. We can remember God's words to Paul:

" 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' " - 2 Corintians 12:9

That is why we can take comfort in him - because his grace is sufficient. When we are weak, there is God's power made known.

Third, I quote the wonderful missionary, elder, and preacher, Don Allen. When speaking about the reality of God not answering earnest prayer as we had hoped:

"When that happens, you yield. You yield."

We must submit to God's majestic rule. As Peter says:

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." - 1 Peter 5:6

I think that is why the hymnist found peace in his despair. He knew that God's grace is sufficient. He learned the peace of yielding to God's mighty hand, of persevering by the grace of Jesus. When we know that Jesus cares, and believe it, we can take deep rest in him. We can be still in the knowledge of his very existence and majesty. Our trials are a chance for his strength to reign, and for us to be trained and sharpened in the process. It is never easy, for certain. And yet, we obey. He has told us to cast all our anxiety on him, and so we do. No one can carry our burdens or solve our tragedies except Christ alone. That is why it is good to know that Jesus cares.

So that you can pray

2007-10-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

Today, I'll share with you a verse that has been a great challenge to me. Perhaps you will find a challenge in it as well.

1 Peter 4:7 -

“The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” (NIV)

“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” (ESV)

This exhortation is especially challenging to me because of the phrase “clear minded”. Do you ever find it difficult to be clear minded? Living in the culture we do, with myriad opportunities and distractions available to us, how is it even possible to be clear minded? This is a great struggle for me. I am someone who likes to dabble. A hobbyist in general; I like to try everything. There are so many wonderful things in creation to test out and to become mediocre at - which I do. I am also a person whose mind contains gears that are always running. I wake up in the morning and my brain is instantly whirring. So the idea of having a clear mind is a very inviting one, even if it sometimes feels out of reach.

I find that to achieve a clear mind, I have to focus on it. Typically, meditation works best for me. I use a technique I learned from my naturopathic doctor. She advised me to close my eyes, sit in a relaxed position, and to imagine all my thoughts floating by like boats on the water. Rather than letting any one thought grab a hold of my mind, I need to acknowledge each one and let it float by, in and out of my view. She also recommended taking one word or thought and focusing on that. So as I watch my thoughts float by, I imagine far out in the distance that I see the light of Jesus. I imagine that he is standing there in his radiance, noticing me and loving me. I will sometimes think or utter the word “Jesus” repeatedly to keep my focus.

Even 5 minutes of that kind of activity will calm the mind to some degree. The only problem is, I have a hard time getting into a place where I can focus like that. 5 minutes isn't very long, but sometimes there aren't 5 quiet minutes in my house to meditate, with small kids ever present. Many of you who are parents know what I mean.

One other trick I have employed is to align my focus from the get go each day. When I wake up, I try to make God my first thought. I try to send up prayers of worship, acknowledging his sovereignty. I think through verses like Lamentations 3:22-23:

“Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (NIV)

I think that self-control is a discipline that Peter knew to empower clear mindedness. The two go hand in hand to prepare an adequate mental state for prayer. We have all experienced at some point the loss of focus during prayer. Maybe we've even become drowsy or fallen completely asleep. Maybe our minds turn toward everyt other issue in our lives, taking our mind away from those moments with God. I don't think the self-control here needs to refer only to clearing our mind for prayer. Rather, I think it beckons us to a day-to-day lifestyle of self-control in all things, so that when we settle into a time of prayer, we are already well-practiced and acquainted with self-control.

How many times have we offered half-baked prayers because we lacked a clear mind and/or self-control? Thank God for his mercy.

But, this verse ought to remind us of the urgency with which we need to focus. Scot McKnight writes:

“Thinking that the end of history is at the door and the Judge is about to enter through it can energize one's prayers and lead to a specially effective focus in those prayers. “ (The NIV Application Commentary: 1 Peter. Zondervan, 1996.)

Like Peter, we should remember that this life on earth, from a perspective of eternity, is coming quickly to a close. Every minute, we draw nearer to that time when we will stand before God in judgment. Oh, how wonderful to receive words of joy and glory from him at that time!

Peter knew how easy it was to have a mind full of distractions. He knew that the mind is easily filled with endless streams of running thoughts. He knew how difficult it is to focus, and how easy it is to approach the sacred practice of prayer with only half-hearted attentiveness. How would he react if he could see the world today? In this light, my own constant failure is quite stark before my eyes.

Let us continue disciplining ourselves in lives of clear mindedness and self-control, so that we can pray. Holy Spirit, help us.

...And be thankful

2007-10-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

After going through a Biblical text many times (or any other text for that matter), you start to notice certain things you wouldn't have noticed before, as you may know from your own experience.

