Mr. Standfast

Like a Goodbye, but Not

2005-08-29T09:10:00.000-04:00

I'm starting up a new blog. Well, actually, I just did so. It's called Gratitude & Hoopla. Why have I done such a thing? I don't know exactly, except that it just seemed time for a change. I've been blogging here at Mr. Standfast for a couple of years now, going on 600 posts. I've acquired many blogging friends here and I've held forth at length on the grace and love of God. I'm going to keep doing that at G & H. If there's a difference, it will only be the difference that time makes, and my own growth in the love and grace of God.

What will happen to Mr. Standfast? I'm not sure. I haven't actually decided with certainty that I won't ever post here again. I'm still waiting for that answer. In the meantime, over at Gratitude & Hoopla I'll continue sharing whatever good things come my way. I'll meditate on Scripture, and speak often of the sheer wondrous and abundant grace of God, the Father of Lights. As I mentioned in my first post there, I am entering upon a new season in my own life. A new season requires a new song. And a new blog!

Finally, I should simply mention, this is just me talking. Me. Not some great authority, not some voice of great wisdom, just me. I'm sitting here, letting the words come, speaking, however imperfectly, out of my heart. If there's wisdom, it's mixed well with foolishness. But it's me. I'm in love with God, and in all truth I should be forever in his debt, and yet I'm not. You know why? Because He's wiped the ledger clean. He's not keeping an account any more. And this incomprehensible grace is all because of the cross. Because of the cross, God has not only wiped the ledger clean, He's broken it in a thousand pieces. Therefore, the only natural response is . . . Gratitude & Hoopla!

Interlude

2005-08-23T11:16:00.000-04:00

My Internet connection will be down till the end of the month, so it looks like posting will be infrequent at best for the next week or so. Consider this a temporary stand-down for Mr. Standfast. To all my regular visitors, great thanks for your support and encouragement. See you in September!

The Finch

2005-08-21T07:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday morning I got together with a group of guys from church. We went to a park by the ocean to talk and pray. [Go here for pics of the actual site.] The sun was rising over the Atlantic, and the lobsterman were heading out among the islands. We were standing near a ledge, about thirty feet above the waves, which seemed on this morning not so much to crash against the rocks but to feel their way among them, for the sea was gentle this day.

After a while, chatting and sipping coffee, we stood in a circle and prayed for one another. I kept my eyes open and watched the boats as I listened to the words of intercession, and then I saw the yellow finch. It leapt from a nearby branch of sumac and poured itself into ecstatic circles of flight, just over our heads. Around and around it raced, now intensely beating its wings and twittering, now folding them back so that its body took the shape of a small torpedo, then suddenly beating and twittering again, but always in a bobbing and wavering circle above our heads.

When we were done praying it flew away.

Two More

2005-08-17T12:15:00.000-04:00

1. I really admire the writing of T. Austin-Sparks. Austin-Sparks, who died in 1971, was a prolific author and preacher, whose complete work is gradually being made available on the Web at Austin-Sparks.com. From the website:

THEODORE AUSTIN-SPARKS (1888-1971) left behind a treasury of writings filled with the Wisdom, Life and Revelation of Christ. He felt that whatever was given by the One Spirit of God should be freely shared with the One Body of Christ - what belongs to the One, belongs to all. He did not want his writings or tapes copyrighted; freely giving to the Body what was freely received from the Head. Having greatly appreciated his writings ourselves, we offer them here on the web for the further establishing and strengthening of the Body, that in all things CHRIST might have the preeminence.

I urge you to explore this man's writings. He has a profound and deeply-felt way of delineating the many facets of the life in Christ.

2. RZIM is the ministry of apologist Ravi Zacharias. Lots of good stuff here, but I want especially to recommend their daily email column, called "A Slice of Infinity." The Website describes these engaging articles this way:

"A Slice of Infinity" is aimed at reaching into the culture with words of challenge, words of truth, and words of hope. So often in our society we are presented with rather disconcerting options when it comes to dealing with matters of great importance such as truth, good and evil, and the meaning of life. The assumptions that shape the ideas of our culture often go unchallenged. Many people today find themselves wanting something to hold onto, but do not know who or what to believe. Many find that they have an unshakable knowledge that there must be meaning in life, but haven't yet discovered it.

We have a genuine burden to offer a powerful option of hope and meaning. We understand the confusion and cynicism that are so much a part of our world, and we recognize the longings of the human heart. By stirring the imagination and engaging the mind, we want to share the beauty and truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. "A Slice of Infinity" is essentially our gift and invitation to you, that you might further examine your beliefs, your culture, and the unique message of Jesus Christ.

Browse the archive and see for yourself. There's gold in these hills!

Two

2005-08-17T07:32:00.000-04:00

1. Both Worlds, who is borrowing from View from the Firehouse, has a memorable five-part quiz on the subject of abortion.

2. Scanning the blogroll of Both Worlds, I gave Dark Glasses a try. The blogger here is a pastor named Tommy Ham. The subhead: "Though we see through a glass, darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV), we're doing our best to work it out. Thoughts about life, culture, current events, and the church from a biblical perspective. I hope..." You should take a good long browse here. Check out Tommy's recent posts, Barbarian Visions and Pastoral Listening Skills (which asks the utterly significant question, Why don't pastors listen better?).

Paragraphica

2005-08-16T07:37:00.000-04:00

I love a good paragraph, don't you? Certain writers are simply masters of the form. Each paragraph brings a sense of completeness and fulfillment, like a painting in a frame; nothing need be added, nothing omitted. For example, I've always thought that Patrick O'Brien, author of the famous Aubrey/Maturin series of sea-going adventures, was one of these. Charles Dickens, of course. Eudora Welty, probably my favorite American short story writer, is also a master in this regard.

When I come across such a paragraph I have a tendency to read it aloud to someone, usually my "delovely" wife. But as she's not around at the moment, I'll share this one with you instead!

It's from David McCullough's John Adams (p. 342). McCullough is a historian with a novelist's concern for story and pacing. Here, he is describing John and Abigail's impression of London, where John has been appointed America's first ambassador to the Court of St. James.

The extravagance of the ruling class was notorious. At such exclusive clubs as Brooks or Boodles on St. James's Street, fortunes were reputedly gambled away at the turn of a card, and, nightly, young men drank themselves into a stupor. This was not quite true, but the stories would never die, and the clothes, carriages, the sheer weight of gold braid and the livery of servants, left little doubt as to how vast was the wealth of the wealthiest. Yet, as the Adamses found, one could hardly go anywhere without encountering such spectacles of poverty and misery as to tear the heart--people in tatters, hunger and suffering in their faces, as Abigail wrote. And who was to answer for the wretched victims "who are weekly sacrificed upon the gallows in numbers sufficient to astonish a civilized people?" Compounding her sorrow was the realization that every night and in all weather abandoned children by the hundreds slept beneath the bushes and trees of Hyde Park.

Another Challies Giveaway

2005-08-15T09:53:00.000-04:00

Tim Challies is giving away a free copy of The Valley of Vision on CD (recorded by Max McClean), along with a copy of Don Whitney's Simplify Your Spiritual Life. That's a nice package! But you've got to enter the draw to win.

An Unexpected Question

2005-08-15T07:47:00.000-04:00

What did you learn on line today? I learned about komodo dragons. Visit James and Amanda at Wittingshire ("A unique blend of science, faith and lyricism, reading it is a bit like having tea with an educated, Christian hobbit," says Gary Bourque of Both Worlds), who ask the unexpected question: "Why do we nurture our children, rather than eat them?"

My Favorite Internet Radio Sites

2005-08-13T15:21:00.000-04:00

For part of my workday I have the opportunity to listen to Internet radio at my desk. Man, does that ever make the work-experience more pleasant. I like AllWorship.com for praise and worship music, and Cross Rythms for contemporary Christian music (but I get tired of that pretty quickly, to tellya the truth). Still, the DJs have pleasant British accents and at least the music is not merely the same old same old from all the usual CCM suspects (I'll mention no names). But some of my favorite music is at BluegrassCountry.org. Bluegrass music from all over the world! Yes, it really has become an international musical language!

Check it Out

2005-08-13T12:15:00.000-04:00

I started a post just now about unity among believers, or the lack thereof, but I didn't like what I'd written and deleted it. I dunno, too preachy or something. So then I decided to scan the blogroll, looking for something I could point my readers to. My first click took me to Frosty Kaiser's Paint at Play. And guess what's on his mind today. Unity. Frosty's words are really better by far than my deleted stab at profundity. Read them here at Love like Family, and while you're at it have a look at Playing Nice. Mr. Kaiser has a way with words as well as with paint. Well done, Frosty.

2 Timothy 1:7

2005-08-11T07:21:00.000-04:00

Paul writes to Timothy, "God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-discipline."

What a wonderful trinity of attributes that is. It occurs to me that any one of them without the others would be severely hampered or stunted. We know well enough, for example,of power exercised without love and self-discipline. These folks are rather easy to spot.

But then again there are those who love without power. I think we have all been in this boat, especially if we've parented teenagers. Our love may have seemed to make no impact, to meet with only blank expressions. Perhaps, lacking power, we even acquired a "spirit of timidity" about expressing that love. Then again, there are those who love without self-discipline. They love, but their love is not channeled into any particular actions or deeds. Such deeds are always in some way costly, and we shy from them perhaps out of mere laziness or lack of discipline. We let opportunities pass. We love, but it's never more than a feeling. Our love "dies on the vine."

How about self-discipline without love or power? We hit the weights every day or run our five miles, constantly whipping ourselves into shape, but only so as to win the approval of men or our own vanity. It is self-discipline that may even carry with it a semblance of power, but it is entirely devoid of Kingdom-purpose. We have much of this in our world. We are far more faithful to exercise than to seek God. Our self-discipline is merely self-love.

But Timothy was given a spirit of power AND love AND self-discipline. This made him a mighty man of God, I believe. With these, he could proclaim the Gospel without shame and without fear of men, even in a time of persecution. He pursued his calling, he did the work of the Lord, because he knew he was equipped by the Lord.

What a great man Timothy must have been. What a great mentor was Paul, even here in his last days, after so many former friends had deserted him. Awaiting his death in his second Roman imprisonment, he writes to his beloved son in the faith, Timothy, and reminds him for one last time, be courageous. "God did not give us [neither Paul nor Timothy] a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-discipline." May it be so also with us.

The Book Nerd Strikes Again

2005-08-10T07:40:00.000-04:00

Man, we're having a real honest to goodness summer in this part of the world, where such is not always the case! What a lovely turn of events! I've heard of the concept of "summer reading," but I honestly don't understand it. Summer reading is light fare, even Potter-ish. A co-worker asked me yesterday if I wanted to borrow her copy of the latest Harry Potter opus, but I'm afraid I haven't yet read the first one (summers just haven't been long enough, I suppose). Nothing in particular against it, mind you. Just haven't gotten round to it. I'm presently reading David McCullough's John Adams, which I suppose is a winter-time, fireside type of book. Yet I'm finding it deeply inspiring. The book has two primary "story lines": on the one hand, Adams' courageous and steadfast dedication to his principles; and on the other, his great love for Abigail, and hers for him. These two story-lines are actually closely related, it seems to me, and McCullough's genius is to show that both are tied to the nature of the man, his character, his heart. Once, during a session of the Continental Congress, at a time when the prospects of the newly-declared republic were at a particularly low ebb, Benjamin Rush turned to Adams and asked if he thought the country could be saved. Adams replied, "Yes, if we fear God and repent of our sins."

A Few New Faces

2005-08-09T08:46:00.000-04:00

I'm still messing with the blogroll. Actually, "messing with the blogroll" is one of the secondary pleasures of blogging. Anyway, I think I'm destined to be continually changing the labels, adding and subtracting bloggers, etc. In any case, here are a few recent additions.

First comes Jesus Creed. For those of you unfamiliar with Scot McKnight's work, the "Jesus Creed" is, in a nutshell, to love God and love your neighbor. Scot, like so many others, is engaging critically and "generously" with the emergent church movement. Now, I myself tend to flee from the mere mention of the e-word, but you can't help but like McKnight's writing, which is refreshingly free of religious cant. And BTW, he recently suggested 10 books that might serve as a theological corrective to the errors of the "Left Behind" series. I'm going to take advantage of Scot's list real soon.

Next, Rooted in Him. I discovered this blog through a comment in response to a recent post. Lots of encouragement from Scripture, occasional word studies, and a general attitude that is fundamentally Word-centered. That's the sort of stuff I will always want to return to frequently, which is the fundamental reason for a blogroll, right?

Zayd's Dad has his mind on things above. He is a missional blogger at heart, with a focus on the church in the developing world. His recent post on taking risks had real resonance in my own heart:

Paul was the ultimate RISK TAKER for God. We need more risk takers. Many want to define risks solely on the basis of adrenaline that pumps through ones veins after jumping out of a plane but can we risk for something greater? I am hungry to listen to the voice of God and instruct me and lead me, not knowing everything that is ahead of me BUT RISK for the sake of His name/fame in places of the world where few call him Lord.

Dilligence and Rest!

2005-08-07T07:37:00.000-04:00

The following quote comes from Bob Hoekstra's excellent daily devotional, Day by Day Grace. Considering the idea of God's rest as a promise to his people, coupled with the call for dilligence in pursuit of God's kingdom (two seemingly contradictory concenpts), Hoekstra writes:

For those who believe in the Lord Jesus, spiritual rest is promised. This rest begins with a divine rescue from the crushing burden of sin and guilt. Then, it is intended to develop into heavenly relief from the unbearable load of self-generated Christian living. Entering into this daily spiritual rest is neither an optional nor a casual matter. "Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest." The Lord wants to stir and maintain in us an eagerness for this daily rest in Him. He wants us to earnestly and attentively seek Him for the rest that He alone can give. Our God wants to bring us along into a maturing assurance (a comprehensively developing confidence in His promises). "And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end." If we are unwilling to cry out to the Lord for such diligence in seeking His rest daily, we will eventually become spiritually lethargic: "that you do not become sluggish." God's rest is designed to produce spiritual fervency, not laziness: "not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11).

Five

2005-08-06T13:43:00.000-04:00

1) I think maybe you should read these: Christ, Community, Culture, and You.

2) Let's say my brain is an office. There's a balky 1980s PC on the desk, and old gray filing cabinets lining the walls. Since I've never invested in a waste basket, nothing gets thrown away. Though the room itself is remarkably small, those filing cabinets contain apparently endless drawers. Nevertheless, the files in them (thoughts, memories, images, ideas, old jokes, etc.) long ago overwhelmed my rather half-hearted "filing system." Anyway, I was going to say that . . . socked away in one of those endless drawers, no doubt wildly mis-filed, is a carefully-worded "statement of faith." The problem is, I can't find it. And I don't think I ever will. Oh, well. At least the short version is easy to remember. It's very much like what blogger Jeff Garrett said here.

3) The cross. It offends. It causes us to glance aside, to go home by a different way, to change the subject. Even our churches are embarrassed by it. Although we were happy to flock to Gibson's filmic rendering, that was just another Christian fad, apparently. We reveled briefly, then forgot. If you don't think so, why is it that, one year later, Osteen is our best selling author?

4) A couple of Mormons came to the door last week. I had some friends over, and we were just getting ready to open our Bibles when the two LDS evangelists showed up. We heard them out more or less politely, asked them a few questions they couldn't (or wouldn't) answer, and then we prayed for them to know the truth. Sweet kids, making their folks proud. Deluded, but sweet. Incoherent theology, flaky history (i.e., Indians descended from runaway Jews). I wanted to say, "Children, Children, but where is the cross in all this? What ever made you decide that Golgotha just wasn't enough?"

5) The Cross. I'm sorry, but without the cross, nothing matters. On the other hand, in the light of the cross, everything else comes into perspective, takes on its proper hue and proportion. Which reminds me of the statement Rusty asked over at Believer Blog: "As believers, we're reading Revelation well when the reality of Jesus Christ as He really is starts to break through to our hearts. We know we're on to something when our interpretation causes us to conclude that Jesus is more real than anything else."

Ah, well said.

Africa on My Mind

2005-08-06T10:24:00.000-04:00

Scot Harrison is a photographer on a Mercy Ship. Want to know about the Mercy Ships ministry? You can go to On a Mercy Ship, or you can check in with Scot's blog at Notes from West Africa. Here is a simple statement. People like Scot and like Jenni at Vessels of Mercy see things every day that we in the pampered and sheltered West (I speak for myself) hope we will never have to see at close hand. Scot's photography is a window into the world of West Africa. These pictures, sometimes graphic and difficult to look at, are clearly important and necessary.

Under the Acacias has been bringing our attention lately to the growing famine in West Africa. This slide show provides images that will help us understand what's going on. Also take a look at Niger Watch, or the following BBC report, called Africa's Tiny Victims of Hunger.

Go to Disaster Emergency Committee to find out how to send help. And pray.

Brief and Shallow

2005-08-05T10:41:00.000-04:00

Well, clearly I have little to say. That's a rare mood indeed for Mr. Standfast. But yesterday's post was a sure sign that I'm in a blogging lull! So I think it'll be similarly brief and "shallow" posts for a while. Should I tell you what I'm listening to just now?

Dr. Ralph Stanley: Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop.

Music

2005-08-04T14:11:00.000-04:00

This is what I've been listening to lately:

Old Blind Dogs. Some very satisfying Scottish ballads, jigs, reels, and whatnot.

And Short Trip Home: simply 4 of the best musicians on the planet (IMHO).

Cap-Doff

2005-08-01T10:05:00.000-04:00

A triple tip of the hat (or how about "doff of the cap") for Aron of Some Thoughts. Through him I've just discovered a couple of sites that seem very promising. I've browsed both of them only a little, but I like what I've seen so far. Check out reformation21 and Reformed Perspectives Magazine.

But that's only the first two hat-tips. The third is for sharing this: Al Mohler's From Father to Son--J.R.R. Tolkien on Sex. A fascinating read. So, a well-deserved thrice-over doff of the cap to Aron of Some Thoughts.

The Problem of Love

2005-08-01T09:02:00.000-04:00

Love is the problem. To love, to be loved. Everyone who has ever lived has faced this problem and run into difficulties trying to solve it. The problem of love. This problem, this difficulty, lies at the root of all our other problems. It is not a Christian problem. It's a humanity problem. And although Christians say they have discovered the solution--Jesus--the problem still besets them, even as much as it besets those others who go on trying to solve the problem of love by some other means, or through some other power.

So it's a humanity problem, this problem of love, but the great Christian recognition is that it is also a God-problem. That is, it's a problem only God can solve. The great Christian recognition is this: we cannot on our own, through wisdom acquired from men, solve the problem of love. Our best "solutions" are too wrapped up with selfishness and sin, too burdened and entangled, and the weight of it brings down even our highest and best intentions. Like Paul, we know what we must do. We have high ideals. But when we try to carry it off, we make a mess of it.

So love is the problem. Everyone I know is trying to deal with it. Everyone. Even those who have hardened their hearts and sunk into cruelty and rage, they're trying to cope with the sheer magnitude of the problem of love. They have been devastated by its lack.

It was once fashionable, back in the hopeful sixties, to say that love is the answer. But it turned out, as experience was to demonstrate again and again, that we mortals botched the job. Badly. Consistently. The lesson of experience is, we always botch the job. No, love was not so much the answer, but the problem, the unsolvable Rubik's cube of life. It is the problem at the very root of Paul's heart-cry: "Oh who can save me from this body of death?"

Paul knew it was a "who" question, not a "how" question. That is the great Biblical revelation concerning the problem of love. The answer is a person.

Yes, but it must be candidly admitted, we who say we know this person, we who have him in our hearts, nevertheless somehow we're still--so often--stumped by this problem of love. The solution, it would seem, does not solve. Again and again we become aware that we have interposed ourselves, our own thinking, our own striving, our own will and our best intentions (which are always a mixed bag anyway) between the problem and Christ. We shove him aside and say, I'll take it from here. We do not let the solver solve.

Are you facing the seemingly unsolvable problem of love in your own life? Let me tell you, all the wisdom of men falls woefully short. Furthermore, never believe that, now that you're a Christian, this all becomes easy. It's not "a piece of cake." It was not even easy for the Apostle Paul. It was a lesson Jesus needed to teach with his very blood. "Love covers a multitude of sins," said the Apostle John. But such love cannot be found just anywhere. Repair to the cross, my wounded friend. Repair to the cross again and again. There is no other solution.

