But God Remembered

The Genesis flood was a disaster of epic proportions. While we have seen the powerful affects of water in our own lives and lifetimes. the idea of a flood that covered the entire world up to the tops of the mountains is so incredible that it is, for some people, not credible. They don't even think a worldwide flood happened.*

But God said it did and so we should believe it did.

But in the midst of that disaster, "God remembered Noah" (Gen 8:1). 

This is not a statement of God's mental ability to store and recall information. It is not a testament to God's sudden recollection of something he was supposed to have done. 

It is a statement of God's grace. God, in the midst of judgment, showed mercy to Noah and his family. To remember them was not to recall something that had slipped his mind. It was to show mercy to them in a time of trial.

And so it is with God to this day. His memory of his people is an act of grace, both of remembering them in their difficulties and trials and of not remembering them in their sins.

In Jeremiah 31:34, in the New Covenant that God makes with Israel he says, "I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." That promise is repeated in Hebrews 8:11 and Hebrews 10:17, both of which talk about the death of Christ that brings forgiveness to us.

God's "not remembering" does not mean that God no longer knows it; that would be impossible since God knows all things. It is that he chooses not to act like we have done it. 

So both in God's remembering and his not remembering, God is filled with grace towards his people in our weaknesses. He who remembers us in trial chooses not to remember our sinfulness because Christ has paid for it.

Today, take hope in God's rememering, both the things he remembers and the things he chooses not to remember.

___________________

*One of the ironies of flood deniers is their argument that "All ancient cultures have some sort of flood narrative because they copied it from each other." It does not seem to cross their mind that these ancient cultures have a flood narrative because it actually happened to their ancestor and was passed down through the generations.

Government, Pandemics, and the Church

The current situation of a national health crisis combined with government mandates about public meetings have created an interesting situation. In recent days, the issue has been complicated and exacerbated by racial tension and rioting in the wake of the George Floyd death.

Most of the basic facts are known, so I won’t rehearse those here. What I would like to do it lay out a brief outline of issues related to this situation as it relates to the church.

Most states issued some sort of shutdown orders that included churches. Churches typically took one of three responses, two of which look very similar. Some churches continued to meet in defiance of the orders. Some churches stopped public meetings out of concern for public safety and community testimony. Some churches stopped public meetings in order to comply with government orders.

What should the church have done? Was this a time for civil disobedience? Should the church have “honored the king” and submitted to the governing authority in line with 1 Peter 2 and Romans 13? Or should the church have obeyed God rather than man in line with Acts 5?

Among those who claimed we should obey the government, the most often stated reason was that the government was not asking us to disobey God. Thus, civil disobedience (obeying God rather than man) was not a legitimate option. Furthermore, it was argued that the orders were “generally applicable,” meaning that churches were not being singled out; everyone was under the same order.

I confess that that neither argument makes sense to me. For the first, God has commanded the church to meet. The government commanded the church not to meet. There is, to me at least, a very clear demand by the government to not do what God has commanded us to do. I am not here appealing to Hebrews 10:25 and not forsaking the assembling. A temporary absence from church for health reasons is not forsaking. We should actually encourage that so as to limit the spread of disease. If you had a church member who vomited all night on Saturday night, you would encourage that member to stay home on Sunday. You would not consider that forsaking. I rather appeal to the whole pattern of the NT, including the very name “church” which means assembly. You are not the church unless you “church” (to partake of a now frequent and sometimes disturbing practice of verbing a noun). So when the government said, “Do not meet,” they were commanding disobedience to God.

As for the second argument of general applicability, there are two points of consideration. First, biblical commands to meet are never, to my knowledge, based on whether they apply to everyone. I don’t see anywhere that God says, “Don’t meet if no one else is.” Second, the US constitution carves out a right for religious freedom that it does not carve out for others. While the courts have generally upheld “generally applicable” as a reasonable restriction, such a view seems to render the First Amendment protections for religious expression meaningless. I think the framers included it so as to single out religious expression (and freedom of the press and assembly). In other words, the only reason for the First Amendment is to prevent general applicability from being a reason to forbid worship, peaceful assembly, or expression. 

As I mentioned above, the recent protests have complicated and exacerbated the issue by showing that churches aren’t being treated the same as others. Protests were allowed but churches were not? Large groups of people could assemble in close quarters and without masks in many cases but churches could not? Both are protected by the First Amendment. In Michigan, my state, the governor (wisely, in my view) from the beginning included a paragraph that her order was not to be construed as taking away freedoms guaranteed by the constitution. In other words, it never really applied to churches. She further clarified that churches would not be subject to penalty, meaning it was nothing more than good advice. It was never legally binding on the church.

So what should we have done?

I am of those in the second category. We did stop meeting. We had a livestream each Sunday that we tried not to make a regular service and we had a livestream teaching on Wednesday evening. We did this because of public safety and community reputation. I talked to people in the medical field, front line workers in hotspot hospitals, who told me, “Larry, you have to stop meeting. This is serious and this is dangerous.” So we did. I talked to pastor friends who said, “Larry can you imagine what happens when your church shows up in the news as a place where the virus was caught? You can’t risk that.” So we stopped meeting.

So what of the government orders? Does Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 apply here? My short answer is No, because the orders were forbidding what God commands. My conscience leads me to conclude that we must obey God rather than man. 

I would submit that most of my pastor friends who stopped meeting because of the governor’s orders, did not stop because of governmental authority primarily. These same people would freely and gladly reject that authority if meeting was forbidden for a different reason. They stopped meeting because they thought the order was reasonable and correct. In other words, they stopped because they agreed, not because they thought the government had authority over the church. As soon as the reason for banning meetings was something they did not find convincing, they would have resisted it.

What if the government's orders had been different? What if the government had said, "Churches can meet in groups of 50 or fewer (or 25 or 100 or some percentage of capacity)"? I would say we should honor that order and live under it because we are not commanded to meet in groups of a certain size. 

Of course the danger here is to meeting as a subset of the congregation is not really the church. Multi-site churches are actually different churches. Multi-service churches are actually different churches. I don't have a problem with either. But let's call them what they are. A church is an assembly, a group of people who assemble. If you don't assemble, you are not a church. 