One such feature that stands out to me in Colossians is Paul's repeated emphasis on thankfulness to God.

Using the NIV, we see this emphasis 6 times:

1:10-12 - Paul prays that the Colossians may “live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”

2:6-7 - “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

3:15 - “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

3:16 - “Let the words of Christ dwell in your richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom , and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

3:17 - “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father through him.”

4:2 - “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

Clearly, thankfulness is of great importance to the apostle. Do we take enough time to thank God - to really devote time and energy to thanking him? Every minute we aren't suffering is another moment lived under his mercy. Our list of things to be thankful for is an endless one. Paul knew this. His letter to the Colossians is relatively short - only 4 chapters - but he is so aware of our need for gratitude that he mentions it 6 times, as if every interaction we have with God and others naturally includes thankful awareness.

Imagine how God must desire our thankfulness, not just in words, but with sincere hearts. He must delight greatly when one of his children looks up to him with a truly grateful heart, acknowledging his goodness and our need, his grace and our dependence, his power and our weakness. Too often, I think we assume, “He knows I'm thankful.” Let us not forget that our relationship with him is like relationships with the people in our everyday lives. Anyone appreciates being thanked for something they've done for someone else - even though it isn't required or expected. It simply let's them know you appreciated the blessing. Parents train their children from the beginning to say “thank you” for what they've received. Certainly we don't deserve all the countless blessings in our lives, so how can we not be thankful?

So here's a question we ought to ask ourselves: Why aren't we more thankful?

Do we find it difficult to be thankful?

Do we take God's grace for granted?

Is our prayer time only enough to allow other kinds of “more important” prayer?

Is it hard to think of what to be thankful for? Why?

One experiment I did a while back was to actually write a list of blessings I could be thankful for. I kept this list with me for a while, praying through some of them frequently.

Our thankfulness is a sign of our faith - our acknowledgment that we really believe God is the originator of every good thing (James 1:17). When we take time to remember what God has done for us in his mercy, he is glorified and we draw closer to him. Then, with his blessings before our eyes, there is no other natural response than to love him and praise him more - which is our primary calling as his children.

It's always the little things

2007-09-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

I recently heard Erik Thoennes - a great preacher, teacher, and theologian - mention something very appropriate in a sermon. He mentioned it in passing, really - the sermon was about something else. He reminded us of Paul's words from Philippians 2:14-16:

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life - in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.” (NIV)

“Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” (ESV)

The real emphasis I want to highlight here is verse 14: “Do everything without complaining or arguing”. The ESV says “grumbling or questioning”, and the NASB says “grumbling or disputing”. No matter how it's worded, we get the point, don't we?

During his sermon, Thoennes stopped to talk about complaining, which is what inspired me to write about it - even now, weeks after hearing the sermon. It was such a good thought, that it has stayed in my mind until now.

Why do we complain so much?

What does complaining accomplish?

Isn't it easy to complain? Think about how ready we are to complain. It is one of the easiest ways we have to get out our frustration and dissatisfaction with life and its direct effect on us.

But Thoennes had a thoughtful statement. I don't remember the wording now, but the idea was: Imagine what life would be like if we never complained. Imagine what a huge step that would be in living a righteous life. Imagine how a person like this would stand out, amidst a culture of epidemic complaining.

He went on to say that small things like this are what glorify God - doing the little things well, being faithful with the little he's given us. Thoennes says:

“Most of the time, glorifying God looks really normal. We glorify God when we refuse to gossip. We glorify God when we love our wife as Christ loves the church, even though she doesn't always make that easy. We glorify God by being men and women of integrity and doing what we say we will do. We glorify God by being patient with one another, bearing one another's burdens, and serving self-sacrificially when we want to be self-focused; by pursuing holy lives and dying to self and forsaking at times our image or our reputation; to suffer in light of the calling God has for us, with hope and with confidence in God. That's glorifying him - when you have gut-wrenching anguish in your life, and you refuse to curse God's name, refuse to just live in the disappointment, and you're willing to move beyond it and say, “I trust you, Lord, because you're good, and I know you're good, and I don't feel that right now, but I know it's true.”

I remember reading in my textbook for Intro to Psychology in college something to the effect of: It isn't the really big problems in life that push us over the edge and stress us out the most - it's the little things, like the broken shoelace with no time left.

There is a lot of truth there. Think about how many little things we gripe about. That's what I think of when I imagine complaining - griping. It isn't constructive or useful or beneficial for anyone. It's simply stating how dissatisfied we are with the realities of a fallen world.

