Donkey's Delight

In C.S. Lewis' wonderful poem "Donkeys' Delight" the Oxford don likens salvation to entering into "the excellent joke" which at first glance seems a tad strange, or at the very least, a little trite. But when you consider the essence/makeup of jokes it actually makes perfect sense. Every joke has a "setup" which takes the hearer in a particular direction. The "punchline" is simply an unexpected diversion from the path established by the "setup." Here's an example:

Setup - "When I die, I want to go like my grandfather did, in his sleep..."
Punchline - "Not like all the other people in the car, screaming and yelling."

The setup establishes certain stock scenes and/or motifs. The punchline wrenches us from those scenes and takes us (quite unexpectedly) to an entirely different scene. And when it does, we laugh, giggle or guffaw.

Now, this being the case, Lewis is spot-on. Salvation is the ultimate "excellent joke."

Setup - Adamic and personal sin against a three-times holy God invoking His just and holy wrath.
Punchline - Free grace, pardon, cleansing and adoption as sons.

And so Lewis concludes:
I repented, I entered
Into the excellent joke
The absurdity. My burden
Rolled off as I broke
Into laughter; and soon after
I had found my own level;
With Balaam's Ass daily
Out at grass I revel,
Now playing, now braying
Over the meadows of light
Our soaring, creaking Gloria
Our donkeys' delight

Hmm...no wonder we Christians laugh/bray so much, and so heartily...

321 from Jeremy Poyner on Vimeo.

Reading the Gospels Wisely

Reading the Gospels Wisely from Greg A. Cash on Vimeo.

In a Byre Near Bethlehem

Tradition meets Celtic meets Indie. Nice. Enjoy. You can download the lyrics and guitar chords here.

Like the Dew of the Morning Hour...

To listen click here: Psalm 110

THE LORD HAS SAID TO MY LORD (PSALM 110)

Metrical Adaptation: Doug Wilson

(To the tune of “I Love Thy Kingdom Lord”)

Intro: E   B7   E   G#m7  A   B7   E  A  E

      E                             B7

The Lord has said to my Lord

       E              A          B7

“My right hand is Your seat

    E    B7              E   G#m7

Until I make Your enemies

        A            B7   E

Your footstool in defeat”

The Lord shall send out the rod, all strongholds shall He seize

The rod comes forth from Zion’s hill, and rules your enemies

Your people have one will, in the day of Your mighty power

Arrayed in majesty and might, like the dew of the morning hour

The Lord will never relent, through an oath His Word protects --

“You are a priest forevermore, in the line of Melchizedek”

          (a cappella)

At Your right hand is the Lord, He shall shatter rebellious men

He comes to execute His wrath, on nations and kings, amen!   D7

          G                                  D7

When our Lord’s wrath is complete

                G    C           D7

When His enemies are dead,

           G                 D7                  G            Bm7

He will drink from a stream by the way, and then

   C           D7      G

In triumph lift His head     (repeat last two lines then C G)

Liturgy and Slow Growth

We follow an ancient liturgical pattern in our worship, drawing from the wisdom of Christians who have gone before us. Every Sunday we renew our commitment to God, offer him our prayers and gifts, confess our sins, receive forgiveness, hear from God’s word, and celebrate the Lord’s Supper together.

In other words, not much changes from week to week. Sure, we sing different songs, pray slightly different prayers and hear from different parts of God’s word, but the weekly pattern is the same.

In a culture obsessed with the novel and unique, we should ask a very important question: What is the wisdom in this?

God generally doesn’t work through seismic spiritual events in our lives. True, most of us can look back to significant turning points in our lives that were profound and maybe even “out of body”. But the vast majority of the growth God brings is the result of slow, plodding work.

Think about the Bible’s dominant metaphor for spiritual growth—it is the growth of fruit. When you grow fruit, you don’t just plant some seeds and expect immediate results. No, you plant seeds and then you do a lot of the same things—watering, fertilizing, pruning—over, and over, and over again. Then you will have fruit. French winemakers are said to not really take a grapevine seriously until it is at least 20 years old. I think we need that kind of perspective when we think about growing as disciples.

