By Jared Mellinger

A couple weeks ago I introduced an 18th century author and pastor by the name of Thomas Adam. The book Private Thoughts on Religion is a collection of Adam’s journal entries that were published after his death.

Here are some entries on the theme of sin and grace that are worthy of careful reflection and meditation:

“The more I am terrified with a sight and sense of sin, the more precious Christ is, and the faster I lay hold on him.” (p. 92)
 

“To comprehend the breadth and length, and depth and height of the love of Christ, we must first take the dimensions of our own sin.” (p. 167)
 

“Faith does not consist in thinking that my sins are comparatively little, and therefore may be forgiven; but in knowing that they are very great, and believing that, though they are never so many and great, past or present, Christ’s blood is above them all.” (p. 172)
 

“When sin, past and present, appears in its true shape, with all its horrid malignity, and desert of damnation, then is the time for a full sight of Christ. And O how gloriously does ‘the Sun of Righteousness arise,’ to the benighted, sin-burdened soul, ‘with healing in his wings!’ How sweet is mercy! How precious the name Jesus! And how dear his blood to the awakened guilty conscience!” (p. 183)
 

“Remembrance of sin, and sense of redeeming mercy will be the ground of praise and thanksgiving to God and the Lamb for ever in heaven.” (p. 184)
 

“The moment we think that we have no sin, we shall desert Christ.” (p. 212)

By Andy Farmer

One of the common conversations in the church today is how we experience Christ – what he means in my present experience and how I relate to Him. A lot of emphasis seems to be placed on this, our communion with Christ, and with good reason. It is a consistent theme in the New Testament and an vital implication of true faith. But in focusing on our present experience of Christ we can subtly move the historic basis of that communion in the cross to the background. And this is not a good thing.

Interestingly, this was a concern in the church early in the last century as well. J. Gresham Machen spoke the following counsel to God’s people then, and it is equally helpful to us today.

“We ought never to set present communion with Christ, as so many are doing, in opposition to the gospel; we ought never to say that we are interested in what Christ does for us now, but are not so much interested in what He did long ago.

Do you know what soon happens when men talk that way? They soon lose all contact with the real Christ; their religion would really remain essentially the same if Jesus never lived.

That danger should be avoided by the Christian man with all his might and main. God has given us an anchor for our souls; He has anchored himself to us by the message of the Cross. Let us never cast that anchor off; let us never weaken our connection with the events upon which our faith is based.

Such dependence upon the past will never prevent us from having present communion with Christ. Unlike the communion of the mystics it will be communion not with the imaginings of our own hearts, but with the real Saviour Jesus Christ.

The gospel of redemption through the Cross and resurrection of Christ is not a barrier between us and Christ, but it is the blessed tie by which He has bound us for ever to Him.”

—J. Gresham Machen, What Is Faith? (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1991), 153-54
Taken from the blog “Of First Importance” under the entry: He has anchored himself to us by the message of the Cross

By Rob Flood

Have you ever noticed that God doesn’t talk about fear without talking about himself. It’s really an incredible trend to notice. Consider just a few examples:

• Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

• Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)

• Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

• When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:17-18)

Whenever God’s people fear, we are not told to buck it up. We are told to look to God. The fears we have for the future of our children, for the condition of our marriage, for whether we’ll ever get married in the first place, all are answered in one place alone…a good look at God.

Our temptation is to read topical books or get accountability to overcome our fear. These are good things, as far as they go, and ought to be part of our lives. However, they will all fail due to lack of power. We can always talk ourselves out of peace when we look at our problems. There is always something the books didn’t cover, or something we always struggle applying.

However, a good look at God…at the cross and work of Jesus Christ…will never fail us due to lack of power. There we see perfect power merged with perfect sovereignty merged with perfect love. It is the reason that John says: 

                There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18)

When we are rightly understanding our God and his love and power leveraged on our behalf, fear must flee. It cannot survive in love like that.

The fears we have for our marriage, for our children, for our lives, are all very real. There is nothing trivial about them. We simply must accept, and then rejoice over, the reality of God’s love for us; the reality and power that comes in his presence with us. When we fear, we would be wise to do what the Scriptures illustrate for us time and again: Look to God. He is with us. He will help us. He was dead and is now alive forevermore.

By Barb Cournoyer

Mark Prater did a message recently in our Acts series on the activity of the Holy Spirit. Since that time I’ve tried to find areas that the Spirit has been at work in the day to day activities of life. Intercessory prayer would have to be an area where the Lord regularly surprises me by giving me opportunities to pray for others. It’s in this area that the Lord has poured out faith and encouraged my soul that He is ever with us and knows our every need. I confess that I don’t have all the answers about how prayer works, but am so grateful that a Holy God who doesn’t really need us to do what He can do without us brings us in to see His power at work.

I’ll give you some of the WOW moments where the Lord has left me speechless and in awe of His power at work among us. The first WOW moment occurred several years back when I was driving home from Maryland. I had plenty of time to think and pray. A family from church that I didn’t really know came to mind. I wasn’t sure what was going on for them or why they were on my mind so I just prayed a simple prayer that the Lord would meet them and provide for them whatever was going on. Several weeks later I saw them in church and told them that the Lord had brought them to mind. They told me that at the time I was praying for them, they were out of the country in the process of adopting their son. They had hit a significant amount of opposition and were experiencing difficulty. That day, the Lord broke through for them and provided what they needed.

The next WOW moment occurred after a Global Initiative prayer meeting where we were praying for Sri Lanka. Several months later I had an opportunity to meet one of the pastors and asked how they were doing. As he gave me the update, he repeated back to me almost verbatim the prayer I prayed for them. Except he was telling me the answers of how God has been providing for them and lifting “the cloud of oppression,” exactly what I had prayed. There were many other things he said that were prayed at that meeting. I was speechless and undone. I think I was weeping while he was talking to me. I could hardly believe that the Lord allowed me to see his mighty hand at work in this way.

The next time someone is just “on your mind,” pray for them and then follow-up and see how the Lord is at work. I like to leave messages for folks or send an email or card to let them know that they’ve been on my heart. It is amazing how many times someone has told me that they were in the midst of a trial and they were encouraged to know that the Lord was caring for them through the body of Christ and intercessory prayer. 

By Jared Mellinger

On the Acts Blog, I have been posting lyrics to various hymns on themes related to the book of Acts. If you are interested in checking them out, you can go here.
 
Here is a hymn written in 1914 by Bessie Porter Head, called “O Breath of Life.” I encourage you to make this song your prayer as we continue walking through the book of Acts together.
 
O Breath of life, come sweeping through us,
Revive Thy church with life and power;
O Breath of life, come, cleanse, renew us,
And fit Thy church to meet this hour.

O Wind of God, come bend us, break us,
Till humbly we confess our need;
Then in Thy tenderness remake us,
Revive, restore, for this we plead.

O Breath of love, come breathe within us,
Renewing thought and will and heart;
Come, Love of Christ, afresh to win us,
Revive Thy church in every part.

O Heart of Christ, once broken for us,
'Tis there we find our strength and rest;
Our broken, contrite hearts now solace,
And let Thy waiting church be blest.

Revive us, Lord! Is zeal abating,
While harvest fields are vast and white?
Revive, us Lord, the world is waiting,
Equip Thy church to spread the light.

By Rob Flood

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.

God’s goodness is an identifiable truth fixed forever in the heavens.  It is best displayed on the cross of Jesus Christ.  There, a holy God poured his wrath upon the Innocent…and poured his love upon the guilty.  In that single act, God’s goodness is always pointed toward the redeemed.

This truth has comforted souls for thousands of years.  Yet, in my life, all I need is to stub my toe and I can question the goodness of God.  My roof leaks.  …is God still there?!  The car breaks down.  …does he love me still?  It’s kind of silly, really, but my circumstances so often cause my soul to reflexively question God’s goodness in loving me well.

So, when we come to verses like Hebrews 12:6, we are faced with what seems like a very uncomfortable paradox.  “The Lord disciplines the one he loves.”  That means that God is actively loving me when I’m not feeling particularly loved.  It means that my circumstances will lie to me about God’s goodness and God’s love.  It means I’ll have to trust in what God says rather than what I think.  It means that faith will have to guide me rather than sight.

In trials, God is loving us like a Father.  He is loving us for greater purposes than our comfort.  In trials, we take comfort not in our comfort but in the One who is causing our discomfort.  We are told that:

…for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:29)

When we feel the discomfort of trials…particularly extended discomfort…we can question if God knows what he’s up to.  Which is why I’m so glad for the next two verses:

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)

God is up to something bigger than I’m aware of.  He’s up to a work that is aimed at my glorification…not my “today.” 

Keith and Kristyn Getty capture this difficult, faith-demanding, yet glorious truth in one of their hymns.  It is called, “When Trials Come.”  The video is below…followed by the lyrics.

May God relieve your burden in his perfect time.  And, until then, may he embolden your faith and hope in the Sovereign One who controls every pang of difficulty.  He’s up to something bigger than we see.  And he’s causing it to work together for our good.

When Trials Come

When trials come no longer fear
For in the pain our God draws near
To fire a faith worth more than gold
And there His faithfulness is told
And there His faithfulness is told

Within the night I know Your peace
The breath of God brings strength to me
And new each morning mercy flows
As treasures of the darkness grow
As treasures of the darkness grow

I turn to Wisdom not my own
For every battle You have known
My confidence will rest in You
Your love endures Your ways are good
Your love endures Your ways are good

When I am weary with the cost
I see the triumph of the cross
So in it’s shadow I shall run
Till You completes the work begun
Till You completes the work begun

One day all things will be made new
I’ll see the hope You called me to
And in your kingdom paved with gold
I’ll praise your faithfulness of old
I’ll praise your faithfulness of old

Keith & Kristyn Getty
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

 

By Ramona Doyle

Remember the biblical account of the Exodus when Israel fled Egypt. The Lord worked great and marvelous things for them—miracles that they couldn’t miss. They witnessed the terrible plagues in Egypt, saw the Lord protect them by the blood on their doorposts when the first born were slaughtered, received favor among the Egyptians by the Lord’s hand, stood in awe as the Lord parted the waters of the sea, and felt relief as the Lord tumbled the waters upon the pursuing army. And the Lord’s visible presence was with them day and night in the cloud and pillar of fire. Yet, even with these amazing demonstrations of the Lord’s presence and power, as soon as they became uncomfortable or faced trials in the wilderness, they faltered in their trust of the Lord.