What contradicts complaining? Isn't it contentedness? Do you find it difficult to be content? I know I do. Contentedness is a huge challenge in much of the world today, and strikingly so in American culture. If we allow ourselves to observe or listen to the many voices speaking to us (TV, music, movies, books) they will convince us that we are not content. We're somehow always being shorted, being stifled by “The Man”, missing out on something great.

Paul's words have been a great challenge to me:

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” - Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)

This is a passage that I have memorized and meditated on over and over. You will notice that if you try speaking scripture out loud, you must decide how to place emphasis in the reading. On the concluding sentence in this little passage, I have come to place the emphasis on “him”, rather than “everything”, which I have heard a few times from other readers. I don't think Paul's goal is to emphasize how much he can do, but rather, who it is that enables him to do everything he does - Jesus. He is saying that Jesus provides the power for contentedness in every situation on life's spectrum.

For added encouragement, I'll give you a couple more bits of scripture:

“The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.” - Proverbs 19:23

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?' “ - Hebrews 13:5-6

What can we do to gain contentedness? Surely we desire this as followers of Christ. I think a good way to gain contentedness is by gaining humility. But how do we gain humility? That's a tricky question as well. I think one way that God has provided for us to gain humility which leads to contentedness is through several spiritual disciplines. Again, I must direct you to the writings of Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, and Klaus Issler who have discussed this topic thoroughly. I always recommend first reading Willard's Spirit of the Disciplines, as this book gives theory and history behind the practice of spiritual disciplines. From there, Foster and Issler provide more insights and practical applications.

A few examples that come to mind are the disciplines of fasting, secrecy, and silence.

In fasting, we confront our dependence on food, physical sustenance. Even beyond our body's needed nourishment, I think we also deal with the issue of comfort and security which we gain from food, emotionally and mentally. In fasting, we allow ourselves into this weakened condition so that we can draw life from the true source - God himself. The act of fasting itself does nothing. It is God who does the work through the practice of fasting.

In secrecy, we keep the good things we do out of the sight and knowledge of others, allowing God alone to acknowledge us. Rather than performing good works for others to see, we do them privately, secretly. Rather than reporting to others (no matter how subtly) the good we've done, we let God alone observe it. Rather than receiving our glory from man, we receive it from God. This helps us learn to give up our need for man's approval and praise.

In silence, we allow ourselves to escape the clatter and noise of the world. As much as we might claim to dislike the noise of the world - we might find that it is actually comforting. Noise allows our minds to stay comfortably distracted, ignoring the realities we don't want to face in ourselves. The inseparable sibling to silence is the discipline of solitude. When we are alone, in the quiet, with only God to see and hear us, we open ourselves to scrutiny and observation. Not only by God, but also by ourselves. We must now deal with the self, confronting the ugly “us” that we have been hiding behind the busy-ness of life. Here, we are spiritually naked before God, ready for him to show us what he will. No friends, family, or tools can help us here. We become aware of who we are. This experience can be, and should be, very humbling.

Gaining humility is only one benefit of these disciplines. All of them have ways of drawing us into Christlikeness and maturing us in the spiritual life.

Having thought about these things, our goal should now be to live consciously aware of the words we speak, and the heart with which we speak them. The heart is the issue. If we find ourselves complaining, we need to examine our hearts and wonder, “Where did that come from? Who am I, that I complain like this? What condition is my heart in?” If we can curb our complaining habits, I think we will start to see good kinds of fruit, and we will be a blessing and encouragement to those around us. I am far from mastering this. We must remember that it is the little things that will catch us off guard. We must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in us, guiding and cautioning us. Let us work at it, always in the power of Christ alone.

NOTE: When I say "complain", I am talking about a type of communication that comes from a heart that is not rightly content and properly humble. This is different than sharing valid feelings. I never think we should hold back clear communication about facts and real life concerns. The difference between stating a genuine concern and complaining is really a matter of the motives and intentions of our hearts. And, I also encourage you to remember that it is often the difference between the little things and the bigger things that actually do need to be talked about. Body language and tone are also a clear indicator of our intentions. For instance, there is an obvious difference between, "I don't wanna do the dishes!!" and "I really wish this migraine would stop hurting..." Hopefully you see the difference, as it is an important one. Communication is of the utmost importance, so don't keep yourself from clearly expressing your feelings and discussing your thoughts.

Hymn: He Leadeth Me

2007-09-21T07:45:00.000-07:00

Today, I encourage you to meditate on the only hymn ever written by a man named Joseph H. Gilmore. He penned the words in 1862. In 1864, William Bradbury put music to the words. Gilmore didn't realize music had been put to his hymn until 1865! Bradbury died 3 years later. To read up on the background of this hymn, look here.

You can also look here for images and hymn background.