Grapes growing. Riveting, huh?

By worshiping liturgically, we are doing the same things over, and over, and over again. We do this with the belief that, over time, God will bless these practices with fruit in our lives. Sure, there will be some seismic moments of profound change. But, for most of us most of the time, change will happen in a much more deliberate fashion.

And how does this spiritual growth manifest itself? It manifests itself when we actually “become the liturgy”. It happens when our liturgical actions—like  responding to God’s word, confessing our sins, praising God for his goodness, pouring out our sorrows at his feet—become second nature to us.

Think about our liturgy and the actions we practice. Every week, we confess our sins. We confess our sins on Sunday morning because we want confessing our sins to become second nature on Thursday afternoon. We sing our praises to God on Sunday morning so we can learn how to instinctively praise him on Friday nights. We pour out our hearts in prayer to God on Sunday morning so that we can turn toward him in prayer when our lives fall apart on Wednesday.

Is it the sexiest way to worship? Not by a long shot. However, worshiping in this way helps us be shaped and formed by a God who grows his people slowly and steadily.

Written by John of Grace Church Seattle

The Other 4th of July

(1 Timothy 6:11-12) But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.


And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.


And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.


And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

____________________________________________________

In AD 325 the Emperor Constantine sent out an invitation to 1800 bishops to assemble in Nicea (present day northwestern Turkey) to settle once and for all some doctrinal issues that were threatening the unity of the Church. One of these issues was the “Arian controversy.” 220 bishops accepted the invitation, among them Arius and Athanasius.


The Arian controversy was a Christological dispute that began in Alexandria between the followers of Arius (the Arians) and the followers of St. Alexander of Alexandria (now known as Homo-ousians). Alexander and his followers believed that the Son was of the same substance as the Father, co-eternal with him. The Arians believed that they were different and that the Son, though he may be the most perfect of creations, was only a creation of God the Father. A third group (now known as Homoi-ousians) later tried to make a compromise position, saying that the Father and the Son were of similar substance.


For about two months, the two sides argued and debated, with each appealing to Scripture to justify their respective positions. According to many accounts, the debate became so heated that at one point, Arius was slapped in the face by Nicholas of Myra, who would later be canonized and became better known as "Santa Claus".

So, was Jesus of:

Different substance?

Homo-ousia – “of one substance…”?

-         i.e. Jesus is God

Homoi-ousia – “of similar substance…”?

-         i.e. Jesus is “god-like”

The council got it right, and agreed, and then decreed on July 4, AD 325, that Jesus is God of God and of one substance with the Father.  So fire up the grill and light off some fireworks tonight to celebrate this historic day and this wonderful reality: Your Savior Jesus Christ is fully man and fully God, and thereby fully qualified to save you to the uttermost!

In My Seat

"...Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures." (1 Cor. 15:3)

HT: Verle Helsel

The Glory of Failed Expectations

Last Saturday, The River Academy graduated its seventh class of seniors. In stark contrast to my own commencement in 1975 this ceremony was both encouraging and edifying. King's Cross deacon (and full-time teacher at TRA) Scott Welch, was one of the teachers selected by the students to address them as they matriculated. Scott's offering was not recorded, but he has graciously provided his transcript (below.) Enjoy.  

I want to start by saying “thank you.” Thank you to the seniors for asking me to speak to them on such an important occasion. Thank you to their parents who trusted me to teach them for so many years. And thank you to all of the family members that came to support these young men and women here at their commencement.

I am going to be honest with you... I don’t remember my commencement speaker. I don’t really remember my graduation. But I don’t even remember who spoke let alone the deep message he probably thought he was imparting to my class and me. This has two effects on me as I think about being up here today. First, if I give bad advice, it probably won’t ruin your lives. But, second, I like a challenge and I want today’s message to be memorable. Not because it is my message, but because it is true. We will see if I succeed.

