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Feb 15
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February 15 Prayer Guide

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“The god of age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  2 Cor 4:4.

Pray that we would not be blind to spiritual truths.

 

Feb 14
Love0

Parenting Reminders

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Some of my greatest joys in life stem from being a parent to two delightful children. However, some of my greatest struggles in life also stem from being a parent to these same two children. There are days that I cannot imagine anything more rewarding and other days that I want to get into the fetal position and remain there for a week. Here are a few reminders for me and all the other Christian parents out there:

Affection and Love: We can never show our children too much love. I have yet to meet the adult who tells me, “My parents just showed me too much love!” But sadly, I have often heard the reverse. Shower your children with affection. May they know our warm embraces and messy kisses!

Have the Right Goal in View: As Christian parents, our goal in raising our children is not primarily to prepare them for going out into the world as fully functioning adults. Our goal, as Christian parents, is to prepare our children for eternity! This should shape all that we do in our homes.

Focus on My Responsibility: But having said that, we can’t “force” our children to be faithful, less sinful, or more righteous. That isn’t our responsibility. Our responsibility is to be faithful in our own charge as parents. In that regard, I can surely hinder or help their sensitivity to Christ, growth in sanctification, understanding of grace, and maturing in character, but I can’t guarantee it, secure it, or determine it. Let’s be faithful in what we do have responsibility for and spend less energy trying to control that which we don’t have responsibility for.

Keep Your Eyes Forward: We can be prone to look over our shoulders. What will OUR parents think? What will others at church think? What will my pastor think? Our children are disobedient and we find ourselves cringing inside and looking to see if anyone else was watching. And when we see others looking on, immediate concern grips our minds. Will they think my children are disobedient or bad? Will they think I am a terrible parent? Stop! We aren’t parenting for others’ approval. We are parenting for the good of our children to the glory of God. Let’s keep our eyes looking forward and heavenward for the good of our children and the glory of God.

Don’t Get Too High nor Too Low: Children change, so let’s not get too high or too low by what we see in our child’s character, actions, or soul in any given day or during any given period. Let’s rejoice some. Let’s mourn some. But let’s do so with restraint.

Tomorrow has Enough Worries of its Own: We can’t control today, let alone tomorrow. Be faithful today. My son taking a toy from his sister today doesn’t mean he is a good candidate for robbing convenience stores at age eighteen. We can get caught up in what they will be like next week, next year, or when they are twenty-one. Let’s just be faithful in our parenting today.

Run the Right Direction: God knows a thing or two about wayward children, so let’s seek Him who has an understanding ear. What grace we need in parenting and what grace is given in Christ. May we run to Him with our frustrations, struggles, trials, and failures. He should be our first counselor and comforter.

Parent on Your Knees: Oh for an army of parents who exercise as much energy in prayer for our children as we do in lecturing them. Prayer may be the most important and most neglected of parental responsibilities. Let us pray for and with our children–not just before bed–not just over meals, but throughout the day and for all their lives.

Show and Tell: Let’s not just tell our children about the Christian faith, but show it. Let us ask for their forgiveness when we have been irritable or have yelled at them, lead them in family worship, talk much about Christ, extend grace, be quick to point out God’s good providence, joyfully lead them to church, pray for and with them, and sing a few hymns in the shower!

Christianity not Morality: Morals are good, but not in and of themselves. Let’s teach our children and pray for a morality that flows from a heart changed by God’s grace. For many of us, our default is to slip into morality parenting, rather than Christian parenting. The former is focused solely upon outward behavior, the latter is focused upon inward change which will manifest fruit  in moral outward behavior.

Lastly and Most Importantly, Count the Blessings: Let’s thank God everyday for our children. Even on those hard days, find the blessings amidst the chaos! Count every blessing that comes as a parent. Let it fill us with wonder that the Lord of the Universe has given us the privilege of having these little souls under our care. What a blessing. Thinking on that may even help us get out of that fetal position.

This post was written by Jason Helopoulos and can be found here.

Feb 14
Love0

Don’t Take It from Me: Reasons You Should Not Marry an Unbeliever

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Over the course of our ministry, the most common pastoral issue that Tim and I have confronted is probably marriages—either actual or proposed—between Christians and non-Christians. I have often thought how much simpler it would be if I could remove myself from the conversation and invite those already married to unbelievers do the talking to singles who are desperately trying to find a loophole that would allow them to marry someone who does not share their faith.

That way, I could skip all the Bible passages that urge singles only to “marry in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39) and not “be unequally yoked” (2 Corinthians 6:14) and the Old Testament proscriptions against marrying the foreigner, a worshiper of a god other than the God of Israel (see Numbers 12 where Moses marries a woman of another race but the same faith). You can find those passages in abundance, but when someone has already allowed his or her heart to become engaged with a person outside the faith, I find that the Bible has already been devalued as the non-negotiable rule of faith and practice.

Instead, variants of the serpent’s question to Eve—“Did God really say?” are floated, as if somehow this case might be eligible for an exemption, considering how much they love each other, how the unbeliever supports and understands the Christian’s faith, how they are soul-mates despite the absence of a shared soul-faith.

Having grown weary and impatient, I want to snap and say, “It won’t work, not in the long run. Marriage is hard enough when you have two believers who are completely in harmony spiritually. Just spare yourself the heartache and get over it.” Yet such harshness is neither in line with the gentleness of Christ, nor convincing.

Sadder and Wiser

If only I could pair those sadder and wiser women—and men—who have found themselves in unequal marriages (either by their own foolishness or due to one person finding Christ after the marriage had already occurred) with the blithely optimistic singles who are convinced that their passion and commitment will overcome all obstacles. Even the obstacle of bald disobedience need not apply to them. Only ten minutes of conversation—one minute if the person is really succinct–would be necessary. In the words of one woman who was married to a perfectly nice man who did not share her faith: “If you think you are lonely before you get married, it’s nothing compared to how lonely you can be AFTER you are married!”

Really, this might be the only effective pastoral approach: to find a man or woman who is willing to talk honestly about the difficulties of the situation and invite them into a counseling ministry with the about-to-make-a-big-mistake unequal couple. As an alternative, perhaps some creative filmmaker would be willing to run around the country, filming individuals who are living with the pain of being married to an unbeliever, and create a montage of 40 or 50 short (< 5 minutes) first-hand accounts. The collective weight of their stories would be powerful in a way that no second-hand lecture ever would be.

Three True Outcomes

For the moment, though, here goes: There are only three ways an unequal marriage can turn out, (and by unequal I am willing to stretch a point and include genuine, warm Christians who want to marry an in-name-only Christian, or someone very, very far behind them in Christian experience and growth):

  1. In order to be more in sync with your spouse, the Christian will have to push Christ to the margins of his or her life. This may not involve actually repudiating the faith, but in matters such as devotional life, hospitality to believers (small group meetings, emergency hosting of people in need), missionary support, tithing, raising children in the faith, fellowship with other believers—those things will have to be minimized or avoided in order to preserve peace in the home.
  2. Alternatively, if the believer in the marriage holds on to a robust Christian life and practice, the non-believing PARTNER will have to be marginalized. If he or she can’t understand the point of Bible study and prayer, or missions trips, or hospitality, then he or she can’t or won’t participate alongside the believing spouse in those activities. The deep unity and oneness of a marriage cannot flourish when one partner cannot fully participate in the other person’s most important commitments.
  3. So either the marriage experiences stress and breaks up; or it experiences stress and stays together, achieving some kind of truce that involves one spouse or the other capitulating in some areas, but which leaves both parties feeling lonely and unhappy.