He Leadeth Me

(Verses)
He leadeth me, O blessèd thought!
O words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be
Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom, (bowers are pleasant, shady places in gardens or woods)
By waters still, over troubled sea,
Still ’tis His hand that leadeth me.

Lord, I would clasp thy hand in mine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine; (Discovery Singers say, “Nor ever doubt thy grace divine”)
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since ’tis my God that leadeth me.

And when my task on earth is done,
When by Thy grace the vict’ry’s won,
E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.

(Chorus)
He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

It's especially interesting to meditate on God's leading in our time and culture. Many of us have been raised in a culture that teaches us to plan our own way. It can be a difficult task to learn how to follow God's lead. How do we become sensitive to his leading? On this matter, I highly recommend consulting Dallas Willard's book, Hearing God, and Klaus Issler's book, Wasting Time with God. These men have written many wise words on the subject.

I am inspired by the phrase, “Content whatever lot I see.” This sentence rings with Paul's words in Philippians 4:10-13. It is certainly a challenging call to devote ourselves to spiritual disciplines which will train us to be content whatever our circumstances. I think contentment is a huge problem in our culture. Lack of contentment leads to griping and complaining (a subject I will post about later). How content are we? On what do we base our contentment?

On an interesting side note, William Bradbury also wrote the music for Anna B. Warner's hymn, “Jesus Loves Me”. Warner wrote the first stanza - the one most Christians know - and 5 other stanzas were later added. Bradbury also wrote the music for “'Tis Midnight, and on Olive's Brow”, “The Solid Rock”, and “Sweet Hour of Prayer”, among several other hymns.

The Pre-wrath view

2007-09-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I posted about Robert Van Kampen's book, The Rapture Question Answered, Plain and Simple. You may be wondering what the pre-wrath view of the end times looks like. Here's a summary of how Van Kampen orders the events of the seven year tribulation period before the millennium.

false Christs appear

wars and rumors of wars

famines and earthquakes (beginning of the birth pangs)

Abomination of Desolation is seen standing in the holy place (Antichrist, according to Van Kampen)

Christians are killed and hated by all nations on account of Christ's name (This is Satan's wrath. During this time many people fall away from their faith.)

once the gospel has reached the whole world, Christ's sign appears, initiating the time of the end

darkening of sun and moon, stars fall from the sky

like lightning, the sign of the Son of Man flashes in the sky

Son of Man comes on the clouds with power and great glory

Christ's angels gather the elect

Antichrist's persecution is ended

God's wrath arrives - the end of the age

At the heart of the Pre-wrath view is the timing of Christ's second coming and the rapture. This view holds that Christians will suffer under Satan's wrath, under the reign of the Antichrist. Then, halfway through the tribulation, the most intense persecution will take place against Christians. Sometime during the last half of the tribulation, a sign in the sky will precede Christ's coming. Then Christ will come to take his followers away, ending Satan's wrath. At this time, God's wrath begins. No Christians suffer God's wrath.

The sequence of events listed above is all taken from the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24. When considering this view, Van Kampen believes Jesus is addressing the church - all Christians. He says that advocates of the pre-tribulation view of the rapture believe that Jesus is here addressing Jews who become Christians during the tribulation.

What do you believe?

Is Jesus addressing Christians or Jews? That is perhaps the first thing we should address when considering this passage.

Do you agree with Van Kampen's assessment of this order of events?

I just recently finished reading Mike Wilkins' commentary on Matthew. I would like to go back and see on which points he parallels Van Kampen's interpretation.

If you'd like to do some research on the Internet:

Van Kampen's Pre-wrath site

free online Revelation commentary by Van Kampen and others

recommended rapture books from Strong Tower Publishing

other pre-wrath resources

Psalm 145: Pure Praise

2007-09-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

The other day, I had a short chunk of time to read some scripture. I decided to read a Psalm. The one I chose for no particular reason was Psalm 145. This turned out to be a blessing, as it was exactly the kind of Psalm I had hoped to find. I think the ESV chapter heading must have drawn me in: “Great is the LORD”. This was the kind of Psalm I had been hoping to find.

As God pulls me in, training me from day to day, I desire more and more to praise him, to meditate on his sovereignty, to delight in his existence, to acknowledge his majesty - to glorify him simply because he is God, before and above all things. This is the reason that Psalm 145 was so refreshing to read.

This Psalm begins with, “A Song of Praise. Of David.” This alone stirs my heart. A song of praise. The forethought makes me giddy inside, the idea of God being praised - is there anything more right? This title gets me eager to read the passionate David's words.

In verses 1, 2, 10, and 21, David uses the term “bless” as a form of praise for God and his name. Let me share with you a small excerpt from Richard Foster's book, Prayer.