Austin-Sparks on Fullness (2)

2005-07-30T17:47:00.000-04:00

The mark of a life governed by the Holy Spirit is that such a life is continually and ever more and more occupied with Christ, that Christ is becoming greater and greater, more wonderful as time goes on. The effect of the Holy Spirit's work in us is to bring us to the shore of a mighty ocean which reaches far, far beyond our range, and concerning which we feel: oh, the depths, the fullnesses, of the riches of Christ! If we live as long as ever man lived, we shall still be only on the fringe of this vast fullness that Christ is. That at once becomes a challenge to us before we go any further. These are not just words. This is not just rhetoric; this is truth. Let us ask our hearts at once: Is this true in our case? Is this the kind of life that we know? Are we coming to despair on this matter? That is to say, that we are glimpsing so much as signified by Christ that we know we are beaten, that we are out of this, and will never range all this. It is beyond us, far beyond us, and yet we are drawn on and ever on. Is that true in your experience? That is the mark of a life governed by the Holy Spirit. Christ becomes greater and greater as we go on. If that is true, well, that is the way of life.

From The Pre-eminent Mark of a Life Governed by the Spirit, by T. Austin-Sparks

Bitter Fruit

2005-07-30T16:10:00.000-04:00

First there was the rain, then there was the rumour. "Those who died had braved the worst natural calamity the city had ever seen, but were fatally trampled by a cruel rumour circulated by a bunch of wicked people."

"For when we were controlled by the sinful nature . . . we bore fruit unto death." Romans 7:5

Look!

2005-07-30T14:57:00.000-04:00

Barbara Bagshaw is a Christian artist I know. Check out her beautiful work here!

Evil Penguin Update!

2005-07-30T13:33:00.000-04:00

Nature can be soooo cruel!

Dog Bloggers

2005-07-29T10:11:00.000-04:00

Bangkok Street Dogs is the only blog I know that is actually written by a dog. His name is Casanova, and he is a rather sophisticated canine who chronicles the lives of the street dogs of Bangkok. Wonderful!

Then there's Dogblog. Fellow walks around San Francisco, taking pictures of dogs. His witty comments are lots of fun. For example, check out this post, especially the second dog from the bottom!

The Presence

2005-07-29T08:22:00.000-04:00

We saw in Paul's prayer for the Ephesians that his ultimate goal for them was fullness. More precisely, that they be "filled with all the fullness of God."

I said that this word, fullness, has everything to do with the presence of God. I defined fullness as "the full realization of Christ's living presence in the church or in the individual Christian."

In his letter to the Ephesians, at the end of chapter 2, Paul puts it this way:

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

So the preaching of the Gospel is for the purpose of building a temple--a dwelling place for God. God once had companionship, communion, with Adam and Eve, and walked with them in a garden; but he cast them out of his presence, due to their selfishness and sin, and ever since then His purpose has been to restore that communion.

The book of Exodus ends with God's lengthy and detailed directions for the building of a kind of portable sanctuary in which he, God, might dwell among them. Moses builds it, and God dwells there. It is not, however, as before, in Eden. There, God walked and talked with Adam in a kind of intimacy that is only again seen in the intimacy that Christ has with the Father. No, in the case of the Israelites, his presence is awesome, and yet not intimate. Nevertheless, it is His powerful and guiding presence. The last line of Exodus is:

For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, but fire would be on it at night, in plain view of all the house of Israel, in all their journeys.

Now leap ahead to Ezekiel. The people of God are living in exile in Babylon, due to their persistent and fervent idolatry. And God gives to his prophet Ezekiel an elaborate vision of a restored kingdom, with Jerusalem as its capitol. The key distinction of this kingdom will be the presence of God. The last line of the Ezekiel is:

The name of the city from that day forward will be: 'The Lord is There.'

Finally, there is John's vision of the New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, with its streets of gold, its river of life running from the throne of God, on which sits a wounded and yet reigning lamb, and a voice cries,

"Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them."

Indeed, the story of the Bible is the story of God's restoration project. He is not restoring a human kingdom. He is not restoring, in the final analysis, your personal health and well-being (your "heart"). He is restoring a people among whom he might dwell.

As Christians, we live on the very crest of this supernatural wave. We are the first fruits of this new creation. To us he has given His Spirit in power. Our savior is called Emmanuel, "God with us," and we are to go forth in his name, empowered by his Spirit within us, doing his work, being his representatives, his "bond servants." Amazing. It will be a life of labor, even at times of sorrow, and yet it will result in the praise of God for his marvelous and invincible plan.

And this is why the Ephesians, as God's missionary representatives, need the Spirit to dwell in them in power, need a keen understanding of the love of Christ for the world, need to be filled with all the fullness of God.

For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord's will is. And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled by the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for each other in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. [Eph 5:17-21--all translation from NET Bible]

The Full Measure

2005-07-28T08:37:00.000-04:00

Biblical fullness has often to do with completeness. It's all about the completion of God's will for his creation. That's fullness. When Paul describes the glorious fulfillment of God's work of redemption, not merely as it relates to you and I as believers, but as it relates to the whole universe, Paul is describing fullness in its highest and richest sense. That is the time when "every knee shall bow, in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." (Phil 2:10-11)

That's fullness. The complete realization of God's ultimate plan for His creation. And it's of course essential to realize that this fullness is through Christ. Paul reiterates this again and again. The creation was subject to rebellion and decay, ending in death. But through Christ our mediator redemption and peace is available to man, leading to life. "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Jesus Christ], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (Col. 1:19-20)

These are expressions of God's "kingdom come." We yearn for that day, the day of completion, the day when the work of redemption will be fulfilled, every enemy of God will be cast down, every heart will be purified, and we will know the presence of the living God in fullness forever. But of course God's kingdom has in another sense already come. There is available to believers, through faith, a measure of fullness even now. We may think of this in terms of potential. If love is the foremost and characteristic fruit of the Spirit at work within us, we may well pray to God that we might realize the fullness of our potential as lovers: that is, as people who love one another. We shall not, in this life, love one another in the same fullness as we one day shall in the kingdom of God, but even in this life there is, as it were, a reserve of love through the Spirit that we have not even begun to tap into. Rightly we pray, more love, Father. More knowledge of your will. More peace. More joy. More patience. More kindness. More self-control. There is a measure of these things available to us now, by God's design, and to reach that measure is to enjoy fullness.

So you see there is a kingdom come sense of the word fullness, and there is a kingdom now sense. And so we come at last to the reason this matter of fullness concerns me at all. You see, the thing is, I want more. I am troubled by my own lack of these fruits of the Spirit. I am not satisfied with the measure I have reached thus far, and know that God desires me, even in this life, to reach a measure of these things that is far beyond what I have known. The point is, we do not love one another as we should. We do not serve one another in reverence for Christ. We are sometimes filled with bitterness and envy, and we struggle and claw one another, even those we love. And the question is, how do we get to fullness? How do we reach our potential as God's children. I don't ask this now because I have a ready answer. I ask it because I want to use this question as a guide as I walk through the Word, morning by morning. I'll keep you posted.

Austin-Sparks on Fullness

2005-07-27T20:08:00.000-04:00

There should be in our hearts, in the first place, a very real concern for the fullest Christian life that it is possible to know. Such a concern is a necessary link between us and that which is the Lord's will for us: for you notice that when the incoming of the Holy Spirit is spoken of in the Word, the expression 'filled' is often used. The Lord's thought is 'fulness': it is not just that we should 'receive' the Spirit (cf. Acts 8:15,17), but that we should be filled with the Spirit; not just that we should be 'filled' (cf. 1 Cor. 4:8), but that we should be filled with the Spirit. If, therefore, we are to come into God's thought for us, we need to be deeply exercised about this matter of knowing a life of as great a fulness as the Lord intends it to be.

From The Holy Spirit, the Church, and the Nations, by T. Austin-Sparks

This & That

2005-07-27T07:46:00.000-04:00

I'm still thinking about "fullness." I've spent a lot of blogging-time ruminating about Paul's prayer for the Ephesians, beginning at 3:14, which culminates with a reference to being "filled with all the fullness of God."

I thought I was finished with all this, but God keeps stopping me in my tracks. My daily Bible reading has me in Colossians now, where there is yet more talk of fullness. Colossians 2:10 says, "And you too have been given fullness in Christ."

So I'm going to stay here a while, ruminating on fullness. Essentially it means, in the context of Paul's letters, the full realization of Christ's living presence in the church or in the individual Christian. That, at least, is my working definition for now. So expect more from me on this matter.

***

My son has been praising Andrew Comiskey's Strength in Weakness to the high heavens. I've just begun to dip into it, and so far I like what I see there. So, in the next week or two, when I'm not talking about fullness I'll probably be quoting from this book fairly often. The subtitle, by the way, is "Healing Sexual and Relational Brokenness."

***

You may have noticed that I've rearranged my blogroll. I started this project on a whim, thinking I'd categorize the bloggers with verses of the Bible. I didn't exactly put a whole lot of thought into it, and so I expect to continue tweaking it, but the two bloggers who have commented to me on the matter (Aron of Some Thoughts and Julie of Faith or Fiction) seem to think I've pegged them pretty well.

***

Speaking of Julie, she paid me quite a tribute the other day. Julie is all about "strength in weakness," or so it seems to me. She models real confessional honesty in her blog. Some "confessional" bloggers often seem too incessantly self-referential, but the best of them are reaching for, yes, "strength in weakness." Not their own strength, mind you, but the strength of God. Keep at it, Julie. Your path is upward.

Just Checking In

2005-07-26T20:35:00.000-04:00

For those of you who may be wondering where I've been, well, I've just been neglecting my blogging duties, that's all. I'll be back in a day or two. Ta ta!

Five

2005-07-22T08:34:00.000-04:00

Keith at Under the Accacias, a missionary blogger in Burkino Faso, once again provides some outstanding blogging advice in Truth and Blogging. All bloggers should digest this carefully.

***

Another fine missionary blogger is Jenni of Vessel of Mercy. Jenni works on a Mercy Ship in West Africa. Read the story of Mama Victoria in her recent post, Faith and Perseverance, and be inspired.

***

Scotwise. Simply one of the best, most encouraging Christian bloggers out there. Good example: Committed Christians.

***

Jared at Shizuka Blog has been doing a series called "Tobacconist Theology." In part 4 he compares our sanctification with "the making, preparing, and smoking of a good cigar." Although the term "a good cigar" seems rather oxymoronic to me, Jared's point is nevertheless well-taken. A brief and beautiful lesson.

***

Finally, famous 18th century blogger Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said this: "One should, each day, try to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if possible, speak a few reasonable words."

Fullness (2): The Way There

2005-07-21T08:14:00.000-04:00

[Warning, long meandering post ahead!]

In his letter to the Ephesian church Paul states and restates the ultimate goal of God for his creation. At 1:10 he writes:

... to bring all things on earth together under one head, Jesus Christ.

That's fullness. In another place (v.4:10) he says that Christ will fill the whole universe. That's the completion and perfection of God's plan for his creation. Fullness.

Now, the church, the body of Christ, is a foretaste of that fullness in the present. The church is in Him, and it is his body, and its members as individuals have Christ in them, and under His headship they are unified in worship and in love. Together they are being built up into a dwelling for God: that is, they as a body are not yet what they shall be, but they are getting there. No, they have not yet reached the complete and perfect expression of God's purpose for them, but that time is coming when we shall all reach "the unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, attaining to the full measure of the fullness of Christ." (4:13)

That's the goal. The fullness of Christ in the church. At 3:10-12 Paul states one of the purposes of this plan for his children.

His intent was that now through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus.

A couple of things to note here:

1) the church is to be a demonstration of the wisdom of God to the heavenly authorities.
2) this eternal purpose has already been accomplished in Christ Jesus

All this is quite amazing to me. We can look around, we church-goers, and judge for ourselves how tragically often the church is a demonstration of the wisdom of man rather than the wisdom of God. But the point I want to focus on is the second one: it has all been accomplished in Christ Jesus.

This is a matter of faith. The natural eye does not recognize this. The purpose of God has already been accomplished in Christ Jesus! The "heavenly authorities" know this. They have seen it. When Christ went to the cross, they saw it and recognized that, yes, it was finished. It was accomplished. Now all who are "in Him" (Paul's favored descriptor for the Christian) are predestined to "grow up into Him who is the head." They are predestined to maturity in Him.

Do you see how Christ is the beginning and the end of this mighty plan. At 2:16 Paul says that we have been reconciled to God "through the cross." There the hostility that we once had toward God has been "put to death." There, at the cross, the love of God was "accomplished"! Now we who have gathered around that cross and taken hold of its promise are being built into a unity that is in a sense the forerunner of God's plan for his creation.

Which gets us back to fullness. Remember the 3 "so thats" of Paul's prayer at 3:14-21. These represent Paul's delineation of the way to fullness. The 1st so that is "Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith." Ah, back to Christ again. We have seen that Christ is the beginning and end, but here He is also the way between. This "dwelling through faith" has a progressive character in our lives. That's why Paul speaks of being built up, of maturing, of getting rooted in his love.

As we are so rooted, we gain a realization of the sheer vastness of that love. This is the second so that. Christ demonstrated it time and again in his earthly life. When he entered the homes of tax collectors, when he kept company with prostitutes, he demonstrated the boundary-busting extent of his love. The Pharisees drew back at this, shocked and dismayed. They could not accept it. But those who knew themselves to be lost and needy rushed to him as the thirsty rush for water. But the ultimate demonstration of his love still awaited its accomplishment. That was at the cross, where he is said to have given himself "for all."

So Christ is the beginning and middle and end. We who are in Him may well pray for increased power to comprehend his amazing love, for that is the nature of our progress toward fullness. It comes from having Christ dwelling in our hearts, from getting rooted in his love, drawing our spiritual nourishment from that love, and by that means growing and maturing in our faith and in our "grasp" of that love. This is the way to fullness.

Back at verse 3:13, after Paul says that the wisdom of God has already been accomplished in Christ, he goes on to say that "in [Christ] through faith we may approach God with freedom and confidence." (3:13) The work was accomplished, and now believers can approach him with confidence, rather than hiding from him (like Adam and Eve) because they fear that their sin has put them beyond the limits of God's love. Instead, they approach him with boldness, with freedom, with confidence. This is the prayer-life of the believer.

Let me put it this way. Since God has accomplished the reconciliation of lost sinners to himself, we who have gathered around the cross and trusted in it may approach God in confident prayer, and thereby we set in motion, here in the earthly realm, what God has already accomplished and demonstrated in the heavenlies. We pray in Christ, we pray out of a heart (an inner being) in which Christ dwells, we pray out of a love which is like Christ's love, in that it comes from Christ, and the Spirit has rooted and grounded us in it, and so we pray in boldness and confidence because Christ after all is the author AND the finisher of the faith that motivates the prayer.

Fullness. When Paul prays for the Ephesians, he prays first for power from the Holy Spirit. And At the end of the prayer he remarks that God is working his will, which by the way is more than we can ever ask or imagine, through His power at work within us. That's fullness. And then he caps his prayer with this:

"... to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen!

Fullness. Glory to God forever in the church as well as in Christ (for in the course of things the church will have grown up into Him, so that to speak of the one will be to speak of the other).

So, to put it in a nutshell, fullness is God getting the glory forever in a church which has grown to Christ-like maturity of love and faith and unity. This comes through the indwelling of Christ in the hearts of His people, and their getting rooted and grounded in his love so that Christ-like love is the very essence of all they are and do. Hostility is gone. Gentleness, patience and humility are their hallmark. (4:3) In short, they live lives of love. (5:1) But the way there is through a Spirit-empowered comprehension of the true nature and grandeur of the love of God in Christ. That's the way to fullness.

Fullness

2005-07-20T09:10:00.000-04:00

The estimable Broken Messenger (aka Brad) "interacted" with yesterday's post on his own blog by posing a very good question:

For though the text clearly implies that the "so that" is in place that we "may be able to comprehend" the height, width and depth of Christ's love, is such a thing truly and fully knowable? This seems paradoxical to me on both fronts: one being that the text says that we can know the bounds of this love, but yet still implying of the infinite quality of Christ's love.

Well, as Richard Nixon used to say, "Let me just say this about that...."

First, yes, I would say that, we will never have a precise understanding of the full extent of the love of God. Even the meager understanding that we now have through the indwelling Spirit is not what it someday will be in eternity. The issue is "fullness." There is a degree of understanding that will be ours in eternity. Since we will still be finite beings then, we will not have perfect and thorough understanding, but in eternity our "grasp" of the love of God will be such that our awe and wonder will never cease.

I can remember the first time I ever saw the ocean. I was just a boy, and the sight of the Atlantic filled me with wonder, so that I could not stop looking at it, listening to it, filling my senses with it. Now, all these years later, I live much closer to the ocean than when I was a boy. In fact, it's just a short walk from my house. And yet I hardly ever look at it anymore. It's just the ocean. No big deal.

That's not like the love of God. Our grasp of that love will one day be such that, well, the awe will last forever. That's one aspect of Paul's wonderful word, "fullness." Fullness is the full portion of the abundance of God's gifts that we have been predestined for. Fullness, in that sense, is not something attainable in this life, for we are not now what we shall one day be. But, here's the cool thing. The Spirit will provide a foretaste of that fullness even now.

Foretaste is not in itself fullness. But it is a foretaste of fullness. Paul says this in 3:21 and again in 4:13. We get a foretaste, a sample, of eternal things. We need this, because although we may never thoroughly grasp the full extent of the incredible love of Christ, we need at least to enjoy that sense of awe that allows us to say in wonder, "It's much bigger than I'd ever thought possible."

We won't get it by reading about it in books or going to seminary. We can only receive this through the Spirit doing supernaturally in our inner being what is naturally quite impossible. That is, rooting and grounding us in the love of Christ. My notion is that we're all kind of struggling with this second "so that." Our grasp is not so firm as it might be, and can be, and so we tragically underestimate the love of Christ. The consequences of this underestimation include judgmentalism, unforgiveness, malice, strife, envy, etc.

I think that Adam and Eve underestimated the love of God. First when they disobeyed him, and then again when they hid from him and lied to him afterward, trying to cover their guilt. They assumed they had gone beyond the bounds of his love. They assumed that God's love ended at the borders of their obedience. It was not so. They were wrong. But it would take them, and their descendants, a long time even to figure that much out. Underestimating the love of God, its extent and its power, is the source of all human tragedy.

The 2nd SO THAT: Grasping the Love of Christ

2005-07-19T09:46:00.000-04:00

In yesterday's post I spoke of the unity of Christians, made possible by the cross of Christ. In Christ we have peace and in Him we live peace. This is the Spiritual bond of peace that is indicative of the worldwide communion of saints, as well as of individual saints in all their personal relationships, not least of all their marriages.

That's the ideal. But it will come as no shock to my readers when I say that in reality the saints have fallen woefully short of this ideal. And the fact is, the Apostle Paul knew it would be so. He knew about strife in the church. Like James, the brother of Jesus, he was keenly aware of this disjunction between the Spiritual reality (we are one in Christ) and the fleshly reality (there is bitterness, malice and strife among us).

And yet the fact remains, the sovereign Lord is forming for himself a people who will be united in heart, who together will be a dwelling for His Spirit. Such is his will, and so shall it one day be.

Now, if you saw yesterday's post, you'll remember my brief discussion of Paul's use of the indicative and the imperative moods. Chapter 2 is essentially indicative. It indicates or describes a Spiritual reality of the body of Christ. In sum, you Ephesians are one in Spirit. All the old rationales for hostility and division are now moot, due to the cross of Christ. Then, given this Spiritual reality, in chapter 4 Paul is able to switch to the imperative: Therefore, make every effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Chapters 4 through 6 are essentially an extended elaboration on that imperative.

But standing between these two closely related sections is a prayer. It is a prayer for "fullness" and it is the hinge upon which these two sections are coupled. Paul's desire is that the Ephesians learn to walk out, in their every day lives, the Spiritual reality described in chapter 2. In chapters 4-6 he will paint a picture of what that walking out will involve, but here in chapter 3, verses 14 to 21, he prays for that which will make it all possible: the indwelling Holy Spirit in the heart of each individual Ephesian believer.