I want to talk today about 2 things that you can expect about your future. First, that almost nothing goes as you expect it will. And Second, that when things don’t go as you expect, look there for the clearest direction from God.

I graduated from High School in 1990. I imagine the young people are thinking I am really old and the older people are thinking I am really young right now. That is the benefit of being middle aged.

The Gospel is Greater Than Our Inability to Live it Out

Some today will claim that there is no true evangelism without “embodied action.” In fact, according to one critic, “Unless [Christ's] disciples are following the Great Commandment, it is fruitless to engage in the Great Commission.” According to this view, the gospel is without its own potency. Its “fruitfulness” depends upon us. But this is not the testimony of the New Testament.

According to Paul—whose itinerant ministry met few of the “embodied action” criteria—the power of the gospel does not reside in us; it resides in the Spirit’s application of the message itself. . . .

Few would deny that the holistic mission of the church is the best possible platform for our verbal witness, and that our jaded generation will be more inclined to give us a hearing if we are living it out. (Indeed, the longest section of my new book, Word versus Deed, is devoted to the crucial role of our deeds.)

But this does not permit us to hold the gospel hostage to our shortcomings.

When has the church been all it should be?

When, short of glory, will the church ever be all that God wills for it?

The church has been messy from the beginning, falling far short of living out the Great Commandment. Yet despite our failures, the gospel itself remains marvelously potent, the very “power of God unto salvation” to those who believe.

The gospel’s inherent power does not fluctuate with the strengths or weaknesses of its messengers.

This truth is humbling, but also immensely liberating. In the end, my inability to answer objections, my lack of training or experience, even failures in my own faithfulness in living it out do not nullify the gospel’s power. Its potency is due to the working of God’s Spirit.

Even when we are at our best, the gospel is powerful in spite of us, not because of us. Thanks be to God.

From Duane Litfin's Word Versus Deed: Resetting the Scales to a Biblical Balance  (HT: Justin Taylor)

King's Cross Church Has a New Home!

Beginning May 6th, King's Cross Church will begin worshiping and feasting at the Wenatchee Valley Praise Center, located at 230 N. Georgia in East Wenatchee. We are very thankful for the privilege of leasing this lovely facility (Sunday afternoons/evenings) and look forward to many years of fruitful ministry at this site.

The Father of the Decade vs. The Father of Eternity

Here is a video that Wimp.com calls "The Father of the Decade" in honor of Patrick John Hughes, father of Patrick Henry Hughes (pictured above.) The keepers of this website could very well be right. This dad would certainly get my vote for such. But, according to Jesus, this father, despite his heightened powers and execution of his fatherly role, is yet "evil", in other words a fallen man who in this life still regularly falls short of God's glory (Romans 3:20). And this makes Jesus' point about "evil" earthly fathers especially glorious when he queries, "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?" (Matthew 7:11). With this question Jesus invites us to consider the love, devotion and sacrifice of men like Patrick John Hughes and then to multiply it by a zillion or three in order to begin to fathom the depths of God's love for us, and His delight to fulfill the requests that we lay before Him in Jesus' name. Enjoy.

In the Kindergarten of Worship

While it is true that worshippers of the Lord Jesus Christ are born and not made (i.e. trained.) It is equally true that those born to worship must be trained to do so if they would worship well. Here is some very helpful wisdom for parents training up the children to love God heart, mind and soul in the great assembly. (Hint: These ideas work much better if you actually do them, as opposed to just reading about them.)

8 Non-Negotiables for Mobilizing the Local Church for Accomplishing the Great Commission

Below is Justin Taylor's excellent distillation of an address given by Pastor David Platt this week at the VERGE 2012 conference. In the last "non-negotiable" Platt asserts that fulfilling Jesus' Great Commission is costly and that he (Jesus) "is worth it." Although we all know what you might call the "Sunday School answers" to those two questions ("Yes!" and "Yes!"). I wonder if we have really counted the cost of discipling the nations, and whether or not we truly believe in the supreme worth of Jesus Christ . Enjoy.