So why recount this familiar story? Because I realize that I can be very much like the Israelites. I not only have the written accounts in Scripture of the Lord’s faithful care for Israel, but also wonderful memories of all that God has done in my own life…saving me, providing for me, caring for my needs, meeting me when I call upon Him. But at times when trial knocks on my door, my first thoughts venture to the worse case scenario. This point was driven home recently when I thought that I had developed another tumor on a salivary glad (I had surgery to remove a benign tumor a few months ago). Instead of casting my care upon the Lord and lifting my prayers to him, my first thoughts were to imagine the worse. My thought patterns went something like, ”Oh no! I’ll need to clear out my schedule because I’ll probably need surgery soon. There goes our vacation…I won’t be well enough to travel by the end of the month. What if something is really wrong this time that they missed the last time?” You get the flavor. Sadly, what I had just done was to imagine my life and trial without the Lord.

How contrary to every thing I know about God to think this way! I had to ignore a mountain of scripture to allow those thoughts to invade my serenity. Psalm 16:5-6 tells us, “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” And verse 8 goes on to say, “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” Our challenge in the everyday is to keep the Lord ever before our eyes. The means of grace He provides in Scripture, prayer, and fellowship are so important. When we avail ourselves of them, we peacefully reside in the middle of the Lord’s chosen boundaries for our lives and there find his presence, care, protection, and comfort, no matter our circumstances. Don’t wait for a trial!  Live each day with the Lord before your eyes, and you will not be shaken!

By Rob Flood

Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Psalm 3:8

Psalm 3 is said to be written by David when he was fleeing from his own son, Absalom.  This is the same man who, a few decades earlier, had been fleeing from the reigning king of Israel, Saul.  The same man who charged into battle against Goliath.  The same man who is said to have slain ten thousands in battle.  David knew something about dependence…and he knew that salvation belongs to the Lord.

Like David, we take nothing of worth to the case of our salvation.  All of our righteous deeds are like filthy rags ((Isaiah 64:6).  Any presentation of our own case works to indict us…not save us.  If we are to be saved, in any and every case, it is entirely because of God.  One song that captures this well is Augustus Toplady’s classic hymn, Rock of Ages.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure.

When we get out of the way and stop trying to contribute to our own salvation, then we hide in Christ.  The most fruitful and appropriate action for us to take in salvation is to hide in Christ.  Only there can be we saved from the wrath of God.  Only there can we have our blood-stained garments washed pure.

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Yet, we do try…don’t we.  We rest in the confidence of our own efforts, in the contribution of our service, in the depth of our sorrow over sin.  Our hands, our zeal, our tears are all wonderful when deployed in service to Christ, but useless in salvation.  If we are to be saved, it must be God alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

Lower…still lower.  Whatever perspective we have of our own sin…no matter how humbled we are by it…it is never low enough to be accurate.  Toplady declares the simple truth: We ought bring nothing in our hands.  All that we have…all the good that we’ve achieved…all comes from God.  Paul tells us this in 1 Corinthians 4:7 when he says, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”  We come naked…we come helpless.  And we receive dress and grace.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death,
When I rise to worlds unknown,
And behold Thee on Thy throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

And when all of life is through, should we be given final moments of reflection, we will look back on the fruit and grace poured through us and see only the fingerprints of Christ.  We pass through death to eternal life and we rise to worlds unknown.  We do it on the merits of Christ.  We rest only in the work of Christ.  When we are at our best…functioning purely and totally in grace…we hide in Christ.

What a God we have to treasure.  What great news we have to proclaim.  When we know something of dependence, we share the same vantage point as King David.  We say humbly…we saw thankfully…we say with great jubilation… “Salvation belongs to the Lord!”  Our God saves.

By Rob Flood

I remember awaiting the arrival of our first child. I had plans for the type of dad I would be, the type of child he would be, and what our relationship would look like. I had faith for it…I had confidence in it. …then he was born!

On night number two, he cried all night. I mean, all night. In less than 48 hours, my plan was out the window. I was not filled with faith and joy but with panic and fear. How do I stop this persecution?!? As he grew, and as the number of our children grew, my plan went further and further out the window, down the street and around the corner. For the record, it never made its way back.

The plan I drew up was a bit utopian: wonderfully compliant children who desired to love God, honor dad, and avoid sin. Now, to their credit, they do seem to love God, they do desire to honor dad, and they do desire to avoid sin. But they are flawed at it. And so is their dad. My plan didn’t include weakness in my parenting. And, as time goes on, I discover more and more of that overlooked ingredient.

So, what are dads like me supposed to do? How about moms who, like me, are weak? We still have the glorious responsibility of raising children to love and fear God. We still have the duty to engage their hearts, even if ours keep interfering. What are we supposed to do?

William P. Farley helps us here in his book Gospel-Powered Parenting. Rather than equip us with steps and techniques, he turns our attention to the only salve for weak parents: the gospel.

When we turn to the gospel, it transforms our weaknesses. “My grace is sufficient for you,” Jesus told Paul, “for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2Cor. 12:9). God has inserted his treasure (the gospel of the glory of God in the face of Christ), the light that converts our children, “in jars of clay.” We are those clay pots! He has done this “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Cor. 4:7). What wonderful news! God uses the imperfect efforts of gospel-centered parents to do his deep and abiding work in our children. In the meantime, the gospel frees us from the burden of perfection. (p. 219)

The application is wondrously simple.

1. We embrace the reality that we are clay pots. We don’t fight it. We don’t deny it. We don’t hide it. We wear t-shirts with arrows pointing up, saying: This guy is a clay pot!  We tell our friends that we are clay pots and we help they see that they are, too.

2. We thank God for his power. Our children are not condemned to “clay pot” parenting. They are confined to “clay pot” parents, but not “clay pot” parenting. God, in his surpassing power, will pour immeasurable treasure into their lives through these clay pots they call parents. That ought to make us thankful, indeed.

3. We act in faith. Yes, we are weak. Yes, we have cracks in us. But we have a God committed to using weak vessels to display his great power, love, and mercy.

Join me as I join Farley in shouting with joy: What wonderful news!

By Jared Mellinger

I was able to attend Next 2010 Memorial Day weekend in Baltimore, and I loved every minute of it.  I’ve been there other years as well.  One of my favorite parts of Next has always been the music and the singing.  It is seriously loud, usually quite fast, and always Christ-exalting (however you feel about the first two qualities, the third quality assures me that all of you would enjoy the singing there as much as I do).  My tradition is to come home from the conference, download the songs from i-tunes, and go around singing them for a while.  

We sang “How Great is Your Faithfulness”, which is a song off the new Matt Redman CD (“We Shall Not Be Shaken”).  With music, I usually listen to one CD every day for a few months, and then jump to another CD after that one has been completely killed.  Matt Redman’s new CD is the one I have been listening to a lot lately.  I like it so much that I got a copy for all the other pastors, so hopefully they are enjoying it as much as I am.  “How Great is Your Faithfulness” is a great song.  

We also sang a handful of Getty songs at the conference.  I thank God for Keith and Kristen Getty, and the ability they have to create contemporary hymns that are rich in content, but are easy to understand and have memorable melodies.  We sang “In Christ Alone”, “Speak O Lord”, and “O Church Arise”.  One of the things I appreciate about the Getty’s is that their songs cover a broad range of theological themes, but remain tied to the work of Christ.  “Speak O Lord”, for example, is a song about the preaching of God’s word, and “O Church Arise” focuses on the church.

One more highlight related to the singing was the choir.  The human voice is a great and powerful instrument, and hearing the voices of dozens of young men and women who know how to sing (unlike me!) is something that always draws my heart to worship God.  It made me grateful for the choir of gifted singers that we have joyfully serving at Covenant Fellowship.  

I’ve been asking people who were at the conference what a highlight was for them, and how God met them at the conference.  Whether or not you were at NEXT, I’d encourage you to do the same, and take in some of the stories of how people encountered God.  You will get to hear not only about the singing, but about the preaching of guys like D.A. Carson, Kevin DeYoung, and C.J. Mahaney.   
 
And if you were at the conference, share with others how you benefited from the conference!  And, fill your iPod (or CD player or computer) with the songs you enjoyed from our time together.  The conference may be over, but worshipping God through singing and with our lives continues today, this week, and forever

By Mark Prater 

Editor’s Note: This past Sunday, Mark Prater included the following comments on parenting in his announcements.  Our hope as pastors is that our focus as a church would be on faithfulness to the gospel in parenting rather than a search for the magic formula or special technique.  We strive for godly character in our children…not just moral behavior.

One of the things we treasure about our life together as a church is our families  We love to celebrate marriage and we believe that children are a gift and blessing from God.  And because of that, we view parenting not only as a responsibility to be fulfilled but also a privilege to be enjoyed.

You can see our church’s commitment to children in the way we do ministry around here.  We have Promise Kingdom every Sunday morning where we endeavor to bring gospel-centered teaching to our children.  And we have commitment to continue teaching them through the teen years though our youth ministry called Cross Culture.

As important as the church’s role is in the lives of the children, it is not the most important role.  That role is reserved for parents.  The biggest responsibility we have as a pastoral team is to come alongside and equip parents for the responsibility to parent the children God has given them.  That’s why parenting is an important value here at Covenant Fellowship Church: to help the parents in their parenting.

If you’re new here, you should know that we are endeavoring to be parents who are faithful to the gospel, not only in the instruction we give or in the way we understand and raise our children, but also in the living example we are attempting to be in our homes.  We know that the greatest way we will fulfill our responsibilities as parents is to be faithful to the gospel as we raise our children.  Our focus in parenting is on faithfulness and not on the specific fruit that can come from parenting.  The reason for this is that real parenting fruit is ultimately up to God.  We do the sowing and we tend to the watering, but God provides the growth.

The key to parenting is not finding and using the right parenting techniques, even though we must use them and work hard at parenting.  The key to parenting is being faithful to our children and to the gospel.

And this is where we need one another as a church.  Jill and I have loved parenting, but it’s also the hardest thing we’ve ever done.  Parents in our church need our encouragement, our prayers, and our counsel.  So let us be a church who not only parents in community, but also feels a shared responsibility for the next generation.  And let us help one another to be faithful parents.

By Ramona Doyle

I recently had surgery to remove a small mass from a salivary gland and was overjoyed at the news it was benign.  After fasting for surgery, my greatest anticipation during recovery was my return to “real” food.  I quickly found, however, that because of a severe inflammation in the gland I could not eat solid food without excruciating pain radiating on the side of my face.  Yup…ouch!