Note: the ultimate goal of God, as described by Paul in the final verses of chapter 2, is corporate. It is a corporate unity of heart so that together the Ephesians might be built into a dwelling for the Spirit of God. But the prayer of Paul in chapter 3 is for power from the Spirit in each individual Christian's inner being. In other words: the goal is corporate, but the means to that end is the heart ("inner being") of each individual. This may seem an obvious point, but I think it's worth our close attention. God will dwell corporately among those in whom he dwells individually. It is by means of the individual indwelling that the corporate dwelling place is built.

Paul has said from the start of this letter that we believers have the Holy Spirit as a downpayment or guarantee, securing us for the day of redemption. But the "fullness" of the Spirit is yet to come. For now, all we have is foretaste. "Fullness" is Paul's characteristic word for the ultimate realization of God's goal, which, again, is to make his people into a fit dwelling for His Spirit eternally. That's why Paul's prayer in chapter 3 climaxes with a restatement of this ultimate goal, but this time as it applies to the individual: "that you may be filled to the measure with all the fullness of God."

Everything that follows this prayer is a description of the life empowered by the Spirit, on its way to that goal. Humility, kindness, patience, living lives of love, living in the light, submitting to one another, encouraging one another, and all this "in reverence to Christ." (5:21) In other words, it is a description of fullness. It is life in the Spirit, on its way to "the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." (1:23)

And this is why Paul prays as he does. Paul prays with God's ultimate goal for his people clearly in mind. In fact, he restates that goal three times in this prayer. These three statements form a sequence. The Second extends and elaborates the first, and the third extends and elaborates the second: a kind of divine sequence toward the goal of divine indwelling. Each of these 3 statements begins with a Greek word which means "so that." Let's break this out into a simple list. Remember, God's goal is to build the Ephesians into a dwelling place for His Spirit. His word for this is "fullness." So Paul prays for each individual Ephesian "power through the Spirit in the inner being" (v.16):

SO THAT: "Christ might dwell in their hearts through faith." (v.17)
SO THAT: they can "grasp how wide, long, high, and deep is the love of Christ." (v.18)
SO THAT: they may be "filled to the measure with all the fullness of God." (v.19)

Now: the Ephesians are basically struggling with the second SO THAT. If there is any bickering or strife among them (especially in their case as it concerns conflict between Jew and Gentile), then they have not yet grasped the full extent of the love of Christ, which extends over all races, ethnicities, tribes and nations. And if they have not yet grasped the full extent of the love of Christ, they will not be filled to the measure with all the fullness of God.

This is precisely why bickering and strife grieve the Holy Spirit. We modern Christians are in the same place as the ancient Ephesians. We too are struggling with the second SO THAT. If there is disunity among us, not just as church fellowships but in all our personal relationships with brothers and sisters in the Lord, including our marriages, then we have not yet grasped the full extent of the love of Christ, and we are grieving the Holy Spirit, whose goal for us is unity through the Cross.

Do you get this? I've been going on about it for weeks, because God has been leading me by the hand through these verses, saying, look again. You haven't understood it fully yet. Keep looking. Keep praying. Keep wondering about my love. Get hold of it. Wrestle with it. Question it. Beseech ME to show it to you in fullness. I will not deny this request?

If you want to walk worthy, if you want patience and humility, growing up into Christ, living as children of light, living lives of love, loving your wives as Christ loved the church, praying in the Spirit on all occasions, then you need to settle the matter of the second SO THAT. How wide, how long, how high, how deep is the love of God? Through the power of the Spirit he will show you. And He will root you in that love, and it will nourish you unto fullness, the fullness of the Lord, dwelling forever among a fire-refined and holy people.

The Bond of Peace

2005-07-18T08:36:00.000-04:00

It was in Douglas Moo's commentary on Romans that I first learned about Paul's use of the indicative and the imperative moods.

Indicative: "expressing a simple statement of fact, rather than something imagined, wished, or commanded."

Imperative: "denoting the mood of a verb that expresses a command or exhortation."

(both definitions from the Compact OED)

Paul's imperatives (his commands or exhortations) are always based on an indicative (his statements of fact). In other words, Paul will say something like this: The dividing wall of hostility has been broken down. You are one in Christ. That's the indicative statement. Therefore, make every effort to preserve this unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. That's the imperative statement.

In the epistle to the Ephesians, chapter 2 through 3:13 is essentially indicative, while chapter 4 is essentially imperative. Chapter two "indicates" a reality about being "in Christ," while chapter 4 exhorts the Ephesians to live accordingly. Do you see how Paul's imperatives hinge upon the reality and truth of his indicatives? If there is no truth in his indicative statements, then there can be no grounds for his imperatives. On the other hand, if his indicatives are true, his impassioned imperatives are all the more worthy to be heeded.

Now, chapter 2 of Ephesians emphasizes the unity of Jew and Gentile in Christ. The "dividing wall of hostility" has been broken down. Jesus Christ, Paul says, preached peace to those who were far off (the Gentiles) and peace to those who were near (the Jews). As a result, both groups are now in Christ, and in Him are being built together, joined into a holy structure that is intended to be the eternal dwelling place of God.

This is the essence of the "mystery" that Paul goes on the delineate in the first 13 verses of chapter 3. Then, in Chapter 4 Paul exhorts the Ephesians to live in accordance with this calling to unity that they have all received. Given that call to unity, bickering and strife undermines the very call of God in our lives, not only as individuals, but as a people. Therefore Paul advises, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

Now if the cross of Christ has removed the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile, bringing reconciliation and one-ness, has it not also removed the many dividing walls that continue to exist today between Christian and Christian? I am not speaking here of denominational conflict. I am speaking of a more personal level of conflict. Conflict between Christians (that is, between people who are "in Christ"). Even conflict in Christian marriages, for example.

In the world that Paul knew, conflict between Jew and Gentile was so deep-seated and pervasive, so "expected," that to speak of peace between them, to speak of Jew and Gentile in unity, was to speak of something deeply mysterious. Only God could work such a thing, and through the cross of Christ God did work such a thing.

His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in the one body [that is the collective "body" that is the people of God] to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

God put to death the longstanding historical hostility between Jew and Gentile through the cross of Christ. This being so, has He not also put to death, through the cross, all other forms of hostility that spring up among us who call ourselves Christians, children of God?

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of Spirit through the bond of peace."

When we strike at one another, when we insult and demean one another, when we curse and thrash among ourselves, seeking advantage, we have grieved the Holy Spirit, whose bond is a bond of peace.

What about Christian marriages? These passages in Ephesians don't explicitly apply to marriage (in chapter 5 he'll get to that), but surely the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace must apply to Christian couples as well as to Christians generally. Let me quote the final verses of chapter 4 as if they were addressed, say, to husbands:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up your wife according to her needs....

Now, just for good measure, let's imagine that Paul's exhortation is addressed to wives:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up your husband according to his needs....

This is not merely ethical exhortation. This is preserving the bond of peace that is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. This is, in other words, a way of honoring your God.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:29-32

Paul says in Ephesians 4:18 that when our hearts are hard our minds are darkened. We become, in other words, unteachable. We do not learn. And so we sink deeper into old enmities and strife. So it is that we have often failed, as the people of God, to preserve, on the personal level, the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The Spirit, I am sure, is grieved by the hardness of our hearts. "I will put a new heart in you, a heart of flesh in place of a heart of stone," says the Lord God, but how often have we, with pious and high-sounding rationales, rejected His merciful offer?

The Reason: Paul's Ephesians Prayer in Context

2005-07-17T07:21:00.000-04:00

I'm back on the subject of Paul's mighty Ephesians 3 prayer, beginning at verse 14. Right there at the start Paul says something that is both crucial and easily overlooked. He says, "for this reason." Now, if you're like me, when you see that phrase, "for this reason," you'll want to glance back to the preceding verses, just to make sure that you know what Paul is referring to?

But in this case, the "reason" is not in the preceding verse. Paul, you see, can be a digressive writer. Sometimes he begins to explain something, then drops the thread in favor of an extended aside, only to pick up the original thought thereafter. That happens here in Ephesians 3. Go all the way back to verse 1. There, too, Paul begins a sentence with the words "for this reason." He says: "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles . . ." But this self-identifying phrase, "prisoner of Christ," seems to require explanation. So Paul leaves the sentence unfinished, and takes off on a two-paragraph digression concerning his ministry. Now, it's no ordinary rabbit trail. It's a rich and glorious digression, but only in verse 14 does Paul once again pick up the thread, repeating the words, "for this reason," and then continuing on with the thought he'd begun back in verse 1.

So: what this means is that if you want to know the "reason" for Paul's prayer, the prayer that begins at verse 14, you mustn't look to verse 13, but to the passage immediately preceding verse 1. What, then, is the reason for the prayer? Why does Paul "kneel before the Father," praying that the Ephesians would have inward power, imparted by the Holy Spirit, to grasp the height, depth, length, and breadth of the love of God?

Well, let's go to the relevant text:

And [Jesus] came and preached peace to you who were far off [the Gentiles] and peace to those who were near [the Jews]. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

For this reason, I kneel before the Father . . .

This, then, is the reason that Paul prays what he prays. The Ephesians, you see, are a part of a massive, a worldwide, building project. The dividing wall of ethnic enmity has been removed. Not only that, but they (the mostly Gentile Ephesians) are being built into "a dwelling place for God by the Spirit." This worldwide building project will result in a people among whom, and in whom, the spirit of God will reside.

And it is for this reason that Paul prays the prayer beginning at verse 14. In other words: Paul perceives that God's goal for his people is that they be formed into a unity, with all rationales for enmity and division now set aside once and for all, through the blood of Christ; a new people, a new tribe, shall we say, is being formed, united not by ethnicity, not by geography, not by political views, but by the very presence of Spirit of God.

All this sheds light on the prayer itself. Since Paul is a Spirit-inspired author, we can be assured that the prayer that he prays here is no wild guess, but a precise and Spirit-led prayer for the God-ordained means to that stated end. It seems clear that Paul perceived that the way God breaks down those dividing walls, the way he brings peace where there once had been strife, reconciliation where there once had been enmity, is by imparting this inward power to grasp the full extent of his love for them. Only in this way will they be rooted in love. And when they get that, when they grasp it, they can begin to be that temple. They can begin to be "filled to the measure with all the fullness of God." And this, the presence of the Spirit in fullness, will be the sole and sufficient ground of their unity and peace.

What do you think that would look like? Ah, good question, and one to be pursued in a future post, I think. What would you expect of a people in whom the dividing walls that normally exist among us had been once-and-for-all removed? Not only that, but a people in whom the Spirit of God dwells? How would they behave? How would they talk, and work, and spend their leisure time? Let's just think about that for a while, shall we?

***

BTW: My extended (will he ever stop?) musings on the last 7 or 8 verses of the third chapter of Ephesians can be found in the following posts:

Ephesians 3:16-19
I am an Ephesian
Awesome God
Glorious Riches
Inward Power
Inward Power (2)
Breadth, Length, Height, Depth
Breadth, Length, Height, Depth (2)
Pray in Wonder
Pray with Kingdom Purpose
The Consequences of Under-estimating the Love of Christ

Just Thinking

2005-07-16T07:53:00.000-04:00

Lately praying has been a struggle. What's that all about?

***

Over the Independence Day weekend I visited my mother in northeastern Pennsylvania. On Sunday morning Laurie and I went to a nearby church called High Point. The assistant pastor preached a sermon on . . . you'll never guess . . . Paul's prayer for the Ephesians in chapter 3. [My regular readers will understand.]

***

We "charis-minded" Christians tend often to focus on the Spirit's gifts in place of the blood of Christ. Perhaps we think we'll win friends if we talk about power rather than weakness, about "overcoming" rather than humiliation. But, as the old song says, "there is power in the blood." And as Paul says, "When I am weak, He is strong."

***

Speaking of Ephesians, in chapter 2 Paul says that the blood of Jesus has removed the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile, bringing reconciliation and one-ness. My question: what about the dividing wall between Christian and Christian? Even in Christian marriages! Which reminds me, of course, that James posed the same question long ago. "What causes fights and quarrels among you?" His answer, in a nutshell: "Friendship with the world." Look it up. [James 4:1-6]

***

BTW: When we read Biblical passages like this one -- "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" -- do we instinctively think up examples of "the proud" other than ourselves? Well, I do. Which pretty much puts me in the camp of the proud rather than the humble.

***

Meekness is dangerous. You get stepped on. Who would willingly choose meekness over strength? Given the choice, I mean. No, we don't choose it, we become it, by the grace of God and through the inworking of His Spirit.

***

Just a reminder: it's not for your sake that God gives you the Spirit. It's for His own. Not for your sake does He save you from the mirey pit, but ultimately for the sake of His glory. That's good to remember.

***

I've just discovered the blog of Matthew Willey. He's a young fellow from Greenville, NC. Here are a couple of quotes:

God's presence rocks. We can talk about it, study it, sing about it or whatever, but we must SPEND TIME IN HIS PRESENCE. That is what makes the difference. Spend time with God. Even if you're not "doing anything". Just come to God and say, "God, here I am". Put on worship music if you want, or instrumental music, or no music. If you just seek God first, He will lead you to pray or read your Bible or whatever He wants. Be patient. Find God again. Get out of the rut! Break the cycle or life. Seek God. It's worth it.

That's always good advice. Now check this out:

I don't want Your name to be my spiritual 911.
I don't want Your name to be a keyword to gain spiritual power.
I don't want Your name to be on my tongue in vain repetition.
I don't want to pray "in Jesus' name" and not actually think about You.
I want your name to be my best friend's name.
I want your name to bring a tear to my eye... every time.
I want to know the One behind the name - the heart that bring my help and the love that brings the power.

Matthew, that rocks!

Two-fer

2005-07-14T14:10:00.000-04:00

Todd Bolsinger posted recently under the title, The Gospel and the Church. Here's the money-quote:

You see, once we understand that The Good News is not about you and I GETTING to heaven, but instead about God bringing heaven to us through Jesus, then we’ll understand that the very purpose of the church (the body of Jesus on earth today) is to continue, through the Holy Spirit, the very same Kingdom ministry of Jesus.

And Aron Gahagan at Some Thoughts prays against pride:

Lord, you said that if I have the faith of a mustard seed I could say to a mountain, be rooted up and cast into the sea; I stand now at the foot of Mt. Pride, and my faith wavers. The mountain blocks my view, and I pray that it would be drowned in the sea of your greatness and power. Show me yourself, Lord, that I would tremble in lowest humility. I ask this for your glory and my joy, and on account of what Christ accomplished. “I ask great things of a great God.” In His name and for His sake, Amen.

Just Musing

2005-07-13T08:52:00.000-04:00

My mother, who has never owned a computer, asked me about my blog last week. What is it? And why would anyone want to read it?

Good questions. I don't worry so much about the second one, though. A little, but not so much. The Chesterton tag-line up above pretty much says it all as an explanation for this blog. It's all about sharing, I guess. I put down the stuff that's on my mind, working out my thoughts and ideas, or I simply share quotes from books or other blogs, or point to websites that I find interesting. When a whole community of people does this, it becomes a kind of conversation. The individual blogger becomes a part of something bigger, and the blogging process takes on a life beyond mere self-referential muttering. That sharing becomes the basis, the ground, upon which connections and thoughtful interaction becomes possible. And I guess that's a big part of the answer to my mother's question.

Well, Mr. Standfast is in a little bit of a summertime lull these days. I think for the time being most of my posts will simply be quotes from my readings. Maybe I'm just in a "gathering" mode right now. In a way that's what the reading life is all about. Here's a metaphor for that life: imagine that writers (and bloggers) are people who make small painted boats and put them in a stream. The boats float along on the current. The current, you see, is the publishing industry or the Internet. And the reader is simply a boy on a footbridge over the stream. He's leaning over the rail, reaching down toward the water, snatching up the little painted boats before they pass under the footbridge and beyond his reach. Sometimes, as a blogger, I'm that kid. I'm snatching up the beautiful objects and saying, "Here, look at this one!"

There is a child-like spirit in us that simply wants to share. That simply wants to say, "Hey everybody, look at what I've found today!" That, I think, is one (though not the only) fundamental motivation of Mr. Standfast.

Reading American History

2005-07-11T08:14:00.000-04:00

I'm on an American history kick. I decided a while back to read through American history by reading biographies only. So far I've read through three generations:

John Winthrop (1588-1649)
Increase Mather (1639-1723)
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

Next up:
John Adams (1735-1826).

Anyway, this has proven to be a fascinating way to read through history. I'm hooked! In fact, I think perhaps that after I've finally read through to the present generation, I'll just start over again!

Oh, and I've decided to tweak the rules a little bit (remember, after all, that a foolish consistency is only the hobgoblin of little minds). For each century I'll insert a non-biography into the mix. Something that captures the essence of the time and place. You see, while reading about Increase Mather, I learned a little about the so-called King Phillip's War in New England, and realized I knew almost nothing about this very important episode in American colonial history. Consequently: the next book in the series will not be a biography, but will be Flintlock and Tomahawk, by Douglas Edward Leach. After that, John Adams, and after that, who knows? If anyone has a suggestion (someone born in the first half of the 19th century), I'm listening!

BTW: You'll notice that the links above are not to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or any other commercial bookseller, but to RedLightGreen, which is essentially a vast but easy-to-use library catalog. With this service you can find a book, and then find out whether any library in your area holds that book. You need to sign up, creating a user-profile, but its a free service, and I just think that I should be promoting library-use here at Mr. Standfast. So from now on, all book-links here will be to RedLightGreen. And if anyone wants to join me in this reading plan, well hey, maybe we can start a group-blog. Call ourselves the bio-bloggers or something!

Some Tips

2005-07-10T07:53:00.000-04:00

The Christian Arts Festival was a smashing success. A feast for the senses. Some of the graphic art was marvelous, but the highlight of the show, as last year, was Stephanie Powell's In the Spirit Dance Ministry. If your church is interested in dance as a form of worship (and if you're on the U.S. east coast) you may want to contact Stephanie. She and her incredible troupe are willing to travel. They will draw a wow from you, I promise.

***

Bluefish Project provides links to C. J. Mahaney's talks at the New Frontiers Leadership Conference. I haven't read these yet, but you know they'll be worthwhile. New Frontiers sure seems like a fine organization.

***

Some Thoughts links to a PBS Interview with D. A. Carson concerning the emergent church.

***

Shizuka Blog on forgiveness.

***

Kieth of Under the Acacias provides the most "on target" response I've yet seen to the recent assault on London. I will simply quote it in full:

Lord, have mercy.
Comfort those who mourn.
Strengthen those who serve.
Protect the innocent.
Establish justice.
Keep our hearts from bitterness,
And help us to do what is right.

Arts Festival

2005-07-09T11:15:00.000-04:00

Light blogging continues. I'm just having a very lazy vacation week, hanging around, reading books, going out for breakfast, that sort of thing. Tonight, though, is the New England Christian Arts Festival, which I will be involved with for the second year running. Graphic arts, music, dance, poetry, in the Christian context. I intend to read a couple of my own poems (A Bronze Sky and Travelers). Also, Laurie (my honey) and good friend Meghan will be singing some original music, and son Tim will be playing his guitar. So that is all simply very cool!

Reaction

2005-07-08T07:35:00.000-04:00

Back to blogging after a week away. The news from London is, of course, at the forefront now. Adrian Warnock has been very helpful here. Of course bloggers everywhere are busy with this. Gathering and assessing the news is what many bloggers do, and many of them do it quite well. I will not add to the linking-frenzy here. My prayers are for the families of the victims, of course. We are reminded that mankind is steeped always in his own folly, greed, and bloodlust. Every day men and women reap the unfortunate consequence of sins large and small, personal and cultural, in both quiet and hardly noticed ways, and also in terrible and shocking ways. The Jihadists, of course, must be stopped. But also, and ultimately, we men and women of the so-called Christian West must be looking to the plank in our own eye.

Three for the Road

2005-06-30T07:36:00.000-04:00

Last post before the brief trip back to the ol' homestead. I'll be out of action for at least five days, unless of course I feel like extending my blogging-fast beyond that. But before I sign out I just wanted to drop a few breadcrumbs for my readers:

1) Over at Abundant Life I found a link to the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards. I'd read about these and and seen them quoted here and there, but this is the first time I've sat down and read them all. Amazing. Here's one of my favorites:

Resolution #25: Resolved, to examine carefully and constantly what that one thing in me is, which causes me the least to doubt the love of God; and to direct all my force against it.