Two assumptions:

1. The Great Commission can be accomplished and will be completed.
2. Pastors and church leaders are moblizers and equippers for people in the local church.




Eight non-negotiables:
1. A God-centered God. We must give the people we lead a glimpse of the God-centered God who exalts himself.


2. A word-saturated ministry. We give them a glimpse of the glory of God by giving them the Word of God. It’s the only thing that will drive them into mission and then sustain them. Biblical theology drives urgent missiology.


3. A life-changing gospel. Maybe one of the reasons so many in the church aren’t making disciples of all the nations is that they aren’t really disciples in the first place. Should it not concern us that the Bible never offers a “sinner’s prayer” and never talks about “accepting Jesus into our heart.” We have modern evangelism built on sinking sand that runs the risk of ruining souls. We must be very careful about assuring people they are Christians when they have not responded to the gospel. It’s damning to drain the lifeblood of Christianity and replace it with Kool-Aid. They need to see the greatness of God—he is a loving father who may save us, but he is also a wrathful God who may damn us. In the original Greek, “dead in your trespasses and sins” means “dead.” We have developed many methods of ministry that require little or no help from the Spirit of God. One of the greatest hindrances to the advancement of the gospel is the attempt of the church of God to do the work of God apart from the power of the Spirit of God.


4. A Spirit-empowered church. We have created a church culture that does not depend on the Spirit. We need to be desperate for the Spirit of God.


5. A Christ-driven strategy. Go and make disciples of all the nations.


6. A peoples-focused goal. Panta ta ethne (ethno-linguistic people groups, not socio-political nation-states). The Great Commission is not a general command to make disciples among as many people as possible, but to make disciples among all the people groups. “Unreached” people is not the same as “lost” people. The difference is access. If we are not mobilizing our people to go to unreached peoples, we are not being obedient to the Great Commission. Our obedience is incomplete. Ladd: Christ has not yet returned, therefore the task is not yet done. We are not completely missional if we are not engaged in reaching unreached peoples.


7. A multifaceted approach. Let’s not take both-and’s and turn them into either-or’s. Local and global. Spiritual and physical. Pray and go. Short-term and long-term.
Why don’t we just let the locals do it? That’s the point! With the unreached there are no locals!


8. A death-defying commitment. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake” (Matt. 24:9). It will be costly. Satan is—in a sense—fine with us spending all our time with people around us while ignoring the unreached. When we engage the unreached, we will be met with the full force of hell. Are we willing to pay the price? Are we willing to redesign church budget and family budgets? Are we willing to let go of programs and preferences? Are we willing to lead and shepherd people, telling them, “This may cost you everything.” At the same time, we must not forget the reward. There is coming a day when the trumpet will sound, Christ will return to receive the reward he is due. And all the peoples of the earth will be represented around the throne, crying out, “Salvation belongs to our God!” Those people will not seeing letting go of the things of this world as “sacrifice.” He is worth it.

How to Listen to Sermons

"So what is the right way to listen to a sermon? With a soul that is prepared, a mind that is alert, a Bible that is open, a heart that is receptive, and a life that is ready to spring into action." (Phillip Ryken, President of Wheaton College)

You can read the full explanation here. Enjoy.

The Mandate for Mission

The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines "mandate" as "an official order or commission to do something." What we now call "The Great Commission" at the end of Matthew's Gospel is a mandate, not merely a friendly suggestion. While it is true that worship is our central duty, it is impossible to worship God as He deserves without a wholehearted commitment to outreach ministry. Here are a few quotes to help you understand the necessity of including evangelism in the Church's mission to glorify God in everything:

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't.”  (John Piper)

"Before he left them, he gave them that great commission which is still binding upon all his followers, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”  (Charles Spurgeon)

"The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed" (Hudson Taylor)

"Any church that is not seriously involved in helping fulfill the Great Commission has forfeited its biblical right to exist." (Oswald J. Smith)

How to Pray in the Trinity

Here is a four minute sermon clip with some very helpful reminders of how it is we are to approach and commune with God in prayer. To the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit. Enjoy.