“Blessing is jubilant praise, praise raised to its highest point. 'Bless the Lord, O my soul,' enjoins the Psalmist, 'and all that is within me, bless his holy name' (Ps. 103:1). Luke closes his Gospel with the enthralling words of blessing 'and they were continually in the temple blessing God' (Luke 24:53). When we are brought into experiences of blessing God, the soul is enraptured in praise.” - Richard Foster, Prayer, pp.84-85

I am thankful to Foster because I had never given thought to the meaning of this term “bless.” Do we, as a Church, bless God as we should?

Other forms of praise expressed in this Psalm include:

declaring God's mighty acts, greatness, glorious kingdom, and power
passing down recollections of God's works from generation to generation
meditating on God's majesty and wondrous works
singing of God's righteousness
giving thanks to God
proclaiming to God his own glory and goodness

David recalls how merciful God is, how slow to anger, how good he is to his creation. He delights in God's enduring dominion, his kindness in all his works. He ponders God's mercy as he “upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.” He reminds us that the Lord is near to “all who call on him in truth” and “fulfills the desire of those who fear him.”

David concludes this Psalm of praise by saying:

“My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.”

Oh, how we need to speak the Lord's praise, to remind one another of God's enduring mercy and dominion, not just today, but every day, never breaking the habit. We need to bless his holy name, and invite others to do the same. Let our meditation on Psalms of praise such as this add more praise to our hearts - always keeping God in his position of absolute majesty.

Praying with Expectation, Part 2

2007-09-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

When you pray for something, which model sounds more like you?

1. I doubt my prayer will be answered, but I hope it
will.

2. I expect my prayer will be answered, but if it isn't, I trust the sovereign God to bring about the perfect alternative.

The first option is really easier, isn't it? This approach to prayer is safer for us. What I mean is, we have a very powerful innate ability to defend ourselves in every aspect. When we pray, we are putting ourselves out there, becoming vulnerable before God. With emotional and mental vulnerability comes caution.

The difficulty with the second option is that we are forced to - either consciously or subconsciously - ask ourselves one or more of the following questions.

What if God doesn't answer as I expect?

What does an unanswered prayer say about me?

What does it say about my faith?

What does it say about my method of prayer?

What does it say about God?

These are all valid questions, and certainly worth asking. But often, I think we don't want to face questions such as these. We might not like the answers. The answers may require us to change, and change is certainly not an attractive prospect. Change means stress, and stress is what we work hardest to diminish in our lives.

You may have prayed with expectation, devoting hours of energy to what you were certain God would answer. You could see it in your mind, waiting joyfully for God's glory to be known through the answered prayer. And yet, he didn't show up. You were left feeling cold, dry, weak, tired, and wondering.

So how do we deal with this?

First, let me quote Foster from his chapter on petitionary prayer.

“Another reality to keep in mind is the simple fact that many times our prayers are indeed answered, but we lack the eyes to see it. God understands the deeper intent of our prayers and so responds to this greater need, which, in its time and in its way, solves our specific prayer concern. We may ask for greater faith so that we can heal others, but God, who understands human need far better than we do, gives us greater compassion so that we can weep with others. A part of our petition must always be for an increasing discernment so that we can see things as God sees them.” - Richard Foster, Prayer, p.183

Foster is right. God's wisdom and sovereignty are beyond our own. When we trust and live as if our prayer will be answered, it will be. But we don't always see the answer exactly as we had imagined it. We must keep confidence that if God answers in a way other than we had precisely asked, that it is probably a better answer.

Issler also deals with this very issue in the last chapter of Wasting Time With God. I will briefly share with you a useful table Issler devised regarding unanswered prayers of the saints. In this table he includes 4 types of “alternative affirmative answers” to prayer. In the table, he includes the manner of the answer (same as our asking, or different/better) and timing of the answer. Here is a simplified version of the table:

(*Klaus Issler, Wasting Time With God, p.238*)
Manner	Timing
same	now
same	later
different / better	now
different / better	later

He also sites examples of each type, if you would like to investigate the book further. While I recommend reading the entire book, I encourage you to specifically take a look at the section of chapter 8 entitled “Wasting Time with God: Faith Stretching Prayer” in regard to this matter.

We have all experienced the emotional injury that results from being denied our expectations. Maybe a trusted friend promised something and didn't deliver. We are very cautious about “getting our hopes up” because we know that the let down is emotionally difficult. And so, we treat God as we would people. The difference is, humans are fickle, God is sovereign. If God doesn't answer us for any reason, either it's for the best good (Romans 8:28) or because he has an alternative that we haven't seen yet.

