A Pilgrim NO LONGER in D.C.

So I am off on my next adventure.  It’s funny how you can be so nervous about something you’ve been doing for over twenty years.  Could it be that I am out of practice?  Could it be that all of the previous times I was flying my own jet?  Maybe it’s the lack of information in knowing what is coming next.

Certainly it has to do with missing my family tremendously.  Certainly it has to do with a dramatic lack of sleep.  I can see how someone could drop into depression this way.  I have never been good at isolation.  Like so many else, you can be alone in a crowded room.  And yet, I am never alone because I have the ASSURANCE that He will never leave me nor forsake me.

We often ask for God to make things easier on us.  Why is that?  Has anything of value ever come easily?  Are things that matter most done on the cheap?  I submit, not.  No, through all this, we are more than conquerors.

I may not be feeling cheery, and the rain outside in this foreign land is helping.  But God reminds me that He is able to do impossibly more than I can think or imagine.

So to Him be the glory!

Resting in His grace.

Living in the Shadowlands

Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery’s shadow or reflection: the fact that you don’t merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.  C.S. Lewis

As I was praying for the Pelt family early this morning, God brought to mind something that Jason had said.  He referred to the home they are in now as “not their own” (I’m paraphrasing here).  Arguably, if I asked Jason, he would tell me that the house that burned down was also not their own.  Jason and Tracee are well aware that their home is in Heaven, and that their time here on earth is temporary.  That’s why they can say through tears, that the stuff that burned up in the fire was only that – “stuff.” 

That brought to mind the C.S. Lewis quote above.  If you have ever read Shadowlands, you will be familiar with what Lewis is describing.  This life, my home, the Pelt’s house (even their current one) are but shadows of some future existence – something infinitely and indescribably better.   Just as Jason and Tracee can live in a house with mismatched furniture, donated clothes, and bare walls, we too can look forward to the day when we will move into our “new home.”  

Paul, writing in 1 Corinthians 13, concludes his discussion of love by telling us that even these things are but “shadows,” where we see dimly:     ”12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1 Cor 13:12).    The house that burned is merely a shadow of what was.  The Pelt’s current home is simply a shadow of what will be.  Even when they finally get to move back into a newly built home, it too will simply be a shadow of what is to come.

So then, where should we look?  If these be but shadows, where can I see light?  Lewis again, has something to say on that:  “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.”    Jesus too, reminded us of this in John 14:  1″Let not your hearts be troubled.Believe in God; believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. ”(John 14:1-3)

Knowing this, I remain fearful of becoming so comfortable in the shadows that I begin to believe that my present life is satisfying.  C.S. Lewis again once said, “We are halfhearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
 Father, please don’t let me be content, living in the shadowlands.

Please Pray for the Pelts

For those of you who don’t know, Jason and Tracee Pelt’s house burned to the ground last night.  God was gracious and had them all leave the house for an errand, so no one was at home when it occurred.  They are all fine but the house is a total loss.  Please pray for them.  We will be listing a web-site that will list things that they need.  Will get that out as soon as we can.

 Here is what it looked like today.

Squatting without Joy

Part of remembering that we are pilgrims is to realize that this is not our home.  Like so many, I have a habit of becoming a squatter.  You see, a squatter is one who stops where they are and takes up residence.  In other words, they squat.  What’s worse, squatters aren’t content with merely squatting by themselves, they work hard to get other pilgrims to squat alongside them. 

The Christian life is not about taking up residence here on this earth.  Our home is in heaven.  Why is it then, that we put so much work into making this home so comfortable?  If I was truly eager to be home, I would be traveling light, ready to get home as soon as possible.  In fact, I wouldn’t even be taking up residence.  My eyes would be looking toward home. 

At the end of many of my military deployments, we were cautioned against “get-home-itis” as it could cause us to lose focus on the issues at hand and instead begin looking toward home.  In combat, this is a bad thing.  But maybe not.  Aren’t we in combat now?  Scripture tells us:  “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12.  Perhaps if we had a wartime mindset, we’d be less content with our current condition and focused more on the struggle in front of us.

Trouble is, we do become focused on the struggle in front of us – but it is the wrong struggle.  Perhaps we begin to look to our finances, or our job, or title, or accolades, or entertainment, or hobbies, or sports – the list goes on – as our satisfaction.  We wonder why these things don’t satisfy.  And then of course, comes the problems, like heath scares, or family problems, or worse.  And we can’t begin to imagine what life in our new home will be like.  Perhaps we even forget that we have a new home, and begin to believe that this is where “God wants us.”