Shortly after my discharge while in the middle of a bland puréed meal, I found myself crying out to God, “All I want is one simple slice of bread, and I can’t even eat that”.  Not really expecting an answer, I was surprised by that still small voice in my heart as I felt Lord gently respond, “I am the Bread of Life.”  Ever have one of those moments with the Lord where he seems to invade the mundane in a way unmistakably God—this was one of them.  In that moment I realized how much I take certain things for granted: the ability to eat, to comfortably sleep, to come and go as I please.  In the limitations imposed on me by my surgery and the absence of earthly bread (literally!)  I began to realize how very dependent I am on the heavenly bread that comes only from the Lord.  He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35), but in the midst of the distractions of daily life, how easily the need to draw life-giving sustenance from him can be dwarfed by the savory extras of our lives.  The Lord offers us a feast, yet we are often content with leftovers…so easily satisfied with so little.

I have seen how I can relegate my dependence on the Lord to areas where “I” recognize a need and fail to see that I am hopelessly dependent upon him for every breath that I take.  So I pray about problems in parenting, or health issues, of for grace to tackle a difficult relationship, but neglect asking the Lord to invade and provide for every moment of my day.  I am distracted by earthly pursuits—often good things—and because they seem to be a given I walk in self-sufficiency instead of drawing deeply from his abundant storehouse.

The Lord often uses seasons of weakness and need to highlight our deepest need for him— to make us more aware of our Savior than the savory extras of our lives…to make us more aware of our Savior than even our suffering.  We come face to face with our inability to live, have joy, and do anything on our own and in the midst rediscover our true hunger and thirst for him.  Are you desperate for heavenly bread?  Let us seek to be persistent, relentless, and yes, even desperate in our daily pursuit of his presence and sustaining provision for our hearts, souls, and lives.

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Jared Mellinger

Christ has died!  Christ has risen!  Christ will return!  It is impossible to think about these things too frequently or too deeply.

Here are 3 questions and answers from the Heidelberg Catechism (written in1563) that have helped me reflect on the work of Christ for us.  These are the truths about Christ that men and women have treasured and embraced for centuries.

Question 37: What do you understand by the word “suffered”?

Answer: That during His whole life on earth, but especially at the end, Christ sustained in body and soul the anger of God against the sin of the whole human race.  This He did in order that, by His suffering as the only atoning sacrifice, He might set us free, body and soul, from eternal condemnation, and gain for us God’s grace, righteousness, and eternal life. 

Question 45: How does Christ’s resurrection benefit us?

Answer: First, by His resurrection He has overcome death, so that He might make us share in the righteousness He won for us by His death.  Second, by His power we too are already now resurrected to a new life.  Third, Christ’s resurrection is a guarantee of our glorious resurrection. 

Question 52: How does Christ’s return “to judge the living and the dead” comfort you?

Answer: In all my distress and persecution I turn my eyes to the heavens and confidently await as judge the very One who has already  stood trial in my place before God and so has removed the whole curse from me.  All His enemies and mine He will condemn to everlasting punishment: but me and all His chosen ones He will take along with Him into the joy and the glory of heaven. 

What a savior we have in Jesus!  And what a great salvation awaits us because of what God has done through His death and resurrection.  

By Trish Donohue

Most Christians have had the experience of reading the Bible and suddenly a passage you’ve read a million times goes slow-mo and it seems like you’re reading it for the first time.  It’s like the Holy Spirit is the director yelling, “Hold it!  Slow this part down!  In fact, rewind it for her!  She’s never gotten this part!” 

 

So I’m reading John the other morning (Isn’t John the most frequently read book?  Haven’t I read it a gazillion times?) and this is the scene I come across in chapter 6:

 

Jesus looks up and sees a mob of needy people heading straight for him, and he says to Philip,

 

“Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 

 

Philip was probably thinking to himself, “How in the world am I supposed to know?  You’re in charge here!”

 

And just when you’re entering into the panic and worry of the situation, you read the next line, which makes me laugh:

“He said this to test him for he himself knew what he would do.”

 

Of course Jesus knew what he would do.  He wasn’t really wondering.  He wasn’t wringing his hands, figuring out the distance to the nearest Wawa, estimating the size of the crowd.  He might have grinned and watched Philip out of the corner of his eye as he asked the question to see how Philip would respond. 

 

Here’s the paraphrase for my life: 

 

Jesus is walking beside me and looks up and sees a potential problem coming up.

 

“Hey Trish,” he says (maybe with a grin I’m too busy to notice), “What are we gonna do here—this isn’t looking so good.”

 

My typical response is: “I know!  I was thinking that exact same thing Jesus!  Yikes!  It’s all falling apart!  I knew it would!  That plan, that kid, that test, that relationship, that dream—it’s all going down!  Do you mind if I stop for a minute to worry and plan and fret until I figure it out?”

 

I don’t think Jesus says, “Oh, brother,” but I’d understand if he would.  Instead, we know through scripture that he does these things to test us, for he himself knows what he will do.

 

He knows exactly what he will do!  He isn’t confused, overwhelmed, upset, or worried.  He sees the situation clearly, and promises to work all things together for good for those who love him.  And that’s who I get to walk beside.  By God’s grace, I think I’m slowly learning to look over at him when he asks that question, and say, “You know what you’re doing Lord.  You’ll provide all that’s needed.  You always do.”

By David Mayinja

Have you ever received news that immediately turned your world upside down?  That’s what happened to Su Shannon and her husband the first week of January 2000. Su had recently suffered her second miscarriage and now her doctor informed her that she would never be able to bear children again!

The following weeks were difficult as Su came to terms with the news. Her dream of bearing more children had come to an end. Nonetheless, she and her husband and their two sons carried in their hearts a persistent hope that one day the Lord would make it possible for them to adopt a child that needed a family.
 
In the spring of 2004, they moved into a larger home with the hope of adding to their family through adoption. Unfortunately, the beautiful home they purchased turned out to be a white washed tomb that ended up depleting all their savings and retirement funds. As they later discovered, they had unwittingly purchased a house with toxic mold and infested by bats. They had to evacuate the house and throw away many of their earthly possessions.  They had just enough money to decontaminate the house but could not do the needed renovations. They chose to avoid getting into debt and trusted that the house would be restored as the Lord provided for them.  Hopes for adoption were deferred indefinitely

Five years later, they were still living with plywood floors, a makeshift kitchen, and two incomplete baths. They were tempted to get into a loan and invest in completing the renovations. However, the house had become a precious life lesson from the Savior reminding them that their treasures were not here on earth.  Su’s husband Danny led the charge as he directed their efforts towards investing in God’s work.  The house could wait, eternal investment couldn’t. With this in mind, the family decided to sponsor a child through Covenant Mercies Orphan Sponsorship Program. In the same period of time, they got news that Covenant Mercies was organizing a medical team to go and serve the community in Kiburara, Uganda. Su who was a professional nurse desired to serve on the team, but they did not have enough money to cover all her costs for the trip. So her husband coordinated a surprise 50th birthday party to raise the needed funds. They were able get enough contributions to add to their own money. In the midst of all the excitement Su realized that the team was actually going to serve in the community where their recently sponsored child lived!  She could barely wait to meet her.

On the third day after the team’s arrival in Uganda, Su finally met her sponsored child, Phiona. Recently Su commented on what that day was like for her: “That day will remain imbedded in my heart and mind forever! This beautiful little girl walked toward me with an inviting smile that immediately melted my heart.  Without hesitation she wrapped her little arms around me. It was as if we were re-uniting, not meeting for the first time! I told her about the joy that she had brought into our lives. Tears streaming from my awestruck eyes, I told her of our love for her and of our nightly prayers on her behalf. As we talked I discovered that Phiona was born on January 2nd, 2000!  The very week she was born, our family had begun to cry out to God for another child.  The Lord heard our prayers.  He had a marvelous plan.  Our journey was long and at times filled with sorrow; but our God in His perfect time had joined to our family a little orphaned girl from a remote village in Uganda.”



 
The Shannons are currently sponsoring two children through Covenant Mercies Sponsorship program. We are grateful to God for them and all of you that have sponsored children. We continue to trust God to make similar sovereign connections between new sponsors and our waiting children.

By Andy Farmer

I’m dropping in a blog by C.J. Mahaney today from about a year ago on Self-sufficiency and the battle with prayer.  I have two reasons.  First, in responding to the collective sense we have as a church that we want to grow in prayer as we move into the book of Acts; this is a great bit of wisdom on how to make sure we don’t simply depend on formal prayer times.  The second is to highlight the blog itself.  I find it is very helpful, not only to keep up with what’s going on in our family of churches, but to be fed by helpful thoughts from an array of insightful folks.  

The link for the blog is here.

And here’s the post from 3/31/09:

As the typical day unfolds, the unexpected expectedly happens.  With one eye on the clock and another on our schedule, we can often watch our planning derail throughout the day.  And as I realize my plans for the day will not be flawlessly executed, my soul has a tendency to be weighed down by accumulating cares.  But rather than humbling myself as I should, I find myself vulnerable to self-sufficiency, at risk of relying upon my limited strength and wisdom.  This is pride.

If we are not watchful, our burdens will subtly accumulate over time, and will gradually weigh down our soul.  But it doesn’t need to be this way.  There is a biblical alternative.  

Casting Pride and Casting Cares

Scripture calls us to cast all our anxieties on God, because he cares for us.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.  (1 Peter 5:6–7, ESV)

Casting all my cares upon the Lord is a means of humbling myself before the Lord.  In reading these passages we discover that casting our cares upon the Lord falls under the command to humble ourselves.  Casting our cares is an expression of humility.  When I fail to cast my cares upon him, I display prideful self-sufficiency.

A Few Words of Prayer

As I make my way from meeting to meeting, decision to decision, and phone call to phone call, I find the counsel of Charles Spurgeon very helpful.  “I always feel it well,” he wrote, “to put a few words of prayer between everything I do.”  Throughout his busy days, Spurgeon scattered words of prayer between each activity, a model I have sought to emulate over the years.  

The content of my “few words of prayer” is not unique and if you overheard them, you wouldn’t be impressed.  I am a simple man and when I think of casting all my cares it is a simple acknowledgement of my dependence upon God and my need of grace throughout the day.

But the very act of pausing in a busy day to pray is an act of weakening pride in my life, acknowledging that I am a dependent creature.  I am not self-sufficient.

And taking a brief moment to humble myself in prayer makes all the difference in my soul throughout the day.  