Does this sound like the kind of marriage you want? One that strangles your growth in Christ or strangles your growth as a couple, or does both? Think back to that off-cited passage in 2 Corinthians 6:14 about being “unequally yoked.” Most of us no longer live in an agrarian culture, but try to visualize what would happen if a farmer yoked together, say, an ox and a donkey. The heavy wooden yoke, designed to harness the strength of the team, would be askew, as the animals are of different heights, weights, walk at different speeds and with different gaits. The yoke, instead of harnessing the power of the team to complete the task, would rub and chafe BOTH animals, since the load would be distributed unequally. An unequal marriage is not just unwise for the Christian, it is also unfair to the non-Christian, and will end up being a trial for them both.

Our Experience

Full disclosure: One of our sons began spending time a few years back with a secular woman from a Jewish background. He heard us talk about the sorrows (and disobedience) of being married to a non-Christian for years, so he knew it wasn’t an option (something we reminded him of quite forcefully). Nevertheless, their friendship grew and developed into something more. To his credit, our son told her: “I can’t marry you unless you are a Christian, and you can’t become a Christian just to marry me. I’ll sit with you in church, but if you are serious about exploring Christianity you will have to do it on your own—find your own small group, read books, talk to people other than me.”

Fortunately, she is a woman of great integrity and grit, and she set herself to looking into the truth claims of the Bible. As she grew closer to saving faith, to our surprise our son began growing in his faith in order to keep up with her! She said to me one day, “You know, your son should never have been seeing me!”

She did come to faith, and he held the water when she was baptized. The next week he proposed, and they have been married for two and a half years, both growing, both struggling, both repenting. We love them both and are so grateful that she is both in our family and also in the body of Christ.

I only mention the above personal history because so many of our friends in the ministry have seen different outcomes—children who marry outside the faith. The takeaway lesson for me is that even in pastoral homes, where the things of God are taught and discussed, and where children have a pretty good window on seeing their parents counsel broken marriages, believing children toy with relationships that grow deeper than they expect, ending in marriages that don’t always have happy endings. If this is true in the families of Christian leaders, what of the flock?

We need to hear the voices of men and women who are in unequal marriages and know to their sorrow why it is not merely a disobedient choice, but an unwise one.

This post was written by Kathy Keller and can be found here. She serves as assistant director of communications for Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. She is co-author with her husband, Tim, of The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God.

Feb 14
Love0

There’s a technical German theological phrase for this stuff….

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Having seen this,

words almost fail me — but not quite.  Perhaps the weirdest thing is that I too have found peanut eating Italian monkeys to be a great source of spiritual inspiration — it is as if, you know, Rob and I are like totally connected at some kind of deep spiritual level and stuff!  Awesome.  Whodathunkit?


Seriously, this kind of bullsgeschichtlich Abfall, to use the technical German theological phrase, is its own refutation and should be called out for what it is: laughable, self-important gibberish.    To build on a phrase from Niebuhr,  for these chaps “A God of their own invention brought people just like them into a kingdom without clear definition through the ministrations of a Christ who looks like an over-indulged American thirty-molesworth_reasonably_small.jpgsomething.”  So, yes, people will take it seriously and the book will no doubt sell in vast quantities.   As the old song has it: Find out what they like and how they like it and let them have it just that way.

Originally posted by Carl Trueman here.

Feb 14
Love0

February 14 Prayer Guide

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“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”  Ephesians 6:11.

Pray against the scheming that goes on to oppose the works of God.

Feb 13
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February 13 Prayer Guide

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“For our struggle…is against the powers of this dark world…Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Ephesians 6:12, 13.

War is being waged on the people of God. Pray fervently that our efforts to further the Gospel would not be hindered.

Feb 12
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February 12 Prayer Guide

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“We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”  1 John 5:19.

We will receive opposition in our efforts to minister to others. Expect it and be in fervent prayer against it.

Feb 11
Love0

Maybe you should think about Kenya

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Given the fact we have a Kenyan in our group (Mindi) this little call to prayer seems that much more important. Be thinking about the nations as you go about your lives today.

Kenya: Uncertain Future for Christians Prompts Call for Prayers Ahead of Election

 Kenya Election

Political instability in Kenya, triggered by influences from the Muslim minority group al-Shabaab, is causing great concern over the future religious atmosphere in the Eastern Africa country, says Open Doors, a Christian persecution watchdog group. The organization is asking for prayer with less than one month to go before the country’s general election.

“We are at a defining moment because these are the first elections under the new constitution with its many new structures and elective and nominative posts,” explains the Open Doors coordinator for the region, who – as the case with most of the ministry’s international field workers – remains anonymous for security reasons.

Al-Shabaab’s success in pressuring the government to allow greater official influence for Islam is troubling, say Open Doors officials. Islamic family courts based on Sharia Law have been implemented in all counties – even in those with a low Muslim presence. It is feared that at least 10 of the counties with higher Muslim representation may push for the implementation of Sharia Law and may even be harboring ambitions to break away from the rest of the country, which is Christian dominated (83 percent).

“It was reported by Open Doors that 22 Christians were killed in incidents last year and over 100 seriously injured or maimed,” said Open Doors USA spokesman Jerry Dykstra. “The persecution of believers in the Muslim parts of the country has increased. Please join Open Doors in praying for Kenya as it prepares for elections next month.”

More than 1,200 people died in post-election violence in 2007. After the setup of a tribunal was blocked by politicians in Kenya, the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided to prosecute six politicians. Charges against two were dropped, while two of the remaining four are running in the elections – one for president and the other as his running mate. Some reports of violence have already surfaced this year. The election is scheduled for March 4.

Open Doors released the prayer requests below:

The New Constitution: The country voted in a new constitution and it is in the process of being implemented. There continues to be a backlash against Christians who opposed some clauses in the constitution. Pray that the Lord would guide the full implementation process and this harassment of Christians will stop.

The Presidency: Current president Mwai Kibaki has completed two terms and must now hand over leadership to a new elected president. Pray that the handover process will be smooth. Pray that God gives the new president wisdom.

The 42 Tribes: Kenya has a total of 42 recognized tribes that have been polarized against each other. Pray that God would protect Kenyans against political pressures to divide along these tribal lines, but instead rise higher to accept and celebrate one another.

The Challenge of Islam: Islamic influence is growing in the country and with it the levels of persecution towards Christians, especially in Muslim-dominated areas. Pray that the Christians in those areas would gain wisdom and strength to enable them to stand strong in the faith.