And by the way, Jessica has a good thing going at Abundant Life. She says the Bible is a love story. And Jessica's blog is a lover's journal! Abundant life, indeed!

2) I thought I should collect together the links to all the posts I wrote recently on the subject of Paul's prayer at the end of Ephesians 3. Mostly for my own sake, but perhaps some others would be interested as well. So I've pulled together the links at Sifted, which is kind of my "Best of Mr. Standfast" blog.

3) Finally, I think I should leave you with a poem. Mary Oliver is perhaps the greatest living American poet. Well, that's my opinion anyway. This site, for example, has a nice little collection of her poems. Here's one of my favorites:

A Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?

And on that note, fare well!

Totally Off-topic

2005-06-28T14:26:00.000-04:00

I've discovered a new Internet toy: Google Earth. I found out about this from Search Engine Watch, which informs us:

Google has released its long-anticipated geographic search tool, a new application that combines local search with satellite images and maps from around the globe.

Google Earth is a standalone application that's essentially an enhanced and upgraded version of its Keyhole 3D satellite imagery product. As Google has done with several of its past acquisitions, the company has also made the application free to all users, dropping its annual subscription fee for the basic version. Google Earth Plus with additional features will cost $20 per year.

Think of spinning a big virtual planet earth, then zooming in, tilting the perspective and gliding across the landscape like a low-flying jet (you can choose your altitude). I've been trying to follow the landscape southward to the towns in Pennsylvania where I grew up (and which I will be visiting before the week is out). If you like, you can command the software to make the names of towns, roads, restaurants, pop onto the screen as you close in (not to mention bars, malls, golf courses, etc., and even crime statistics!). Just for fun, I've been trying to make my way "home" by following rivers and other terrain landmarks, not highways. But I've been getting lost a lot! The zoom feature varies from place to place, with greater resolution in some urban areas, less so for smaller cities and rural places. Still, when I finally arrived at the small town where my mother lives, and the very neighborhood, I check-marked the restaurant feature on the software and suddenly the name of the little "Mom & Pop" ice cream stand around the corner popped onto the screen, not to mention the seedy beerhall just down the street. Wow, does Google know all?

Memories of Books

2005-06-28T07:29:00.000-04:00

Books have always seemed like good friends to me. I suppose there are some unfortunate people who simply would not understand that statement. But I have been conversing with books all my life, and that's something I seem to have in common with many Bloggers. The truth is, we are word people. We have been engaged, as readers, in a literary conversation all our lives. We have traveled far, and seen much; we have grown and learned, wept in sorrow or joy for people who were only characters in a book, after all. It is a strange thing, but true. We are better, rounder, more whole, as a result.

When I was five my parents were divorced and my mother took us, me and my brother and sister, to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. We lived on Union Street at first, in a small apartment. My mother instructed my big brother, who was nine, to take me to the library. It was one of the turning-points of my life.

The library was a longish walk from our apartment, or so it seemed to me then. Brent held my hand as we crossed one street after another. He was so big, at nine years old, and I felt guarded with him, and safe. The Osterhout Free Library had a high peaked ceiling like a church. The light poured in through great windows. The very hush of the place conveyed to me a sense of gravity. I was awed. And all this was for the sake of the books which lined the countless shelves that towered over my head. Here, certainly, books were honored and treated with care, and people walked softly, and so, I must have decided then, would I.

And I remember long summer mornings, and sitting on the back porch reading Stevenson and Verne and Dickens as a teenager. Dickens simply swept me off my feet. The books were huge and musty old tomes. Just to turn the pages seemed a delicious gift. Perhaps it was bright summer outside, but in the pages of the book it was a dank London evening, and that's where I was, swept along with Oliver or Pip in those fearful human currents.

I don't seem to read many novels anymore. Perhaps someday I will go back to Dickens, rediscover the old haunts along the Thames waterfront where Sikes plotted evil, but fallen Nancy plotted good, and where old Fagin both cursed and blessed the lost and orphaned Oliver.

I will be taking Marilynne Robinson's Gilead with me to my mother's house in a few days, and I'll be sure to sit on that back porch, the same one as all those years ago, and I'll taste of that delicious pleasure again of journeying into a story on a long summer morning. Give thanks, you who have loved books, for God has given you story, and song, and images, and by means of the gifted teller these things will ramify in memory for years to come.

Just Dropping By

2005-06-27T07:18:00.000-04:00

Summer has finally arrived. Hazy mornings. Hot, desultory afternoons. You get the feeling that the best thing you could do would be, well, nothing at all. Just moments ago a groundhog scampered beneath my kitchen windows, on his way to some juicy leaves in the neighbor's yard. Soon he'll go underground, keeping cool in the moist earth. Smart groundhog!

Later this week I'll be headed to Pennsylvania, to my mother's house, for about 5 days, and will be out of blogging-range. Respite, I think that's the "sonorous" word I'm looking for here.

Can you tell I've got very little to say this morning? I did want to thank Kim, however, she of The Upward Call, for her kinds words about Mr. Standfast (here). It really blessed me, Kim, and it showed me that Mr. Standfast is the kind of blog I'd intended it to be. Again, thanks very much.

Transfigured Things in a Noble Light

2005-06-25T08:43:00.000-04:00

Reading the P. T. Forsyth quotations over at Blue Goldfish caused me to rummage through the catalog of my local academic library, where I found Forsyth's little book on prayer, first published in 1916, called The Soul of Prayer. Forsyth was an Englishman, and he writes like one. Have you ever noticed the wonderful natural elegance that seems to pervade the prose of so many English authors? Writing in the dark days of World War I, even the dedication is a thing of beauty. Forsyth describes a winding path in the hills, and a small chapel along the way, "a wayside hermitage." It is a quiet place apart, and it is Forsyth's symbolic picture of the place of prayer:

So in our soul let us make a cornice road for God to come when He will, and walk upon our high places. And a little lodge and shelter let us have on it, of sacred stones, a shrine of ancient writ and churchly memories. Let us make an eyrie there of large vision and humane, a retreat of rest and refitting for a dreadful world. May He show us, up there apart, transfigured things in a noble light. May He prepare us for the sorrows of the valley by a glorious peace, and for the action of life by a fellowship gracious, warm, and noble (as even earthly friendship may be). So may we face all the harsh realisms of Time in the reality, power, and kindness of the Eternal, whose Mercy is as His Majesty for ever.

Well, I love that sonorous tone. This musty little book is no doubt seldom read these days. We moderns (and post-moderns) are all for the new, and we think we're living in very unique and unprecedented times. Well, maybe so. But probably not. God give me grace to hear the old voices speaking from musty books such words of wisdom and hope as may stand firm even when the foundations of this world are shaken.

This, That, & the Other

2005-06-24T07:28:00.000-04:00

Blue Goldfish took a thelogical worldview quiz (here), and discovered that he was most influenced by Karl Barth and P. T. Forsyth. I only know of Forsyth because Stott references him frequently in The Cross of Christ, but here's a quote that's been rocking my foundations since I first read it:

It pleased God by the revelation of His boldness and grace which the great theologians taught me to find in the Bible, to bring home to me my sin in a way which submerged all school questions in weight, urgency and poignancy. 'I was turned from a Christian to a believer, from a lover of love to an object of grace.'

Now that's something to pause over. It is good to be a lover of love, but better still to know that you are an object of grace! Goldfish gives us more of Forsyth (not to mention Barth) at his post entitled Karl Barth and P. T. Forsyth.

***

I value the blogging of Christians who write about the presence of the Holy Spirit, and when I find them, they have a very good chance of making my Blogroll. I'd like to create a special category just for them, but haven't thunk up a pithy label yet. In any case, here are two such Charis-bloggers:

Gad(d)about is the blog of Matthew Self. His recent post, aptly titled Surprised by the challenge of experience, is a testimony of Matt's initial experience of the Spirit's empowering presence. It came in the form of (eee-gads!) laughter:

This was not the laughter of hearing a good joke. This was not the laughter of ironic observation. This was a welling up from my soul, as if the whole burden of my whole life was now being brought up in a bellowing howl. It was not mere release of burden, it was total relief of it. Imagine God reaching down into the pit of your stomach and violently pulling up all the junk you'd be carrying around.

Matthew, great post. Thanks for your boldness in Christ!

Bryans Nonsense is the blog of Peter Porter. A recent post is entitled, How to Preach and Draw on the Anointing. Pete is keen to keep first things first. The Holy Spirit always points us back to Jesus, and will empower those who gather around the cross of Christ.

The Anointing of the Holy Spirit always accompanies the cross and resurrection of Jesus. If you want the Lord to move in your midst, then, as Paul, preach Jesus and him crucified. In this alone is the focus of all God's dealings with man. By this the love of God is manifest to the world. By this sin is put away. In the cross is healing of all sickness and infirmity. Through the resurrection is all authority over all the works of the devil. And by Jesus death we have access to the presence of the Almighty. And in the ascension of Jesus we have received the Holy Spirit.

***

Finally, Bob Hoekstra is a Calvary Chapel pastor and author of a fine online devotional called Day by Day Grace. While we're on the subject of the Spirit, I thought I'd quote the June 2 entry from the devotional:

Again, this work of the Holy Spirit is not automatic or "robotic." Rather, it is a relational matter. It is realized in our lives through humble dependence. It is possible to resist the work of the Holy Spirit in us. "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit" (Acts 7:51). It is when we depend upon the Holy Spirit to lead us in the path of obedience that we will truly live as obedient children of God. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Romans 8:14).

Pushing Ahead vs. Drawing Near

2005-06-22T08:12:00.000-04:00

Men just want to keep busy. They want to have their hands on things, manipulating, fixing, improving, making things work. In the spiritual realm no less than the physical, men want to have a job to do. They love Paul's talk of pressing on, of physical training, of fighting the good fight. They're quite comfortable with the idea of perseverance and discipline. They like markers, measurable progress, gold stars. Give them something to shoot for, to earn, and they're happy as pigs in mud. Back when I was venting my dissatisfaction with Rick Warren's Purpose-Driven Life, wherein Warren speaks of doing things on earth in order to get "promotions" in heaven, one friend of mine (who strongly disagreed with my negative assessment of PDL) said, "At least now I finally know there's something I can do!"

Oh how we yearn to earn! And it does seem such a relief to be told that, yes, if you work hard enough, great things will come your way. On the other hand, as Rob at Miscellanies on the Gospel makes clear (here and here), we can't work out anything that God has not first worked in. I am convinced that the great need today is not for still more activity, not that we "get it in gear," "hop to it," "look lively," or "push ahead," but that we draw near. Not that we run hard, but that we be still. What say you?

The Throne of Grace

2005-06-21T07:32:00.000-04:00

A few days back I mentioned a book called Pleasures Evermore by Sam Storms. Today I want to extract a couple of fairly lengthy quotes from that book.

In answer to the question, Where shall we go for grace?, Storms writes movingly about the "throne of grace":

Because it is a throne of grace, nothing is required of you but your need. Your ticket to the throne is not works but desperation. God doesn't want sacrifice or gifts or good intentions. He wants your helplessness in order that the sufficiency of His grace, at work on your behalf, might be magnified. This is a throne for the spiritually bankrupt to come and find the wealth of God's energizing presence. "This is not the throne of majesty which supports itself by the taxation of its subjects, but a throne which glorifies itself by streaming forth a fountain with floods of good things."

That quotation at the end is from Spurgeon by the way. I just want to say that I for one am betting my life on the grace of God. I'm betting that for those who believe it is never a throne of judgment, but always of reconciliation, peace, and empowerment for holy living. Storms again:

This grace for which we confidently and continuously ask doesn't merely show us what to do, it stimulates and sustains us in the doing. Grace doesn't merely point us in the way of holiness, it infused power that we might actually walk in that way. Grace is more than words of exhortation and cheers of encouragement. Grace is more than reasons to obey and arguments to persevere. Grace is power. Grace is energy. Grace is God at work in us to change us. Grace changes how we think, giving plausibility and sense to ideas once believed to be false. Grace changes how we feel, bringing joy in Jesus and revulsion for sin. Grace changes how we will, creating new and deeper desires for what we once found unappealing. Grace changes how we act, equipping and energizing the soul to do what we have failed to do so many times before.

If we are to have hope for holiness, we must have the heart-changing, mind-changing, will-changing work of divine grace that is sovereignly bestowed when heart-weak, mind-weak, will-weak people ask for it from the only place it may be found: the throne of grace.

***

UPDATE: Blogger Matthew Hall has also been thinking about The Throne of Grace.

Two Kindred Spirits

2005-06-20T08:11:00.000-04:00

Bill, who is Out of the Bloo, is among that group of bloggers whom I consider true kindred spirits. In a recent post he meditated on Nehemiah 8:5-12. It's a wonderful passage. The returning exiles are confronted and chastened when they hear the reading of the law, but Nehemiah and Ezra and the priests say over and over (it is repeated three times here), "Do not grieve, for this day is holy to the Lord."

These band of returning exiles, in hearing the reading of the Torah, recognized not only their own sinfulness, but that in returning to the land of the Promise they were stepping back into the stream of God's plan and provision for Israel. They were stepping back into God's grand story, his plan to bless the nations through Israel, and at first the realization simply daunted them. But their priests went among them speaking the joy of the Lord, calling on them to not grieve but to celebrate. For the joy of the Lord would be their strength.

This is fertile territory for meditation. God will always bless those who dwell quietly upon His word. Thanks, Bill, for helping us to do just that.

***

Broken Messenger, another kindred spirit, has posted twelve questions for your consideration. These are good questions. Tough questions. Not questions that can be answered blithely, or quickly set aside. They are questions that confront, challenge, and lovingly probe the conscience of every believer. Print them out. Stick them in your Bible. Pick one at a time and let that one question resound in your inner being for a long while. Answer them as if it is Jesus asking, remember that He always blesses the poor in spirit. I believe that you will be blessed by dwelling on these questions.

The Consequences of Under-estimating the Love of Christ

2005-06-17T08:39:00.000-04:00

I'm still not done with Paul's Ephesian prayer. Recall that he prayed that the Ephesians would get a firm grasp of the width, length, height, and depth of the love of Christ. Well, I've been wondering why. What would happen, what would be the consequences, if they didn't "grasp" it?

Paul himself says that by grasping it (even though it surpasses human understanding) they might become "filled to the measure with all the fullness of God." That's the consequence of grasping the extent of the love of Christ. But without such a grasp, then that fullness is, presumably, stymied.

Hmmm. I want to circle around this thought for a little while. I'm sorry, it's just doing me good to stay here and keep looking. This is my way, I suppose, of grasping that knowledge of the love of Christ. Ruminate on it. Then ruminate some more.

So Paul is specifcally talking about extent here. The sheer reach, the wingspan, of the love of Christ. I know that it is wide enough to leave no one out. Christ demonstrated his love for us at the Cross, where he died for all! No one is left out. The offer is made to every sinner, which is to say, every man, woman, and child that has ever lived. Come to the fountain. The water of life is free. Drink and be filled.

That's how wide the love of Christ is, but my ruminating question is, what if I didn't understand that? What if I underestimated the reach of Christ's love? What would be the consequences of that under-estimation?

I think it would leave me prey to uncertainly, doubt, self-condemnation for sin, and as a final consequence it would have the effect of "disabling" my spiritual walk. I mean, if I do underestimate the full extent, the extravagant generosity of the love of Christ, if I imagine it has limits, then I will eventually wonder if I have not stumbled across that imagined border-line, crossing over into the land of no-love, no grace, no forgiveness. I will then have to struggle to get back in His love, and the only way left to me will be the flesh. Having been saved by grace, I will struggle to bring about my sanctification in the strength of the flesh, simply because I had chosen to believe that grace was not enough. This is how the grace of God is made a thing of no repute, an under-cherished gift. We simply fail to recognize it's extent. And that failure has grave consequences.

Remember--I say again--Paul wants the Ephesians to grasp hold of the sheer extravagant wideness of the love of Christ so that they can be filled fith all the fullness of God. Do you want that fullness? Do you want to win the very next battle with your own carnality? Well, get hold of this simple fact: even when you stumble, even when you sin, the love of Christ for you is not one whit diminished. In the eyes of God, because of the what Christ has done for you, you are at this very moment as holy now as you will ever be in heaven. Even in the moment of you sin, His regard for you is not diminished. This is not to say He is not grieved, but His love is not diminished and his removal of judgement, accomplished once and for all at Calvary, is not undermined by your sin.

Christian, get this. Or as people used to say in old movies, "get this and get it good!" The love that the Father has for you does not rise and fall like the stock market, is not tied to the moral profit-margin of your day to day performance. The love that the Father has for you is wider than you can imagine, longer than you can imagine, higher than you can imagine, deeper than you can imagine. His love for you is ever victorious, ever powerful, ever yearning, never-diminished, never waylaid or deterred, never undermined or overwhelmed by something you may have done. It's big, Christian. Really big. His grace to you is a permanent and all-encompassing gift to those who believe. This grace is no permission-slip to sin, but it is power to overcome termptation from day to day. Your victory is by His grace. Get it?

Five

2005-06-17T07:43:00.000-04:00

1) A great post on spiritual poverty over at 21st Century Reformation. This one should really cause a little soul-searching among its readers. Have you, too, lost your poverty lately?

2) Paint at Play is new to my blogroll. He's an artist who blogs. Seems to be a rare combination, that. His art is featured regularly, and it's really pretty amazing. And his words are too, as this post will show.

3) Out of the Bloo is just a sweet spirit blogging. That's all I have to say about that.

4) Blogging pastor Mark D. Roberts writes with polish and zeal. His latest book is called No Holds Barred, and is about praying through the Psalms. In A Miraculous Beginning he writes movingly about the early stages of that book's writing process.

5) Have you seen the new Blogdom of God community page over at Truth Laid Bear. It ranks the 2300 members in terms of popularity. I'm 285!

Enabling Grace

2005-06-16T08:38:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been thinking about enabling grace. I Googled the phrase and found a few interesting things. The best was from John Piper (here). It's an expository sermon on Romans 1:1-5. Here's a sample:

Grace is not just forgiveness of our sin and mercy on our misery, it is also a divine power that comes to us through Jesus absolutely freely for the sake of ministry. Paul says in Romans 5:21, "As sin reigned in death, even so grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (my translation). Grace is the power of a king: it "reigns" and leads mightily to eternal life through Christ....

The decisive, enabling power for all ministry and all service is God's grace.

I intend to dwell on this matter for a while. Piper emphasizes that all our work, all our obedience and service, all our power to overcome, even to love, is by grace through faith in Christ Jesus:

I linger over this because if you get it early, the book of Romans will open to you like a flower. And if you don't get it, the book will not make sense. And I linger over it because this is the essence of how God means for you to live your life. God wants you to read verse 5 and in the end put your calling in the place of the word "apostleship." "Apostleship" is Paul's, not mine and not yours. You might put, "Through Christ I have received grace and the teaching role." Or: grace and singing. Or: grace and studentship. Or: grace and singleness. Or: grace and widowhood. Or: grace and motherhood. And what you should mean is: God has freely given me forgiveness and the power to do a calling, and fulfill a role which I accept by faith.

Oh, the riches of His grace! You cannot drain this well, my friend. You can only hold out your cup in yearning for more. Praise be to the Father, this stream is neverending. He freely gives enabling grace to his thirsting children.

C'mon, get happy!

2005-06-16T07:47:00.000-04:00

Have I ever told you that I'm happy? Oh, not that I've always been that way. For much of my life I've been noted for a somewhat dour disposition. Sometimes difficult to get along with, complaining a lot, fighting my prideful battle with the world. But anyway, it occurs to me now that I'm happy. In marriage I'm linked heart and soul with a woman of extraordinary grace. I have two incredible sons who are men of honor and high spirit. I have a few friends that I know would stand against armies with me. And all of this is gift from God, of course. The thanks and praise and glory all belong to Him, from whom all good things flow. So in the end it is not so much, I suppose, a happiness with the things He gives, but a grateful joy in Him. And not only that, but this joy he gives turns into strength somehow (Neh 8:10). Oh, that's the really cool part. Want strength? Get joy.

Thank you, Abba. You're all I'll ever need.

