"Inconceivable!"

That's one of the most memorable lines from The Princess Bride. That line, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means," could be used equally as well with how a lot of people use different scripture verses. One in particular that comes to mind is 1 Corinthians 10:13. There Paul writes,

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

Now, more times than not you will hear Christians use that verse in the context of hard and difficult times that a person may be going through. They will say something along the lines of, "Now just remember that God has promised not to give us more than we can handle." The intent behind the words are loving. The person is trying to encourage the person who is suffering that they can get through whatever it is they are going through.

The problem of course is that 1 Corinthians 10:13 is about resisting temptations to sin in our life and not on handling suffering and difficult times. The promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13 is that when temptations to sin come in the life of the believer, God will not leave them without a way to endure that temptation and thus avoid giving into the sin. God will always provide, in the face of temptation, an option for the follower of Christ to choose that does not involve sin and thus is pleasing to God.

But there is another problem with the thought of, "Well God does not put more on our plate than we can handle," besides it not being what 1 Corinthians 10:13 is talking about. The problem is that the reality is that God, more times than not, does indeed put more on our plate than we can handle and He is good and kind to do so. Why is that? Listen to what Paul writes to the same church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 1:8,

"For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. "

Paul here writes that the suffering that they were going through was much more than their plate could handle. They were given suffering and hardship to endure that was beyond their ability to handle to the point that they thought they were going to die. But then notice what he says next: "But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." Did you notice the aspect of intentionality behind the "bigger than our plate" suffering and hardship that we sometimes endure as followers of Christ? The suffering that they were enduring was given to them "to make them rely not on ourselves."

Our default mindset as sinners when confronted with suffering and hardship is to seek to rely on ourselves in order to survive it. Now who would want to make us rely on God instead of ourselves? Well, it surely would not be Satan. He would not bring suffering in our lives for the purpose of making us rely on God instead of ourselves. No, he wants us to rely on ourselves instead of God. He is perfectly pleased with that kind of idolatry. It is God who wants to make us rely not on ourselves but on Him. He is the one who brings suffering in our life that is more than we can handle for the purpose of teaching us that we can't handle it on our own and that we must rely or trust on Him. We need the power and ability of the one who raises the dead to carry us through suffering and hard times in our life. God is kind and gracious to bring/allow suffering into our lives to wean us off of relying on the idol of self so that we will start trusting in His power and strength to enable us to persevere through the worst of suffering in our lives.

Therefore, the next time someone says to you in the midst of your suffering--with the best and most loving of intentions--"God has promised not to put more on our table than we can bear," you know better. Introduce them to the God who loves us enough to put more on our table than we can bear so that learn to trust and rely more on Him and all that He is for us in Christ!

Nothing New Under The Sun

Solomon write in Ecclesiastes 1:9,

"What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, 'See this is new'? It has been already in the ages before us."

It seems like we live in the age of the "new" in regards to the life of the church. But is there really anything "new" that has never been tried before?

Martyn Lloyd-Jones seems to think not. In his classic Preaching and Preachers he writes,

One of the advantages of being old is that you have experience, so when something new comes up, and you see people getting very excited about it, you happen to be in the position of being able to remember a similar excitement perhaps forty years ago. And so one has seen fashions and vogues and stunts coming one after another in the Church. Each one creates great excitement and enthusiasm and is loudly advertised as the thing that is going to fill the churches, the thing that is going to solve the problem. They have said that about every single one of them. But in a few years they have forgotten all about it, and another stunt comes along, or another new idea; somebody has hit upon the one thing needful or he has a psychological understanding of modern man. Here is the thing, and everybody rushes after it; but soon it wanes and disappears and something else takes its place.

This is, surely, a very sad and regrettable state for the Christian Church to be in, that like the world she should exhibit these constant changes of fashion. In that state she lacks the stability and the solidity and the continuing message that has ever been the glory of the Christian Church."

Yep, nothing new under the sun, even in the life of the Church. Stick to what's worked for the past 2000 years. Let God's Word do God's Work in God's time and God's way.

The Stupid, Illogical and Deadly Words of a Pro-Death, Err, Pro-Choice President

Yesterday was the 39th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in the case of Roe vs. Wade. President Obama celebrated this day while those who champion the cause of life viewed it with much sadness and hope for a different future in regards to the issue of the legalized killing of unborn babies.

