The scariest thing I've heard in a while

Over the summer, I had the privilege to attend commencement ceremonies at Covenant Theological Seminary, where I am a student. A good friend was graduating, and I wanted to support him, but also get a feel for what I would be going through in a few years. At the baccalaureate services, Dr. Bryan Chapell, president of Covenant Seminary preached a profound message to the graduates. This message scared the pants off of me because of the implications of what he spoke. The extreme amount of responsibility that is placed on the preacher is such a humbling ordeal, that the only relief is in the fact that you have Divine Guidance in preparing and speaking the Word. I remember thinking at the time, and still wonder if I will be up to the task of preaching the Word. Here is an expanded version of the same message given at The Gospel Coalition conference this past April. The source text is 2 Timothy 3:10 - 4:5.

Set aside an hour or so and reflect on the power of the words he is speaking to you here.

A Minister's Bible

O God of truth,
I thank Thee for the holy Scriptures,
their precepts, promises, directions, light.
In them may I learn more of Christ,
be enabled to retain His truth
and have grace to follow it.
Help me to lift up the gates of my soul
that He may come in
and show me Himself when I search the Scriptures,
for I have no lines to fathom its depths,
no wings to soar to its heights.
By His aid may I be enabled to explore all its truths,
love them with all my heart,
embrace them with all my power,
engraft them into my life.
Bless to my soul all grains of truth garnered from Thy Word;
may they take deep root,
be refreshed by heavenly dew,
be ripened by heavenly rays,
be harvested to my joy and Thy praise.
Help me to gain profit by what I read,
as a treasure beyond all treasure,
a fountain which can replenish my dry heart,
its waters flowing through me as a perennial river
on-drawn by Thy Holy Spirit.
Enable me to distill from its pages faithful prayer
that grasps the arm of Thy omnipotence,
achieves wonders, obtains blessings,
and draws down streams of mercy.
From it show me how my words have often been
unfaithful to Thee,
injurious to my fellow-men,
empty of grace, full of folly,
dishonoring to my calling.
Then write Thy own words upon my heart
and inscribe them on my lips;
So shall all glory be to Thee in my reading of Thy Word!

From The Valley of Vision

Reading the Bible -- Jude 1-4

1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:

2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.
The sin and doom of Godless men
3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Jude starts off as most of the NT letters do: by identifying himself. We find out in verse 1, that Jude is the brother of James, who is the brother of Jesus thus, Jude was also a brother of Jesus. Most likely, this is the same Jude (or Judas) that is referred to in Matthew 13:55 - a son born to Joseph and Mary after the birth of Jesus.

The end of verse 1 determines the audience of the letter - in simple terms, true believers.

Verse 3 starts us off on an interesting note. It seems that the letter of Jude is not the actual letter he wished to write. Originally he sought to write about "the salvation we share," however circumstances made it such that a new topic took precedence. That topic being the defense of the faith against the false teachers that have started popping up in the church.

He goes on to use some pretty powerful phrases such as "men whose condemnation was written about long ago" and "godless men" to describe these false teachers who have "secretly slipped in" to pervert the Gospel of grace.

Licentiousness was an issue all the NT writers had to deal with. A common battle Paul had to face with his fairly revolutionary Gospel of free grace was that this led to liberal living and moral flexibility. The so-called "Christ died so that I can do whatever the heck I want" mentality. Jude was no exception in having to participate in this battle.

We see a glimpse of the argument against licentiousness that Jude will be making here in verse 4. First, he firmly states that "license for immorality" is changing the "grace of our God," which would not make it grace at all. Moreover, changing grace from what it actually is, is a flat out denial of Jesus Christ, who, as Jude states is "our only Soverign and Lord." The language here, speaking to Christ's authoritative role over the Christian.

In the following verses, we will see this theme fleshed out more.

Reading the Bible

So I'm gonna try something new. I'm going to blog about what I'm reading in the Bible. The hope is this will keep me accountable to reading and actually thinking about what I read.

I'm starting with Jude because I don't think I've ever heard a sermon or seen much spoken/written about the book. And I find it immensely interesting.

Stay tuned...

Meditation: Phillipians 3:15-16

Taken from here.

“Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.” Philippians 3:15-16

How incredibly difficult it is to see ourselves as we really are. Though we see the strengths and shortcomings of others quite easily, to look honestly in the mirror at our own lives is not easy at all. Those who wrestle with addictions are very familiar with the power of denial. We all tend to deny to ourselves what we don’t want to admit. Though the people who love us the most keep warning us; though sermons and songs and words from scripture keep confirming those warnings; though deep in our hearts we know those warnings are probably on target; if we don’t like what we are hearing we will deny to ourselves what we know to be true. The promise the Apostle Paul makes to us in this passage is that God will reveal to His children those ways of thinking, patterns of behavior, attitudes, character flaws, etc., that need to change. What an awesome promise that is. God will break down the walls of denial we build around our hearts if we will let Him.

How do we let Him? Three words: faith, courage, willingness. Faith leads to courage, courage leads to willingness, willingness leads to God. Here’s how it works. To have FAITH in the love of Jesus means that you know that no matter what you have done or haven’t done, no matter how you have failed or succeeded, no matter how good or bad you have been; God loves you with an incredible love. Romans 5:20 tells us, “…where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” There’s nothing you can do to make God love you more or love you less. Jesus’ death on the cross has shown us once and for all the depth of God’s amazing love for us all. When you have faith in that love it gives you COURAGE. When you know how loved you are you have the courage to look honestly at yourself because you know that no matter how good, bad, or ugly you are, still you are loved!!! You don’t have to be afraid of what you will see if you let go of your denial. Have you really messed up? Still you are loved. Have you hurt someone terribly? Still you are loved. Are you selfish, prideful, greedy, judgmental, etc.? Still you are loved. When you have faith in Jesus, that faith gives you the courage to see what you haven’t wanted to see, and that courage leads to WILLINGNESS. With courage you can find the willingness to let God break your denial. With courage you can find the willingness to hear whatever God is saying to you. With courage you can find the willingness to let God speak to you through your spouse, your parent, your friend, your preacher, or even your own conscience. With courage you can find the willingness even to make changes you haven’t wanted to make, knowing that God’s love will be with you as you make those changes.

Denial is a terrible thing. Willingness to listen and to change is an awesome thing.

Prayer: Dear God, please strengthen my faith in Jesus so that I may have courage. I want to be brave enough to hear what You are really saying to me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Bible giveaway

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Being observant

I recently started a new part-time job, which requires that I keep an eye on everything that is going on around me. This really started to hit home to me as DJ (a co-worker) was training me on the things he does during his shift. I was beginning to realize that I don't really pay attention to my surroundings that much, take stock of the world around me, or notice small changes. I'm usually driving towards a goal, seeking after a result that is still far away. Big changes, that's what I seem to do well with.

Hopefully, I'm not as un-observant (is that even a word?) as this guy:



But, I do feel that this is an area that I need to improve in. When was the last time you noticed something new about a place you walk by everyday? Or perhaps a new hairstyle of a friend?

I think this even carries over into our reading of scripture. "Oh this is the Christmas story, I know what happens here!" And we skip right over a truth that is sitting right there waiting for us that maybe we didn't see the first 5000 times we read the story. That's the beauty of scripture-- regardless of how long you've studied it, something new can always be brought to light. As long as you are humble enough to be taught.

I think good observance is directly connected to humility. Without being humble enough to realize that more is going on than we already know or can see, we can never truly observe and learn from our surroundings. If you aren't able to say "What is the new thing am I going to see today?", you will never find anything new in life to get excited about.

Change is a wonderful thing. It destroys monotony and reminds us of our temporary existence by reaffirming what is truly important in life. Don't get caught in the trap that things need to settle down. Seek new things every day of your life!

Humility is also a wonderful thing. It destroys the pride and self-worth that comes from the invader and reminds us of our finite minds by knocking us down a peg or two when we need it. Don't get caught in the trap that you know it all. Seek to always be a student every day of your life!

I hope I never quit learning and observing from my surroundings. If I do, someone kick me in the face.

Meditation: Philippians 3:1

“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is not irksome to me, and is safe for you.” Philippians 3:1

The story is told of a tourist in New York City who had a ticket to attend a symphony concert at the storied Carnegie Hall. Running out of time and unable to find the concert hall, the tourist spotted a musician carrying a violin case, and asked him, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” “Practice, practice, practice,” replied the musician.

