Great Day Together Tomorrow

Tomorrow:
8:35am Prayer: 15 minutes of concerted prayer in the theater (Childcare begins at 8:35 this week only!)

Classes 9am

10:15 Worship Service, we'll be participating in the Lord's Supper together... then after service:

Lunch on the Grounds
Plan on staying for lunch after the service Sunday.
Last names A-M: Bring a side. Last names N-Z: Bring a dessert.

Satisfaction

Mark 8 says, "They ate and were satisfied."

Isn’t satisfaction a nice word? You know, they’d been eating bread and fish. But it’s the word you’d use when you’ve had Thanksgiving dinner. You know, you’ve had turkey, the dressing, the gravy and the potatoes and whatever else you have, you know, and dessert. And you feel satisfied. You’re not hungry anymore. You’ve been replenished. And isn’t that what Jesus always does? Isn’t the provision that Jesus gives always satisfying? Because you can taste of the cisterns of this world, but those cisterns are broken, and you will be hungry again. But when you feed from the provision that Jesus gives you, it satisfies as nothing else can do...which reminds me of those beautiful words of Augustine, that “my heart was restless until it found its rest in Thee.” And I think that’s what Mark is trying to say to us here, that the Great Shepherd of the sheep ... satisfied them in a way that nothing else can do! -- Derek Thomas

Do You Remember My Syrophenician Friend?

Few weeks ago we dwelled together on the fabulous faith of the lady in Mark 7 who "wouldn't let Jesus go". And he loved her tenacity!

Well, hundreds of years later Thomas Cranmer wrote a Communion Prayer that was influenced by her... and tomorrow we'll pray it together.

We do not presume to come to this Your table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in Your manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under Your table. But You are the same Lord, who always shows mercy; grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of Your dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink of His blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by His body, and our souls washed through His most pre-cious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in Him, and He in us. Amen.

Will you not give me a warmer zeal?

My soul lies cleaving to the dust
Lord, give me life divine.
From vain desires, from every lust
Lord, turn these eyes of mine.

When sore afflictions press me down,
I need thy quickening powers;
Thy word that I have rested on,
Shall help my heaviest hours.

Are not thy mercies sovereign still,
And thou a faithful God?
Wilt thou not grant me warmer zeal
To run the heavenly road.

Then I shall love thy precepts more,
And ne’er forget thy word,
When I have felt its quickening pow’r
To draw me near the Lord. --Gadsby 402, by Watts, I think

My new friend

Had lunch on the UF campus today with my wife and when leaving was able to interact with Mohamed, who was hosting the "Islam on Campus" table. Native of Egypt, he's getting a Phd in Pharmacy... specifically studying metabolism... what the body does to the med

Anyway, a sharp and "faithful" man. Very respectful of me and very open to answer questions I had. A couple of interesting nuggets:

ALL RIVERS LEAD TO THE SAME OCEAN... I'm sure you've heard that one... that all religions are the same... it is faith that matters... not the "system" you are in... what a delight to talk with a man who believes that concept to be as whacked as I think it is. I told him I respected his integrity & commitment to resist the shoddy thinking that all rivers lead to the same ocean.

TO LOVE AND FOLLOW THE WILL OF GOD, RIGHT?... that was his answer to my question: "What is your current understanding of the Christian message?" Amazing how many people think that Christianity is about being good. It was my humble privilege to tell Mohamed that the Christian message was much better than "try to be good".

Timely Email

I just opened my May email newsletter from the folks at CCEF and saw this article

Rape Recovery

The author, David Powlison, is quite simply a wise & Christ-like man who knows God & pain. He has helped me tremendously to meet Christ in my struggles time and time again. No article "fixes" our hurt. Hopefully this might grant some of you hope as reflect on the recent evil in our area.

Cardboard Testimonies

Some of you may have seen this video that is making the rounds... it is a powerful reminder of some of the basics of the gospel. Changed lives. If you watch, as you watch... be encouraged by the power & love of Christ... and be envisioned... I personally have about 60 carboard testimonies of how Christ's power & grace have changed me (ALREADY)... and another 30 that are not finished yet. I'm still waiting, still hoping for transformation (NOT YET). How 'bout you? What are your "already" areas? What are your "not yet" areas? He is at work. His love can never fail. Lean on Him today.

Tim Keller Forgiveness Project

Regularly give this out and read it myself...
The Forgiveness Project

In your hearts enthrone him;
There let him subdue
All that is not holy,
All that is not true.

Crown him as your Captain
In temptation's hour:
Let his will enfold you
In its light and pow'r.

saturday work day and sunday prayer meeting

more later... but for now... prayerfully consider participating in Saturdays workday and a prayer meeting in the theater from 8:35am until 8:50am ... details to follow

Fighting for Faith With God's Word

When I did that little mini-series on "The Heart"... I kept referencing a tremendous chapter by John Piper on the role of the Scriptures in keeping our Heart near to God. He recently preached a message on this topic and you can listen and/or download it here.