Two statements from the President's remarks yesterday are particularly noteworthy. They are noteworthy in the sense of how stupid, illogical and deadly they are. The first is how the President chose to conclude his remarks on this anniversary. He states,

"And as we remember this historic anniversary, we must also continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill our dreams.”

First of all, last Monday when we as a nation celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day was a historic anniversary in the truest sense. That was the remembrance of a life that is rightly celebrated. However, the 39th Anniversary of a Supreme Court decision that has seen over 50 million unborn babies killed inside their mother's womb is not historic, Mr. President, it's tragic.

Let me interpret what our President meant in the quote above. The President desires that "our daughters have the rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill our (their) dreams." Well, whatever could the President mean by that? I mean I think as a nation we have come a long way in equality in the workplace with women having just as much opportunity to excel in whatever they choose to do.

Here is what President Obama really said in those remarks. "It's unfair that our sons can have sex and not have to worry about the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy. If they get a woman pregnant, they can just desert the baby and the mother and continue to pursue their dreams and aspirations. However that is not so with the woman. If she were forced to have this baby all of her hopes and dreams could be crushed by having to be a mom. I mean let's be real, no woman really aspires with all of her heart and soul to be just a mother. Therefore, in order that our daughters are not hampered with the responsibility of being a mother that would crush their greater aspirations, we must continue to condone their right to kill unborn babies in the womb so that they can have the same sexual freedom as our sons."

Stupidest words ever spoken by a President of the United States of America. Makes me long for the days of such cogent thoughts as, "That depends on what the definition of 'is' is."

But the other remark the President made in his speech is where he gets real illogical. I have heard him and other Pro-Death, err, Pro-Choice advocates make similar statements. Here they are,

"While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue, no matter what our views, we must stay united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and mothers, reduce the need for abortion, encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption."

Why must we do that? If abortion is not morally wrong and thus an inferior choice to adoption, planned pregnancies, etc., why do we need "to stay united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and mothers, reduce the need for abortion...promote adoption?" If there is nothing morally wrong with abortions (if abortions are not in actuality the brutal killing of another defenseless human being) then there is no need to work for the alternatives. You see, the President's conscience tells him otherwise, along with any other Pro-Death, err, Pro-Choice advocate. The reason we must work towards these other alternatives is because deep down we know that the choice of abortion is not just inferior to the alternatives of adoption and planned pregnancies, it's nothing less than the continuation of the Holocaust of our generation--the court approved poisoning and dismembering of babies in their mother's womb.

Stupid, Illogical, and Deadly, Mr. President.

Coming Dinosaurs

Here's an interesting article about numerous things that will become extinct by the end of the decade. Enjoy, Rejoice, and Weep ;)

Items Tech Will Kill

How a Trip to the Mall Reveals Our Poverty of Spirit

I've been reading Paul Miller's A Praying Life: Connecting With God In a Distracting World. He writes of our need of a praying spirit throughout each day and how that effects the ordinary things such as walking through a mall. One of the highlights of walking through the mall is seeing all of the "interesting" people. But often times our reaction to what we see reveals our poverty of spirit because rather than seeing them as "interesting" we need to see them as needy, in need of the same thing we are in need of, the Gospel and the grace of God.

A praying spirit transforms how we look at people. As we walk through the mall, our hearts can tempt us to judge, despise, or lust. We see overweight people, skinny people, teenagers with piercings or tatoos, well-dressed women, security guards, and older people shuffling along. If we are tempted to judge an overweight person, we might pray that he or she loses weight. When we see a teenage girl with a nose ring, we can pray that she would find her community in Christ. When we see a security guard, we might pray for his career. When we pass an older couple shuffling along, we can pray for grace as they age.

So the next time we go to the mall, maybe as we watch the people we will really see them and pray for them as we realize that we really aren't that different from them--dependent creatures who need the help and grace of our Creator, grace that is given to us through Jesus Christ.

Looking to the Day When Our Suffering Will Be Glorious

Tim Keller in King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus:

"And now Jesus is showing them that in his resurrected body his scars are still there. Why is this important? Because now that they understand the scars, the sight and memory of them will increase the glory and joy of the rest of their lives. Seeing Jesus Christ with his scars reminds them of what he did for them--that the scars they thought had ruined their lives actually saved their lives. Remembering those scars will help many of them endure their own crucifixions.