This and That

2005-06-15T14:35:00.000-04:00

Dan at Eucatastophe has quickly become one of my favorite bloggers. Lots of really interesting stuff on his sidebar, for one thing. There you'll find some great articles, including Gospel Driven Sanctification by Jerry Bridges. That's where I discovered this quote from the 17th century Evangelical divine, William Romaine:

No sin can be crucified either in heart or life unless it first is pardoned in conscience.... If it be not mortified in its guilt, it cannot be subdued in its power.

I've been wanting to post that quote to the blog for two weeks now. There. Now I'm satisfied.

Another Blogger I must note here is Rob at Miscellanies on the Gospel. Besides being a redneck NASCAR guy (God bless them one and all), he's also another Gospel-centered blogger, and has honored me with the first ever MOG POG Award. Rob explains the "POG" part, but I'm still clueless about the "MOG." Nevertheless, I do like getting awards. This is the first I've received since, oh, about the 4th grade. Cool!

The First 'R'

2005-06-14T16:55:00.000-04:00

My long stint with the Ephesians passage has got me thinking about the enabling aspect of God's grace. I've collected together some Bible verses on this theme, and will be studying it further in the coming days. Last week I began flipping through a book I'd read a few years back, Pleasures Evermore by Sam Storms. This morning I noticed a brief section near the end called "Grace as Power." Ah, a felicitous re-discovery, that.

By the way, if you haven't discovered the writing of Sam Storms, I urge you to have a look at his website, Enjoying God Ministries. Lots and lots of good articles on the drop-down menus.

Meanwhile, in my zeal to get reading after spending a week without a book in-progress, I've now leapt into three at once. I bought Jerry Bridges' Trusting God at our church bookstore on Sunday. Then, this morning, a book I'd ordered last week came in the mail: Edmund P. Clowney's The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament. This is a book that I first heard about (if my memory doesn't deceive me) over at The Thinklings. From the back cover:

Beginning with Adam and Eve and continuing through to the last of the Prophets, Dr. Clowney takes a fascinating walk through the Old Testament, revealing Christ in places where He is usually overlooked.

Meanwhile, some of you may recall my American History reading plan. The idea is to read through American history (colonial period to the present) by means of a sequential series of biographies. The first in the series was a biography of John Winthrop (1588-1649), founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Now I've picked up the thread with an old book about Increase Mather (1639-1732), "the foremost of Puritans."

So there you have it. As you see, the first 'R' is doing fine at my place. The second 'R' is also doing quite well, but as to the third, hmmmm, it seems to have fallen into decay and disuse. Oh well, 2 outa 3 ain't bad!

Pray with Kingdom Purpose

2005-06-13T08:28:00.000-04:00

We're coming to the end of this extended meditation on Ephesians 3:14-21. Of course I haven't done it justice. I've been pulling a few prayer-lessons out of it, and these seem to have been helpful to others with whom I've shared them, by the grace of God. As I've been writing these posts, I have continually felt the directing hand of God, as if this is exactly what I needed to be musing on, writing about, sharing.

Anyway, now we come to the great "so that," the most exciting conjunction in all of Scripture! Whenever you read "so that," you should know that a purpose statement is coming. In this passage, Paul's "so that" comes right in the middle of verse 19. It is a simple one-word conjunction in the Greek, rendered simply "that" in many translations, and bearing the sense, "in order that."

So when Paul prays that the Ephesians would know the breadth and width and height and depth of the love of Christ, it is "in order that" something might happen to them. In other words, there is a consequence to such knowledge. In this case, the consequence is that God would fill them.

It was Paul's passion not only to make Christians by preaching the Gospel in season and out, but afterward to equip those Christians. He wanted every believer under his care to grow, to mature, so that they might not only be blessed, but bless others. Not only receive, but give. Not only learn, but teach. Not only be healed, but heal. And to do these things, they would have to remain rooted in the love of Christ, growing continually in the experiential knowledge of that love, receiving the enlightenment of the eyes of their hearts so that they could perceive what the Spirit is doing on the earth and join in. This, in a nutshell, is being "filled to the measure."

Is it not amazing that God wants to fill us? That God desires to place us strategically in the battle-lines of his great army, to use us for the taking back of creation from the reign of the enemy? What I am suggesting is, this little conjunction, "so that," is like a pinhole in the circus tent. Put your eye to the tiny hole and a vast panorama opens to view. It is no circus, though. It is the panorama of God's sovereign purpose on the earth.

Christian, God wants you to be filled with what he has to give you, and filled to the measure that he has ordained. He has placed you strategically in a home, a workplace, a town, for his purposes. He wants you to pour out what he pours in, to empty yourself daily in the mission and purpose he has prepared for you from the beginning of time. To wield the sword of the Spirit, to pray diligently for the lost in your circle of acquaintances, to love everyone. None of this is possible in your own power. Just as you were born "from above," you must be filled "from above." And this filling is closely associated, intimately bound up with, the recurring experience of the awesome love of God in Christ Jesus. Oh Christian, such is the fruitful and life-generating and grace-filled love that God has for you.

Although Paul does not says so here, it is my conviction that "the measure" he refers to in verse 19 is the portion that He has decreed for you this day. In other words, this measure is not the same from one person to another or from one day to another. It is the portion, the "measure," necessary for you to face what you're facing today. And God would have you filled to that measure.

In the last three chapters of Ephesians, immediately following this prayer, Paul himself unpacks the meaning of "filled to the measure." Live as children of light, he says. Imitate God. Live lives of love. Let thankfulness be the burden of your speech. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord. Respect one another. Put on the armor of God and do battle (because, I might add, the battle is going to come to you whether you like or not). In another epistle he says famously, "offer your bodies as a living sacrifice."

So prayer-lesson #4 is simply this: Pray with a Kingdom purpose in mind. Pray the plans and purposes of God in the lives of those for whom you pray. Pray not simply for the solution to problems, but pray with the knowledge that God wants do far more than solve problems. He wants to use us. He wants to fill each of us with a measure of spiritual-gifting that is absolutely necessary for us to fulfill all that He has purposed in our lives. So pray in allignment with the ultimate Kingdom-purposes of God.

Now, as I said at the start, I realize I have not done this matter justice. No one can. But I do believe that God has spoken to me through this passage and I have attempted to share it with you as best I can. Every blessing that God gives is meant to be shared, after all. I'll probably be moving on to other things now, but I simply pray that you, reader, have also been blessed by these musings. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

Pray in Wonder

2005-06-11T12:12:00.000-04:00

So I'm still here, walking around and around Paul's prayer for the Ephesians. Or as The Broken Messenger prefers, pealing back the layers, one after the other. Up till now I've drawn two definite conclusions concerning prayer. I said, first of all, that we should pray big. Although I know that the Holy Spirit can and does give us accuracy in prayer, we should not let our prayers be limited by the range of solutions that we consider likely or imaginable. Second, I said that we should pray from the inside out. Pray for the inward disposition of a person first, understanding that the fruit of the Spirit is born from what God has placed within us. The main concern should be the heart, not the circumstances.

Well, so now it's time for the third lesson, I suppose. We've been talking about the extent of Christ's love for us. Paul prays for the inward power to discern, to grasp, the dimensions of Christ's love, and by that means the Ephesians might be "filled with all the fullness of God." We're going to come back to the matter of "fullness," but before doing so, we simply need to emphasize this matter of knowing the love of Christ.

I said yesterday that this phrase reminds us inevitably of the Cross, and the Cross reminds us of God's amazing grace. Paul's characteristic word is "riches." In his letter to the Ephesians he refers to "the riches of [God's] grace" (1:7), "the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (2:7), "the unsearchable riches of Christ" (3:8), and "the riches of His glory" (3:16). My point is, Paul is everywhere expressing his wonder at the sheer bountifulness of God's love for us, always taking pains to speak of it, always making note of the awe-inspiring gracefulness of the Father's love.

And so, we move on to our prayer-lesson #3: Pray in wonder. Cultivate a sense of wonder, like Paul's, at the amazing grace of God, and pray out of that wonder. Study the grace of God. Understand it's full extent, the sheer greatness of His mercy, and infuse your prayers with that wonder. Dust off those too-familiar words, "hallowed be thy name," and really hallow it.

God's design, his purpose, for all creation has never been set aside, and one of the wondrous things about the grace of God is that He is working out that purpose through his children. By grace we are saved, and by grace we stand. By grace we pray, serve, offer praise, live, move, love. Grace is enabling. By grace we are enlightened, filled, and equipped for the work that God has prepared for us to do. The fourth and last point I will be touching on here is this enabling power of the grace of God. What Paul calls, in this passage, "fullness."

Breadth, Length, Height, Depth (2)

2005-06-11T07:54:00.000-04:00

We have come to the width and length and height and depth of the love of Christ. It is beyond knowledge. Only by the power of the Spirit can we grasp it. Furthermore, we need to grasp it. To grasp this, to get ahold of it, to grab on to this knowledge that is beyond knowledge and to not let go, that's my mission. To know the love of Christ that surpasses understanding.

Where do we begin? As I said yesterday, we are on the threshold of the marvelous here. Retaining Paul's metaphor of extent, we might put it this way: if you were to start walking today, in any direction you should choose, and if you could walk for a thousand years, you would still not reach the other side of the love of Christ.

Ha, but this is a child's language, I know. We can do better. We have arrived, in coming to this verse, at the crux of the whole passage. The crux, yes. The Cross. We have arrived at the foot of that blood-stained instrument. We cannot, we dare not, speak of the love of Christ, of grasping it, of comprehending it even in the least, without looking to the cross of Calvary.

There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him more? Luke 7:41,42

She was a prostitute, a woman to be despised by the respectable, the God-fearing, the righteous. But she knelt at the feet of Christ and bathed them with her tears of gratitutde. You see, she grasped it! She had taken hold of it for dear life. She knew how much she was forgiven, and so she knew, she began to know. To get it. And that was why she loved him so much! And then she heard him say, "Go in peace."

Let me say again: my mission is to grasp the love of Christ the way she did. I remember the time I fell to my knees and cried out in gratitude to Him, yes, just like that woman. There for a moment, I too got it! But Paul is saying, press on toward more of that knowledge, toward more of the intimate experience of the love of Christ. Seek, know, grasp, understand, His surpassing love. Lord, I want my life to be an intrepid voyage of discovery of the sheer gracefulness of Your love.

The sheer gracefulness. The sheer grace-filled-ness of it. Paul says:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4,5

This is what we draw near to when we draw near to God in faith. We draw near to the fountain of his love, a love we have never deserved, but that nevertheless pours forth from the very heart of the Father. And by this means, by grace, in the knowledge of it, in the grasping of it, we are at last able to stand. Yes, and to hear the words of Jesus, "Go in peace."

And that is the purpose to this knowledge. Paul's prayer is not that we have knowledge for its own sake. By no means! It is so that we may "go in peace." That is, go and live and work and walk out our faith, standing in grace--by means of grace--in the very power of this deep knowledge of the undeserved but nevertheless all-sufficient and enabling love of Christ. Only then can we be grace-filled vessels of Christ's love for a broken and embittered world.

But wait. I'm getting ahead of myself. That's for the next post (or two) I suppose. The purpose of it all. The "why" question. Why do we need to know how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ? Why is it important? What are the consequences of knowing, of truly grasping, the sheer extent of the love that Christ has for us?

Breadth, Length, Height, Depth

2005-06-10T07:53:00.000-04:00

I've been talking about Ephesians 3:14-21 for some time now, but haven't quoted it in full since the beginning of the series, so just in case anyone needs a refresher, here it is (NET Bible):

I pray that according to the wealth of his glory [God] may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

For the last two days I've been mulling over the idea of power in the "inner person", or, as I've been calling it, inward power. And I've pointed out that this is a power of comprehension, a power of understanding. Paul speaks often, in his prayers for the various churches, of the foundational importance of knowledge or understanding.

Which leads us now to look at the object of our understanding. What is it that we are to comprehend? And the answer is, "the breadth and length and height and depth" of the love of Christ. Okay, this is the place I want to stop for a while. See, I've been walking around and around this object, looking at it from various angles, and now I come to this facet, this feature, and the light seems to hit it just right, and I think I begin to see the whole more clearly. So I want to stop here and just look and look.

And I have two main questions right at the start. What is the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ, and why is it important that I comprehend it?

First step, let's understand the word "comprehend." The Greek word is katalambano, which means generally to grasp or lay hold of; in this case, to grasp or lay hold of "with the mind." In modern English, we might say, "Do you get it?" That is, have you attained to it, grasped it, laid hold of it? Have you gotten your mind around it yet?

Second step, and most importantly, let's look at this matter of extent: the breadth, length, height, depth. What's that all about?

And you know what? I'm out of time. So I'm going to leave it right there. Why is it so important to Paul that the Ephesians grasp the full extent of Christ's love? What are the consequences of such knowledge? We are getting to the very heart of Paul's prayer now. We are at the threshold of the wondrous here. In fact, things beyond knowledge are here, but by the power of the Spirit, they are brought within our grasp! It is good and right to dwell here for a longer moment.

Inward Power (2)

2005-06-08T13:59:00.000-04:00

So I've been walking around and around this passage from Ephesians, looking at it from one angle and then another. As I warned at the start, I have allowed myself to be discursive, repetitive, and even achingly obvious in some of my observations. I'm not aiming at originality. Really I'm just wondering. Wondering over a keyboard, that's me. Paul's prayer has me thinking about prayer in general, and wondering what lessons might be learned from this example.

So far, I've drawn at least two conclusions. I'll express them in the forms of imperatives. First, Pray big. As a beloved child of God you are coming to your Father with open hands, asking that he bless you (or whomever it is you're praying for) out of the incredible wealth of his glory. Now that's a thought! You're praying for God's glory in someone's life. And as Paul reminds us, God can do immeasurably more than anything we can ever ask or imagine, so don't be limited by what you can imagine (as if we can ever imagine the glory of God), or what you have experienced in the past, or by the expectations of rationality. As Tim Challies has written (here), "We put God in a box when we 'know that we know' what God can or will not do." Tim's point: don't do that. Mine too.

Second, I think another lesson of this passage is this: Pray from the inside out. That's how Paul does it. He prays first of all for power (alt., might) in the "inner being." It is specifically power to comprehend something. He prays for an enhanced faculty of understanding in the Ephesians, so that they can comprehend something that is by its very nature "beyond knowledge." Notice that all the emphasis for now is on the inward. It is on knowing something. Paul is not saying, for the moment, I pray that you be loving and united and righteous in all your dealings, etc. Neither is he praying for safety, for wealth, or even for effective ministry (a broadening of their territory!). None of that here. No, here as elsewhere (see yesterday's quoted passages), Paul is putting all the emphasis on the inward, the hearts and minds of the Ephesians.

Now, Paul's prayer doesn't end there. There's a purpose to all this. As I said, he's praying for an enhanced faculty of understanding so that the Ephesians might know something that is, without the Holy Spirit's empowerment, beyond knowing. We are moving from the inside out here. This inward empowerment is going to have consequences for the outward, the life as it is lived from day to day. We're getting to that, and that is I think the most exciting aspect of this prayer. So the next two questions we need consider are, 1) What is it that Paul wants them to know? And, 2) Why is it they need to know that?

Inward Power

2005-06-08T08:21:00.000-04:00

Well, I told you I was going to take my time with Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians. I’ve been blogging about it for a week now, and there’s no end in sight! As Arlo Guthrie used to say (and probably still does) about his wildly extended live-versions of Alice’s Restaurant, “I could go on singing this song all night . . . I’m not proud . . . or tired.”

The heart of Paul's prayer is that the Ephesians would have inward power to comprehend the sheer mind-bending extent of the love of Christ. So in the coming days I want to think about this whole issue of “extent,” as I’ve been calling it (no doubt inadequately), but for now I want to consider this matter of “power in the inner being.”

You know, God gives gifts to his children, and it is not inappropriate to speak of power or supernatural ability in association with these gifts. But it’s interesting to me that Paul does not often speak in terms of outward manifestations or pray for these things for his churches. Instead, he prays for a continuing inward transformation. His prayers, exhortations, and closing benedictions are focused on the “inner being.” Here are a few examples:

Romans 15:13 -- Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:17-19a -- I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him -- since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened -- so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who believe....

Philippians 1:9-11 -- And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

Colossians 1:9-12 -- For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects—bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.

See the point? It is Paul's way to pray for the "inner being" before he ever prays about outward circumstances. But that's completely the reverse of what we most often do. We tend to look at the difficult outward circumstances, try to imagine the best outcome, and then pray for that. Now, I'm not condemning that sort of prayer in every case, but I'm just noticing that it's not Paul's way. He prays for the "inward" first. He prays for the hearts and minds of the people in his care.

So I'm getting to a perhaps familiar aphorism. God works from the inside out. Men work the other way round, from the outside in. We think that if we take care of the outside, then we'll "feel better" inwardly.

Hmmm. More on this next time. This post is already way too long (like Alice's Restaurant). If anyone is hanging in there with me on this, well, you are certainly gifted with much patience. See you next time!

Glorious Riches

2005-06-07T07:31:00.000-04:00

Continuing to muse over Paul's prayer for the Ephesians:

The Ephesians need to be strengthened with power, through the Spirit, in their "inward being," so that they might grasp the sheer extent of Christ's love that surpasses all understanding. Notice: it is a prayer for the miraculous, since Christ's love "surpasses knowledge." Nevertheless, God is able to give a "measure" of this knowledge, because he is always able to do more than anything we can ask or imagine. Now, it is of overriding importance to Paul that they have this Spirit-endowed understanding of Christ's love. This supernatural grasp, or understanding, of the extent, the surpassing greatness, of Christ's love, seems to be of special importance for the unity of the Church (an overriding concern of Paul's) and the holiness of life of those for whom he prays. But all of this, as Paul makes clear right at the start, comes from the glorious riches of God.

Note: the prayer begins with an acknowledgement by Paul that what he is praying for can only come from God (it is supernatural, above and beyond human capability), and he ends his prayer with an acknowledgement that this "big" prayer is not too big for God. I just want to hang on to this for a moment. Paul is praying for something that surpasses understanding. He is praying that a mountain be thrown into the sea, and he is praying it with confidence (after all, as he says in verse 12, we may approach God in freedom and confidence).

On the subject of God's glorious riches (the NET Bible says, "the wealth of his glory"), I refer you to the words of Mr. Spurgeon:

There is no measure which can set forth the immeasurable greatness of Jehovah, who is goodness itself.... Notes of exclamation suit us when words of explanation are of no avail. If we cannot measure, we can marvel; and though we may not calculate with accuracy, we can adore with fervency.

Or we have Paul's words from Romans 11:33-36, worth repeating here:

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!

For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?
Or who has first given to God,
that God needs to repay him?

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.

The prayer of Paul for the Ephesians is a prayer for something glorious, something that can only come from the fathomless riches of God. It is a big world-changing heart-transforming prayer, prayed with confidence in the awesome generosity of our God, who is the source and the destination of all things. "To him be glory forever. Amen!"

Awesome God

2005-06-06T08:11:00.000-04:00

Prior to his prayer for the Ephesians (3:16-19), Paul reminds them that they have confidant access to the Father. We are allowed to be bold, he says, because we are after all his children, bearing his family name. Then, just after the prayer, Paul reminds them that God is able to do immeasurably more than anything they can ask or imagine.

That's the immediate context of this prayer. Now, one of the things that the letter to the Ephesians is all about is the unity of Jew and Gentile in Christ. This is a great mystery, an unheard of, unimaginable thing in its day, but Paul is saying, "Don't limit God to what you can imagine. He can do more, and he can do it better, than anything you can ever imagine. So go ahead and pray with boldness and confidence, because you are his children, and he loves you with a love that surpasses all your expectations."

One of the most valuable bloggers out there is Tim Challies, and he wrote a helpful series on this theme recently, called "Putting God in a Box." If you go to the last in the series, Recovering Awe, you'll find links to all the previous posts.

In Recovering Awe Tim writes:

It is crucial that we maintain or rediscover our awe of God. Too many of us have reduced God to a predictable formula. People complain when their jobs are too routine or that each date with their spouse feels the same as the last. In the same way we can feel that God has become part of a boring routine. When we feel this way, it is probably true that we have, in our minds, placed limits on God's character and His actions.