Another danger in this is that it set a precedent. The government declares an emergency and the church just rolled over and said, “Okay.” Again, I think churches should have stopped meeting for a time. But I think they should have done so for different reasons than governmental authority.

The government has no authority to forbid what God commands. Pastors and churches do have the responsibility to be wise, to do things right and honorable in the sight of all men, to love their people and their communities. And sometimes that means not meeting so that a dangerous virus is not spread.

Lastly, I would appeal for grace to those who see it differently. Do not condemn those who believed they should start meeting before you think you should. Do not judge those who believe they should continue the shutdown. To their own master they stand or fall. God has not revealed a date for reopening. So do not play God over those who see it differently.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row, 
That mark our place, and in the sky, 
The larks, still bravely singing, fly, 
Scarce heard amid the guns below. 

We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, 
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields. 

Take up our quarrel with the foe! 
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high! 
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae

A Famine of Preaching?

The prophet Amos prophesied of a day when God would “send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD. God said at that time, “People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it. ¹³ "In that day the beautiful virgins And the young men will faint from thirst.” (Amos 8:11-13).

Martin Luther referenced this passage when he said, “There is no crueler blow of the wrath of God than when he sends a famine of hearing his words (Amos 8:11). Likewise, there is no greater favor from him than the sending forth of his Word, as it is said, ‘He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction’ (Ps. 107:20)” (Martin Luther in His Own Words, Kilcrease and Lutzer, p. 17).

It strikes me that perhaps some, maybe even much, of modern evangelical preaching is not the blessing of God but the judgment of God. I fear that for many preaching of the Word has been turned into a self-help session, a coping mechanism with no underlying foundation of a biblical worldview, no coherent explanation of God and his character and work in the world, no explanation of the brokenness sin has brought, no explanation of what it means to repent. It is therapy rather than formation. It is self-help rather than self-denial.

Michael Lawrence asks and answers it this way: “Do non-Christians want a purpose-filled life? Of course they do. The problem is that, as idolaters, they want that purpose to center on themselves. And they’ll be happy to even employ God and Jesus for filling that self-centered purpose.”^[1]

There are many good preaching pastors who open the Word weekly and preach it as the voice of God that satisfies a deep spiritual hunger with spiritual food. Let us be one of those. Let us be those who listen to those. Let us refuse to be satisfied with less.

Just because people don't like it is no reason to abandon it. At the end, preachers will be held to a higher standard than "How many showed up?" or "How quickly did your church grow?" Preachers will be judged by these verses:

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:2-5)

---

^[1] Lawrence, Michael. Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church: A Guide for Ministry. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010. Print. 9Marks.

Jesus Keeps His Sheep

This past Sunday, I preached from John 10:22-42. In that passage, we saw the promise of preservation that Jesus gives to his sheep. Those who are his are protected by him and they can be assured that he will never let them go. It is one of the wonderful securities of the Christian life: Christ holds us fast.

The reality of the Christian life, however, is that at times people struggle with assurance of salvation. They wonder, “Am I really saved?” If you have ever wondered that, you are not alone. The good news is that the Bible gives us at least three ways to help us to answer this question.

First, there are the promises of God, such as are found in John 10:28: “I give eternal life to them and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” This promise is repeated many times over through the Bible as an assurance that those who belong to Christ in salvation will never not belong to him. We are eternally secure in Christ. When the doubts come, remember God made promises and he always keeps his promises. Trust his promises.

Second, there is the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:15-17 puts it this way: “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” One of the works of the Spirit who was given to us in salvation is to assure us that belong to God; we are sons of God with all the things that brings along with—sufferings as well as glory. This is a more mystical testimony of a sort. It is one that can be misleading to us at times. Nevertheless, it is one means of assurance that the Father has given to us.

Third, and flowing from the second, is the life that we lead. One of the first assurance verses most of us heard after coming to Christ for salvation is 1 John 5:13, which says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” Much emphasis was placed on knowing and rightly so. It is the focus of not only the verse, but of the whole book. Less emphasis was placed on the “things that were written … so that you may know.” The book of 1 John (written by the same guy who wrote the gospel of John and John 10) is written with tests of salvation, which is described as “fellowship with him.” One of the means of assurance is the tests of 1 John: tests of fellowship, of finding forgiveness with God, of walking in light, of obedience, of love, of purity.

Many years ago I was having a serious struggle with assurance of salvation. Nights of worry; repeated prayers in case I had messed up the last one; a few conversations with people; more fear. In the midst of this one wise man reminded me of 1 John 5:13 and told me this: “Larry, go read 1 John and see if that describes you.” So I did.

God used that in my life to bring his promises and the testimony of the Spirit to life in me. I didn’t measure up perfectly to 1 John. In fact, reading it was a reminder of how much I didn’t measure up. But the fact is that it resonated with me. That was the kind of life I wanted to live, the kind of life I was pursuing however imperfectly. It was my pursuit. It gave me assurance. Ironically, it was not assurance based on my own living up to the tests, but assurance based on God’s promises to keep me and change me. That night was the night the gospel began to grow in me like it never had before, and it grows to this day. I am more convinced than ever that if Jesus didn’t do enough to save me, there is no salvation for me. I am more convinced than ever that nothing I do can earn salvation, or help my salvation. And I more desirous than ever to live in obedience and follow after Jesus. That gives me hope.

Remember the sheep hear his voice and follow him. 1 John is about following him because we have heard his voice. The reason I say this flows from Romans 8 and the internal testimony of the Spirit is because in Romans 8 those who “by the Spirit … are putting to death the deeds of the body … will live. 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:13-14). To be led by the Spirit is to obey, and the Spirit uses that to testify that we belong to the Father.

When you are convicted of sin, take great hope because that is one of the signs that you belong to him. When you obey, take great hope not that you are saved by your obedience, but that your obedience is a reminder that you were saved.

Our Savior will hold us fast, and he will change us into his image. Rest in him.

On Writing Again

Some years ago, fifteen actually, I started this blog with the idea of writing. Back then, I explained that I wanted to write to become a better speaker, a better communicator. I wanted to write for me.

So I did.

I wrote. Rewrote. Unwrote. Rewrote some more. Unwrote a lot more.