Frankly, I have to admit that I have been troubled by this for some time.  So much so, that I forgot something so basic about the journey.  God said that we would have joy.  Joy in Him!  How foolish of me to lose sight of that.  My joy isn’t found in jobs, or money, or music, or reading, or titles, or rank, or position.  Not even my family.  My joy is found in God alone!

So how do I get it back?  Here are three steps I am going to try to follow:

1) Confess the sin of joylessness.  Psalm 61:2, “…when my heart is faint.  Lead me to the rock that is hiogher than I.”

2) Pray that God would restore the joy of obedience.  Psalm 40:8, “I delight to do your will, O my God.”

3) Go and do.  1 Samuel 15:22, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.”

See you on the journey.

Do You Delight to be Afraid?

            There is something coming very soon that causes people to be afraid and to embrace fear.  No, not the upcoming presidential election, but Halloween.  All over America, people will be embracing this idea of fear – creating scary situations and celebrating what it means to be afraid.  But as Christians, do we truly know and understand what “fear” really is?  Have we taken it so for granted that fear is now reserved for dark rooms, movie theaters, and late nights?  Or, do we have a concept of what Biblical fear – fear of the LORD – really means?  And if we do – do our actions and attitudes reflect this?

            Dr. John Piper asks us (below), “Do you delight to be afraid?”

 

 

 

Do You Delight to Be Afraid?

By John Piper

 

 

Rather than try to define the “fear of the LORD,’ I would like to motivate you to pursue it.  If you want to experience the fear of the Lord badly enough, you will probably do the necessary reading and meditation to discover what it means.  But for most of us, fear is something we want to get rid of, not get more of.  If that’s true of the fear of God then there is something wrong with our hearts or something wrong with our understanding of this fear.

 

            Have you ever gathered the spectacular promises made to those who fear God?  They are so wonderful that you would think fearing God must be the most thrilling thing in the world-which it is.  So I hope you will be moved to pursue it with all your might.

 

The friendship of the Lord -

The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.  Psalm 25:14

 

The watch care of the Lord -

            The eye of the LORD is on those who fear him.  Psalm 33:18

 

The deliverance of the Lord’s angels -

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.  Psalm 34:7

You shall fear the LORD your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.  2 Kings 17:39

 

Freedom from craving -

            Those who fear [God] have no want! Psalm 34:9

 

 

The Lord’s fatherly pity -

            As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear him. 

Psalm 103:13

 

The permanent love of God -

The steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear him.  Psalm 103:17

 

Being enjoyed by the Lord -

            The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him.  Psalm 147:11

           

Having the beginning and the essence of wisdom -

            The fear of the LORD, that is wisdom.  Job 28:28

            The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.  Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10

 

Drinking at the fountain of life -

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death.  Proverbs 14:27

 

Being satisfied -

            The fear of the LORD leads to life; and he who has it rests satisfied. 

Proverbs 19:23

 

            This is so good, we might well ask whether sinners like us have any hope to do something so wonderful that God responds with such spectacular goodness, but that would be a backward way of thinking.  It is not that we sinners wonderfully overcome our sin so that God responds with blessing; it’s the other way around.  “There is forgiveness with You [O God] that You may be feared” (Psalm 130:4).  God calls forth fear by forgiving our sin, not by condemning it.  I know that sounds strange, but it is also very comforting.  If benefits hang on our fearing God, remember that our fearing God hangs on the utterly undeserved forgiveness of God.  Is it any wonder Isaiah says of the servant of the Lord, “His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:3)?  I hope you will feel so much delight in this that you pursue it with all your might.

Future Grace

[thanks to Pastor John Piper for the devotion below]

Pondering the Power We Need for Obedience

 Gratitude is a joyful emotion for worship but a dangerous motive for obedience.  We are commanded in no uncertain terms to be thankful.  “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…..And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15, RSV).  “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).  How can we not be thankful when we owe everything to God?

            But when it comes to obedience, gratitude is a dangerous motive.  It tends to get expressed in debtors’ terms-or what I sometimes call the debtor’s ethic.  For example, “Look how much God has done for you.  Shouldn’t you, out of gratitude, do much for him?”  Or, “You owe God everything that you are and have.  What have you done for him in return?”

            I have at least three problems with this kind of motivation.  First, it is impossible to pay God back for all the grace he has given us.  We can’t even begin to pay him back, because Romans 11:35-36 says, “Who has given a gift to him [God] that he might be repaid?  [Answer: nobody]  For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory for ever.”  We can’t pay him back because he already owns all we have to give him.