Refugees: The government decided to relocate all Somali refugees to the camps in readiness to repatriate them. Pray for Christian refugees. This decision directly affects them. They are worried and afraid for their safety. May the Lord bring solutions to their individual cases.

Open Doors Work in Kenya: Pray for the Open Doors team as it travels to difficult areas in the region to do research, conduct training and give comfort and encouragement to believers.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/kenya-uncertain-future-for-christians-prompts-call-for-prayers-ahead-of-election-89539/#maWAHvO3FA9Kd1gw.99

Feb 11
Love0

February 11 Prayer Guide

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“…your words were heard, and I have come in response to them….I was detained…” Daniel 10:12,13.

Do not give up praying for the evil one can interfere with our spiritual messengers.

Feb 04
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Becoming a Better Listener

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This is a week late, but still worth your time…

 

As Christians we sit through a lot of sermons. The preaching ministry is one of God’s greatest means of grace to us, the means by which he teaches us truth, by which he calls us to pursue truth and to live out of it. And yet many of us are passive listeners, people who expect great preaching skill from the pastor but demand no listening skill from ourselves.

Lately I have come across a few resources dedicated to helping Christians be better listeners, to help them emphasize active listening. Here are three of them, each with a few words of description and an overview of the contents. If you have never read a book on how to listen to a sermon, I’d encourage you to do that. Take full advantage of the privilege you have of sitting under the ministry of the Word!

Helping Johnny Listen

Helping Johnny ListenHelping Johnny Listen by Thadeus Bergmeier. “The preaching of God’s Word happens tens of thousands of times each week across the world.  As these sermons are given, when the preacher is faithful to the text of the Scripture, it is as if God is speaking to the people of that given congregation. The question is, are people listening? Listening to preaching is more than showing up, sitting still or even nodding one’s head.  It is taking that which is preached and applying it to life.  Helping Johnny Listen is a book designed to help the average person who sits in the average church on the average Sunday take full advantage of the sermons they hear so that they are able to live what they hear.”

Thad’s book is written from a pastoral perspective and is applicable to any level of listener. I was glad to see that he included a section on the difficulties of being a preacher and a listener in the Internet age—when better sermons by better preachers are available in the millions online. He focuses on the importance of being a faithful listener within the long context of a single local church.

Here is how he structures the book:

  1. The Preaching Intersection
  2. Receive the Preaching of God’s Word
  3. Examine the Preaching of God’s Word
  4. Live the Preaching of God’s Word
  5. Persevere the Preaching of God’s Word

($20 at Amazon)

Expository Listening

Expository ListeningExpository Listening: A Handbook for Hearing and Doing God’s Word by Ken Ramey. “In many people’s mind, if they don’t get anything out of the sermon, it’s the preacher’s fault. But that’s only half true. The Bible teaches that listeners must partner with the preacher so that the Word of God accomplishes its intended purpose of transforming their life.Expository Listening is your handbook on biblical listening. It is designed to equip you not only to understand what true, biblical preaching sounds like, but also how to receive it, and ultimately, what to do about it. You need to know how to look for the Word of God, to love the Word of God, and to live the Word of God. In this way, God and His Word will be honored and glorified through your life.”

Ken’s book is also written at a popular level and, with just 110 pages of text, is quite a manageable read. It comes endorsed by John MacArthur, Joel Beeke, Jay Adams, Lance Quinn, Thabiti Anyabwile and yours truly.

He follows this structure:

  1. Welcoming the Word
  2. A Theology of Listening
  3. Hearing with Your Heart
  4. Harrowing Your Heart to Hear
  5. The Itching Ear Epidemic
  6. The Discerning Listener
  7. Practice What You Hear
  8. Listening Like Your Life Depends on It

($10.19 at Amazon | $10.07 at Westminster Books)

Listen Up

Listen UpListen Up by Christopher Ash. “Why on earth does anyone need a guide on how to listen to sermons? Don’t we simply need to ‘be there’ and stay awake? Yet Jesus said: ‘Consider carefully how you listen.’ The fact is, much more is involved in truly listening to Bible teaching than just sitting and staring at the preacher. Christopher Ash outlines seven ingredients for healthy listening. He then deals with how to respond to bad sermons – ones that are dull, or inadequate, or heretical. And finally, he challenges us with ideas for helping and encouraging our Bible teachers to give sermons that will really help us to grow as Christians.”

Ash’s book is actually just a booklet, weighing in at only 31 pages. The beauty of this one is that very thing—its brevity. This is the kind of booklet you can buy in bulk and distribute widely. Many churches hand it out to all of their members as a reminder of their duty to listen. In those 31 pages, Ash packs in quite a lot of value. The book is an an attractive, fun, easy-to-read format that will make people want to read it.

Here is the way he breaks down the subject:

  1. Expect God to Speak
  2. Admit God Knows Better Than You
  3. Check the Preacher Says What the Passage Says
  4. Hear the Sermon in Church
  5. Be There Week by Week
  6. Do What the Bible Says
  7. Do What the Bible Says Today—and Rejoice!
  8. How to Listen to Bad Sermons
  9. Suggestions for Encouraging Good Preaching

($2.39 at Westminster Books, discounts for bulk purchasing)

This post was originally found on www.challies.com

Feb 04
Love0

10 Things to Pray for Your Wife

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Our hunger for God will not be confined to our closets. As we know him and delight in all that he is for us in Jesus, our joy in him reaches beyond personal experience on a quest to be reproduced in others. One of the simplest ways we realize this is by taking serious how we pray — by wanting and asking for others the same things we want and ask for ourselves.

It is a beautiful thing — a miracle — when we become as invested in the sanctification of others as we are in our own. And, of course, the best place to start is with our spouses.

So men, here are ten things to want from God (and ask from him) for your wife:

  1. God, be her God — her all-satisfying treasure and all. Make her jealous for your exclusive supremacy over all her affections (Psalm 73:24–25).
  2. Increase her faith — give her a rock-solid confidence that your incomparable power is only always wielded for her absolute good in Christ (Romans 8:28–30).
  3. Intensify her joy — a joy in you that abandons all to the riches of your grace in Jesus and that says firmly, clearly, gladly: “I’ll go anywhere and do anything if you are there” (Exodus 33:14–15).
  4. Soften her heart — rescue her from cynicism and make her tender to your presence in the most complicated details of dirty diapers and a multitude of other needs you’ve called her to meet (Hebrews 1:3).
  5. Make her cherish your church — build relationships into her life that challenge and encourage her to walk in step with the truth of the gospel, and cause her to love corporate gatherings, the Lord’s Table, and the everyday life of the body (Mark 3:35).
  6. Give her wisdom — make her see dimensions of reality that I would overlook and accompany her vision with a gentle, quiet spirit that feels safe and celebrated (1 Peter 3:4).
  7. Sustain her health — continue to speak your gift of health and keep us from presumption; it is by blood-bought grace (Psalm 139:14).
  8. Multiply her influence — encourage and deepen the impact she has on our children. Give her sweet glimpses of it. Pour her out in love for our neighbors and spark creative ways to engage them for Jesus’s sake (John 12:24).
  9. Make her hear your voice — to read the Bible and accept it as it really is, your word… your very word to her where she lives, full of grace and power and everything she needs pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
  10. Overcome her with Jesus — that she is united to him, that she is a new creature in him, that she is your daughter in him. . . No longer in Adam and dead to sin; now in Christ and alive to you, forever (Romans 6:11).