I posted first drafts that had no rewriting. I sat on drafts that had extensive rewriting.

I wrote when I wanted to and only when I wanted to.

I wrote about things that interested me.

And then I slowed down.

And then I stopped.

I am not sure why. It wasn't because I didn't have anything I wanted to say. There were lots of articles in my mind, some of which made it on to my computer. I think it is because I didn't want to take time to say it.

It is, at times, easy to write. The words flow like water off a duck's back.

It is, at times, hard to write. Words flow like water up a duck's back.

You know, the image just isn't the same, is it?

But perhaps it illustrates the issue as well as any. Finding the right words can be hard, particularly if one is writing out of necessity rather than out of desire and passion.

So why do I say this?

Perhaps it's an apology--a defense--for my lack of writing. It's not that most of you care. You didn't care that I didn't write. You probably didn't even miss it. In fact, you might have not missed it so much that you will not even see that I have posted again.

But as part of my plan for growth this year, I am going to try to write more.

Here's to hoping this isn't my last post for 2020.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row, 
That mark our place, and in the sky, 
The larks, still bravely singing, fly, 
Scarce heard amid the guns below. 

We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, 
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields. 

Take up our quarrel with the foe! 
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high! 
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae

Quotable–Get Real: Sharing Your Everyday Faith Every Day

This is a collection of highlights from John Leonard’s Get Real: Sharing Your Everyday Faith Every Day. It’s an interesting book, worth your time if you are interested in having gospel conversations with people. If you aren’t interested in gospel conversations with people, you should especially buy this book. It will encourage you.

The inclusion of a highlight is not full endorsement. It is merely an indication of a provocative thought.

_____________________

Sharing your faith doesn’t impose itself on others, leaving them feeling resentful and used. It invites people to step beyond a superficial friendship where no one really cares about listening, and to head toward deep spiritual relationship. (LOCATION: 152)

The good news of the gospel is that you cannot get to Jesus, but he can get to you. (LOCATION: 310)

What we need is for God to give us mercy and grace so that Christ might do through us those things that are not in us. (LOCATION: 322)

Not only are we to preach the gospel to all kinds of people, we are to expect that some of these very different people will believe the gospel and become part of a local fellowship of believers. The church of Jesus Christ is unique because of its diversity. Too many churches are built on sociological principles, rather than the gospel. (LOCATION: 472)

Do you know why the world has stopped listening to the gospel? Because we want to share it in the least inconvenient, least costly way. We want to save dirty people at a distance. (LOCATION: 541)

It’s remarkable that each time Jesus steps down and identifies with sinners and their suffering there is a corresponding elevation and revelation of who Jesus Christ is. (LOCATION: 564)

Perhaps she sees in you someone who never questions, doubts, or struggles. What she may be rejecting is something she believes is unobtainable for her—a faith that is either blind or naïve. (LOCATION: 613)

… you may be her biggest obstacle to belief because she can never imagine herself believing like the person you want her to believe you are. (LOCATION: 614)

We want people to see Jesus in us when it would be so much better if they instead saw someone in need of Jesus. (LOCATION: 622)

In our desire to show others how different we are because of Christ, we’re not making ourselves any more appealing to the nonbelievers around us. In fact, we are presenting ourselves as weird, strange, and bizarre. (LOCATION: 627)

We must work at being normal so that others can imagine themselves being able—and by God’s grace, deeply desire—to be followers of Jesus. (LOCATION: 631)

Don’t feel badly if people call you crazy—this just proves that you’re in good company! They said it about Jesus when they listened to his teaching: “He has a demon, and is insane” (John 10:20). (LOCATION: 646)

We should do the hard work, keeping the balance of being crazy for God, but completely normal around others. (LOCATION: 699)

The syncretism that confuses the gospel with American culture and secular values is much harder for us to see because we’re the ones doing it.

NOTE: As opposed to pagan idolatry described above (LOCATION: 754)

God’s salvation includes our experiencing, right now in the present, being reconciled to him and others and entering the new age where we experience a foretaste of heaven in our life together—through the application of the work of Christ in each of our lives. (LOCATION: 782)

The only way I can experience the fullness of God’s salvation in my life is if I’m part of a community of believers who are gracing one another in their daily lives. This is exactly what the church is to be and why it is essential. We can only experience all of God’s salvation together when we share his grace among us. (LOCATION: 789)

Western individualism has turned the church into an event that I may or may not participate in, depending on what I get out of it. This is not what the church is to be. It is a community of people who bring the best of the grace that God has given us and give it to one another. (LOCATION: 792)

The church is to be a spiritual banquet, where we all bring the grace God has given us and share it with one another. We should share that grace the same way God shared it with us. Because he has lavished his grace on us (Ephesians 1:8), we should lavish it on one another. When we do so, the church becomes a community where the promises of God are lived out among the people making the church heaven on earth. (LOCATION: 815)

This understanding of the church also changes why we go to church. We shouldn’t go thinking, What I am going to get out of church today? But, How am I going to grace my brothers and sisters this morning? (LOCATION: 823)

In party evangelism, everyone evangelizes, using the gifts they’ve been given. (LOCATION: 868)

If the Christian community is going to challenge our culture, we as the church must begin by being a place where the gospel is communally lived out toward the external world. (LOCATION: 904)

To love your friends doesn’t take a great deal of grace, most of the time. (LOCATION: 913)

Instead of making friends, hoping that one day they will be interested in the gospel, we should find people who are interested in the gospel and befriend them. (LOCATION: 939)

When we separate evangelism from discipleship, we limit what we say to non-Christians to a few passages in the Bible that we believe are “for” non-Christians. (LOCATION: 1015)

One difference between a convert-making approach and a discipleship-making approach is that the convert-making method takes a brief time. You can make a convert in a few minutes. It takes a lifetime to make a disciple. (LOCATION: 1064)

How do you disciple non-Christians? By using every circumstance and question in their lives as a window into what it means to follow Christ. (LOCATION: 1085)

It is the Holy Spirit, working in the hearts of non-Christians in many ways, who opens their eyes and softens their hearts. (LOCATION: 1184)

we live in an age where we put far too much importance on what we do and how we do it than calling on God in prayer to do his work. (LOCATION: 1188)