On the Day of the Lord--the day that God makes everything right, the day that everything sad comes untrue--on that day the same thing will happen to your own hurts and sadness. You will find that the worst things that have ever happened to you will in the end only enhance your eternal delight. On that day, all of it will be turned inside out and you will know joy beyond the walls of the world. The joy of your glory will be that much greater for every scar you bear.

So live in light of the resurrection and renewal of this world, and of yourself, in a glorious, never-ending, joyful dance of grace."

Pastors, We Can Learn Something from Steve Jobs

I just read Tim Challies "observations" not review of Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs. I thought these two paragraphs, especially the last sentence were vitally important.

While examples of his temper and tantrums have been widely discussed and dissected, I think a lot of people have missed the root of it all. Jobs was a lifelong student of Eastern religion and Zen Buddhism in particular. Along the way he became convinced that he was an enlightened being, that he existed on a higher plane than most people. From this exalted position he was able to see and to judge; he had the right to. He was able to stand, if not in the place of God, at least in the place of a judge. He felt that it was his right to speak the truth—the truth as he understood it—to others. After all, he was enlightened and they were not. His arrogance knew no bounds.

A brutal man with a terrible temper and a genuine god complex, he was also a man who drove people to new heights of innovation and creativity. As much as people hated to receive a tongue-lashing from Jobs, they knew that in the end he motivated them and pushed them to do better. And this is a crucial component of the strange legacy of Steve Jobs. He will forever be known as a great innovator and a man who lived at the crossroads between the humanities and the sciences. In his own field and in his own way, he sought to make the world a better place. But he did so at the expense of so many people whom he left abandoned and brutalized. It’s like he cared for humanity but not for humans, for mankind but not for individuals.

As a pastor, that last line was very challenging/convicting and the conviction may not just rest with pastors. But as pastors, it's one thing to have a compassion for the "church", but not for the individual believers who are hurting and in need. So, may it never be said of us as pastors or as followers of Christ in general, "Its like he cared for the Church, but not for each follower of Christ, for the church, but not for each and every member/sheep in it."

A Pastor's 'Excellent Privilege'

I'm reading Richard Baxter's classic The Reformed Pastor and came across this great reminder of what a privilege it is to be a pastor and get to do the things we do.

But especially, what an excellent privilege is it, to live in studying and preaching Christ! to be continually searching into his mysteries, or feeding on them! to be daily employed in the consideration of the blessed nature, works, and ways of God! Others are glad of the leisure of the Lord's day, and now and then of an hour besides, when they can lay hold upon it. But we may keep a continual Sabbath. We may do almost nothing else, but study and talk of God and glory, and engage in acts of prayer and praise, and drink in his sacred, saving truths. Our employment is all high and spiritual. Whether we be alone, or in company, our business is for another world. O that our hearts were but more tuned to this work! What a blessed, joyful life should we then live! How sweet would our study be to us! How pleasant the pulpit! And what delight would our conference about spiritual and eternal things afford us! To live among such excellent helps as our libraries afford, to have so many silent wise companions whenever we please--all these, and many other similar privileges of the ministry, bespeak our unwearied diligence in the work.

18 Minutes of Shame and Hope

I watched this video this morning and felt shame at what was and still is the reality of racism in our country, though we have come a long way. However, I also felt great hope for the future. The thought that struck me was that only the Gospel can atone for what makes you cringe when you watch this video, because of what was and is the reality of racism in our country. However, it is also only the Gospel that can produce what makes you want to cry when you watch this documentary because of what can be, and what one day will be, the reality of the extinction of racism.

Bloodlines Documentary with John Piper from Crossway on Vimeo.

A Moment on the SoapBox

I try not to have too many "Soapbox" moments on here, but every now and then I cannot resist. This "Soapbox" moment is brought to you by those who have a skewed idea of just what it's like right now for followers of Christ who have died and entered into the presence of the Lord. I recently ran across some comments on a social media site in which comments were made by followers of Christ as to what their loved one was doing right now in heaven. They took comfort in the fact that their loved one was playing horseshoes and boardgames with other loved ones who were there as well.