We also receive encouragement from Paul's words about Jesus in 2 Corinthians 1:20:

“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” (ESV)

Looking at this passage, Piper says:

"We see that prayer is a response to promises, that is, to the assurances of future grace. Prayer is drawing on the account where God has deposited all his promises of future grace. Prayer is not hoping in the dark that there might be a God of good intentions out there. Prayer goes to the bank every day and draws on promises for the future grace needed for that day. . . . Prayer is the confident plea for God to make good on his promises of future grace for Christ's sake.” - John Piper, Future Grace, p.107

I have come to believe that God, in giving us the duty of prayer, has given us a responsibility to pray with expectation. Our role in prayer is not to doubt. Our role is not to second guess God. Our role is not to make empty wishes. Our role is not to protect our emotions. Rather, I think our role in prayer is to step out with true hope. We should believe that what we ask for will come about. We should look forward to God's gracious answer as if it is reality. The outcome of the prayer is irrelevant. God's Yes or No is irrelevant; he may decide as he will on the matter. Nothing changes our responsibility to trust with hope. God longs to give and to answer. Anyone who is a parent will certainly understand the desire to pour out your love on your children in various forms of blessing. Our Father is the same, I think. If he says no, it is because he has an even better way.

Let's continue in expectant prayer, always hopeful for what God will do by his future grace.

I will end with a few passages from scripture:

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” - Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” - Hebrews 4:16

“And Jesus answered them, 'Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.' ” - Matthew 21:21-22 (ESV)

“In [Jesus] and through him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” - Ephesians 3:12 (NIV)

“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.” - 1 John 3:21

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him.” - 1 John 5:14

“ 'I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard see, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.' “ - Matthew 17:20-21

QuickPost: Unexpected Provision

2007-09-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

A book I've been really eager to get my hands on is J.P. Moreland's The Kingdom Triangle. I've heard him speak about it and have put the book on my "must acquire" list. But I had resolved myself to waiting around and hoping to receive it for Christmas or some such.

Today, through very odd and unlikely circumstances I saw a friend whom I haven't seen for several months. This friend works with J.P. I asked if he had read the book, which of course, he had. He didn't let me leave without giving me a copy of the book he happened to have on hand for giveaway. A fresh, unread copy of The Kingdom Triangle!

I can't let the opportunity pass by to share this experience. God provided. My chances of being there at that time, in that situation, was very unlikely. God is good, and today he provided me with spiritual food I could never have expected.

Praying with Expectation, Part 1

2007-09-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

This is the first of a two-part series I am going to do. The topic deals with something that has been constantly on my heart and mind over the last few months.

I recently read Richard Foster's book Prayer. I have also been recently involved in situations that needed radical prayer. This all took place after a period where I felt like I needed to study and increase my understanding of prayer. I felt that I knew so little and that there must be more to prayer than I had learned or experienced.

During this time of learning, I have adopted principles I gained from reading Foster, as well as Klaus Issler's Wasting Time With God and John Piper's Future Grace. Specifically, I am referring to a principle I have come to call “praying with expectation.”

In Future Grace, Piper encourages the reader to see in scripture God's emphasis on forward-looking faith and hope. He explains that true hope is different from the kind of hope we typically think of. The way I see it, our hope tends to lean on the side of uncertainty and even doubt: “I hope this new job works out” or “I hope the mechanic can fix my car.” But, Piper argues that the kind of hope God calls us to is one like Abraham's. This type of hope is what Piper calls “faith in future grace.” One of the greatest examples in scripture is seen in Abraham. God says to him:

“ 'Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.' ” - Genesis 22:2 (ESV)

Abraham obeys, taking Isaac to the mountain. Isaac questions the situation, wondering what's going on, why they have brought no lamb for the sacrifice. Then we read this profound reply from Abraham:

“ 'God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.' “ - Genesis 22:8

This is a wonderful example of true hope. Abraham believed in God's faithfulness to the point that he placed his hope in what would happen. He was looking forward with expectant faith. His hope wasn't the kind that wonders helplessly. He was sure of what would come. James looks back on this situation:

“You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's friend.” - James 2:22-23 (NIV)

Abraham had the kind of hope that leads to action. His faith wasn't a simple desire. I ask you to apply your imagination as we continue, putting yourself in Abraham's position.