Why should we tell others to depend on and trust in Christ when we don’t demonstrate that we depend on and trust Christ in the way we share our faith? (LOCATION: 1190)

when we consider our work primary and God’s secondary we’re tempted to change the message so it becomes more palatable and our initial response rate to the gospel is improved. (LOCATION: 1194)

Instead of trying to lead people to Christ, let Christ lead people to you. You do this by only sharing the gospel with those who are truly interested in hearing it. (LOCATION: 1207)

Letting Christ bring people to you means never saying more than people want to hear. (LOCATION: 1228)

Why do we feel if we keep talking we can change their minds? It is God that changes hearts, not my words. God may use your words, but if people are not interested in what you have to say, stop talking. (LOCATION: 1230)

In traditional evangelism we look for someone to share the gospel with. A better approach is not to go looking for people to talk to, but to look for people to listen to. (LOCATION: 1346)

We listen more than we speak not only to communicate real care and concern, but because listening will help us know what the Lord wants us to say to the person that he has brought across our path. (LOCATION: 1388)

In the West, we put far too much emphasis on the power of speaking, while overlooking the power of listening. (LOCATION: 1398)

Instead of believing you were not made for evangelism, believe that you are the perfect person to share your faith with many people—because your personality, your experiences, your knowledge, and the way you say things is the best way for many people to hear the gospel. (LOCATION: 1449)

In a real approach to evangelism, we do not have to take the person from A to Z in a single presentation. All we’re looking to do is help the person take the next step, or just go from A to B. Remember, we are discipling people to Christ and downplaying the “big decision.” (LOCATION: 1459)

We need to get over wanting people to like us! (LOCATION: 1471)

Perhaps the real reason we don’t share our faith more often is because we don’t believe the gospel. It no longer works for us. (LOCATION: 1491)

You might want to say to him, “Wait a minute, don’t you know that only one out of every three seeds you plant will produce fruit? Why bother at all, if your return is so small?” His response would be, “I’d better plant a lot more seeds, then!” In other words, if few people respond, increase the number of people you’re sharing the gospel with! (LOCATION: 1507)

“You don’t pastor just a church; you pastor a community. (LOCATION: 1565)

Maybe Philippians 1:6 should be the way we think of our testimonies: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” It’s not about how the process started; it’s about how God is continuing that process. (LOCATION: 1614)

you have hundreds of testimonies because you have a story of how God is at work throughout your life and how he continues to be, even at this moment. You can never tell the whole story in one sitting; you simply pick a part of the story to tell. (LOCATION: 1616)

In a normal, real approach to evangelism, the real question is which testimony do you give? You share the one that’s most relevant to the person you’re speaking with. (LOCATION: 1620)

the reason most of us only have one testimony, and why it ends on the day we raised our hands, is that we have not seen God working in a progressive way in the different identities of our lives. (LOCATION: 1624)

This is good news for all of us who have ever had “testimony envy.” We don’t have to wish we had a horrible past; we have, at present if not for Christ, very ugly hearts. The closer we grow to Christ, the more we see just how rotten we are. (LOCATION: 1637)

When we speak about our Christian experience as a distant past event—where our life is divided into a bad part and a good part—we give people the impression that we are good, instead of showing them how God is good. (LOCATION: 1642)

In a real testimony, you make it clear that your life right now would be a mess if it wasn’t for Jesus—that you would be in the exact same position as the person you are speaking to (and in some ways, still are), if it weren’t for Jesus. (LOCATION: 1655)

You’re not good, but Jesus is great. (LOCATION: 1657)

The shaping of the gospel so that it directly addresses and perfectly fits the person you’re speaking to is called contextualization. (LOCATION: 1677)

It is the difference between a personal handwritten letter and spam e-mail. (LOCATION: 1678)

The only way to effectively shape the gospel to fit the individual is to listen deeply to what the person is saying to you, then take what they’ve told you and wrap it up in a response that was made (LOCATION: 1694)

you don’t have to speak until you clearly see how the gospel applies to that person’s needs. (LOCATION: 1698)

With a real approach to presenting the gospel, you want to listen as much as possible because the other person is giving you clues as to how you should shape the gospel. (LOCATION: 1700)

If it isn’t clear how you are to respond, keep asking questions until the light comes on in your head and you see how you should frame the message. (LOCATION: 1703)

To shape the gospel we listen, look, and ask questions. In doing so we’re also telling the other person that we care deeply about him. (LOCATION: 1723)

Listen, listen again, pray as you listen, and speak only when the person invites you to do so, on the issue they’re asking you about. (LOCATION: 1726)

You take what someone does every day, all the time, and you wrap the gospel around it so that their daily life is a continual reminder of God’s truth. (LOCATION: 1766)

People have said to me that they cannot think quickly enough to illustrate the gospel from people’s everyday lives. However, you can learn to be better at it. You can improve these skills by practicing them until they become second nature. And you can keep listening until you know what to say. Listening is never a bad thing! (LOCATION: 1779)

One exercise you can do is to take a theological concept, list some occupations, and think of a way to communicate God’s truth for each. For example, sin. How would you illustrate sin for a plumber? What was the dirtiest, smelliest problem you ever had to deal with? Sin is uglier than that. Or a nurse? Sin does the same thing as not washing your hands; it makes a lot of other people sick. Or a lawyer? Sin is like the slamming of that jail door behind you, and you know you’re not getting out. (LOCATION: 1781)

Then change to another gospel concept. For example forgiveness, for a lawyer, is like hearing the prison door slam and realizing you’re on the outside. For a plumber, forgiveness is like that moment when the clog releases and everything gets washed away. And what about grace? For a nurse, it’s when someone gives an organ so another can live. For a mother, grace is all those things she does that we never see or thank her for. For a golfer, it might be playing “best ball” and having Rory McIlroy as your partner. (LOCATION: 1785)

When the conversation turns from sharing the truth to defending it, traditional evangelism stops and apologetics begins. (LOCATION: 1828)

Everyone “has skin in the game.” All facts are reinterpreted by our worldviews and unproven presuppositions in order to support our conclusions. (LOCATION: 1837)

Presuppositional apologetics turns those tables. It isn’t God on trial—we are. (LOCATION: 1846)