At its root, weariness is often the result of pride and self-sufficiency in my life.  When I neglect casting my cares upon the Lord, the heavy fatigue of weariness will settle into my soul.  

Casting our cares upon the Lord and humbling ourselves before him are critical activities, regardless of how busy we are.  And this practice cannot be replaced by hours of careful planning and scheduling.

How about you?  Do you follow the practice of Spurgeon and “put a few words of prayer” between everything you do throughout each day?  Are you casting cares or accumulating burdens?  Are you humbling yourself before the Lord or displaying self-sufficiency?

By  Andy Farmer

This is the second post reflecting on a book I recently completed.  It is a small, 103 page biblical theology on the Kingdom of God and the church entitled, well, The Kingdom of God and the Church.  The author is Geerhardus Vos, a Dutch/American theologian of the turn of the 20th Century who taught at Princeton Seminary along side the last of the orthodox lions of that great institution, B. B Warfield and J. Gresham Machen.  Vos is known as the ‘Father of Reformed Biblical Theology’, which might not mean a lot to some folks.  But his works on how the story of redemption plays through the entire Bible are foundational for understanding the grand purpose and beauty of the Scriptures as they reveal the Savior, Jesus Christ.
 
In this book Vos has accomplished an extraordinary task of taking the massive theological topic of the Kingdom of God and pressing its essential Biblical theology into a small and very readable text.  I ended up using it in my devotions and found myself regularly stopping and pondering the deep significance of some of the truths he was offering in small measure throughout.  Here’s another statement that spoke volumes to me.  

Faith and unbelief are experiential states and acts in which the whole spiritual condition of the individual comes to light.  (100)
    
This statement comes near the end of the book, following a wonderful discussion on repentance and faith.  To Vos, repentance and faith are "the two main aspects of the kingdom, righteousness and the saving grace of God, translated into terms of subjective human experience.”  In evangelism we talk about bringing the Gospel to the unbeliever; in mission we talk about reaching the unbelieving world.  Yet I’m not sure we think well about what ‘unbelieving’ means.  What we encounter in experience in evangelism and mission is not people who see themselves as ‘unbelievers’ but as people who ‘believe differently’.  And when we accept that premise as the starting point of outreach, we find ourselves trading in a market that places no value in what we offer.  We may begin to debate on the superiority of our message, be tempted to offer attractive temporal benefits of our system, or adapt our message to the tastes of those with whom we speak.  In any case we succumb to the fallacy of ‘relative unbelief’ – that resistance to God is something that can be overcome with strategy, persistence or our own great example.  But Vos presents faith as a gift of God, the sovereign activity by which He overcomes the sinful unbelieving heart with the saving power of the Gospel.  Unbelief is not alternative belief.  It is a spiritual deadness of our soul to God – an experiential state as well as a religious one – which can only be remedied by divine intervention.  

It might not be good outreach strategy to address our neighbor, co-worker, family member to their face as a ‘rank unbeliever’.  It certainly doesn’t seem loving.  But in our minds and hearts and prayers we need to keep in mind that faith can’t be teased out by our efforts.  Saving faith is God’s doing and we are privileged beyond all reason to participate in the sowing of the seeds which give birth to it.  

This statement takes on a whole different connotation when I think about personal ministry to my brothers and sisters.  At times I’ll ask somebody if they are struggling with unbelief.  Often the response is something like, ‘I’m sure I am’, followed by a ‘but what I’m really struggling with is…..’  But to Vos unbelief is an ‘experiential state and act in which the whole spiritual condition of the individual comes to light’.  It isn’t something you can skip over in the inbox of the soul to get to the real problem.  If the key to life in Christ is faith, then in some sense the key to struggles in life is unbelief.  This doesn’t mean that effective pastoral or personal ministry is summed up in squashing unbelief.  But it does seem that to truly help people we need to be able to discern how the ‘whole spiritual condition’ of those we are counseling is affected by unbelief.  And it seems that we need to be able to address truth to the specific manifestations and strongholds of unbelief in a person’s life.  Effective ministry is helping people appropriate honest and grace empowered faith to the difficulties of life.  Our practical theology of faith must contain biblically informed remedies against the dissipating effects of unbelief.  Vos has given us a one sentence truth agenda that can serve us in every evangelistic and personal ministry situation we face.   

By Ramona Doyle

We buy milk, eggs, and bread before a winter snow storm.  We keep candles in a drawer to be prepared for a power outage.  We stockpile wood all summer to supplement our winter heating costs and provide cozy winter fires.  We have savings for times of emergency.  But in our physical preparations for very real needs, we can sometimes neglect to build an arsenal that will serve us by fueling our hearts with faith during times of trial.  In a time of trial, the physical challenges are hard—no question, but the state of our hearts and souls can make it nothing short of overwhelming.

When I go through a trial, my greatest challenge is the battle to draw peace and security from the Lord.  This is often accompanied by the realization that I have rooted my security and sense of well being in something other than the Lord…usually my own strength and abilities or in my circumstances.  Things have been going well and I feel great.  I think I am prepared for the future, then something happens and I am caught off guard and unprepared.  Circumstances can change, sometimes very quickly, and my own strength is suddenly woefully inadequate.  It actually has been all along, but if I’ve rooted my security there, I will often fail to see it!

I have found that the battle to walk securely in these seasons can be won or lost by where I daily (and minute by minute!) choose to fix my eyes.  Do I spend countless hours looking at my trial and all the ugly possibilities, weighing and sorting them over and over in my mind?  Or, do I set my gaze on the Lord who is the only unchanging source of hope and help who has promised he will never leave or forsake me?  Where I fix my eyes will ultimately fill my heart…either with fear and striving or with confidence and peace during uncertain times.  And my best preparation for times of trial is developing habits now that will serve me then…habits of looking to the Lord and his Word for daily life-giving sustenance.

Prayer and God’s Word are priceless, ageless reservoirs that the Lord has given us to fuel our hearts with faith and fortify our souls with confidence for times of difficulty.  Scripture tells us that as we lift our requests before the Lord—as we place our burdens in his capable hands—we will know an abiding peace that will guard our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:6-7).  And Scripture is filled with promises of the Lord’s care for those he has redeemed.  It is in Scripture that we are reminded, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).  In our frailty and forgetfulness, we need to gather this kind of manna each and every day.

Let us be like the ant who gathers his food in the summer, and store up priceless treasures by daily drawing deeply from the Lord’s limitless storehouse.  What an arsenal is right there for us!

By Jared Mellinger

 

Our current preaching series on Isaiah 40 is highlighting God’s desire to comfort, strengthen, and encourage weary saints. 

 

One of the masters of speaking words of comfort is the puritan Richard Sibbes.  His book, The Bruised Reed, is one that God has used to sustain thousands of weak, tired, and troubled souls.  It is a book I personally have greatly benefited from.  They called him “The Heavenly Doctor Sibbes”, because of his skill in speaking words of comfort and hope.   

 

Here are some quotes that have helped me when I am weary, anxious, grieving, or burdened by my sin.  

 

“There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.”  (The Bruised Reed, 13) 

 

“Let all know that none are fitter for comfort than those that think themselves furthest off.”  (The Bruised Reed, 14)

 

“Christ ‘binds up the broken-hearted’ (Isa. 61:1).  As a mother is tenderest to the most diseased and weakest child, so does Christ most mercifully incline to the weakest.  Likewise he puts an instinct into the weakest things to rely upon something stronger than themselves for support.  The vine stays itself upon the elm, and the weakest creatures often have the strongest shelters.  The consciousness of the church’s weakness makes her willing to lean on her beloved, and to hide herself under his wing.”  (The Bruised Reed, 10)

 

“The church of Christ is a common hospital, wherein all are in some measure sick of some spiritual disease or other.”  (The Bruised Reed, 34) 

 

“Whatsoever may be wished for in an all-sufficient comforter, is all to be found in Christ.”  (The Bruised Reed, 66) 

 

“The first and chief ground of our comfort is that Christ as a priest offered himself as a sacrifice to his Father for us.  The guilty soul flies first to Christ crucified, made a curse for us.  …And when we feel ourselves cold in affection and duty, the best way is to warm ourselves at this fire of his love and mercy in giving himself for us.  ” (The Bruised Reed , 81) 

 

“What a comfort this is in our conflicts with our unruly hearts, that it will not always be thus!  Let us strive a little while, and then we shall be happy for ever.  Let us think when we are troubled with our sins that Christ has this in charge from his Father, that he shall not ‘quench the smoking flax’ until he has subdued all.  This puts a shield into our hands to beat back ‘all the fiery darts of the wicked’ (Eph. 6:16).  Satan will object, ‘You are a great sinner.’  We may answer ‘Christ is a strong Savior’.”  (The Bruised Reed, 123) 

By Al Everett

 

I have never really liked winter.  As a young man I suffered from what doctors might call Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD for short.  Basically it meant I would be SAD in the winter because of the decreased amount of daylight.  Each year, as Day Light Savings Time ended, the dread would begin to build and soon become debilitating depression that would last until the first real harbinger of spring – the Phillies’ spring training games.

 

Over time I began to wonder if what the doctors diagnosed as a disorder might not actually be ordinary bitterness – a simple anger at God for allowing me to suffer the cold.  The proof of this theory came along when I decided confession was a better treatment for my bitter spirit than the doctor-recommended light treatments.  As a result, the Lord led me into what would truly be my first winter without being SAD for as long as I could remember.

 

Don’t get me wrong though.  In spite of that grace, I still hate being cold.  So when I get out there like most guys and start chipping away at the ice on my driveway on those below freezing days, you can bet I am struggling to find joy.  The old bitterness may be gone but man, I still do not like the cold. 

 

One winter’s day, as I was chipping away at said ice on my driveway, feeling a little joy-challenged, I began to daydream about my garden.  (Yes, real men do garden, but that is a post for another day.)  As I struggled with that ice, I started looking around and seeing a plant here and another there.  I felt joy building as I thought,

 

"Yes...that plant will soon be green again, and that one there, it’ll soon be covered with pink and purple fragrant buds, and that row of sticks, those skinny, dead twigs, they will be filled with flowers that will bring the hummingbirds and the butterflies." 

 

I remembered the warmth of summer and the joy of splashing with my daughter in our pool.  For a few minutes the ice and gloom were gone and I was in my swim trunks, smelling burgers on the grill and hearing the crack of a baseball against a bat.