            Second, even if we succeeded in paying him back for all his grace to us, we would only succeed in turning grace into a business transaction.  If we pay him back, it was it was not grace.  “To the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as grace, but what is due” (Romans 4:4, author’s translation).  If you try to do wage negotiations with God, you nullify grace.  If friends try to show you a special favor of love having you over for dinner, and you end the evening by saying that you will pay them back by having them over next week, you nullify their grace and turn it into a trade.  God does not like to have his grace nullified.  He likes to have it glorified (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14).

            Third, focusing on gratitude as an empowerment for obedience tends to overlook the crucial importance of future grace.  Gratitude looks back to grace received in the past and feels thankful.  Faith looks forward to grace promised in the future and feels hopeful.  “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1, RSV).

            This faith in future grace is the power for obedience that preserves the gracious quality of human obedience.  Obedience does not consist in paying God back and thus turning grace into a trade.  Obedience comes from trusting in God for more grace -future grace-and thus magnifying the infinite resources of God’s love and power.  “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10, RSV).  The grace that enabled Paul to work hard in a life of obedience was the daily arrival of fresh supplies of grace.  This is what faith trusts in-the continuing arrivals of grace.  Faith looks to the promises like, I will be with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9), and in that confidence faith ventures, in obedience, to take the land.

            The biblical role of past grace-especially the cross-is to guarantee the certainty of future grace.  “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all [past grace], will he not also freely give us all things with him [future grace]? (Romans 8:32, RSV).  Trusting in future grace is the enabling strength of our obedience,  The more we trust in future grace, the more we give God the opportunity in our lives to show the glory of his inexhaustible grace.  So take a promise of future grace and do some radical act of obedience on it.  God will be mightily honored. 

 [check out all of the devotions in "A Godward Life" by John Piper at: http://www.desiringgod.org/Store/Books/ByTopic/162/64_A_Godward_Life/]

Go-to-the-Ant

When our children were little, we purchased a poster from Doorposts and used it as a way of trying to infuse Scripture into everyday life.  Who knew that as they grew, one would be off ministering to youth through Global, another buidling her professional portfolio for a Christian boss, and the other two growing in the Lord?  Could it be that God’s Word is practical for every day living?

 

Here is an excerpt from the Go-to-the-Ant Chart (Doorposts 1994)

THE GO-TO-THE-ANT CHART

Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise.  Pr. 6:6

 

SERVING GOD

• Are you not helping someone that you know needs help? “…’Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” Matt. 25:40
• Are you working only when someone is watching you? “…not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,…” Eph. 6:6
• Are you doing less than your best? “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.” Eccles. 9:10

GRATEFULNESS

• Are you complaining? “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thess. 5:18
• Are you taking care of the blessings God has given you? “Whoever is slack in his work
  is a brother to him who destroys.” Prov. 18:9

HONESTY

• Are you making excuses? “The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!’” Prov. 22:13
• Are you pretending to not hear? “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” James 4:17
• Are you lying about what you have finished? “…a poor man is better than a liar.” Prov. 19:22b
• Are you stealing because you have been lazy? “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands.” Eph 4:28a
• Are you sneaking away before you have finished? “Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.” Prov. 10:26

HUMILITY

• Do you want others to serve you? “The greatest among you shall be your servant.” Matt. 23:11
• Do you think that what you want is most important? “The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.” Prov. 26:16
• Will you only work if know there will be a reward? “…It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35b
• Are you afraid to try because you might do something wrong? “The steps of a man are established by the LORD…though he fall, he shall not be cast down…” Psalm 37:23-24

The Church of Oprah

My apologies for not keeping up with this for some time.  I was out of the country traveling and then just finished up my final academic events for school.  While I make the transition to a new job, here is something to think about.  Sent by a friend, it lays out some “interesting” ideology.  What are your thoughts on this???

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JW4LLwkgmqA&feature=related

 

 

Rhymes with Orange

God is Truth – Except on Wikipedia

We have been having a great time discussing truth in small-group utilizing Dr. Voddie Baucham’s study: “The Ever-Loving Truth.”  As we spoke today of the incredible volume of historical and verifiable text available to us that confirms the authority and authenticity of Scripture, I reiterated to the group that we do not need to feel defensive about this issue, but instead are called to challenge those who claim that God was not the author of Scripture.  The facts are on His (and our) side.  Let the accusers prove themselves.

 

With that in mind, I just had to go to the internet.  Where else can you find a vast repository of ___________ (I’ll let you fill in the blank)?  So I turned to Wikipedia, that vast source of data, and did a search on truth.  There is a long and comprehensive dialogue on the theories and philosophical views on truth.  But other than in the section referencing Thomas Aquinas’ writing about truth (“Truth is the conformity of the intellect with things.”) there was no mention that God IS Truth.  Hmm….what should we make of that?

 

Here’s the link, just in case you are interested:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth