Exhort Your Soul (Psalm 103)

I've been reading through Psalms lately and as usual find myself so encouraged by the observations and practical biblical worldview of the Psalmists. In the following post, Ryan Griffith at Desiring God echos the biblical insights Martyn Lloyd-Jones offered in his book, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes & Cures. [see related post] May Griffiths' words help you gain a God-honoring, soul-satisfying perspective.

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Do you talk to yourself? 

I don’t mean when you’re wrestling through your taxes or walking through your to-do list. But do you talk yourself, really? When you are fearful, do you command your soul to trust in the Lord?  When your affections are low, do you command your heart to bless the Lord? As Paul Tripp is fond of saying, “no one is more influential in your life than you are because no one talks to you more than you do.” 

In the particularly difficult moments of the day, how do you talk to yourself? How do you specifically exhort yourself to hope in God? 

Psalm 103 has been immensely helpful for me as a pattern for commanding my soul in seasons of low affection. The Psalm begins (Ps.103:1-2) and ends (Ps.103:20-22) with David’s exhortation to his own soul to bless the Lord. While there is much to draw out of this rich text, I’d like to highlight two observations:

1. Remind yourself of what the Lord has done

Sin, pain, or sorrow can blind us to God’s present working and, occasionally, even the miraculous ways He's worked in our lives in the past. And while we might argue with our journal or with our memory, God’s work in redemptive history is unassailable. David helps us by reminding himself (and us) of God’s irrevocable work for His people in history:

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the people of Israel.

David takes us (and himself) back to the most pivotal event he can think of. And it's not in the valley of Elah with five smooth stones in his hand and a sling by his side. In fact, it's not even an event from his lifetime. Instead, David brings us back to Sinai (Ex.6:6-9). He brings us back to the moment when the Lord worked powerfully and victoriously and decisively to redeem His people out of Egyptian bondage. He brings us back to the moments when God demonstrated His covenant-keeping love.   

In the fight to command our souls to bless the Lord, we not only call to mind the things in general that are true about the Lord (Ps.103:3-5), we follow David’s example to get our arms around concrete, unassailable realities of His work in redemptive history. We lift our gaze above our own circumstances and fix it upon the Lord’s acts of provision and deliverance in the past. We tell ourselves what God has done — in history, for us.  

2. Hold fast to a specific truth about the Lord

 

David does something very instructive next. Having reminded himself of who God is and what God has done in redemptive history, he latches on to a particular text, specifically Psalm 103:8. 

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

David is quoting Exodus 34:6. At the heart of David’s self-exhortation, he has a particular text in mind — one frequently recalled by Old Testament authors in the midst of sin (Joel 2:12), sorrow (Lam.3:21–23), and pain (Psalm 86:15).

David, Moses, Jonah, Jeremiah, Joel, Nehemiah, and Hezekiah — they all went here for help (Jonah 4:2; Neh.9:16; 2Chron.30:9). And David, directing his mind to this text, begins to think through all its implications — God’s anger does not last forever, sin has been cast as far as the east is from the west, God’s compassion will not fail because David is His (Ps.103:9–19). 

David is moved. A heart that was faltering is now soaring. A deeply wrought gratitude now swells up to expression. He cannot keep it in: “Bless the Lord, O my soul” (Psalm 103:20–22).

When you’re talking to yourself, are you reminding yourself of what God has done for you in Christ Jesus? Do you have specific texts with which you exhort your soul? When the days are darkest, don’t let your flesh take command. Summon your soul to bless the Lord.  Find specific texts by which you can fight the fight of faith — perhaps some short ones like these: Mt.28:20; Heb.13:5–6; Isa.41:10 and long ones: Romans 8:26–39; John 10:7–18; Psalm 103!

"May the word of Christ dwell in you richly. . ." (Colossians 3:16).

Spiritual Insight from Isaiah's Vision of God

Below is an excerpt from an article by Rev. Ian Hamilton, pastor of Cambridge Presbyterian Church, UK, reflecting on Isaiah's vision in Isaiah 6:1-8. [The article may be found in its entirety here.]
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In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for." And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."  [Isaiah 6:1-8]

The Insight Isaiah Gained by Seeing God...

It brought to Isaiah first a deep felt awareness of his sinfulness – “woe to me… I am ruined…”!! When Isaiah ‘saw’ God as he is, he was not left standing – he was not left proud and dispassionate – he was deeply humbled! There is little doubt that Isaiah already was a believing servant – but a stranger to the pulse-quickened sense of God’s ineffable greatness – Isaiah was seeing himself as God saw him.

Second, it brought Isaiah a new sense of Israel’s corruption (v.5) – his encounters with “the King” caused him to see through the façade of Israel’s religion (cf. 1:10ff). – onlookers would have complimented Israel on the ‘healthy state’ of its religion – but when a man has had a sight of the majesty of God, he sees not only his own sinfulness, but the sinful state of his own generation.

Third, it brought to Isaiah a deep, personal awareness of God’s forgiving grace – as he is overwhelmed by his sinful uncleanness and un-doneness, God mercifully sends an angel to bring him God’s forgiving grace – a live coal from the altar of sacrifice – a coal which becomes the symbol of the basis on which God forgives sinners – touches Isaiah’s lips – inner pain, but “Behold… your guilt is taken away...”

To the forgiven sinner, ‘forgiveness’ is a humbling, overpowering, captivating word. Nowhere is this more highlighted in our Lord’s encounter with the “sinful woman” in Luke 7:47. The extravagance of her devotion to the Lord acutely embarrassed Simon the Pharisee, Jesus’ host. Jesus’ response is one that ought to humble all of us: “He who is forgiven little, loves little”. The depth of our love to the Savior is in proportion to the depth of our experience of and appreciation of his forgiving grace.

Fourth, it brought Isaiah to yield his life unreservedly to God! “Here am I…” – no cajoling, no pleading – the response of a man to whom inexplicable, sovereign grace has come. Grace costs us nothing, but it demands everything (Matthew 8:18-22; 10:37-39). Here is the reflex action of a man who has ‘seen’ the Lord and felt the power of his presence and grace.

Where True Excellence is Found

From the pen of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), on the excellence of Christ ...

"But Christ Jesus has true excellency, and so great excellency, that when [men] come to see it they look no further, but the mind rests there. It sees a transcendent glory and an ineffable sweetness in him; it sees that till now it has been pursuing shadows, but that now it has found the substance; that before it had been seeking happiness in the stream, but that now it has found the ocean. The excellency of Christ is an object adequate to the natural cravings of the soul, and is sufficient to fill the capacity. It is an infinite excellency, such an one as the mind desires, in which it can find no bounds; and the more the mind is used to it, the more excellent it appears. Every new discovery makes this beauty appear more ravishing, and the mind sees no end; here is room enough for the mind to go deeper and deeper, and never come to the bottom. The soul is exceedingly ravished when it first looks on this beauty, and it is never weary of it. The mind never has any satiety, but Christ’s excellency is always fresh and new, and tends as much to delight, after it has been seen a thousand or ten thousand years, as when it was seen the first moment."