We want to seek to understand their system and the unquestioned assumptions they’re making about God, his creation, and themselves. (LOCATION: 1850)

In as loving and gentle a way as possible (an approach that presuppositional apologists aren’t especially known for), you want to help them see how intellectually dishonest they’re being. (LOCATION: 1851)

A better way is not to read the book, but ask your friend to explain her religion, why she believes it, and what it does for her. Tell her that you’ve always been interested in understanding what her religion teaches and want to compare it with Christian teaching. This is better than reading a book because people who say they’re from a particular faith may neither know nor believe the teachings of their own faith. There are many people whose faith is a cultural commitment rather than a religious one. (LOCATION: 2185)

Attacking someone’s religion, even if they don’t believe it themselves, doesn’t help them convert; it just closes down the conversation. (LOCATION: 2210)

People are people first! Instead of thinking of people as different from you because of their religious beliefs, understand that they are in many ways like you. They have many of the same hopes, dreams, and fears. Instead of us-versus-them, we should see ourselves on the same side of the table, talking about how we and our friends are facing the problems and difficulties in life. Your attitude and respectful listening will set the example. (LOCATION: 2222)

Our job is not to pressure, but to explain and clarify. It is God who changes the heart. (LOCATION: 2247)

Could it be that people reject the gospel because it is too good to be true? (LOCATION: 2325)

Ryle’s Inadequate View of Revelation

In Holiness, Ryle has a chapter devoted to a warning for the visible church drawn on the letters to the churches in Revelation 2-3. In this chapter, Ryle remarks,

I never can believe, if a certain form of Church government was so very important as some say, that the great Head of the Church would have said nothing about it here. I should have expected to have found something said about it to Sardis and Laodicea. But I find nothing at all. And I think that silence is a great fact.*

It is no doubt an argument that persuades many. We know this because the same argument is trumpeted about by what are known as “Red-Letter Christians.” The idea is that if Jesus didn’t say something about it the words directly attributed to him, then it isn’t really Christianity. By this means people pick and choose what parts of Scripture they must follow and what parts they can disregard. It is essentially Marcionite in its approach.

The rebuttal to this is simple:

First, there is the teaching that all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable (2 Tim 3:16-17). We should not devalue some parts of Scripture because it isn’t repeated in other parts. If something is said then we should consider it authoritative when it is rightly understood and applied. It is the discipline of systematic theology to correlate the passages, not to discount them. And once is enough. If God said it, he doesn’t need to repeat it (though he might).

Secondly, there is the reality that much of Scripture is topical in nature, or what theologians call “occasional.” By “occasional,” we don’t mean “every now and then” but “written to address a particular occasion.” This reminds us that a message or a letter in Scripture need not address every single thing but only the things that were important for the recipients of the message at the time of the writing.

So with respect to Ryle’s particular argument, we must not devalue church government because it isn’t mentioned in Revelation 2-3. It may well be that church government wasn’t the problem. It is entirely credible that the churches in these seven cities were indeed in order when it came to their polity. The problem was something else.

Let us be careful not to discount a truth from God because it isn’t in every verse of Scripture.

All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable.

*J. C. Ryle, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots (London: William Hunt and Company, 1889), 326–327.

The Power of Parents in the Worship of Children

Everyone knows that parents have tremendous power and influence in the lives of children, particularly in their younger years. And everyone knows that children have tremendous power and influence in the lives of parents.

The first is what God intended. The second is moving toward the effects of the fall in the reversal of creation-based roles.

The irony of the title, “The Power of Parents in the Worship of Children” is that we parents have often become almost powerless because we worship children. They run our lives by commanding our responses that flow out of a heart unchecked by the worship of God.

It should be the other way around. That our power in the lives of our children is driven by our worship of God, and our children’s worship is instructed by our worship of God rather than our worship of children.

As Israel departed Egypt in the exodus, the Passover was instituted by God as a reminder of his powerful deliverance, a deliverance that their children and grandchildren would never see. Yet in the initial instruction concerning the Passover, God envisions a day when the children will ask “What does this ceremony mean to you?” (Exod 12:26). “Why are you doing this?” they will say.

Embedded in this anticipated question are several important things.

First, there is the assumption that the parents are continuing in the commanded worship of God through the observance of the Passover. They have not let the immediate, internal complacency, or the passing of time shove aside their commanded worship and remembrance.

Seccond, there is the assumption that parents are participating in the observance in a way that makes clear that there is a meaning to it beyond the mere passing observance of a religious ritual. There is the assumption that the meaning of the Passover has been internalized by the parent.

Third, there is the assumption that the children are involved in the observance, that this worship is not just for adults. It is a family observance.

Fourth, there is the assumption that parents are able to answer the questions of their children because of their own spiritual knowledge of the history and the meaning of God’s work among them. In fact, there is the assumption that the parents will give God’s answer, "that our God delivered us from Egypt’ (Exod 12:27).

Thus, when children see it and ask, parents can answer in way that instructs their children and brings about the worship of children, that is, children who worship because of the mighty acts of God that they never saw but have only heard about from their parents.

In an age where parents worship children, we are often tempted to avoid the hard things. It is often easier to put our children to bed than it is read the Bible with them and pray with them before bedtime. It is often easier to let the sports schedule dictate the church schedule rather than fight the fight of missing games rather than church. It is often easier to address sin issues with non-biblical or quasi-biblical instructions rather than address the matters of the heart.

Parents who have no internalized the worship of God will usually take the easy road. We just want them to be quiet, to stop fighting, to get their homework done, to get to bed, to win games, to clean their rooms. And we will say or do whatever it is necessary in that moment to satisfy our children enough to get them to do what we want.

And in that, we often miss a teaching opportunity, however brief it might be. It’s the opportunity to teach them that at that very moment, they are worshipping something. They are professing allegiance to something—their selfish desires that bring fighting, their sinful desire for the immediate gratification of laziness rather than the harder task of completing homework, their arrogance that convinces them they know more than the referee or the teacher.

What we should want is for them to see how all these things are connected to the worship of God and the  filling of their God-ordained roles at this stage in their lives. What we should strive for is to root all these responses to life in the mighty acts of God in creation, deliverance, and community.