“When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.” - Genesis 22:9-10 (ESV)

We recall Abraham's earlier statement to Isaac (Gen. 22:8). He knew God would provide a way out. How did he know? Scientifically, naturalistically, all the odds were against him. But Abraham's hope was in a faithful and sovereign God who is beyond the workings of nature and common human understanding. Abraham had learned to conquer the doubting faithlessness that plagues us today. Our attitude would probably be something like: “I know God can send an alternative if he wants to. All I can do is wait and see.” How contrary this is to Abraham's understanding of our Father! He didn't doubt, wallowing in self-pity. He took action, waiting expectantly for God's faithfulness. He had faith in future grace, to use Piper's wording. He was actually ready to go through with killing his own son because God had commanded him to. He still knew that God, by his sovereign choice, could take Abraham's only son away. He knew that God had power to demand his will. And yet he knew God would supply. This can seem quite paradoxical. But in my studies, I have come to find that many things are paradoxical with the almighty God. Abraham readily obeyed, and yet hoped expectantly that God would provide an alternative. Abraham's actions were, in a way, prayer.

“But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham, Abraham!' And he said, 'Here am I.' He said, 'Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.' And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.” - Genesis 22:11-13

God answered Abraham's faith and actions (his wordless prayers), and the situation turned out just as Abraham had expected. The same can be seen in the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:8-30).

One of Piper's central verses in Future Grace is Romans 8:32: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” God loves to answer prayer. He longs to see us trust with the hope of Abraham, the kind of faith that looks forward and prays with expectation, not doubting, but seeing, imagining the outcome in accordance with God's will.

We also see Jesus as an example of powerful prayer, which Foster calls “Authoritative Prayer.” Jesus commands spirits to leave and bodies to heal. This is a striking contrast to many prayers I've heard and prayed myself in today's church: “God, if it is your will, let so and so be healed” or “Lord, let this situation work out, if it is your will.” Then we somberly walk away, hoping God will hear and answer. But I don't think God ever trained us to pray with such a heart. That is why I am so thankful to Piper for teaching me about faith and grace, and to Foster and Issler for teaching me the many facets of and forms of prayer. I can't recommend their books enough.

Now, all of this sounds great in theory. Real life is an altogether different story, isn't it? Your experience may be that prayer seemingly never works out. Maybe you feel that God never answers your prayers, or that he is distant. You may imagine him ignoring you, or saying “no” to all of your heartfelt pleas. Dealing with this difficult and troubling reality will be the subject of my next post.

Outlining scripture

2007-09-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

Several months ago, I was thinking about the book of Revelation. I had read the book so many times, and yet still didn't have a very good overview of the book. I could only remember a few specific parts of the book, but the whole of it still remained a blur. (My mind is detail-oriented. I am not very good with broad overviews.)

So I decided to make my own outline of the book. In the outline, I make each primary heading one of the bold headings from the Bible passage. Then, all the sub-points under each heading are general descriptions of the important events or features of that bit of text. For example:

X. The Throne in Heaven (Ch. 4) - primary heading

John sees an open door in heaven; a voice calls to him - sub-point

John finds himself "in the Spirit"; sees someone on a throne in heaven - sub-point

etc. - sub-point

This enables me at any time to go back and see what the different parts of the large book of Revelation are - in my own descriptive terms.

I have been working at completing this outline bit by bit. I am almost finished now, with one chapter to go. I see two benefits of this process, one which I've already mentioned, the other which I discovered only by doing the project:

I can now look back any time and be quickly reminded of the basic sections and features of the book.

The process itself - going through the book in an orderly fashion with an eye out for distinct components - has given me a better overview, forcing me to think about what each section contains and what meaning it may have. These bits are often easy to miss when you are just reading, as opposed to analyzing or dissecting.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, desiring a better overview of a passage or book from scripture, why not try outlining? It may or may not help you personally, but at least you've taken the time to break the book down and think about what each section contains to form the whole. Anytime we look at scripture in a new way is one more opportunity for the Spirit to train us.

The Discovery Singers: a Great Discovery

2007-08-31T13:41:00.000-07:00

I listen to a lot of music. Being a composer and musician, I can't get away from music. I have a job which allows me to listen at work, and even when I'm not listening, I have music going around in my head. These days, I find that the music I listen to most is a group called the Discovery Singers. Let me tell you the story of my discovery of the Discovery Singers.

I grew up as a typical suburban middle class American Christian. This kind of life is not inherently conducive to a recognition of one's unending need for the sovereign God. In my youth, I had very little respect for God's holiness and workings, despite being raised by loving parents who were Christians, and attending our baptist church weekly. I think this ugly reality is one of the side effects of growing up in the middle class American culture.

One example of this was my perception of hymns. Now, I have never been one to give much thought to words in music. My nature is to listen to the music itself - how all the aspects work together. That said, I had no care for the deep, meaningful words recorded by so many hymnists. Long ago, these dear people struggled and meditated and wrestled with realities of life and spirituality. They laid their hearts out on the page, passing on to future generations new, poetic ways to worship and proclaim truth through music.