And then a thousand other things. Amen.

[Download a new print-version (PDF) of “10 Things to Pray for Your Wife.” You can also get lock-screen versions for your iPhone4 or iPhone5.]

The following post was written by Jonathan Parnell 

Jan 10
Love0

Dirty Minded Men

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Men Like to Look At Naked Girls On The Internet. Here’s Why They Should Stop That.

I had a bit of a personal crisis when I saw this link from The Huffington Post titled, “Research Suggests that All Men Watch Pornography.” My first thought was that they could not have possibly talked to all men. I know this, because I do not watch pornography. This made me suspicious that the link was tied to a pornographic Web site designed to trick me, the last man standing, into accidentally seeing pornography in order to validate their research. (Or, more disturbingly, it could be that I am not actually a man because I do not watch pornography.)

Do not mistake my assertion for some kind of moral high ground. I have seen pornographic images before, and my mind is fairly full of sexual imagery that I have stored from various fantasies; I don’t really need pornography to qualify as a pervert. I do not think that this makes me abnormal, as the sexual drive is a gift from God. It’s just that I believe pursuing pornographic fantasy is like driving a car at high speed down the wrong lane.

I discovered that the title of the article was a bit misleading, as it suggests that all mencurrently watch porn. In fact, the research documented that they could not find any man who hadn’t seen it before. And that I can believe. It is possible that there is not a man in the United States over the age of 20 who has never seen pornography.

So how is a Christian man or woman supposed to respond to this research? I suppose that we could act shocked, as if we did not previously know that men like to look at naked women. Or we can pretend that a curious, 18-year-old boy with an Internet connection and no supervision would always refuse to click on that flashing picture of a buxom woman that popped up in the advertisement section of his e-mail account.

But the reality is, for a multitude of reasons—from our creation as sexual beings to the result of the fall and sin—men today like to look at naked women via pornography. We know why they do it, and we know that they do it. The question is why shouldn’t they do it?

The research shows that there is little reason for men not to indulge:

“Not one subject had a pathological sexuality,” he said. “In fact, all of their sexual practices were quite conventional.
“Pornography hasn’t changed their perception of women or their relationship, which they all want to be as harmonious and fulfilling as possible,” he added.

Before I can take this statement at face value, I have to wonder what “pathological sexuality” means. I wonder how they know that watching pornography hasn’t changed men’s perceptions of women or their relationships. Really? Their perceptions haven’t changed at all by watching pornography? Their expectations for sex haven’t changed? I find that difficult to believe.

Gary Wilson gave a great talk at TEDs titled “The Great Porn Experiment” on this very subject. (I highly recommend this talk to you. Highly, highly recommend it.) He used the information gleaned from this study, but he came up with a different answer: Porn does affect a man’s relationships, and it affects his ability to even have sex at all. But asking the man about it isn’t helpful. Why? Because asking a man who looks at porn about the negative influence it may be having is like asking a fish about water. It’s all he knows. Wilson goes on to say that “of all activities on the internet, porn has the most potential to become addictive.” And Gary Wilson is simply looking at this from the science side of things, not from a Christian perspective. (He may be a Christian, I have no idea. But that is not the nature of his talk here.)

The Bible, it turns out, is not trying to put a damper on our sexual enjoyment. Pornography inhibits in real life relationships. It causes people to suffer emotionally and physically. Sex was designed by God to be intimate, not anonymous. It was designed to cause us to value our lover, our spouse, as one with whom our pleasures are fulfilled. God knows that real skin, real kisses, real sex with our covenant partner is so much sexier than digital images that can never embrace us.

This post was written by Pastor Brad Williams and can be found at www.patheos.com.

Jan 10
Love0

Husbands: A Tip that Could Save Your Marriage

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With a title like this there is little room for dilly-dallying along the way to the answer. So without much introduction, here is the tip that could save your marriage: Get a part-time job.

There. That’s it. Husbands, if you want to save or strengthen your marriage, get a part-time job.

I should say right off the bat that I am not talking about a literal job that will pull you away from the home for more hours. Instead I’m arguing for the husband to approach his time at home with his family with the same thoughtful intentionality and engagement that he would if he were to go to work.

Far too many marriages are suffering because the husband comes home mentally, physically and emotionally zapped from his work day. He has done well as the provider for the home and now he is going to come home and collapse into a lazy-boy (aptly named) or in front of a computer or some other process of decompression and relaxation from a tough day at work. This type of thing may be ok occasionally but if practiced regularly it will lead to major problems.

Years ago after starting a new job I came home mentally and emotionally drained several days in a row. Laying on the floor “resting” became my default posture. One day my wife walked over and said, “Hey, we don’t want your left-overs. Don’t give everyone else your best only to serve us left-overs.”

This hit me like a ton of bricks. My wife and family were grateful that I was providing, but they were not content with a mere provider. They wanted a dad and a husband. In other words, there is more to the job of being a husband than just making money. He needs to be thoughtfully, intentionally, and continually engaged in the home.

This is why the illustration of having a second job in the evenings works so well. As husbands we must come home with at least, if not more engagement than we would have at work. Husbands come home to lovingly lead their families. They need to be serving their wives by listening, learning, nourishing, and shepherding them. We can’t do that when we are “recovering” from work or checking out for some much needed “me” time. The job description for a husband entails thoughtful intentionality. We have got to be in the game and doing our job.

It would not be a stretch to say that over 90% of the marital counseling I have done as a pastor involves the husband sleeping at his post in one way or another. He hangs his hat on being the provider while neglecting his role as shepherd-leader of the home. Fixing this will not solve everything but it will drastically improve a lot of things.

So husbands, let me challenge you to come home from work like you are going to work at a job you love in a place you love. Come alongside your wife to talk, listen, and learn her. Play with the kids. Do some chores. Make some jokes. Read the Bible. Pray together. Play a game. Make some dessert. Fix something that broke. Flirt with your wife. Sit and talk. Whatever you do, do it heartily and intentionally like a guy who is there, engaged with his family not escaping from his family.

This post wwas written by Erik Raymond at www.ordinarypastor.com.
Jan 03
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Lord’s Prayer (pt.10)

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The following is the tenth part of a series written by one of our members, David Carrico. Previous parts can be found at the links below:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

 

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”  Matthew 6:9-13

We’ve meditated our way through the Model Prayer and arrived now at the final phrase.  Today we meditate on “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.”  Not every ancient manuscript of the Gospel of Matthew contains this phrase.  For that reason, not every modern translation will contain it.  Your Bible may not.  It is, however, found in the King James Version, and as such is part of what almost all of us accept as the full text of Jesus’ prayer.  And there’s certainly nothing unscriptural or unbiblical about it, so I accept it as part of the text of the prayer, and therefore fitting for our meditations.