Self Protecting Redefinitions

As Jeremiah noted and then queried, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" One of the very subtle ways that the prophet is proved true is the way that we redefine words like "hate" in order to feel a little less guilty and a whole lot better about ourselves. Here is a link to a brief post by Kevin DeYoung that exposes our silly attempts to deform God's Word.


So very glad for God's delight to forgive sins for Jesus' sake. That, and only that, is this hater's only hope. Can I get a witness?

How to Speak Truth to Power

In his address at the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast, Eric Metaxas has given us a near-perfect example of how to speak truth to power. To take full advantage of his winsome example I would highly recommend the following: 1) Listen to Metaxas' address here (fast-forward to 34:00 minutes). 2) Listen to President Obama's comments following Metaxas' talk (starting at about 1:05:00). 3) Then read The National Review's commentary on both speeches here. Enjoy.

P.S. Here is an edifying epilogue from the man God used to lead Metaxas to Christ.

Desiring God 2012 Messages Link

I encourage you to check out this webpage and to listen to the addresses given at Desiring God 2012 conference. I have my favorites, but they were all very good. A few suggestions: Audio is fine for all the addresses except for Ramez Attalah's. You'll miss some very important elements unless you watch the video of this talk. Audio will work okay for the panel discussions, but would be better if viewed in order to catch facial expressions as the panelists banter back and forth.

Making the Most With the "Least of These"

I was privileged to attend the 2012 Desiring God conference last week with my good friend and fellow minister David Hatcher. The plenary speakers were John Piper, Douglas Wilson, Darrin Patrick, Crawford Loritts and Ramez Atallah. I knew and was therefore very excited to hear from all of the speakers except for Ramez Attalah (of whom I knew nothing.) Mr. Atallah was slotted as the very last plenary speaker, and I have to admit when this smallish man with big glasses, a neatly trimmed mustache and wearing a black suit took the podium I was less than hopeful regarding how riveting/useful his presentation would be. And boy-oh-boy was I wrong. The Desiring God folk had indeed "saved the best for last." His assigned topic was "courage and creativity in ministry" but the power of his message really has more to do with God's ability to accomplish amazing things with extremely humble means. You can watch the video here, but you might have to download it in order to view it. I'd love to hear your comments. Enjoy.

How Deep the Father's Love For Us

According to the people who made this short video, the message is "Family is Forever." But I would encourage you to watch it under the heading of "How Deep the Father's Love for Us." Enjoy.

The Reality of the Resurrection

I came down the birth-canal and landed in church. In my entire 54 years on the planet I cannot remember a time when I was not being taught the Bible, enjoying the friendship of other believers, encouraged to "walk my talk", being prayed for and being prayed with. Although I have heard the message given in the poem (below) too many times to reckon, I am still not anywhere near tired of hearing the "I owed a debt I could not pay. Jesus paid a debt he did not owe" message of the Gospel. Can I get a witness? Enjoy.

Click here for full screen version.

Sanctification: Slow, Not Seismic

As we considered a few weeks ago in our study of Nehemiah 8 (Authority of the Bible, part 2), a much neglected aspect of getting the Word of God "into our bones" is the ritual reenactment of the core tenets of our faith. Here is a helpful post on the importance of "becoming the liturgy." Be sure and watch the video which is linked near the end of the post. I agree with Ian Morgan Cron's observation that despite our craving for what some have described as the "quiver in the liver", sanctification is most often "slow" rather than "seismic." Enjoy.

HT: Angela Marton

Worship in Spirit and in Truth

Pastor John Piper on true worship:

The fuel of worship is a true vision of the greatness of God;

  the fire that makes the fuel burn white hot is the quickening of the Holy Spirit;

    the furnace made alive and warm by the flame of truth is our renewed spirit;

     and the resulting heat of our affections is powerful worship, pushing its way out in confessions, longings, acclamations, tears, songs, shouts, bowed heads, lifted hands, and obedient lives.

Embrace the Chaos

Last Sunday, Trinity Church (Wenatchee) formally commissioned me (pastor Gene Helsel), three deacons and a handful of households from Trinity Church to plant a new CREC church here in Wenatchee. David Hatcher and Brett Baker are serving King's Cross Church as elders pro-tem and were present at the service. Pastor David Hatcher presented a powerful homily/charge to the saints of both congregations entitled, "The Hand of the Lord in Church Planting" which you can read here (and I strongly recommend that you do.) Straight talk, straight from the Lord, for any sending or being-sent church. Enjoy.

The Three Deadliest Words on the Planet: It's a Girl!

God loves women. Women share equally with men the privilege of bearing God's image to the rest of creation (Gen. 1:26) and share equally in redemptive glory (Gal. 3:28.) Given the social norms of first century Palestine, Jesus' associations with women were near scandalous. Christ's conversation with the Samaritan woman, his friendship with Mary and Martha, and the gender that he chose to bear the first witness to his resurrection all testify to God's intense devotion to the fairer sex. And Paul's Spirit-led, frequent acknowledgments and affirmations of the women he considered his partners in ministry were no less astounding, and likewise reveal God's love for his feminine creations.

In our day, "It's a girl" is the deadliest phrase on the planet. In the past year, in China and India alone more girls were eliminated than were born in the United States. And they were all murdered or abandoned simply for the "crime" of being girls. Lord have mercy on us...

For a larger screen viewing, you can watch the video here.

Practicing Affirmation

In Paul's second letter to the first century church in Corinth he reminds us that we are to wage war against every system of thought that disparages true knowledge of God. But the apostle quickly adds that we are not to do battle using the weapons that the world employs. But rather to wield weapons with divine power. Few would consider affirmation a suitable weapon in the warfare that God calls us to. But given that accusation is a favorite weapon of our Adversary, and that affirmation is a near opposite of accusation, it sort of makes sanctified sense to regard affirmation as a weapon of spiritual warfare.

If you doubt this, then read this wonderful excerpt from the book, Practicing Affirmation, by Sam Crabtree. And if you're convinced, then get out there and start "thrusting and parrying" with the sword of affirmation until every thought is taken captive and made obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Imitating Christ

What does it mean to imitate Christ? Volumes could, and have been, written on this bottomless subject. But B. B. Warfield's observations (below) are a very good place to start. We tend to think of holiness in terms of isolation from the world and all the things that we're not going to do. But true, Christ-like holiness engages the world and is really more about "holy additions" than "holy subtractions." Lord, teach us to begin every attempt to imitate Your Son by first taking "no account of self." Enjoy.


"He did not cultivate self, even His divine self: He took no account of self.

He was not led by His divine impulse out of the world, driven back into the recesses of His own soul to brood morbidly over His own needs, until to gain His own seemed worth all sacrifice to Him.

He was led by His love for others into the world, to forget Himself in the needs of others, to sacrifice self once for all upon the altar of sympathy.

Self-sacrifice brought Christ into the world. And self-sacrifice will lead us, His followers, not away from but into the midst of men.

Wherever men suffer, there will we be to comfort.

Wherever men strive, there will we be to help.

Wherever men fail, there will be we to uplift. Wherever men succeed, there will we be to rejoice.

Self-sacrifice means not indifference to our times and our fellows: it means absorption in them.

It means forgetfulness of self in others.

It means entering into every man’s hopes and fears, longings and despairs: it means manysidedness of spirit, multiform activity, multiplicity of sympathies.

It means richness of development.

It means not that we should live one life, but a thousand lives,—binding ourselves to a thousand souls by the filaments of so loving a sympathy that their lives become ours.