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Corinthians 9:26So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline/pummel my body and keep it under control (make it my slave), lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

These are some of the Scriptures that encourage you and me to fight to the death... for the joy that is found only in Christ.

good article on how to present gospel

by some guy named Keller in Manhattan

Dads & Their Daughter's Modesty

Dads, I want to urge you to take responsibility for your daughters’ dress. Fathers are absolutely essential to the cultivation of modesty. When a young lady dresses immodestly, it usually means her father has failed to lead, care for and protect her. Without a father’s care and protection, she may be daily exposed to the lustful minds of men. whole thing here

Our primary authority is Jesus Christ our Teacher and our Lord, and our submission to Scripture is only the logical outcome and necessary expression of our submission to him. It is to Christ that we come; but Christ sends us to a book. Not that the book to which he sends us is a dead and wooden letter, or an authoritarian ogre. He bids us listen rather to his own voice as he speaks to our particular situation by his Spirit and through his written Word.

The glory of the gospel is that it is primarily an announcement of what God does, and has done, in the Person of Jesus Christ.

That was the essence of Paul’s gospel…That was the gospel which was preached by all the apostles. They preached Jesus as the Christ. They made a proclamation, an announcement. Primarily, they called upon people to listen to what they called ‘good news’.

They did not in the first instance outline a programme for life and living…They preached, not a programme but a Person. They said that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God come from Heaven to earth. They said that He manifested and demonstrated His unique deity by living a perfect, spotless, sinless life of complete obedience to God, and by performing miracles. His death on the Cross was not merely the end of His life but the result of His rejection by His own countrymen, it had a deeper and more eternal significance…

The glory of the gospel is that it is primarily an announcement of what God does, and has done, in the Person of Jesus Christ.

-- D. M. Lloyd-Jones

You must know you belong to God before you can change

“A man cannot apply himself seriously to repentance without knowing himself to belong to God.”

- John Calvin

Great description of idolatry

"Creatively, in the beginning, I think heroin helps a lot of artists for a while. It gave me confidence, it took away pain, and it just did something. Eventually, though, it destroys what it helped... It's like a self-injected cancer."

- Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland, Entertainment Weekly, May 9, 2007, pg. 39

HT: cpyu.org

The Problem of Pain C. S. Lewis

Everyone has noticed how hard it is to turn our thoughts to God when everything is going well with us ... While what we call "our own life" remains agreeable we will not surrender it to Him. What then can God do in our interests but make "our own life" less agreeable to us, and take away the plausible sources of false happiness? I am not arguing that pain is not painful. Pain hurts. That is what the word means. I am only trying to show that the old Christian doctrine of being made "perfect through suffering" is not incredible. To prove it palatable is beyond my design.

Lean Hard

"Cast your burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain you." Psalm 55:22

It is by an act of simple, prayerful faith we transfer our cares and anxieties, our sorrows and needs, to the Lord. Jesus invites you come and lean upon Him, and to lean with all your might upon that arm that balances the universe, and upon that bosom that bled for you upon the soldier's spear! But you doubtingly ask, "Is the Lord able to do this thing for me ?" And thus, while you are debating a matter about which there is not the shadow of a shade of doubt, the burden is crushing your gentle spirit to the dust. And all the while Jesus stands at your side and lovingly says, "Cast your burden upon Me and I will sustain you. I am God Almighty. I bore the load of your sin and condemnation up the steep of Calvary, and the same power of omnipotence, and the same strength of love that bore it all for you then, is prepared to bear your need and sorrow now. Roll it all upon Me! Child of My love! Lean hard! Let Me feel the pressure of your care. I know your burden, child! I shaped it—I poised it in My own hand and made no proportion of its weight to your unaided strength. For even as I laid it on, I said I shall be near, and while she leans on Me, this burden shall be Mine, not hers. So shall I keep My child within the encircling arms of My own love. Here lay it down! Do not fear to impose it on a shoulder which upholds the government of worlds! Yet closer come! You are not near enough! I would embrace your burden, so I might feel My child reposing on My breast. You love Me! I know it. Doubt not, then. But, loving me, lean hard!"

How Long, O Lord?

Surgery on my nephew, the rape in Haile, news that Stephen Curtis Chapman's 5 year old daughter died tragically, plus the ever-present struggle with our indwelling sin. This has pushed me again to lamenting, and wanting you to know this lost language of worship. Unless we grieve the hard things of life, and plumb the depths of God's goodness & sovereignty... i fully believe we will become hardened, cynical, rebellious, self-pitying, etc etc.....

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me. --Psalm 13

If you want to study Romans with a Gospel-Centered Teacher...

John Stott's classic commentary on Romans will be delivered in bite size portions to your email inbox by signing up here...
or you can have it as a blog subscription in google reader here

Today was Day One and looked like this:
A brief overview of Romans.

Paul’s two main themes - the integrity of the gospel committed to him and the solidarity of Jews and Gentiles in the messianic community - are already apparent in the first half of the letter’s first chapter.
Paul calls the good news ‘ the gospel of God’ (1) because he is its author, and ‘the gospel of his Son’ (9) because he is its substance. In verses 1-5 he focuses on the person of Jesus Christ, David’s son by descent and powerfully declared God’s Son by the resurrection. In verse 16 he focuses on his work, since the gospel is God’s power for the salvation of everyone who believes, ‘first for the Jew, then for the Gentile’.
In between these succinct statements of the gospel, Paul seeks to establish a personal relationship with his readers. He is writing to ‘all in Rome’ who are believers (7), irrespective of their ethnic origin, although he knows that the majority of them are Gentiles (13). He thanks God for all of them, he prays for them constantly, he longs to see them, and he has tried many times (so far unsuccessfully) to visit them (8-13). He feels under obligation to preach the gospel in the capital city of the world. Indeed, he is eager to do so, because in the gospel God’s righteous way of ‘righteoussing’ the unrighteous had been revealed (14-17).