Sure it’s hard. And if we worship children, we will do everything we can to make them happy and to appease them.

But if we will worship God, we will approach parenting with the goal of teaching and reminding our children constantly that we all—ourselves included—have someone greater to answer to and to worship—namely, the Creator and Deliverer, God himself.

And so when our children ask, “Why do you do that?” let us make sure that the “that” they are asking about is our counter-cultural and other-worldly worship of God and the radical approach to life that stems from it. And let us make sure that, when our children ask, we have an answer that can lift them above the pressing needs of this hour and direct them to the eternal values of God.

Ryle on the Importance of a Church That Teaches Hell and Judgment

“If you would ever be a healthy and Scriptural Christian, I entreat you to beware of any ministry which does not plainly teach the reality and eternity of hell. Such a ministry may be soothing and pleasant, but it is far more likely to lull you to sleep than to lead you to Christ, or build you up in the faith. It is impossible to leave out any portion of God’s truth without spoiling the whole. That preaching is sadly defective which dwells exclusively on the mercies of God and the joys of heaven, and never sets forth the terrors of the Lord and the miseries of hell. It may be popular, but it is not Scriptural: it may amuse and gratify, but it will not save. Give me the preaching which keeps back nothing that God has revealed. You may call it stern and harsh; you may tell us that to frighten people is not the way to do them good. But you are forgetting that the grand object of the Gospel is to persuade men to “flee from the wrath to come,” and that it is vain to expect men to flee unless they are afraid. Well would it be for many professing Christians if they were more afraid about their souls than they now are!”

J. C. Ryle, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots (London: William Hunt and Company, 1889), 252–253.

The Nashville Statement

Not long ago, some evangelicals published The Nashville Statement. Unfortunately, it is not about the tripe that parades about as country music these days. It is rather about sex, gender, and marriage.

Predictably, it drew a lot of praise for the great moral courage and clarity that it demonstrated as well as a lot of criticism for the narrow-minded hatefulness it delivered.

And that’s just what evangelicals said about it.

What should we make of the Nashville Statement?

As you might guess, I have a few thoughts.

First, it is good for Christians to have a voice in biblical and moral issues in society, even if, or perhaps especially if, it is a controversial topic on which the Bible is clear. There is nothing in and of itself that is wrong with a statement like the Nashville Statement. It might be appropriate on any number of topics. Letting Christian truth be known is a good thing and when a number of Christians band together to do it, it might be a better thing.

Second, it can be dangerous for Christians to make statements or participate in statements that are devoid of relationships. As with all brief statements (and many not-so-brief statements), it is difficult to communicate personal love, empathy, and grace toward others.

Third, Christians need to move past the idea that we can say biblically faithful things that will please people who have no desire to be biblically faithful, or who have a distorted view of what biblical faithfulness really is. As Christians, we need to brace ourselves that we are increasingly marginalized in American society, and American society may have been the last bastion for public Christianity on the globe. Those who do not believe Christ will reject our views.  Even fellow believers will object to some things that we judge to be biblically faithful. We must train our conscience by the Scriptures, follow it, and then let the chips fall where they may.

Fourth, Christians need to accept that public statements like the Nashville statement will have little to no positive effect in the society at large. It is doubtful that there is any significant number of people out there who are going to repent of their sins and embrace Christ because of the Nashville Statement. It is unlikely to lead to the next Great Awakening. It may, in fact, harden some. Even professing believers are hardened by the statement because they consider it harsh, too divisive, or even flat-out wrong. If we put our hope in public statements, however well-meaning they are, we will be greatly disappointed.

Fifth, Christians should recognize that very few of the people we are called to reach and minister to will know anything about the Nashville Statement. Which is to say, it really has no relevance at all for our local church ministries. Go love people, serve them, evangelize them, and disciple them. Chances are they won’t ask you about the Nashville Statement. They might ask you about their marriage, their kids, the relationship they want to get in, or the one they want to get out of. They might request prayer for a sick child or a new job. But they probably don’t care what Nashville thinks about anything.

Sixth, there are questions about whether or not signing the Nashville Statement involves a compromise of biblical commands about separation and fellowship.

I regret to inform you that my word count has just expired.

Around the Horn–10/6/17

At first is a longish article about the addictive nature of technology in smartphones. It is interesting because it talks about how the people who created the apps are now seeing the problems and refusing to participate. The guy who created the Facebook “Like” button has had his assistant setup parental controls on his iPhone so that he (the creator) can’t download apps. Beware the subtle (or not so subtle) power of connection and the ding of affirmation when someone likes your self-aggrandizing post or ridiculously-angled selfie.

I will be back to write more right after I check Facebook and Twitter.

Okay, I’m back.

How come no one has liked this yet?

I must go on anyway …

At second is an article about John Piper and LeCrae (a Christian hip hop artist). I warn you that if you like either of them, you probably won’t like this. Which means you should read it carefully and give it thought. I don’t keep up with John Piper, CHH, and LeCrae, but this article highlights how racial division is being fomented by those who are supposed to be against it. My experience of the past 19 years tells me this isn’t the way to go about it. Continually highlighting the very thing you say shouldn’t exist won’t make it go away.

At third is a good article about well-meaning Christians who participate in Angel Trees or other “Christmas-gifts-for-underprivileged-children” endeavors. I have long agreed with this and am glad someone wrote it to make up for my not writing it. Often, this reminds me of those who go and serve in a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving, or who go spend the night in a box on the street corner or in a rescue mission. It makes them feel better, but doesn’t actually help. In the gifting endeavors, it can actually make the problem worse.

Lastly, here is a link to a recent 9 Marks Conference with some worthy sessions. I commend it to you for encouragement and challenge regarding the church and leadership in the church.

From Ryle’s “Holiness”

If any reader of this paper really feels that he has counted the cost, and taken up the cross, I bid him persevere and press on. I dare say you often feel your heart faint, and are sorely tempted to give up in despair. Your enemies seem so many, your besetting sins so strong, your friends so few, the way so steep and narrow, you hardly know what to do. But still I say, persevere and press on.

The time is very short. A few more years of watching and praying, a few more tossings on the sea of this world, a few more deaths and changes, a few more winters and summers, and all will be over. We shall have fought our last battle, and shall need to fight no more.

The presence and company of Christ will make amends for all we suffer here below. When we see as we have been seen, and look back on the journey of life, we shall wonder at our own faintness of heart. We shall marvel that we made so much of our cross, and thought so little of our crown. We shall marvel that in “counting the cost” we could ever doubt on which side the balance of profit lay. Let us take courage. We are not far from home. IT MAY COST MUCH TO BE A TRUE CHRISTIAN AND A CONSISTENT HOLY MAN; BUT IT PAYS.

J. C. Ryle, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots (London: William Hunt and Company, 1889), 117–118.

Ryle on Preaching the Gospel

Here’s another passage from J. C. Ryle’s Holiness on counting the cost of becoming a Christian. This time, he is addressing the preaching of the gospel and what those who proclaim it to sinners must preach.

If we desire to do good, let us never be ashamed of walking in the steps of our Lord Jesus Christ. Work hard if you will, and have the opportunity, for the souls of others. Press them to consider their ways. Compel them with holy violence to come in, to lay down their arms, and to yield themselves to God. Offer them salvation, ready, free, full, immediate salvation. Press Christ and all His benefits on their acceptance. But in all your work tell the truth, and the whole truth. Be ashamed to use the vulgar arts of a recruiting sargent. Do not speak only of the uniform, the pay, and the glory; speak also of the enemies, the battle, the armour, the watching, the marching, and the drill. Do not present only one side of Christianity. Do not keep back “the cross” of self-denial that must be carried, when you speak of the cross on which Christ died for our redemption. Explain fully what Christianity entails. Entreat men to repent and come to Christ; but bid them at the same time to “count the cost.”

J. C. Ryle, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots (London: William Hunt and Company, 1889), 111.

Counting the Cost

Here’s a helpful passage from J. C. Ryle’s Holiness on counting the cost to be a Christian:

I am bold to say that it would be well if the duty of “counting the cost” were more frequently taught than it is. Impatient hurry is the order of the day with many religionists. Instantaneous conversions, and immediate sensible peace, are the only results they seem to care for from the Gospel. Compared with these all other things are thrown into the shade. To produce them is the grand end and object, apparently, of all their labours. I say without hesitation that such a naked, one-sided mode of teaching Christianity is mischievous in the extreme.

Let no one mistake my meaning. I thoroughly approve of offering men a full, free, present, immediate salvation in Christ Jesus. I thoroughly approve of urging on man the possibility and the duty of immediate instantaneous conversion. In these matters I give place to no one. But I do say that these truths ought not to be set before men nakedly, singly, and alone. They ought to be told honestly what it is they are taking up, if they profess a desire to come out from the world and serve Christ. They ought not to be pressed into the ranks of Christ’s army without being told what the warfare entails. In a word, they should be told honestly to “count the cost.”

Does any one ask what our Lord Jesus Christ’s practice was in this matter? Let him read what St. Luke records. He tells us that on a certain occasion “There went great multitudes with Him: and He turned and said unto them, If any come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after Me, cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:25–27. I must plainly say, that I cannot reconcile this passage with the proceedings of many modern religious teachers. And yet, to my mind, the doctrine of it is as clear as the sun at noon-day. It shows us that we ought not to hurry men into professing discipleship, without warning them plainly to “count the cost.”

J. C. Ryle, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots (London: William Hunt and Company, 1889), 109–110.

How to Understand and Apply the New Testament by Andrew David Naselli

Some months ago, Andy Naselli (professor of NT at Bethlehem College and Seminary) sent me a PDF of a new book he had just completed entitled How to Understand and Apply the New Testament. Over the next few weeks, I read it with great interest and, more importantly, with great benefit.

Here’s my bottom line: I like this book and I commend it to you.

Now a brief, informal review.

As you can tell from the title, this book serves as a basic primer on how to study the NT. The principles in it are, of course, applicable in many ways to the OT but there is a companion volume on the OT by Jason DeRouchie (who also teaches at Bethlehem). This book seems targeted primarily at students, perhaps the very people Andy teaches. It starts at the beginning and walks the reader through the process of, well, understanding and applying a NT text.

However, it is not just students who will benefit. Anyone with an interest in knowing the Word deeper will find this book and its methodology helpful. Sunday school teachers, Bible study or small group leaders, or any sort of Christian who takes the Word seriously will benefit. Even pastors who preach regularly will find it helpful as a refresher and a refiner of methods they already use. The chapters on Greek require some knowledge of Greek, but those who don’t know Greek can just skip them, or read it and learn a little.

There are twelve chapters, each of which deals with a specific area of study such as genre, text criticism, Greek, context, theology, application, etc. Each chapter is filled with clear and concise steps that are illustrated by examples that show the method being applied.

The book contains many personal anecdotes and stories because it was originally developed as a lecture series. This lends itself to an informal style of writing which actually helps the reading of it.

One of the downsides of this book is its length, running almost 350 pages of text not counting the front matter (TOC, Intro, etc.) and the end matter (glossary, indices).

But here’s why that doesn’t matter as much: Much of the length is found in the illustrations, which help the reader, but are not necessary to the point of the book. Don’t read that as an excuse to skip the illustrations the first time through. Read it as freedom to skip them the second or third time through and focus just on the steps as they apply to the passage in front of you. One could even benefit from a methodological handout that condenses the key questions to ask and things to look for to just a few pages. You might create that handout on your way through, or wait until Andy creates one of some sort. As Andy notes in the Introduction (don’t skip it), exegesis can’t be boiled down to a steps. It is both a science and an art that, over time, will become second nature of a sort. But until then, it is helpful to have a list of questions you need to answer and things you need to look for. This book will identify those things for you and give you direction on how to find them.

One thing I have noticed in Andy’s writing is his use of very detailed outlines. This book is no exception. Though it has a table of contents in which each chapter is named with a one line explanation, it also has a twelve-page Analytical Outline that is more detailed that gives all the major headings in the book and serve as a summary of the book. The downside of this Analytical Outline is that it doesn’t include page numbers. (Andy, see if you can get P&R to add those in.) This outline will help you to find particular parts of the book as you need them or want to review them.