Years later, little fools like me would know nothing of these people, disregarding their work as weird, boring music that you only heard in church services. In my youth, praise bands were emerging and taking over the music scene in Christian churches. No longer did churchgoers know or care how to read music in parts. The band now provided the music, while we sang the basic melodies.

Let me assure you - I have no problem with praise bands in church, and have played in them myself. As a matter of fact, I would probably prefer it to traditional a cappella hymn singing. My point relates to the lack of knowledge and respect for hymns themselves. With the loss of the reverence present in many hymns, I think we lost some of our reverence in worship. (Philosophy of worship is not the point of this post, so I will not continue with that discussion here.)

Looking ahead to my adult years, not much had changed. As the years passed God was doing challenging work in my heart and demanding that I grow - a grace I am very grateful for. During this time, I was searching around for some good internet radio. I don't remember specifically what I was after at the time, but I think I was trying to find good a cappella Christian music. My favorite internet radio site at the time was Live365.com. During my search, I stumbled upon a humble station called “Hidden Pearls Radio”. As I tested this station, I found that they played various forms of calm Christian music, typically (if not all) arrangements of hymns. As I listened I heard some great a cappella vocal arrangements from one choral group. Looking in the playlist, I found that this group was called the Discovery Singers. I kept wanting to hear more, until they were the only thing I wanted to hear. The reason for this attraction was that the arrangements and performance were so solid. This finding fell in line with my belief that arrangements can make or break pieces of music. As I listened to this worshipful music, I found that, because the arrangements were so pleasing, so well-crafted, they were doing justice to the words. The words to these great hymns in conjunction with quality arrangements and top-notch performance made this listening experience very welcome in my day. I found myself suddenly appreciating hymns, with a heart ready to contemplate the words being sung.

From there, this appreciation only grew. I found Discovery Singers CDs for a great price on Barnes and Noble's website and purchased four CDs from their “Hymns You Know and Love” collection. Eventually, I made the pleasant discovery that they also had a CD called “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, which I picked up right away from an online seller.

Since then, they have become perhaps the largest percentage of music I listen to, in terms of time. I find that this style of thoughtful, worshipful music is more and more welcome to my ears from day to day as God continues to call me to transformation. It is a special grace to hear hymns performed in such a way that the music does the words justice.

My purpose in telling this story is threefold:

1. To encourage readers not to forget hymns, those who wrote them, and the deep truths these songs carry
2. To share how God worked in my heart through music
3. To lay some groundwork for any future posts in which I mention hymns or the Discovery Singers

The Rapture Question

2007-08-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

I am currently reading a book called The Rapture Question Answered, Plain and Simple by Robert Van Kampen. Van Kampen has controversial views on eschatology and is opposed by many evangelicals. Van Kampen is convinced that he has a sound "face-value" hermeneutic for Bible interpretation. And yet, many who oppose his views would also claim to have a face-value hermeneutic. How do we resolve issues like this?

This book was a gift to me from a friend (from here out I'll call him Ermu) who likes to wrestle with the tough issues of Christian faith. Ermu likes Van Kampen's view because it is similar to the eschatological perspective he came to in his own study of end times.

So today, I give you the same question Ermu and I are working through:

What do you believe about the end times, specifically regarding the timing of the rapture and second coming of Christ?

Why do you believe what you believe? Who taught you the view you hold?

Does it even matter? Why?

My purpose for now is not to explain Van Kampen's view. I'll discuss the details of that later.

About Reverentium

2007-08-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

Reverentium is the word I've created for a place of reverent meditation before the true God.

I am a thinker. My goal is to use Reverentium as a place to meditate on truth under the guidance of God, and to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ to meditate as well.

The more we think, the more we learn how to accept God's transforming grace in our lives and hearts. But thinking requires time. As followers of Christ, we must learn to "waste time with God" (a term borrowed from Klaus Issler, author of Wasting Time With God). As with any other relationship, our relationship with God must be nurtured through quality time spent together. This could be spent in one of several ways. It doesn't matter so much what we're doing when we waste time with God. It only matters that we do.

I hope to encourage anyone who reads Reverentium to continue thinking, seeking, growing, transforming, as I do the same. I am flawed, weak, and always in need of God's grace. I admit it and therefore ask for the reader's mercy in analyzing my thoughts. I tend to ask questions of myself and others which require consideration of what we believe. This can be uncomfortable and even threatening, but I think it is necessary.

I will discuss theology, philosophy, and the spiritual life as I think about them from day to day. I have no particular association with any denomination of Christianity. I attend an Evangelical Free church, but I don't necessarily agree with everything in the EVFree church's belief statement. I seek the truth, which always soars above and beyond organizations and Christian groups.

To this end I write.

"...You have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator."
- Paul's letter to the Colossians 3:9-10 (ESV)