Now, I can understand in one sense the comfort that this kind of thinking can bring to those who are left behind. It's indeed comforting to know that our loved ones in the Lord are no longer suffering or in pain, but rather are in a much better place, heaven. However, in making these kind of comments they reveal that maybe they don't really know what the Bible teaches concerning the state right now of those who have died in Christ.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Paul tells the believers in 1 Thessalonians 4 that our hope and comfort in death is that one day the body (that has been in the ground) will be reunited with our spirit (which has been in heaven). As the first martyr of the church, Stephen, is being stoned to death, he says, "Lord, Jesus, receive my spirit." (Acts 7:59-60) The author of Hebrews refers to those in heaven as "the spirits of the righteous made perfect."(Heb. 12:23) Clearly, the scriptural teaching is that upon death, for the believer, the body and soul (spirit) are separated, with the body being buried and the soul (spirit) entering the presence of the Lord in heaven. As much as it may comfort us to think of our loved ones as playing board games or horseshoes with others who have gone on before them, it is not possible because they don't have bodies.

However, even if it were possible for them to be playing board games or horseshoes in heaven right now, there is an issue more important about this that makes me stay on the Soapbox a little longer. And it's an issue of much greater importance. The reason it bothers me so is that for us who are left here while our loved ones in Christ are in heaven, to find "comfort" in them playing board games or horseshoes in heaven is such an inferior comfort. To think that way is to miss out on the real, biblical comfort of the Gospel relative to those who have died in Christ. How so?

I recently read an exceptional book from Cruciform Press entitled Grieving, Hope, and Solace: When A Loved One Dies In Christ by Albert N. Martin. Upon the death of his wife, Rev. Al Martin sought to answer from the Bible, "What precisely happened to her, where was she now, and what was she experiencing?" The following is a summary of how he answered that question from the Bible:

1. The moment our loved ones breath their last, their spirits, in the full consciousness of their existence, are immediately made perfect in the moral likeness of Christ. (Rom. 8:29;Heb. 12:23)
   
2. Those who die in Christ retain the full consciousness of their existence and are immediately ushered into the very presence of Christ. (2 Cor. 5:6-8; John 17:24; Phil. 1:23-24)
3. Those who die in Christ retain full consciousness of their existence and are immediately brought into the company of all the blood-washed saints of Christ. (1 Thess. 4:16-17; Heb. 12:23)
4. Those who die in Christ retain the full consciousness of their existence and are immediately ushered into the promised rest of Christ. (Rev. 14:13)

Isn't that much more comforting than board games and horseshoes? Again, my purpose in writing this is not to ridicule those who have mistakenly thought this way, but rather to encourage them with a much greater hope and solid foundation of truth of what our loved ones in Christ are experiencing right now in this very moment as they wait, along with us, for that day when we will worship the Lord as sinless souls in deathless bodies.

Al Martin shares this reflection which I think points to that encouragement that we can have about our loved ones who have gone on before us in the Lord. He writes,

For several months after Marilyn's death I would awake every Lord's Day morning especially conscious of the aching loneliness of being a widower. As I would make my way to the kitchen to prepare my morning coffee, I tried to picture what that day would be for her in the presence of Christ. I pictured here looking down at me with a pitying, yet sinless look and saying, 'Oh, Al, you poor creature, still tied to the 'body of your humiliation.' There you are, trying to wake up thoroughly before you go to your study to worship and pray. I have been worshiping all through the night while you slept, and I'm not a bit tired. I will be worshiping all day today, and I know it will not be a wearisome activity. I will not lack for words to give vent to my felt joy and gratitude, nor will I struggle to find abundant substance for my praise. My spirit has been released from every sinful inhibition and distraction. With abandoned joy I will be engaged in worshiping Christ all day today. And when you go to bed tonight, weary from your labors among God's people, I will still be engaged in worship. No night, no weariness, no need to sleep--nothing but blessed rest from all the struggles of the life I lived when I was still there with you.'

I do not believe our loved ones actually view us here on earth, for I see nothing in Scripture to warrant such an assumption. Rather, I share this bit of fantasy to say that in the midst of our grief, dwelling upon what our loved one has gained will strengthen and encourage us, lightening our load and making it easier for us to exercise personal discipline, so that we may carry out our obligations before God more effectively.