[via Challies' blog]

Finding GOD'S Main Point

The order of Bible study is familiar to many of you. You start by repeatedly reading a passage, chapter or book, making Observations as you go. [Identify the original author & his audience, people, places, literary genre (narrative, poetic, prophetic, wisdom, apocalyptic, gospel, parable, etc., each of which has its own rules for understanding). Establish the context of the entire book & the immediate context of the passage (where does it start/end? e.g. a question is asked; the passage has "book ends"). Determine the historical context. Identify cultural considerations. Take note of repeated ("key") words & phrases. Look up the context of any OT quotes & determine their use in your passage. Roughly outline the structure. Look for connecting words that clarify meaning [and (links ideas), but (contrast), therefore (concluding result), for/because (reason or explanation), that/in order that (purpose), that (content), etc.]

Next comes Interpretation, which good observation makes possible. What did the original author mean to convey to his original audience? Is a Principle or a Practice being taught? Exegesis is a key element here. It means breaking down the text, the flow of the argument, the meaning of words determined by their use in context, verb tenses, pronouns, main verb(s) & subject(s), direct objects, indirect objects (to/for), deciding what participles & prepositional phrases are modifying ... the actual nitty-gritty of language that gives Meaning. 

Careful time spent in these first two steps, makes the final step possible. What Universal Principles can be drawn? And once those have been identified, what are the particular Applications you need to make in your own life? What are the implications of these Universal Principles/Truths on the way you think and live? What specific changes do YOU need to make in your thinking or living/actions [put offs/put ons]?

A common error is to jump to Application before having laid the solid foundation of the first two steps. Such error is often prefaced by the words, "What this verse/passage means to me ...". Our human nature is all too quick to "look for the blessing" instead of disciplining ourselves to "look for God's meaning." That's where true blessing lies! 

In the following 4 minute video clip, Tim Keller, Don Carson & John Piper discuss the importance of careful time spent in exegesis prior to making Applications. As believers who are cautious to "rightly divide the word of truth," we want to be very sure we're making the exact same conclusions God intended us to make!


Make God's Word Your 'Thing' from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

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Hebrew Word Pictures

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, 

And do not return there without watering the earth 

And making it bear and sprout, 

And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; 

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; 

It will not return to Me empty, 

Without accomplishing what I desire, 

And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."

Isaiah 55:10-11

I love the word pictures of Hebrew poetry. I have much still to learn about the style, but with each new insight I gain, the more I appreciate the Psalms and other poetic sections of Scripture. I've been teaching the basics to our 5th/6th Sunday School class as part of a unit on basic hermeneutics, rules for rightly dividing God's Word. It has been quite exciting to see them catching on so quickly! I suspect their young minds are much quicker to absorb new concepts than ours often are. I especially love "the light bulb" look when they suddenly see & understand a passage in a way they had never seen it before. Up to this age, their approach to the Bible has been to consider it a collection of stories. They are more apt to view the Bible as a storybook about people who lived long ago - Moses, David, Jonah, Paul, than as a revelation of the living God, still active in the world today. By learning new skills they are awakening to the beauty of Scripture and the significance it has in their lives. 

This passage from Isaiah provides wonderful imagery of the effectiveness of God's Word by comparing it to rain and snow that falls upon the earth. "The images chosen," observes Delitzsch, "are rich with allusions. As snow and rain are the mediate cause of growth, and thus also the enjoyment of what is harvested, so also by the word of God the ground and soil of the human heart is softened, refreshed, and made fertile and vegetative, and this word gives the prophet, who is like the sower, the seed which he scatters, and it brings with it bread that nourishes the soul; for every word that proceeds from the mouth of God is bread. (Deut.8:3)"  (1)

(1) Quoted in Biblical Hermeneutics by Milton S. Terry [Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1999 (originally 1890), p.166]

For a very easy introduction to Inductive Bible Study, I recommend:

How to Study Your Bible, Kay Arthur

Where Infinite Value is Found

John Piper was recently the Keynote Speaker at the International Christian Retail Show for publishers & authors. He gave the following seven reasons why the Bible is of infinite value.

Many American believers are drowning in personal copies of God's Word, yet seldom open a single copy from Sunday to Sunday. They neglect to plug into our God-given source for power, a tool the Holy Spirit can use to great effect if we would only soak ourselves in it.

This is in contrast to believers around the world who hunger and thirst for God's Word. When my son spent a summer ministering in Uganda, men walked for miles and miles just to hear solid teaching and be given a Bible. A missionary friend, with New Tribes Missions in Papua New Guinea, just started teaching through Scripture, beginning with Genesis. Again, men and women are walking for miles to hear the teaching. They recognize it for what it is, the source of Truth, and it is beginning to have an affect upon them. How many people groups long for a copy of the Bible in their own language ... and you have so many available to you! Show your thankfulness by reading it, meditating upon it and obeying it!

Believers need to spend time deeply engaged with God's Word on a daily basis. "If conscience is to be directed by the Spirit of God it must be governed by the Word of God." (Mary S. Wood)  Plug into your power source!

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The Bible is of infinite value ...

1.  ... because it awakens and sustains faith. 

   "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  (Rom.10:17)

2.  ... because by it we receive the Holy Spirit, who is infinitely valuable.    

    "Does He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by 

     hearing with faith --"  (Gal.3:5)  

     Companion Passages: "be filled with the Spirit" (Eph.5:18) / "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" 

     (Col.3:16) 

3.  ... because it creates and sustains spiritual life. 

     "these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing 

     you may have life in his name." (Jn.20:31)   

     "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."  (Mt.4:4)

4.  ... because it gives hope.  

    "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and 

     through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."  (Rom.15:4)

5.  ... because it leads us to freedom.

     "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set 

      you free." (Jn.8:31-32) 

     "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." (Jn.17:17) 

     "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set 

      you  free." (Jn.8:31-32) 

6.  ... because by it alone can we defeat Satan. He's a real being and he's very powerful. Jesus relied 

      upon Scripture to defend Himself against him, can you do any less?

      "I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one."  (1Jn.2:13)

7. ... because it is the source of full and lasting joy.

     "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits  

      in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and 

      night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not 

      wither. In all that he does, he prospers."  (Psalm 1:1-3)

     "I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil." (Psalm 119:162)

     "for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love."  (Psalm 119:47)

     "Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day."  (Psalm 119:97)

     "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"  (Psalm 119:93)

      Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

      (Jn.15:11)

      

 

Like Matches in the Hands of a Child

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Mt.18:1-4) No one comes to God without humble, child-like faith. It's the place we must start the Christian life. Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Only those who come to understand their spiritual poverty, their utter bankruptcy before a holy God may enter, because only they are able to entrust themselves completely to Christ's finished work on their behalf. As long as they hold onto any vestige of the idea they have somehow earned or even co-earned their salvation, they have missed Christ's point.

But we are not to remain child-like when it comes to knowing and obeying God's Word. "For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." (Heb.5:13-14) The implications of long-term biblical illiteracy are catastrophic, both personally and corporately! As believers, we need to maintain that child-like humility as we approach God's Word, but we need to be progressively maturing in our understanding of and obedience to it.

I recently came across a descriptive post making this very point at The Ordinary Pastor blog. Personally, I'm better at handling Scripture than I am at illustrating it. Therefore, I'm always thankful for those who excel in this area!

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One of my joys in life is the time that I get to spend with our kids before their bed time. They love to read their books. They talk and discover. It’s great.

I noticed an alarming trend with our youngest little girl though. Zoe likes to skip pages. She moves ahead to her favorite part and then she starts gabbing. Oftentimes she is talking about things that do not even relate to the story. You  know, things like, “Monkey says “AHAHAHA!” or “RED hat!” These are important facts, no doubt, but not really related to the story.

As I was sitting there, smiling and laughing, I was convicted. I think that a lot of times we read our Bibles like Zoe reads her cardboard books. Sometimes we are all about moving the book mark ahead in the Bible reading program. We fail to sit and stare at the scenery, discover new details, and breathe in the fresh gospel breeze. 

Other times when we do focus on details, we focus on things that aren’t key components of the big picture. We can get really good at knowing verses and not knowing the story. Texts without a context are like matches in a kids hand. It’s just a matter of time.

Still other times we may read our Bibles with the level of intellectual engagement that rivals a 2-year-old. The Bible is meant to be read, chewed upon, digested, and lived out. It is not merely a spiritual flouride that we swish around in our mouths for a morning cleaning, and then spit out with little impact throughout the day. Instead, we are to marinate our very souls in it that we might begin to have the biblical flavor and scent sweat out in our very lives.

So, yes, become like a dependent, humble, amazed and vulnerable little child when you come to Jesus. And walk in this posture in your ongoing neediness. However, when it comes to our Bible reading, we would be better off if we wiped our chins and engaged with the Book a bit.

Expectations

In Letter 30 of The Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis), the high-ranking demon, Screwtape, counsels his young protege, Wormwood, with this bit of advice for tempting men away from God and into sin: "Whatever men expect, they soon come to think they have a right to." One difficulty we face as we live out the Christian life is that we've synthesized our expectations concerning what this life should be like, our "world view" if you will, from any number of sources ... not all of them biblical. The more time we personally spend in God's revelation, the more aware we become of areas in our thinking where we need to change our view of reality and truth. That's what it means to "renew your mind." (Eph.4:22-24).

Though it was more than 40 years ago, I can clearly recall the high expectations everyone had for the members of my graduating high school class.  Our class song was "The Impossible Dream"... 1968 was the beginning of the you-can-be-whatever-you-want-to-be, you-can-have-it-all movement. That's not true, of course. It's really an unkindness to even make such promises. It didn't take long for things to fall apart... bad behavior, bad circumstances, bad health, bad luck. In similar fashion, many begin the Christian life with equally impossible expectations. Often it comes down to one question ... Why did you start the Christian walk? Was it in the expectation of having an easier life? Was it in the expectation of having a support system of people to help smooth your path through life? Was it in the expectation of having a life crisis resolved? Or was it because you saw the beauty and value of Jesus Christ, and came to understand that His worth, His excellence was such a treasure, you were willing to suffer any insult, any want, any deprivation, any difficulty or unpleasantness if you could only follow Him, love Him, serve Him?

Jesus told us to consider the cost of following Him ... "And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." [Lk.9:23] Luke uniquely adds that one interesting little word to Jesus' call to those who follow Him ..."daily". Today ... and tomorrow ... and every single day after that until you're home. Are you willing to deny "self" daily... i.e. are you willing to have your toes stepped on, willing to be ignored in ministry, willing to suffer illness, mistreatment, discomfort, criticism, pain, insult, willing to have things not go your way? Are you willing to graciously submit to the authority He has placed over you, willing to live for Christ's glory, not your own, willing to completely entrust yourself to Him, to deny your will for His will? That is what Jesus asks of His followers.

In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul offered believers great insight from his own walk before the Lord. Few, if any, of us can say we have followed our Lord as faithfully and single-mindedly as Paul did. And what did he get for his life of faithfulness? Ease? Respect? Appreciation? Safe travels? No pain? No trials? No discomfort? He lists his earthly struggles in 2 Cor.11:23-27. 

... in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.  

Yet, to the church at Philippi he wrote, "I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." [Phil.4:11] How did he do that? Well, he says it was something he "learned," which means God allowed him ample opportunities to practice being content in Christ, to find his joy and contentment in his relationship with Him. Secondly, we see in other portions of this letter that Paul set his expectations upon the right goals for his earthly life, God-honoring goals, ones that were impervious to any circumstance he might face. Read through Philippians and find them. He made it his goal to magnify Christ [Phil.1:20]. He made it his goal to pour out his life in Christ-honoring service to others [Phil.2:17]. He made it his goal to know Christ [Phil.3:8]. Philippians 1:21 sums it all up, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Make THAT your goal in life and you will be content, no matter the circumstance, no matter the trial, no matter the pain, no matter the grief. Develop an eternal perspective to life and like Paul, though you may grieve, though you may suffer, though you may be mistreated or maligned ... you will be content.

Starting Out Right - Am I Saved? (The Beatitudes)

Some who read this blog are struggling, perhaps to the point of wondering if they actually are "in Christ," that is, spiritually united to Him. Scripture tells us to examine ourselves, whether or not we're "in the faith." This format is certainly not the best approach for helping you grasp the realities of life in Christ. But not everyone can be approached face to face. So I thought I'd try to share some of the things the Ladies' Bible study has been studying from the book of Matthew. [If you're a woman who is struggling and you live in my area, please, please ... join us every other Monday night. These very issues are being covered!]

The best place to start is where Jesus started in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Let's get a little background behind these three chapters. Matthew's purpose in writing the gospel is to present the King and His kingdom to the nation Israel, in fulfillment of OT prophecy. (Mt.21:5) At the end of Chapter 4, Matthew gives an overview of Jesus' message and His approach to ministry. [From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mt.4:17);  And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. (Mt.4:23)] The kingdom of heaven, i.e. an earthly kingdom ruled over by God Himself (Zech.14:9), was "at hand" because its King was in their presence! His miraculous healing of all types of afflictions was in fulfillment of OT prophecy concerning the Messiah, God the Father's "Anointed One," signs meant to verify His message and His person. (Isa.35:5; John 14:11)

In Chapters 5-7, Jesus gives the first of five discourses found in this gospel. Though specifically addressing His disciples (Mt.5:1-2), we find the crowds had eventually surrounded them and are intently eavesdropping on His teaching (Mt.7:28-29). Those verses also explain WHY the multitudes are so "amazed" at His teaching. [The Greek word translated "amazed" means to have the wind knocked out of you!] He spoke in His own authority! They had never heard anything like it! Unlike the OT prophets who prefaced their teaching with "thus says the LORD" or the Jewish religious leaders who constantly quoted key teachers, "according to Shammai," "according to Hillel," Jesus says, "But I say to you" and "Truly I say to you". The Greek construction doubles the pronoun for emphasis, "But I, I say to you..."  He speaks as the very author of the Law!

At the beginning of the discourse (Mt.5:3-12), He describes the Kingdom citizen and pronounces God's favor upon him ("blessed"). He then attaches future promises. But you'll also notice the first & last Beatitude (Mt.5:3,10) are in the present tense.  This passage has the sense of "now/not yet" that we often see in Scripture. Being a citizen of the kingdom starts now, but is ultimately, completely fulfilled at a time in the future.

Jesus bases each beatitude on an OT psalm or prophecy. He starts out with the foundation of kingdom citizenship in Mt.5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit..." and then builds upon that, block by block, one Beatitude at a time. This first Beatitude ... being "poor in spirit," is foundational to entering the kingdom. It's what turns you towards the "the narrow way." Two different Greek words are used for "poor" in the NT. The one used here means "absolutely destitute." It's also used of the poor man Lazarus in Jesus' story of Lazarus and the rich man (Lk.16:20-31). Here, it describes the individual who understands his own spiritual bankruptcy, the one who comes to realize he has absolutely nothing to offer a perfectly holy God, the one who has a clear understanding that even his best deeds are "as filthy rags" before a holy God (Isa.64:6) because they spring from a self-promoting heart, not a God-honoring one. That  person is the one who is "poor in spirit." 

The person who is "poor in spirit" is the one who "mourns" over his sin against a God of infinite worthiness, a Being who deserves His creation's obedience and honor. (Mt.5:4) And the one who is "poor in spirit" and who "mourns" over his sin is the only one able to be "meek/gentle," i.e. humbly obedient to God. In Mt.11:29, Jesus equates being meek/gentle with being "humble in heart." Meekness/gentleness is "a Holy Spirit empowered attitude, a humility of mind towards God whereby we willingly accept His dealings with us as good and loving and do not dispute or resist His will." 

In turn, one who is "poor in spirit," who "mourns" over his sin, who is "meek/gentle/humbly obedient to God" is the one who has a hunger and thirst for God's righteousness in their own life (Mt.5:6). The Greek word translated "hunger" is the same word used of Jesus after he had fasted 40 days in the Wilderness of Judea prior to His temptation by Satan. It's having that depth of hunger for God's righteousness in your life!

In these opening verses of His discourse, Jesus teaches that the basis for entrance into the kingdom is a clear recognition and confession of your own spiritual bankruptcy before a holy God. It means having a deep sorrow over your sin against Him, having an attitude of humble obedience to God in your inner man and a ravaging hunger and thirst to have His righteousness in your own life. That's exactly what we should use to evaluate our own hearts, our own attitudes towards God. That's the point where it all begins...

[If you'd like to think about these things further, I highly recommend listening to the four sermons on Mt.5:3-6 given by Pastor Brian Sayers, Christ Community Church in Plainfield, NH: "Misery Is the Key to Happiness" (Mt.5:3), "Sorrow Is the Key to Comfort (Mt.5:4), "The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth" (Mt.5:5) and "Are You Hungry for Holiness? - Part 2 (Mt.5:6). I'd be happy to burn these onto a CD for you, if you'd prefer. Just ask.]

The Best Bible Reading Program Ever ... Really!

Now that it's June, you may have long abandoned that Bible reading program you started back in January. Perfect timing to promote the method I prefer! The Cerulean Sanctum offers a good explanation of it.  This approach has been around in various forms for years. I've tried programs that have you read through multiple books at the same time. I've done several different read-through-in-a-year programs. But this Reading Program is the one I've landed upon because it's the one that has given me the most understanding & brought about the greatest change in my Christian walk. It puts Scripture into your mind...and it stays there! You'll discover you actually begin to remember what you've read... in its context. That is the beauty of repetition!
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How To Read the Bible for Life, Not Just a Year

Beyond the artifice behind them, most Bible-reading plans suffer from an imposed superficiality and disjointedness ...  The World's Best Bible-Reading Program, as I see it, moves beyond this piecemeal approach to reading the Scriptures. It has nothing to do with the proud announcement that, "I read through the entire Bible this year!" Instead, it has everything to do with knowing the word of God and putting it into practice. It's not a one-year reading program, but a "rest of your life until they bury you in a pine box" program. The first way of thinking is marketing; the other is transforming.

Here's how the World's Best Bible-Reading Program works:

1.  Find a quiet, undisturbed place to read. Start in the New Testament ... Might as well begin with Matthew.

2.  Read through one entire book in a single sitting. Obviously, the first five books of the NT are going to require some time. But do it. (You're eternal. Live like it!) These books are whole units and are meant to be read as such. We need to experience their coherence. Trust me; the Holy Spirit will bring the entirety of the book to your mind in the future in a way you've never experienced before.

3.  When you've read the book once, don't move on! Read through it again. For the first five books, if you must break them into chunks, go with five or six chapters - whatever maintains the arc of the narrative.

4.  Re-read that one book. Note the way the narrative and themes flow. Commit those stories and themes to memory. Note where they exist in the book.  [Write down your observations.]

5.  Re-read that one book. Pay special attention to the way the Lord is portrayed.  [Write down your observations.]

6.  Re-read that one book. Examine the relational aspects of the book, God to Man, Man to Man, Man to God.  [Write down your observations.]

7.  Re-read that one book. Note the Lord's redeeming and salvific acts within the greater arc of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. [Write down your observations.] This first pass-through of the NT assumes you have a modicum of OT understanding. After reading the OT through, the second pass-through of the NT will clarify things further.

8.  Re-read that one book. This time around, note all the Lord's commands and how we're told to practice them. Consider how they might work practically in your daily activities. [Write down your observations.]

[By this point, you've read the same book seven times. Depending on the length of the book, it may have taken seven days or seven weeks. It doesn't matter. This is about changing your life and relationship with Christ. This is about sixty years of discipleship. It's not about getting through the Bible in a certain length of time.] Now comes the hard (and controversial) part ...

9.  Take everything you've learned in this book and put it into practice. Take a month to do nothing but concertedly meditate on what you've just read by making it real in your own life. It might mean that the only Bible you read this month are the parts of this one book that you still aren't getting and must re-read. Doesn't matter - do it! (If you absolutely have to read something every day that isn't part of this program, consider a few Psalms or a cycle of Proverbs. They're the most suited to broken-up reading patterns since they are collections of wisdom and less unified than a book like Romans.)

10.  After your month, take stock of all that you've learned by reading and practice. Make a mental assessment of the themes of the book and how they apply to your discipleship. If you're confident you've read and practiced this book, move on to the next one.

Once the NT is finished, move on to the OT. (I realize some of the OT books are daunting in length for a single read-through. Make a concerted effort to read them in one sitting. Failing this, some of the OT books are narrative, which allows for breaks in the story. Psalms and Proverbs are easily segmented, as noted above. All prophets must be read in one sitting the first time through. A book as enormous as Isaiah is hard to partition, so consider reading it on a weekend day.)

Repeat these ten steps for the rest of your life.


[Entire post found here.]

Which is More Demanding: Letter or Spirit?

If comments I overhear are any indication, many have a wrong understanding of the meaning of "the letter of the law" as opposed to "the spirit of the law." It is usually used in the sense that the "letter of the law" is more restrictive (and therefore "unloving"), while the "spirit of the law" is more relaxed, more lenient, less demanding on one's life (and therefore more "loving"). That's not what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. In fact, He taught the exact opposite! 

In Mt.5:20, Jesus prefaces everything He is about to say from here to the end of His discourse by stating, "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."  He then proceeds to give several examples, using the formula, "You have heard ... But I say to you ..." In each example He contrasts the false doctrine of the scribes & Pharisees with the correct interpretation of the law. His greater authority burns through His words.  A prophet always prefaced his words with phrases such as, "Thus says the LORD ..." or "The word of the LORD that came to (prophet's name) ..." The scribes and Pharisees quoted renowned rabbinical scholars when they taught, "According to Hillel ..." or "According to Shammai..." Yet Jesus boldly states, "But I say to you ..."  He speaks directly as God!  It is His law, and He knows its true meaning. It must have knocked their socks off!  No wonder the Jewish crowds hung on His every word and the religious leaders hated Him! At the end of this discourse, Matthew writes, "When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching;" (Mt.7:28) and then gives us the reason why they were so amazed, "for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes." (Mt.7:29)  [The Greek word translated "amazed" is a compound word (which intensifies meaning) defined as "to strike out, force out by a blow, in the sense of knocking one out of his senses or self-possession, to strike with astonishment, terror, admiration"]

In each example Jesus gives, He demonstrates how the scribes & Pharisees had reduced God's commandments to mere outward actions, the "letter of the law."  In contrast, He then teaches that the law goes much, much deeper ... all the way to the heart/mind attitude. The "spirit of the law" is not content with outer action alone, but reaches all the way to the root of one's thinking. The scribes and Pharisees believed themselves righteous because they had not committed an act of adultery, an act of murder. They believed that gave them righteous standing before God. You will remember how the Pharisee prayed in the Temple, "God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get." (Lk.18:9-14)

Jesus attacks their false doctrine and aims right at their unrighteous hearts. God requires a righteousness that goes that deep!  Coveting is as reprehensible under the law as doing of the deed itself.  Hatred is as unrighteous as murder. Lusting after a woman leaves one as culpable before God as physical adultery.  That is the "spirit of the law".  Its requirements are so much greater than the mere "letter of the law".  One might be able to keep the "letter of the law," but no man can keep the "spirit of the law" before a perfectly holy God. (Rom.3:10-12)  Only God the Son, who willingly left the glories of heaven to take the form of a bond-servant, and be made in the likeness of men could "fulfill" the law by living in perfect obedience to every "jot and tittle" of it. (Mt.5:17-19)  The second Adam succeeded where the first Adam could not.  And it's only through the imputation of Christ's righteousness that God the Father can be approached. (Jn.14:6)  Don't ever think that "the spirit of the law" requires less righteousness!  At the end of his examples, Jesus gives the resulting conclusion to everything He had just taught, "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mt.5:48)

"Pray Without Ceasing"

A prayerless Christian should be an oxymoron. Yet, how often do you come across a sense of passion about prayer among the believers you know?  Periodically you might hear someone talk about prayer, yet they are noticeably absent whenever the church prays corporately, and you never hear mention of specific ways God has encouraged their heart or illumined their understanding of Scriptural truth or given them a deeper understanding of His character as a result of their prayer. The "talk" and the "walk" just don't match up.

When we do manage to pray, how often do our prayers sound more like the list of "wants" a child might pen to Santa Claus at Christmastime? Seldom do we pray from a biblical perspective. We expend more effort wanting God to remove adversity, make us healthy or protect our loved ones than we do beseeching Him to lead us into spiritual maturity or praying for the faithfulness of His saints. Worst of all, we fail to magnify God in our prayers or thank Him for His abundant love and mercies towards us or recognize our part in the advancement of His kingdom program. Sadly most of our prayers center around ourselves and those nearest us, as we focus on surface needs, not deep, spiritual, eternal needs.

Our prayerlessness demonstrates our lack of understanding of the providence of God, His sovereignty and the power of His mighty hand. We don't think "big enough". Our culture provides three huge stumbling blocks to rich, consistent prayer. Modern  life is overly busy and full of distracting, empty amusements demanding our time and attention. Too often we're not discerning enough to prioritize our time in a way that honors God and contributes to our own sanctification, thereby robbing ourselves of the very things we need to lead us into the victorious Christian life. Also, we tend to trust in ourselves more than we trust in God. When we're at the end of our own resources, THEN we'll call on God. Scripture commands us to humble ourselves before God BY MEANS OF casting all our cares on Him. (1Pet.5:6-7) When we're continually casting (Pres. Tense Greek verb) our cares onto God, we humble ourselves before Him. Finally, most of us have lost our facility with language. We don't know how to glorify God with our words. Even if we are aware of God's greatness, lovingkindness and providence in our lives, we don't know how to express it verbally during our prayers. We think vague thoughts, we feel vague emotions.

So what do we do? Here are two simple suggestions. First, become disciplined. Plan your time, rather than letting unimportant things crowd out vital things such as prayer. Second, use tools to direct your thoughts and expand your ability to express yourself ... go to the prayers of those who had great skill at doing so and use them as the "jumping off points" for your own prayers.

Personally, I love using Don Whitney's suggestion to pray through the Psalms. His book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, has a chapter explaining the method. Basically, start reading a Psalm. When the Psalm triggers your thoughts toward adoration, confession, thanksgiving & supplication (the ACTS of prayer), stop reading and pray until your mind starts to stray, at which point you return and read more of the Psalm until your thoughts are triggered once again, at which point you stop to pray again. If the Psalms are short, you might find yourself reading through more than one. If it's a long Psalm, you might take several days to work through it. You will be amazed at how long and rich your prayer time becomes after using this approach for a few weeks! It will change your prayer life ... and it will change you!

A second suggestion is a system based upon the Puritan prayers in The Valley of Vision, an anthology of Puritan prayers. Like the Psalmists, the Puritans had a God-centric view of life and an amazing ability to express themselves, far beyond modern man's skill to do so. While the advantage of using Psalms is that you are also learning Scripture itself as you read through them in your prayer time, the Puritan prayers lead you to become more God-focused in your worldview. That was their great strength. I can see the advantage of using both, and recommend alternating them throughout the year. Joe Thorn offers a free copy of his schedule using the Puritan prayers here.  He sets aside three times during the day to go to the Lord in concentrated prayer.

Become a person of prayer. It will affect your own Christian walk, the lives of those you pray for and the purity, effectiveness & strength of your local assembly. It will also help advance God's program in the world. Don't you think those things worthy of your time?

"for the sake of Christ"

What motivates the Christian life?  Some desire personal recognition, appreciation, perhaps even admiration from others.  Some approach the Christian life as "duty".  Others spend their lives compiling long lists of  "dos" and "don'ts", fostering a critical spirit towards those who don't live up to their man-made requirements.  Some pamper and pet their spiritual gift, becoming the divas of the Christian world ... disconnected loners who come to think of the church as their "stage".  And some just long for a place to belong, make friends, develop a social life and have all their personal needs met.  The best way to help all of these people grow spiritually is to encourage them to turn their eyes off of self and onto their Savior.

In his book Studies on the Sermon on the Mount, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes, "The Christian's life is controlled and dominated by Jesus Christ, by his loyalty to Christ, and by his concern to do everything for Christ's sake ... the whole object of the Christian should be to live for Christ's sake and no longer to live for his own. ... That is something which you find everywhere in the New Testament.  The Christian, being a new man, having received new life from Christ, realizing that he owes everything to Christ and His perfect work, and particularly to His death upon the cross, says to himself, "I am not my own; I have been bought with a price."  He therefore wants to live his whole life to the glory of Him who has thus died for him, and bought him, and risen again.  So he desires to present himself, 'body, soul and spirit', everything to Christ.  This, you will agree is something that was not only taught by our Lord; it is emphasized everywhere in all of the New Testament Epistles.  'For Christ's sake' is the motive, the great controlling motive in the life of the Christian.  Here is something that differentiates us from everybody else and provides a thorough test of our profession of the Christian faith.  If we are truly Christian, our desire must be, however much we may fail in practice, to live for Christ, to glory in His name and to live to glorify Him."

The Way Up is Down

While listening to a sermon on 1 Peter 5 tonight, I was pleased to have a "light bulb" moment.  I had loaned someone my English Bible, so I was using the Interlinear. Being able to see the Greek made something that had previously escaped my notice become quite clear.  Read the following two verses...

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."  [I Pet.5:6-7]

Paying attention to the main verb(s) in a passage helps you determine the main point. The supporting verb(s) expand on the main idea, giving you additional insight.  If you temporarily weed out the prepositional phrases, you can see the main thought.  So read the above verses again and determine the Main Verb of the sentence.

It helps that the Main Verb here is "front loaded" for stress. It's "humble yourselves," one word in the Greek.  Since it's an Imperative of Command, the English doesn't translate the subject "you".  So the main idea of this sentence is "You humble yourselves".  And who are you commanded to humble yourself under?

There's a modifying Participle in (7) that sheds much light onto the meaning of the passage.  We are accustomed to seeing "casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you" as a stand alone verse, completely out of its context.  But it's not a stand-alone verse!  It's a modifying clause reflecting back on the main thought in (6). "Casting" is an adverbial Participle modifying the Main Verb, "humble yourselves". (7) tells HOW we accomplish (6)!  When we cast all our anxieties on Him ... we are humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God.  Now we might consider ourselves as being humble before God, but if we're not casting all our anxieties on Him, then, according to this passage, we're really not humbling ourselves at all. In fact, we're deceiving ourselves.

Think about that for a minute.  What fears and anxieties are you holding onto?  What are you not entrusting to God?  If your desire is to humble yourself under God, and believers are commanded to do so in this passage, then in order to do that it is necessary to cast ALL your anxieties upon Him. You, as a believer, one who has trusted in Christ's substitutionary atonement on your behalf, are able to cast all your anxieties on Him because you can confidently rest in the fact that God cares for you.  "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"  [Rom.8:31]

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."  [Romans 8:35-39]

Where are you really placing your faith & trust ... in yourself?  your spouse?  your friends?  your job?  your portfolio? ... or in God?  Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.

God's Saving Hand Remembered at Purim

The feast of Purim began last night. Purim celebrates God's protection of Israel in Persia during the OT Captivity. Today would be a good day to reread the Book of Esther. You might be interested to learn Iran placed The Tomb of Mordecai & Esther on their National Historical Site list in 2008. That's a little mind boggling to consider. You can read about the site here. To read about the modern celebration of Purim in Israel click here.

 "For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai,  "Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish."  [Esther 4:14-16]

In Megillat Esther: The Masoretic Hebrew Text, Robert Gordis comments:
"Anti-Semites have always hated the book, and the Nazis forbade its reading in the crematoria and the concentration camps. In the dark days before their deaths, Jewish inmates of Auschwitz, Dachau, Treblinka, and Bergen-Belsen wrote the Book of Esther from memory and read it in secret on Purim.  Both they and their brutal foes understood its message."  Imagine... they were sick, abused, malnourished, overworked and facing death ... yet they were able to reconstruct an entire book of Scripture from memory.  It's a sad commentary on our modern culture when so many professed believers claim they just can't memorize God's Word... it's too hard for them. May we never experience a day when we wish we had taken the time to memorize it.

A Healthy Christian: Learning to Listen to God

I've found a new little book I want to hand out to everyone! I've mentioned Thabiti Anyabwile's recent book, What Is A Healthy Church Member? before. What a gem of a little book! If the local church is to be what God wants it to be, the individuals sitting in the pews need to have a clear idea of what God expects of them as individuals. Here's one element to start working on when you attend church this Sunday - "Learn to Be an Expositional Listener". Excerpted from this chapter ...

Expositional preaching uses the main point of the Bible passage, in its context, as the main point of the sermon. "If churches are to be healthy, then pastors and teachers must be committed to discovering the meaning of Scripture and allowing that meaning to drive the agenda with their congregations. So too should the Christian's listening agenda be driven by the meaning of Scripture. When we listen to the preaching of the Word, we should not listen primarily for "practical how-to advice," nor should we listen for messages that bolster our self-esteem or that rouse us to political and social causes. As members of Christian churches we should listen primarily for the voice and message of God as revealed in his Word. Expositional listening is listening for the meaning of a passage of Scripture and accepting that meaning as the main idea to be grasped for our personal and corporate lives.