At first glance this sentence seems to be almost banal.  I think that may be because if we’ve been in church much, we’ve probably heard it several times, which means it’s probably starting to seem routine.  I’m becoming more and more convinced that one of Satan’s favorite ploys to disarm Christians is to make vital and important teachings seem routine, because once something slides into the “Routine” column in our lives and our busy schedules, the less likely we are to really think about it and the more likely we are to simply go through the motions.

Back to the topic at hand.  No, this sentence is not at all banal, or superficial, or routine, or anything like that.  I can’t say that it is the most important sentence in the prayer, because each sentence and phrase as crafted and pronounced by Jesus is incredibly important in guiding us.  I will say that it provides a fitting climax and ending to the prayer.

Why?

Well, first of all, it is fitting because it is a doxology—a statement of worship and praise—for God is always worthy of worship.  Worship should be a part of our prayer life.  In the modern church, all too often we seem to think that worship is always some kind of music.  In fact, one of the recent trends is to segregate church-related music into categories, one of which is called “Praise Music”.  That’s a trap.

Why?

It’s a trap because it emphasizes praise at the expense of worship.  It gives the impression that in order to worship you must first praise.  And I wonder sometimes if the traditional order of service in most churches, where we sing our hymns and psalms and spiritual songs/praise choruses before the sermon doesn’t reinforce that impression.  What would happen in church if we had the sermon first, and only sang praises after God’s word and will had been proclaimed; if we only sang praises after we had been reminded of just what God has done for all of us?  Just a thought.

But I digress.  We were talking about the observation that modern thinking seems to be leaning toward the idea that worship grows out of praise.  But that’s not how it works, according to scripture.  Let’s look at an event in the future to understand this.

…the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.”  Revelation 4:10-11

Worship comes first in this scene; then comes the praise.  The principle is true today:  true praise grows out of true worship, not the other way around.  And that is how it should be, because if we do not have worship in our hearts, then any praise we speak or sing is just noise.

And the topic of worship leads us to the second reason why this sentence is a fitting conclusion for the prayer.  The Greek word translated as “worship” is a form of the word proskuneo, which literally means to fall on your face before someone or something.  For example, look at the following passage:

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me.”  Then Jesus said to him, “Begone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'” Matthew 4:8-10

This is, of course, the third of the three great temptations Jesus suffered between His baptism and the beginning of His active ministry.  Here we see Satan at his subtlest.  He’s trying to distract Jesus from His purpose.  He’s trying to derail Jesus before He even gets started.  I believe it is significant that Satan saves his last and greatest effort to convince Jesus to worship him.  You see, although Satan is the Father of Lies, he knew a great truth:  that which is worshipped will ultimately be what is served.  Jesus underlines that truth in His response.

How does that apply to what we are meditating on?  Well, look again at what Satan tempts Jesus to do:  to fall down and proskuneo.  Now, think about the physical position of the proskuneo, on your face on the ground.  This is a position that a subject assumed before his lord, before his king.  This is a position like Joseph assumed before Potiphar, and later before Pharaoh.  It’s a position of helplessness, because there is no way you can strike at someone when you’re on your face in the dirt.  It’s a position of utter and abject submission.  And that is really what Satan was trying to get Jesus to do; submit to his authority, rather than God’s.

Now, let’s look back at the prayer.  Remember, in the last meditation we had arrived at the conclusion that “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” was an admission of helplessness and a plea for God to protect and sustain us.  It is not accidental that that phrase was the lead-in to the “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever”.

Why?

Well, let’s break this final sentence down a little bit.  What is it saying?

  • For Thine is the kingdom
  • For Thine is the power
  • For Thine is the glory

That’s okay as far as it goes, but it’s still not as explicit as it could be.  Try this:

  • For Thine—not mine—is the kingdom
  • For Thine—not mine—is the power
  • For Thine—not mine—is the glory

Does that make it clearer?

You see, in every human life since Adam and Eve (with the exception of Jesus) sin has occurred and will continue to occur until God ends Time.  All sin breaks down into one of three categories:  lust of the flesh (gluttony), lust of the eyes (greed), and the pride of life (arrogance).  Those are the three temptations to which Eve and Adam succumbed, those are the three temptations which Jesus successfully repulsed, and those are the three temptations to which you and I are subject on a daily basis.  But when viewed from another direction, each of those three temptations is really just one sin:  substituting our own judgment for that of God.  At the root of every sin is the rejection of God’s will.

So this prayer concludes with a three-fold submission of our wills to that of God in an act of worship.  Before and to the very God and King of the universe we set aside our own desires and subordinate them to His will.  We willingly acknowledge His authority.  And we give to Him the glory that is His by right; the glory that was never rightfully ours.  We do this because only when we have truly worshipped can we begin to truly serve Him.

Father, You, not I, are King of the Universe; You, not I, have all authority and power; and to You alone, never me, is all glory and honor due.  May it ever be so.  Amen and amen.

But as with every other aspect of this prayer, this is something that must be done day after day, one day at a time.  Never let this prayer or its principles become rote to you.  This is too serious a matter to let lapse into routine.  Your relationship with God, your relationship with your brothers and sisters in Christ, and your ability to properly serve Jesus are all dependent on what Jesus teaches here.  Take these teachings in to your heart, meditate on them as David instructs in Psalm 119:11, knowing that as you do so you are submitting yourself to God’s word and God’s will.

Grace and peace to you.

David

 

Jan 01
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5 Ways to Pray for Your Pastor in 2013

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Just the other day I received a letter in the mail from a medical doctor whom I have never met before. Having told me how he had benefited from some of my sermons and articles, he went on to tell me, “I pray for you. I will be able to do so on a very regular basis now and trust that you will be helped and strengthened in your ministry and family.” This was an enormous comfort and encouragement to me. Contrary to what some might suppose, ministers of the gospel desperately need the prayers of the saints. One of my seminary professors used to tell the student body, “Pastors have a bull’s eye on their back and footprints up their chest.” This is quite an appropriate description of the hardships that God’s servants are called to endure for the sake of the gospel. The flaming arrows of the evil one are persistently being shot at pastors. In addition, the world is eager to run them over at any opportunity. This is, sadly, also a reality with regard to some in the church.

With so much opposition and difficulty within and without, pastors constantly need the people of God to be praying for them. The shepherd needs the prayers of the sheep as much as they need his prayers. He also is one of Christ’s sheep, and is susceptible to the same weaknesses. While there are many things one could pray for pastors, here are five straightforward Scriptural categories:

1. Pray for their spiritual protection from the world, the flesh and the Devil.

Whether it was Moses’ sinful anger leading to his striking of the rock (Num. 20:7-12), David’s adultery and murder (2 Sam. 11), or Simon Peter’s denial of the Lord (Matt. 26:69-75) and practical denial of justification by faith alone (Gal. 2:11-21), ministers are faced with the reality of the weakness of the flesh, the assaults of the world and the rage of the devil (see this article). There have been a plethora of ministers who have fallen into sinful practices in the history of the church and so brought disgrace to the name of Christ. Since Satan has ministers of the gospel (and their families) locked in his sight—and since God’s honor is at stake in a heightened sense with any public ministry of the word, members of the church should pray that their pastor and their pastor’s family would not fall prey to the world, the flesh, or the Devil.

2. Pray for their deliverance from the physical attacks of the world and the Devil.

While under prison guard in Rome, the apostle Paul encouraged the believers in Philippi to pray for his release when he wrote, “I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:19). (See also 2 Cor. 1:9-11).

When Herod imprisoned Simon Peter we learn that “constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church” (Acts 12:5). After an exodus-like deliverance from prison, Luke tells us that Peter showed up at the home where the disciples were continuing to pray for his deliverance. This is yet another example of the minister being delivered from harm due, in part, to the prayers of the saints.

3. Pray for doors to be opened to them for the spread of the gospel.

In his letter to the Colossians Paul asked the church to be praying “that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains” (Col. 4:3). The success of the spread of the gospel is dependant in part on the prayers of the people of God. In this way, the church shares in the gospel ministry with the pastor. Though he is not the only one in the body who is called to spread the word, he has a unique calling to “do the work of an evangelist.” The saints help him fulfill this work by praying that the Lord would open doors “for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ.”

4. Pray that they might have boldness and power to preach the gospel.

In addition to praying for open doors for the ministry of the word, the people of God should pray that ministers would have Spirit-wrought boldness. When writing to the church in Ephesus, the apostle Paul asked them to pray for him “that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19). There is a well-known story of several college students going to visit the Metropolitan Tabernacle in order to hear Charles Spurgeon preach. As the story goes, Spurgeon met them at the door and offered to show them around. At one point he asked if they wanted to see the church’s heater plant (boiler room). He took them downstairs where they saw hundreds of people praying for God’s blessings on the service and on Spurgeon’s preaching. The gathering of the people of God to pray for the ministry of the word is what he called “the heating plant!” Believers can help ministers by praying that they would be given boldness and power in preaching the gospel.

5. Pray that they might have a spirit of wisdom and understanding.

One of the most pressing needs for a minister of the gospel is that he would be given the necessary wisdom to counsel, to know when to confront, to mediate and to discern the particular pastoral needs of a congregation. This is an all-encompassing and a recurring need. The minister is daily faced with particular challenges for which he desperately needs the wisdom of Christ. It is said of Jesus that “the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, and of counsel and might” was upon Him (Is. 11:2). The servants of Christ need that same Spirit. Much harm is done to the church as a whole if the minister does not proceed with the wisdom commensurate to the challenges with which he is faced. Those who benefit from this wisdom can help the minister by calling down this divine blessing from heaven upon him.

 

This article was written by Nicholas Batzig and can be found here.

Jan 01
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New Year’s Resolutions

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Well, it’s that season once again. It’s the fodder for blogs, newspaper articles, TV magazine shows and way too many Twitter posts. It’s the time for the annual ritual of dramatic New Year’s resolutions fueled by the hope of immediate and significant personal life change.

But the reality is that few smokers actually quit because of a single moment of resolve, few obese people have become slim and healthy because of one dramatic moment of commitment, few people who were deeply in debt have changed their financial lifestyle because they resolved to do so as the old year gave way to the new, and few marriages have been changed by the means of one dramatic resolution.

Is change important? Yes, it is for all of us in some way. Is commitment essential? Of course! There’s a way in which all of our lives are shaped by the commitments we make. But biblical Christianity – which has the gospel of Jesus Christ at its heart – simply doesn’t rest its hope in big, dramatic moments of change.

Living in the Utterly Mundane

The fact of the matter is that the transforming work of grace is more of a mundane process than it is a series of a few dramatic events. Personal heart and life change is always a process. And where does that process take place? It takes place where you and I live everyday. And where do we live? Well, we all have the same address. Our lives don’t careen from big moment to big moment. No, we all live in the utterly mundane.

Most of us won’t be written up in history books. Most of us only make three or four momentous decisions in our lives, and several decades after we die, the people we leave behind will struggle to remember the events of our lives. You and I live in little moments, and if God doesn’t rule our little moments and doesn’t work to recreate us in the middle of them, then there is no hope for us, because that’s where you and I live.

The little moments of life are profoundly important precisely because they’re the little moments that we live in and that form us. This is where I think “Big Drama Christianity” gets us into trouble. It can cause us to devalue the significance of the little moments of life and the “small-change” grace that meets us there. And because we devalue the little moments where we live, we don’t tend to notice the sin that gets exposed there. We fail to seek the grace that is offered to us.

10,000 Little Moments

You see, the character of a life is not set in two or three dramatic moments, but in 10,000 little moments. The character that was formed in those little moments is what shapes how you respond to the big moments of life.

What leads to significant personal change?

  • • 10,000 moments of personal insight and conviction
  • • 10,000 moments of humble submission
  • • 10,000 moments of foolishness exposed and wisdom gained
  • • 10,000 moments of sin confessed and sin forsaken
  • • 10,000 moments of courageous faith
  • • 10,000 choice points of obedience
  • • 10,000 times of forsaking the kingdom of self and running toward the kingdom of God
  • • 10,000 moments where we abandon worship of the creation and give ourselves to worship of the Creator.

And what makes all of this possible? Relentless, transforming, little-moment grace. You see, Jesus is Emmanuel not just because he came to earth, but because he makes you the place where he dwells. This means he is present and active in all the mundane moments of your daily life.

His Work to Rescue and Transform

And what is he doing? In these small moments he is delivering every redemptive promise he has made to you. In these unremarkable moments, he is working to rescue you from you and transform you into his likeness. By sovereign grace he places you in daily little moments that are designed to take you beyond your character, wisdom and grace so that you will seek the help and hope that can only be found in him. In a lifelong process of change, he is undoing you and rebuilding you again – exactly what each one of us needs!

Yes, you and I need to be committed to change, but not in a way that hopes for a big event of transformation, but in a way that finds joy in and is faithful to a day-by-day, step-by-step process of insight, confession, repentance and faith. And in those little moments we commit ourselves to remember the words of Paul in Romans 8:32

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us, how will he not also with him freely give us all things.”

So, we wake up each day committed to live in the small moments of our daily lives with open eyes and humbly expectant hearts.

 

This article was written by Paul Tripp and can be found on his blog, here.

Dec 31
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God Doesn’t Love You Because You’re Lovable

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“We must remind ourselves that God loves us, not because we are lovable, but because we are in Christ, and the love which the Father has for him flows over to us because we are in him.” – Jerry Bridges, Who am I?

God doesn’t love us because we are lovable.