The wrath of God. (1:18-3:20).
The revelation of God’s righteousness in the gospel is necessary because of the revelation of his wrath against unrighteousness (18). The wrath of God, his pure and perfect antagonism to evil, is directed against all those who deliberately suppress what they know to be true and right, in order to go their own way. For everybody has some knowledge of God and of goodness, whether through the created world (19f.), or through conscience (32), or through the moral law written on human hearts (2:12ff.) or through the law of Moses committed to the Jews (2:17ff.).
The apostle thus divides the human race into three sections - depraved pagan society (1:18-32), critical moralizers whether Jews or gentiles (2:1-16), and well-instructed, self-confident Jews (2:17-3:8). He then concludes by accusing the whole human race (3:9-20). In each case his argument is the same, that nobody lives up to the knowledge which he or she has. Even the special privileges of the Jews do not exempt them from divine judgment. No, ‘Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin’ (3:9), ‘for God does not show favouritism’ (2:11). All human beings are sinful, guilty and without excuse before God. The picture is one of unrelieved darkness.

Tomorrow: A brief overview of Romans (continued).

Substantial Healing.... Bring it Lord!

When there is a growing reality of offering ourselves to God (in the Romans 12 way), then... there will be substantial healing in our lives now. ... There will be genuine changes in our lives because God will be at work in us when we live by faith in the completed work that Christ has done for us. There will be substantial healing because there is more than just our longing to change and our efforts to change. God himself is changing us. He will begin to bring healing to our psychological problems. He will begin to wipe away our tears. He will begin to heal our relationships with others and within the church. He will begin to make us a blessing, a "song of life", to the society around us.
-- Jerram Barrs in the introduction to Fran Schaeffer's True Spirituality

Aslan, Reepicheep's Tail, and Jesus' Irresistable Attraction to Our Faith in Him

“May it please your High Majesty,” said the second Mouse, whose name was Peepiceek, “we are all waiting to cut off our own tails if our Chief must go without his. We will not bear the shame of wearing an honour which is denied to the High Mouse.”

“Ah!” roared Aslan, “you have conquered me. You have great hearts."

Tragedy in Gainesville

Yesterday a woman was raped while jogging in Haile Plantation. This type of tragedy always raises questions for people. Those who are followers of Christ and those who are not. Here are some thoughts written by a New York City minister immediately after the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center tragedy.

1. When wounded sore, the stricken heart
Lies bleeding and unbound,
One only hand, a pierced hand,
Can salve the sinner’s wound.

2. When sorrow swells the laden breast,
And tears of anguish flow,
One only heart, a broken heart,
Can feel the sinner’s woe.

I Missed Her Performance, But Enjoyed Delighting in Her

My ten year old daughter sings in a chorus at school. Her chorus always does performances in partnership with a percussion group from the school. The typical program is Chorus sings first, then percussion group plays while chorus stands in the back of the room.

Last night and this morning I arrived at her school during the percussion portion... which means I missed her singing. Last night I just left immediately... today I stayed and kept my eyes on one girl--my daughter!-- in the back of the room. My daughter, and the others, were impromptu dancing to the Rhythm of the percussion group. It was so obvious how much she was enjoying herself. All eyes in the room were on the stage... except mine. This father was not impressed with what was happening in the spotlight. My father's heart and eyes were irresistibly drawn to my child.

I wondered if there was something of God in that. I don't think He cares if we're doing our thing on stage or not... He finds us wherever we are and locks in on us... with eyes of delight and a heart of love.

What does it do to a child to not feel the love of a parent? What does it do to a Christian to not feel the love of their Heavenly Father?

I'm praying for you today, Christ Community,
I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Christ and the Scriptures

A man who loves his wife will love her letters and her photographs because they speak to him of her. So if we love the Lord Jesus we shall love the Bible because it speaks to us of him. The husband is not so stupid as to prefer his wife's letters to her voice, or her photographs to herself. He simply loves them because of her. So, too, we love the Bible because of Christ. It is his portrait. It is his love-letter. -- John Stott

That man no guard or weapons needs,
Whose heart the blood of JESUS knows;
But safe may pass, if duty leads,
Through burning sands or mountain snows.

Released from guilt he feels no fear,
Redemption is his shield and tow'r;
He sees his Savior always near
To help, in every trying hour.

Though I am weak and Satan strong,
And often to assault me tries;
When Jesus is my shield and song,
Abashed the wolf before me flies.

God's Grace Is Making Us Holy

I have been strengthened a great deal recently by Sinclair Ferguson's preaching. He is always able to help me see Christ in ways that make me hate my sin & want to turn from it.
Right now I am working on getting these two messages into my own heart... and then they'll make their way into my preaching. If you want to go directly to the source... here they are.