It means that all the experiences of men shall smite our souls and shall beat and batter these stubborn hearts of ours into fitness for their heavenly home.

It is, after all, then, the path to the highest possible development, by which alone we can be made truly men. Not that we shall undertake it with this end in view. This were to dry up its springs at their source. We cannot be self-consciously self-forgetful, selfishly unselfish.

Only, when we humbly walk this path, seeking truly in it not our own things but those of others, we shall find the promise true, that he who loses his life shall find it.

Only, when, like Christ, and in loving obedience to His call and example, we take no account of ourselves, but freely give ourselves to others, we shall find, each in his measure, the saying true of himself also: “Wherefore also God hath highly exalted him.”

The path of self-sacrifice is the path to glory."

HT: Justin Taylor

A Letter From Martin Luther to a Despairing Friend

The following is from a letter written in July 1530 to Jerome Weller, a 31-year-old friend who had previously lived in the Luther home, tutored his children, and was now struggling with spiritual despair:

. . Excellent Jerome, You ought to rejoice in this temptation of the devil because it is a certain sign that God is propitious and merciful to you.

You say that the temptation is heavier than you can bear, and that you fear that it will so break and beat you down as to drive you to despair and blasphemy. I know this wile of the devil. If he cannot break a person with his first attack, he tries by persevering to wear him out and weaken him until the person falls and confesses himself beaten.

Whenever this temptation comes to you, avoid entering upon a disputation with the devil and do not allow yourself to dwell on those deadly thoughts, for to do so is nothing short of yielding to the devil and letting him have his way.

Try as hard as you can to despise those thoughts which are induced by the devil. In this sort of temptation and struggle, contempt is the best and easiest method of winning over the devil.

Laugh your adversary to scorn and ask who it is with whom you are talking.

By all means flee solitude, for the devil watches and lies in wait for you most of all when you are alone. This devil is conquered by mocking and despising him, not by resisting and arguing with him. . .

When the devil throws our sins up to us and declares we deserve death and hell, we ought to speak thus:

“I admit that I deserve death and hell.
What of it?
Does this mean that I shall be sentenced to eternal damnation?
By no means.
For I know One who suffered and made a satisfaction in my behalf.
His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Where he is, there I shall be also.”

Yours,
Martin Luther

When Your Pastor Doesn't Preach Like John Piper

St. Paul on preaching:

"For necessity is laid upon me.Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" (1 Cor. 9:16)

"I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." (1 Corinthians 9:16)

"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke and exhort, with complete patience and teaching." (2 Timothy 4:2)

We pastors find in these words both encouragement and discouragement. Encouragement to preach regardless of the cost, and discouragement because the standard by which we will be judged is so lofty.

There is indeed a cost to being a preacher. “The pulpit calls those anointed to it,” wrote Bruce Thielemann, “like the sea calls its sailor and like the sea, it batters and bruises.” Pastors who faithfully preach God’s message each Sunday know, “To really preach is to die naked a little at a time, and to know each time you do that, you must do it again.”

Amen, Bruce.

Here is an article that would most likely be helpful to every parishoner who does not sit under the weekly ministry of his/her favorite podcast preacher (e.g. John Piper, Doug Wilson, Mark Driscoll or Mark Dever.) Enjoy. 

Through New Eyes

I believe it was Plato who first said, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." But Paul surely was more helpful when he enjoined the Corinthians to be "controlled by the love of Christ" and to "regard no one according to the flesh" so that we "might no longer live for [ourselves.]"

One of our deacons has recently made it a point to simply talk and then listen to people that he meets in the park or at his children's sporting events. He has been amazed at how hungry people are the barest displays of kindness. It appears that Plato is right, everyone is "fighting a hard battle."

The production values of the video below could use a little help, but the message is spot on. C'mon, what are you waiting for?

Here is a link if you want to watch it at Youtube.

HT: Annette Johnson