THE ANCHOR OF SOVEREIGN GRACE

As each year passes, I am confronted again and again by the wonder of sovereign grace. Sovereign in that He is God over all, and that nothing happens outside of His power, knowledge, and control. Grace in the fact that He would in any way bestow anything good on a sinner such as me. Grace...undeserved favor from a holy God.

We are totally unable to do anything that would merit that grace. We will never be "good enough" for it. We cannot, by force of will or self-discipline, live in a manner that would make God feel obligated to show grace to us. "Free will" can and will always lead us towards all of the things that sin brings out in us. Selfishness. Greed. Anger. Self-righteousness. Lust. Pride. It's a long list, but none of those things bring us the right to receive God's favor. But He gives it to us anyway. In fact, the very desire to serve God comes from God. It is the ultimate gift of grace. The want to, to want to, if you will.

How astounding is this? How can it not bring us to our knees? How can we ever lift our eyes in pride and self-sufficiency?

“They who truly come to God for mercy, come as beggars, and not as creditors: they come for mere mercy, for sovereign grace, and not for anything that is due” - Jonathan Edwards

John Piper writes the following:
 " Therefore, the mercy and the sovereignty of God are the twin pillars of my life. They are the hope of my future, the energy of my service, the center of my theology, the bond of my marriage, the best medicine in all my sickness, the remedy of all my discouragements. And when I come to die (whether soon or late) these two truths will stand by my bed and with infinitely strong and infinitely tender hands lift me up to God."

I just love that! Indeed God's sovereign grace is an anchor for our lives.

As the year 2017 begins it is my prayer that you and I will be engulfed by the wonder of His sovereign grace. Happy New Year indeed!

MARY DID YOU KNOW?

                                                   
This is one of my favorite songs, especially as done by Petatonix. I couldn't help but think about this question. Mary did you know? Of course not...and and of course, all at the same time.Inconceivably irrefutable! A young girl, a virgin, in the most unbelievable situation in the history of the world. So how could she possibly know? Inconceivable! But what about the angel? The direct word from God that this was from Him? The fact that she was a virgin, yet about to give birth? Irrefutable!

 Mary did you know that your baby boy will some day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

Oh Mary did you know

The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am


How can we even imagine what the real gift of Christmas meant to Mary? What went through her mind with every breath that baby took? It was both impossible to believe and impossible not to believe!
 Obviously she knew nothing of what was to come. But with every miracle Jesus would do, she had to remember the angels' words to her.

		Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
		But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
		You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
		He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
		and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
		“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
		The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

(Luke 1:28 to Luke 1:35)

 And the result was Luke 2:19.
"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." It must have been true for all of Jesus life.
But then, the crucifixion. Inconceivable! But then, the resurrection. Irrefutable!

The gift of Christmas can only be understood by the message of Easter. Merry inconceivably irrefutable Christmas!

ABOUT-ISM

                                         ABOUT- ISM?  

 WE CAN OFTEN FIND OURSELVES CAUGHT IN A ROMANS 7:15 KIND OF DILEMMA. “I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT I DO. FOR WHAT I WANT TO DO, I DO NOT DO. BUT WHAT I HATE, I DO.” ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANT TO DO BUT DO NOT DO, IS TO PRAY IN A MEANINGFUL, CONSISTENT, PASSIONATE WAY.  

 WE CAN KNOW “ABOUT” LOTS OF THINGS. WE CAN KNOW ABOUT A RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST, WITHOUT HAVING A DEEP PERSONAL INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. WE CAN KNOW ABOUT PRAYER. WE CAN KNOW ABOUT LOVING PEOPLE. WE CAN KNOW ABOUT LIVING SACRIFICIALLY, BEING UNSELFISH, LIVING A GODLY LIFE, FORGIVING THOSE THAT HURT US, STOPPING LONG ENOUGH TO REALLY LISTEN TO WHAT GOD IS SAYING TO US, AND, AS YOU MAY HAVE GUESSED, THIS LIST IS ENDLESS. BUT KNOWING ABOUT ISN’T DOING.

THE BOOK OF JAMES IS FILLED WITH THIS THOUGHT OF DOING. HE SPEAKS OF FEEDING THE HUNGRY, CLOTHING THOSE IN NEED, INSTEAD OF SAYING “GO, BE WARMED AND FILLED”. IN FACT, HE GOES SO FAR AS TO SAY THAT HE WHO KNOWS THE GOOD HE OUGHT TO DO AND DOES NOT DO IT, SINS. FAILURE TO DO IT IS NOT JUST TOO BAD, OR A SHAME, OR “MISSED BLESSING”. IT IS SIN. I THINK IT IS SO MUCH MORE COMMON TO SEE ONLY SINS OF COMMISSION AS SIN, AND MISS SEEING THE SINS OF OMISSION.