“Our Holiness: The Father’s Purpose and the Son’s Purchase” (Titus 2:11-14)
by Sinclair Ferguson
May 29, 2007
blog summary from the conference
Download MP3 (1:02:31, 35.8 MB)

“Our Holiness: Abiding in Christ’s Love” (John 15:1-11)
by Sinclair Ferguson
May 30, 2007
blog summary from the conference
Download MP3 (1:07:52, 38.5 MB)

What is lamenting?

Lament is ultimately hopeful. Seems paradoxical, doesn’t it? The person sitting before you is weeping and wailing about his pain, and it is supposed to produce hope? There, of course, is a fine line between complaining and lamenting, but too often we dismiss the baby with the bath water. Dan Allender says that one who laments often looks like a grumbler or complainer, but that biblical lament is nothing of the sort. Instead, lament contains in itself the possibility of extraordinary hope, restored desire, a changed heart. Lament is, at its core, a search for God. It is not a search for answers. It is not an invitation to fix an ailment. Rather, lament enters the agony with the recognition that it might not go away for days, months, even years. And yet, the lament carries with it the hope that God will eventually show. Dan Allender puts it this way: “Lament is a search – a declaration of desire that will neither rest with a pious refusal to ache, nor an arrogant self-reliance that is a hardened refusal to search." -C.DeGroate

“So then, while Christ is the law, He is also liberty: while He is sin (for ‘He was made sin for us’), He is righteousness: and while He is death, He is life.

For in that He suffered the law to accuse Him, sin to condemn Him, and death to devour Him, He abolished the law, He condemned sin, He destroyed death, He justified and saved me.”

- Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians

Jesus is Frustrating

Not even 24 hours after telling you guys that Jesus is a frustrating friend to have... i have to sit on the phone in silence and think the same thing while grieving with a friend over hard things in his life right now. Why doesn't Jesus love us in a way that makes sense to us? I don't know... but He definately doesn't, does he? On days that are sunny and we enjoy the flowers we can usually say, "Now I'm glad it stormed and rained last month." But those rainy days were so dreary. I didn't mention it y'day .... but there's a song written by Andrew Peterson on Michael Card's "Lamenting" album called "THE SILENCE OF GOD"... that has provided this lamenting soul strength in recent days... I'm particularly captivated by the lines i've emboldened below

It's enough to drive a man crazy; it'll break a man's faith
It's enough to make him wonder if he's ever been sane
When he's bleating for comfort from Thy staff and Thy rod
And the heaven's only answer is the silence of God

It'll shake a man's timbers when he loses his heart
When he has to remember what broke him apart
This yoke may be easy, but this burden is not
When the crying fields are frozen by the silence of God

And if a man has got to listen to the voices of the mob
Who are reeling in the throes of all the happiness they've got
When they tell you all their troubles have been nailed up to that cross
Then what about the times when even followers get lost?
'Cause we all get lost sometimes...

There's a statue of Jesus on a monastery knoll
In the hills of Kentucky, all quiet and cold
And He's kneeling in the garden, as silent as a Stone
All His friends are sleeping and He's weeping all alone

And the man of all sorrows, he never forgot
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought
So when the questions dissolve into the silence of God
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
In the holy, lonesome echo of the silence of God.

Words and music by Andrew Peterson

Card's "Lamenting" Album is actually called "The Hidden Face of God" and--though i bought it for 1o or 11 from itunes... it is at amazon's dowload store for 8

Grow in Grace

“When the New Testament speaks about the fullness of grace which we find in Christ, it does not mean only forgiveness, pardon and justification. Christ has done much more for us. He died for us, but he also lived for us. Now he has sent his own Spirit to us so that we might draw on his strength. He grew in grace, and when we draw on his power we shall likewise grow in grace.”

- Sinclair B. Ferguson

Why don't we cast out demons?

The same reason we don't order one piece of fried chicken for a church lunch...

The same reason we wear life-jackets on the lake....

The same reason we bury our dead....

Because if we simply move demon-deliverance into the realm of the other miracles of Jesus we can more easily see how it would look to misread and misappropriate the teachings of Christ.

There are no commands or instructions in Scripture for us to repel or cast out evil spirits…
...With virtually every miracle Christ does, we are told or shown the purpose; we are not told to do likewise. –David Powlison

David Powlison writes:
The classic texts on spiritual warfare - Ephesians 6:10-20; James 3:14-4:12; 1 Peter 5:6-11 - teach a mode of fighting the devils bid for lordship that centers on the Word of the living God, faith, repentance, prayer, and obedience in the power of the Spirit. There is no hint of exorcistic methods in these passages, because the Bible does not view the problem of sin, especially in Christians, as linked to an indwelling demon who must be evicted.

Although the practice of exorcism has enjoyed popularity at various times and places in church history, the use of exorcism as a means of accomplishing sanctification or creating conditions for successful evangelism is a recent innovation. Where did this demon deliverance approach to ministry and the Christian life come from? Who teaches it? This view of spiritual warfare has been developing only since the late 1960s. -read more of Powlison's brief article here

Here is a Brief article, summarizing bible's teaching on demons & Satan by JI Packer


Books I rec'd:
Powlison, Power Encounters
Precious Remedies Satan, by Brooks -- Free online here

Narnia, Caspian, Lewis

took our youngest to the premiere y'day...
basic review.... loved it... they did great job on my favorite character, Reepicheep

by the way
here's a helpful look at Lewis' imagination...