Later in that same article, Tim elaborates on a point that is, in my opinion, quite profound:

What I have come to understand is this: that we as humans we cannot be in awe of what we fully understand. We lose the mystery of what we master. It is easy to be impressed by watching wild animals in their natural habitat, but there is far less to appreciate about them when they have been caught, stuffed and mounted on the wall. To continue with the analogy we used earlier, we no longer worship the moon because we now understand it enough that we have removed its mystique. So when we place God in a box, we see Him as far less awesome than He really is. When we catch Him, stuff Him and mount Him on the wall, we reduce Him to the level of a creature that can be fully understood.

Wow, that's good stuff. And, well, it's also Bible truth. Paul has this same truth in mind when he says that God can do immeasurably more than anything we can ever ask or imagine.

Let's begin to treat God as an awe-some God, to whom the only appropriate response is wonder, and yet a God who offers -- and this is perhaps the most wondrous part -- free, bold, and confidant access, as of a loving Father to His precious children. Awesome!

I am an Ephesian

2005-06-05T08:51:00.000-04:00

So I was talking about Point A and Point B. Point A is the position of every Christian. Free, open, unhindered access to God. Point B is the state of being “filled to the measure with all the fullness of God.” And getting from A to B has to do with “power in the inward parts.” But not simply power–after all, power must be put to use. This power business provokes all kinds of questions among believers. Nobody wants to be powerless, and yet we also fear the abuse of power, the misuse of power. We know for example that there is a power of evil in the world. But Paul explains himself in this prayer quite clearly. In this passage, anyway, it is power to comprehend something. Power to grasp something. We might think of his “renewing the mind” passage from Romans 12. And in this case it’s a power to comprehend, to grasp, the sheer extent (height, depth, length, breadth) of Christ’s love for us, which he says, by the way, is incomprehensible. Ungraspable.

Me, I’m taking it as a given that I don’t grasp it yet. Oh, I get it a little. I’ve got ahold of the hem of his garment, and I have been miraculously healed. I’ve “experienced” the love of Christ in my life, but do I know how long, how wide, how high, how deep that love goes? Of course not. When Christ has passed by, do I want to be left reminiscing about the high point of my life when he was present with me, or do I want to follow hard after? Do I want to be in his presence continually? Do I want to drink in more and more? And Paul says here, I do not want you Ephesians to be at peace with your meager measure of knowledge. I want you to grasp the ungraspable. It will take supernatural power, but I’m praying that for you, because that is the way to “fullness.”

Aside: how much did Peter, just for one example, really grasp it right at first? Did he understand how wide and long and high and deep was the love of Jesus, the one he called Master, right from the start? Did Peter get it – even as much as he ever would – right at the beginning when he first decided to drop everything and follow Jesus? Or did it take him a while? Did it take walking with him, asking him questions, hearing him model prayer, seeing him model love and mercy, sitting at his feet for into-the-night conversations where truth after truth was revealed to him in both majesty and simplicity? That, you might think, should have been enough. But the love of Christ is surpassing. That means it surpasses all our understanding. It surpasses human measurement. There is always more th grasp. There is always the need for another conversation.

And I think of Peter denying Jesus three times, just as the master said he would. And then, later, that moment by the lake, when the risen Jesus said to him, in essence, “You’re still mine, Peter. After all, my love for you is an everlasting love. So feed my sheep.”

When that moment comes when we see our sin and our smallness more clearly and undeniably than we ever had – when we have no excuses and can claim no so-called mitigating circumstances – then we begin to grasp something of the sheer extent of God’s love. Just like Peter.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. This is going to be a long series of posts, I think, because I’m really meandering! In the future I want to look at these matters more closely:

• access to God
• the wealth of the glory of God
• inward power
• grasping the love of God
• filled to the measure

The love of Christ is surpassing, and it is everlasting. There is a reason we need to understand that better. We’ll be wondering more about that question in future posts. Suffice to say for now: I am an Ephesian.

Ephesians 3:16-19

2005-06-02T09:04:00.000-04:00

The passage in question is actually Paul's prayer for the Ephesian church. Here's the NET Bible translation:

I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

I expect to venture a bit beyond the confines of these verses, simply in order to understand the context, but it's here that I want to focus.

For now, a few things to bear in mind. Paul is praying for Christians. He is praying for people who already have, in that they are born again believers, Christ in their hearts. So what Paul is praying for here is a kind of Spirit-enhanced faith-walk. He is praying for their Spiritual quality of life. This attitude is at the heart of all of Paul's writing, I think. He is always urging the believers in his charge to GROW.

All I want to do this time around is to make note of something Paul says about the prevailing Spiritual condition of the Ephesians, and also of the way he describes the "Spirit-enhanced" condition that is in fact the object or goal of his great prayer.

The prevailing Spiritual condition is this: immediately prior to the passage here Paul says that the Ephesians, as well as he himself--being, as the are, "in Christ"--possess "boldness and confidant access to God because of Christ's faithfulness." Now, I'm sure many other things can be said about the Ephesians, but in the immediate context of Paul's prayer, this is what he says of them. He reminds them that they have free and unhindered access to God "because of Christ's faithfulness." Keep this in mind.

Second: The result that Paul is praying for, the enhanced "quality of life" that he desires for the Ephesians, is described in verse 19--he wants them to be filled up [NIV: "filled to the measure"] with "all the fullness of God."

Note: the Ephesians are Christians, they are born again, they have the Spirit of God dwelling within them, and they have free and confidant access to the Father. But they are not "filled up." To be filled up is the goal. So we have Point A (access to God), and point B (filled with the fullness of God). And Paul's prayer for the Ephesians amounts to this: he is praying that they move from point A to point B.

That's about all for now. Next, we'll look a little more closely at the means of transportation between these two points: "power in the inner person."

A Note about the Writing (and Blogging) Process

2005-06-02T08:27:00.000-04:00

First a note. In my view, the writing process is, in large part, a pursuit of understanding. This means that through the very process of writing a greater degree of understanding, of clarity, may be achieved. Now, what the reader usually sees is a finished product that represents a well-ordered recapitulation of all that the author has learned throughout the process. At this last stage, the author is a kind of docent or expert, imparting knowledge through the written word. He or she speaks and writes with authority in his or her subject, and the reader sits at the author's feet, drinking it all in.

But that level, the level of authority, is really seldom achieved. Most who write--bloggers, people who keep any kind of personal journal, and even real "authors" while still at the beginning stages of a project--write as seekers of knowledge, not at imparters. Not as teachers but as students. Not out of expertise, but out of thirst. As historian Paul Johnson has said, one of the best ways to learn about anything is to write about it. And at this fundamental stage of the writing process, the primary beneficiary is the writer, not the reader. In fact, until blogging came along, there was, more often than not, no reader at all. But one valuable result of the development of blogging technology has been to open up these early and "unfinished" and rather personal stages of the writing process to others, which has produced a largely beneficial interaction that can actually move the process along toward its goal, which is (keep this in mind) understanding.

I say all this as a matter of prologue and of explanation. Although there are many genuine "authorities" in the blogging community (and I value them greatly), what you most often see at Mr. Standfast is not an authorial recapitulation of knowledge but the pursuit of clarity through the process of writing down my questions, surmises, speculations, guesses, thought processes, etc.

And that's what I'm going to do in the next few days with regard to Ephesians 3:14-19. I'm going to take a very brief passage of Scripture, and kind of walk around and around it like a patron at an art gallery, drinking it in, mulling it over, testing, speculating, wondering. In the process I'm probably going to say many things that will seem quite obvious--no-brainers--because, well, that's how I work. And I have a hunch--an inkling--that it will all be worthwhile. I do this mostly for my own sake, but if it also blesses you, dear reader, that's overflow. God is graceful that way.

[UPDATE: Lo and behond, the excellent Jollyblogger has just posted on the very same subject (and with much wisdom). Go read!]

Just Stopping By

2005-06-01T10:02:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been dwelling quite a lot on Paul's prayer at Ephesians 3:14-19. God is really showing me the riches of these few verses as I reread them to myself, pray them for my friends, and journal about them in my quiet time. I don't know, but it seems that God is really up to something in me these days. Have you ever felt that way? I hope so. I don't have time just now to go into detail, but I think in the next few posts I'll be sharing here what the Father has been sharing with me, especially with regard to this passage. As said Pooh, "Baksun!"

Portrait of a Friend

2005-05-31T08:24:00.000-04:00

I got a call last week from an old friend, Tom. He was walking around in a Walmart with his kids (in a town about 2000 or so miles away from here) and decided to call me. Well, it wasn't quite as simple as that. You see he'd had a dream about me. In the dream he sees me just sort of standing there, and he walks up to me and gives me a big hug and weeps to see me again. The next morning he told his wife, "Honey, I think I must be missing Bob big time!" You see, we were good friends, but then he moved away, and we just sort of lost contact with one another. Anyway, his good wife says, "I think you better give him a call, don't you?"

So, the Walmart call. And it was wonderful. And I feel like a friendship that we had allowed to lapse has been restored. Tom and his family have been through a lot, as they say, in the past year. The last time I saw him he was deeply depressed. Laurie and I were at a concert in the park, where another friend of ours was playing. That's where we saw Tom and his wife. I knew something was wrong when he didn't leap out of his chair as soon as he saw me, didn't wrap me in his big arms and give me one of those passionate laughter-filled bear-hugs that are his trademark.

I should tell you this much about my friend Tom. He is the most passionate, most sold-out God-loving man I have ever met. His is an out of the closet kind of faith, boisterous, joy-filled, rumbling up from deep within. I knew him as an acquaintance before I first came to his church. When he saw me that Sunday morning he just lit up. He came to me and gave me one of those trademark hugs, and he was laughing and crying at once, and all because I'd showed up at his church.

Anyway, there at the park we got to talking, and he told me about his depression, about how the world had closed in on him and he felt squeezed in by four dark walls, and there was no way out. All this talk was simply shocking to me, for it was so not-Tom. Well, we walked together in the park, and I felt totally inadequate to help him, to speak words of hope to him. We bought ice cream cones. We talked. And then, with darkness falling, the four of us stood together in a little circle, holding hands, and we prayed. Not long after that Tom and his family moved away, looking for a new start. Looking for hope again.

So that's the background. It was just about a year ago, I guess. And now he calls me from the Walmart, and he tells me about his dream. He says, "Gee it's good to hear your voice, Bob." He tells me he's off the anti-depressants that the doctor had prescribed, praise God, and he tells me he's working for a Christian pest control company now. Here's the funny thing about that: though he had actually landed a job with another firm, and was due to start in just two days, it just didn't seem right. So when he heard about an opening at the Christian firm, he went in for an interview. Anyway, after the interview, the owner walks around his desk to shake Tom's hand and says, "Tom, do you believe in divine encounters?" Tom says, yes, I do. And the fellow says, "Well I believe we just had one. When can you start?"

So you see God has made a way where there seemed to be no way. Tom told me this story in an email. He wrote: "The stress level here is very low. We meet every Monday as a management team and have devotions and pray. Glory to God!!!!!!!!!! [See, that's Tom all over, he's a walking exclamation point!] Our God can take the roughest of situations and turn them into a lesson in his faithfulness and mercy. Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

I asked Tom if I could tell his story here at Mr. Standfast, and he said that would be fine. It has always been Tom's way to live out Romans 12:1 with reckless abandon, and in this, though we are in many ways of a quite different temperament, he is a model to me. Thank you, Tom. I'm so happy you called. You ministered to my heart. Your living waters refreshed me. I love you, Tommy. You're awesome!

A Memorable Sunday

2005-05-30T17:44:00.000-04:00

I've been doing what red-blooded Americans are supposed to do on Memorial Day weekend: taking it easy! Yesterday was a simply wonderful Sunday, for which I thank God. After a stirring service at church, a bunch of folks, mostly friends of my two boys, congregated at our house and we just sang worship songs all afternoon, then feasted together on a corned beef and cabbabe dinner. Later on, after most of the young people went off to other pursuits, our good friends Dave and Todd stayed on and we just talked and prayed together all evening. I'm telling you, the whole day felt like a gift from God. There was the aroma of eternity in the air!

I'm planning to return to the "Christian's Identity" series in the days ahead, and also to blog more about the "armor of God," along with whatever other unexpected themes come knocking. We'll just have to see. Thanks to all those who have dropped by to comment, and thanks to Broken Messenger for the kind trackback. See you tomorrow!

Just Checking In

2005-05-28T08:23:00.000-04:00

A beautiful Spring morning in Maine (after a just about a month of rain, it seems). The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and it's the start of a long weekend. I and my Honey are about to take a walk to the coffee shop down the road, so I'm only stopping by to say I love you, and God is good. Simple as that. I leave you with a poem called "The Thorn" [HT: Aron of Some Thoughts], Martha Snell Nicholson:

I stood a mendicant of God before His royal throne
And begged him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own.
I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart
I cried, "But Lord this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.
This is a strange, a hurtful gift, which Thou hast given me."
He said, "My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee."
I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore,
As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.
I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace,
He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.

The Full Armor of God

2005-05-26T08:52:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about the "armor of God" lately. I know people who insist that we should pray the armor-prayer (Eph. 6:10-20) every day. Now, to me that seems just a little, I don't know, superstitious. It's not that I don't think we ought to put on the armor of God, but I'm just wondering how we do that? In some cases it's obvious. If you want to take up the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God), for example, you've got to be in the Word often, imbibing its principles, understanding its precepts, encouraged by its wonderful portrait of the grace of God in Christ. If you do these things, you will be able to apply those principles and precepts to every situation in which you find yourself. Isn't that what wielding the sword of the Spirit is all about?

Well, whatever it's about, it's surely about more than simply the ritualistically repetition of Ephesians 6:17 ("Lord, I'm taking up the sword of the Spirit now, which is the Word of God.") Repeat those words if it helps, of course, but the key thing is to know the Word. To be thoroughly engaged with it day-by-day, allowing it to challenge you in every aspect of your life.

Now, just let me say that the people I know who repeat the armor-prayer each day are people who do that. I'm not suggesting that their faith is shallow or something. I'm only saying that putting on the full armor of God means much more than reading the armor passage. Putting on the breastplate of righteousness, for example. What's that all about? What does it mean to put on that particular piece of armor? How does righteousness defend me from the enemy? And whose righteousness? And how do I put it on?

I'm asking these questions this morning without having formulated anything but the shadow of an answer to some of them. But I do know one thing. At the beginning of the armor-passage, Paul says, "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the full armor of God." Note: it's in His strength that we are strong. It's His armor we're putting on. If righteousness is to be our breastplate, protecting us from the attacks of the enemy, well then we must first remember that it is God's righteousness that protects us, not our own. In fact, every piece of the armor is His.

Maybe I'll get back to the armor passage at some point. All I know is, we need that armor, because we truly are in a battle. The enemy is firing those flaming arrows even now. How shall we extinguish them, if not by the shield of faith?

A Thousand Birds in a Tree, by Miranda Stone

2005-05-25T16:38:00.000-04:00

A few years back I saw Canadian singer/songwriter Miranda Stone in concert. I really like her songwriting, her voice, her general approach to music. Recently I came across her website. That's where I found the following poem (at her website, click on "Dangerous Writing" for more like this). Anyway, I liked the poem a whole lot and wrote to Miranda for permission to quote in full, which she graciously gave. So here it is:

A Thousand Birds in a Tree

A thousand birds in a tree
do something humans can't do.
They sit there in the leaf-less grove making a big racket
as if the winter tree has gotten tired
of looking so depressed
that it decided it would go out
and party in a brand new sequined dress.

One of those birds makes the secret sign
that every bird knows
and then there's the sound of two thousand wings
all getting up to go,
followed by the miraculous,
the silent freeze into the gliding pose.
They move in airborne one-ness
so few of us individualist humans know.
So I practiced praying like this today.
It's like super graceful tai chi;
this body moving in a language of longing.

I thought I would try this
when I was praying for you
because I saw the birds doing it
and they know how to pray
better than I do.

Working the Blogrolls

2005-05-24T07:14:00.000-04:00

So yesterday's post, which featured Panda's Ponderings, drew a response from Julianne, who blogs at Semper Reformanda, and who found me through Aron's Some Thoughts. She's got a good thing going over there at "Semper Ref". She says of herself:

"My mission statement would follow that of John Piper's (well, really Paul's): I exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God, in all things, for the joy of all peoples, through Christ Jesus."

At Julianne's blog I discovered Micah's, called Resolution 57. Why does he call it that? Well, because Jonathan Edwards' 57th resolution was:

"Resolved, when I fear misfortunes and adversities, to examine whether I have done my duty, and resolve to do it; and let it be just as Providence orders it. I will, as far as I can, be concerned about nothing but my duty and my sin."

Ah, two clicks, and two mission statements. From "Res' 57" I clicked to Abundant Life, where Jessica holds forth:

"a girl on a quest to draw nearer to the heart of God, and in the process people as well!"

and then to Journey of the Heart. That's the blog-home of Gayla, who says of herself:

"Daughter of One King; wife to one man; mother to one son; owner of one dog. On the journey to find my way, follow Christ, and finish well."

Voices of clarity, of purpose, of hope. Jesus followers. Darn cool stuff.

A Silly Love Letter

2005-05-23T08:38:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, usually, I go into a week with a blogging-plan of sorts. Not a watertight plan, not a strict blueprint or scheme, but a rough idea of what I'm going to be posting here through the week. This week, though, I've got no plans, no ambitions, no goals. I think I'm just going to follow the lead of good Milton at Tranforming Sermons, who often just "hat tips" the websites and blogs that have grabbed his attention from day to day.

Okay, so then I do have a plan. This week (or until further notice) the name of the game is, "Hey guys, look what I just found!" I'm going to pass them on as I find them and hope someone somewhere receives a blessing.

So:

Hey guys, look what I just found! It's a love-letter to God! It just sort of washed up on my little Internet beach! Do you remember Paul McCartney's '70s hit, Silly Love Songs? Well, here's another Paul, this one a blogger at Panda's Ponderings, who has written a self-confessed silly love letter to God. Here's a brief taste:

First of all, I often feel very uncomfortable and out of balance because of You. I know You love me whatever I do or say, but how can I do something in return for what You’ve done for me? It feels like going to the love of your life without buying a nice present first. It also feels like being a vulnerable child all over again – like a kid that has made a nice colourful drawing or a sweet little poem – in a very childish way, of course. ‘Look, father, this one is for you. I hope you like it!’

Paul is Dutch, and English is not his first language. No matter. He expresses his love in rare and beautiful eloquence. Go see for yourselves, and I'm sure you'll agree.

Monday Check-In

2005-05-23T06:36:00.000-04:00

Wow, a whole day away from the Internet. And I survived!

God has really blessed us this weekend. We're seeing a friend finally disentangle herself from a dreadful relationship. Her name is Judy and her faith is very weak. She has a history of being quickly turned aside, so if any of you feel anointed to pray even for people you don't know, I would ask you to remember Judy. Right now she is living temporarily with a friend, an elderly woman who has opened her home to Judy, but within two weeks she will have to find a place of her own. She has little money and has never lived on her own, so she is afraid for herself. I fully expect to see a breakthrough in her life and faith in these next two weeks, and will keep you all posted. In short, I'm expecting a miracle!

A Quiet Place

2005-05-21T13:24:00.000-04:00

I'd been wondering when Jared of Mysterium Tremendum would get back to blogging (he'd taken some time off, saying he'd be back someday, who knows when). Well . . . he's back allright, but at a whole new locale called Shizuka Blog. Jared says:

What I want Shizuka Blog to be is a place of meditative calm (prompting rest) that is nevertheless consistently rooted in the Word of God (providing edification). In this Zen garden, the fruit of the Spirit grows. Every post will be specifically designed to encourage or edify, or to provoke meditation on the Word, or to in some other way bless you. This will be a matter of discipline and ministry to me, even as I am trying to minister to you.

I intend to stop by Jared's quiet place frequently. As the Lord has told his people often and in many ways, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." (Is. 30:15) As for me, I will seek the Lord, even in the blogosphere. Thanks, Jared, for a quiet oasis.

[BTW, hat-tip to Bill at Out of the Bloo for tipping us off to Jared's new digs.]

Friday Furl-for-All

2005-05-20T08:47:00.000-04:00

Things I've appreciated lately:

First off, 21st Century Reformation has a nice post called The 20th Century Two-Step. In post after post Brad turns a sharp eye on the practice of discipleship in the modern church. He's lovingly and constructively critical, which must be our starting place for change, methinks. This has been an excellent series.