WE CAN TALK ABOUT PRAYER. READ ABOUT PRAYER. THINK ABOUT THE NEED FOR PRAYER. WE COULD EVEN BE AN EXPERT ABOUT…TEACH ABOUT…SOUND KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT…LEAD A BIBLE STUDY ABOUT…CONVINCE OUR FRIENDS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER…AND FAIL MISERABLY TO, PRAY.  OUR BIGGEST FAILURE CAN BE NOT TO PRAY CONSISTENTLY, PASSIONATELY, CONTINUALLY, GUT-WRENCHINGLY, SACRIFICIALLY, HEART AND SOUL, ALL THAT IS WITHIN US, AS IF WE REALLY DO CARE. (OUCH) AS THE SAYING GOES, TALK IS CHEAP. REALLY CHEAP.

I SAMUEL 12:23 SUMS THIS UP PRETTY SUCCINCTLY. “AS FOR ME, FAR BE IT FROM ME TO SIN AGAINST THE LORD BY FAILING TO PRAY FOR YOU.” THERE IS NOT MUCH WIGGLE ROOM IN THAT, IS THERE?

Don't Be A Footnote

                

I was reading this morning in Judges, and was struck by the difference a life can make. As leaders in Israel, there is mention of every man down through the years. For Jephthah, that entailed all of Judges 11, and most of chapter 12. It gives details of his leadership, both in his victories, and in his seemingly foolish vow to the Lord. But in 12:11, we read the account of one of the leaders that followed, Elon.

“After him, Elon the Zebulunite led Israel ten years.

Then Elon died and was buried.”

Ouch. He lived, led, died and was buried. It isn’t that his life was meaningless, or that God ignored him. But apparently, as far as Scripture is concerned, it would appear that his life didn’t have quite the impact that the life of Jephthah’s did.

It wasn’t because Jephthah sought the “fame and fortune” of leading the nation. Or that he was exactly of royal lineage. His mother was a prostitute, and his brothers hated him for it. He was driven from his home and despised. He only led when they begged him to. That is hardly an auspicious beginning. But he knew that his victory would depend wholly on God, and said so quite publicly to the enemy kings.

So what do I want the footnote of my life to be? The details of a life that God would say is well lived? Or “he lived, died, and was buried”? I have a choice. I can live a life of reliance and faith in God, not seeking my own glory or fame, but His. Or I can just live.

I am reminded of a book by John Piper titled “Don’t Waste Your Life”. It is a great reminder of the brevity of life, and the responsibility that we have to choose the manner in which we live it.

So this is a reminder to myself:

Don’t be a footnote.

THE BUG OR THE BATTLE

J.C. Ryle says that one of the basic elements in our pursuit of holiness is to realize that, and really live like, we are in a battle. (He is speaking of our battle against sin, not against social issues.)  Ryle says, “To be at peace with the world, the flesh, and the devil is to be at enmity with God, and in the broad way that leads to destruction. We have no choice.

It seems to me that all too often my response to sin is to brush it off like a mosquito, rather than treating it like the mortal danger to my soul that it is. Scripture is very clear, and repetitively so, in presenting this mortal danger as a war.

Again, Ryle: “Let us take care that our own personal religion is real, genuine, and true. The saddest symptom about many so-called Christians is the utter absence of anything like conflict and fight in their Christianity. They eat, they drink, they dress, they work, they amuse themselves, they get money, they spend money, they go through a scanty round of formal religious services once or twice every week. But of the great spiritual warfare-its watchings and strugglings, its agonies and anxieties, it battles and contests-of all this they appear to know nothing at all…”

Can you imagine a soldier not spending any time to prepare for battle? Would he just walk out there, forget his gun, wearing sandals instead of boots, no helmet, no food, no supplies of any kind, no plan, no support, no idea of where the enemy was, his strength, etc.? If he knew anything about warfare, he would not treat this like a walk in the park, or a petty annoyance. Contrast that picture with the list of elements regarding spiritual warfare above; watching, struggles, agonies, anxieties, battles and contests. Nothing easy or yawn-inducing about it. Ducking bullets with your face in the mud does not promote indifference.  

Having said all of that, what is the key? I believe it is prayer. It’s not reading, even Scripture, as important as that is. I love to read. I can nod and underline good things. It’s not serving others, as much as that matters. It’s not preaching or teaching, though they are essential. If this is a spiritual battle, we must fight it on a spiritual level. Personally, it is the hardest thing for me to be consistent at. I don’t think that is a coincidence. That which matters the most will be both resisted the most, and probably the hardest to do.

"…The worst chains are those which are neither felt nor seen by the prisoner…"

We must guard against letting apathy, stagnation, deadness, indifference, or even just business, become just those sorts of chains, especially in the area of prayer.