God Preaching

In response to the common feeling that Christianity is hopelessly out of date, we need to re-state our fundamental Christian conviction that God continues to speak through what he has spoken. His Word is not a prehistoric fossil, to be exhibited under glass, but a living message for the contemporary world. It belongs to the market place, not the museum. Through his ancient Word God addresses the modern world, for, as Dr J. I. Packer has said, 'the Bible is God preaching'. Even granted the historical particularities of the Bible, and the immense complexities of the modern world, there is still a fundamental correspondence between them, and God's Word remains a lamp to our feet and a light for our path. -- John Stott

Let us not miss our way

“The preachers’ commission,” writes J. I. Packer, “is to declare the whole counsel of God; but the cross is the center of that counsel, and... the traveler through the Bible landscape misses his way as soon as he loses sight of the hill called Calvary.”

This is also the commission of the parent, the community group leader, the children's Sunday school teacher, the friend over coffee... etc. etc.

Deacon Training Update

In April the congregation known as Christ Community nominated a slew of guys to the office of deacon. Some have decided not to participate in the training. There are nine who are taking part in the training. Please pray for them, and their wives, as they contemplate God's call on their lives.

Connor, Will
Gallagher, John
Hamersma, Rob
Kubo, Matt
Livers, Corky
Miller, Tom
Neder, Ronnie
Smith, Christian
Stankunas, Frank

context... mark 7... Jesus & "religious" differ

Almost as if to emphasize how little regard Jesus held for the Pharisees unbiblical understanding of human sin and righteous, Mark recounts that Jesus will leave Israel and preach the gospel to the Gentiles in the region to the north of Israel (what is now Southern Lebanon).
And here among the Gentiles–regarded as unclean by the Pharisees–Jesus will find a woman of faith, whose response to Jesus stands in complete contrast to the unbelief and hardness of heart of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. --Kim Riddlebarger

Jesus Tests Your Faith to Grow it

One point of Mark 7 and Jesus' interaction with the woman... his basically saying, "Talk to the hand."
Most commentators agree that--among many things-- he is stretching her faith in Him....

John Owen writes:
Many people know not what is in them, or rather what is ready for them, until they are put upon what seems utterly above their strength, indeed, upon what is really above their strength!

The things that God, in an ordinary way, requires of us are not proportioned to what strength we have in ourselves, but to what help and relief is laid up for us in Christ....

Club 45 this Sunday @ 4:30pm at Church Office

Romans 8 says we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ

This truth is stunning to me.... and Spurgeon nailed it this morning with this simple statement:

Christ deems His happiness completed by His people sharing it.

Seeing More Truth

“All of us to some degree live around the truth of the gospel but do not ‘get’ it. So the key to continual and deeper spiritual renewal and revival is the continual re-discovery of the gospel. A key stage of personal renewal is always the discovery of a new implication or application of the gospel - seeing more of its truth.”

- Tim Keller

There it stands, and stands forever, God will keep his word. I know it; and I want you poor sinners to know it too. He cannot run back from his own promise. His word is his bond. To every honest man it is so; but to the thrice-holy God his oath and his promise bind him eternally. –Charles Spurgeon

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay. --Edward Mote

Experience must never be the criterion of truth; truth must always be the criterion of experience.
-- John Stott

When By Faith I See

Sunday I mentioned a hymn portion that God is using to help me trust Him, and to find my strength in Him and all He promises to be for me in Jesus. Here is that fragment:

When by faith my Lord I see,

Bleeding on a cross for me

Quick my idols all depart,

Jesus gets and fills my heart -- John Berridge

whole hymn here

Chief Among Ten Thousand

Hast thou heard Him, seen Him, known Him?
Is not thine a captured heart?
Chief among ten thousand own Him;
Joyful choose the better part.

whole hymn here

Trust His Leading Today, Even In Your Weary-Faltering Steps

All the way my Savior leads me,
Cheers each winding path I tread;
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living Bread.
Though my weary steps may falter,
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see. -- Fanny Crosby

Hardened Hearts Can Only Be Softened by Jesus

On the idea of how a heart becomes hardened.... meditating on Psalm 51 Paul Tripp writes:

"I know you're like me and you too would like to tell yourself that you're not like David, but you know you are. Like me, you too get attracted to things that are outside of the boundaries that God has set for you. Like me you're quite skilled at covering, minimizing, rationalizing, justifying, defending, or otherwise explaining away your sin. Like me, you don't always stop at the first warning that something is wrong. You permit yourself to step even closer to evil, telling yourself that you'll be okay. Like me, you allow yourself to meditate on things you should repudiate. Like me, you participate in the hardening of your own heart even as you tell yourself that you can handle it, that you'll be okay.

The physical acts of sin are not actually where the real action takes place. By this I don't mean that behavioral sin isn't sin. What I mean is that the real moral war of sin and obedience is fought on the turf of the heart. It's when the battle for the heart is lost that the battle of physical resistance to sin will be lost as well. When the heart become hard, the system of internal restraint that keeps one pure ceases to function as it was designed to function, and we say "yes" to what God has called us to say "no" to.