In fact, in and of ourselves we are very much unlovable.  But Mark, you ask, aren’t I good enough, smart enough and doggone it don’t people like me? Yes people may like you.  Yes, you may be smart enough.  But you’re not loveable enough to merit God’s blazing holy love that burns up all impurities in its presence.

The Bible gives us pretty rough assessment of our “lovableness”.

…as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
(Romans 3:10-18)

Observe how lovable we are: we’re unrighteous, have no interest in or understanding of God.  We’re worthless. Our throats are open graves – what a lovely stench! And the the venom of asps under our lips makes us doubly attractive to God, as well as our mouths full of curses and bitterness.

Can you imagine a husband saying to his wife, “I love you honey.  Your mouth reminds me of an open grave. And your lips  are like the venom dripping from a Gaboon Viper.”  Somehow I don’t think that wife would feel particularly lovable.

Though our sin renders us repellent to God, when he saves us he not only washes our sins away, but he plunges us into Christ. We become so organically and intimately one with Christ that when God looks on Jesus he sees us, and when he looks on us he sees Jesus. When God loves Jesus, he loves us in him and when God loves us he loves his Son in us.

The Father doesn’t love believers because we are lovable, but because Jesus is infinitely lovable and God has made us one with Jesus. And because we are one with him, when the Father pours out his love on  his Son, that love washes over us as well.

Let this truth fill you with joy today.  No matter what kinds of trials you’re facing, remember the Father loves you with the love he has for his own Son.  And nothing can separate you from that love.  Ever.

 

This was written by MARK ALTROGGE at www.theblazingcenter.com.

Dec 31
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Wild, Free, and Wonderful: The Call of Christ in the Life of Mack Stiles

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Most of us would have been scared away from the Middle East by the events of September 11, 2001. But not Mack Stiles.

Not that he didn’t waver just a bit. Here’s the story.

Loosening the Roots

For years Mack had labored stateside with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in an administrative job that, you might say, didn’t fit him like a glove. If you’ve met Mack, you likely noticed right from the start how outgoing and people-oriented and relationally energetic he is. Not that administrators can’t be people-people. It’s just this particular slot wasn’t optimal for this particular Mack.

After much wrestling, Mack sensed that God was loosening his American roots and preparing him and his family for a fresh work and new season of life — drastically new, in fact. Providence presented him with an opportunity in the Middle Eastern city of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Mack and his wife Leeann and their three sons (Tristan, David, and Isaac) spent a year in transition and preparation for this new venture.

Then, just as they were readying themselves for the decisive actions — like selling their home in the States — 9/11 happened.

Driving a Stake in the Ground

When the planes hit the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001, and the towers soon fell — while most of us felt like we were waiting for the debris of Western Civilization to settle — Mack felt a profound confirmation of God’s call for his family. Perhaps most of us would have felt the need to stay put for a while, or desired to cleanly place things on hold, or even sensed the Jonah instinct to head in the opposite direction of Nineveh.

But 9/11 had a strange way of ratifying God’s summons for Mack and his family to transport their lives to the Middle East, of all places. So the very next day Mack drove a stake in the ground — figuratively in his sense of calling, and literally in his front yard.

“I banged the ‘For Sale’ sign in the front yard of my house the next day, so convinced was I that this was the very opportunity for me to be who I was meant to be. To join the call of Christ that was wild and free and wonderful. To live the gospel with love and boldness. To show the world that the church’s response to the horrific events of 9/11 were not military, but missionary.”

The Gut Check

Such was Mack’s admirable resolve on 9/12. But as you know, the Christian life is typically a lot earthier than that.

“The gut check happened when the house sold on 9/13,” Mack admits. “Second thoughts swirled through my mind. Were we really moving to the place those suicide bombers lived?”

But it is not good for man to be alone. God gave him Leeann to help re-confirm the newly confirmed call on their lives.

“Thankfully my wife, more unwavering than her husband, kept us focused and on track so that we, with our three sons, moved to Dubai a few short months later.”

Flourishing in the Middle East

Today, over a decade later, Mack is still in Dubai and thriving. Again and again God has confirmed that such a cross-cultural risk was right for the Stiles, even as just about everything American in them would have begged to differ. It didn’t help them at the time of decision, but it turns out that with the eyes of faith, rather than fear, Dubai has been a much more welcoming place than they would have thought.

“We discovered, once we got here, that the Middle East is made of hospitable and wonderful people, the vast majority of whom are as far away from suicide bombers as most people in America are from chainsaw murderers. It turns out, living the Christian life in the Muslim world is in some ways easier than living out faith in a secular society.”

“I have far more opportunities to share the gospel than I did in the United States.”

Speaking, Writing, Leading

Mack travels extensively encouraging the church worldwide, even as he continues as CEO of Gulf Digital Solutions in Dubai and serves as general secretary for the Fellowship of Christian UAE Students (FOCUS).

Mack also writes. Since moving to Dubai, he authored Marks of the Messenger: Knowing, Loving, and Speaking the Gospel, of which D. A. Carson says, “I do not think I have ever read a book on evangelism that makes me more eager to pass it on than this one — better, that makes me more eager to evangelize than this one.”

Mack serves as an elder of the recently planted Redeemer Church of Dubai. Pastor Dave Furman says, “It would be an understatement for me, a young church planter, to say that having an experienced leader like Mack help plant a church was beneficial.” Church planters take note. Might it be worth praying God would do the same for your team?

“Mack has brought wise counsel and a commitment that has sustained us through difficult times,” says Furman. “When we set out to plant, Mack and his wife Leeann were the first people to walk up to me and ask if they could help us with the plant. I look back at that day as a key day in the history of Redeemer Church of Dubai.

“Mack is one of the most incredible leaders that I know. He is a great visionary and is one of the greatest catalyzers I’ve been around.”

Mack Stiles took a great, God-dependent risk, made a tough decision to go to a hard place, and today is thriving as he likely never would have in his former vocation and setting. Mack is deeply grateful he answered Christ’s wild, free, and wonderful call to the nations.

How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” –Romans 10:14–15

 

Written by David Mathis (@davidcmathis), executive editor for John Piper and Desiring God, and elder at Bethlehem Baptist Church in the Twin Cities. He and his wife Megan have twin sons (Carson and Coleman) and live in Minneapolis. David is editor of several books, includingThinking. Loving. Doing. and Finish the Mission.

Dec 31
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Lord’s Prayer (pt.9)

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The following is the ninth part of a series written by one of our members, David Carrico. Previous parts can be found at the links below:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

 

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”  Matthew 6:9-13a

We’re almost done with our meditations on the Model Prayer.  Today we meditate on the last of the petitions, and the meditation is the longest one we’ve done.  Let’s consider “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

This portion of verse tends to confuse new Christians—and probably some older ones as well—for it certainly seems to imply that God is actively involved in some way in tempting us to sin.  Literally nothing is farther from the truth than that thought.  James deals with that in his short epistle.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.  James 1:13

God does not tempt anyone to do evil.  No one.  None.  Has never happened.  Will never happen.  That is a fact that is just as solid as the fact of Christ’s resurrection upon which our very salvation rests.  Believe it.  It is totally contrary to His holy nature, and it will never occur.  So we can dismiss that from our thoughts about this verse.