 

C.S. Lewis wrote that Narnia was a place where it was "always winter but never Christmas," a sad metaphor for a world separated from God.  You know, our present struggles in this world are winters of a sort, but because of the cross, with every winter comes a spring, with every death comes a resurrection.  If we look only at the cold and darkness of this present winter, we will be joy-challenged.  But if we can focus our sluggish souls on the spring to come, as God works all our trials together for our good, imagine the joy that His Spring will bring.  Believing is seeing and you can see it and rejoice in it now, even while living in the throws of today's cold and ice.  God's grace brings the hope of spring into our present day reality.  Though we now endure circumstances of winter, we have hope for the spring as the power of Christ's resurrection builds in the darkness of our lives, anticipating the day it will explode in joyous, glorious, fragrant spring. 

By Jared Mellinger

 

We recently added quite a few books to our Book Shoppe.  As you know, we don’t make any money off of the sale of books – this is just part of our effort to get the best resources we can recommend into your hands. 

 

I’ve put the new additions under different headings below.  I’ve also made a brief comment on each book, and I apologize in advance for all the superlatives.  These are some really good books! 

 

If it’s been a while since your been to the Book Shoppe, make your way there and pick up a few books to feed your soul.  Consider making it a goal as a Christian to read at least one soul-edifying book a month.     

 

Christian Living

• The Praying Life, by Paul Miller.  A really good, grace-motivated book on prayer.  The first section on praying like children is outstanding.
• Bookends for the Christian Life, by Jerry Bridges.  This is a great introduction to the Christian life, very easy to read.  Probably my favorite book by Bridges.
• Children of the Living God, Sinclair Ferguson.  A great little book on what it means to have God as our Father.
• Bruised Reed, Richard Sibbes.  A bit more challenging because it is written by a 17^th century Puritan, but full of rich and comforting reflections on the compassion of Christ.
• Why We Love the Church, by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Cluck.  An engaging and enjoyable defense of the church, from the same guys who wrote “Why We’re Not Emergent”.     
• Counterfeit Gods, by Tim Keller.  An insightful book on idolatry and, as always, Keller is excellent at speaking to both believers and unbelievers in a winsome and helpful way.   

Devotional

• In Christ Alone, by Sinclair Ferguson.  Short readings on a broad range of subjects.  If you enjoy Ferguson, you will like this book.  
• The Loveliness of Christ, by Samuel Rutherford.  A collection of brief quotes drawn from Rutherford’s letters.   

Biography

• CH Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership, by Steve Miller.  A great introduction to Spurgeon that examines various aspects of his leadership: includes chapters on prayer, faith, Scripture, suffering, evangelism, and more.   
• The Suffering Letters of CH Spurgeon, by CH Spurgeon.  Spurgeon was a man who suffered much, and these letters written primarily to his congregation will encourage us in our suffering.     
• Robert Murray M’Cheyne, by Andrew Bonar.  One of my all-time favorite books.  An excellent biography that touches on themes of studying God’s word, the call to pastoral ministry, and revival. 

This is about half of the list of books we recently added, so I better save the rest for another post.  Part 2 will include books for families and children, and theology books. 

By Jared Mellinger

Of the making of devotionals there is no end.  This is true.  Christian publishers realized at some point that virtually any book can be turned into a devotional.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that Christian readers now have many options to choose from when it comes to resources to use for our devotions. 

I’m also aware there are now a number of devotional readings you can have e-mailed to your inbox each day.  I’ve never subscribed to any of these, but from the ones I’ve read, some seem helpful, and others seem less helpful.  The abundance of options and the range of helpfulness among the options make it important to choose wisely. 

I’ve found there are 2 devotionals that I continue to return to each year, and highly recommend to others.  I’m sure there are other devotionals that could be added, but these are the ones I have benefited from the most.

1.  Beside Still Waters: Words of Comfort for the Soul, by C.H. Spurgeon

This book was edited by a man named Roy Clarke, but all of the content belongs to Charles Spurgeon.  Here’s what Clarke says in the preface:

“Charles Haddon Spurgeon is my avocation.  I have read over two thousand of his sermons, outlining and analyzing more than a thousand.  In them I found a field of precious gems: more than three hundred vignettes promising hope, comfort, and encouragement.  Spurgeon pointed out that people often come into the house of God heavily loaded with the thoughts of their daily vocations, the pressures of business, and the burdens of family life.  As Spurgeon looked into the eyes of hurting and bewildered parishioners, he often responded with words of comfort.” 

Each “vignette” of comfort is one small page.  It is not just a book for those who are suffering; this is often the first thing I read in the morning.  In the weeks after Meghan delivered Isaac, our youngest child, and her devotional pattern was thrown a curve ball, she was never too busy to take 2 minutes to read a page of this book.   

This devotional has a heart-warming quality that will strengthen your soul in the grace of God.   

2.  For the Love of God: A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God’s Word, Vol 1 and 2, by D.A. Carson

As the preface says, these 2 volumes are “for Christians who want to read the Bible, who want to read all the Bible.”  Here is a devotional that helps readers understand our Bibles better, and encourages “a systematic and repeated reading of the whole Bible.”  It has really helped me understand the Bible better. 

It is based off of the Bible reading plan by Robert Murray M’Cheyne, which gets you through the New Testament and the Psalms twice a year, and the rest of the Bible once a year, by reading 4 chapters a day.  But you can adjust the plan so that instead of reading 4 chapters you are reading 2 chapters a day, and you can still use Carson’s devotional.  In fact, I find this book really helpful beyond devotions.  If there is a text I am studying, I will almost always look up that passage in the Scripture Index in the back of Volume 2, and read Carson’s comments on that chapter. 

Carson’s devotionals are a gift to the church and will help readers grow in our knowledge of God’s word. 

By Andy Farmer 

 

I’m subbing for Jared today.  In thinking about this Christmas season, and specifically about the preaching series, ‘God With Us’, I’ve been thinking about Jesus in the cradle.  I have a hard time grasping the idea that a little helpless baby could be simultaneously the Sustainer of the Universe, though I know that’s true. 

 

But I’ve also been thinking about the baby Jesus in terms of what he came to do as Savior.  Specifically what he came to do as Savior for me – today.  For me to escape all the cultural trappings of the Christmas season (most of which I actually enjoy), and live with the essence of the message of Christmas, I have to bring myself right up to the manger and ask that little baby – ‘what does this mean for me today.  One thing that speaks to me in this meditation is a quote from Paul Tripp’s book Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hand. 

 

“The good news of the kingdom is not freedom from hardship, suffering, and loss.  It is the news of a Redeemer who has come to rescue me from myself.  His rescue produces change that fundamentally alters my response to these inescapable realities.  The Redeemer turns rebels into disciples, fools into humble listeners.  He makes cripples walk again.  In him we can face life and respond with faith, love, and hope.  And as he changes us, he allows us to be a part of what he is doing in the lives of others.  As you respond to the Redeemer’s work in your life, you can learn to be an instrument in his hands.”  (p. 16)

 

The work of my redemption, which was effected in the cross, and which is working itself out every day, began with a baby in a manger.  And as I reach beyond myself to serve God’s purpose in others, that redemption work is being done through me, at the same time it is being done in me.  I’m in an instrument in the little Baby’s hands.

By Rob Flood

 

Faithfulness in the life of a man is least in danger when most directly threatened. 

 

Imagine someone breaks into your home and there is immediate danger.  That is a time when most men, without a second thought, step in and are faithful to their call to provide and protect.

 

The directness of the threat calls us into action.

 

Or, if there is an outright invitation to abandon your wife and family and follow after riches or fame.  If the choice is laid out in front of us with that clarity, it is easy to resist.

 

The directness of the threat calls us into action.

 

However, faithfulness in the life of a man is most in danger when least directly threatened.

 

Many a man has been slowly lulled to sleep by the lures of pleasure, only to wake, discovering that his family is gone…that his home has been invaded…that he has left the straight path.

 

There are at least a few things that are true of faithful men.  These attributes can help us and drive us to our knees.

 

A faithful man is a tethered man – He is tethered to his God.  Though his heart may want, in its folly, to drift, it can never drift far.  The tether ties him to his God.

 

A faithful man is a holy man – It is his relationship with his God that tethers him.  It is his own holiness before and with his God that keeps him near and prevents him from drifting too far.

 

A faithful man is a humble man – It is his holiness that makes him humble.  He realized that he is nothing without Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in his life.  Apart from God, the faithful man withers.  But, as a branch connected to the vine, the faithful man flourishes when we stops seeking to be something greater or stronger than he’s been created to be.

 

A faithful man is a content man – It is his humility and holiness before God that causes him to look at his lot and be content.  He doesn’t strive for more than his providing God has given.  He is satisfied with the Lord’s provision in and for his life.

 

A faithful man is a purchased man – His life has been purchased by the blood of Christ and consequently no longer belongs to him.  Thus, a faithful man is a servant of the King of Kings.  He is duty-bound to walk in the path God has set for him and to do so in a manner that worthy of his calling.

 

A faithful man is a tethered man – And so, we come full circle.  Because he is purchased, he cannot drift far from  his Master.  And his Master will not let him drift far.  He is unseveringly tied to his God.

 

And so, men, as you consider sowing seeds of faithfulness, be alert to our common vulnerability.  Our faithfulness is not mostly endangered by the obvious pitfalls.  Rather, it is the slow, subtle temptations…the ones that go unnoticed until the path is far out of view…that are likely to get us.

 

Rather than living in fear…or in constant awareness of our vulnerabilities…if we are faithful to live our lives as though they are purchased by Christ and tethered to Christ, then the testimony that will resonate from our lives is one of faithfulness. 

 

May we be driven to our knees in desperation for the tethering of Christ.  And may we be driven to our knees in gratitude that none can pluck us from His hand.

By Chris Radano

For the last 10 years I’d say that I’ve been pretty healthy, rarely getting even a case of the sniffles.  In fact, I recall my coworkers and I while in graduate school joking about wanting to be sick so we could take some time off from coming into the lab, mainly to avoid the crack of our advisors’ proverbial whip.  The 12+ hours a day in the chemistry laboratory often led to physical and mental exhaustion, but rarely did it ever turn into good old-fashioned sickness.  But…when we did get sick, we would treasure the day at home.  Nowadays, for whatever reason, getting sick is no longer hard to do.  And as a result, I have found myself considering how God has been using my sickness to grab my attention.