Expositional listening benefits us by cultivating a hunger for God's Word. We grow accustomed to listening to God. His Word, his voice, becomes sweet to us (Ps.119:103-104) and as it does we are better able to push to the background the many voices that rival God's voice for control over our lives.

It helps us to focus on God's will and to follow him. Our agenda becomes secondary. God's agenda for his people takes center stage, reorders our priorities, and directs us in the course that most honors him. (John 10:27)

It protects the gospel and our lives from corruption. The failure to listen expositionally has disastrous effects. False teachers enter the church and hinder the gospel. Ultimately, the truth is displaced by myths and falsehoods. (Jude 1:3; 1Tim.3:15)

It encourages faithful pastors. Those men who serve faithfully in the minstry of the Word are worthy of double honor (1Tim.5:17). As church members, we can care for our pastors and teachers and help to prevent unnecessary discouragement and fatigue by cultivating the habit of expositional listening.

It benefits the gathered congregation. Repeatedly, the NT writers exhort local churches to be unified - to be of one mind. (1Cor.1:10; 1Pet.3:8) As we gather together in our local churches and give ourselves to hearing the voice of God through his preached Word, we're shaped into one body. We are united in understanding and purpose. And that unity testifies to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ (John 17:21).  But if we listen with our own interest and agendas in mind, if we develop "private interpretations" and idiosyncratic views, we risk shattering that unity, provoking disputes over doubtful matters, and weakening our corporate gospel."

Pastor Anyabwile gives Six Practical Steps you can take to become an "expositional listener":

1. Meditate On the Sermon Passage During Your Quiet Time. Read through the text ahead of time. Either ask the pastor what passage he intends to preach the next week or go to the next verses in the Book he's preaching his way through. "Outline the text in your own daily devotions and use it to inform your prayer life. Learning to outline Scripture is a wonderful way of digging out and exposing the meaning of a passage. You can then use your outline as a listening aid; compare it to the preacher's outline for new insights you missed in your own study."

2. Invest in a Good Set of Commentaries  "Study the Bible with John Calvin or Martin Lloyd-Jones by purchasing the commentaries on the books of the Bible as you read and study through them.. Let these scholars and pastors help you hear God's Word with a clear ear and discover its rich meaning. The Bible Speaks Today commentary series is an excellent starting place for those wanting to build a library of good commentaries."

3. Talk and Pray with Friends About the Sermon After Church  "Instead of rushing off after the service is over, or talking about the latest news, develop the habit of talking about the sermon with people after church. Start spiritual conversations by asking, "How did the Scripture challenge or speak to you today?" Or, "What about God's character most surprised or encouraged you?" Encourage others by sharing things you learned about God and his Word during the sermon. Make particular note of how your thinking has changed because of the meaning of Scripture itself. And pray with others that God would keep the congregation from becoming "dull of hearing" and that he would bless the congregation with an increasingly strong desire for the "solid food' of his Word (Isa.6:9-10; Heb.5:11-14)."

4. Listen To and Act On the Sermon Throughout the Week  "We  can cultivate the habit of expositional listening by listening to the sermon throughout the week and then acting upon it. Don't let the Sunday sermon become a one-time event that fades from memory as soon as it is over (James 1:22-25). Choose one or two particular applications from the Scripture and prayerfully put them into practice over the coming week." Listen to the audio ministry on your church's website. "Take advantage of these opportunities to feed your soul with the click of a mouse." Review the sermon in your family devotions that week. [At my daughter's church, the sermon is the subject of the Home Study that week.]

5. Develop the Habit of Addressing Any Questions About the Text Itself  "Jonathan Edwards resolved that he would never let a day end before he had answered any questions that troubled him or sprang to mind while he was studying the Scripture. How healthy would our churches be if members dedicated themselves to studying the Scripture with that kind of intentional effort and resolve? Follow up with your pastors, elders or other teachers in the church about questions triggered by the text. Moreover, don't be passive in your private study; seek answers by searching the Scripture yourself. But don't forget the pastor has likely spent more time than most in thinking about that passage and is there to feed you God's Word. Follow up the sermons with questions and comments that would be an encouragement to your pastor and a blessing to your soul."

6. Cultivate Humility  "As you dig into God's Word, listening for his voice, you will no doubt begin to grow and discover many wonderful treasures. But as you grow, do not become a "professional sermon listener" who is always hearing but never learning. Mortify any tendencies toward pride, the condemnation of others and critical nit-picking. Instead, seek to meet Jesus each time you come to the Scripture; gather from the Word fuel for all-of-life worship."

[May that little taste make you interested enough to read the entire book! That's just one area covered! You will mature in your Christian walk by learning to focus on and take heed to God's ideas. Don't make me buy you a copy!]

Perseverance in Holiness

My 5th/6th grade SS class just finished studying the Book of Joshua and  began the Book of Judges last week. Joshua, for the most part, is a story of obedience, blessing and success. Judges, on the other hand, is a story of disobedience, loss of blessing and failure. We noticed in SS class that the change had occurred within ONE generation. Now that leaves me wondering, "Why?"  Why was Joshua's generation, a generation so intent on trusting God and obeying Him, followed by a generation where "every man did what was right in his own eyes"?  Did the older generation fail to teach that next generation about God?  Were they so caught up in possessing the land, they forgot who had given it to them and that God desired to use them as His witness to the nations? [Ex.19:5-6]  Did they become a little too relaxed and comfortable at the end of their lives and their "almost complete obedience" failed to remove the pagan influence on their children?  Did they just get caught up living from day to day and push God into the background, allowing other issues and interests to capture their attention?  Did they start to spend more time looking "horizontally" than they did "vertically"?  Maurice Roberts, in his book, The Thought of God, wrote the following about the importance of persevering in holiness:

"Godliness is soon lost ... Holiness is vulnerable in this world. It is like snow that is quickly melted or mist which disperses when the sun rises up. In one single generation of a family or of a church the power of godliness which it previously had may be lost totally.

If we are to maintain and preserve the spirituality of our homes and churches we must act decisively and purposefully. This we shall not be prepared to do unless we are first convinced of the fact that godliness is the greatest blessing we can wish for our children and for all others over whom God gives us influence. We ought therefore to begin with the conviction that neither health nor happiness, wealth nor education, nor any other thing is comparable in importance to knowledge of God. If our children, our families and our congregations are poor in all else yet rich in their love to God, they are rich indeed. But if they are rich in all else and poor in love to Christ, they are miserably poor indeed. There can be no doubt that this is God's view of the matter and that it ought therefore to be ours also."

What is most important to you? Where do you place your priorities? On what do you expend your money, your time and your thoughts?  As Paul exhorted Timothy, "Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach. Persevere in this, because by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you."  (1 Timothy 4:16)

A Horse of a Different Color...

Most of us are familiar with Read-Through-the-Bible-in-a-Year plans. While it's useful to do this periodically in order to refresh yourself with the big picture, I don't usually recommend it as a yearly pursuit. I believe there is greater benefit in repetitive reading of each book, one at a time. You remember better, you really get a handle on the context and repetitive readings give you increased awareness and better understanding. But many still want a little guidance, a little more structure to help them faithfully stick with it.

So here is a yearly reading plan that actually helps you THINK about what you're reading. It's goal is not to finish the entire Bible in a year, but to slow down and meditate upon what you've read. As the creator states, "The purpose of this Bible reading schedule (shortened considerably from schedules that get through the Bible in one year) is actually to limit the amount of Bible we read daily. Reading quickly through many verses may not be as profitable as savoring deeply a few verses. So the aim of this schedule is not to read less, but to meditate more."

If you'd like to take a look, you can download it here.

[I figured out how to connect the link! Maybe you CAN teach an old dog new tricks! ;)  If you have any difficulty, just let me know and I'll print off a copy for you.]

The Challenge Is On...

Sometimes people have the idea that it's too late for them to seriously study God's Word. I've recently been amazed to see what a difference even a short period of consistent time spent in Scripture can make. Less than a year ago Colin started reading/listening through the Bible. He reads every morning and listens to CDs as he drives. In that short amount of time I've been amazed to hear him begin to apply Scripture to life and base decisions upon it. He's already developing an eternal perspective, referring to passages from memory and making insightful observations. In less than a year!

I've also been challenged by reading the biographies of believers who were imprisoned for their faith for long periods of time. Their ability to recall Scripture is what gave them a lifeline to hold onto. I'm ashamed to say I would not be able to do the same without a Bible in hand. We memorize so many isolated, unrelated and often out of context verses... but have no significant passages in context we can bring quickly to mind.

So I'm presenting you with a challenge. Sixteen weeks. That's all. In sixteen weeks (by Easter) you can have memorized the entire Book of Philippians. Accomplish that and see what a difference it makes in your spiritual walk! The blog over at Gospel Coalition has broken Philippians down into 16 weeks, with about 7 verses a week to learn. That means it has to become a daily habit. They say it takes just 3 weeks to create a habit... think what an opportunity this is! To help people out they offer a .pdf with weekly verses that can be pasted onto 5x7 index cards and fastened with a ring... or pasted into a Cahier moleskine book, available at Borders or directly from the moleskine website at 3 for $6.95 (plus shipping). Send me an email or make a comment below and I'll send you a copy of the .pdf to print out. I'm going to give it a try. I think I'll find it will become easier once I get into the swing of it. What a great book to know and be able to bring to mind at will! Think what a difference it would make in your life and in the lives of those you minister to! Give it a try!

How Do You Read Your Bible?

C.S. Lewis analyzes the difference between 'contemplation' and 'enjoyment' in his essay, "Meditation in a Toolshed":

I was standing today in the dark toolshed.  The sun was shining outside and
through the crack at the top of the door there came a sunbeam.  From where I stood that beam of light, with specks of dust floating in it, was the most striking thing in the place.  Everything else was almost pitch-black. I was seeing the beam, not seeing things by it.


Then I moved, so that the beam fell on my eyes.  Instantly the whole previous picture vanished. I saw no toolshed, and (above all) no beam.  Instead I saw, framed in the irregular cranny at the top of the door, green leaves moving on the branches of a tree outside and beyond that, ninety-odd million miles away, the sun. Looking along the beam, and looking at the beam are very different experiences."

Read those two paragraphs one more time, slowly.  Philosopher Samuel Alexander called 'looking at the beam' Contemplation (abstract, external, impersonal, uninvolved knowledge) and 'looking along the beam' Enjoyment (participatory, inhabited, personal, committed knowledge).  That got me thinking about the different steps I take when studying the Bible.  Both Contemplation and Enjoyment are, I think, essential to understanding and living out God's Word.  I've often wondered why my appetite for the Bible is increasingly voracious.  For many, spending time in the Word is either a chore they would prefer to skip or a Christian discipline they'd like to accomplish quickly so they can get on to the 'more important' things in life.  There is no enjoyment involved.  I've been considering that HOW we read the Bible may affect our desire for it.

Obviously there is a spiritual element involved.  The Holy Spirit indwelling a believer naturally longs for God's Word.  But I think the human element also affects the process.  Rereading Lewis' essay led me to consider that there are three different levels of reading. Borrowing a little from Alexander, I'd like to identify them as: Fact Finding, Contemplation and Enjoyment. 

Fact Finding is probably the most common approach.  It involves straight reading.  For example, last week I read Ephesians, Chapter 1.  After my first read through I was mostly struck by the number of prepositional phrases and the length of Paul's sentences.  There was some understanding, of course, but mostly I found it confusing.  Many stop at this level and go on to read Chapter 2.  In a week's time if you asked them what they read, they couldn't tell you.  If you asked them what they learned about God, they couldn't tell you.  If you asked them how it changed their lives, they couldn't tell you.

Contemplation is the next level.  I reread the chapter several times and began searching for the "specks of dust".  Reading it on e-sword made it possible to easily highlight significant phrases and words.  I noticed how many times "in Christ" is used.  Then I noticed the vast number of things God has done to and for the believer, and highlighted those in a different color, compiling the list onto a Word document.  Finally, I translated and made an analytical chart of the chapter, which led me to an ever increasing depth of understanding of what Paul was saying and HOW he was saying it.  I realized he was purposely building prepositional phrase upon prepositional phrase to give the readers a sense of the  abundance of blessings they possess through spiritual union with Christ Jesus.  Paul used multiple phrases so the reader would be "weighed down" by the riches they possess in Christ!

Enjoyment was the final stage.  Now that I had a grasp of what Paul was saying and an idea of how he was expressing it, I was ready to "step into the sunbeam" and let it flood over me, allowing it to become personal, committed knowledge.  Being able to see the "green leaves" of truth I had previously been blind to, and even more importantly, seeing "the sun", i.e. God Himself, more clearly!  Thanks to the previous two levels of reading, I was now able to slowly read through Ephesians, Chapter 1 and be overwhelmed by the work of God through Christ Jesus on my behalf and understand the depth of my riches in Christ.  I could bask in the "sunbeam", soaking it up, allowing it to give my life richness and the eternal perspective it needed.

All three levels are vital in Bible study.  They build upon each other.  Don't be satisfied with Fact Finding, nor stop at Contemplation, nor try to skip ahead to Enjoyment.  I encourage you to incorporate all three into your study of Scripture.  I think you'll be amazed at the difference it makes!

[My thanks to Michael Ward's book, Planet Narnia, for inspiring my thinking by reprinting Lewis' essay.]