Part of the problem in reading this portion of verse is that “temptation” in English carries with it a strong connotation of sin and evil, but it is not the most accurate translation of the Greek word involved.  The Greek word is a form of the word peirazó, which is really a morally neutral word.  Whether it should be translated with a good connotation or an evil one depends on the context of the passage it’s used in.  What peirazó literally means is to put to the test, to prove, to assay (like a mineral ore).

So the verse should more accurately read something like “And do not put us to the test, but deliver us from evil.”  It’s not as elegant a translation as the traditional one seen in the NAS and most other English translations, but I think it does a better job of communicating the true meaning of the passage.

Being tested . . .  None of us like to be tested.  None of us like to be put under pressure, squeezed like a toothpaste tube.  None of us like the stress, or the headaches, or the bad feelings of things going wrong.  Yet we should not be surprised when those things come on us, for didn’t Jesus say:

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;  and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”  Matthew 10:34-38

Jesus was pretty direct with the first disciples that following Him would not be an easy time; that even in their own families, which ought to be their greatest support, there would be division, dissension, and turmoil.

Yes, none of us like to be put to the test.  Why?  Well, among other things is the fact that it is when we are squeezed that we demonstrate what we really are.  It is when the world is trying to hammer us, it is when our bodies agonize and deteriorate, it is when our friends abandon us that we show whether or not we really are disciples of Jesus Christ.

It’s a bit of an icky analogy, perhaps, but I really like the picture of the toothpaste tube.  When you squeeze a toothpaste tube, when you put pressure on it, what comes out?  Toothpaste.  That’s because a toothpaste tube is created to hold toothpaste, and to give that toothpaste to everyone around it when it is squeezed.

Consider whether we should be like that toothpaste tube.

Are we created?

Twice so

Physically (Psalm 139:13)

Spiritually (Ephesians 2:8-10a)

Should we be filled with something?

With the Spirit of God (Ephesians 5:18)

Do we have a purpose?

A double purpose:

To spread the gospel of Christ (Matthew 28:19-20)

To show the agape of God to the world (Matthew 22:35-40)

So when we are put to the test, what should come oozing out of us is the agape of God constantly replenished by the presence of the Spirit of God.  Is that what happens?

All too often, no.

Why?

Because we haven’t been tested enough.

And now you’re going “Huh?  What does being put to the test have to do with what we show when we’re tested?”

Yes, I know it sounds nuts, but listen to James again:

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.   James 1:2-4

It sounds like James is saying that our trials and tests have a purpose, doesn’t it?  Well, since we’ve already established that God is sovereign, and that He does in fact have a will and a plan at work in His creation, it’s pretty safe to assume that what James is saying is the case.  There is indeed a divine purpose behind our tests:  to build our endurance in our faith.  To make our faith stronger.  Which in turn is part of what is needed to sanctify us, to make us more like Christ.

I’m going to use another physical world analogy here.  Take the case of a body-builder, a guy who wants to win the Mr. Universe competition.  At the beginning of his career, does he walk into the gym, pick up a set of barbells, pump them up and down a couple of times, then pronounce, “That’s it, I’m good to go . . .”?  Of course not.  He goes to the gym regularly, and he works hard at the weights, following a disciplined approach that tears down existing muscle mass to replace it with larger, stronger, greater muscle mass, until he arrives at (what he believes is) the ideal physique.  It is a long, grueling, and often painful process.

In much the same manner, it is the trials and tests of our lives—health, marriages, children, jobs, etc.—that allow us to build and develop our faith into something that is muscular, that is strong.  It is the learning to walk with God through the valley of the shadow of death that strengthens us.  It is the facing of cancer or other dread diseases in our bodies, or even worse, in the bodies of our loved ones, that builds in us that 2 a.m. in the morning faith that allows us to trust God even in the darkest hours.

So yes, we should consider it a joy to know that God finds us worthy of growing more like Christ.

We’ve been focusing on the testing part of the phrase; now let’s consider the rest of the phrase:  but deliver us from evil.

This reference to evil is probably why most translators use the word temptation in translating the first part of the phrase.  But the Greek actually reads literally like “rescue us from the evil.”  Because of this, some translations read something like “deliver us from the evil one.”  So one way it looks like the prayer is referring to a generic evil or sin; the other way it looks like the prayer is referring to Satan.  I lean to the second, myself.  The malice and evil of Satan are focused on each of us in a very personal way, and I have no trouble at all in seeing him involved in this.

You see, every trial, every test, every assaying has two sides to it.  It’s a pass/fail situation.  You’re either going to choose to perform what God’s prescriptive will directs (responsibility of man, remember?), or you’re not.  So while God considers it a test, Satan considers it an opportunity to tempt you.  And he is very subtle, and very wily, and very very very well aware of our weaknesses.  Here’s James again:

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.  Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. James 1:14-16

Because of our human nature, despite our relationship with Jesus, Satan can find all the tools he needs to tempt us to do something other that what God prescribes.

So you see, what we see in this phrase of the prayer is an acknowledgement of our weakness.  Left to our own devices, we will succumb to the evil one every time.

But we have a promise to cling to in our tests.

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.  No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.  1 Corinthians 10:12-13

First:  Paul warns us against thinking that we can stand on our own two feet; that we will fall if we do so.  Second, note that we are not unique:  every test and trial we face has been faced by other believers during the ages, and will be faced by more believers in the times to come.  But third, see the promise:  God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to bear.

And finally, we have the example of Jesus himself:

And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”  Matthew 26:39

Even Jesus, at the moment of His greatest test, asked God if He really had to go through with God’s plan.  To me, that is the greatest proof in Scripture that He was fully human, because that is what every human asks in times of test:  variations of “Why me?” or “Why do I have to go through this?”.

But His final response is also to me the greatest proof in Scripture that He was fully divine:  “Let Your will be done.”  That moment of supreme obedience could only be performed by the sinless Christ.  Not one of us could have done it if we had been in His place.

So today, following the model of Jesus, when we are faced with tests, what should our response be?  Obedience.  Pure and simple obedience to the prescriptive will of God.  And so this prayer is a prayer that God will work in us every day in such a way that we are not so overwhelmed with the pressure squeezing us that we lose sight of the need for our obedience, that we will be submissive to His will, and that we will be dependent on Him.

In a very real way, this little phrase is the tip of the spear.  Everything else in this prayer leads to this part of the prayer.  All of the praise, the honor, the confession, the forgiveness, the petitions, they all serve to bring us to this point where we tell God in our weakness that we cannot act as He would have us act without His hand of strength, protection, and provision on our lives.  We cannot show agape to the world when we’re being squeezed without God.  We cannot even be obedient to God without His help.

God, in Your will, do not let us be tested beyond our ability to cling to You in obedience.  Amen.

It is at once perhaps the most honest and yet most liberating prayer we can pray.

Grace and peace to you.

David

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