This past Sunday, my Granddaddy who died a few years ago, was honored at one of the churches he had pastored--actually the church where he had pastored the longest. They had recently built a new educational building and they named it the "Eason Educational Building" in honor of my Granddaddy, Nathan Eason. I hate I couldn't be there to see that, but my Granddaddy didn't hate that he wasn't there to see it. I guess it would be comforting to think of him last Sunday of looking down from heaven and experiencing great joy at what was taking place. But the reality is that he had better things to do and experience and it wasn't board games and horseshoes, but rather all the blessings Christ had purchased for him in this in between time where he waits the reunion of his now sinless soul with his then deathless body, enjoying the presence of the Lord now as He will then.

Surprises From the Holy Spirit

In A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir Collin Hanson and John Woodbridge recall an account from the 1st Great Awakening as follows:

The awakening also transformed African-American attitudes towards Christianity. New Lights, ministers who supported the revival, preached to audiences that included both whites and blacks. Many congregations accepted their first black members. Some slave owners were predictably upset. The Weekly History contained an account of a Boston slave owner who walked in on his slave preaching to himself, imitating Whitfield's dramatic style. The owner, no fan of revival, was so amused that he called together his friends for some after-dinner entertainment.

'Supplying his friends with pipes and glasses all around, he instructed his slave to mount a stool in the center of the room and preach as he had the day before,' historian Frank Lambert explains. 'As he began, the company laughed heartily, but when he warned against blaspheming the Holy Spirit and proclaimed the necessity of the new birth, 'the Negro spoke with such Authority that struck the Gentlemen to Heart.' To their host's dismay, the men began to listen intently, and many, as a result of that day's 'entertainment,' became 'pious sober Men.'"

The Holy Spirit enjoys such surprises.

Oh, that we would be surprised once again by the Holy Spirit

Good News

Content to Look Like a Moron for the Glory of God

From Mike McKinley's book Church Planting Is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed Up People to Plant Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things:

Listen, if you preach a great series of topical sermons on marriage or finances or sex, your church plant might grow. If you are a savvy marketer and put up provocative billboards around town, your church might grow quickly. And people will think that you are great. You can wear trendy shirts, get blond tips in your hair, and wear a microphone that hooks around your ear.

But if you preach God's Word faithfully, few people will be tempted to think that you are great. If you stand up on Sunday morning and explain that when Jesus forgave the sins of the paralytic in Mark 2, he was claiming to be God-in-the-flesh to take the punishment for our sins on himself on the cross, people will have one of two reactions: they will praise God, or they will think you are a complete idiot. That's the point. God has designed it to work this way. You preach and people get saved to God's glory, or their so-called 'wisdom' is confounded and you look like a moron, also to God's glory.

Genesis 22 Wordle

Here's a Wordle of my sermon this week from Genesis 22:

Is Jesus the Only Way?

"Is Jesus the only way?" That's a good question. It depends on the "what" of the question--"Is Jesus the only way to ..."

Michael Horton in The Gospel Commission: Recovering God's Strategy for Making Disciples helps answer the question:

"It all comes down again to distinguishing between law and gospel. When it comes to ordering our lives, neighborhoods, states, and nations, there's a lot of agreement between Christians and non-Christians. It is arrogant to assert that Christianity is unique in its wisdom for living, that Christians as a whole live better than non-Christians as a whole, that only Christians are good friends and neighbors, and that only they really care about--or at lease have the right answers for--the pressing issues and temporal needs all around them. Some non-Christians I know have better marriages and families than many Christians. When we defend Christianity as 'the only way,' we have to be careful to first point out that, properly speaking, Christ is the only way, and that he is the only way to reconciliation with God, forgiveness of sins, the new birth, and all the blessings of our inheritance in the new creation. Non-Christians can follow good advice; they can turn over a new leaf and improve their actions and even their moral character. The Nation of Islam has a fine track record of turning gang members into upstanding citizens. What these groups, programs, religions, and therapies cannot do is transform people from enemies of God into friends, from condemned criminals into redeemed heirs, and from citizens of the kingdom of death into citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Only in Christ can we be forgiven and made new, not just better.

So, there are a lot of good things for which Christianity is not the only way. However, for that which is most important in life--to be reconciled with a holy God--Christ is indeed the only way.