So it is with becoming the people God sent us here to be. You don’t learn how to love, how to forgive, how to be kind, patient, or compassionate in one or two easy lessons. These are the goals of a lifetime, and repetition is the key. You read the Bible again and again. You worship again and again. You pray again and again. You try, you fail, you get up and start over; again and again and again. The point is, you never give up. You keep on going, no matter what. In I Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul writes, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

The question is, are you humble enough to keep on working at these lessons God is seeking to teach you even when it seems like you’ve already been there and done that? It is a humble thing, after all, to admit to yourself that you need to keep worshiping, you need to keep listening to sermons, you need to keep praying, you need to keep reading the Bible because, like everyone else, you’re not that fast of a learner when it comes to the things of God. It might not have taken you long to learn chemistry or algebra, but nobody learns quickly how to truly love. In an ADD, hyper-speed, digital, media-blitzed culture; it’s hard not to get bored doing these simple things of worship, prayer and Bible reading over and over again; but the end result is more than worth the effort.

Make the effort…over and over again.

Prayer: Father, please give me the discipline and determination to keep working at godliness all the days of my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

A good reminder to me and to you. Taken from here.

Books that will save your life

I've been on an "organization" kick lately. I've decided that I depend on my brain too much to do things for me. And with all the different places I go and things I do, I decided it was time to start streamlining and getting into some good habits.

My first step in this process deals with these three little black books. I plan on carrying these with me everywhere (step 2 comes later) from now on.



From top to bottom...

Moleskine notebook -- I've noticed that I tend to forget a lot of things, especially what church was about the week prior etc... So I started carrying one of these to take notes from week to week. I think I might start expanding into writing random thoughts / profound things I come across in my daily life. This is an important habit that I resisted for a long time... I didn't want to be a journaler. But, I think as long as its on my terms, I'm OK with it... its my journal, so what I want to write is what I write. I don't have to live up to the standards of other more poetic journalers that I envy, even if just a tiny bit. I really like the size of this journal, the elastic strap on the outside and the nice bookmark to help keep your place.

Life saving power: Allows you not to lose important thoughts, as long as you are not too proud to write them down. Makes you look really cool because its German (a la Sham-Wow) or something, and you act like you know how to pronounce "Moleskine".

Weekly / Monthly Planner (hyperlink not the actual planner in the picture) -- This is the newest addition to the "black book" series, and I finally broke down to get one. Last night, I got offered a part-time job at my church doing facilities work. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. I needed organization of my time. Between day-job deadlines, school assignments, night-job scheduling, and social life I knew I was going to miss something if I didn't have a written reference keeping me sane. Being a good steward of my time will help me be more efficient and productive... especially during the school year. I chose this particular planner (it took a while to find one I liked) because it is actually a faux leather encasement around a spiral-bound planner insert. On most planners, the spiral binding was exposed, which I didn't like (kept getting caught on things). Also, size (length/width, as well as thickness) played a big factor in choosing this particular planner.

Life Saving Power: Allows you to not miss anything important, as long as you are not as forgetful about writing things you have to do in the planner as you are forgetful about where you need to be.

ESV Thinline Bible (Bonded Leather) -- This one should come as no surprise to anyone who is at least an acquaintance with me. I really like the ESV. I chose this particular bible to replace my previous ESV because that one didn't really fit well in my school bag along with my other books. Also, the leather was really soft, so when I did put it in there, I had to be extra careful that I didn't curl the corners of the cover. I ended up giving that bible to a friend who needed a personal-sized bible but was too money conscious to splurge for one. Plus, my current bible has a better feel and size to it. I call it the "marry and bury bible" since I could use it for weddings and funerals if needed... just plain black.

Life Saving Power: In this book are eternal truths that can ultimately TRULY save your life. This book contains the "power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." The fact its an ESV is just an added bonus. If you can only get one of the 3 books mentioned, get this one. Heck, if you can't get this one based on some financial or logistical issue, let me know and I'll get you one. EVERYONE should have one of these.

So these are the 3 books that will save your life. Ok, so maybe only one TRULY has the power to save your life, but all 3 can be very beneficial and helpful. As long as you are disciplined enough to use them all correctly (especially #3).

Gray matters...

I've been in a pretty gray place lately... just very blah. I think a lot of it has to do with dissatisfaction with my job and desiring to be somewhere else doing something else. If it weren't for my friends, I'd be in a pretty bad place right now. I remember a while back I was reading a few Psalms and came across Psalm 43:

¹ Vindicate me, O God,
and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.

² You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?

³ Send forth your light and your truth,
let them guide me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.

⁴ Then will I go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.

⁵ Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

Verse 5 especially reminds me that regardless of my gray state, I should put my hope in God and yet praise him; if only solely for the reason that he is my Savior and God. The sheer fact that he has raised me from death into life with Christ is an amazing thought that should modify our daily mindsets... but I feel like I forget the gravity of this oh so very often. I feel like I need this somewhere I'll see it everyday.