Much more could be said and others have done that elsewhere.

In the end, I recommend How to Understand and Apply the New Testament and encourage you to pick it up and work your way through it. You will benefit from it.

Around the Horn – 6/9/17

At first today is a homerun. It is A Discussion on Church and Race with Dr. Voddie Baucham and Pastor Douglas Wilson. It is refreshing and challenging in many respects. One major concern of mine that it taps into is that there is a sort of litmus test in some circles of evangelicalism about how racially sensitive (read: gospel centered) you are on. I wish I could delve into more of this because I think it is significant and my experience of the last almost 20 years has informed my view. But skip my thoughts for now and listen to it. It’s long (ninetyish minutes) but well worth it. Load it up on your phone and take a walk or two. It has a bit of humor in it, so be warned if you are humorless.

At second is a good article about home plate.  Yes, the 17 inches that every batter from T-ball right on up to the major league stands beside and gets judged on. Oh sure, the umps might miss it here or there (though their view from right behind the plate is better than yours from behind the fence down the first base line so quit yapping and cheer your kids on). Hold yourself and those under you and around you to 17 inches. Don’t widen the plate. But I would add this: Be sensitive to the situation. If Little League umpires used a rigid inches for every single pitch, we would still be out there … from the game two weeks ago.

At third is a collection of interviews and articles about Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse put together by Andy Naselli. Sasse has written a new book entitled The Vanishing American Adult. It looks interesting. The interviews are interesting. It’s worth your time to hear this senator talk about the challenges facing our culture.

The homerun today is Carl Trueman writing In Defense of Educational Administrators. Any one with half a brain is troubled by the atmosphere on college campuses and high schools for that matter. If you are not disturbed, feel free to make an inference from that. Trueman argues briefly that this is not about political correctness, pandering, or cowardice. It is much more sinister: It is what education has become. Education is, to use Trueman’s words, therapeutic rather than transformative. There was a day not so long ago that one went to higher education to learn things he had not yet learned (including the proper use of pronouns). These days, the idea of being challenged to learn something new about the world is considered aggression and hate speech. It might be the dreaded micro-aggression, that aggression that is so small and silly it would not be noticed except for small-minded and silly-minded people. I doubt it will change anytime soon. Never has a college degree cost more and been worth less than it is today. I doubt that will change anytime soon either.

The Beginning is Not the End

The landscape of history is scattered with the remnants of those who were a “flash in the pan.” They were there for a minute, but gone for a lifetime. They were filled with potential but failed to see it through.

What happened?

For some, it was the proverbial “second time through the lineup.” It’s that new pitcher just called up from Triple A ball to fill in a start. No one has seen his pitches and so he looks pretty good the first time around. But when the lineup resets to the top of the order, the Major League hitters have figured out his stuff and he gets rocked.

For others, it was laziness. I once talked with a man who had played basketball with some very high level players back in the day. Through summer leagues and college, it was clear that they had big time potential. But by the time of this conversation, they were walking the streets, sleeping on benches, and looking for their next fix. I asked him, “Why?” He said, “They didn’t want to work at it.”

For still others, it was distraction. Shiny coins glistened on the pavement. Colorful flowers sprang up in the garden. Cheerful sounds rang out from the playground. And decades later, all the potential lay in an undeveloped pile in the distant past.

O, what could have been.

King Saul is an interesting guy for a lot of reasons and one of those reasons is what could have been. Filled with potential, he ended a disaster.

He was a loyal son, a farmer, a good-looking guy, tall and impressive. He was simply living his life, doing his job.

Then he went looking for donkeys and along the way he found a kingdom, picked by God and anointed by Samuel.

At first, he was fearful and shy. He lacked ambition. In fact, he didn’t even tell his own family. But he was the new king, the first king of Israel.

Then, almost overnight he was transformed from this shy, unambitious farmer to a leader who quickly roused an army of 330,000 men by use of a dismembered ox.

To much acclaim, he delivered a city and was greeted with some ancient equivalent of “Long live the king.”

What a great start.

But the beginning is not the end.

Somewhere along the way, Saul turned into a paranoid maniac. He became fearful, controlling, and obsessive. And he lost everything that he had been given to him. He squandered a kingdom and died by suicide surrounded by the enemy.

Every Israelite knew the story of Saul’s failure. But 1 Samuel 11 reminds us that it didn’t start that way. The handpicked king, handpicked by God himself, had the whole world on a platter in front of him and he unceremoniously dumped it on the ground. He blew up his life and turned into a sad caricature.

In the beginning he summoned 330,000 soldiers to kill for the dignity of all Israel (1 Samuel 11). In the end, he couldn’t persuade one servant to kill to save his own dignity (1 Samuel 31).

In the beginning he was unwilling to kill those who resisted his kingship (1 Samuel 10-22). In the end, he was determined to kill the one who refused to resist his kingship (1 Samuel 18-30).

Saul’s sad life reminds us that the beginning is not the end. Today is no guarantee of tomorrow.

The bad news of life is that what you did yesterday is no guarantee of what you will do tomorrow. Just because you start well doesn’t mean you will finish well.

But the good news of life is that what you did yesterday is no guarantee of what you will do tomorrow. Just because you start bad doesn’t mean you will finish bad.

The grace of God is at work. There is a King who didn’t fail. He, like Saul, went looking for something that was lost and by so doing found a church and a kingdom. Perhaps there was something donkey-like in the ones for whom the Greater King came. But there was something Lamb-like and Lion-like in the deliverer of souls.

And because of our Greater King and his gospel of grace, your past does not have to be your master. And it will not be your guarantee.

The transforming power of God’s Spirit will not come for a moment as it did with Saul, but will come forever.

So number your days so that you may present to the Lord a heart of wisdom.

A Lesson in Bible Study

“The passage for our evening family Bible story time was Acts 20. I read:

Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "He's alive!" … The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted. (Acts 20:9-10, 12)

We then acted out the scene, emphasizing the truth that nothing is too hard for God—even raising the dead.

At the close, I quizzed our four-year-old daughter: “Carrie Anne, what was the most important thing you learned this evening from our Bible story?” She thought and thought, and then she said, “Close the window before you go to sleep.”

From Blaine Allen, Before You Quit, p. 24