2) Another of my favorite bloggers, Rebecca Writes, that light-hearted Calvinist (!!!), has just completed a five part series called His Workmanship. These are good. No, I mean really good! Read 'em, will ya? [Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5]

3) Eucatastrophe is new to my blogroll. BTW, in case like me you didn't know, a eucatastrophe is a revolutionary turning point in history for the good. The tagline here is a quotation from Tolkein: "the Birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of Man's history." Here I discovered the lyrics to an old hymn with which I was unfamiliar:

Weary, working, burdened one, wherefore toil you so?
Cease your doing; all was done long, long ago.

Till to Jesus' work you cling by a simple faith,
'Doing' is a deadly thing -- doing ends in death.

Refrain:
Cast your deadly doing down -- down at Jesus' feet;
Stand in Him in Christ alone, gloriously complete.

By the way, through Eucatastrophe I happened upon a link to Gospel-Driven Sanctification, by Jerry Bridges. As if that wasn't enough, Daniel's most recent post kind of unpacks Bridges' insights in a long but rewarding post entitled Real Men (and women) Are Gospel-Driven. Good words.

4) On a different note, I draw your attention to a recent column at the Washington Times by Victor David Hansen: What Happened to History. Hansen is a refreshingly against the grain historian. Here's a sample:

To appreciate the value of history, we must also accept that human nature is constant and fixed across time and space. Our kindred forefathers in very dissimilar landscapes were nevertheless subject to the same emotions of fear, envy, honor and shame as our own.

In contrast, if one believes human nature is malleable -- or with requisite money and counseling can be "improved" -- history becomes just an obsolete science. It would be no different from 18th-century biology before the microscope or early genetics without knowledge of DNA. Once man before our time appears alien, the story of his past has very little prognostic value.

5) I've discovered in the past year or so that, for me at least, keeping a daily journal requires a writing instrument and a blank notebook that are both aesthetically satisfying. No more sputtery ballpoints or spiral-bound cheapies from the drugstore for me. My utensil of choice is now the Staedtler Remedy. As for notebooks, now that my current book is nearly full, I've sent for my next Moleskine. Ah, the simple pleasures!

6) Aron at Some Thoughts has a a good post on the sometimes contentious subject of Eternal Security. Sample:

If someone told you that you were guaranteed to win a footrace, would you loaf, or would you run all the harder? I think it would depend on the prize. If the prize was glory, you might start basking in it early–and loaf it. But if the prize is Christ–if you know that Christ Jesus the Lord Himself is waiting for you on the other side, that He himself is the prize that you’re guaranteed to win, how hard would you run? How much incentive would you have to persevere on the long upward climb? No matter what our theory, if we’re not ‘running so as to obtain the prize,’ then we have not truly known the value of the prize. If we’ve seen him, we’ll run with our all.

7) Finally, do check out some of the newcomers to my blogroll: Broken Messenger, Miscellanies of the Gospel, and Fire and Knowledge.

Quotatious

2005-05-19T06:08:00.000-04:00

I pulled the following quotations of John Owen, the 17th century Puritan divine, from JohnOwen.org:

It is not the glorious battlements, the painted windows, the crouching gargoyles that support a building, but the stones that lie unseen in or upon the earth. It is often those who are despised and trampled on that bear up the weight of a whole nation.

***

I will not judge a person to be spiritually dead whom I have judged formerly to have had spiritual life, though I see him at present in a swoon as to all evidences of the spiritual life. And the reason why I will not judge him so is this -- because if you judge a person dead, you neglect him, you leave him; but if you judge him in a swoon, though never so dangerous, you use all means for the retrieving of his life.

***

It is not the distance of the earth from the sun, nor the sun's withdrawing itself, that makes a dark and gloomy day; but the interposition of clouds and vaporous exhalations. Neither is thy soul beyond the reach of the promise, nor does God withdraw Himself; but the vapours of thy carnal, unbelieving heart do cloud thee.

***

See in the meantime that your faith brings forth obedience, and God in due time will cause it to bring forth peace.

***

Let our hearts admit, "I am poor and weak. Satan is too subtle, too cunning, too powerful; he watches constantly for advantages over my soul. The world presses in upon me with all sorts of pressures, pleas, and pretenses. My own corruption is violent, tumultuous, enticing, and entangling. As it conceives sin, it wars within me and against me. Occasions and opportunities for temptation are innumerable. No wonder I do not know how deeply involved I have been with sin. Therefore, on God alone will I rely for my keeping. I will continually look to Him."

***

If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation. Let this be one aspect of our daily intercession: "God, preserve my soul, and keep my heart and all its ways so that I will not be entangled." When this is true in our lives, a passing temptation will not overcome us. We will remain free while others lie in bondage.

***

To believe that He will preserve us is, indeed, a means of preservation. God will certainly preserve us, and make a way of escape for us out of the temptation, should we fall. We are to pray for what God has already promised. Our requests are to be regulated by His promises and commands. Faith embraces the promises and so finds relief.

***

Sin aims always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, if it has its own way it will go out to the utmost sin in that kind. Every unclean thought or glance would be adultery if it could, every thought of unbelief would be atheism if allowed to develop. Every rise of lust, if it has its way reaches the height of villainy; it is like the grave that is never satisfied. The deceitfulness of sin is seen in that it is modest in its first proposals but when it prevails it hardens mens' hearts, and brings them to ruin.

***

Your state is not at all to be measured by the opposition that sin makes to you, but by the opposition you make to it.

***

Let no man think to kill sin with few, easy, or gentle strokes. He who hath once smitten a serpent, if he follow not on his blow until it be slain, may repent that ever he began the quarrel. And so he who undertakes to deal with sin, and pursues it not constantly to the death.

Christian, You Are Complete in Christ

2005-05-18T07:45:00.000-04:00

I'm convinced that we routinely and consistently underestimate our full potential as believers. Jesus says that through faith we would be able to move mountains, but I must confess that I have not often prayed with that kind of confidence. There are mountains I should have removed by now, yet they remain standing, rock-like, immovable, casting their shadow over my days.

Paul says (Col 2:9) that we have been given fullness in Christ. In a parallel verse in Ephesians (4:13) he speaks of the church growing in unity and love until it "[attains] to the full measure of the fullness of Jesus Christ."

In the Colossians passage, that "full measure" is dependent on the sovereignty of Jesus. Because he has disarmed the "principalities and powers, making a public spectacle of them at the cross," those powers now have no authority to prevent our attaining "the full measure" of our destiny in Christ. Not the eternal full measure, but the full measure that God has ordained for our present circumstances.

You see, I believe that this word, like so much else in the New Testament, has both a future (or "eternal") and a present aspect. There is a "full measure" of Christlikeness that shall not be fulfilled in us till the Kingdom comes in "fullness." [Note: The Kingdom's fullness is our fullness, in the same way that the corporate fullness that Paul speaks of most clearly in the Ephesians passage possesses nevertheless a personal aspect or application.] Nevertheless, there is also a "full measure," a completeness of grace and provision, which God has measured out for us today. This measure is not but a shadow of the measure yet to come, and yet it is truly "grace upon grace," "one blessing after another." (John 1:16)

Christian, do you believe it? I ask this in all humility, as one who has often fallen short of the full measure of what God has on offer. Not unlike Peter, I suppose, who might have taken more than just a step or two on the surface of the Sea of Galilee, had he continued in faith. What was the "full measure" of God's intention for Peter that night? Or think of that other night, the dreadful night of Christ's arrest, when Peter denied knowing his beloved Master three times. Was there not a "full measure" that Peter in that moment fell far short of, even if out of understandable fear? But was it not this same Peter, many years later, who wrote, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness . . . that we may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption that is in the world through evil desires." And yet, we are more often like the lame man who has asked Jesus to heal him, and to whom the Savior has spoken the words, "Rise and walk," and yet we will not do so (such is our fear and unbelief). In other words, we are more like the early Peter than the late.

Now, keep in mind, this "full measure" is not every blessing you can possibly think of. It is every blessing God has prepared for you for today. And that is of course more than enough. And yet we often push ourselves away from the banqueting table of his grace as if we were afraid of receiving too many of his blessings at once. The Psalmist says, "in your Presence God is fullness of joy." Have you known such fullness even for an hour? It is God's will that you remain in Him and He in you. It is God's will that you cup your hands and receive his gifts even unto "overflowing."

Without fullness, how shall we overflow? Christian, you have been given fullness in Christ, who is head over every power and authority. Only one who is truly "all in all" can offer such fullness, one grace after another. Only one who is both alpha and omega can complete what he has begun in you, believer. Fullness is your destiny, and by the grace of the one who conquered the last enemy, death, your "full measure" of that fullness is available even now as a foretaste of His gifts to come. Cup your hands and say, "I wish to receive and walk out even the full measure of your grace today, Lord; renewing my mind, empowering my prayers, inhabiting my praises to you, my Father and King."

Christian, there is a measure of grace for today that you have not even begun to imagine. It is measured out by God, it is his free gift to those who believe, and its purpose is to empower you for the works he has prepared for you to do today. In him is fullness of joy. Believe and receive.

***

Previous posts in this series:
Christian, Be Who You Are
Christian, You Are a Child of God
Christian, You Are a Branch of the True Vine
Christian, You Are a Friend of Jesus
Christian, You Are the Light of the World
Christian, You are the Salt of the Earth

Sufficient in Christ

2005-05-17T08:17:00.000-04:00

I continue to dwell on Paul's use of the word "fullness" as it relates to the Christian. I'm thinking especially of his use of the term in Colossians 2:10, where he says that those who are in Christ (in whom "all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form") have themselves been given fullness. This word in verse 10 is the Greek verb pleroo, which in this context probably means something very much like "to render full or complete." So we might say, paraphrasing, that out of the fullness of Christ we have been given a fullness or completeness of our own. The Geneva Study Bible says in a note here, "the union of God in man is substantial and essential." I think of Peter's words (2Peter 1:3), "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."

Indeed, life and Godliness is the focus and concern of Paul throughout the rest of chapter 2 and on into chapter 3, as he unpacks this concept of the fullness of the believer. He seems concerned to show the extensiveness of this gift. It is not a small thing, not merely a "warm fuzzy," it is salvation and freedom, dying to the basic principles of the world, putting on Christ, etc. In short, Paul exhorts the Colossians to live in a way that reflects the reality of their new birth. "Since you died and were raised to new life," he says, "then . . . [insert Pauline imperatives here]."

In his excellent commentary on this passage (IVP New Testament Commentaries) Robert Wall says that Paul "links the fullness of God with the newness of life; thus, as we become alive through faith in him, our humanity is made more complete. By the work of grace, every good intention of the Creator for the creature is realized in Christ."

The point is, we are not insufficiently equipped to obey these imperatives. As Peter said, "We have all that we need for life and godliness." We have completeness in the One who was completely God, and who made a public spectacle of all our enemies (the powers and authorities of this world) at the Cross. These enemies, which once ruled over us, would have kept us in incompleteness forever. But they lost the battle at Calvary in a most humiliating way! (2:15)

So we are speaking here of the gift of sufficiency. What we have been given through Christ is "enough." It is all we need. It is offered from the bounty of Christ, and for this reason (and for this reason alone) we are capable of doing what we could never have done under the old covenant or in our own power. In sum, we are capable of the following:

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (3:12-17)

Fullness

2005-05-16T07:51:00.000-04:00

This morning I am thinking about the Scriptural term "fullness." I don't have much to say about it yet, except that it is a marvelous term. We find that Paul uses the term, among other places, twice in Ephesians (3:19, 4:13), twice again in Colossians (1:19, 2:9), and that John uses it in the first chapter of his Gospel (1:16). It is a daring word to use of a believer. In fact, Matthew Henry says, "It is a high expression: we should not dare to use it if we did not find it in the scriptures."

And it is a word well-worth our attention. The Greek word (pleroma) in the NT context is said to refer to "the body of believers, as that which is filled with the presence, power, agency, riches of God and of Christ" (more here).

Fullness. Let's dwell on this for a time. Let's grow in our understanding of this "high expression." Lord help us to understand the fullness that you give us in Christ.

Weekend Plans

2005-05-14T08:04:00.000-04:00

I'm not really a liturgical-type guy anymore, but I do think that Pentecost Sunday (which is tomorrow) ought to be a more significant event in the Christian year. It ought to rival Christmas as a significant day in Christian culture, with its own special forms and traditions. I kind of like Graham Power's idea of commemorating it as a Global Day of Prayer for the nations. Tomorrow morning, throughout the world, believers will greet the dawn with prayer for the nations, so that a chorus of prayer will sweep around the world with the sunrise. It is worldwide corporate prayer for all the tribes of the earth. Count me in.

This will also be a weekend of celebration for us. Special friend Meghan will be graduating from art school tomorrow, so there will be "a party goin' on 'round here." [Oh my, hyper-creative types in a spirit of celebration--expect the unexpected!] Meanwhile, another friend is graduating from nursing school today, so we'll be heading over to her house for a cookout--and not many things in this world are better than a cookout! Yippee!

Quoting Bloo

2005-05-12T11:51:00.000-04:00

Bill at Out of the Bloo said something yesterday that is just too good to let pass:

In my observation, living even an intense and God-honoring Christian lifestyle with the focus reversed, with our eyes upon ourselves, leads to burn-out, loss of faith, and disillusion. The self-obsessed Christian begins performing, begins trying to meet an expected standard of behavior and devotion that, without the element of joyous self-forgetfulness that is the very mark of childlike faith, is in the long run impossible, and can only result in a dry and frustrating existence. When one is running in the mud of self-scrutiny, with his peripheral vision constantly scanning the faces of those he believes are looking on, stopwatches out, "timing" him, it's not long before the runner slows, and then stops, and then slowly sinks into the mire.

This should not be! We are called to firmer ground, and to a cloud of witnesses who are cheering, not evaluating. And we are called to fix our eyes on Jesus, not just to glance at Him now and then. When we finally focus, when we truly look to Him, we forget ourselves. And it's then that we run, finally, in the freedom, joy, endurance, and athletic, lithe grace for which we were created.

In a couple of days I'll be meeting with two friends of mine to form a small accountability group. One of the things I'm going to share right at the start is this quote. I think its "the bomb."

The Latest Ten

2005-05-11T08:28:00.000-04:00

Here's the plan. I just keep furling sites that get my attention, and when I get ten of them I tell you what they are.

But first, I would be remiss if I did not every now and then draw your attention to a couple of my favorite blogs. 1) Out of the Bloo consistently models the quality and character that I want my own blog to reflect. Although you could begin anywhere, because Bill is just consistently readable, you might try Barren No Longer for a sample of Bloo's best.

And then there's 2) Transforming Sermons. Milton is a sort of one-man blog aggregator. But unlike an aggregator, Milton sifts the Christian blogosphere for only the very best. A daily dose will do you good. Start, but don't stop, with an excellent recent post like A Key to the Message of Romans.

In fact, it was from Milton that I learned about 3) Stronger Church. I really like his post of a few weeks back, What's Christianity All About? In a variation on the old Hindu parable about the 4 blind men and the elephant, four searchers go in search of Christianity. You won't be surprised to find they came up with varying conclusions, depending on source of their information.

4) Rebecca Writes has been a blogging friend nearly from the beginning. Blogging technology has made known to the many those excellent teachers whom God has scattered like salt throughout his world-community (his kingdom), and Rebecca is one of them. Her recent series is, as usual, exceptional. It's a commentary on Ephesians 2, called "His Workmanship." Begin here, then move on to here, here, and here. Read and savor.

5) Speaking of "commentary blogging," Broken Messenger (who happens to be new to my blogroll) is doing the same, working from 1 Peter 2:5-8. The series is entitled "Add to Your Faith . . . Goodness." [Part 1, Part 2, Part 3]. Good stuff.

6) Mike of Shaulah.com (formerly "Blogging Teen") is another old blogging friend. Early on he wrote to me to give me some basic blogging advice, which was much appreciated. These days he's in the midst of reading the Bible from cover to cover in 40 days! I figure that's about 30 chapters per day. Talk about total immersion! Mike, I pray that the Word would dwell in you richly during this time, enriching your soil.

7) Aron Gahagan used to be an assistant pastor at a church near me. I heard him preach once, and signed up for his mailing list. Next thing you know, the young fella's got a blog all his own: Some thoughts. I recommend it. Postage-stamp bio: he's 30, has been accepted at Wheaton for graduate study, and loves to quote the Puritans. For a good sample of his work, you might start with Why I Read.

8) The Japery is the blog of the online lit-journal, The New Pantagruel. In a post entitled Shock Therapy, they quote at length from Richard Selzer's Mortal Lessons: Notes on the Art of Surgery. There's little I can add, except to say it's a powerful testimony concerning "the culture of death." I simply pray that everyone would read this.

9) You'll find it on my sidebar list of devotionals. It's called Day by Day Grace and is the work of Bob Hoekstra, who is director of Living in Christ Ministries, which is a discipleship program affiliated with the Calvary Chapel churches. I like this devotional a lot. Simple as that.

10) Finally, Craig at Tabletalk has a been posting a series called "Narnian Musings." He's up to #10 at this point, but I want to direct your attention to the seventh in this series, about the dragoning of Eustace. In the course of this one, Craig quotes Eugene Peterson. I love this quote so much, I just want to follow suit:

But the minute we start advertising the faith in terms of benefits, we're just exacerbating the self problem. 'With Christ, you're better, stronger, more likeable, you enjoy some ecstasy.' But it's just more self. Instead, we want to get people bored with themselves so they can start looking at Jesus.

We've all met a certain type of spiritual person. She's a wonderful person. She loves the Lord. She prays and reads the Bible all the time. But all she thinks about is herself. She's not a selfish person. But she's always at the center of everything she's doing. 'How can I witness better? How can I do this better? How can I take care of this person's problem better?' It's me, me, me disguised in a way that is difficult to see because her spiritual talk disarms us.

Oh, amen and amen and amen. May you, Jesus, take your rightful place at the very center of all my thoughts and feelings today.

Christian, You Are the Salt of the Earth (Matthew 5:13)

2005-05-10T07:23:00.000-04:00

Ask anyone what salt tastes like and they’ll almost certainly say, “salty.” There is simply no other way to describe it. The saltiness of salt is its definitive property. Although it has other properties--white, granular–-these are not definitive. Saltiness, on the other hand, is so very definitive of salt that we would have trouble even imagining unsalty salt. Salt without its definitive property would be of no value. Salt is defined by, and valued for, its saltiness.

Now, many commentaries on Matthew 5:13 will speak of salt’s use as a flavoring agent and as a preservative. They’ll say that Christians are to be like salt in the world, flavoring and preserving. That’s all well and good, but I want to focus on something even more fundamental than that. Jesus, in using the salt-metaphor to describe his followers, is suggesting that just as salt has a certain intrinsic property--its saltiness--without which it would be of no value, Christians also have certain intrinsic characteristics that are definitive, and without which they would cease to be “Christianly.”

Christian, as salt must be salty, you must be Christianly. There must be something about you, something shared by all believers and followers of Jesus, which is definitive. Something that marks you, sets you apart, identifies you as “one of them.” A Christian without these special characteristics would simply not be “Christianly.”

Do you see? Jesus is calling you to be what you are. To live, to show forth, what He has already made you. This is not something you muster up, not something that comes with training, with education, with erudition, with experience, but it is simply a natural concomitant of your new nature in Christ Jesus.

All of which begs the question, just what are these Christianly characteristics? What constitutes the “saltiness” of a Christian? Well, Jesus had just been pointing out some of these characteristics in the run-up to this verse, where he described eight fundamental traits of the “blessed.”

1. Just as salt is salty, the Christian should be “poor in spirit.” That is, he knows his own absolute poverty of spirit--his spiritual helplessness--apart from God. He is not self-reliant where spiritual things are concerned, but God-reliant.

2. Just as salt is salty, the Christian should be ready to mourn. It well might be asked, for what reason ought the Christian to mourn? My first instinct is to consider what makes God mournful. What breaks God’s heart? The Christian’s heart is broken by these same things. Jesus was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. He was willing to weep with those who wept. The fallen state of the world caused him sorrow. So should it be among His followers.

3. Just as salt is salty, the Christian should be meek. He is not self-assertive, always claiming his rights and prerogatives. He assumes nothing, gladly taking the lowest seat, having the attitude, in whatever position he finds himself, of a servant.