But there's hope for us. Jesus came to give sight to blind eyes. He came to release the captives from their prison. He came to give us new hearts. He came to break sin's dominion over us. He came so that we'd have the power to say, "No!" when temptation comes our way. He came so that we could live with open eyes and soft hearts. He came so that we could turn to him in confession and receive his forgiveness, just like David." --read more

The Spirit Brings Constant Refreshment

“The true secret to all ministry is spiritual power. It is not man’s genius, or man’s intellect, or man’s energy; but simply the power of the Spirit of the God of the Gospel. ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts (Zech.iv.6) It is well for all ministers (and believers) to bear this ever in mind. It will sustain the heart and give constant freshness to their ministry (and lives). A ministry which flows from abiding dependence upon the Holy Spirit can never become barren. If a man is drawing on his own resources, he will soon run dry. It matters not what his powers may be, or how extensive his reading, or how vast his stores of information; if the Holy Spirit be not the spring and power of his ministry, it must, sooner or later, lose its freshness and its effectiveness. How important then, that all who minister (and live) in the gospel…should lean continually and exclusively on the power of the Holy Spirit. He knows what souls need, and He can supply it. But he must be trusted and used. It will not do to lean partly on self and partly on the Spirit.” ---C H Macintosh, Notes on the Book of Numbers, 1861

Feel free to pray this for me as a pastor who longs to have the Holy Spirit be the spring and power of my life.

Isaiah 12

My appointed reading this morning was Isaiah 12.... and it is a tremendous passage of hope.

“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.

“Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.

“Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

It is good to think through our corporate life--and all the varied mercies of God to us--and shout and sing for joy for indeed the Holy One has been great in our midst.

You can also reflect on his grace to you individually... as it so often comes to us through His people, The Church.

This is the judge that ends the strife,
Where wit and reason fail
My guide to everlasting life
Through all this gloomy vale
Oh may Thy counsels, mighty God,
My roving feet command,
Nor I forsake the happy road
That leads to Thy right hand.

the John Owen Quote

As to the object of your affections, in an especial manner, let it be the

cross of Christ, which has exceeding efficacy towards the disappointment

of the whole work of indwelling sin: “God forbid that I should

glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, whereby the world is

crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Gal. 6:14). The cross of

Christ he [Paul] gloried and rejoiced in; this his heart was set upon; and

these were the effects of it—it crucified the world unto him, made it a

dead and undesirable thing. The baits and pleasures of sin are taken all

of them out of the world. . . . If the heart be filled with the cross of

Christ, it casts death and undesirableness upon them all; it leaves no

seeming beauty, no appearing pleasure or comeliness, in them. Again,

says he, “It crucifies me to the world; makes my heart, my affections,

my desires, dead unto any of these things.” It roots up corrupt lusts and

affections, leaves no principle to go forth and make provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. Labor, therefore, to fill your hearts with
the cross of Christ . . . that there may be no room for sin.

Two Quotes

"A woman's heart should be so close to God that a man should have to chase Him to find her." --C.S Lewis

“My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Saviour...” -- John Newton

several amazing quotes on the Scriptures power to bring us Christ in our fight for Joy

excerpts are here

Come, Holy Spirit

The fight for joy is the fight to see and believe Christ as more to be desired than the promises of sin. This faith and sight come by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. We look to the Word, we ponder, and we plead with God that the eyes of our hearts would be opened to see the superior glory and joy. Suffice it to say..that we are utterly dependent on the Spirit to make the promises of God more desirable to us than the promises of sin. And for that vital eye-opening, heart-changing work we pray every day.

Paul Tripp Lectures

• Age of Opportunity
• How People Change
• War of Words

"We must be subject to Christ alone, he must be our only Head, we must not turn aside a hair's-breadth from the simple doctrine of the Gospel, he alone must have the highest glory, that he may retain the right and authority of being a bridegroom to us."
-John Calvin

We shall bring our Lord most glory if we get from Him much grace. -- Spurgeon

What I owe my mother for my soul and my love to Christ and my role as a husband and father and pastor is incalculable.

those words are from John Piper.... who also says:

So let’s make very clear: the apostle of Jesus Christ in this text (1 timothy) bestows on motherhood and grandmotherhood a great honor. You have a calling that can become the long-remembered ground of faith, not just for your children—mark this—but for the untold numbers who will be affected by your children. And that’s in addition to all the other thousands of ripple effects of faith in your life. -Piper

RP: Guys, envision your wives & daughters to see the power they wield, and can wield
Ladies, there is no question in the mind of this pastor/husband/son who shapes the future... 'tis you. May God give you grace to trust Him, and by His Spirit & Word, shape it for His Glory.

Christians Concerned for the Community, an organization we support financially, has been low on furniture donations. They need primarily beds and living room furniture. Please pass on the request to those you know. Also, we are trying to buddy-up with thrift stores or the like so we can get a more consistent flow of items. Call 352.371.1768 and thanks for your help!

If you are wounded, if you are alone,
If you are angry, if your heart is cold as stone,
If you have fallen and if you are weak,
Come find the worth of God
That only the suffering seek.

Come lift up your sorrows
And offer your pain;
Come make a sacrifice
Of all your shame;
There in your wilderness
He's waiting for you
To worship Him with your wounds,
For he's wounded too.