TO DO, OR TO DON'T

                 TO DO, OR TO DON’T

I once read a book that used the phrase “The tyranny of the urgent”. While the source of that quote escapes me, the truth of it does not. I was struck by it the other day as I wrote my “to-do” list for the weekend. It is always a long list. It always contains things I just know are essential to accomplish, and to accomplish now! It is also almost never true. So far, at least, the world has never ended when my list is not finished. The work is never done. 

Several things enter into this thought.

-Some things don’t make the list, but will happen anyway: unexpected interruptions, distractions, and in these days a wide selection of electronic devices that clamor for our attention.   

-I will either consciously or unconsciously prioritize the list. 

-I will be often if not always be influenced, in varying degrees, by those things that feel “urgent”. 

     As I made my list that day, my conscience was pricked by the realization that something was missing. The list may have included some quiet time, but there was something else that at least should have had an “honorable mention”, as it were. When would I spend some time, some energy, some resolve to pursue God at a deeper level than just everyday quiet time? I own dozens of books, some unread, of great men of God. Their lives, struggles, triumphs, failures, lessons from life that would greatly impact my life, lay gathering dust. But I will tackle those projects around the house. I will watch that ball game. I will…well, you fill in the blank for your own life.

     For me, it has to be planned, intentional, and usually on paper. I’m a list kind of guy. That should be helpful, actually, because I could plan ahead. But it’s not automatic. For instance, I can write this, know that it’s true, have a bucket load of good intentions, and fail to follow through.

     So it does come down to priorities, but it is more than that. It is being intentional about that list. It is about the will to make the “tyranny of the urgent” bow to what really matters. Maybe I need to make a to-don’t list, those things that I will choose to position as optional, rather than letting them determine my schedule.

      J.C. Ryle says the following. “Boast not of Christ’s work for you, unless you can show us the Spirit’s work in you.  Believing and doing are blood-friends. I suspect that often complaining that we cannot do anything about our own corruption is only a cloak to cover spiritual laziness, or an excuse for spiritual sloth.” Ouch! Ryle usually doesn’t mince words. What he doesn’t say is that we don’t have time, or that other things are more important. It’s just laziness and sloth.   

     The thought that comes to my mind is this: If my schedule reflects what matters in my life, how does that stack up if I compare the amount of time spent? How does the time in study and reflection compared to the time I spend on electronics, watching TV, or in any of a dozen other pursuits? If you are like me, my success in this area is very far from impressive.

None of this is to say that we should not have time for relaxation. But squeezing in down time is not usually our biggest struggle, is it?     

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a list to write, hopefully with some thought of what really matters.

"EXTREME RELIGIOUS VIEWS"

I have recently been accused of having "extreme religious views". While the conclusions drawn from this accusation are absurd, and in fact provable lies, I found myself examining the charge nonetheless.

First of all, I have never heard of Calvinism being described as "extreme", though I suppose some would consider it so. But if I really consider my faith, it's source, strength, and impact on people's lives, it can be described in no other way. I would suggest that there were few if any at the foot of the cross of Christ who were shrugging, yawning, and indifferent while watching events unfold. The suffering was extreme. The claims Christ made were extreme. The reactions by the "religious" people of their day was extreme. (Kill him, he is blaspheming!) But most of all, the sacrifice of a sinless man was the most extreme act in all of history.

 Two things make His sacrifice extreme;

1.) The totality of our own sin is extreme. We are not just a little sinful, falling once in a while. We are spiritual cripples, once in a while with all of our strength struggling up to our knees, before we collapse on our face once again. We cannot even begin to understand the depth of our depravity, the sinfulness of our sin. Somehow we cannot admit this to ourselves, let alone find a way to escape the results of it. We don't think we're really that bad. We trust in our own strength, our own wisdom, our own wealth. We ignore Romans 12:13, "Don't think more highly of yourself, but with sober judgement." And in action, we act as if we deserve His grace.  

2.)His grace towards us, though totally, completely, immeasurably undeserved, is as extreme as any act man has ever seen. That totality of grace is the only thing that even gives our wicked hearts any desire to seek Him at all. It is not because we are smart enough to see our need of a Savior, strong enough to choose what is right, or wise enough to know the difference. It is grace alone.(Grace has been defined as undeserved favor. That seems to be a fairly good definition.)

The apostles apparently had "extreme religious views", for they were all killed for the message of grace that they preached. Although I have no claim to be an apostle, that's not a bad bunch to be lumped in with!

If my faith is not "extreme", I have missed the whole point of the gospel. The definition of the word "extreme" may be warped and twisted into something different than the above description, but that does not mean I should make it my goal to sink into the depths of mediocrity, striving not to offend anyone, and thus making the gospel totally irrelevant in the changing of lives. I will not apologize for the convictions that I have, resulting from at least a little recognition of this...

MY SIN IS TOTAL, IMMEASURABLE, AND CRUSHING. HIS GRACE IS OVERWHELMINGLY, IMMEASURABLY, UNFATHOMABLY  MORE.

That is the most "extreme" contrast that the world has ever seen, or in fact could ever imagine.