I first thought about this as I was recently returning home from a vacation visiting some friends.  After coming down with a head cold during the week, I was in no mood to drive ten hours on the turnpike.  Preparing for my departure home, my friends and I prayed for safe travel as well as this time for my healing.  As we were praying, I felt led to thank God for my sickness.  Sure I wanted to feel better, but I also wanted to express to God my thanks for giving me this cold.  This wasn’t meant to be a “look how spiritual I can be” kind of moment, but sincere thanks for the sickness God brought to me.  I know I’m not the only one who has thanked God for his sickness.  I’m also aware of people who praise God for their trials, carrying them during periods of chronic and even terminal illness.  But to me it seemed a bit weird to thank God for a cold which, honestly, was a real nuisance and I know would eventually go away in about four days, whether I prayed or not.

In my younger years I enjoyed the idea of temporary weakness.  After all, if being weak meant sleeping in, not going to work, and staying home relaxing then I might actually enjoy being weak more often.  What connected with me now was that I became much more excited about the prospect of eventually being healthy again.  And what began as a general hope of getting better became enjoyment of God’s promise that there will be a day when there is no more sickness and complete bodily restoration.

In John Piper’s The Passion of Jesus Christ, he describes one of the many purposes behind the atoning work of Christ’s death,

“But all this misery and disease is temporary.  We look forward to a time when bodily pain will be no more.  The subjection of creation to futility was not permanent…One day all disease will be banished from God’s redeemed creation…We will have new bodies.”

A new body, absent of disease, is definitely something to look forward to.  But this time the presence of disease in the body allowed me to reflect on a spiritual healing of my soul.  And though I’m never really happy to be sick, if the result is to refocus on God’s word, the gospel, and his promises, then I can actually enjoy it.  Even if I have to enjoy it on a ten hour turnpike drive. 

In this past week’s message in our Sunday series As We Gather, Rob Flood showed the importance of prayer in God’s gathered people as he surveyed Nehemiah 9.  To hear the full message, go to here.

 

Rob shared a very interesting quote from Tim Chester’s Biblical survey on prayer, The Message of Prayer, that highlights something that we all need to consider.

 

It is sometimes said that good private prayer is the foundation of good corporate prayer, but it may be more biblical to say that corporate prayer is the foundation of private prayer.  Our experience of God in Christ is corporate.  Western individualism has made the individual alone with God the centre of spirituality.  For the people of the Bible it is the relationship between God and his people that is central.  Personal prayer revolves around this common experience-not the other way around.  (Tim Chester, The Message of Prayer, p.153)

 

This is certainly not how I usually think of prayer.  To me prayer is a ‘me and God’ thing and praying with other people is kind of like a secondary option.  But my experience so often is that private prayer is fitful and distracted; yet when I come together to pray with my brothers and sisters my heart and eyes are lifted to God in faith to pray with boldness and fervency.  Rob gave some excellent examples of why corporate prayer is the fuel of private prayer.

 

When we pray with others, we hear things we never thought of praying for.  Perhaps we hear things that we’ve been praying for but thought we were the only ones praying.  There are even times when we’re moved at the passion someone has for a topic we’ve become indifferent to?  There is a unique grace that comes upon people when they are gathered with others in prayer.

 

Is there no wonder why folks in time of need throughout the Bible and throughout history gathered together in upper rooms and lowly catacombs, great cathedrals and flimsy tents?  They knew the need and the value of corporate prayer. 

 

Where are you gathering with God’s people in corporate prayer?  Have you ever attended a House of Prayer?  Or our pre-service prayer at the front of the auditorium.  If your personal prayer times are in need of vision, seek out others – pray with the church!

 

By Ramona Doyle

Establishing a devotional habit…

If you are like me, it can sometimes feel like we live in Romans 7, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.  For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”  (Verses 19-20)  These verses provide all the more evidence that we need the Lord!  But, sadly, they can also describe the experience we have as we seek to set aside time to daily meet with him.

Though it can sometimes seem like our greatest daily challenge, establishing a fruitful devotional life is critical for the spiritual food and drink we need each day to live and walk in the hope of the Gospel.  You probably have many strategies that have helped you through the years …these are a few that have worked for me.

1.     Assume that God is for you: Don’t let condemnation over past failures keep you from meeting with him.  In Romans 8:1 Paul informs us, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  He fulfilled God’s righteous law and now dwells within us that we might walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, desiring the things of God.  And he promises help in our weakness (Romans 8:26)!

2.     Plan for success:  I find it helpful to develop habits that support my desire to have time with the Lord.  When I needed to supervise very young children, it worked better for me to get up before them in the morning—hence, an earlier bedtime at night.  In seasons of distraction, making a list of pressing needs before meeting with the Lord can help get them “off your mind” during your quiet time.  It also provides a wonderful list to guide your prayers to draw help from the Lord!

3.     Find a quiet place:  If everyone in your house has to walk through your chosen room on the way to the bathroom or kitchen, it’s probably not a great choice of locations.  Find a spot that will minimize interruptions and serve you as you seek to meet with the Lord…a basement room?  An unused guest room?

4.     Train your children to respect your time:  What a wonderful opportunity for your children to learn god-centered priorities as they see how important time with the Lord is to Mom.  Perhaps the children can practice piano, do their chores, or have a quiet play time while you steal away.  Explain the difference between an acceptable interruption and an unnecessary one and enlist their help to make your time successful!

5.     Have a plan B:  Life happens!  Days can be unpredictable.  If something interferes with your plans, try to grab the next available time…perhaps a nap time or during “daddy time” in the evening.  Even 10 minutes is better than no time at all!

Remember that the Lord is even more eager to meet with us than we with him.  We can count on his grace as we seek to establish a devotional habit!

By Jared Mellinger

From his first year in Dundee, one of Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s greatest desires was for revival.  By revival, he meant a heightening of normal Christianity, in which theology would catch fire and the Spirit of God would fall upon his people in a unique season of refreshing, empowering, and fruitfulness.  In revival, Christ was preached and the reality of the gospel was pressed upon the hearts of men and women in a unique way.  I would love to see a revival in our day, in Covenant Fellowship, and I believe it is something we should all be desiring and praying for.     

 

M’Cheyne started a weekly prayer meeting shortly after becoming a pastor.  He would first teach on something related to the outpouring of the Spirit, and then lead the congregation in a time of prayer, and then close the meetings by reading about the history of revivals. 

 

Three years into his pastorate, he went on a seven month trip.  While he was gone, God answered his prayers and revival broke out in Dundee and throughout Scotland.  There was one day where M’Cheyne’s friend, W.C. Burns, who was filling the pulpit at St. Peters, was preaching and, “the whole of the vast assembly were overpowered.  The Holy Spirit seemed to come down as a rushing mighty wind, and to fill the place.  Very many were that day struck to the heart…  The power of God seemed to descend, and all were bathed in tears…It was like a pent-up flood breaking forth; tears were streaming from the eyes of many, and some fell on the ground groaning, and weeping, and crying for mercy. Onward from that evening, meetings were help every day for many weeks; and the extraordinary nature of the work justified and called for extraordinary services.  The whole town was moved.”

 

Those were the reports that were reaching M’Cheyne while he was traveling.  How did he respond to these reports?  With bitterness and jealousy that he wasn’t at the center of this revival?  No: “They were such as made his heart rejoice.  He had no envy at another instrument having been so honored in the place where he himself had labored with many tears and temptations.  In true Christian magnanimity, he rejoiced that the work of the Lord was done, by whatever hand.”

 

As he returned, the revival continued for years to come. 

 

So much more could be said about M’Cheyne’s life and ministry.  God continued to use this single man who gave his life to holiness: a man who redeemed the time, pursued humility, treasured the Word, and longed for revival.  May his life spur us on to the same. 

By Ramona Doyle

While leafing through pictures recently for a calendar we were having made, I came across a favorite of our family standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon.  Though a couple years have passed, I’ll never forget what it felt like to stand that close to the edge while a friendly passer-by recorded the memory with our camera.  I was dizzy, my knees were weak, and we were in awe of the grandeur.  Everything about that place was bigger than us.

Even though an experience like this can evoke a sudden and dramatic sense of how small we are in the scheme of things, if you think about it, we don’t need to live very long to realize that most of our life is bigger than us, as well.  If you, like me are seeing the end of summer coming and a new school year starting, you know how big the start of the school year can feel.  And this can be a recipe for worry and discouragement.  

But there is good news!  You see, we are small, and we are weak, but that is not a bad thing.  In fact, God made us this way in order to point us to Himself—to highlight and magnify His sufficiency, provision, and strength!  2 Corinthians 4:7 tells us, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” Our loving Heavenly Father who knows the ‘big stuff’ we are facing and “little stuff” we are made of; yet He meets us in the midst with His mercy and grace.  We can cast ourselves on the One who is sufficient and draw from his abundant storehouse. 

What a privilege!  How our lives would be different if we truly lived this way…  In our sin, confessing to the One who is faithful to forgive and cleanse (1 John 1:9); when enticed by temptations, going with boldness to the throne of grace to find mercy and help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16); when struggling with doubt, calling upon the One whose plans are for our welfare to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11); in our weakness, casting ourselves upon the One who daily renews our strength (Isaiah 40:31); in our trials, drawing from the One whose mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23); in our uncertainties, seeking the One who has already recorded each and every one of our days (Psalm 139:16) and has promised to keep our going out and coming in from this time forth and forevermore (Psalm 121:5)!

What a BIG, magnificent God we serve!

By Trish Donohue

Can you imagine being a vacation? Not going on one, but being one? A vacation’s job description is enormous and it all has to be accomplished in seven days, without fail. Here is what I usually want my vacation to do for me.

• Make me happier than I’ve been all year.
• Provide a round-the-clock atmosphere of relaxation even with a bunch of kids all living out of messy suitcases and ingesting vast amounts of sugar.
• Refresh my heart, soul, mind, and body so that when I come back home I will face my normal life with the music of a waterfall playing in my brain.
• Create family memories full of laughter and hugs and Kodak moments, ensuring that I look fabulous on all the pictures.
• Provide a tan with no sunburn, a feast with no weight gain, and self-indulgence with no sin.

Although I adore vacations and have files of precious memories from them, I’ve taken enough of them to recognize they can’t possibly live up to the tasks I’ve given them to accomplish. I’ve selfishly struggled that, while in utopia, I still have to do many of the jobs I do at home—feeding the hungry tribe, laundering the sandy clothes, and guiding the tempted hearts, beginning with my own. I’ve fought with the ever shrinking time left before returning home to the full inbox and empty refrigerator. I’ve grappled with a vacation’s sheer inability to produce the lasting tranquility I’m looking for.

Have you been there?

Here’s my conclusion. (You may have figured this out by now, but bear with me, I’m slower.) There are two ways to take a vacation. The first, my default, is to load it up with all the expectations I listed above, which should allow me to do the only thing left – relax. My job is to relax – not think about what God wants to do with my time, or the needs of others, or disciplines of any kind. This self-centered approach will pretty much 100% of the time dump me back into my regular life feeling deflated and worldly. And I blame my vacation for not doing its job.

The second is to enjoy a vacation as a gift from God, seeing his hand in all the beauties and blessings, and the opportunities to serve as well. In this situation, I’m not trying to escape from life, but to invest in the life and family God has given me. It’s not all about my own immediate pleasure, but the pleasure of living in God’s will. Instead of seeking the elusive cloud of “relaxation” (bring me a magazine quick!) I can rest in the goodness and sovereignty of God and enjoy what He’s provided without trying to make it something it can never be.

Can you guess which one brings more joy in the end?

Our vacations can do a lot for us. What can we do for them?

By Deb Demi

Sometimes, I want my kids to be hypocrites.  Well, that's not really what I want, but sometimes I have a desire for them to look good and act godly even if it's just on the outside. When I see ungodly behavior or even a lukewarm spirit in one of my children, my heart can jump into fear mode.  When I don't see them raise their hands in worship...when they seem to have no desire for the Word...when they lack respect for authority, speak disrespectfully, arrive late to church, don't want to attend Cross Culture, or get into trouble...I can respond in fear rather than in faith. 

What does this fear look like in me?  I begin to worry and to feel hopeless - wondering if God will ever grip their hearts. Then in response to these feelings, I act as if God needs my help.  I abandon my trust in God and nag, manipulate, yell, plead, mope and sinfully compare instead.  And I trick myself into thinking that God will be sympathetic to my fear instead of seeing it as sin.

Obedient, respectful, and polite children might make our lives easier and less stressful…and that’s not all bad.  However, what we really want are children whose hearts are gripped by the Lord.  I don't really desire for my kids to look wonderful on the outside yet be far from their Savior. I don't desire for my kids to be motivated to act godly because I'm nagging and threatening them.  I want my kids to act godly because God has worked in their hearts.  My desire is that they would glorify God with their lives because of their gratitude to the One who has saved them.  But that gratitude can only come from God.

So what do we do when we're tempted to fall into fear?  

 

~   Look at Jesus' Example.  Even when His disciples did not seem to respond to truth, Jesus did not fall into fear but continued to do what God entrusted Him to do by faithfully teaching, training, encouraging and occasionally rebuking them. He knew that illuminating the truth was a work of God.  And, when the Holy Spirit did come and their eyes were opened, everything that Jesus had taught them suddenly made sense.  These hopeless-looking men became men who changed the world for Christ.  In the same way, our faith-filled efforts to train, teach, encourage and rebuke our children will not be wasted.  When the Holy Spirit opens their hearts to the gospel, they will remember the truths they were taught. 

~   Entrust Them to God.  As parents, we have a unique privilege to bring our kids before the throne of grace and entrust them to the One who is able to make blind eyes see (Is. 29:18), to breathe life into dead bones (Ezek. 37), and to bring a whole nation out of Abraham who was as good as dead (Heb. 11:12).  I'm walking in faith when, instead of using sharp words, I ask God to deal with their hearts and then choose to speak kindly. Instead of inwardly fretting, I can pray that God would do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine.

I know that God is calling me to greater faith for my children.  He is calling me to stop parenting out of fear and start parenting out of the strength of real faith.  As a result, I’m being called to fully entrust my children's hearts to His goodness, mercy and love. I wonder if He might not be calling you to the same thing.

Editor’s Note: For more reading on the issue of faith versus fear, here's an article by Carolyn Mahaney called "Effective Mothering is Born of Faith Not Fear."

By Jared Mellinger

Those who follow Christ should be people with a single focus in life.  We can say, with Paul in Philippians 3:13, “One thing I do.”  That is the motto of those who live for the glory of God.  Paul understood that he was created to have one great passion in life.  He sits in prison and calmly writes “To live is Christ. (Phil 1:21)  This is the Christian’s resolve.  One version translates it, “If I live, it will be for Christ.” 

Clearly, Paul is a man of one thing.  He essentially says, “OK, if I have been given the gift of life, I am going to spend my every breath for Christ.  I refuse to abandon the reason for which I was made; I refuse to waste my life.  I refuse to commit cosmic treason and turn my back on the Creator and Ruler of the universe, the Christ who made me, the Christ who died for me, the Christ before whom I will one day stand and give an account of my life.  If I live, it will be for Christ.”

Is that your perspective?  In difficult trials and in easy circumstances, in suffering and in joy, at work and at home, in youth and in old age, in singleness and in marriage?  

It reminds me of what J.C. Ryle says on the subject of zeal:

“Zeal in religion is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way….
A zealous man in religion is pre-eminently a man of one thing.  It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thorough-going, whole-hearted, fervent in spirit.  He only sees one thing, he cares for one thing, he lives for one thing, he is swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God.  Whether he lives or whether he dies, whether he has health or whether he has sickness, whether he is rich or whether he is poor, whether he pleases man or whether he gives offence, whether he is though wise or whether he is thought foolish, whether he gets blame or whether he gets praise, whether he gets honor or whether he gets shame—for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all.  He burns for one thing; and that one thing is to please God, and to advance God’s glory.”    

Can you relate to that?  Only seeing one thing, caring for one thing, living for one thing, swallowed up in one thing, burning for one thing, and that one thing is to live for Christ.  Do you have passion to see God glorified in your life?  Is there anything you find yourself caring about more than the honor of Christ in your life?  Is there anything you need to part ways with in order to honor Christ more?

Let’s be Christians who look at our lives and resolve with a single minded focus, “By the grace of God, in life and in death and in all that I do, Christ will be honored in me.”

By Jacob Young

 

No, it’s not the school yard bully who beat me up today…it was a 3mm kidney stone.  And boy, it whooped me.  It took me to the doctor’s office, the ER, and my home but not before taking me through various pain medications that requires an IV.  Like I said, that 3mm bully whooped me good.

 

As I look back, though, there were some lessons that God taught me that you might find helpful, too.  So, here are a few thoughts on my experience:

 

1. There’s Grace in Kidney Stones: God has been so good to give me these kidney stones. No doubt, they’re painful. Through it, I’ve seen so many vast caverns of grace he has put in my life. I’ve seen His glory radiating in my heart and life – and my wife’s as well in ways that are only seen when the heat of pain is intensified.
   
   
2. Praying God’s Word Helps Kidney Stones: Through the pain, I found my life being conformed around God more than I had expected. Though it was extremely painful, I found myself praying God’s Word to Him, praying His character to Him. It wasn’t like I was suddenly filled with joy at that moment but I was preaching a universe-changing message to myself in a moment of dire pain; I was preaching the Gospel.
   
   
3. God’s Timing is Perfect with Kidney Stones: God was good to prevent this stone from coming earlier. I had my first kidney stone two weeks ago to the day, just two days before we were about to leave on (essentially) two weeks of vacation. Thankfully it passed the morning we were leaving, and while I had a few bouts with the second during those two weeks, it never was debilitating. I remember feeling the second one coming on about half way through the trip when we’d come home for a couple days before our second leg of the vacation. I bent down, and I quietly asked my Father to take it away. I felt his nearness, and went to bed knowing that he’d heard me either way. He didn’t take it away, but he did push it aside until the best time for me. What grace!
   
   
4. God Works in My Weakness through Kidney Stones:  As the pain increased, I became increasingly aware of my physical and emotional weakness. And, in my weakness,  His strength is revealed. How often do I actually glory in my weakness? I’m a prideful man, so I like being strong. But I’m seeing how my weakness actually is God’s preferred instrument to display His might.  This body is under a curse as with the rest of creation.  We see this in Romans 8:19-23.  But the end of Romans 8 is also true: nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ for us (v. 35), and that all things work for our good (v.28).
   
   
5. This Pain is Nothing Compared to Eternal Torment: It also gave me a taste for what Christ saved me from: Hell and God’s wrath. The pain was bad, but not damnation.  However, I caught a faint glimpse of the horrors of Hell through the temporary anguish of body that only faintly can reflect the wrath of God pressing in on a soul.  Knowing the pain I felt, how grateful I am to know that the greatest physical torment was suffered on my behalf.

I pray that God presses all these things on my mind to remember.  And even though you may not be sent to the school of kidney stones, I pray He presses them into your mind as well.  I love God more now – I find myself loving the things of the world less. Oh God, make it last and make it spread.  And if a 3mm bully ever visits your world, know that it is also a little but powerful messenger from your loving heavenly Father. 

By Jared Mellinger

How are we as believers changed from one degree of glory to another?  Take any area you desire to grow in becoming more like Christ: contentment, patience, love, joy, humility, purity, or anything else.  The question is, “How do we change?” 

There are many ways Scripture answers that question.  One essential answer comes at the end of 2 Corinthians 3.  The veil that once covered our eyes, blinding us to the beauty of Christ, has been removed by the power of God, and we now see Christ for who He is.  Because of this, 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”  

The way the Spirit is changing us to become more like Christ, increasingly transformed into the image of Christ, is by enabling us to behold the glory of Christ in the Gospel.  As a result of seeing Him for who He is, we are being changed. 

I’ve realized that the way I approach change too often looks identical to how the world around us seeks to change.  But our approach should be entirely different, because we have come to understand this revolutionary truth: we are transformed into the image of Christ as we behold the glory of Christ.       

Richard Sibbes, a great Puritan pastor, penned one of my favorite quotes in the 17^th century.  Reflecting on 2 Corinthians 3:18, he asks “How are we changed to the image of Christ?”  The answer:

“It is by beholding the glory of Christ in the Gospel. There is a transforming power in beholding the glory of God’s mercy in Christ. It is not a delighting object only, to see the mercy of God in Christ, but it is a powerful object that has an influence upon the soul .” (Works, Volume IV, p.256)

In other words, the Gospel is not just something that makes us happy; it is something that changes us and makes a difference in the details of our lives.  It is “a powerful object that has an influence upon the soul,” making us more like Christ as we behold His glory.

This truth has informed and transformed the way I seek to grow as a Christian.  If we want to be changed, we must spend time beholding the manifold glories of Christ in the Gospel: the glory of His love, the glory of His power, the glory of His wisdom, the glory of His humility, the glory of His patience.  And as we do this, with unveiled face, we will discover that we truly are becoming more and more like the one whose glory has captivated the eyes of our heart.