4. Just as salt is salty, the Christian should be hungry and thirsty for righteousness. It is his all-consuming passion. Righteousness is alignment with God’s will. It is also the overriding theme of the Word of God. Unrighteousness to a Christian is like gall to one who thirsts. It only increases his thirst.

5. Just as salt is salty, the Christian should be merciful. Judgement does not enter into his approach to the world or to sin. He sets aside judgement in favor of mercy, knowing that in the end the final arbiter of all things will be Jesus Christ. Although there will one day be a day of judgement, this is the day of mercy.

6. Just as salt is salty, the Christian should be pure in heart. Another way of saying this would be “wholehearted.” The Christian is not divided against himself. The Christian does not serve two masters. The Christian’s life can therefore be said to be a living sacrifice to the Lord his God.

7. Just as salt is salty, the Christian should be a peacemaker. In a world that seeks not God, a world that has wandered away from the rule and reign of God, a world full of people who lack all of these Christianly characteristics, there will often be conflict. The Christian, then, will find himself in the midst of the competing claims of self-assertive people who are anything but meek and merciful. It is the Christian and only the Christian who can truly and consistently be the peacemaker in such situations.

8. Finally, just as salt is salty, the Christian shall be persecuted. This is just going to happen. The Christian’s meekness and self-effacing behavior will be taken advantage of and ridiculed by the assertive. His mercy will be rebuked and his peacemaking not only unappreciated but actively undermined. Nevertheless, like Paul he will count it all blessing, because he knows that his reward is in heaven.

Now, Jesus says that anyone who has these characteristics is happy (alt. “blessed”). And he goes on to say that such people are the salt of the earth. Salt is drawn from the earth and has a usefulness to people that is pretty nearly essential to civilization. If we think about the usefulness of salt, we get to the business of its preservative and flavoring influences. But the point is, as salt must be salty in order to be useful, Christians must be Christianly in order to be useful in terms of God’s Kingdom plan for the earth. If we are not showing forth these kinds of qualities, we are not being used in his plan.

Christian, you are the salt of the earth. Do you believe it? God in his immeasurable wisdom and sovereignty has chosen to manifest his Kingdom plan in the earth through his called out children, his Jesus people, to whom he has given all that is necessary for life and godliness. Christian, be what you are.

Christian Fatalism

2005-05-09T08:23:00.000-04:00

Recently I spoke to a man who felt condemned to repeat a particular sin. "Believe me, I know myself," he said, "and it ain't pretty. I just can't help it."

I know what he means, but I just can't accept that this since of fatalism with regard to sin is really what God wants for us. And yet it's difficult to respond to this attitude. You come off sounding like a naïf; like someone who has not yet wised up to the power and persistence of the flesh. Surely it is good to be "realistic" about oneself. Good to face up at last to one's weakness.

And yet . . .

I just don't accept it. In effect, this makes confession and repentance an end instead of a beginning. As if Christ's exhortation, "Get up and walk," was not meant for us today. And this attitude seriously underestimates the power of the Gospel, it seems to me. As if it were only a future hope, but never a present reality. As if Romans 7 were the end of the story, and Paul had never followed his heartfelt confession of weakness with the great encouragement to spiritual victory that is Romans 8.

That chapters begins with a verse in which millions have taken comfort over the centuries: "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Does this simply mean that through Jesus we are no longer subject to the judicial condemnation that we deserve? "In the city of refuge," as Matthew Henry says, safe from the avenger. That would be grace indeed, but I do not believe that Paul wants his readers to be satisfied in that. The grace of "no condemnation" is a grace to stand. It is a beginning, not an end. Matthew Henry goes on to say:

It is the undoubted character of all those who are so in Christ Jesus as to be freed from condemnation that they walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Observe, The character is given from their walk, not from any one particular act, but from their course and way. And the great question is, What is the principle of the walk, the flesh or the spirit, the old or the new nature, corruption or grace? Which of these do we mind, for which of these doe we make provision, by which of these are we governed, which of these do we take part with?

I have never written a purpose-statement for Mr. Standfast, but if I ever do it will bear the message, "Christian, there is an alternative to sin!" We are freed not only from the guilt of sin, but from its binding power.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not a Christian perfectionist. Confession and repentance is going to be a constant in the Christian's life, because sin is going to be a constant. But so is the enabling of the Spirit. Romans 6-8 paints a picture of the Christian life that is, far from being static or fatalistic (as might be assumed by those who interpret Romans 7 as if it stood alone, apart from its context), a thoroughly new way to live. Paul is essentially an optimist about the Christian life. If I have any message to offer my friend, it must share in that optimism. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made [us] free from the law of sin and death."

Darfur

2005-05-09T07:49:00.000-04:00

J. A. Gilmartin at Sheep's Crib is focusing attention on the Darfur situation. So is John at Blogotional, Brad at 21st Century Reformation, and Steven at two and two makes five. Also, Kieth at Under the Acacias. Then there's Catez at Allthings2all. She has summoned all concerned bloggers to write about the Sudanese crisis:

I am inviting submissions for The Darfur Collection, which is open to ALL bloggers, and which may be on any aspect of the Darfur situation. For example, the posts may be on the genocide, the refugee camps, the current food situation, the UN's role, the minimal international response, ways to help, your opinion, and so on. You may find eye-witness accounts which you wish to post and/or comment on.

The deadline is midnight (EST), May 15.

Gravikords, Wayfarers, and a Few Haiku

2005-05-07T10:52:00.000-04:00

My son Tim, he who stretcheth the boundaries, brought home a book called Gravikords, Whirlies, & Pyrophones. It's a little book about very strange musical instruments, and comes with its own CD. You can hear the music not only of gravikords, whirlies, and pyrophones, but also the photonic clarinet, the daxophone, and (my favorite) the flowerpotophone, among many others. You can listen to a sampling of these at this website. Oh, and if you listen to the daxophone, be prepared to laugh really, really hard. It's a very amusing instrument. Sounds like a bunch of aliens with severe indigestion!

Meanwhile, my son Nate, the nimble and brave, is just back from Merlefest. If you don't like bluegrass music, get outa town, man. Especially if the town is Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in the springtime. Nate came home with a Merlefest t-shirt (of course) and a new band to be way-enthused about: The Wayfaring Strangers. Bluegrass/Gospel/Jazz fusion. Or something like that.

Oh, and getting back to Tim, he also gave me a book this week (such a good boy). It's a collection of haiku by Jack Kerouac. If you don't really "get" haiku, that's fine. Just click onward, friend! But Kerouac happens to have written some very good ones. I'm not into Beat generation poets in general, but he definitely had a way with the haiku form. I have grown to love the haiku over the years, and would really like to write more of them. Here are a few of my own from the dim past.

Blossoming bittersweet--
the old birch, entangled,
slowly surrenders.

***

September locust--
you keep repeating yourself
under a blue bowl.

***

Season of mushrooms--
pushing up through the pine straw,
dense brown flesh.

***

Rainy night, owl-hoot
in the shrowded pinetop--
I stumble blindly.

BTW, I'm not the only Christian blogger with an inexplicable hankering for haiku. The clearly brilliant Peter J. Leithart is another. So, hey, I'm in good company.

Rwanda & Darfur

2005-05-06T13:18:00.000-04:00

I watched Sometimes in April the other night. My friend Jacques, who is from Rwanda, called to tell me it was on. Jacques has told me before that April is a very difficult month for Rwandans. The awful memories return with increased potency. Drug abuse and suicide rates skyrocket. Jacques says you can feel the darkness over the land in April, a kind of spiritual weather that returns on an annual cycle.

For more about Rwanda today, Jordon Cooper has put together a fine assortment of links. I highly recommend Through the Eyes of Children, and Ghosts of Rwanda. The BBC also has a very informative site called Rwandan Genocide: 10 Years On. Take a look especially at the personal testimonies there of a survivor and a participant in the killings.

Finally, we know that today history is repeating itself in Sudan. Catez at Allthing2all tells the story of The children of Darfur in words and pictures.

Gideon's Ephod and the National Day of Prayer

2005-05-06T07:25:00.000-04:00

This morning's OT Bible passage (I'm using the M'Cheyne Bible reading plan) was Judges 8, the story of Gideon's improbable victory over the Midianites. Here's what really struck me this time around:

After winning the victory against the Midianites, the people offer Gideon the kingship, saying, "for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian." But Gideon refuses. Perhaps he understands that the credit for this victory belonged to God, not himself. The Angel of the Lord had commissioned him for a particular assignment; his call was not to hereditary kingship. So this seems an appropriate and commendable response on Gideon's part. But then he says, "Instead of the kingship, all I ask is a share of the Midianite plunder. A gold earring from each man." Gideon then takes his portion of the gold, melts it down, and creates a beautiful ephod, which is a priestly "breastplate." So Gideon eschews political power but claims priestly or spiritual authority. And what do you know: the ephod quickly becomes an idol. Verse 27 says, "And all Israel played the harlot [KJV: "went to whoring"] with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and his house."

Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer here in America. At noon in my own workplace, then in the evening at my church, I attended prayer meetings where we lifted our nation before the Lord. It seems to me that America is in much the same situation in which ancient Israel often found itself. Incredibly blessed by God, we nevertheless prostitute ourselves to idols of various kinds. It is interesting to note that Gideon's son, Abimelech, would soon be declaring himself king in Shechem, and perpetrating unthinkable horrors in order to consolidate this claim to power. Idol worship leads ever downward, it seems. I can't help but think this morning that there is a lesson here for America, but I wonder if we will ever learn it.

The Christian's Identity Series

2005-05-03T10:03:00.000-04:00

I see blogging as a stage in the writing process, as opposed to an end itself. Well, at least sometimes it is that! I've got it in my head, for example, to compose a meditation for all the statements from Scripture which identify the Christian in some way or other. I've written several of them so far, and I'm enjoying the process, but the truth is that they are all nothing more than first drafts. I've got a notion that once I've written all of them--if I ever get that far--I'll go back over them and rewrite them with an eye toward accuracy, consistency of tone, and perhaps establishing a connecting thread to run through them all. I mean, foolhardy dreamer that I am, I'm actually thinking in terms of producing a manuscript that a publisher might be interested in someday.

In the meantime, I'm posting the "first drafts" to the blog because I think people might be blessed by them and, equally important, the feedback of alert and sympathetic readers is always helpful. Here are the links to the four postings in this series so far:

Christian, You Are a Child of God
Christian, You Are a Branch of the True Vine
Christian, You Are a Friend of Jesus
Christian, You Are the Light of the World

As I wrote in a previous post (here), "This writing-program has served as a kind of spiritual discipline for me. These are meditations, not acts of thoroughgoing Biblical scholarship. I don't pretend to have said everything about these passages, of course, or even necessarily the most important things, but I simply wanted to use them to speak a word of encouragement to believers and to myself."

By the way, I'm quite sure that the final order of these things will be significantly different than the order in which I'm writing them. Next up, Christian, You Are the Salt of the Earth.

Christian, You Are the Light of the World (Matthew 5:14)

2005-05-02T09:30:00.000-04:00

It is a striking statement, is it not? Are you surprised by these words, or have they become commonplace to you? Easily passed over. I wonder if the people who were gathered around Jesus that day, hearing these words, did not look about themselves shyly, wondering, can he really mean me? Am I the light of the world? Surely he exaggerates. Do you, Christian, feel commended or confronted when you read these words of Jesus? Is you response, "Well of course I'm the light of the world! I'm a Christian, aren't I?" Or is it, "How can this possibly be?"

Jesus said elsewhere that he himself was the light of the world. Yes, we approve of that. It was Jesus who gave sight to the blind, after all. But it is this same Jesus who also says to a group of rather unimpressive followers, "You are the light of the world."

I am one who feels confronted by these words. I need to ask, how can it be? Because I have to confess to you, if I were to say that I am "the light" in my workplace, it would be a laughably inaccurate statement. It would embarrass me to say such a thing in public. Yet, am I worse than these early followers of Jesus. These folks are hardly paragons of Christian virtue. They are, at the most literal level, simply followers of one in whom they have sensed authority, power, wisdom. They know nothing of the cross at this point. Like Peter, they would be affronted by the very suggestion that the Galilean teacher must die for the sins of the world. Furthermore, we readers of Matthew's Gospel also know, as these men and women did not, that it wouldn't be long before every one of them would desert the man they are now so eager to hear. He would be left alone by them. The sun would be darkened, and his blood would be poured out in utter loneliness.

And yet, if the Savior's words are meant for us at all, and if we are essentially no different than the crowds to whom they were originally spoken, then we must confess that we are the light of the world despite our sin, our failings, our faltering testimony and our less than exemplary lives. We are required, I think, to let these words confront us. And so I ask again, How can it be?

I believe that these simple words of Jesus are able to usher us into truths that will quite literally occupy our hearts and minds for all eternity. The Apostle John records Jesus saying, "I am the light of the world." And here Matthew records him saying, "You are the light of the world." The great English preacher D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, addressing this apparent contradiction, wrote, "These two statements must always be taken together, since the Christian is only the 'light of the world' because of his relationship to Him who is Himself 'the light of the world.'" Lloyd-Jones goes on to say:

You remember how the apostle Paul put it in Ephesians v, where he says, "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord". So not only have we received light, we have been made light; we become transmitters of light. In other words, it is this extraordinary teaching of the mystical union between the believer and his Lord. His nature enters into us so that we become, in a sense, what He Himself is. It is essential that we bear in mind both aspects of this matter. As those who believe the gospel we have received light and knowledge and instruction. But, in addition, it has become part of us. It has become our life, so that we thus become reflectors of it. The remarkable thing, therefore, of which we are reminded here is our intimate relationship with Him. The Christian is a man who has received and has become a partaker of the divine nature. The light that is Christ Himself the light that is ultimately God, is the light that is in the Christian. "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." "I am the light of the world." "Ye are the light of the world." The way to understand this is to grasp our Lord's teaching concerning the Holy Spirit in John xiv-xvi where He says, in effect, "The result of His coming will be this: My Father and I will take up Our abode in you; We will be in you and you will be in Us." God, who is "the Father of lights", is the light that is in us; He is in us, and we are in Him, and thus it can be said of the Christian, "Ye are the light of the world."

Yes, Christian, you are the light of the world, because the Holy Spirit dwells in you. Of course you are an inadequate vessel, and yet Jesus has put it quite bluntly. You, such as you are, are the light of the world. I have deemed it so. I have sent my Spirit to make it possible.

There is certainly much more to be said about being a light, and Jesus himself does not stop here. Nevertheless, we can say without equivocation, Christ in you, Christian, is the hope for which the whole world yearns. Christian, you are the light of the world! Do you believe it?

[The entirety of Lloyd-Jones' sermon on this passage can be found here--among various other Internet places--and is collected in his wonderful book, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount.]

Stott's Procrustean Analogy

2005-05-01T08:14:00.000-04:00

A while back I was quoting frequently from John Stott's excellent book, The Cross of Christ. You'll remember I couldn't recommend it highly enough. Well, now I'm reading Stott's The Incomparable Christ. I'll be saying more about this equally fine book in the future, but for now, here's just one remarkable quote:

Procrustes, in Greek mythology, was a brutal robber who compelled his victims to fit the dimensions of his iron bed. If they were too short, he stretched them. If they were too long, he chopped off their feet. The Christian Procrustes exhibits a similar inflexibility, forcing Jesus into his way of thinking and resorting to ruthless measures in order to secure his conformity. From Procrustes and all his disciples, good Lord deliver us!

I second the motion!

Na Zdorovye!

2005-04-30T12:32:00.000-04:00

To your health!

Broken

2005-04-30T11:10:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I heard a television preacher say, "You have to reach down into yourself . . ." He was talking about winning "the victory" over something, I don't even remember what for sure. All I know is he is not correct. When I reach down into myself I only find . . . myself. Which is never enough, I'm afraid. Never strong enough. Never clean enough.

Yesterday evening some of us gathered to pray, and an old friend joined us, someone none of us had seen in a while. She was broken and sorrowful and confessed to some things. She wanted to come back to God but wasn't sure that God could forgive her. She wanted to hear the word of forgiveness and believe it. She wept, and people gathered around to pray, and there was, I believe, the beginning of healing and restoration.

It got me thinking about broken-ness. It seemed to me, as this woman asked me and others for forgiveness, showing us her sense of utter helplessness, that she was showing us "the one thing needful" for all of us. And that the only genuine response that I or anyone could make in that moment was not, I forgive you; but instead, Oh, dear one, I too need what you need. I too am broken. I too have tried to go my own way. I too have strayed. Thank you for showing me how to confess my utter helplessness. May I join you? May we go to the Father together?

How quickly we move from our holy moments of true dependence on God back into self-reliance again. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness." They hunger so because they do not have it. Not only are they unable to find it in the world, but neither can they find it in themselves. The choice at that point, when every option has failed you, is always between despair and God.

I too am the sheep who went astray. I followed my instincts, which seemed right in my own eyes. For a while the grass was green and good, but in the end I came to place of barrenness and darkness, and the wolves surrounded me, and truly I was as good as dead. I cried out at last for my shepherd, though in that moment he seemed so far away. Then all at once my shepherd was there. He leaped into the midst of the pack, brandishing his flaming brand in the faces of the panic-stricken wolves, scattering them. Quickly he hoisted me to his shoulders and carried me home. He saved me when I could not save myself.

Ten More

2005-04-29T08:13:00.000-04:00

1) Wish I'd said that: "I think that anything other than a heartfelt ache and longing for Jesus to return is well beneath what God has for us and what we are to embrace in these days." Greg Burnett

2 & 3) I will keep on pointing you to Out of the Bloo until, well, until he stops posting things like this from An Hour is all the enemy gets:

Even when I'm discouraged, tired, and fearful, may the sparks of joy that I feel even now be set ablaze. May I have the same attitude that was in You, and may I rejoice to pour myself out for others, as You did.

And this from "he shall be high and lifted up":

I can write these words on a page, on the internet, but may I write on the wall with my blood, 'Jesus is alive'. I can write these words, but will people know that You are my one and only? Do I even understand that?

4) Bill Streger features a baseball analogy for the Christian life. Loving baseball as I do, I find it downright irresistible. Also, it makes sense.

5) John at Scotwise quotes Dr. Edwards:

I go out to preach with two propositions in mind. First, every person ought to give his life to Christ. Second, whether or not anyone else gives him his life I will give him mine.

6) New to my blogroll, welcome Bryan's Nonsense. Subtitle: "People have problems; God has solutions." Great post: A Peculiar People. I mean, GREAT post!

7) Though Jared is on a temporary sabbatical from Mysterium Tremendum, he's still posting to The Thinklings. Edifying, enouraging, and enlightening! [And no, this is not quid pro quo for Jared's kind words about Mr. Standfast here!]

8) Violet at Promptings links to some fine poetry sites, including one of my favorite modern poems, Jane Kenyon's Let the Evening Come.

9) My son Nate is at Merlefest this weekend. Many of his (and my) musical heroes will be performing there. Amost heaven!

10) Finally, Jenni works on a Mercy Ship in West Africa. She blogs her experiences there in the inspiring Vessels of Mercy. This is kingdom blogging at its finest. Read I once was blind but . . . if you don't believe me.

Ten

2005-04-28T07:38:00.000-04:00

1) Walter Brueggerman's Easter prayer (found at Paradoxology).

2)Not Quite Art, Not Quite Living writes provocatively about the provocative nature of the Gospel message. Something to think about. (HT: Cerulean Sanctum).

2a) and James K. A. Smith writes about the very same thing in an article entitled, Christian Worship as Public Disturbance.

3) Another book to add to my digital to-read list: A Theology of Reading: The Hermeneutics of Love, by Alan Jacobs

4) The creed of the Christian Reformed Church, called Our World Belongs to God. This is a creedal statement that glows with passion. Wonderful!

5) Ryan Spencer Reed is a photojournalist. He has documented the reality of life in the Sudan today. Go to his website, by all means. But be warned. These are not easy pictures to look at. Also, read his personal narrative here.

6 ~ 9) Newcomers to the blogroll: Wittingshire, Semicolon, The Spirit Formed Life, and The Window in the Garden Wall (a C. S. Lewis blog).

10) Well said: "There is always going to be a child who will fish a book out of the garbage heap." Joseph Brodsky (HT: Gary Hyland)