He has not stuttered, and He has not lied
When He said, "Come unto me,"
You're not disqualified;
When your heavy laden, you may want to depart,
But those who know sorrow are closest to His heart.

In this most Holy Place
He's made a sacred space
For those who will enter in
And trust to cry out to Him;
You'll find no curtain there,
No reason left for fear;
There's perfect freedom here
To weep every unwept tear. -- Michael Card

Deacon Training Update

These were the men who attended the Overview & Orientation Meeting for Deacon Training this weekend. Other fellas who were nominated have prayerfully chosen not to enter the deacon training. The guys below are prayerfully considering beginning the 6 week training which begins Saturday May 10. Please pray for them. I will post more on the process towards ordination later.

Connor, Will
Crow, Billy
Fischer, Josh
Gallagher, John
Hamersma, Rob
Julien, Sam
Kubo, Matt
Livers, Corky
Miller, Tom
Neder, Ronnie
Phegley, Kevin
Smith, Christian
Stankunas, Frank

Come you weary and He will give you rest
Come you who mourn, lay on His breast
Christ who died, risen in Paradise
Giver of mercy, Giver of Life

Sing to Jesus His is the throne
Now and forever,
He is the King of Heaven.
Sing to Jesus, we are His own.
Now and forever sing for the love our God has shown.

Sing to Jesus, Lord of our shame
Lord of our sinful hearts.
He is our great Redeemer.
Sing to Jesus, Honor His name. --fernando ortega

Starting Tonight! Join Me?

As Stehpen A. pointed out y'day.... Prince Caspian hits theaters this month.... MUST re-READ BEFORE SEEING...... I've got to start this project at the dinner table tonight. Pull out your copy and join me... or stop by bookstore and grab it.

By the way, how smooth a writer was Lewis... remember how he ended it:

"Your father and mother and all of you are -- as you used to call it in the Shadowlands -- dead. The term is over: the holiday has begun. The dream is ended. This is the morning...things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And as for us, this is the end of all stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia have only been the cover of the Great Story which none on earth has read; which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before." C. S. LEWIS, Last Battle

Come just as thou art, with thy woe,
Fall down at the feet of the Lamb;
He will not, He cannot say, “Go”,
But surely will take out thy stain. --William Gadsby: Poor Sinner, Dejected With Fear

Knowing Christ Far Surpasses

"Feeling ashamed and knowing Christ far surpasses begin good and never thirsting for mercy and forgiveness.” --- Steve Brown, A Scandalous Freedom

The Bible Can Crush Wrong Dreams & Create Right Ones

We may lack hope because we think we need something we do not need. It may take the Word of God to show us what we really need, and then to give us the power to get it. In the end what we really need is Christ. He is the sum of all our hopes. Paul commends the Thessalonians for their “steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 1:3). He says that our “blessed hope [is] the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2:13). Therefore we are to “hope in Christ” (Eph. 1:12) and rejoice in the mystery of the gospel, which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).

Sometimes what we need from the Bible is not the fulfillment of our dream, but the swallowing up of our failed dream in the all-satisfying glory of Christ. We do not always know the path of deepest joy. But all Scripture is inspired by God to take us there. Therefore Scripture is worth more than all this world can offer.
-- John Piper... (later i'll post a pdf of excerpts from this chapter of his that i'm currently being very nourished & inspired by... see below)

Go Where God Has Met You Before

In thinking through this recent sermon rant on "heart renewal"... that was triggered by Christ's words of warning about a people who honor God with lips... but whose hearts are far from God...
I plan to say some very practical things this week about getting your heart in the presence of God. His Word is key... because there Jesus is most plainly revealed. And meditations upon God's Word are also powerful.... because they gather scripture truth in a form that is applealing to the imagination... and imagination is key in both being deceived AND in believing the gospel (but that is a whole other thing).... So, when wanting to warm your heart... Go where God has met you before: creation, biographies, special group of friends, etc. For me it is often through hymns. This morning I was reminded of the intimate access I have to Christ, and His identifying with us in our struggles.

I lay my wants on Jesus;
all fullness dwells in him;
he heals all my diseases,
he doth my soul redeem

I lay my griefs on Jesus,
my burdens and my cares;
he from them all releases,
he all my sorrows shares.

--H.Bonar

the necessity & Power of experiencing God's love

Christians, to the degree that you behold the free grace of God, to the degree that you meditate on it and you let it become a holy fire in your heart, to the degree you experience and behold the love of God, to that degree you are going to find that to difficulties you will be able to say "oh well, my Father must have a purpose here because He loves me, and besides that, He does not owe me a good life. He owes me a far worse life than I've got." You can handle anything. And when good things come you will say "Behold! what a miracle" And the very fact you can get up in the morning and say, "I am a Christian. Who would have thought it?" There is a spirit of wonder about you.... -tim keller

“…adoption is…the highest privilege that the gospel offers: higher even than justification… That justification- by which we mean God’s forgiveness of the past together with His acceptance for the future- is the primary and fundamental blessing of the gospel is not in question. Justification is the primary blessing, because it meets our primary spiritual need. We all stand by nature under God’s judgment; His law condemns us; guilt gnaws at us, making us restless, miserable, and in our lucid moments afraid; we have no peace in ourselves, because we have not peace with our Maker. So we need the forgiveness of our sins, and assurance of a restored relationship with God, more than we need anything else in the world; and this the gospel offers us before it offers us anything else…And as justification is the primary blessing, so it is the fundamental blessing, in the sense that everything else in our salvation assumes it, and rests on it- adoption included.