By Deb Demi

Sometimes my life can feel like a roller coaster ride.  I find myself going up and down emotionally depending on my circumstances.  When things are going well, I'm happy and at peace.  When difficult circumstances enter the picture, I get depressed, discouraged and joyless. 

One day when I was feeling particularly down, the line of the hymn "The Solid Rock" came springing into my head  "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteous."  It was like the Holy Spirit turned a light bulb on in my mind.  No wonder I go up and down so much; my hope is so often built on my circumstances, not on Jesus' blood and His righteousness (the Gospel)!

For example, one desire that I have is that my kids would respond in a godly manner.  It's a good desire.  However, I know that my hope is built on that desire rather than on Christ when I get discouraged or fearful when they are not living up to my expectations.  On the other hand when my kids are doing well, I can be elated and even prideful because what I've hoped for happened.  In either case, my hope may be built on my circumstances rather than Christ.

It's one thing to know that your hope should be built on Christ alone, but actually transferring your hope from your circumstances to Christ is the challenge.  How do I hope in Christ, rather than in the outcome of my expectations?

For me to hope in Christ means that I have to look past my circumstances, almost as if they were transparent, and ground myself on what I know about God.  Sure, my circumstances may not look good, but I know that my God is faithful, sovereign, all-powerful and because of the Gospel I know that through Christ, God loves me more than I can imagine and will cause all things to work out for my good that He has a purpose for each circumstance that He's allowed in my life that He is actively at working accomplishing His perfect will even when things look dark, and that He answers prayer.  The truth about God from the Word of God has to become more real and tangible to me than even the circumstances that I'm walking through.

Our circumstances will constantly change and our expectations will sometimes be unmet.  But when our hope is fully grounded on who God is (by reading and meditating on the Word) and the riches of the Gospel, our emotions don't have to roller coaster up and down.  On Christ, the solid rock, we will stand!  For we know that all other ground is sinking sand.

 "Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."  1 Peter 1:1

Pastor’s note:  I thought Deb’s insight on seeing our circumstances almost as if they were transparent was especially rich.  Eyes of faith see through circumstances to the loving and wise God behind them.  And he is always there.  

By Andy Farmer

 

This past Saturday, April 25, was the anniversary of the death of William Cowper.  Cowper (pronounced Cooper) is one of the great poets of the English language, and one of the great hymn writers of the Christian church.  He died April 25, 1800. 

 

If you or someone you know battles severe discouragement or experiences depression you should know about Cowper.  His is not a happy story, nor does it have an inspirational ending.  But it is a story of faith, a faith propped up against a lifelong storm of loneliness and despair.  And though that storm never let up even till Cowper’s dying day, his faith remained anchored in truth.  He never turned away from the Savior, even when the earthly comforts of the truth didn’t turn the tide.  Truth is eternal – it cannot be washed away by the trials this side of heaven.  Long time friend John Newton wrote his confident assessment of Cowper’s ultimate triumph this way,

 

“Oh, what a surprise of joy, would he find himself immediately before the throne, and in the presence of his Lord!  All his sorrows left, and earth exchanged for heaven.”

 

We need to have room for experiences like William Cowper’s in our understanding of faith.  And we need to have room for people like William Cowper in our lives. 

 

Take some time to get to know him by checking out this blog from Between Two Worlds.  Justin Taylor includes a short video on Cowper produced by Mars Hill Church, and link to the transcript of a message John Piper has done on Cowper’s life and God’s purposes in it.

 

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2009/04/william-cowper.html

Posted by Deb Demi

 

If you’re anything like me, staying focused while praying can be a struggle.  Minutes after I begin to pray, I oftentimes find that my mind has drifted off on an endless rabbit trail of unrelated thoughts.  Though praying will always involve discipline and faith, the Lord has graciously given me a tool that has made my prayer time more effective, more enjoyable, and more gospel centered. 

 

To stay focused, I keep lyrics to worship songs and hymns before me as I pray (usually while walking on the treadmill).  My prayer time begins by choosing a song and singing it aloud before the Lord.  After I sing/pray a verse, I continue by praying aloud my own thanksgiving, praise, and requests related to the lines of the song. 

 

For instance, one song that I’ve been using for quite some time in praying for my children is “One Pure and Holy Passion” by Mark Altrogge.  Instead of using the word “me” in the song, I replace it with “them.”  So I sing (aloud), “Give them one pure and holy passion.  Give them one magnificent obsession.  Jesus give them one glorious ambition for their lives, to know and follow hard after You.”  Then I may pause between lines and pray that they would fully grasp the gospel, that they would hunger after God’s word, and that they would not desire anything that the world has to offer them more than Christ.

 

Not only is alternating singing and praying through hymns and gospel-centered worship songs valuable for praying for my children, songs with rich lyrics provide a valuable context for meditating on the gospel while helping me to verbally give thanks to God for all that He has done for me.  Through others’ carefully crafted words, I’m reminded of who my hope is in.

 

Recently I sang/prayed through “Be Thou My Vision”, “Rock of Ages”, “In Christ Alone”, and “One Pure and Holy Passion.”  By using these songs as a backdrop for my prayer time, I had no trouble praying for 30 minutes.  My focus was directed away from me and my needs and toward giving glory to God.  The songs provided a springboard, enabling me to pray more effectively for my husband, children, neighbors, and CG members.  The extended time of prayer it afforded, allowed me to quiet my soul to hear God speak, and by singing and praying aloud, my mind did not drift.  I left my prayer time feeling that I not only brought my needs before the throne of God, I was able to reflect on the gospel and truly worship God.

 

Though I don’t use this prayer method every day (sometimes I pray through scriptures or a prayer list), I think that praying through depth-filled worship songs can be a tool that can spur us on in our praying.  Why not give it a try?

Posted by Jean Benson

 

Editor’s note:  Jean Benson is a wife and mother at CFC who is also a licensed pharmacist.  This skill has produced some unexpected but ultimately glorious adventures for Jean.  Here’s her story from her recent participation on the Covenant Mercies Medical E-team to Uganda last month.  It’s longer than our usual blogs but will encourage you no matter what God is calling you to.

 

In October 2006, I was on a plane heading to Nagongera, Uganda.  If you know me, this was so far out of my comfort zone it was ridiculous.  There was very little desire in my heart to participate on this type of missions trip.  Fortunately God is so much bigger than my fears and apprehensions.  He used the encouragement of my husband Wendell and others, along with my own grappling for faith to confirm His will for me to go.

  

Fast forward to summer 2008.  Another medical missions trip was announced.  Clearly, in my mind, I had already served my time in Uganda.  Upon hearing that the area for this trip was even more rural and there was a possibility of no running water, I came up with a strategy - avoid Doug Hayes at all costs.

I am the type of person who does not prefer most creatures, except cats and kittens.  I hate all insects and the prospect of being dirty.  I do not enjoy hot summers in the U.S., much less in Africa.  I also do not like surprises and fear the unknown.  Having experienced a horrible bug situation at the end of my last trip, I had vowed never to return to Uganda.  Surely, of all the churches we have in Sovereign Grace, it should not be difficult to find one or two pharmacists besides me to send along.

 

This was the state of my heart during the summer of 2008.  It was screaming emphatically, NO!  Yet once again the spirit of God broke through my fears and unbelief, with encouragement from Wendell and friends.  There was a growing awareness that this medical team had a need and clearly God was not raising up anyone else.  I realized that God was calling me once again to go to Uganda.  The months of preparation that led up to the trip were mostly filled with fear and dread.  Praise God!  His grace is so much bigger than my fears and anxieties.  Although He was gradually chipping away at my unbelief and fear, leaving the U.S. was still a complete step of faith.  Right up until departure I was hopeful the trip might be cancelled.  In fact, it had snowed in London on the day of our departure.  Since London had not seen snow in about 20 years, Heathrow cancelled over 700 flights into their airport.  All flights that is, except the one scheduled to depart from Heathrow to Entebbe the following day.  That was my flight.

 

God was again reminding me that His grace would be sufficient for me in my weakness and that I was to fully trust in Him.  He was the one who was controlling this trip.  This was not an easy task, since most of the people I was surrounded by seemed so excited to be going.  However, God very graciously connected me with another person on the trip with a similar testimony to mine.  For us, this missions trip was a leap out of our comfort zone, looking to God constantly for grace for each situation.

 

After a 20 plus hour trip from London by plane and car our 8 hour flight, we arrived after midnight, looking forward to hitting the ground running the next day.  But God supernaturally carried us and sustained us as we sought to provide medical care for the people of Kiburara.  We later found out that this small town, that was not even on the map and was unknown even by people in Uganda had caught the attention of the Creator of the Universe.  I began to realize that God had called me to play a small part in the work He was doing here!  What a privilege!

 

My second day in Kiburara started around 3:00 am.  I was startled awake by an intense, overwhelming feeling of panic.  Initially, I could not breathe, I could not speak and I forgot where I was.  As I reached for my flash-light, everything was closing in around me; the mosquito net seemed to suffocate me.  I wanted to scream to my room-mate for help, but all that came out was a whisper.  I was crippled by fear, though my Bible and walkman lay a the foot of my bed, I could not move.  My heart was racing as I reviewed my options.  Leaving the bed to go to my roommate was not optional, I feared what might be crawling on the ground, and leaving the room conjured up even more frightening prospects.

 

I could not recount a single scripture.  Slowly and quietly I began to cry ‘God help me!  God help me!’  Soon I remembered a song from my daughters' CD.  I quietly sang, “When I am afraid I will trust in you, I will trust in you, in God whose word I pray.”  I sang this over and over as I rocked back and forth on the bed.  Some time had passed, and then suddenly scriptures started to flood my mind, it seemed to be every scripture I had ever memorized on fear and trusting God.  The crippling, overwhelming feeling started to diminish and I reached for my walkman and started to worship God for what seemed like hours.  When I looked at my watch it was just after 4:30am, and that was the last thing I remember until my alarm went off.

 

Although the desire to return home was still in my mind, there was increasing grace to remain and walk where God was calling me to go.  God was using my limitations to display His awesome power.  I still marvel at the fact that God took a simple housewife and homeschooling mother on this journey.  I no longer practice pharmacy, but have maintained my license, apparently for a time such as this.  I am overcome by how God delights in using our weaknesses to display His power and glory.  As difficult as it was for me to go on this trip, I will forever be aware of how God chose me, in spite of my fears.  We serve an extraordinary God.