But this is not to say that justification is the highest blessing of the gospel. Adoption is higher, because of the richer relationship with God that it involves… Justification is a forensic idea, conceived in terms of law, and viewing God as judge…Adoption is a family idea, conceived in terms of love, and viewing God as father. In adoption, God takes us into His family and fellowship, and establishes us as His children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the father is a greater.

J.I. Packer, Knowing God, pp. 186-188

3 trees diagram

david powlison put this together from various scripture

now available in ESV... the Gator Bible

$17 at wts books

Using the Bible to Drag & Keep Your Heart Near God

Ask God to give you eyes to see the worth of Scripture and to waken in you an unyielding desire for the Word of God.

Think about this:
The Spirit binds his faith-awakening ministry to the Christ-exalting Word. Which means that when we go to the Word of Christ, we put ourselves in the path of the Spirit’s willingness to reveal Christ to us and strengthen our faith.
-- both quotes are from John Piper's chapter--The Worth of God’s Word in the Fight for Joy-- in his tremendous--and free online--book When I Don't Desire God, How to Fight for Joy

(which i am noticing--is increasingly being put on people's MUST RE-READ list by many people including CJ Mahaney & Cov't Sem prof Sean Lucas)

O Lord
Thou didst strike my heart with Thy word ... and i love Thee. -- Augustine

God pours out His love in your heart through the Holy Spirit. He makes you understand the message of grace in Jesus Christ. Intimacy? Of the highest order. Of the deepest depths. Of the most enduring happiness. Apart from God’s self-revelation in Scripture? No way.
The Spirit’s power makes the Spirit’s message a joy in the hearts of listeners.

Does this mean that our experience of God’s care is unwavering? All Scripture and all human experience tell otherwise. We waver, drift, forget. Our vision dims. We get distracted. Our hearing gets bad. But God works over the long haul. And He uses sufferings. Hardships distract, tempt, and overwhelm us. We are told repeatedly that in fact these very things provide the context in which God’s “steadfast love” becomes better known. John Newton put it this way:

“These inward trials I design, from sin and self to set thee free,
to break thy schemes for earthly joy, that thou may’st find thy all in me.”

(Romans 5:3-5; James 1; 1 Peter 1; numerous Psalms) -- David Powlison in a tremendous article entitled Intimacy With God

The MAIN BENEFIT of the Bible is Christ

We must put the evidence before us that reading, pondering, memorizing, and studying the Bible
will yield more joy in this life and the next than all the things that lure
us from it.
There are many different reasons why the Bible has this joy-producing
effect. I don’t want to minimize this diversity or belittle the range of benefits that the Bible has in our lives—more than any of us realizes. But I want to stress that ultimately, in and through all its benefits, the Bible leads us to superior and lasting joy because it leads us to Christ, especially to see his glory and enjoy his fellowship. All the varied benefits are beneficial finally because they show us and bring us more of Christ to enjoy. -- John Piper

Fellow Strugglers

Earlier this week I found an old quote in one of my journals. Later I was able to share it with a fellow struggler. We need these hard words sometimes to call us out of our groveling and challenge us to believe the gospel and find joy and hope!

You say you feel overwhelmed with guilt and a sense of unworthiness. Well, you cannot be too aware of the inward and inbred evils you complain of, but you may be (indeed you are) improperly controlled and affected by them. You say it is hard to understand how a holy G-d could accept such an awful person as yourself. You, then, not only express a low opinion of yourself (which is right!) but also too low an opinion of the person, work, and promises of the Redeemer, which is wrong...You complain about sin, but when we examine your complaints, they are so full of self-righteousness, unbelief, pride, and impatience that they are little better than the worst evils you complain of!"
-- John Newton, to a pastor friend who was struggling

~John Newton, taken from "The Glory of the Gospel: Studies in Paul's Letter to the Galatians".

The Centrality of Our Hearts

Three principles from Christ's illustration in Luke 6:43-45

1. There is an undeniable root and fruit connection between our heart and our behavior. People and situations do not determine our behavior; they provide the occasion where our behavior reveals our hearts.

2. Lasting change always takes place through the pathway of the heart. Fruit change is the result of root change. Similarly, in Matthew 23, Christ says "clean the inside of the cup and the outside will become clean." Any agenda for change must focus on the thoughts and desires of the heart.

3. Therefore, the heart is our target in personal growth and ministry. Our prayer is that God will work heart change in us and use us to produce heart change in others that results in new words, choices, and actions. --Paul Tripp, Instruments p.64-65

"Sin produces in all of us a tendency toward 'now-ism,' which means we forget three things:
who we are (betrothed to Christ);
what he is doing now (preparing us for the final wedding); and
what we are supposed to be doing (remaining faithful to him).

When we focus only on what we want now, we fail to solve our problems and we also cause more difficulties" (Instruments in Redeemer's Hands p. 241). --Paul Tripp

shameless plug.... for joy!!

Celebrate with Rob & Sarah Hamersma as look forward to welcoming their son!!

finally